Sorry ladies: Tom Hiddleston leaves a club with mystery blonde… https://t.co/DBxP9rxLn6 pic.twitter.com/DuaFH7MFBu
— The Sun (@TheSun) May 26, 2016
It’s been a long week for Tom Hiddleston. He was spotted in London with not one but TWO “mystery ladies” this week. The Daily Mail had photos of the first lady, a youngish looking brunette in overalls, several days ago. My vibe from those photos is still that she looks more like a personal assistant or publicist’s helper or something. But then on Wednesday night, Tom was seen leaving the Ivy at the same time as a “mystery blonde.” You can see The Sun’s photo above, and there are more photos here. As it turns out, the woman is not mysterious at all. She’s a well-known and well-respected historian named Suzannah Lipscomb. So, is Hiddles getting jiggy with a hot blonde historian?
He’s the hot favourite to play James Bond in the next installment of the spy franchise. But Tom Hiddleston shrugged off the rumours when he was quizzed about the role by paparazzi outside The Ivy Club in London on Wednesday night, flashing a big smile instead as he headed home for the evening. The 35-year-old actor was joined by historian Suzannah Lipscomb as he emerged from the exit, sparking speculation the pair could have been meeting about one of Tom’s upcoming roles. He was carrying a leather-bound book in one hand, which looked like it could have been a film script.
Suzannah, who has written extensively on Tudor England and has presented history programmes for both the BBC and Channel 5, was impeccably dressed in an electric blue shift dress. The historian was branded a ‘mystery blonde’ in an article by The Sun, and she was quick to speak out about the matter, insisting she simply happened to be at the same venue as Tom.
‘Last night @twhiddleston left the same venue as me. Paps outside; I tried to block their view: thereby being in his way when he came to exit’, Suzannah wrote on Twitter.
She added: ‘Delightful as it is to have been pictured with @twhiddleston, I am embarrassed to have given The Sun a bogus story.’
Yeah… I don’t know, but I’m sort of feeling this one. Her explanation feels too quick, and her awareness of Tom seems… interesting. I’m saying that there’s more potential for a hookup between Tom and a hot blonde historian rather than the brunette in overalls. Incidentally, there was a huge conspiracy that the brunette was Jane Arthy? Um, no. Jane Arthy looks like this. All in all, I would say that Elizabeth Olsen should be very, very worried!
The Sun demoted a well-known historian to 'Tom Hiddleston's mystery blonde' @sixteenthCgirl https://t.co/CnYnzHCLkc pic.twitter.com/ZbSGT3edhd
— HuffPost UK (@HuffPostUK) May 26, 2016
Photos courtesy of WENN, Twitter.
Well, why not? Seems to me he’s just happy to be back home and enjoying a few dates. I kinda like the idea she was helping him win a Tudor style role though. I’d like to see some more period work from Hiddles.
It doesn’t look like a date. The men with the leather bag seems to be with the historian too.
He was. She was with a group of other historians having some sort of historian meeting. They’ve all commented about it on her Twitter.
She is pretty dazzling though, right?
@Miss J, yes, and I really liked her dress.
I prefer Lucy Worsley. This one’s always on the side of the Tudor controversies I disagree with. At least it isn’t “hot TV anthropologist Alice Roberts” or Mr Sixer would go into mourning.
I’m not speaking to LEGS today because he was where IIIIIIIIIIIIII should have been. At 500 Words!
As Sixer said on the Katie Useless thread, check out the 500 Words website. It’s quite a cool event. Except for that Camiilla’s attempts to use it get her claws into my man.
It’s really a lovely initiative and you know. That’s what we have the BBC FOR. It’s the point of Auntie. Big up to LEGS for doing a reading, and the other readers. And the nice judges. I’m so miffed I wasn’t there.
They have it on BBC radio don’t they? Next best thing?
So… I’ve started reading a book that Fanty had recommended here a few months ago — Johannes Cabal the Necromancer — saying saying she could envision Tom in the lead role of the film version. I’m only two chapters in and i could agree more. It would be the screwball comedy that he’s be well suited for.
The worst thing about hell — the thousands of pages of FORMS that have to be completed to get in… ha!
Yes, it’s a Radio 2 thing.
I was actually supposed to be there today. Had to cancel (Mr Sixer Senior and his eyes). Didn’t know LEGS was reading. Russnfussn cos I could have made you lot jealous! But it’s Peaky Blinder season so I wouldn’t have cared: I only have eyes for Alien Beauty at the moment.
My book role for LEGS is Francis Crawford from the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett.
I just found The Final broadcast on the website. Not sure if it can be listen to by those without fake Britisher access:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/epjn3d/live/
Tom’s bit just started… around 1:09. The Silver winner essay he read was really beautiful. The Grannies in Space story was delightful and well read by Andy Serkis.
ETA: The only Scottish novel I’ve read is Sunset Song. I’ll put the Lymond Chronicles on my list too.
ETA: The best thing about this suggestion is that he’d get to use his Scottish accent!
Hope all goes well with Mr Sixer’s surgery!
Be warned: unusually for me, Lymond is historical thriller-come-romance. Not my usual fare but it’s full of poetry (hence LEGS) so I love it!
@NUTBALLS- I just looked up that book. Sounds like a fun book; need to pick it up.
I’m just loving the idea that there is more than one academic from the arts and social sciences _on_ British television, prominent enough to be identified (or have the expectation that they would be identified correctly) by the press, or for people to have favourites! I’m not from the UK and I know who Mary Beard is too. I wish Canada had the same.
Again, you can pretty much thank the BBC for that. Academics from all disciplines on view every day on BBC4. You can even find the odd internet boyfriend amongst them. Mine is physicist Jim Al-Khalili!
I wish the US did. Most can’t name any. Some can name Ken Burns or Doris Kearns Goodwin. We are sliding into an abyss.
I think the 500 Words initiative is fantastic. I know some states and smaller communities do writing programs but nothing major on a national level. I’ll just have to turn my attention to the Spelling Bee
From the sciences, I can name Neil deGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku, if that’s any help. I gotsta say though, what they can make and get viewed seems very limited/low level compared to some of the science stuff the BBC makes. Sorry!
@Lilacflowers- Howard Zinn is the other go-to historian for US folks.
@ Sixer Canada has the CBC but its television arm just does not carry the same weight as the BBC, unfortunately. While it is possible for scientists to gain a bit of public profile here (e.g. David Suzuki, though we don’t seem to produce our own science shows other than The Nature of Things), the only historians (for instance) who get air time* are the cranky old white men who complain about any history that isn’t about old white men, and the last time that happened was 15 years ago. *sigh*
* Not counting the Heritage Minutes
@M.A.F., ah yes, Howard Zinn. Somehow, despite the fact that I actually saw him speak several times, I always forget he was an actual person and just remember him as a character (never seen, just discussed) in Good Will Hunting
David McCullough makes four. David Halberstam would be five but he is no more. Zinn is gone too. So, we’re at three.
@Lilacflowers- yes to the both of them. Halberstam has a book on the 50s I keep meaning to pick up.
@ Livvers, yay for the Heritage Minutes! They are superbly entertaining and can all be watched online. I wish Canadian history was more well-known.
@ lilacflowers, I recently watched, for the third time Ken Burns’s Civil War, which is brilliant.
David Starkey. All the way.
Not when he’s on Question Time being racist, though!
I have a colleague who worked with him for years and Starkey is quite the misogynist as well apparently.
Ah yes, Val. As I recall, he once said that all female historians were good for was turning history into a “bizarre soap opera”. And it wasn’t fair because they put pretty pictures of themselves on their book jackets. Then there was the “whites have become black” thing – I think that was his fever dream about working class young people or somesuch. Even Cambridge – his employers! – had to take him out of their fundraising campaign videos.
I’m inclined to favour most of his conclusions in the various Tudor arguments but academics aside, he is a vile man.
Neil Oliver and his shiny swishy hair and Scots accent has grown on me…
Came too late to this discussion, but i adore Lucy Worsley and Waldemar Januszak. They cover art, history and social history in one. Also adore Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Never liked David Starkey. Especially because he is so blinkered about the Tudors to point of rudeness or should i say madness. He doesn’t seem to understand how they came about or yhd effect they had afterwards except in a very Tudor centric way. I’d say that he drunk too much Tudor kool aid.
No way, he is a patronising objectionable misogynist.
I always remember a programme when Muriel Grey was on the panel and he called her dearie. There was a collective intake of breath from the audience. How she didn’t smack him one, I don’t know. 🙂
LOLNO
Oh, Kaiser, he’s been meeting up with THAT CAMiLLA, the Duchess of Cornwall, all over the place and I’m fit to be tied. Or fit to tie him to the bed post – actually, I’m always fit to do that. Or tie THAT CAMILLA to a train track.
Susannah’s Twitter coverage of this has been very funny and the HuffPo’s take on it was hilarious.
This is Memorial Day/My Birthday weekend so we will be taking some time to respectfully honor those who gave their all while celebrating ME with more champagne and cake then usual.
Happy birthday, lilacflowers! Hope it’s a good one.
Happy birthday, lilacflowers! Have a great weekend!
Thank you. It will be great if that CAMILLA gets away from my man. I’m side-eyeing that Julie Walters too.
Happy Birthday! Don’t worry about Julie – that’s more of a maternal vibe.
Happy birthday, fellow Boston area person. I’m in line for a piece of cake. BTW, I’m leaving for the UK a week from tomorrow. I hope Hiddles can pencil me in his diary. I’ll be looking for him in Hampstead Heath! LOL!
Thanks and have a fantastic trip! And don’t we have glorious weather for this weekend?
Yes, really lovely!
BGE, just position yourself in the doorway as he’s leaving and you’ll be instantly famous!
Happy Birthday!
Hippo Bathday! Have some fudge. I have fudge!
Fudge is good. I’ll have fudge. Birthday’s not until Monday but I celebrate for a full week, as should we all.
Fudge in pretty box tied up with ribbon. Sorry it’s only virtual!
Happy birthday, fellow Bostonian!
Thank you! Enjoy this beautiful weekend.
I encourage all my fellow Bostonians to check out the 37,000 flags on the Common this weekend. Such a simple gesture and so moving
Happy Birthday! Here’s a video from the creator of Captain Underpants!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz9c3ntpMME&list=FLTBkslyVZUpmQybPhgnsWZw&index=21
Just replace Conner with Lilac!
I waited until home to watch that. The frog puppets killed me. I do hope my celebrations are just as joyful but less messy.
Yay! It’s Lilac’s birthday! Woot woot 🎉
Woot woot!
Just chiming in to wish you a very Happy Birthday. *muah*
Muah!
Happy Birthday, Lilac. Sounds like you have a nice long weekend ahead. Have fun!
Its hilarious how all these women deny there is anything going on with Hiddles but Celebitchy keeps insisting they don’t believe them as if everyone from pretty movie stars to hot intellectual power houses are just desperate to get with Hiddles. 🙂
I loved the spoof article the Huffington post responded with, “Noted Historian Dr Suzannah Lipscomb Leaves Club With Mystery Brunette. Who is Suzannah’s unknown hunk of meat?”
Lol, brilliant. She’s lovely and has quite the resume.
That piece was hilarious.
Happy Bday, Lilac!
Thanks, spittair!
Have little interest why/with whom he ate his dinner at the Ivy club at the night but enjoyed Huffingtonpost’s joke. 500 words looks like a great event and Hiddles read a very touching story written by 10-year old girl. Also he wrote an article for the construction of new BFI building. He seems to live a lesirely life while participating in the events that are important to him.
…Doth the lady protest too much?
Too bad. This would have given that huge brain of his someone to play with.
The Sun article is really pushing the Bond thing too. It’s hilarious and so traditionally tabloid-y. What is with the internet and making him Bond? The fact that everyone is betting on it will probably make it not happen. And when will people realize that Sam Mendes is out as director?
That’s a borderline Blue Steele he’s rocking in that top pic…or maybe Magnum
hahaha. IKR. I say Blue Steele although when I first saw the pic I thought he looked loaded and thought this was going to be a juicy story of him leaving with a blond after partying at popular club.
There are three articles about him in the DM. And they call fangirls obsessed? Wtf…. Since when are those stinky papers interested in him? Btw…the brunette was Jarthy. No clue about this blonde one though.
The blonde is Susannah Lipscomb, an historian, who has done several television shows in England so the Sun identifying her as “mystery blonde” was a major fail and the DM not picking up on it is also a major fail. The DM has been running fluff pieces about him, mostly cobbled together bits from old interviews, just to get clicks since The Night Manager aired and was so successful and the Bond rumors started flying. They’ll keep it up until he’s cast as Bond or somebody else is, at which time, they’ll describe him as devastated he’s not Bond, even if he declined the part. It also seems that some of the tabs have assigned paps to him because Bond.
I really don’t get it. I understand people who like to see pics for magazines. I enjoy these pictures. But hell, every woman near him needs to hide nowadays as her face is seen everywhere then. It’s a shame. Imagine you are a friend of him and then you see your picture in the papers. It would freak me out.
Or just being a total stranger in the vicinity and having a newspaper link you and hundreds of total strangers comment on your clothes, hair, and facial features. Susannah Lipscomb seems to be having fun with it.
The best thing is the video that the Sun published. The poor woman got assaulted by Tom. He pretty much knocked her over when leaving the building. (Joke. He probably didn’t see anything, because of the paps. Still funny to see them write about her being his mysterious blonde, when there wasn’t anything that suggested they’d been there together.)
The video of him dancing? spinning! with the blonde is awesome. He’s lucky she didn’t ralph on his shoes.
I’m getting Brooklyn Beckham vibes from tom in that first pic. Weird.
So you can get famous just by standing near Tom Hiddleston? Wow, I didn’t know he’ s such a star…but I’m from Poland, and here most people don’ t know about him (apart from the Marvel movies fans). Anyway, I think that lady, Susannah, renowned historian, is too good for him. May I remind you that just a few weeks earlier Mr Hiddleston (35) was dancing (embarrasing to watch) and partying whole night with Taylor Swift:-) Still I would love to see him playing James Bond. Good luck, Tom:-)
Well I just hope the pressure to keep up doesn’t cause him to pick someone quickly, just to shut up the rumours and crazies. Don’t conform! Stay strong Tommyboy. Lol!
He was dancing with Swift at the Met Gala, a charity event that raises millions of dollars each year for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum. He was the guest of Anna Wintour and Swift, along with Idris Elba, was a co-host. Dancing with someone is just that – dancing, nothing more. It wasn’t as if they just got together to hang out and what difference would it make if they had?
Wow, Llilacflowers, come down, please….take a deep breath, do you know that losing your temper could trigger a heart attack:-):-) It’s all fine, realy, everything is ok…Met Gala, higly respectable event, charity fundraising, Anna Wintour…he was dancing for the good cause:-)
I’ll keep that in mind for one of those extremely rare occasions when I lose my temper.
@Agnieszka–you condescend very well.
Agree Leah C, particularly uncalled for when there’s a birthday involved. .
I think they look adorable together whether or not it’s a thing. I don’t understand what he has in his pocket in the last photo. It looks like a tobacco tin!
@neocleo, I noticed that too, and decided that it was either a small tin of lip balm, I have Vaseline that looks like that, or maybe a tin of breath mints. If nothing else, our Tom is always ready for a “close” encounter.
I just finished watching TNM, and loved every minute. There was suaveness, and menacing tension in spades. I couldn’t decide who I thought was more riveting, Hiddles or Laurie. Elizabeth Debicki is gorgeous, and I thought she was perfect in her part. I also liked the fact that she was slightly taller than Hiddles, and they made no attempt to disguise that fact.
No, it is @johnmastersnyc hair pomade.
See here: http://www.instagram.com/p/BFHCKjqOr-I/?taken-by=hiddlesfashion
I was right! Thank you Cindy for proving me right about the pocket tin. I said he was a Dapper Dan man and sure enough. 🙂
I like them both and I want them to date. Maybe now, they will.
It’s SO funny to see the few pictures selected out of what must have been hundreds taken in the span of maybe ten seconds. Such a misleading story implied by those shots where he looks snuggled up to her!
And then you watch the video (Tortilla has one up) and realize he was just walking out the door when she moved over in front of it and he had to brush past her to exit. He never even came to a complete stop!
I do find it curious why she moved over in front of the door (she had been to one side) as she said she knew the paps were there.
Where did you see that video TB?
Go to Torilla or try this : http://www.miaopai.com/show/FEpjMcZv3sFwjT-tpwxaJg__.htm
Got It. Thanks Cindy.
How does the Sun or the DM get a story out of that? A story in which they claim to have asked questions and received answers? He uttered one word: “Sorry” to Susannah as they crashed into one another and said nothing to any of them.
Yes, once you see the tabs spin a story like this from out of context photos, when they must *know* it’s not true, it makes you very sceptical. Or it does me, anyway.
Definitely JArthy, btw. I’ve seen so many pics of her now, and she does have a bit of a chameleon factor, but that was her at the coffee shop.
Uhg. It looks like Bond is going to happen according to a source talking to birth movies death. I am/was really hoping that wasn’t going to happen. It still might not but Bond is boring and the character is a jerk. That kinda goes against what he said he wanted to play. At least to me it does. I hope he’s actually the villain. That would be fun, maybe. But a couple other sources have come out of the woodwork to say that it could be Aidan Turner. Someone else is saying Jamie Bell. I hope they don’t go with TH.
I have always been in denial about how fame-hungry TH is. But Bond? The Ivy? Dancing with TSwift? Blergh. I’m out.
I am not ready to abandon him. I just saw High Rise, and I did enjoy it. Although I’m glad I knew something about the story first. I can see how it could leave some people not used to strange, art house films lost. I found it to have a few unsatisfying flaws in the story but overall I think the subject and what it’s saying about humanity and society was great. No one else is showing this particular aspect of western dystopian descent. Based on that alone I think this should be a cult classic.
The other thing that made it very enjoyable was my man in his full glory! He was great. He is just beautiful on the big screen. Wheatley really knows how to shoot Tom, very cinematic and editorial. I prefer this role, Laing, for Tom more than Pine and TNM which is also enjoyable to watch him in and had beautiful on location shooting. But Laing is a more baffling and mysterious character and perhaps dangerous.
What’s the Ivy about? He’s just dressed in very casual street clothes whereas Suzannah is luckily wearing a nice dress when she got pap-trapped. What kind of club is it?
The Ivy is a restaurant; I know people who’ve eaten there. They famously keep tables aside for celebs, so they can turn up at the last minute, unlike normal people who book months in advance. I’m not sure why it was called a club – maybe they have a dancefloor too in the evening? My friends went at lunchtime.
It’s hugely famous as a pap spot, because of the celeb thing – people go there partly to star-spot. It’s just round the corner from Equity HQ and quite near a number of theatres, which is doubtless partly why actors started going there way back when. It can be a very special treat of a meal out that is booked months in advance and you glam up for, but it’s also a convenient spot for celebs to eat at the last minute, with friends or business contacts, who may be a lot more casually dressed.
O, he wants that role, trust me….and I hope he’ll get it, although for such a fine actor it would be a step back creatively. I am a PR manager and a journalist and that guy is a PR’s dream come true, and producers at EON know that. It would be smart business move cause James Bond franchise needs a fresh boost to compete with all those superhero Marvel movies. So the best way is to steal them one of their own. And Mr Hiddleston would thrive and shine in promoting the movie….unlike grumpy Daniel Craig.
Could he be a great Bond? Maybe, I know he won’t be bad, no one was bad at playing Bond.
But be warn…..there is no life after Bond, sadly!
KTE, The Ivy is marketed as a private members’ club – it has rooms above the restaurant part of the establishment – hence the ‘club’ bit.
@anieszka: how can you be a journalist and a PR manager? Those two things seem to be in direct conflict to me.
I like that Jamie Bell’s been thrown in the mix. He’s probably too short to be Bond. He’d have been a great baby-Craig Bond in some kind of flash back or other. lol I hope he gets a part in the next movie. Villain’s assistant? Robin? – wait that’s Batman, wrong franchise, sorry.
InvaderTak…mybe it’s just your impression that journalism and PR are different, but to be a PR you need excelent journalistic skills , there’ a lot of writing for press in PR business( writting Press and media releases for example). I graduated from college in journalism and Public Relations. That’ s actually my formal education:-)
I’m side-eyeing that ‘source’. It says nothing that hasn’t already been rumoured, the only difference is that Birth Death Movies says they’re someone close to him.
Hmm. I’d think you’d need to be very close indeed to actually know about talks like this if they’re happening, and if you are that close, why would you blab? Can you be that close to him *and* that indiscreet?
Maybe it’s one of those cases where the actor who wants the role keeps pushing the rumour?
The thing is I’m not convinced he does want it. He hasn’t actually said that he’d do it – he consistently side-steps that question – and when he was first being asked about it he really sounded like he’d never even considered it. On Happy, Sad, Confused when jokingly asked if he’d done the Bond pose in the mirror he sounded fairly dismissive when he said ‘not since I was about 10’.
He’s been getting fairly annoyed with being asked about it and has actively discouraged people from doing so (in the politest possible way, of course).
Of course, it’s an iconic role, and a challenge, and he has said that he really enjoys watching the films. But I think the assumption that of course he wants it because every British actor does might be a little off-base.
Yeah, I’m not ready to abandon being his fan or whatever, but I will be disappointed if he takes it. I’m not even mad about him wanting be more famous. Whatever. That’s his business. I just really love his indie roles and want more like that. And I kinda wanted to believe what he says about picking roles carefully and whatnot. He seemed really genuine about it, and about films and storytelling. And some of his interviews towards the end of his last press run he sounded like he was done with high profile things. Sigh. I wanted James mccovoy to not get divorced either. I shipped those two! (In a sane way). Distressing week in the Invader world of gossip and celebrities for sure.
But that is a good point, he never did say he wanted it. And even said he wishes it would stop.
I don’t think he would particularly hate Bond rumous now, as he does not need to promote his his own works which were much more important to him. I don’t think he is pushing Bond rumors heavily, either. Think about rumors about Idris Elba who did not seem to be hunger for the role. At some point it does not matter much whether the actor wants the role or not.
TH’s Bond rumors got spread quickly these days 1) because he was reported to meet Mendes (+ Bond producer) — but I highly doubt that Barbara was there 2) a famous betting site suspended betting for Bond after the Mendes rumor.
I am not sure whether Tom wants the role desperately. He must feel happy imagining himself as Bond, but there are many aspects that may influence his career. I simply assume that he will think about that very seriously if he get the role offered
Well, that CAMILLA has been close to him several times in the past two weeks; maybe she’s the one telling tales.
How likely is it that The PuddleTom went from “No one has talked to me about it” on Graham Norton to being in “advanced talks” three weeks later?
I’m betting that he knows better than to kill his post-Bond career opportunities by taking on a role that is less nuanced and challenging than the ones he’s been playing, just for the short term profile boost and massive payday. Outside of Connery, what memorable roles have any of them played post-Bond?
I think Tom’s smart enough not to typecast himself with such an iconic role. But the chatter is free publicity for him, so it doesn’t surprise me that he and his PR team aren’t shutting down the rumors at this point. They may not until just before Craig’s replacement is announced, if at all.
I think if they offer it to him, he won’t be able to resist. His head lives in a ridiculous Bond-esque fantasy of Britain as it is. I think you guys have to hope that he isn’t offered it.
*sticks fingers in her ears*
I’M NOT LISTENING!!
Haha. You know, I hate to say it but if you had asked me a month ago, I’d have said no way will they offer it. Now, I actually think they might. Sorry!
@Sixer
Unfortunately I think you’re right. I really hope they don’t go with him. I know he must think it would be a good/stabilizing career move in a very temperamental, ageist, ruthless industry, and everyone wants him to strike while the iron’s hot.
Still, even without box office hits, he’s got quite the following for the short amount of time he’s been in films and getting a late start in the biz cause of university and training. Even if his popularity starts waning, he’ll still have many loyal fans and therefore a built-in, name recognition to land more quality roles. He just won’t be set in stone in the Hollywood ethos.
For those wondering what the deal is with the Ivy:
It is referred to as a club because it has a membership (creatives: actors, artists, writers, directors, related media folk) and several private dining areas as well as tables in the main area held for members.
Significantly, **Mobile phones and cameras are forbidden anywhere in the restaurant or adjoining club** The Ivy is a VERY common place for meetings. I notice he has his trusty computer tablet with him, and in fact Dr. Lipscomb was evidently there for a meeting of historians involved with media.
So he probably wasn’t at the Ivy because he was thirsty for attention. The video shows he was exposed to the paps for less than 15 seconds, and that includes him just smiling at them instead of answering any of their questions while he was getting into his car.
@Totally, I’ve got a bit of clarification to your info. As far as I know, the restaurant called “The Ivy” doesn’t have a formal membership scheme. Since it re-opened a few years ago, it’s an in-demand place and definitely a popular celeb haunt – I have no doubt they hold tables for VIP’s, but in theory anyone can get a reservation. “The Club at the Ivy” is a different animal and is technically a separate venue. It’s in the same building as the restaurant, but has a different entrance and is most definitely members-only.
Notice I said adjoining club above.
The Club at the Ivy is a private area with a separate entrance, but the main restaurant also has tables for Club members AND most importantly the no mobiles/no cameras rule is true in all areas: the Club, the main restaurant, and the main restaurant’s private rooms.
Sorry, I wasn’t disagreeing – it’s just when I read your first sentence it sounded like you were saying the restaurant is a club, when it’s not really. We’re both saying the same thing, just in a slightly different way. The photographs were taken outside the club entrance, which is definitely the most private part of the property, and the perfect place to have a meeting. Or he could be a member because he’s a theater junkie and the location is a perfect place to hang out pre/post show.
Ah, cool, we’re good. It’s that it’s all the same ownership, and you can get to the restaurant through the building, so I don’t mentally treat them as really separate mentally. Sorry!
The UK Ivy has exits public figures can use to avoid attention on both sides.
He wanted to get snapped here, and it’s no big deal to admit. Celebs use the press to bolster role bids all the time. It’s not coincidence he’s been snapped twice this week by pros no less and did an event when he normally is under the radar.
When he made headlines thrice a week without being papped, why did he need it? On Sunday and Tuesday, he and his team already knew that his BFI articles and his 500 words event would be on many major newspapers, then why should he want to be papped? I think he would pap stroll if necessary, and it is not the worst vice, certainly. Say, when Emmys or Golden globe time is near, and he has not been visible long enough, then he might want to be papped. But at this time, I am not very convinced.
Anne, what the heck do you mean “did an event when he is normally under the radar”?
Like his good friend Julie Walters, he has frequently done events like this. He’s presented at children’s short film awards, read autobiographical works by children/youth in theatre, et cetera. He was just at the BFI event with Idris Elba (among other people) because he is BFI’s Film Ambassador. He is using his celebrity status and his skill set in the best possible way: to promote, highlight , and perhaps assist in ensuring funding for vital arts related programs. Hmm…he’s also done readings in churches, when asked, a charity event and then for Sir Richard Attenborough’s memorial. He’s worked with school programs on staging Shakespeare with a professional touring company. Best of all, he’s actually been doing these sorts of projects since he was in school, long before he was famous.
Even my dear Nutballs, who calls pap strolls at the drop of a lens cap, hasn’t weighed in on this excessively brief Ivy sighting. I do think if he’d MEANT to get papped he would’ve dressed better, frankly.
@ Totally, I thought that he at least changed his clothes if he planed to be papped on Tuesday. They were exactly the same, from top to toe. Only laptop added. It seriously reduced the value of those pap pics because people could not distinguish them from DM pictures. If it was a pap stroll, I want to give him “most naturalistic pap stroll” awards.
Ah, TeeBee you know me so well. I thought he looked just fine for the paps, even if it is the same outfit as he wore to the JArthy brunch. Give me that over the ridiculous tight & trendy suits he was wearing during spring promos.
When I saw Anne’s comment I thought it made sense that he would go out the public exit knowing he’d get papped and let people speculate whether or not he was in a “Bond” meeting.
All publicity is good publicity, especially when he’s not filming or promoting. Keeps people from forgetting him and it gives us a reason to gather and blather!
Actually, Nutty, that IS the private entrance. But do you think there’s really a door in or out of that place that isn’t well known by paps? The fact that there was only one or two camera guys (plus someone taking video) implies this wasn’t a big deal, to me.
Yes, you can get out of the Ivy without being seen. That’s true of just about any celeb hotspot, they cater to their clientele. Not many paps means they may have been tipped off specifically to get his pic.
TotallyBiased, no need to get upset. It’s normal for a celeb to get themselves out more when they’re courting a role, even if they ultimately don’t take the role or just want the buzz from it. It’s fine to admit Tom does things other actors do. Acting is a business, not just an art form; raising your profile is how you get ahead.
Anne– unfortunate that you feel disagreeing with you constitutes ‘upset’. What I am is tired of the ‘he’s deliberately doing X!’ predilection. You have your bias, and I have mine. Doesn’t make one more likely right than the other, but I will say that–and my opinion–not taking extra steps to hide =/= deliberate pap strolling.
@Anne – Isn’t it also possible the paps got tipped off by employees or someone from a neighboring business seeing him go inside? As you say it is a business with many fronts. Now with smartphones, texting and social-media don’t professional paps have their whole network laid out too and actually offer $ to employees at hot spots for popular celebrity alerts?
Yes, that happens too, Cranberry, as long as the person’s photo is worth enough to justify the time/risk if the tip leads nowhere. I’m sure his is, but that doesn’t explain the pap’s appearance at a random café in London earlier in the same week with the Bond tie-in in the tabs.
Pardon me if I misread you, TotallyBiased. It’s just you hit me with a wall of text about his appearances and came off as really defensive. A pap walk isn’t something to get defensive over, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and he’s done it in the past. It’s business-savvy.
The Ivy is where he and Cumberbatch went to dinner after Coriolanus so he’s been there before. Going there isn’t any sort of change in behavior, as some are claiming.
There’s also a famous restaurant called The Ivy in LA that celebrities frequent. Apparently the paps are always stationed outside on the street. It’s very over the top cottage theme style, but the food’s supposed to be really good which I would hope so since it’s $25 for an order of pancakes and bacon and $8 for fresh OJ.
Ah, so it’s both a restaurant and a private members’ club. That explains it.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat
As a huge TH fan, this is the definitive argument against him playing Bond.
That’s an interesting take, and I can’t really disagree. The action in TNM did feel a little loose, definitely not the super-precise stuff you’d see in Bond or Bourne, but I chalked it up to a directing decision, figuring they didn’t want Pine to have a super-soldier skill-set after years of hiding in luxury hotels. That, or it was a really compressed shooting schedule that didn’t allow for a lot of fight/weapons prep.
If Tom does take on Bond, I have no doubt he’ll pick up the necessary skills to play someone with a license to kill, but his fighting style will definitely be different than Craig’s, if only because his height and physique will change what kind of moves look good on film. Besides, I always got the impression Daniel Craig absolutely loathed doing fights and stunts and I think Tom would actually love every second of it, including all the training he’d have to do.
“Jeffrey Bloomer writes, Tom Hiddleston would not be a good James Bond. “Hiddleston has cultivated a more circumspect, nuanced masculinity than this role requires. That’s not a bad thing,” Bloomer writes. “And it would be a disservice to his unique gifts—and also to the Bond franchise—to insist he assume the part because he’s a tall, square-jawed British guy who once played a spy.”
MI6, is this what you’re referring to?
I – a – gree. They’d really have to have some excellent writing and re-imagine a new Bond persona and not nuanced masculinity TH has been cultivating with Pine in TNM either. Circumspect nuanced is just not going to cut it in a Bond action movie. I would love it if they made him a bit unhinged, maybe some questionable signs of multiple-identity disorder seeping through. Something where he’d have to go from one persona to the next with only his “true ?” nature stringing them together. To go from suave to playful- cunning and even predatory – a bit like Loki.
I don’t know if TH could handle that. With the exception of Loki he seems to like to stick to which ever character personality he establishes for a role. He would need to be more liberated, unpredictable, and expressive than Pine and Bond. If some Loki-but-not-Loki-like personality could be written in effectively that could make his Bond exciting and new. But if it’s too much of a departure from the established Bond then fans will reject it. So most likely EON will stay on the safe side.
Agree with that article. From what I’m seeing people aren’t all that thrilled with the idea of him being bond. Just a loud vocal group and a lot of media driven speculation and bad reporting. Maybe I just haven’t been paying that much attention to industry rumors as a whole but what’s getting reported about this is seriously questionable. Cinema blend has an article saying TH I was actively publicly pursuing the role. Funny, all I’d ever heard him say or do about it was that no one had approached him about it and he said he wishes he speculation would stop. Where is the pursuing part again? Damian Lewis did though.
I agree with that bit. I’m more weary of the bit where he says he wasn’t convincing in the action bits, as if that means he’s not capable of playing Bond action scenes.
I agree the action felt a bit *off* in The Night Manager, but then, he wasn’t playing James Bond in The Night Manager, he was playing far more complex character. I suspect that he and Bier were trying something slightly different with the action scenes, which didn’t quite work and made him look a bit awkward in them.
@Cranberry: Yes. Exactly. Your characterization is genius.
And this:
“Pine’s mission to bring down Roper is more gruelling than fun, and Hiddleston’s inherent sensitivity as an actor makes him more suited to this anguished intrigue than the classic swagger of a certain other franchise.”
*sigh*
I do hate all this ongoing Bond talk. I find myself arguing with all the people who are claiming he’s just not *capable* of it – saying he looks like he can’t throw a punch, would be startled by a bird, etc etc – which is just actually *wrong*, insulting and annoying.
(Fun facts: Daniel Craig was widely derided when he was announced as Bond. Pierce Brosnan used to flinch at the recoil from the prop guns he had to use. Roger Moore wore a wig. James Bond is a character, played by an actor – there’s a whole team of people making sure the character looks cool and masculine, regardless of the actor playing him. It’s called acting for a reason!)
The truth is I don’t particularly want to see him play Bond – I want him to take more interesting roles, not be tied into another franchise. I want to see him grow and develop as an actor, and as much as Daniel Craig has done theatre and smaller roles in between he is overwhelmingly identified as Bond.
Like I said above, I think he will take it if it is offered. He probably shouldn’t, but he probably will.
He can play Bond fine. They’ll just write a version of Bond that suits him as they’ve done with every other Bond. There’s no problem with the casting if that’s what they do. From my point of view, LEGS would be a boring choice that stagnated the franchise rather than moving it forward.
Every single time there is a new Bond, there is a backlash and everyone rips the shiznit out of the casting. After a couple of films, everyone’s on board and happy. Then it all starts all over again when the current incumbent gets restless and wants to leave. Bond is so boring that way!
Lots of people thought that Bond wasn’t a credible franchise, post-Bourne, until Casino Royale turned out to be so good. And I believe the Craig Bonds have been among the most successful ever.
It all depends on the scripts and the directors, doesn’t it. My feeling is that’s why he keeps saying he can’t know if he’d take it unless it’s offered – I don’t think he’d do it just to play Bond, because from the sound of it playing Bond had never been a particular ambition, but if they came to him with a concept that was interesting enough, and suited to his particular talents, with a fantastic creative team he’d surely be tempted.
However, given just how successful the Craig Bond films have been the producers are surely looking for more of the same, not to ring the changes. One of the reasons they changed direction with the Craig films was that a radical change to the formula was needed.
@Sixer, I agree with every word of this. I don’t think he really wants it but would take it if offered because, well, you don’t turn down Bond, do you? But he’ll make sure that contract allows space for theater work and the quirky indie films he likes to do. He’ll be fine as Bond. He won’t shake up the franchise nor will he ruin it. And Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan have done just fine post-Bond.
*sips on iced hot chocolate and splashes feet in fountain as Birthdsy weekend continues *
I think it depends on what he is planning and getting at the moment. If Kong movie has a good prospect and he has other things lined up, he might not want to do Bond franchise. Another thing, being ambitious (I am using this word in neutral sense), he might know well the danger of playing Bond before he gets recognition as a serious actor. He got some acting awards in UK, but none in US. He might be nominated for Emmys and/or Golden Globes this time, though. So, my guess it that he is ambivalent about Bond.
I don’t want his version of Bond, or any version of Bond; I doubt there is anything left in the Bond story. If Hiddles plays Bond and my favorite director makes a Bond film with him, I will watch it, definitely.
Sean Connery wore a wig too!
http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/05/27/tom-hiddleston-as-james-bond-first-he-may-play-richard-ii-for-famed-director-of-howards-end
Much rather this…
Woh, that would be cool. Didn’t Merchant Ivory initially bid to do the first Hollow Crown series?
That adds some fuel to the idea that he was meeting with the historians. I’d like to see him as Richard II. Ok, I’d like to see him as ANYTHING BUT BOND. Thanks for posting.
He wasn’t meeting with the historians, they just happened to be at the same place at the same time. This is what the historians have said!
You don’t need to talk to historians to play any of the roles in the history plays, since Shakespeare wasn’t really interested in historical accuracy.
The Richard II project has been discussed before by James Ivory, months ago. Tom’s actually listed as cast in it on his website. I presume he is trying to raise the finance for it and that it might be the Shakespeare role he hinted at recently.
@ Invader, those historians are just that, not Shakesperians. They just happened to be in the same place at the same time.
I would imagine that Ivory may be having difficulty getting insurance and financing, especially insurance, for the project given his own advanced age. Ivory has been talking about this now for over three years but there doesn’t seem to be any buzz about it anywhere but in interviews he gives to Italian magazines
He has more in common with her intellectually than the dumb Hollywood starlets.
He has job and lifestyle experience, not to mention (in some cases) drama school training and personal interests (acting, film), in common with some of those ‘dumb Hollywood starlets’. Intellectual experience and prowess isn’t a fasttrack to a relationship, nor does it make someone a better match for him or anyone else.