Oh, Benedict. Your voice of velvet smoke, rippled with good Scotch and poshness. You are a Forever Dong for your voice alone. I will probably see Penguins of Madagascar for his voice work alone – he plays a wolf called Agent Classified. And now he’s getting into the tiger business. It was announced yesterday that he will be voicing Shere Khan in the second scheduled adaptation of The Jungle Book. There’s one adaptation which has Lupita Nyong’o and Idris Elba doing voice work (Idris is doing Shere Khan too). This one, the Benedict Cumberbatch one, is being directed by Andy Serkis. Benedict is the first actor to sign on.
Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book has landed its first voice lead, and it’s elementary. Benedict Cumberbatch will voice Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger who is the villain of the classic tale of a boy named Mowgli who is raised by jungle animals.
Andy Serkis, the motion capture king after pioneering motion capture with such roles as Gollum and Caesar, is making his directorial debut with the movie,
Jungle Book is based on the more-dark-than-you-think short stories written by Kipling and centers on Mowgli, an orphaned boy raised by wolves who befriends Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. The tiger Shere Khan is a lifelong enemy of Mowgli’s, with each vowing to slay the other.
Callie Kloves wrote the script. Her father, Steve Kloves of Harry Potter fame, is producing. Warners’ Jungle Book is competing against Disney’s adaptation, which is fully cast with Jon Favreau directing. Idris Elba is voicing Shere Kahn in that version.
Cumberbatch, who is up for an Emmy next week for his work on Sherlock, appeared with Serkis in The Hobbit movies. Serkis directed second unit for Peter Jackson’s trilogy adaptation and also appeared as Gollum while Cumberbatch did voice and motion capture work as the dastardly dragon Smaug.
Um, are they both going to be cartoons? Is the Serkis one going to be half live-action and half CGI? Or will both films be like that? I don’t even care. I probably won’t see this one, but the idea of Benedict as a malicious tiger? Sure. That’s really great casting. I always enjoy the fact that Benedict gets offered so much voice work – here in America, I’m constantly hearing his voice on Jaguar commercials, plus he’s been doing one-off stuff, like announcing the start of the 2012 Olympics, etc. Velvet Voice Cumber.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
Both remakes seem a little pointless to me. George Sanders was perfectly good first time around. Don’t mess with Addison DeWitt.
Also, Sarah’s take on this, over at Lainey, is quite brilliant.
(Also, as I’m feeling grouchy today, I’ll also point out that he’s embarrassingly late on the ice bucket challenge, especially as he confirmed via PR – !!!- that he’s going to do it. Even if he is working, he could take two minutes out of his schedule, stand in the bath tub and dump a tupperware of water on his head.)
YES. Sarah summed it up perfectly.
It’s good casting, but the whole thing is problematic. And TWO adaptations? And one with King Louie? Um.
And there already was a live action version with John Cleese.
Jezebel pretty much summed it up for me.
“The Jungle Book will be the directorial debut of Andy Serkis, which probably means that he’ll have all his actors scampering around in dumb motion capture suits and everyone will have to act like this is exciting. “”
Still the talent is there so the darker Serkis version may be a breath of fresh air after the Disney version. I will miss the songs as they were the best bit of the film.If Serkis could just direct Tom in Sandman I would be really on board and he can use all the motion capturing he likes,. Or if he really wants dark Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book which was Jungle Book inspired.
I agree. (Although I am inclined to suggest that children should still be given Kipling, Twain et al to read for discussion of the very issues Sarah outlines. It’s certainly what I’ve done with the Sixlets).
And there are so many other cool adaptations of contemporary children’s fantasy that Serkis, in particular, could turn his live action obsession to. In terms of animals, I’d go with Michelle Paver’s Chronicles of Ancient Darkness sequence. Ottoline? Katherine Langrish’s trolls?
There are so many to choose from. I’m still waiting for my Edge Chronicles film.
I agree it would be far more interesting to see a new book adaption especially if it is suppose to be a darker version especially if there is going to be a lot of motion capturing. Personally I wand a decent film version of His Dark Materials.
So true, Sixer. I re-read Kipling every few summers because I just love his works and I’ve introduced nieces, nephews, and younger cousins to him. But there are so many other children’s books that deserve attention and adaptation that I think these two films are completely unnecessary. There are even other stories by Kipling that would make a good film treatment.
@icerose – that’s another issue for children’s reading, aside from historical racist attitudes isn’t it? Religion. I say give ’em Narnia and bible stories (yay David Kossoff) AND anti-religion stuff like Pullman. In time, they’ll make up their own minds.
@Lilac. Yep. Yet more predictable, unadventurous moves from mainstream film. It’s all so dispiriting.
Yep. As someone who teaches Merchant of Venice for a living, I couldn’t agree more. We should be challenged and provoked, and being troubled doesn’t diminish from the glorious complexities great literatures. However, I’m not so convinced that’s what’s going to be shining through in these adaptations. Casting am aristocratic Brit as the villain isn’t helping, either.
I KNOW WHAT SERKIS SHOULD DO!
Spike Milligan’s jungle-type stories!
I WANT BALD TWIT LION AND I WANT HIM NOW.
(PS: @ Fanty – absofreakinglutely to all of that).
@Sixer I agree. In the first 10 years we read them a vast variety books of including the much maligned Noddy, The Hungry Caterpillar, Grimms fairy tales ,Peter Rabbit ,Wind in the Willows and then they graduated to Ronald Dahl , Famous Five ,Little Women ,Swallow and Amazons, Narnia, They also read by themselves but the bedtime story ritual allowed us to widen their scope. We never censored what they read but used it to discuss morality and life in general,
In the end my daughter’s favourite books were His Dark Materials , Sophie’s World and Mr. God this is Anna, because they asked the questions and explored the answers.
And yes to Bald Twit Lion
I would LOVE to see someone do His Dark Materials justice! The film version of Golden Compass pulled its punches far too much.
Agreed, T.Fanty. I just think it’s so odd that Cumby took this role.
Then again, I haven’t read the script so I don’t know.
Oh, come on. There’s nothing remotely embarrassing about it. What’s embarrassing is the fact that some people are so obsessed with him, they’ve taken to consistently whining that he’s not done it and completely ignoring the cause that’s supposed to be behind it.
If he doesn’t want to do it, then that’s absolutely fine but it’s disgusting that some people think he should be publicly shamed into taking part and it’s somehow unacceptable if he doesn’t. This really cheapens the charitable cause when it’s used in such a way.
The man does shitloads for charity (donates money, time etc) quietly and that counts for a hell of lot more than jumping on the bandwagon of some self indulgent, ego trip, social media meme.
@Nic, some of his fans and not so fans are being hypocritical. They just want some moment like the one with TH, they don’t care about the charity. Though I’d love to see him in a wet white t-shirt, if he doesn’t wanna do it, then that’s fine by me… We’ve all seen his upperbody, hell, the whole body, in his movies, so … Fans want to see him wet? Watch the extra from Star Trek, when he’s having that fantastic shower… 😀 Right?
Perhaps he doesn’t want to do it now, since he’s filming and might get a cold and compromise everything? Hasn’t he had health problems before like pneumonias? Some people are very prone to that… A simple cold can endanger the whole movie shooting schedule…
Adam Ackland is already calling out on the fans… Good for him, they really need to chill out…
https://twitter.com/adamackland/status/502193498771423233
Just as you say, Nighty. This thing has gotten ridiculously out of hand, to the point where Adam Ackland has posted, saying “chill your boots, it will happen” (or something like that). It is disheartening to see how fangirl lust trumps charitable acts. Same thing happened when Benedict did the bike ride for The Prince’s Trust a couple years back. Many fans kept screaming about seeing him in lycra biking shorts, completely objectifying the man and overlooking the cause to which he was devoting his time and effort. Benedict had the last laugh on that by wearing a long shirt–ha, ha!
What is also disturbing is that his word is being challenged by so many–he said he would do it. That should suffice.
Yay! His voice is perfect for Shere Khan.
Of course it’s a yay. The man has the perfect face for radio.
Predictable, but not a bad idea. He sounds almost just like the original anyway. My issue is why this is even being remade.
Pretty much to me every big cat with an ulterior motive sounds like Jeremy Irons but that’s my 90s shinning through.
Same here. No one can beat his Scar…lean and mean. He should have gotten an Oscar for that voice performance. James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons–both were magnificent and pure perfection.
“every big cat with an ulterior motive sounds like Jeremy Irons”
hahahahahah, this <333
Yes Jeremy Irons and Keifer Sutherland have chilling voices, there is something nasally yet chilling to it.
I’m not even a fan, but his voice is perfect (purr-fect?) for this. But yes – why are there two remakes, let alone one?
Yay. Perfect voice for it.
He’s a good choice for Shere Khan even if I’m waiting for the usual “it’s problematic”.
As for the Ice Bucket Challenge, he’ll do it when he’ll do it.
It’s about charity not about seeing your fav actor in a wet shirt something that some people don’t seem to understand.
I think he is a good choice for Shere Khan as well and he had hinted that he would be working with Andy Serkis. I think he might have enjoyed his motion capture on The Hobbit.
Re The Ice Challenge:
Benedict has been an ambassador for the UK’s MND Association for about ten years and has worked with them consistently year after year, after playing Hawking. The MND Association has been allied with the ALS Association since the 1990s. His fans also raised about 20,000 pounds for the charity on his birthday. So I am sure he will do the challenge or perhaps he might just donate as that is the purpose. Who knows!
I’ve never really been a fan of the Jungle Book but I am a fan of The Batch’s beautiful as sin voice. I’m bit torn!
I am interested to see how Idres Elba voices Shere Khan. It will be fun comparing the two.
Great casting. And I love that he will always be able to make great independent films and do plays since he will make a fortune off voice work alone.
That said…Jungle Book?…again…TWO of them? You know Hollywood other books were written. Or so I’ve heard.
Indeed. In fact, other stories were written by Kipling and I don’t mean just The Man Who Would Be King – that’s another classic film that should remain untouched.
Can’t help but wonder (and thread bomb — sorry) about Tom H’s response, in light of his professed love of Jungle Book. Not sure where I’d put his voice in the story, but the vision of his embarrassing (adorkable?) performance of “Bare Necessities” in some venue (complete with ass shaking — which was not the worst part, for sure) is stuck in my head now.
This picture is sweet and lovely and adorable…. Go Benny, be strong… 😀
https://twitter.com/MsKate1930/status/501810143794044928
that’s it! he needs to wear an otter suit!
@Lucretia I love Tom’s version of Bare Necessities including his ass wiggle and glorious mistake. Tom and Damian gave the fans their moneys worth for what was in essence a private charity performance with limited rehearsal time,
Not saying Benny is not a good choice but I think Tom could easily have voiced Shere Khan/other parts along with many other actors who excel at voice work. Have a listen to the Red Necklace sometime as it really does show his range of voice work..
I suspect given the choice he would rather be doing the films he is involved in that worrying about his beloved Jungle book being mangled to pieces in not one but two remakes.
@sonalaceae love the benny the otter picture
Why are you so obsessed with having to knock Ben and anything related to him down in order to build Tom up? Does it personally offend you that he gets more work than Tom or something?
@linkle, can you leave icerose alone? I know she can fend for herself just fine, but I am honestly tired of people making personal attacks on her here. I’ve seen her many times over the last half a year acknowledging that Ben is a talented actor. When she doesn’t like something about him, she usually explains why.
As for Ben getting more work than Tom – I take it 3 back-to-back lead man film projects this year preceded by a critically acclaimed theatre production of Coriolanus for which he got an Olivier nom as best actor certainly don’t imply a lot of work. Yep. Neither do reports of MGM/Paramount wanting him as lead man in 2 of their upcoming films. Surely not.
P.S. I also think that there’s nothing wrong with not liking an actor. There’s nothing wrong with making critical statements about said actor, either – as long as they are well-informed. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with outright hating an actor without any particular reasons, I think lots of people can understand that. It’s imo important to be aware of the nature of your attitude lol, and maybe exercise some self-control now and then because hatred can become quite self-destructing and consuming.
Oh and I also resigned myself to the fact that Ben and Tom will forever be compared to each other despite their rather significant (career-wise) age difference and different career accents – if only because they are both classically trained Brits 😉
@Innie
People are just tired to see Hiddlestonners spamming Benedict’s threats all the time. You want to praise Hiddleston go in his threats, they are there for that.
The Jungle Book has nothing to do with Hiddleston, not even near and Serkis never wanted Tom to play Baloo, fact.
And Icerose is the ultimate specialist of the backhanded compliment when it comes to Benedict , that’s why she gets on people nerves.
Don’t get it either, Innie Outie. I admit there’s some people that occasionally make me go ‘?’ but icerose isn’t one of them.
And–sorry, I got to mention it otherwise it’s not going to stop, if that make sense–it’s a two-way problem. Someone clearly from here went after delorb for a few days in an unrelated thread on another website over a CB TH post. I was floored.
Amen on the hatred part of your post. Nothing wrong with disliking someone but when it’s obsessive, it’s plain bizarre to me, especially since these guys are essentially strangers.
@Freebunny, I couldn’t agree more about highjacking the threads, I found it funny once but I think the joke wore off. However, I think it’s been happening much less lately. Also, I literally blushed when I read that utterly idiotic article about Tom *having* to be in a Jungle Book film if Ben is. That’s the definition of cringe-worthy for me. Yeesh.
You say icerose is a specialist in backhanded compliments and hence gets on Cumberbatch fans’ nerves. It can easily be turned the other way though: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you making any positive comments about Hiddleston on Hiddleston threads, quite the contrary, actually. I think you would still like to be able to continue expressing your negative opinion on Hiddleston on Hiddleston threads if you wish so, right? As would delorb or anybody else, for this matter. And so, I presume, would icerose re: Cumberbatch. And so would I regarding any actor/actress I feel like discussing here on CB.
That is my firm stance on this issue: any person should be able to express both positive and negative opinions on both actors. It creates diversity, it makes people think and see things outside their usual perceptions. I also think that any person expressing a negative opinion should be ready to receive negative feedback – but it must not be something consistently personal like icerose has been getting.
If you care to know what gets *my* hackles up – it’s uninformed judgements (like the one linkle made regarding the amount of work Hiddleston has been doing) and double standards.
@Katie, thanks, sistah! 😀 And @delorb – I saw bits of what was going on on IMDb, that was utterly immature on the part of that person, uncalled for and downright nasty.
Thanks Innie Ouite for your support.
I personally have no worries about the overlap in Benny/Tom posts. It happens on both, I have also noticed other posts which are not Tom/Benny posts sometimes go off on tangents about other stars so it is not that unusual.
In my defence I was not the one who brought Tom into the post. I was not putting Benny down I just responded to a comment made above which raised issues about Tom’s possible response and where his voice work might fit into the scenario.
I also said,and I stand by it, that Benny will do a good job but others could do it equally as well. I would say the same about Loki ,Sherlock or any part. My stance has always been that no actor owns any character. That’s what makes acting interesting for me, for me anyway
I have found out that Serkis’s Jungle Book: Origins is hoping to kick start a series of adventure films based on the book it will come out a year earlier(2015) than the Disney’ s Favreau film which is a live action version of the original film,
@ Icerose
Just a correction. The Disney film will come out first and the Serkis version is due out October 2016. Still approx a year apart though.
@Katie, by the way, re: people going after other people on boards and forums: this is an OT, but I occasionally post on Fassbender IMDb forums and there’s this one user – I am not gonna say her name here but anyone who opens a couple of threads there and skims through them will understand who I am talking about – who makes *any* – and I mean ANY – poster on the British actor threads here on CB look like the most open-minded, mild-spoken and positive person in the world fervently in love with the actors they are writing about lol.
I am not saying this to devaluate the negative experiences of some users – delorb included – but rather to provide some perspective. That level of aggressive spite, imo, makes it almost impossible to normally discuss anything, and is a huge turnoff factor.
@Innie
The worst thing I said about Tom is that he’s talented but would be miscast as Ben Hur and that it’s not a good project.
Even some Tom’s fans think it’s not a good idea according to the director and the executive producer.
And if that helps, I also think Benedict would be totally miscast as Judah Ben Hur.
The fact is that I don’t come to Tom’s threats to write an ode to Benedict or praise his work, acting or personnality. And I never saw Benedict’s fans coming on Tom’s threats to say that he could also do Ben Hur, or Hank Williams, or High Rise or that he needs to be in those movies too.
And when there’s a CumberBomb in Tom’s threats people don’t care whereas when it’s the opposite you can be sure that Tom’s superfans will hijack Benedict’s threat.
All I say is keep your Tom love to Tom’s threats and if you have to criticize Benedict leave Tom out of it.
Tom is under contract with Disney. Doubtful they would look favorably on him taking part in a competing project.
@Freebunny someone raised the issue (unnecessarily I thought) about what Tom’s response would be an I posted reply, I have seen people posting Benny’s praises on the TH site but too be honest it really does not bother me either way. Both actors have plusses and minuses super fans and detractors and in the end it boils down to preference, It is swings and roundabouts, There was a a time when you could not go on a Tom thread without BC fans comparing him unfavourably to Benny whilst criticism on a BC thread was a no go area,
I actually think both threads have changed for the better with more genuine discussion mixed wit little witty fantasy as well as fanning.
Could you point me to the link where it says according to the director and executive producer some fans think him playing Ben Hur is a bad idea,
Lilac isn’t crazy about the project and I agree with her.
I think that Tom is talented on his own and that he deserves more than a Roma Downey project.
Ben Hur is a monument, even if some people don’t like it. I don’t want him to be wasted in some cheap Ben Hur remake.
Oooh, let’s speculate as to who BC will nominate for the challenge!
I am thinking it could be any of the following: Cast of “12 Years a Slave,” including Brad Pitt. Cast of “Sherlock,” Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, cast of STiD. (I have no idea who on this list has already done the challenge, as I can’t keep up with it!)
I wonder if he’ll nominate James Rhodes and Adam Ackland, or if he’ll go for the more famous sorts he knows to keep the eye on ALS from fans?
Another classic “Khan” character for Benny. Why not? Lol. Come on Cumberkhan….we’re waiting to see you get drenched and freeze!
Isn’t Serkis’ supposed to be more the “origins”/closer to the creepy originals? Where Shere Khan was the one who killed MOwgli’s mother, etc? Either way… I keep getting a Jeremy Irons as Scar vibe, despite my admiration of BC’s work, lol.
@MISSMARY
That’s what I’d heard too.Loved the original,I have to admit I’m intrigued as to how the new version’s will turn out.
Is it straight animation does anyone know?
That’s my understanding: Serkis’ is darker and no King Louie (thankfully) while Disney’s is going to be a remake of the cartoon.
If Serkis plays his cards right, he can avoid most of the problems with the original story. Favreau’s has the bigger potential for problems despite its stellar cast. Not sure why we need these remakes though tbh but I am curious about Serkis behind a camera.
the disney one is CGI and real people, or so i’ve read. seems like snow white all over again but i hope they can both be decent movies!
@Casey: I’ve read the same re the CGI/real people thing… all I can think of is those old Disney Friday Night Family movies they used to show here in the States where famous people would act out faerie tales or famous stories (the Disney versions, of course, lol) and be all in costume and such. I know it’s not going to be like that but whenever I hear a movie putting actors in animal costumes for any reason, that’s where my brain goes lol.
Apparently Serkis is hoping to kick start a series of films based on the book
Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Christian Bale have been casted too.
This movie has really a great cast.
The cast for the competition is pretty impressive as well
“Jon Favreau’s version of The Jungle Book for Disney already has Neel Sethi, Lupita Nyong’o, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Sir Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken and Giancarlo Esposito on board “
No need to rise the some usuless competition between the two, that’s just childish.
@Freebuny if they come out within a few months of each other it will be competition to see which makes the most money. Quite often when two similarly focussed films are being made around the same time one looses out on numbers,
Serkis is playing Balu which is I am not to sure about. He was a great Gollum but Balu is a completely different beast so I will be interested to see how that works out.
Peter Mullan and Eddie Marsden are also in it which is promising.
Andy Serkis is a terrific actor, I’m sure he’ll do right.
He’s a great actor, not just a Gollum. Have you seen that episode of Spooks he did? Really good work.
The two films will be just over a year apart and I think they will be quite different takes on the original with Serkis’ going back to the original short stories rather than the animated version.
Both have great casts and I am sure Andy will be good, Gollum, King Kong and Caesar from TPOTA. He will be great.
And Serkis will also play a role, not yet announced.
Edit: ah so he’s playing Balu.
More belly growls from Benedict….It will be worth the wait!
@Encumbered – “More belly growls from Benedict”….. yes, Ma’am!!!! Def worth the wait!
I never cared for or cared less about the jungle book. But if they evade lay a finger on ‘the Lion King’ which is my favorite Disney movie along with Aladdin, I am so done with Hollywood.
I don’t think they would do that. Lion King is Hamlet so they would have to go through Disney for the rights to that particular adaption.
Breaking BC news…
BC spotted at National Theatre with a woman…..and wearing leather jacket.
Can I throw ice water over him whilst he wears that?Just the jacket,nothing else……
LOL must be super down-low. It’s not even on twitter yet. I’m going to lmfao if it’s his niece though.
I thought he was busy filming Richard III… guess it’s good to have some time off to catch a play!
He’s filming something but it’s not Richard III, no one’s got any idea what it is.
@Katie Right on. I read the Richard III thing on twitter, iirc (I’m not an avid BC twitter follower so my ‘info’ from there is usually either super sketchy in terms of veracity, or it’s something I’m following up on when I hear a really juicy rumor, lol). Hmmmm…wonder what he’s filming, then. It’s too early for Sherlock, unless it’s “secret footage” (so so so so doubtful) so…hmmm. Can’t wait to see!
Any clue on what BC is so busy filming? I thought it was Richard III too. Hmmm….
No idea, ladies, sorry! Something possibly period, 1930s, looks indie is all I’ve got so far. I’ll report back if anything more definite pops up 😀
We do have Hollow Crown casting news: in addition to BC, Dench and Okonedo, we’ve got Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Keeley Hawes and Tom Sturridge.
Thanks Katie! Any idea on when Richard III starts? So looking forward to this! I wonder if BC is doing some type of short film right now. I am suffering BC withdrawal. LOL…Guess we’ll have to wait until TIFF to see him again. 😀
@Katie: Awesome info, thanks! I wonder if it’s a Sunny March production he’s working on?
Information from the Guardian about the beginning of filming The Hollow Crown:
The drama The Hollow Crown will start filming in October.
@Kazlock Saw the pic you’re referring to of Benny and his date last night. Benny’s gettin’ busy! hehe…No wonder he doesn’t have the time to dump a bucket of ice water on his head right now. 🙂 Yet another mystery girl.
Looks boring to me. It’s well known he’s single and dating around when he can. Wake me up when we start seeing the same girl more than once or twice or he actually brings her to an official event as his date.
@Kathryn Yes, I’m waiting for him to show up somewhere official w/ one woman. It’s just amusing to me that people are still looking for the “secret gf” when it appears that he is dating around.
@Kathryn: Word, lol. Esp as he has a ton of female friends and seems to have a LOT of casual date situations. Well, rock on, Benny, and get you some.
I’m kind of glad for it, but I have no idea where you incredibly resourceful ladies find these photos!
@Noisy Bird: Same, lol… I just did a search on tumblr, instagram, twitter, and a general google search, felt like a huge stalker, thought about my life choices, and still didn’t see the pic. Meh, oh well. I’ll be all “OMG GF!” when he’s actually seen-seen with someone. Until then I’m a doubting Thomas, lol.
You ladies basically took the words right out of my mouth. This is yet another woman that he’s been seen with in the last months, even years, and now all the fangirls are screaming this is his secret GF! How does one come to that conclusion? He was seen in Italy with a different woman barely a week ago (not to mention all the other outings like SH, KB, Viki and God knows who else), so if this is the “secret GF”, where the heck was she?
It looks to me like he dating around, plus spending time with legitimate (female) friends which gets lumped into date category. Do peole really think he was dating/going on casual dates before this photo? And even this could be something else that a date.
P.S. I’m really going to scream if I this secret GF mania continues. People need to chill out.
@Leo: It’s a little amusing to see which actress or model these folks “swear” the mystery woman of the week is. ATM, they’re all sure it’s Sophie Hunter.
@Miss Mary: Wait, they actually think this blondish woman with hair running down to the middle of her back is Sophie Hunter? Really? I mean, SH would take several years to grow hair this long.
Yeah, it is amusing, but up to a point for me. It’s just all to frenzied now. Seeing what BC is doing in his “real” life was sort of a guilty pleasure of mine and I quite enjoyed reading usually very sweet/funny/quirky stories about him. Like the one from a book store in London when a toddler came up to him and asked him to read from a book he was holding. BC obliged. Now what everyone would be asking the OP is was he with a woman or did he screw the toddler’s mum. Or gave her secret signals with his hat.
Sigh, sort of miss the fun of it. Sorry for getting too seriuos 🙂
He is doing what any eligible, red-blooded male does! They are usually thinking with the smaller head. Have a good time, darling!
@Leo: Saaaaaaaaaaaaame here. And the Sophie Hunter thing…”Omg hair dye people! Omg, extensions!” I say “omg, reaching for proof” lol.
@Encumbered: LOL, I think you’re right.
I legit don’t see him “settling down” any time soon, mainly b/c he seems like such a workaholic.
She’s too short, curvy, and long-blonde to be Sophie. Sophie had short brown hair last week when we saw those pictures of her in Scotland. She doesn’t look like anyone we’ve seen before to me.
@ Miss Mary, about the reaching part. I seriously think that those people can’t fantom that we only “know” probably about 2% of people in BC’s life in general. He has dozens upon dozens of friends, neighbours, acquaintances, ex flings, hook ups, failed dates, cousins, relatives, family, school friends, bussines friends… that none of us ever heard of. Both male and female.
I mean, just this woman can be almost anything – a date, FWB, someone he met on the set last week or, I don’t know, his oldest goddaughter.
So those people who believe they know everything about him, tend to use a process of elimination and lump the person in the most probable category. It’s not Emily, Olivia has a BF, Kinvara’s abroad, Katia is too blond, Viki is too curly? OK, it’s Sophie. With dye and extensions.
Hope you get what I mean.
Sophiek and MissMary
Did you see the other picture of him in the bar?Still not entirely sure if they were together or if the photographer just saw an opportunity and ran with it.
My take is just friends.Pictures are unclear.
The one in the bar could be holding hands,but looks more like her raising her arm and BC hurrying past.
May not even actually be together.
@Leo: Word. I think that some people who get into fandoms forget there’s a definite line or wall or barrier or what-have-you where the public face and private are kept apart. Whatever “we” see, even if it’s things like dates and outings, are only a small fraction of what this real person has going on. We can guess at gfs, dates, habits, etc all we want but, at the end of the day, we don’t know. Some fans just can’t wrap their brains around that and assume they know or want to put the pieces together using a fraction of the information. He’s with a woman? It must be one of these few we know of who know him personally! He’s out at a show? Must be true love! Is it fun to speculate? Sure! And gossip can be entertaining and a nice break from the daily grind. But some folks are WAY too serious about this.
@Kazlock: I just saw the ones from the row in the theatre where you only see him, and the one from the bar where they’re walking. That’s the thing that kind of tickles me… people want to jump on “OMG GF!” train but it’s a few blurry pics and who knows if it was really a date–people are extrapolating based on “no, he was with a woman” and a handful of fans going “OMG GUYS HE HAS A GF FINALLY”. For all we know, it’s a new PA, or maybe James Rhodes in drag (Okay, I kid on the last one).
i love the man to death, but the fans can get really embarrassing. all the frothing at the mouth whenever he is even remotely near another female. luckily i don’t think he pays much attention to the internet stuff. i do feel sorry for his PR who have to keep tabs on the webs. they must either get sick of it, or have a good old laugh.
@ Blended
“i love the man to death, but the fans can get really embarrassing. all the frothing at the mouth whenever he is even remotely near another female. luckily i don’t think he pays much attention to the internet stuff. i do feel sorry for his PR who have to keep tabs on the webs. they must either get sick of it, or have a good old laugh.”
You read my mind. It is embarrassing. LOL
I just hope he misses all this speculating.
@blended and maggie Oooooooooooor he knows and just loves to stir the pot lol. i kid, but it’s a funny thought,
jesus, now the crazies are tweeting adam and helen about the pic of the mystery date, and that people are calling her an escort. i am so embarrassed for them. i think ben will tire of the fandom very soon. it’s too bad because most of us are fans of the man’s work.
@blended I just got the biggest case of secondhand embarrassment from reading that. Idk why you would draw attention to that.
Oh, Christ on a cracker, seriously? How… gods, I can’t even think of the best word for it. Embarassing doesn’t BEGIN to cover it. I mean, it’s one thing to sit here and go “wonder who it is?” and another to *harass* his friends online and demand answers and think it’s your *right* to know about a perfect stranger’s doings. Was it an escort, a gf, a FWB, a family member, a work associate? Who knows? And why do these people think that his *actual real life friends who know him and care about him, the actual person and not the public persona or character* would tell total strangers the details?
Sorry for the mini rant but ugh. I’m actually blushing, I’m experiencing so much second hand shame over that. Next step is, if there’s no response, “OMG WHY IS HE LYING TO US ABOUT BEING SINGLE? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? I FEEL SO BETRAYED!” like when his friend took someone on vacation *cough*. It’s just nuts. I love the internet and the ability to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world, to learn and yada yada yada, but sometimes I really hate social media and how it removes that barrier between “fan” and “stalker creepy”.
They are calling her names and asking his friends for info??? WHAATTT?? I’m obviously curious, but I would never dare do something like that, no matter how curious I am… Oh dear God…. This world is totally loony.. Between the Kardashian’s 2K butt cream and this… Humanity is totally lost…
@sonalacae: It’s not the first time “fans” have done something like this to a celeb. I know in his friend’s fandom, people seem to be fond of harassing his gfs/dates/Fwbs on twitter and writing “open letters” about ”omg you’re perf!” and tagging the ladies in tweets about “guyz omg be happy for him and his ladieeeeeeeeeeeee! she’s so pretty! *sob*” I think, for BC, this is a relatively new level of flail… I mean, fans have long been interested in his private life but I don’t remember it being this level of wtf before the past year or so. IDK if it’s because he has a lot of young fans now or if maybe it’s just such a large fanbase now compared to before that the law of averages says a chunk of us fans have to be a bit unstable/unaware of propriety/both…
Yes, but no Benny’s … if it were TH’s fans, I’m already used to seeing this behavious, but BC’s? The fandom is getting worse? It’s complicated…
I think it is more one segment of fandom getting more agressive than a widespread wtfery…
Miss Mary, it’s already on the net, you can actually see her..
Ah, I did a quick google search but didn’t see a pic. Well,, good to know!
@Miss Mary I found the pic floating around Tumblr. Supposedly it came from someone who posted it on Instagram. *shrugs* Rather blurry pic of him and a blonde w/ long hair.
@SophieK: Still going to giggle like mad if it’s his niece or Olivia (who has a bf, iirc, but is still friendly with BC).
@MissMary Yep, me too…LOL… He seems to have no shortage of female company. One thing is certain. There isn’t just ONE woman. There are many. This mystery blonde is the latest in a long string of women he’s been photographed with in the past several months.
Rock on, Benny. Rock on! 😀
@SophieK: I always tend to think the ladies he takes to the theatre are friends rather than dates since he knows he’ll be seen and isn’t interested in parading his sex life/hook ups for the tabs. Easier to take a friend who enjoys the theatre and have a casual no-strings, no-expectations date and not be seen with them again for a while than take someone you just want to screw or someone you’re trying to build a relationship with who’ll be thrust into the tabloids.
Did that make sense, lol? I haven’t had enough caffeine today so I can’t tell.
ETA: oops, saw the pic! Ah, the fan flail has begun, lol, because there was about a dozen demands about her appearance, folks trying to CSI the pic and see if they were holding hands, etc.
I’m stll not thinking it’s a “super secret gf” though. Date? Sure. GF? Meh.
@MissMary. I stumbled upon the pic by accident while looking at Tumblr and wondering about my own life choices. *sigh* Anyway, yes it appears the fan flail has begun yet again. Again, I don’t think there ever was a secret GF. And since then, there have been numerous candidates but no one person that he has been with “officially”. Not sure if that makes sense.
If he was out on a date, I can’t believe he was wearing those maroon pants! Ugh…
@SophieK: The amount of CSI going on is insane. “Is she scratching her back or is he holding her hand? They raced off on his motorbike but her shoes aren’t right for that! OMG her hair is blonde but wait this post said it was brown WERE THERE TWO WOMEN?”
Honestly? I’m thinking friend-date. If it was romantic-date, awesome. If it was a call girl, rock on. If it was his assistant, lol.
@MissMary…I went over to IMDB (Don’t ask me why..) ..holy crap, those women are mean. They are having a meltdown over this. Same CSI stuff mixed with “Who would wear a tube top to the theater?? Those shoes are hideous. She got on a motorbike with *that* outfit.”
Sheesh…
@SophieK : aaaah, the motorbike! Someone swore he hustled her out of the theatre and they hopped on his bike and roared off into the night (hyperbole with the roaring bit…) Someone else who posted to point out you can’t just park your vehicle up at the doors to the theatre like they were implying got such a snarl in return…guess they ruined the other person’s fanfic about how BC is keeping his GF super secret squirrel.
@sophie
But you just dissed his trousers. What’s the difference? People will pick at superficial things like clothes..especially when they’ve taken a misguided fascination with a person they know nothing else about.
And besides…the shoes ARE shit. 😉
@MissMary I started laughing so hard at this whole thing that I started coughing on my water and practically horked up a lung. My coworker asked me what was wrong. I have to hide my BC gossip obsession..LOL…Benny must be really good company for his dates/friends/whatever to put up with all this BS. 😉
@SophieK: I nearly did myself a damage laughing about this earlier when someone posted on tumblr about how he’s obviously so in love with her and it’s true love, and they got the response of “You can tell all that from a blurry picture of some chick’s back?”
MISSMARY SOPHIEK
Someone on T as actually analysed the last pic,where he is walking,to see if they ate holding hands!
IMO it still doesn’t look like a date though.It could be friend, someone he is working with,may even be Emily! Another page says they are reliably informed that he arrived and left alone,but sat next a blonde lady at the performance.
When he takes whoever to a red carpet event,I’ll be more likely to believe he has a serious girlfriend.
@Kazlock: I’m more inclined towards thinking it was a casual thing mainly because…well, it looks casual lol. One person’s say so that it was a date (I mean, they might be dead right and it was an awesome romantic date and everything you’d ever dream of a date being,,, but eh.) and all of a sudden, a segment of fandom turns into CSI and has him paired up, married off divorced, and on a second wife before the end of the week. This sounds horrible but I figure, if it were serious or a relationship, the Fail would be all over it and we’d know names, shoe size, and career paths lol.
@ Kazlock: Do you perhaps remember where this reliable info comes from? This story is just so irritating, embarrassing and not making sense. Especially the part about them jumping on a bike straight from the theatre hall.
And Lord, I can’t even bring myself to think about these loons tweeting BC’s friends. People are really deranged. Someone on my timeline retweeted tweets posted from accounts created with the sole purpose of stalking BC on-line and pouncing on anyone who mentions seeing him.
@MissMary…I’m curious…was there this level of hysteria when BC dated Anna James? Was the subject of BC and possible gf’s this crazy back then or is this a new phenomenon?
@SophieK: I don’t think it was this bad, tbh. There was some “OMG he brought her to Venice for the film festival!” and yeah some “bad” behavior (people posting super snarky things about her Resting Bitch Face expression, etc) but between the time they became public and then broke up, it wasn’t very long (they dated about a year, I think?) and then she dropped off the radar. But, of course, people automatically went “Aw, poor Anna!” when it was announced they’d broken up. As he ‘s gotten more famous, the frothing over possible lovers has gotten worse, I’d say.
@Leo: What “amuses” me is the pics are from one person who now seems to be posting “oh it was definitely his gf” in the same breath they’re saying they don’t know him and “oh, I was there for the play, not to watch him!” which might be true but they are really driving the “YES HE HAS A GF!” flail on twitter. To me…a few blurry pics just don’t “prove” it (not that he owes us proof of anything) but it’s really annoying how some people are building this to a fever pitch. If he has a gf, he’s not spotted with her and is seen inthe company of so many different women that she’s either a master of disguise or REALLY understanding. This is the car park woman all over again except this time, there’s a blurry pic.
@MissMary I figured that things have gotten worse re: BC and possible lovers. As said above, it’s one thing to be curious about it but quite another to contact friends of his on Twitter, sending them a grainy photo and demanding answers.
Unless Ben goes public w/ a relationship by taking someone to an event, I just don’t see any tea here. (My guess is the paps/tabs don’t either.) It seems like a lot of frothing over nothing, a lot of pot stirring by the people who take these pictures.
@SophieK: I’m in the same place, I think. Unless it’s a friend-date or work-mate to a premiere or event (like he took Alice Eve to her MiB III openings, or even Karon to an event, etc), he’s always solo at the “big things” and seen with so many female companions at down time events, and has numerous female friends, co-workers, and family members… I’m not seeing a reason to get “Excited” about him at a play with a pretty lady. And like you pointed out, the paps/tabs don’t see a reason to get in a tizzy about this, either, and many of the British tabs are dying for tea on BC, esp the Fail. Now, I’m sure this will turn up in a week or so in the Fail with a breathless “is this his secret girlfriend?” headline like the pic of him walking past the lady in the carpark did (and I’m sure there will be a side by side comparison of the photos there), but it’s just a nonstarter and it’s so embarrassing how a group in fandom is not only in a twist about his love life but harassing his friends and making wild leaps (It’s Sophie Hunter! It’s Olivia! OMG It’s an escort! No, it’s all a beard because he’s gay/bi/asexual! There’s no way it could be a FWB or platonic! Ever!).
I’ve analysed,I mean looked,at these pictures til I’m bleary eyed.And I still can’t see anything that screams ‘big romantic date’!
No contact in the theatre itself,and the bar pic I’m not sure that he isn’t just walking past her!She might be a bystander who got dragged into this.
If it is a date then seems casual.The rushed off on his bike but didn’t ring true.And for safety’s sake, please theatre lady,wear some kind of sleeved jacket!
Speaking as someone who once came off the back of a motorcycle while wearing short sleeved t,it isn’t pretty..But it’s freaking painful!
Don’t forget about Telluride. That’s where Imitation Game is debuting. 8/29-9/1. I doubt that he would miss that. And his hair in that theater pic looks the start of Sherlock hair.
Apparently, he’s been confirmed for the Austin Film Festival and I’m juuuuuuuuuuuust close enough to that city to consider a trip up…you know, just to hang out on Sixth Street and see some live shows or something. *cough*
I looked for info on when he would be in Austin. I’m close too.. I used to live there, I think he will like the town. To keep you laughing, here are some funny Top Gear pics. http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/this-is-the-best-photo-of-benedict-cumberbatch-of-all-time
@UKBound: LOL I think those are now my favorite pics of him.