Warner Bros. Pictures
NYC Event Update! OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 in NYC is August 9th! July 22, 2014 Marie Astra (Post #12)
The New York City INTO THE STORM RICHARD ARMITAGE FAN EVENT will take place on Saturday, August 9th.
We will be meeting up at the David Rubinstein Atrium, which is at 61 
W 62 St (entrance on west side of Broadway between 61st and 62nd streets), between 2:00 PM and 3:30. There is a sandwich shop there, so if anyone wants a sandwich/snack/coffee/whatever, we can get it there.
Please buy your ticket to the 4:25 Into the Storm show at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 theater, which is at 1998 Broadway, corner of W. 68th St., BEFORE you come to the Atrium.
We will be going to 4:25 pm show of Into the Storm. We plan to get to the theater at W. 68th St. & Broadway about 4:00 pm. If you want to meet us, but couldn’t meet earlier, we will be on the corner of W. 68th St. & Broadway at 4:00 PM. After that we will go into the theater.
After the show, we are planning to go have dinner at a diner or pizza place, depending on how many people want to go. It will be great fun to meet up after the show to talk about the movie!
Note: Please remember to buy your movie ticket ahead of meeting us at the David Rubinstein Atrium or at the theater!
Please get in touch with me at marieastra8@gmail.com if you are going to join us or if you have any questions! Thanks!
P.S. The updated information Marie shared in her blog post above will also be posted in the NYC event tab in the event menu in the horizontal navigation strip above. Please note that current information is always at the top of the event tab windows.
P.S. Related info: Two weeks ago, Marie had a blog post that shared a link for a
new Richard Armitage interview where he talks about his role in the film “Into the Storm”. Here is her blog post URL with that article link (image right of actors Richard Armitage and Sarah Wayne Callies is from Into the Storm on FB): http://marieastra8.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/a-new-into-the-storm-interview/
Stormy Sunday: Richard Armitage’s New Film “Into the Storm” opens in US on August 8th, But Advance Screenings Abound, July 20, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #11)
Now we’re still encouraging you to attend a screening of exquisitely talented British 
actor Richard Armitage’s (left) new film “Into the Storm”(right) opening weekend wherever you live–for the U.S., that is the weekend of August 8-10th, 2014:
And several of us RA’s Fans are planning to gather in Chicago (Aug. 9), New York (date tba), and Atlanta (Aug. 8) to see the film together. This week, I bought my train ticket to Chicago for August 9th. Snap!
But if you just can’t wait to see the film, Nathan Kress Fan @NBNathanKress shared a link where you can find out about dates and locations for advance screenings of “Into the Storm” (below):
So if you do attend an advanced screening of Into the Storm, please also consider attending the film its opening weekend. Remember, opening weekend box office and word of mouth buzz from movie goers can make or break a film’s success.
P.S. The actor Nathan Kress portrays one of Richard Armitage’s Into the Storm character’s Gary Fuller’s sons.
What’s Up Hollywood says Richard Armitage to Attend Into the Storm August 4th NYC Premiere, July 18, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #10)
Michaela Servetus (Thanks!) provides a link on her MeandRichard Armitage blog to What’s Up Hollywood (see image below) stating that Richard Armitage is slated to attend the Monday August 4, 2014 NYC premiere of his new film “Into the Storm”.
The exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage (image left) on this side of 
the pond again? Outstanding! And he won’t even miss a performance of his play The Crucible at The Old Vic Theatre in London. Snap!
P.S. However, please don’t forget our RA Fans grassroots effort to see the film, Into the Storm, it’s opening weekends around the world. Box office opening weekends can make or break a film–high rates of attendance and word of mouth convince other people to see the film.
I have already bought my train ticket for our Chicago RA Fans gathering to watch Into the Storm together on August 9th in Chicago. And it was very inexpensive since I purchased my ticket so far in advance. So don’t delay if you have to make travel plans.
And I’ve read some tweets or FB posts from Richard Armitage US that they might get a chance to attend a preview screening of Into the Storm July 31st. But,of course, they’re still encouraging fans to attend the August 8th Atlanta, Georgia RAFans gathering to watching Into the Storm together
Stormy Sunday: “Into the Storm” Early Preview Showings “Garner” Positive Buzz per MeandRichard Tweet Review, July 13, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #09)
Hundreds of people across the US and around the world were delighted to attend early preview showings of the talented British actor Richard Armitage’s new film being released in August 2014 called Into the Storm. From New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures, Into the Storm is a Warner Bros. Pictures film produced by Todd Garner (yes, the title of this post was a shameless pun), directed by Steven Quale, and written by John Swetnam (synopsis found here, under top left menu link). You might have heard of it. Ha!
If not, look at the top of this blog. We’re a grassroots fan based OpeRAtion 
Into the Storm 2014 group encouraging Richard Armitage fans to see the film its opening weekend in their area around the world–to help boost box office film rankings and support the success of the film. And we are even planning some low key RA Fan gatherings to watch the film together and then debrief after. Snap! See tabs above for more logistics soon for the Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta gatherings.
And how do we know that we will enjoy a film about tornadoes when some of us are more cravat, corset, and crinoline Jane Austen and other period drama oriented fans? Well take a gander at Michaela Servetus’ (Thanks!) recent blog post gathering a nice cross section of dozens of people’s tweets of their reactions to the film Into the Storm after seeing it during film previews–with audience tweets running 90% positive via a quick perusal by Servetus. Outstanding! It seems that seeing other people overcome life threatening challenges appeals to many of us. Perhaps it is the Walter Mitty in us–hoping that we will rise to the occasion if we are faced with difficult circumstances.
http://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2014/07/11/some-into-the-storm-tweets-from-tonights-screenings/
Audiences love the film! So if you’re like me, then you are now even more impatient to see Richard Armitage’s new film Into the Storm being released on August 8th in the US.
P.S. ***Spoiler Alert*** And according to Saraobsessed who is helping to plan our Chicago Into the Storm gathering viewing on August 9th–she was a lucky lady in one of the Into the Storm preview showings last week–Richard Armitage’s character’s name is now Gary Fuller (formerly Gary Morris). A character name change is not so strange considering the film Into the Storm, itself, has gone through several name changes: Category Six (too hurricane like), Black Sky (actually, it is more green), and now Into the Storm.
And the new last name for Richard Armitage’s character to Fuller seems an interesting change, considering when I was doing a guessing game on RA’s character’s name over on my regular blog almost two years ago, I looked at how a name sounds, and at the counties in Oklahoma, and other naming schemes, but Fuller was not on my radar. So much for my guessing ability–at least on the last name. Ha!
However, there is a country singer named Gary Morris who made famous the song “The Wind Beneath My Wings” (see video below). And if the Into the Storm filmmakers had kept Richard Armitage’s character’s name Gary Morris, it would have been quite a prosaic character name for a movie about tornadoes (winds times 100) and an everyman father challenged by circumstances to become a hero to his sons and to others.
However Gary Fuller still works as a regular guy hero name. That’s the thing about real heroes and their names. In real life, it is their deeds of courage and kindness, or of expertise, or of uplifting social reform bettering a society that inspire us–and then their names become synonymous with hope. I think of Lenny Skutnick, of Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, and of Jane Addams to name a few familiar individuals in the US. They were not born into greatness, yet their deeds and actions and lives made them great.
And for Richard Armitage’s Into the Storm character of Gary Fuller (image 
right), a man trying to save his sons and the students in his charge from a deadly natural disaster? As shared by the film’s studio, Warner Bros. Pictures, quoted below is how Mr. Armitage described his perspective about why humans are so fascinated with heroic tales in the face of adversity–inspiration:
Richard Armitage will no doubt bring his own wealth of humanity and his own immeasurable personal dignity to the role he portrays of Gary Fuller in Into the Storm.
P.S. Updates after tweeting this post link:
A real life meteorologist and storm chaser, Jaclyn Whittal of The Weather Network (TWN) and broadcaster likes the film “Into the Storm” (for more about Ms. Whittal, visit http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/weather-network-meteorologists-and-storm-chasers-mark-robinson-and-jaclyn-whittal-return-to-tornado-alley/27507/):
And saving the best for last, “Into the Storm” Producer Todd Garner appreciates our OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 grassroots efforts:
P.S. And finally, here is that Gary Morris song: “Gary Morris – The Wind Beneath My Wings [stereo LP version]” a video by mroldmusic1
Stormy Sunday: A New “Into the Storm” Movie Poster, July 06, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #7)
Whenever I am on the lookout for quick basic foundational info about any topic, I turn to 
Wikipedia as an initial starting point. No, they did not ask me to say that. Ha! And Saturday night as I was writing this post, Wiki did not disappointment with Wiki having lots of information about the new film “Into the Storm” . “Into the Storm” is the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage’s (movie still right of Richard Armitage as Gary Morris comforting his sons in the film portrayed by Max Deacon and Nathan Kress) new film that will be released in the US and Canada on August 8, 2014. You will find other countries release dates here.
Wiki even had a new theatrical release movie poster for “Into the 
Storm” that I hadn’t seen yet. But since the Wiki poster image was small and grainy, I checked back at the main website for “Into the Storm” and retrieved their original version of the new movie poster (right, resized).
So let’s see what this new film poster seems to want to tell us about the film (this is only my interpretation, of course):
1) Though a trifecta of three menacing tornadoes are the largest elements in the poster, they are in the background while being menacingly destructive. The tornado to the left represents a firenado, a real and chilling phenomenon. The tornado on the right seems to be posing for its picture perfect closeup up–with every cloudy swirl in place. However, it is the middle and largest seeming tornado that is wreaking a path of destruction straight toward the leads of the film. And with the Fujita Scale of tornado destruction being based on how much a tornado eats–as defined by one character in the 1996 tornado movie called Twister–I can’t help thinking that bulge in the middle tornado (just below the ST of the word storm) looks like a mouth–or at least like a snake that has eaten something larger than its own circumference. Ha! So the tornados are an important character in the film–as its antagonists. But they are not the sole focus of the film.
2) Then tellingly, the human element is in the immediate foreground of the movie poster. There are the film’s two leads Richard Armitage portraying Asst. Principal and father Gary Morris who has his back to us, while he desperately tries to hold on to and save meteorologist storm chaser Alison Stone portrayed by Sarah Wayne Callies to prevent her from getting sucked into the tornado. This depiction of characters Gary and Allison is from a scene in the film–and it is a dramatic moment, the outcome of which we won’t know until we see the film. In disaster films such as “Into the Storm” it is important to have the human drama serve as a touchstone for our feelings and reactions to tornados.
3) The other element of the new “into the Storm” movie poster above that strikes me is its 
overall blue coloring. Though I’m a big fan of the color blue–mostly navy blue in my china and on my dining room walls (ha!)–the violent thunder and tornado like storms that I have experienced are not a pretty blue. I live in a tornadic area and a greenish red tone to the sky is what we tend to see more often than not when storms are threatening. And a reddish brown haze was the color palette I used when I made my own mock movie poster (right) before the real movie posters came out.
But would the “Into the Storm” official poster look as fetching with a duller color scheme? At 
right is an example of what the “Into the Storm” poster looks like with the color tone changed by me (decrease blue, increase red). Hmmm. The natural or more 
Earthen (pun intended) palette reflected in this poster–while perhaps more accurate, isn’t as appealing. To me, this faked poster color scheme seems muted–thus also muting the intensity of the action and the drama that the filmmakers hope to portray. However, just such an ominous color scheme was used by the film Twister (left) to success.
Ultimately, the primary colors–of red, blue, and yellow–are named primary as such because, in part, from them the other colors can be derived. And it is also because human vision of color interpretation is what is termed trichromatic. We see these colors of red, blue, and yellow, first. So an overall bluish tone used in the official “Into the Storm” movie poster–with splashes of yellow and red flames, to round out the use of primary colors –makes sense.
With 33 days until the August 8th release of “Into the Storm” in the US and Canada, we are assured of seeing more marketing images and more trailer and tv spot videos being released by Warner Bros. Pictures. What will you notice in these marketing efforts? And will they make a difference in your interest in going into the theatres to see “Into the Storm”?
I hope you will see the film, “Into the Storm”, if you are interested in it. And if you are a Richard Armitage fan and you would like to see the film with fellow fans its opening weekend–when box office attendance figures are so important for the public reception to and perception of a film–we hope you will be able to join us in one of the cities where planning is underway (Chicago, New York, and Atlanta, to start). Or at least, view the film in your hometown at your leisure that opening weekend.
Extensive Interview with “Into the Storm” Cast and Filmmakers at Live For Films, July 2, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #06)
Into the Storm Director Steven Quale, Producer Todd Garner–and stars Richard Armitage 
portraying Asst. Principal Gary Morris and father of two and Sarah Wayne Callies portraying meteorologist Allison Stone–discuss the film in the most detail than we have heard or read to date in an interview with Phil Edwards for Live for Films (image right). Thanks to my good friend Kitty for the article link. Here is an excerpt of the article:
“For his part, [Director Steven] Quale hopes Into the Storm lures audiences as much for its awe-inspiring effects as for its compelling human drama. That drama arrives like a one-two punch when a tornado tears through a high school graduation ceremony in America’s Tornado Alley. Vice Principal, teacher, coach and father of two, Gary Morris, played by [Richard] Armitage, forms a quick bond with Sarah Wayne Callies’ Allison Stone, when in a snap moment Gary saves her from one of the tornadoes.
“One of the keys to the character is that he’s a math teacher and football coach,” says Armitage. “So I worked backwards from what he’d be required to do. He’s kind of a sporty guy, but he’s no hero. An extreme event like this becomes about a normal guy, an everyman, having to effectively run into a burning building or dive into water to save a kid. You don’t know if you can do it until that moment presents itself.””
For more of this extensive interview in Live for Films about the Warner Bros. Pictures film Into the Storm, visit:
Fun Day Sunday: Updates on OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 Planning; and Polls, June 29, 2014 Grati, saraobsessed, Obscura; Marie; &RAUS (Post #5)
So far, we have individuals sharing their OpeRAtion Into the Storm 2014 opening weekends that the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage’s Fans viewing gathering planning for three cities–Chicago (Aug. 8-9), New York City Aug. 9?), and Atlanta (Aug. 8th, this is a new date).
Please check back regularly for the info in those event tabs above as we build more information about these events and their itineraries. I have shared some of the tentative Chicago itinerary info early–ably assisted by saraobsessed and Obscura who have wonderful ideas–and I will pare down my verbose description in the Chicago tab above. Ha!
Recently Richard Armitage US suggests a tentative itinerary for their Sunday August 10th film viewing in Atlanta, Georgia (US) — Brunch, see the film, then have drinks or dinner after. And finally, more news is pending about a New York City gathering from Marie Astra.
So once again to help with planning–now on this OpeRAtion Into the Storm 2014 event website, here is a little poll:
And as one might expect since we are barely 5 weeks away from the worldwide 
release of Into the Storm on August 7th & 8th (US), studio marketing is ramping up for the film. Here is the latest marketing tag line from Warner Bros. Pictures–and my response to it with my alternative tagline suggest (right):
Though, I think Richard Armitage’s response to an interviewer’s question 
about Into the Storm is a succinct synopsis of the film–and a better tagline (right):
You see, disaster films–good ones, IMHO–are ultimately about how people survive, cope, and move forward with their lives after the devastation. And that is why I am interested in seeing Richard Armitage’s new film Into the Storm, opening in the U.S. August 8th–what happens with the people.
But my interest in seeing the film Into the Storm might be very different from yours. So please take the quick poll below if you would like to share your reasons for seeing the film:
Thanks!
P.S. And as an extra treat, pasted below is the lovely fan made Into the Storm movie poster by Fernanda Matais and earlier shared on The Anglophile Channel’s Facebook page:
Update July 1, 2014–Please note that RA US planning the Atlanta RA Fans viewing gather has changed their date to Friday, August 8th. I have noted that change above.
Fun Day Sunday: More “Into The Storm” Production Stills Shared, June 22, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #03)
As reported by RANet this past week, a fan of the Into the Storm actor Nathan Kress–who portrays Trey, the son of lead actor Richard Armitage in the film who portrays Asst. Principal and Teacher Gary Morris–Twittered new production stills for the August 2014 Into the Storm:
Richard Armitage as Gary Morris Richard Armitage and Sarah Wayne Callies as storm chaser Allison Stone
Richard Armitage as Gary Morris Nathan Kress and Richard Armitage
To view all of the production stills with Richard Armitage in them, visit RANet here.
Into the Storm is a film that seeks to authentically portray the devastation tornadoes wreak upon people and their environment. It is a topic that is not for the faint of heart. It is once again tornado season where I live in the Midwest of the US, in Illinois–and we are always attuned to weather alerts and watchful in case we need to take cover. Last November’s near miss of us–when a nearby town was hit with tornadoes–was a sobering reminder that Tornados can come upon you quickly and without warning. Still our end of town had one foot in diameter electric power poles snapped in two by related windstorms as easily as if they were toothpicks and several buildings and store signs with wind damage that had to be repaired or replaced.
And a few tornados have already hit in neighboring states thus far this Tornado season. Sadly, further West of Illinois in South Dakota, residents recently experienced a violent tornado that devastated Wessington Springs, South Dakota last Wednesday. Happily, no one was killed, but many were injured and dozens lost their homes.
I state this as a reminder that tornadoes are not “fun”. They are not an adventure for “thrill seekers”–despite how much we might marvel at Mother Nature’s wrath. Tornadoes devastate people’s lives. So when we attend films with a disaster or crisis theme–be it tornadoes, earthquakes, or disease diagnoses, etc.–some part of us might feel a little uneasy about seeing a movie about such a sobering topic, when movies are generally thought to be for entertainment. These kinds of film topics are not entertaining for those who suffer through them and live on after them.
However disaster/crisis genre films can also serve to educate us and to enlighten us to other people’s plights, to their courage, and to their resiliency in picking up the pieces of their lives and going forward. Or as Warner Brothers Pictures tweeted British actor Richard Armitage response at CinemaCon 2014 when he was asked about his upcoming film, Into the Storm:
“The power of nature is both terrifying and awe-inspiring. But even more powerful is the human spirit.” Richard Armitage, March 27, 2014, CinemaCon 2014
Well said, Mr. Armitage!
So yes, I saw the tearjerker 1983 film Terms of Endearment two years after my mother had died from cancer–not wallowing in the movie death, but taking comfort in the mother-daughter relationship it portrayed and remembering my own dear mother and our struggle during her long illness. And though I have come too close for comfort, I have not experienced a direct hit from a tornado yet–spits three times, turns around, knocks on wood, etc.–I will eagerly go see and support Mr. Armitage’s new film Into the Storm, when it opens in August 2014 in the US. I won’t be going for the thrills–of which I’m sure that the special effects department is working overtime on based on production stills (above and elsewhere) and the Warner Bros. Pictures teaser trailer (below)–but for, the inspiration of the human spirit.
Fun Day Sunday: OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 Opening Weekend Film Viewing Planning Expands, June 15, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #02)
Now that several of us Fans/Admirers of the exquisitely talented British actor Richard Armitage have expressed interest in proactively supporting his new film “Into the Storm” by viewing the film its opening weekends around the world, the next phase of planning various OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 (left) city/region events begins.
Visit here for a brief synopsis of the film, “Into the Storm”, about how people must confront a natural disaster–in the form of deadly tornadoes–to save themselves and others in a dramatic story about survival and courage. Or as the “Into the Storm” film’s star Richard Armitage stated recently (right) at Cinema Con 2014 in March 2014, “But even more powerful is the human spirit.” Well said. And with the film’s special effects masters creating fearsome images as in the gifs below, “Into the Storm” will surely keep us on the edge of our seats:
Some of the earliest opening weekends for “Into the Storm” are in North America (where I am) the weekend of August 8 – 10th–for the U.S. and Canada. For other countries’ opening weekend dates, visit the Warner Bros. Pictures site here. Other August 8th film release date countries are Estonia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Taiwan. Though, you will see that Eastern Europe and elsewhere have a slight edge with some release dates as early as August 6th (Belgium, France, Switzerland/French), August 7th (Croatia, Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, Phillipines, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, and Ukraine).
Everywhere else in the world has “Into the Storm” film release dates that occur a little 
later–it is a trade off of a longer to wait to see the film, balanced with there is more film viewing gathering planning time. So if we were to populate the map at right with colored dots with all the “Into the Storm” film release dates, we would see that Warner Bros. Pictures has a very wide international release for the Steven Quale directed film, “Into the Storm”. But due to time constraints that creating such a graphic would require, I will let you imagine the dots. Ha!
Back to OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 film viewing gathering planning issues:
So for some of us (August 8th in North America, etc), the “Into the Storm” opening weekend–and RAs Fans viewing it that weekend to support it–is just 7 weeks away! So what is a Richard Armitage Fan to do when faced with an imminent Richard Armitage film viewing opportunity and fan gathering opportunity is fast approaching?
I like WWII British poster series of “Keep Calm and Carry On” (example poster at right)
as a mantra. Keep Calm and Carry On embodies the essence of the British stoicism, resolve, and resiliency which Richard Armitage as a British actor brings with him: it is that stiff upper lip, never get ruffled, and “This blessed spot, this earth, this realm, this England” (Shakespeare, Richard II, Act II) famously quoted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in one of his many oratorical masterpieces of galvanizing rhetoric that bolstered the English peoples during World War II when their human spirit was sorely tested). And in admiring a man (RA) and a people (Brits & others) with these qualities, it doesn’t hurt us to try to emulate him and them–stiff upper lip everyone.
And these RA’s Fans “Into the Storm” film viewing events will more agreeably happen if two or more people in a large city or in a region take a deep breath and step forward to say they are willing to help organize something.
Yet, RA Fans “Into the Storm” film viewing event planning can be as simple as checking out theatres and settling on a theatre and viewing time and day, sharing that information to RA’s Fans via this web site and other social media, and inviting people to indicate whether or not they will be able to attend. Then everyone buys their own tickets ahead of time, they show up at the movie theatre, and they watch the film together. Easy peasy!
Or, if you anticipate some people traveling from further away to join your regional film viewing event–as we do for the Chicago gathering–and they might have an overnight, that opens up additional possibilities for RA’s Fans gathering together to chat and gush about you know who the day before the film viewing.
For example, for the Chicago, Illinois gathering listed below are some tentative suggested details (yet to be finalized per RAs Fans attending’s wishes) that I will also share in the Chicago August 8-9 event tab link in the horizontal bar near the top of this web site’s window:
1) The Chicago planners and attendee respondents have narrowed down their gathering dates (August 8 – 9th, 2014) with suggested approximate times yet to be finalized, but estimated below:
Aug. 8th , 2014 (Friday)
8 to 12noon — travel day and event attendees check-in at hotel
12noon lunch at hotel or other spot–such as the Walnut Room at Macy’s (formerly Marshall Fields) ;
1:30 – 3pm Shopping at Macy’s and nearby; and/or we could taxi to Crate & Barrel’s home store, etc.;
3 – 4:30pm Chicago site seeing (The Art Institute is a few blocks away, taxi to the Sears/Willis Tower, etc.)
4:30 – 7:00pm more site seeing or shopping, or rest, etc.
7 – 9:00pm dinner together, night life, etc. (restaurant yet to be determined, or we might take our chances and make a reservation earlier that day after we chat with everyone over lunch)
[This day is optional for ladies coming from further away, or even not so far away, who want more time to see some of Chicago and have plenty of time chat with other RA Fangirls, and to gush about you know who (Richard Armitage in character as Gary Morris in “Into the Storm”, right).]
Aug. 9th, 2014 (Saturday)
8:00am Breakfast (together or separately, it depends how late the night went, Ha!), then shopping;
9-11:00am other event attendees check-in for film viewing event at hotel (?)
11 – 1:00pm RA’s Fans have lunch nearby or at the theatre–such as MacGuffins restaurant bar ( with an age minimum of 21 years and up that is located at the AMC River East Theater site, as suggested by saraobsessed (Thanks!); and we could always split/share meals to save money since restaurant portions are usually quite large.
1:15 – 2:45pm (approx) View “Into the Storm” at the AMC River East Theatre — This is a very nice multi-storied theatre, multistoried with escalators or elevators to take you to your individual theatre. Judiang and I saw “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at AMC River East in 3D HFR in December 2012. And the MacGuffin’s restaurant looked fun and nice, though we ended up eating dinner elsewhere. Thanks again to saraobsessed for correcting my memory about the theatre name.
2:45 – 4pm Back to MacGuffins restaurant bar?–or some other location–for debriefing about the film, our initial thoughts, farewells, etc.
5 pm and after? People depart for home on planes, trains, and automobiles
2) Additional considerations for planning a smooth trip for OpeRAtion
“Into the Storm” 2014 (right) (that I will also share in the general event tab link above):
a) Give yourself at least 30 minutes to get from point A to point B (train station to hotel, etc.) in Chicago;
Chicago is a big town and even taking taxis can be convoluted because of traffic jams, one way streets, and
construction, etc.;
b) Make sure that you have sufficient funds with you for your use in two methods–credit cards and cash are most often accepted,
but you will want to check on that ahead of time so that you are not caught unawares;
c) Site seeing venues like the Art Institute have specific rules about the size of bags/purses that you may carry with you to the
galleries– if your bag is too big (and their maximum size is quite small), you can check your bag/purse at the door; but you
might not like leaving it behind at the bag check. So think small with regard bags/purses; So shopping after site seeing might
be a better plan;
d) Chicago (right) in August is hot, but most buildings are air conditioned. So you 
might want to layer
your daytime site seeing and shopping and film viewing clothing so you can add or take off as
needed. Also, wear sensible shoes for comfort in walking. Finally, some places we go might have
an unstated, but understood minimum dress code–so flip flops are probably out. Your
feet with thank you. Ha! And though we are not going to choose a super fancy dinner venue
requiring cocktail dresses and breaking our bank accounts, nicely groomed attire usually works.
For example, I have a favorite 17 year old dressy dress in a classic style that is made of some
indestructible rayon type fabric (requires dry cleaning, of course, Ha!) and the dress looks as fresh as the day I bought it.
e) If you are staying overnight at a hotel on Friday night, you will likely have your suitcase/travel bag with you at the theatre on
Saturday–because hotel checkout times are usually around 12noon. Though we will see if the hotel we use (yet to be
determined for cost and to see if we can get a group rate) can store luggage for folks who won’t be leaving town until after
5:00pm on Saturday. So you might want to pack light, just in case.
f) Health challenges–if you have a food or mobility restriction or other challenge, you are probably used to working around it, as I am; but if we are aware of several of us with issues, then maybe we can combine forces for sharing taxis, etc. (unwiches for gluten free people, etc; bring your walkers or electric chairs for mobility challenged ladies); I’m due for knee replacement surgery sometime soon, so my trick knees and bad hip makes me slower, I am not able to stand for long periods, nor walk very far. I just have to rest for a few moments every so often. Though I’m trying to increase my stamina with playing golf this Summer, it is hard to predict how my bones will feel 7 weeks from now. Ha! And that might be the same for you. So I feel your pain. And if we have a fast walking group and a slow walking group as we move between and within venues, that is fine. If you normally have a registered care giver or a service animal to help you meet your day to day needs, you will want to bring them with you–you are responsible for their costs–and you will want to check ahead of time with hotels and venues about their policies (with regard to the service animals). If you have another health issue that I haven’t thought of, please let us know how we can try to help you have a lovely time. We may not be able to surmount every obstacle, but planning ahead and checking with venues ahead of time about people’s issues is key to adapting to situations as best we can.
g) 21 or older likely suggested for attendees?–since the convenient lunch or dinner venues we choose might have a 21 years age minimum because of alcohol being served (saraobsessed indicated that MacGuffin’s bar restaurant has such a rule), children would not be able to join us. And we have no capacity for setting up childcare arrangements.
h) Door prizes?
i) Once I have an estimated count from the various North American venues for OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 RAs Fans opening weekend film viewing events about expected attendance numbers, I will ask Warner Bros. Pictures and/or New Line Cinema if they have any “Into the Storm” promotional items for give aways. Then if we are able to get anything, that will be distributed amongst the groups.
ii) Also, I have offered to refund the cost of an “Into the Storm” movie ticket, popcorn and drink (up to a $20 value) to the RAFan who attends the Chicago event form furthest away–though other city/region even planners might also attend other city’s events, they are not eligible for this prize. Similarly, if we are able to obtain limited numbers of “Into the Storm” promotional items–such that we do not have enough for everyone and they are randomly drawn door prizes, than I as a planner am ineligible to receive that;
iii) And/or, we can collect $1-2 dollars from RA’s Fans attendees when they arrive to fund another long distance RA Fan traveler’s
movie theatre costs reimbursement.
And did I mention? HAVE FUN!
Fun Day Sunday: OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014 Web Site Launches for RA Fans Planning Film Viewing Gatherings, June 8, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #1)
Fans of the exquisitely talented British Actor Richard Crispin Armitage–aka Richard Armitage, or
simply RA [(1) right] — have made friends around the world in our blogging, tweeting, chatting, vidding, fan ficcing, graphic arting, and such. And, we like meeting up with each other to view and to support RA’s artistic projects almost as we would enjoy (or have enjoyed, for some of you) meeting the man himself, Richard Armitage. Almost. Ha!
So as the dates of the world wide release of RA’s latest film project “Into the Storm” approach, 
several of us RA Fans have been talking about gathering together to view the film its opening weekend to support Richard Armitage and his film. Opening weekend ticket sales can make or break a film’s subsequent success. With the reasoning being that the more people who see a film–and the bigger the box office sales–this encourages others to give a film a chance and see the film, thus increasing overall box office sales and a film’s ranking of success based on ticket sales.
For more about the film, visit the official Into the Storm movie site, view the teaser trailer released by Warner Bros. Pictures here, and like “Into the Storm” on Facebook. Below from the Facebook page is an action shot from “Into the Storm” featuring Nathan Kress (far left) portraying Trey, son to Richard Armitage’s character Gary Morris (middle), who is shielding storm chaser Allison Stone portrayed by Sarah Wayne Callies (far right). The list of filmmakers for “Into the Storm” include Producer Todd Garner, Director Steven Quale and writer John Swetnam, among others. Produced by Broken Road Productions and New Line Cinema, “Into the Storm” is a Warner Bros. Pictures production.
There are about nine cities/regions mentioned so far where RA Fans have indicated to me that they are willing to try to plan an “Into the Storm” viewing gathering in their region, or they would like to attend a viewing gathering (in the U.S. except where noted):
Atlanta Georgia Chicago Illinois Berkshire/London (England)
Boulder Colorado Los Angeles California New York City New York
Portland Oregon Toronto, Canada Washington, D.C.
It is helpful to have two or three people organizing each city’s/region’s event so you can share the planning details. But we hope these events will be low stress for the organizers–identifying movie theatre venues and a time to see the film in their region, publicizing that information here and elsewhere, with potential attendees indicating their plans to attend and buying their own tickets ahead of time. Keeping this film viewing planning streamlined and not overwhelmingly complicated is key to having fun Operation “Into the Storm” 2014 gatherings for everyone.
For example, myself, saraobsessed, Obscura, and others are working together to plan a Chicago 
located RA Fans meet up “Into the Storm” film viewing on Saturday, August 9th [(2) right] –lunch, see film, chat after film–with potential additional activities (site seeing, dinner, etc.) for those of us who might travel into town the day or night before (on Aug. 8th). Hey! What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago. Ha! So we are also looking into seeing if we can get a discount rate for a block of rooms, restaurants, etc. And as a further enticement, I have offered to pay for the movie ticket, popcorn, and drink (up to $20) of the RA Fan who travels to Chicago from the farthest away–or we can take up a $1 collection when we arrive for that purpose–in case we want to have two prizes, etc.
But some Operation “Into the Storm” 2014 film viewing events might simply be RA Fans meeting up to see the film and maybe chatting afterward. And that is okay–we are each supporting Richard Armitage’s film in our own way. Whatever organizers want to plan for their event is fine–as long as “they” plan it. And the simplest is RA Fans viewing the film its opening weekend by themselves even if there isn’t a fan gathering in their region. All RA Fans viewing formats support Richard Armitage and his film, “Into the Storm”. It’s all good.
And I am also hoping to share ideas with other RA Fans organizing a viewing gathering in their area by creating this general web site where the organizers of each region’s events may share their information with potential attendees and everyone else. In the coming weeks,I will work on setting up sub pages to this website for each of the cities/regions that have people willing to organize a gathering. And I will ask those organizers to email me their text and graphics so I can begin to setup their event information pages. I will email them this coming week with this site’s new email address.
I am also going to see if Warner Brothers Pictures or New Line Cinemas have small promotional items for “Into the Storm” to give away–such as lanyards, key chains, or t-shirts, etc.–and plan to ask if they might make them available to us as a group or for door prizes. So closer to the event, I will need each organizer to let me know their potential numbers and then I will make one request for all of us. Fingers crossed. That way, the producers/studio are not receiving multiple requests.
Please use the “Contact Operation Into the Storm 2014 Admin” link to contact me with your general ideas or questions. Or, if a particular post invites your response or vote on a poll, please comment/vote with that post. When we have contact information publicized for the individual cities/regions that might have an RA Fans Operation “Into the Storm” 2014 film viewing event, I will ask that you contact those lead organizers directly for questions related specifically to their event planning.
My hope is to post a featured article about OpeRAtion “Into the Storm” 2014–either written by me or
by one of the other regional film viewing event organizers– on “Fun Day” Sundays, but perhaps not every Sunday, until we get closer to the initial release of “Into the Storm” and our RA Fans film viewing gathering events in North America on August 8-10th. Then if there are RA Fans planning film viewing events in other countries–because Richard Armitage Fans live literally around the world, right (Go Global Team Armitage! Ha!)–and you want to share your information on this site, I am happy to make a sub page for you and post pertinent information related to your event that you provide to me.
I am initially building this website as of June 7th, 2014. I hope to include helpful links across the top and along the right sidebar of this website as I develop them. I am still learning how to use this particular “theme” or web site format, so please bear with me as we go along. So there will be inevitable tweaks and additions. I am counting upon my fellow RA Fans to gently make suggestions about features to this web site to make it as user friendly as possible. Some suggestions we will able to do, and some not–because we are using a free website template, and super duper whiz bang features often cost money. Ha!
In closing, let me give a heartfelt cheer for the man whom we all so admire–as much for his talented acting and storytelling as for his kind and gentlemanly demeanor and his witty self-effacing humor–Richard Armitage. And oh yeah, love that riveting piercing gaze and smoulder of his. Sighhhh! *THUD*
Thanks and Cheers! Grati June 8, 2014
aka Gratiana Lovelace
References not hyperlinked above
1) Portrait of Richard Armitage being interviewed by The Anglophile Channel for him winning the Favorite British Artist o f 2013 Fan Award was found at at the wonderful resource site www.RichardArmitageNet.com at richardarmitagenet.com/images/gallery/Richard/Interviews/AnglophileInterview/album/anglophile-6.jpg
2) The Operation “Into the Storm” 2014 Chicago Aug. 9th RA Fans viewing event poster is a composite of two images:
a) background image is the official movie poster slightly altered (added credits, etc) found at http://intothestormmovie.com/ ; and
b) Masked image of Richard Armitage as Gary Morris with his sons (portrayed by Max Deacon and Nathan Kress) found at richardarmitagenet.com/career/52.html
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OpeRAtion "Into the Storm" 2014 
