No "Charlie" for Richard *UPDATED*

I attended the Q&A chat session on the Charlie Forum this afternoon.
Updates are in green.

This morning, members of the Charlie Forum (including me)

received an email from Mike Ogden, director of the project,

letting us know that Richard Armitage will no longer be involved in the film.

(Richard was going to play Charlie, the lead role in the movie set in WWII.)

Although I hoped I was wrong (because I really wanted to see RA in a WWII uniform)
I had suspected this might be coming due to the following reasons:

1. Richard had never signed a contract formally binding him to this film.
Mike said he has someone in mind to play Charlie, but didn't reveal who that was.
I asked if he'd announce Richard's replacement when the actor verbally agreed,
or when a contract was signed.  Mike said he'd announce it after they shook hands.

2. Filming had been bumped from early this year to the summer, which made

me wonder about financial difficulties and/or Richard's hesitation or busy schedule.
Mike told us it was his decision to replace Richard as Charlie due to scheduling conflicts. 
Richard's busy schedule doesn't allow for the 10 week stretch needed to film "Charlie." 
Mike said there is a funding offer in the works.  So now we know that
it wasn't a financial barrier, but the timetable that stood in the way.
(At least we know Richard is busy working.  Yay!)

3. I had noticed the Charlie Forum administrator deleted her accounts from all

Richard Armitge forums recently, which made me suspect something like this
was happening and she didn't want to take the chance of being harrassed by
RA fans when the news broke.  (I hope that wouldn't have happened!)
Update: The forum administrator told me that she found out
about the cast change this morning, like everyone else,
so the timing must have been a coincidence.

I do have to say that although I haven't always seen eye-to-eye
with Mike Ogden, I hope that he is able to successfully make the movie
he has been so passionately planning.  Best of luck to all the cast and crew invovled!

I'd like to hear YOUR reaction to this news!

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Disappointed?  Sad?  Smug?  Don't care?

Now that Richard is no longer tied to the project,

do you still plan on following the progress of the film?

If you have invested money into the "Charlie" project, do you now regret it,

or do you still plan on supporting the film whole-heartedly?

*I'm sure there are strong opinions on all sides of this topic,
so please be respectful (no swearing or lashing out) or your comments will be deleted.
I don't mind differing opinions, but dislike aggressive, rude behavior.*

Lucky Leading Ladies

To go along with our most recent poll question...

here are a few of the fortunate women who have shared the screen with Richard Armitage.

Carol (Sarah Smart)
~Sparkhouse

Margaret (Daniela Denby-Ashe)
~North & South

Alice (Amanda Root)
~The Impressionists

*Amanda played Anne in the BBC's "Persuasion," 1995.

Maid Marian (Lucy Griffiths)
~Robin Hood

Meg (Holly Grainger)
~Robin Hood, Season 3

*Holly played Richard's step-daughter in "Sparkhouse."

Geraldine (Dawn French)
~The Vicar of Dibley

*Dawn played the "Fat Lady in Painting" in "HP: Prisoner of Azkaban."

Ros (Hermione Norris)
~Spooks

Ellie (Christine Tremarco)
~Moving On: Drowning Not Waving

And soon to share the screen with Richard...

Mimi (Lara Fabian)
~Charlie *to be released in 2010*
*Lara is an award winning recording artist and has been featured on the soundtracks of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Final Fantasy and Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Mike Ogden ~A Private, but Nice Chap.

Don't bother trying to add Mike Ogden as a friend on facebook because he'll decline you faster than you can say Guy of Gisborne, and he has reason. He's the writer/director of the WWII film "Charlie," set in Italy, starring Mr. Armitage himself ~scheduled to begin filming early next year.

After he declined my friend request, Mike was kind enough to leave a message saying that he couldn't add friends to his personal account (probably because of crazy RA fans, whoever they are...) but encouraged me to join the online forum.

Pushing the bounds, I responded by wishing him luck, telling him about this blog and asking him a bunch of questions about the film. I know, I know... obnoxious of me, but I couldn't resist. (I mean, this guy is going to be making a film with THE Richard Armitage after all, and it will probably be amazing! Plus, how many times do you have contact with someone who knows RA personally!?)

Mike wouldn't give me any info about the movie, but again told me to check out the "Charlie" website and join the forum where my type of questions have been asked and answered. I did, and think it's a great site to visit and join! I recommend you do the same: http://www.charliefilm.co.uk/

Reading the storyline, it sounds like a great, heart wrenching movie.

Although nothing has been finalized legally, Mike assures RA fans that Richard is "madly keen to play Charlie, it has been offered to him, and he has accepted."

I have to say, as bothersome as I probably was to Mr. Ogden, he was very polite and I was impressed and grateful. If you read this Mike, I wish you all the best with your upcoming project and can't wait to see the end result! :)

PS: My facebook name is R.a. Fanblog and my "Charlie" forum ID is Natazukii for any of those wondering.

New Role for Richard

RA is set to play the lead in a film called "Charlie" coming out next year.
Click on the following link to read more about it:
HERE
Ah, more Richard to stare at on screen...