Happy Birthday, Dan

Daniel Craig celebrates his 42nd birthday today.

Congrats!

So long, Mr. White…

According to Mi6.co.uk, Jesper Christensen, known as the mysterious “Mr. White” from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, claims that he will not be returning to the James Bond series.

While speaking to the press before Friday’s premiere of his new film, “A Family”, at the Berlin Film Festival, Christensen said that he is happy that his “interlude as a villain in the James Bond series is over.”

Christensen’s comments on the new Bond films didn’t end there, though. He went on to say, “Today, I admit that I regard Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace as really shit. All the people die in them, so two movies are enough for me.”

How will this effect the continuity and consistency of the future films? Well, I imagine it won’t be too damaging. After all, White was a very under-used and poorly-written character. And on top of this, continuity errors and inconsistencies were littered through out the Craig series right from the get-go.

… How exactly did Bond get to Talamone without a visa, passport, or credit card, anyhow?

Bond 23 in 3D?

The Sun conjured up an interesting rumor today. According to the tabloid site, a source said: “The 23rd Bond movie has been put back a few months and that has given them the time to prepare to film it in 3D.” The article goes on about how it’d be great to see explosions and stunts in 3D. The author even goes on to write how it’d be amazing to see a Bond girl in 3D.

Do I believe this? Absolutely not. Would it be cool? Absolutely not.

The 3D movie trend should apply to only certain genres of films; Pixar/animated movies and low-class “horror” flicks, like Final Destination. We never needed to see Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or Timothy Dalton in 3D in order to be entertained by their Bond films. I don’t think we need that now, either.

Want a picture taken with Daniel Craig?

No, I’m not talking about having your best friend Photoshop an image for you.

If your bid is high enough, you could get a picture taken with Daniel Craig, as part of Evening Standard’s Christmas Charity Auction.

According to the site:

They are the kind of experiences money can’t usually buy – but the money you bid for the lots below in the Evening Standard’s Christmas Charity Auction will make a real difference to the underprivileged children helped by pioneering charity Kids Company.

You have until noon on Monday 14 December to bid and re-bid. The higher you go, the better your chance, and the more you benefit Kids Company.

If you’re a Bond fan with the money, then why not? It’s a win/win situation. Not only will you be helping out a charity, but you’ll also have bragging rights among the entire Bond fan community.

Happy bidding!

Celebrate Thanksgiving weekend with James Bond…

The SyFy Channel will be airing a total of sixteen James Bond films this Thanksgiving weekend. Below is the full schedule:

Thursday – November 26th 2009

8:00 AM –  Dr. No
10:30 AM – Licence To Kill
1:30 PM –  Live And Let Die
4:00 PM – The Spy Who Loved Me
6:30 PM – Tomorrow Never Dies
9:00 PM – Casino Royale

Friday – November 27th 2009:

12:00 AM – For Your Eyes Only
2:30 AM – The Man With The Golden Gun
08:00 AM – Thunderball
10:30 AM – From Russia With Love
1:00 PM – You Only Live Twice
3:30 PM – Diamonds Are Forever
6:00 PM – Casino Royale
9:00 PM – GoldenEye

Saturday November 28th 2009:

12:00 AM – Goldfinger
2:30 AM – Never Say Never Again

 

All times are EST.

Bond 23 production begins late 2010, Craig confirms

Daniel Craig has confirmed that production for the 23rd James Bond film will begin in late 2010. He stated this while as a guest on the Regis and Kelly Show in New York City.

The plan is to start shooting the next one at the end of next year, so it’ll be ready for 2011. We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Click here to see the full video.

Bond makes Empire’s December cover

Daniel Craig, as James Bond, has made it onto the cover of the Decemeber edition of British film magazine Empire.

This edition of the magazine has 10 different special edition covers, marking the 10 most popular icons from the last decade. The other covers include:

• Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, The Bourne Trilogy)
• Aragon (Vittigo Mortessen, Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
• The Bride (Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2)
• The Joker (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight)
• Maximus (Russell Crowe, Gladiator)
• Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe, The Harry Potter Films)
• Shaun (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead)
• Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy)
• Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, The X-Men Films)
• Ron Burgandy (Will Ferrell, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy)

It is said that Bond has always been a bankable cover icon for Empire.

Here’s a picture of the artwork:

2010: James Bond back in action again?

According to Access Hollywood, actor Daniel Craig told fans that Bond 23 starts up in late 2010.

An extra year will probably help MGM sort out their current financial situation, also.

As of now, we know that Bond 23 is being written by  Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, and Peter Morgan, who penned “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon”. David Arnold will return to compose his sixth Bond film score. However, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have yet to announce a director.

This is good news. Perhaps it’ll give the Bond team a chance to develop a fresh story, with fresh characters. Maybe they’ll use the time wisely to seek out an experienced director, too.

Casting Bond #6: Part 3 – Clive Owen

Essential Links:

• Mi6. co.uk ::: Clive Owen set to be announced as James Bond 007 #6? (Jan 26 2005)
• Mi6.co.uk ::: Odds on Clive Owen taking on James Bond #6 role cut again to new record (Jan 27 05)
• Mi6.co.uk ::: James Bond #6 favourite Clive Owen denies the 007 rumours (Mar 01 2005)
• Mi6.co.uk ::: British tabloids claim Clive Owen will be announced as James Bond #6 this week (Apr 4 2005)

If Owen is cast as the next James Bond 007, it is expected he will sign a three picture deal with Eon Productions, with filming of Bond 21 to possibly begin in January 2006. No official announcements have been made, aside from MGM canning the 18/11/05 release date, but insiders believe a statement on Bond 21 could be made by mid-February.

The odds on Clive Owen being granted a licence to kill as James Bond #6 keep getting cut and cut by British bookmakers. Following his Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor in “Closer”, Owen’s odds fell to 8-1. His subsequent Oscar nomination for the same role then slashed his odds to 4-1.

Oscar-nominee Clive Owen has shot down recent reports that he’s a finalist for the role of James Bond in the upcoming Casino Royale. “They have never approached me,” Owen reportedly advised tonight’s episode of Access Hollywood. “It’s nothing but a rumor.”

Over the weekend, a couple of British newspapers ran stories that Clive Owen is set to be announced as James Bond #6. Plaguerizing earlier Internet reports from the Sin City premiere, both the Sunday Express and Sunday Star claimed “inside sources” had told them “Eon and Sony have finally come to an agreement”, and the “film will be a grittier, more realistic approach to Bond”.

Clive Owen had to be one of the most — if not, the most — popular choices for the role of James Bond #6. This top-notch English actor proved that he had the potential to be James Bond in a variety of films including: Croupier, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, and The Bourne Identity. In James Bond-fashion, he was even found putting the ‘pedal to the metal’ in BMW’s short films series.

Unlike the rest of the Bond #6 role contenders, Clive Owen had a good resume, and great potential — even more so than the actual James Bond #6, Daniel Craig, who only had a few *quality* major roles to his name prior to donning the classic tuxedo. His looks were very Bondian, though I can’t complain that Craig doesn’t look the part. Had Clive Owen been cast as Bond, I think he would’ve proved to be more of a Timothy Dalton-styled Bond, as opposed to the generic and often silly character portrayed by Pierce Brosnan.

I can recall Owen being a fan favorite around Bond fan forums, during the time of speculation. Unfortunately for the band wagon, though, Clive Owen never did make the cut. Is there a chance that he’ll ever be cast as James Bond? I highly doubt it. But, it doesn’t seem as if Owen has any hard feelings about the decision. In September 2006, Owen stated:

I think when Craig first took the part he got a pretty rough ride, which to a certain extent is inevitable because there are so many different people who have so many different ideas about something like that… You are never going to please everybody…  The thing that is really exciting is that he is a proper actor… He is not shallow or posing, they have cast a really serious actor and I think that when the film comes out everyone will see what a great choice he was.

Owen also took a couple of Bond-esque/spy roles, following the releases of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, including The International and Duplicity, acting alongside big names like Naomi Watts, Ulrich Thomsen, Julia Roberts, and Tom Wilkinson.

If you are curious as to what Owen may have looked like in the role of James Bond, though, you could always check out this fan trailer compiled by renowned editor Thomas Waldek. Perhaps it’ll provide you with a bit of closure…

James Bond in the Post-9/11 World…

Because today is the 8th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, I thought it’d be fitting to write up an article regarding Bond in the post-9/11 world.

In 1953, when Ian Fleming published his first James Bond novel, the twin towers were not yet in existence. As a matter of fact, James Bond would’ve never known of the towers until 1966, when construction of the structures began. And not until 1973 would Bond have seen them standing proud, side-by-side. James Bond might have seen them in the film version of “Live and Let Die”; perhaps while coming toward the Manhattan Bridge?

Either way, it’s odd, and quite remarkable, to think that a single fictional character has lasted so long to know the period of time in which the twin towers never existed, to when the towers were being built, to when the towers stood tall, to when the World Trade Center was bombed, to when the towers collapsed after being hit by two airliners.

Those eras are over now; today, James Bond is living in the post-9/11 world, which seems to be a very unstable world, at that. The characters of the Bond films are no longer crazed Russians hell-bent on taking over the world, or causing World War III. The time of mad men looking to extort the world’s super-powers are over. Now, James Bond goes after terrorists, their associates, and the new threats of the post-9/11 world. In Die Another Day, despite the film being absolute trash, James Bond goes after a power-hungry villain from North Korea; keep in mind that North Korea’s dictator still makes the headlines today, with his shifty nuclear weapons programs.

Years later, a rebooted James Bond character makes a comeback in Casino Royale. The film, loosely based on Ian Fleming’s classic novel, takes the Soviet/Communist/Cold War plot and cleverly turns it into a post-9/11 plot. Le Chiffre doesn’t work for the Russians, but instead arms dealers and terrorists. James Bond even prevents a 9/11-esque attack in the film, by thwarting a plot to destroy an airliner. The world’s greatest secret agent is no longer a man who opposes fictional threats; instead, he’s now placed into very realistic scenarios.  Perhaps this is why many audiences found Casino Royale to be so down-to-Earth and realistic, especially after Die Another Day.

Following 2006’s Bond thriller, we were given Quantum of Solace, which introduced a very unique plot, still revolving around post-9/11 ideas. James Bond was now sent across the world to investigate a mysterious organization known only as “Quantum”. For me, this group rings a bell. Need a hint? How about Al-Queda? “Quantum” is like a modern-day SPECTRE, but carries the traits of a terrorist group like Al-Queda. A great example of this turned up last week; check out this link. This type of real-world scheme reminded me a lot of the evil scheme found in Quantum of Solace; terrorists getting a hold of money, by any means, to fund their lethal operations and private agendas.

As I mentioned, perhaps this is why our cinematic James Bond is no longer the humorous action hero found in the Brosnan era. Instead, Daniel Craig’s James Bond beats the piss out of henchmen and terrorists alike, with no remorse. Does this make him a rogue, or maverick, or senseless killer? Perhaps. But, you could only blame this on the world that we’re living in. Maybe during these tough and deadly times, this is the only way a secret agent could make it in the world. A “trust no one” policy, you could say — something James Bond has adopted since Casino Royale. After all, there was no tee-hee’ing when it came to crippling Le Chriffe’s terrorist funding operations, or eliminating a bent agent, or blowing a hole into the leg of the “Quantum” terrorism ring-leader.

Though he’s merely a fictional character, he’s certainly definitive. “It’s a cruel world…”, and James Bond, of all people, knows this. With trouble still brewing (and will always brew) in the Middle East, and Korea, what other means will James Bond turn to? Will he carry on this serious attitude? I’m sure he will, in one way or another.

My condolences go out to the families of the heroes and victims of 9/11. Rest in peace.