I know James Bond fans have been waiting patiently for the Spectre teaser trailer, so wait no longer: here it is! This looks pretty entertaining, and if you look hard, you can see some interesting hints at Bond’s past and a possible link with Spectre in this teaser. As usual, Daniel Craig is back as Bond and Sam Mendes returns to helm the pic, but the biggest new addition (in my opinion) is Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser, the villain. I’ve never been a huge James Bond fan but this one is definitely piquing my interest more than usual. Check out the teaser trailer embedded below. Read more…
The fictional terrorist organization Spectre has been an important part of the James Bond franchise (Dr. No), but a messy rights battle kept the movies from using them in the last few films (this is also why the group Quantum was introduced, to take its place). Last year, the rights were finally settled, and now it appears that they have wasted no time integrating Spectre back into the films. In particular, Christoph Waltz has been cast as the main villain, named Oberhauser, but practically everyone assumes him to actually be Ernst Blofeld, the leader of Spectre. Now, the title of “Spectre” has been confirmed, and first teaser poster definitely resembles the Spectre logo quite a bit… Hmm! In addition to Daniel Craig and Waltz, Spectre will also feature Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, and Noami Harris. Read more…
With the recent release of Star Trek Into Darkness and the constant buzz surrounding 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII, the franchises continue to be big in the public eye. But if these two franchises were stars, how bright would they be? The New Yorker has charted the two franchises, as well as several other prominent franchises throughout the past few decades, to see which franchise has raked in the most money. Unsurprisingly, James Bond wins that, due to there being 24 films in the franchise. But when ranked by what a franchise’s average film earned, Star Wars was the clear winner, as well as in franchise profitability. (Even the prequels couldn’t ruin that!) Since we can’t embed it, you can see the full chart here and find where your favorite franchise wound up. Read more…
I’ve never been big on owning box sets while a franchise is still on-going, but in this instance, I might make an exception. It’s true that James Bond has always remained a controversial character, and while he’s often described as misogynistic, sexist, and even a tad juvenile, he remains one of the most iconic heroes to ever grace the silver screen. For the first time ever, all twenty two 007 films will be made available for Blu-ray, nine of which have never been released in high definition — that is, until now.
Skyfall? Sounds kind of … video game-y, doesn’t it? But that’s its name, Daniel Craig is back, Sam Mendes is directing, two lovely new Bond Girls are joining the ranks, and Javier Bardem is the bad guy. This one is reportedly unrelated to the plot arc from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace (thankfully), instead dealing with the relationship between Bond and M. It seems like everything is in its right place — good thing MGM’s financial problems didn’t kill the series for good, especially since the last two films were so excellent. Who’s pumped for Craig vs. Bardem, man? Can’t wait for November 9th, 2012. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 31, 2011 in Cinema, Tech
There are so many drinking/bartending apps on the app store . So many in fact, that I’ve had a hard time picking one — that was until this little gem caught my eye. Have you ever wanted to drink like a spy? Never had the time to write 007’s recipes down in the middle of a film? The Bond Mixology iPhone app has you covered. Every recipe from every film, complete with recommended brands and scene notes. On top of that, they’ve even thrown in imdb profiles for the actors to add a smidge of authenticity. They even offer up proper alternatives for the mixers that are no longer being produced, and for only $1.99, it’s a steal. For more information, check out their official website.
We really weren’t sure what would happen to our favorite spy after MGM filed for bankruptcy back in November. Thankfully, it seems our worries can be put to rest. Sony Pictures has struck a deal with MGM to co-finance, theatrically market and distribute the Bond films — that is, both Bond 23 and 24, assuming everything goes accordingly. It’s safe to assume production will likely move ahead as soon as possible.Read more…
I was just very saddened to read that Oscar winning composer John Barry has passed away — his scores have graced quite a few well known films and television shows over the years including a dozen James Bond films. His other well known scores included films like A Lion in Winter, Midnight Cowboy, The Black Hole, Out of Africa, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Dances with Wolves (just to name a few). Of course one of my favorites is the soundtrack to the film Beat Girl from 1960: Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 21, 2010 in Videogames
When I first heard that the upcoming Bond film would be delayed indefinitely while MGM executives attempt to sell the studio, I was terribly disappointed. Not only was MGM shelving their upcoming reboot of Robocop, and a remake of the 80’s classic Red Dawn, Eon was forced to halt production to a series of what I’ve considered some of the best Bond films in recent years. Thankfully, not all was lost. Rather than sit around and do nothing, they’ve decided to work with Activision on the next Bond video game — 007: Blood Stone. Read more…
Fanboys love their toys! And 2009 has been a great year for collectors of both high and low art, so we’ve put together our favorites from this year with an eye on unique twists on old themes. For example shown above O-No! Sushi by Andrew Bell is an urban toy reaction from a vegetarian to sushi. Read more…
Mattel is getting brilliant with their marketing to collectors these days: Shown above is the James Bond Girls Barbie Doll Assortment Case. This set only has three Bond girls: They picked Honor Blackman in Goldfinger, Halle Berry in Die Another Day and Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder from Dr. No. For reference here are the real ladies of the silver screen: Read more…
Today is the 82nd birthday of Sir Roger George Moore, who sadly is known to most folks as “the James Bond that isn’t Sean Connery!” Now I know it’s a classic fanboy argument to rate each James Bond and then chastise poor Roger Moore for being too slick, too smooth and too English to be James Bond. Yet I think that’s an unfair argument because to really appreciate why Moore got the 007 role you have to go a few years back in time to 1962 when Moore made his name as The Saint. Read more…
It’s 007 season again and countless fanboy hours will be wasted debating the merits of who was the best James Bond of all time — a sad process of sorting out the pecking order of a sad line up that started with Sean Connery and ends with Daniel Craig. And while I have my favorites in the role, the best James Bond of all time for my money is Patrick McGoohan. Read more…
Come November 14th I’ve got to so see this flick! I’m already in love with the poster art — it’s like James Bond is thinking “Yeah it’s perfectly normal to have some explosive residue on my designer tux while strolling down the desert with my fashion model friend with a handgun on hand to deal with any arch villains whom we might just run across in the hood”. Not only that but James Bond can even wear a hanky in his jacket pocket and make it look good…
My favorite John Barry theme is from the 1960 film Beat Girl, but with the current James Bond buzz I’m happy to see John Barry get some long overdue recognition for his talent.
“Very few composers can be said to have created a new style of film music,” says David Arnold. “John Barry single-handedly created the spy genre.” Arnold, who recently completed scoring “Quantum of Solace” (his fifth James Bond score), has a long way to go to catch up to Barry’s record of 11 complete 007 scores (not counting his arrangement of the original “James Bond Theme” for “Dr. No”).
