“The name is Bond. James Bond.”

Everyone knows this line. Everyone knows who Bond is, a ‘00′ agent for the British Secret Service; how Bond likes his martini’s, ’shaken, not stirred; what kind of car he drives, a silver Aston Martin; and how he’s usually dressed for his missions, in a dapper tuxedo. This fictional character  is probably one of the most beloved characters ever created.

I am currently watching ‘Casino Royale’ starring Daniel Craig (which is why I’m blogging about Bond) one of the newest actors in a line of those who have portrayed the iconic spy throughout the decades. As a ’90s child, I grew up with Pierce Brosnan as Bond. The legendary actor before him was Sean Connery.

As most people know, the Bond movies are based on the books by Ian Fleming. I’ve yet to read these books, but I heard they’re extraordinary. The first book is Casino Royale, which details the beginning of Bond as a ‘00′ agent.  James Bond was introduced in the 1950s/1960s on television, with Casino Royale portrayed as a parody. But it then took off with the movie Dr. No.

What I want to know is this–Why are the ‘007′ movies/books so appealing? What is it about Bond that seems to transcend any other spy story?

I asked a friend, and he jokingly responded: ” Maybe its the fact that he seems to break everything and doesn’t have to pay for it.”

That could be it. Bond has a certain status, a certain level of suave and cool that makes him seem untouchable, almost invincible. He never really pays the consequences for any damage he’s done (although he has lost some girlfriends).

Bond is also an incredible individual. Strong (but also violent) smart, sophisticated–it makes sense why he is, in essence, a perfect spy. Women love him and men want to be him. What guy watching a Bond movie does not want to live that kind of lifestyle? Action-packed, dangerous, traveling all over the world, womanizing (ok, that’s not ok but we’ll let it slide).

A different mission everytime–different villains, different women, gadgets, places. From a story point-of-view, its the same idea repeated: someone with power has a diabolical plan that will unstabilize the world, and Bond must stop him. But it’s brilliantly executed each time, which is why I think it makes it so popular. There’ve been twenty-two movies afterall!

Then there’s also the Bond women. Femme Fatales. They’re sexy, smart and badass. They’ve also broken the race barrier, which is a good step in the right direction. What’s great about the Bond Women, both the villains and the good ones, are that the are role models for female empowerment. Women no longer have to fit into one role. We can do a plethora of things–whether it be fighting bad guys, hacking into computers, or running an agency–and still be considered a woman.

But back to Bond. I think what Bond represents for everyone–man or woman– is an individual in control of himself and his destiny. Maybe that’s a stretch, but I like the idea.

What do you think?

Mini-update–A blog completely dedicated to all things related to Bond. Well done. http://licencetoblog.wordpress.com/

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.

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It seems a little premature to me, but Times Online, the Web version of the United Kingdom’s The Times and Sunday Times newspapers has recently released their picks for the Top 100 Films of the decade (the ‘Noughties’ as they’ve called them).

It’s quite a comprehensive list, and certainly worth a once-over for movie buffs, but I do have some quibbles over a few of their choices — and not just because I’ve never seen or heard of their selection for the best movie of the decade.

Their number one was a French-language film from 2005 directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke called Hidden (Also known as Caché). Back in 2005 this film premiered at Cannes and swept the European Film Awards, winning Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor — but it didn’t get a single Oscar nod. So, like me, you’ve probably never even heard of it.

The inclusion of a film like this proves the people making the list have done a little homework and been sure not to neglect international cinema. Movies from Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, and elsewhere show up on the list. Some notable non-Hollywood films they’ve included that I have seen include: Persepolis, an animated film from 2007 based on a young girl’s true experiences in Iran and France during the time of the Iranian Revolution; and htY tu mamá también a racy Mexican drama from 2001 about two teenage boys and an older woman’s trip from urban privileged Mexico City to a rural beach paradise.
Persepolis, which got an Academy Award nomination in 2007, came in at 69 on the list, while Y tu mamá también turned up at number 35.

Of course, the obvious tilt of the list is toward big-budget Western blockbusters, like the James Bond revamp Casino Royale, which pops up in eighth, or both Bourne Identity sequels, which inexplicably share the second place spot on the top 100 list.

It’s a list from the UK so I would expect strong showings from movies like The Queen or that Bond picture, but it would’ve been nice to have seen a little better representation from Canada.
Not a single Canadian film appears on the list. Granted, there are movies filmed but not set in Canada — ‘Hollywood North,’ as they call it — like Brokeback Mountain, and movies starring Canadian leading men fared all right (Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in at 14, and Seth Rogen in Knocked Up at a respectable 49), but no films set in Canada featuring Canadians in front of or behind the camera show up on the list.

The only Canadian filmmaker on the list is Paul Haggis, of London, Ontario, who came in at a lowly 99th place with his brilliant 2004 film Crash. Crash, which features a compelling, interweaving story about life in L.A., won three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, but, according to Times Online, this isn’t enough to compete with Casino Royale, which features Daniel Craig in a speedo.

When I look at cinematic offerings from Canada like Men With Brooms, I understand the skepticism of some that don’t believe there were any Canadian films from this decade deserving to be on an international list like this. However, I can think of at least one, and no, it’s not Slap Shot 3: The Junior League.

The Barbarian Invasions (or, Les Invasions Barbares) is a French-Canadian film from 2003 directed by Denys Arcand. Set in contemporary Montreal, it tells the story of aged and eccentric Québécois academics that come together to spend time with a dying friend before he is claimed by cancer. In 2004, the film became the first from Canada to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Evidently, the Times Online people left films like this off their list in order to make room for raunchy comedies like Wedding Crashers, 90th on the list, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, 62nd.

Instead of making a list list full of obscure titles that would please critics, or one that was wall-to-wall with well-known Hollywood vehicles to please your average fan, Times Online opted for a list that would please neither.

Not only that, but there’s still a month left in this decade, and some very hyped up movies are on their way in the next month.

Coming out in time for the festive season— and before the end of the decade — are movies such as: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which is notable for being Heath Ledger’s last filmic role and for the casting acrobatics director Terry Gilliam had to perform following Ledger’s death midway through shooting — Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel, and Jude Law fill in as Ledger’s character in various scenes; Invictus, the story of the underdog 1995 South African rugby team that united the post-apartheid nation, starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela; and Avatar, an out there sci-fi thriller from heavy weight director James Cameron (Terminator 1 & 2, Titanic).

It’s certainly been a great decade for the cinema — in Hollywood, here in Hollywood North, and around the world, but I’ll hold off on making my top 100 list until 2010, I’ve got high hopes for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel.

I’m not sure exactly how many films I’ve seen in my lifetime.

It is probably over a thousand, the list below barely scratches the surface of all the films I’ve seen and it was surprisingly easy to come up with. Rather than systematically list films by era or genre I got my brother’s girlfriend Dawn to call out any films she could think of.

I thought of this idea about five minutes before I began typing and Dawn rattled off films as they came to her while I typed out brief verdicts for each one. I initially intended to create a system for rating but found it too restrictive so I just wrote a brief instinctual verdict for each one.

I have included a link to Rotten Tomatoes and the score of each film, I haven’t seen some of these movies in a very long time…

NOTE: The percentages at the end are not my scores but the percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Men in Black (1997) – meh (91% – seriously?!)
2. Fight Club (1999) – brilliant (80%)
3. Unforgiven (1992) – immense (96%)
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004) – decent (gets worse every time I watch it)
5. Memento (2001) – pretty good (93%)
6. The Departed (2006) – good (92%)
7. Aliens (1986) – the best sequel ever made (100%)
8. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – great characters and dialogue (95%)
9. American Beauty (1999) – uplifting, brilliant (the stupid bag scene apart) (89%)
10. Goodfellas (1990) – excellent (96%)
11. Predator (1987) – one of Arnie’s best (76%)
12. 12 Angry Men (1957) – captivating (100%)
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – meh (78%)
14. Shawshank Redemption (1994) – really, really good (88%)
15. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – better than I expected (90%)
16. Sin City (2005) – flashy trash (78%)
17. Toy Story 2 (1999) – yep, it’s good (100%)
18. Bambi (1942) – I remember it being good (much to the amusement of Dawn and Sean, many gay jokes followed) (89%)
19. Final Destination (2000) -guff (30%)
20. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – pretentious crap (90%)
21. Stranger than Fiction (2006) – Surprisingly good (72%)
22. Shallow Grave (1995) – okay (71%)
23. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1996) – facepalm (49%)
24. Man on Fire (2004) – underwhelming (39%)
25. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – meh (81%)
26. 28 Days Later (2003) – meh (88%)
27. Casino Royale (2006) – surprisingly really good (94%)
28. Psycho (1960) – I was expecting it to be better (98%)
29. The Flintstones (1994) – Jesus wept (18%)
30. Aladdin (1992) – good (92%)
31. Jackass: The Movie (2002) – hard to class as a film really, hit and miss(48%)
32. E.T (1982) – good (98%)
33. Independence Day (1996) – a glorified B movie (61%)
34. Titanic (1997)  – Good (81%)
35. Ring (2002) – fairly decent (71%)
36. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Tarantino’s best film by a long way (97%)
37. Hot Fuzz (2007) – fun (90%)
38. Monty Python: Holy Grail (1975) – classic (94%)
39. Good Will Hunting (1997) – good (97%)
40. Heat (1995) – pretty good, not great (89%)
41. Zodiac (2007) – boring (87%)
42. Little Mermaid (1989) – decent (90%)
43. Ghost (1987) – crap (80%)
44. Dirty Dancing (1987) – utter shit – that women like this film makes me wonder if they actually deserve equal rights (67%)
45. The Terminator (1984) – the best Terminator (100%)
46. Bean (1998) – a test of mental endurance, awful (41%)
47. The Mask (1994) – rubbish (76%)
48. Frailty (2002) – ridiculous (74%)
49. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) – shite
50. Donnie Darko (2001) – overrated pish (84%)
51. Apollo 13 (1995)– crap (96%)
52. Deep Impact (1998)– more crap (46%)
53. Volcano (1997) – even more crap (40%)
54. I know what you did last summer (1997)– yet more crap (36%)
55. The Matrix (1999) – first half decent rest shite (86%)
56. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002)– boring (96%)
57. Addams Family Values (1994) – some good moments (74%)
58. Nightmare before Christmas (1993) – overrated, largely guff (97%)
59. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) – (see earlier blog) (75%)
60. Three Men and a Baby (1987) – sickening  (78%)
61. Transformers: The Movie (1986) – decent (haven’t seen it in 10 years) (50%)
62. Cruel Intentions (1999) – trash (47%)
63. Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels (1998) – good if a little overrated (71%)
64. Clerks II (2006) – absolutely fucking diabolical (62%, seriously what the fuck?)
65. Baby’s Day Out (1994) – horrific (23%)
66. Home Alone 2 (1992) – decent (17% – that seems harsh!)
67. Liar Liar (1997) – pretty bad (84%)
68. Babe (1995) – Jesus wept (98%)
69. The Simpsons Movie (2007) – unfunny crap from a show that is a pale shadow of what it used to be (90%)
70. Mr Nanny (1993) – a holocaust of a film (7%)
71. The Thing (1980) – really tense, really good (80%)
72. Blair Witch Project (1999) – doing something different doesn’t make it good (85%)
73. Run Lola Run (1999) – see above (92%)
74. The Santa Clause (1994) – crap (Dawn: “What’s the film with Tim Allen dressed as Santa Claus?”) (79%)
75. Silence of the Lambs (1990) – they really should have just stopped at this one, a fine film (96%)
76. Matilda (1996) – another crap Dahl adaptation (89%)
77. A Bridge too Far (1977) – the quintessential war movie (67%)
78. Rocky V (1990) – laughable (21%)
79. The Sting (1973) – really good (91%)
80. The Sword in the Stone (1963) – good (73%)
81. The Witches (1990) – crap (100%, what the fuck?)
82. Starship Troopers (1997) – entertaining trash (60%)
83. Love Actually(2003)  – hated it (63%)
84. White men can’t jump (1992) – I liked it despite itself (78%)
85. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1999)– a pointless sequel (48%)
86. A Bug’s Life (1998) – meh (91%)
87. Hollow man (2000)– hollow is an appropriate adjective (but I like Bacon’s character) (27%)
88. Jaws (1975) – good but overrated (100%)
89. Jerry Maguire (1996)– oh Christ (84%)
90. Dawn of the Dead (1978)– awesome (95%)
91. Drop Dead Fred (1991)– mindless crap (still haunted by my little sister’s repeat viewing of this monstrosity) (9%)
92. Braveheart (1995) – good (it’s a movie, not a history lesson) (76%)
93. Saw II (2005) – crap (35%)
94. Mouse Hunt (1997)– hated it (really wanted the mouse to die) (44%)
95. The Mummy (1999)– didn’t like it (54%)
96. George of the Jungle (1997)– crap (53%)
97. Leon (1994) – ludicrous garbage (74%)
98. Death becomes her (1993)– had its moments (56%)
99. Meet Joe Black (1998) – meh (49%)
100. Dog Soldiers (2002) – entertaining (79%)
101. Cool Hand Luke (1967) – the best film ever (100%)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is close to $4 billion dollars in debt and they will soon be looking for a buyer. The studio owns – among other things – the rights to the James Bond franchise, but this situation doesn’t seem to be affecting the momentum of the next film in the series. Apparently, the 23rd Bond film is already in pre-production and will start filming in the latter half of 2010. We can expect it to come out sometime in 2011 if everything goes according to plan. If you can’t wait until 2011, here is a short review for Casino Royale and my thoughts about Quantum of Solace from the end of last year. Also, if you’re really impatient and you happen to have several billion dollars lying around I’m sure you could buy MGM and get things moving a little faster.

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Bubbles and oysters; dresses and heels; feathers and sequins; burlesque and beer; and even a few fresh powder turns in between. Cornucopia was a weekend to remember!

When I was invited to participate in Whistler’s Cornucopia 2009, I was beyond excited. I’d heard for years about the wine tastings and seminars, sensational gastronomic experiences and the exclusive parties where girls wear heels – even whistler girls – and inhibitions are set aside. Cornucopia – which was recently ranked one of the top Top 10 International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbestraveler.com – lives up to the hype, and then exceeds it.

My first stop was the House Party, Best of BC – a festival opener featuring a variety of food and wine tastings in the foyer of the Whistler Conference Centre, including Pemberton’s potato vodka and seared halibut by Windset Farms.

Then, it was on to ARTrageous, which is put on by the Whistler Arts Council.

Here’s a great little preview video of ARTrageous:

A feast for the five senses, this event featured artists creating live paintings and roaming characters wearing costumes created out of materials donated by home improvement stores – the work of Carey from Paintertainment. The craft table is my favourite station at ARTrageous, complete with glue guns, feathers, beads, sequins and all kinds of delightful crafty bits and bobs. This year, the theme was burlesque so the craft was nipple tassels.

The grand finale of the night was Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz, a rockabilly punk act featuring live burlesque dancers. The girls are sexy, the costumes are elaborate, and the nipple tassels are swinging – and occasionally on fire!

Friday night, I headed to the infamous Casino Royale at Ric’s Grill. Vegas show girls, topless Bond Girls painted head to toe in gold glitter, Vegas-style games with fake money, fire dancers, Go-Go dancers, a contact juggler and hula hoop girls were all part of the circus of colour, sex, and magic.

The showgirls were cute, but in high demand. My friend and I got shuffled out of a photo shoot with them by an affluent gentleman who wanted to take a picture with them. Our egos were wounded.

We enjoyed canapes, a buffet meal, and a decadent chocolate fountain. Of course the open bars throughout the venue made for a fun night – especially that strawberry-infused champagne.

Somehow, I managed to wake up the next morning for Whistler Blackcomb’s early opening to do a few turns – which were epic, by the way. After a quick disco nap, I was off to my third night of Cornucopia.

Cornucopia is a girl’s chance to get dressed up. So, a few of us ladies – including one girlfriend in bejewelled Manolos, braved the snow in heels and short dresses.

The first stop was the CRUSH Gala Grand tasting, one of the signature events of Cornucopia that takes place in the Whistler conference Centre ballroom. This sellout wine showcase has been expanded to two days due to popularity. I’m certainly no wine guru, but I know what pleases my palate. Some of my favourites were Dirty Laundry’s Pinot Noir, Road 13’s Riesling, Inniskillin’s Ice Wine, Miner Family’s Oracle, and Poplar Grove’s Syrah. The Dirty Laundry clothes peg made my night.

After CRUSH it was on to our final – and most anticipated – destination, the Bubbles + Oceans Afterparty at Araxi Restaurant. The spotlights out front illuminated huge fluffy white snowflakes, and created a sense of anticipation for night to come.

Araxi does seafood and they do it well. The oyster bar was amazing as always, and the canapes were melt in your mouth.

We enjoyed sampling from the champagne stations along the perimeter of the room, including one of the more unique blends by Ayala, which should be available in Whistler in the coming months, according to the rep.

After a great night of socializing, drinking and eating, I finished the night off with a chocolate espresso cocktail in the lounge. I left Araxi with the most delicious feeling of contentment.

By the end of the weekend, I had consumed copious amounts of champagne and food – and slept very little. But I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Snow sports are the heart and lifeblood of this town I call home, but cultural events like this are what give Whistler its dancing shoes.

Um dos mais elaborados sets do mundo, da empresa britânica Pinewood Studio, grava cenas em um tanque com 1,2 milhões de litros (317.000 galões) de água.

O estúdio debaixo da água, abriu em 2005 e já foi utilizados por inúmeros comerciais de TV, vídeos de música e filmes incluindo: O Ultimato Bourne, Desejo e Reparação, Elizabeth e Casino Royale.

É incrível mostrar a história de uma produção com cenas subaquáticas”, diz Phoebe Rudomino, uma mergulhadora comercial e a fotógrafa que tirou todas fotos desse post.

É interessante tirar uma foto mais longe e mostrar o que está acontecendo atrás das câmeras. A última imagem ou a sequência do filme pode ser perfeita, mas a realidade geralmente é bem diferente. Pode haver uma fita adesiva segurando um bikini ou mergulhadores indo para cima e para baixo para manter alguém em uma determinada posição, mas no final você vai ver só aquela imagem perfeita.”

Deve ser realmente impressionante, adoraria fazer um book aquático, rs. Vamos ver as fotos:

Leonardo Portela embasbacado!

I can’t resist linking to this provocative list of ’the best movies’ of the Noughties. There will be thousands of such lists over the next seven weeks as we see the decade out, but anyone who knows me just a little bit will know that I would rather argue about films than most other things.

It’s great to see first place taken by Austrian auteur Michael Haneke (for Hidden), and second place by Paul Greengrass (for his two populist Bourne thrillers) – as if to say that both Hollywood and the arthouse can achieve cinematic greatness.

But it’s hard to take the list seriously when one of the worst films of the decade – Bond’s relaunch in Casino Royale – comes in at number eight…

I’m too lazy to determine if I’ve posted on Parkour before, but I think I am. Anyway, it is probably the best thing to come out of France besides the food. If you saw Casino Royale, the contruction site scene has some nice free running. Above is a clip from District 13, a terrible French movie that has some pretty awesome free running/parkour action. Parkour is basically urban gymnastics and free running is doing it while on the move. Most parkour clips seem to involve cheesy techno and dudes with no shirts, so it is very European, but still pretty sweet.

I always knew that success at parkour involved some injuries and below are some painful looking fails. After the jump are some other sweet vids.

This is the first of a new series on Casino Royale. The series is really just an excuse to post images from a February 1967 Playboy pictorial which featured photos taken on the set of the film (some depicting scenes that didn’t appear in the finished film) and nearly all of the film’s actresses in various stages of undress. It should be pretty groovy so stay tuned.

Oh, above we have Joanna Pettet, Casino Royale’s Mata Bond.

Over at the Huffington Post Web site, there’s a short item about how Eva Green, who played Vesper in Casino Royale, did a nude shot to re-create a similarly posed nude shot by Charlotte Rampling in 1973.

To read the item, and see the photo, just CLICK HERE.

Estamos en tiempos de mirar hacia atrás antes de dar el paso que nos depositará en el próximo decenio. El diario británico Times se pronunció en este sentido y confeccionó una lista con las mejores 100 películas que estrenaron en el Reino Unido desde el año 2000.

Escondido, de Michael Haneke, la mejor según Times

En el ranking predominan las producciones inglesas por sobre las norteamericanas. Pero ese es un dato menor. Lo que más salta a la vista es que mientras hay algunas presencias un tanto inexplicables (Exterminio, Los Rompebodas, El Diablo Viste a la Moda, Un Santa No Tan Santo o El Orfanato), abundan las ausencias significativas (Wall-E, Amelie, Million Dollar Baby, Snatch, Match Point, El Pianista, Kill Bill, por nombrar algunas).

Estos son los primeros 20 puestos, el resto los pueden revisar desde acá.

01. Escondido (2005)
02. La Supermacía de Bourne / El Ultimatum de Bourne (2004/2007)
03. Sin Lugar Para los Débiles (2007)
04. Grizzly Man (2005)
05. Team America: Policía Mundial (2004)
06. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
07. El Último Rey de Escocia (2006)
08. Casino Royale (2006)
09. La Reina (2006)
10. Hunger (2008)
11. Borat (2006)
12. La Vida de los Otros (2006)
13. This Is England (2007)
14. 4 Meses, 3 Semanas y 2 Días (2007)
15. La Caída (2004)
16. Eterno Resplandor de Una Mente Sin Recuerdos (2004)
17. Secreto en la Montaña (2005)
18. Let The Right One In (2008)
19. Vuelo 93 (2005)
20. Donnie Darko (2001)

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.

Josh Wigler – MTV News

Not long ago, it was announced that “Batman Begins” and “Super Max” screenwriter David Goyer would be navigating the demonic motorcycle for “Ghost Rider 2,” based on a screenplay Goyer wrote several years ago.

Many have wondered whether the screenplay—which is toning down its hard-R nature for a PG-13 rating—would reboot the “Ghost Rider” franchise. MTV News put that very question to Goyer, who said that while the continuity won’t necessarily get an overhaul, the tone is certainly shifting.

“It’s not exactly a reboot,” said Goyer, who’s currently hard at work on his “FlashForward” television series. “I hate to say it’s more realistic, because he’s got a flaming skull for a head, but it’s a bit more stripped down and darker. It’s definitely changing tone. What ‘Casino Royale’ was to the Bond movies, hopefully this will be to ‘Ghost Rider.’”

Amazon Specials!

From ReelzChannel.com

The superhero Green Lantern is not as well-known as some of DC Comics’ other characters like Superman and Batman, but Warner Bros. is banking on director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) and lead actor Ryan Reynolds changing that when the live-action Green Lantern movie hits theaters.

So far, Reynolds is the only actor cast in the movie, and principal photography isn’t expected to begin until March. However, that doesn’t mean that work on the movie hasn’t already begun. In a recent interview with Empire, Campbell said that there will be roughly 1,300 visual effects shots and that “the process” of coordinating all of those shots is both “daunting” and “mind-blowing.” He said that most of the effects revolve around the source of Green Lantern’s super powers, stemming from his power ring.

Campbell added “It’s energized by a battery on the planet of Oa, which taps into the willpower of everyone in the universe. From that ring you can form constructs. So if you got into a fight, you could form a giant fist. Or a fighter plane.”

Clay Pinney is the special effects supervisor. Mr. Pinney is known for his work in such films as Independence Day, The Matrix Reloaded,  Star Trek, Angels & Demons as well as Speed Racer.

Amazon Specials!

Nel 1993, dopo 3 anni di silenzio, tornavano i Casino Royale con un disco che avrebbe fatto parecchio parlare di se, “Dainamaita“. Cosa ha di speciale questo disco? L’abbandono in maniera totale dello ska ballabile degli esordi del gruppo ed una maggiore apertura alle contaminazioni stilistiche (negli anni si parlerà del disco come uno dei primissimi esempi di “crossover” italiano). L’altra grande innovazione sono i testi nella lingua di Dante (o di Manzoni, dato che i nostri sono di Milano).

Dopo una intro giocata sulle note del pianoforte (De Maestro e…), detona la title-track in tutto il suo splendore, 2 minuti e 50 secondi di puro genio creativo con chitarre distorte, fiati, scratch (del buon DJ Gruff) e il cantato rappato di Alioscia che si fonde con la magnifica voce di Giuliano. Dopo un intermezzo (5 in totale) del tutto trascurabile, Dainabada, parte con la sua vena drum’n’bass Treno per Babilon, perfetta alchimia musicale e vocale condita come sempre dagli scratch di vinile e dalla sezione fiati, mentre nella successiva traccia, Re senza trono, si respira un clima diverso, fatto di umori giamaicani, del sole dell’estate e, soprattutto, di amore, amore appena consumato (“sfioro il suo corpo con un dito, è mattino ed il sogno è svanito…”) ma anche di fresca malinconia (“ho una nuova corona ed ora so cosa sono, io si senza regina, un re senza trono!), il tutto giocato su un reggae sintetico. Affiancate a queste perle di melodia, ci sono anche episodi più duri come -KZK-, sostenuta dalla chitarra distorta e dalla voce di Alioscia che sa ben adattarsi a ogni struttura sonora, e la cover di Purple haze, dell’immortale Jimi Hendrix, trasformata per l’occasione in uno ska danzereccio (notevole il lavoro fatto sull’arrangiamento). A completare l’opera 3 brani non meno interessanti. In Justice, brano introdotto da uno spoken-word, vengono narrate le grandi ingiustizie subite nei secoli dai nativi americani fino agli sprechi monetari dei giorni nostri. Metallo giallo, ovvero Justice parte II: i concetti finali del brano precedente vengono infatti ripresi. Il denaro è il motore del mondo contemporaneo e la nostra è una condizione di falsa dinamicità, in cui i cambiamenti riguardano solo l’estetica, ma non la sostanza. Tocca a Cielo chiudere il disco, sorta di critica alla capitale meneghina “dove il denaro parla canta balla e fa girare la testa”.

I Casino Royale fanno centro. Dopo 2 dischi di buono ska, lasciato alle spalle il passato, i nostri danno alle stampe (a detta di chi scrive) il loro capolavoro: originalità, ovvero una proposta sonora meticcia, l’ingrediente del loro successo.

Marco “C’est Disco” Gargiulo per Mag-Music

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:

Daniel Craig

By DAVE MCNARY – Variety.com

The 23rd James Bond film will start shooting late next year, according to Daniel Craig.

The thesp made the disclosure Friday in New York in response to a fan’s question as he exited the stage door for “A Steady Rain,” a Broadway play in which he’s starring with Hugh Jackman.

MGM had no comment about Craig’s comment. He’s starred in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace,” which took in nearly $1.2 billion in worldwide box office.

The most recent announcement on the Bondpic came in June when Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Prods. and MGM disclosed that Peter Morgan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were writing the script for the film, which does not have a director attached yet. Purvis and Wade most recently worked on “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

fotologic provided event photography for a James Bond Night at the Forrest of Arden lats weekend.  At the event organised by William Turner & Son over 200 guests were entertained at this Casino Royale themed night.

Ian, Julie & Callum enjoyed providing photography and on-site printing for all guests.  All the images of the event can be viewed by guests here.

fotologic events can provide photography at any event you are organising nationwide.

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.

Casino Royale, a charity event benefitting “Child’s Play Foundation”, took place at Almont Courtyard Thursday, October 15th.  I’ve been so busy this week—this is the first time I’ve had a chance to post photos from the event.

I’m so glad the event was well attended. Some of LA’s top interior designers helped make this event a success.  The silent auction had some amazing items—a Jimmy Choo purse, a Louboutin gift certificate, vintage design books, and so much more.

See below for photos of the event: