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Throughout history, men and women alike have dreamed of technological advances such as advanced robotics, did they perceive that said technological advancement would subsequently result in near-constant isolation of the human race? Apparently not. The year is 2017 when a company known as VSI create ‘Surrogates‘, robotic shells in which the user can place their own personality, thoughts and to some extent their soul, into it’s well known invulnerable shell, protecting the user from harm and letting them experience anything they desire all from the safety of the users own home.

With the creation of the Surrogates, crime rates have fallen to almost nothing, until FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) catches wind of the first murder to happen within years. Greer finds that everything isn’t what it seems within this futuristic, perfect utopia and in turn, questions what exactly defines a human. Now, that is something that really should be taken into account here, there have been countless films in the past which focus on the creation of somewhat autonomous sentient beings (even if that may be debatable here), such as in; I Robot, Terminators and Transformers, but Surrogates brings forward something unique to the table. Whilst at first, the film may not seem so dark and sinister, if you read in to the concept, it’s really quite disturbing, essentially exploring philosophical questions such as ‘What defines humanity?.’

The futuristic comic book adaptation features Bruce Willis (Die Hard Trilogy, Sixth Sense, The Fifth Element), Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black, Phone Booth, Silent Hill, also the upcoming ‘The Crazies’), Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudiced, Die Another Day, Fracture), Boris Kodjoe (Brown Sugar, The Gospel, Starship Troopers 3) , James Cromwell (Babe, L.A Confidential, The Green Mile) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Mission Impossible II, Dawn Of The Dead). Willis is renowned for his die hard attitude which appears in most of his films, and he does an exceptional job throughout Surrogates of preserving that, whilst some people may see as a flaw, I on the other hand, think it’s an attribute that should be carried with him. Alternatively, Mitchell’s performance, whilst definitely professional, seemed rather benumbed at best, but this may be due to the fact her character doesn’t really get a chance to make a big impact throughout Surrogates. I would however like to applaud Cromwell on his rather impressive representation of Dr. Lionel Canter which, teamed with Willis, kept the film going for me. An intricate film which subsequently makes you think, and definitely doubt, you’ll love it if you are sci-fi/comic book fans, otherwise it might not be the film for you.

]]> http://licencetoblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/recycling-bond-girls-or-pulling-a-maud-adams/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:35:52 +0000 Brandon Brown http://licencetoblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/recycling-bond-girls-or-pulling-a-maud-adams/

It’s not unheard of; Maud Adams played both Andrea Anders and Octopussy in the Roger Moore era of Bond flicks, and for good reason. I don’t think Eon Productions should abandon this concept, as there were a handful of Bond girls from previous Bond films who could still fill the role of a credible Bond girl today.

The Top 5 Girls Who Should Return

1. Sophie Marceau (Elektra King, The World Is Not Enough, 1999)
What a waste of talent. In my opinion, The World Is Not Enough was trash, despite being one of Brosnan’s better Bond flicks.  It’s a shame that Sophie Marceau’s wonderful acting abilities were wasted in this film. Though she played the part of Elektra King extremely well, I’d love to see her come back to the series in the form of a better-written, and more primary character. Perhaps the main Bond girl, instead of being over-shadowed by the bad acting and bouncing jugs of Denise Richards.

2. Izabella Scorupco (Natalya Simonova, GoldenEye, 1995)
Though her talent wasn’t quite as wasted as Marceau’s in Brosnan’s debut film, GoldenEye, I’d still like to see her return in a stronger role. GoldenEye worked pretty well as a post-Cold War, 90’s action thriller, and so did the character of Natalya; if you’ll recall, she was basically a computer technician caught in the middle of all of the action. I wouldn’t mind seeing her return as a primary Bond girl who is more involved with the film’s plot, rather than just being a pretty face on the side. Scorupco’s a good actress, and it’d be nice to see her get a role that she deserves — seems like she’s been signing onto a lot of trash lately.

3. Rosamund Pike (Miranda Frost, Die Another Day, 2002)
As many will agree, Die Another Day was an absolute atrocity of a Bond film. Rosamund Pike seems like she had lots of potential in Brosnan’s final Bond outing, but it seems like the dynamic duo, Purvis and Wade, seemed to under-write the character. To me, there wasn’t much to Miranda Frost. Yeah, she betrays Bond … just like the Bond girl in the film before Die Another Day. And she sleeps with the villain … just like the Bond girl in the film before Die Another Day, also. That’s about all there is to her. Plus, her death allows Halle Berry to mutter the brilliant line, “Bitch.”

4. Jane Seymour (Solitaire, Live and Let Die, 1973)
Not much to say here, other than she’s a great actress, and she’s looking as good as ever.
I guarantee that this wouldn’t disappoint fans at all.

5.  Olga Kurylenko (Camille, Quantum of Solace, 2008)
Quantum of Solace was given some mixed reviews after its release. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, I’m sure you can say that Olga Kurylenko’s performance was neither outstanding or horrific. Certainly, she did much better than some of the more recent, past Bond girls. The only problem was that it seemed she wasn’t written very well — a recurring theme with Purvis and Wade… hmm. Anyhow, I’d like to see her play a character with more depth. She’s certainly got the looks, also.

Quantum of Solace | Marc Foster, 2008

James Bond’s rip-roaring return to the screen just a few years ago brought praise from all quarters, and with the help of seasoned director Martin Campbell a great franchise was raised from its knees once more. This year, once the dust has settled, those involved will be able to gaze down once again upon a legend of the screen reduced to a supporting role in his own film. Last time it was Halle Berry, simulating the memory of a dripping Honey Ryder and acting just empowered enough to merit a prominent place upon the Die Another Day promotional material. Here it is Europe’s latest hot property that can be seen trotting side-by-side with Mr. Bond on the widely distributed Quantum of Solace posters: Ukrainian ex-model Olga Kurylenko, who plays Camille, a Bolivian assassin whose main motivation is to control a burning revenge to bring justice to those who tore her family apart many years ago. Unfortunately this is where the clichés end plot-wise, for Quantum of Solace owns by far the most contrived, convoluted, and downright confounded Bond plot I’ve seen in quite some time: its unnecessarily bloated form can be boiled down to one major point; that a cheeky Frenchman has somehow waltzed off with Bolivia’s entire water supply and plans to sell it back for a nice profit. A concept that might well be offensive if it wasn’t so ridiculous. The Frenchman in question is played by Mathieu Amalric, whose pasty form and suitably haughty accent fit the part rather well and certainly represent one of the film’s few highlights.

Of course, it isn’t unusual for a Bond villain to take his role past the point of insane cackling and well-placed monologues. However it’s an entirely more depressing affair when one finds themself pointing towards this villain as the standout performance. Daniel Craig does well enough once again as 007 Mark VI, but Marc Forster seem only too happy to push Craig’s muscles to the limit instead of actually taking advantage of the Brit’s natural ability in the role. The idea no doubt being to portray Bond’s post-Vesper rage and emotional struggling. Less dialogue, less humour, less of the real James Bond and instead a character/role perhaps better-suited to an ex-wrestler. The better parts of Casino Royale revolved smartly around Bond’s poker face and utilised Craig’s smirking ability to obtain the last laugh from most conversations. His train scene opposite a beautiful Eva Green exuded everything about Bond and his persona; that charm we have come to know so well and exactly how much trouble it can get him into. If Green’s character Vesper Lynd was a giant – and quite understandable, considering the story – step from the disposable Bond girls of old, Kurylenko’s dangerous Camille is a bona fide heroine. Despite the pyrotechnics budget, Quantum of Solace doesn’t really offer one single, defining action spectacle that helps unhinge the jaw in the way Bond’s construction site chase did in Casino Royale. Here Forster manages to stuff separate car, plane, and boat chases into the plot yet none of these match that high-flying sequence from Craig’s initial outing. It’s a case of business as usual then for poor Mr. Bond, who doesn’t seem to like sequential plotlines one bit.

Our Rating:

As it stands, neither the first and the last Ford Thunderbird associated with 007 is actually a vehicle driven by the James Bond character.

Thunderbird one has its origins dating to May of 1955, according to Andrew Lycett, when John Stepbridge of Famous Players, engineered a deal by which “Hollywood producer Gregory Ratoff agreed to pay $600 for a six months’ option on Casino Royale, plus a further $6,000 if the project went into production.” Ratoff subsequently converted his option and purchased full rights to Casino Royale (1953).

Characterizing that sum as “paltry,” Lycett states that “Ian decided to bank it immediately and buy himself a keepsake in the form of a big, powerful American car. [He] had seen a Ford Thunderbird in the street and fallen in love with its hooded headlights, chrome grill and sleek chassis. So after a nervous test drive around Battersea Park he ordered a black T-bird with conventional gear-change, overdrive and interchangeable hard and soft top.”

The flyer shown above represents the most recent association between James Bond and the Ford Thunderbird.

This is the “2003 Limited-Edition 007™ Ford Thunderbird.” CIA operative Jinx drove a similar version of this vehicle in the Eon Productions film, Die Another Day (2002). Stated production was set to top at 700, with the owner’s unique sequence number identified by a plate concealed within the glovebox of the car. Ironically, this car, like Fleming’s, has a removable hard top.

“Thunderbird” also became a brand name of sorts as applied to Ian Fleming, himself. In correspondence to friend Evelyn Waugh dated December 3, 1958, and July 24, 1959, for example, Fleming’s wife, Ann, referred to him as Thunderbird. And in another letter, dated May 1, 1959, Ann Fleming signed herself, “Love, Mrs Thunderbird.”

On July 28th, YouTube user 24YOBAW released a “Die Another Day” trailer made for the MI6 Forums July/August Trailer competition. The trailer creator states:

… Our task was to take a film and craft a trailer for it using the Quantum of Solace trailer music. I chose Die Another Day because I strongly dislike the film and I thought it would be a nice challenge. And yes, I purposely left Halle Berry out of the trailer.

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.

The Recruit

James Clayton is one of the top prospects in the new crop of CIA recruits. His intelligence and unconventional attitude attract the attention of veteran Walter Burke who squires him through the Agency’s difficult training courses and helps him to quickly rise through the ranks. Clayton is then given a special assignment, to root out a suspected mole that has infiltrated the Agency.

TAG Heuer Kirium F1

James Douglas Clayton (Colin Farrell) wears a TAG Heuer in The Recruit.

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S.W.A.T.

Jim Street is a former S.W.A.T. team member, who along with Brian Gamble, is thrown off the team. Gamble quits the force in disgust, but for Street, being a policeman is his life and he agrees to a demotion, hoping to someday have the chance to redeem himself and once again wear the privileged S.W.A.T. uniform.

Hamilton Khaki Field Multi-Touch (S.W.A.T. Edition)

Sgt. Dan ‘Hondo’ Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) wears a SWAT Edition Khaki Field Multi-Touch.

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Men In Black (1997)

The adventures of two federal agent men Agent Kay and Agent Jay also known as “The Men in Black,” who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.

Breitling Chronograph

Before becoming Agent J, James Edwards (Will Smith) wore a Breitling chronograph.
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Die Another Day

After being imprisoned and tormented while on a mission in North Korea, Bond is traded for a psychotic terrorist and released back to M16, only to be accused of giving information. Bond escapes and goes after Zao, a deranged terrorist who knows who betrayed Bond to the North Koreans

Omega Seamaster Professional James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) wears an Omega Seamaster Professional.

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Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)

A man calling himself “Simon” begins a reign of terror in the streets of New York threatening to detonate bombs around the city unless Detective John McClane cooperates in a game of “Simon Says”. McClane has a bad hangover and a bad attitude, and isn’t in the mood for games, especially this one.

Breitling Chronograph

John McClane (Bruce Willis) looks to be wearing a Breitling Chronograph on the under side of his wrist in this third Die Hard instalment.

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Houston we have a problem..

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise… Oh wait, wrong movie. This is Planet 51, an animated movie from Ilion animation, the film rated PG is based around an astronaut named Chuck, who goes on a mission in space to land upon a planet which he thinks is uninhabited… He was wrong. Cue the 1950’s style American scene, only with green men who’s worst fear is being invaded by aliens. Oh wait.. What would the astronaut look like to them? Uh-oh. Our protagonist is in trouble.

Earlier mentioned during my small mention regarding the ‘Gears Of War’ movie, you may remember what I said about Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson. Well.. Guess who our good friend Chuck is voiced by? You bet it’s him. However, despite this… There are a rather large number of incredible actors who have reassured me that this will be successful, such as the lovely Jessica Biel (Next, I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, The Illusionist), Justin Long (Idiocracy, Accepted, Dodgeball), Gary Oldman (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix, The Dark Knight, Hannibal) and John Cleese (Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Die Another Day, and a million other amazing films). Now can you see why I’m reassured? The Film itself is slated for release on November 20th, 2009 in the US, the 30th in the UK and December 17th in Australia, by Sony Pictures worldwide, and costing a hefty $60 million to make, it should bring in quite the audience

As James Bond beds Miranda Frost in Die Another Day (2002), the following bit of dialogue is exchanged.

‘Mm—’ she coos. ‘This is crazy. You’re a Double O.’

‘It’s only a number,’ 007 responds.

A recent Post to this Blog cites January 15, 1952, as the day on which Ian Fleming first started typing Casino Royale (1952) and thus committed to the creation of the James Bond character. This date is confirmed by Fleming biographers John Pearson and Andrew Lycett.

Henry Chancellor disagrees. In his spectacular book, James Bond: The Man and His World (2007), Chancellor sets the date a full month and two days later, at “17 February 1952.” Which is it?

Although seemingly a little matter, such things invariably become huge among both those who are passionate in collecting memorabilia related to our favorite fictional agent and marketing practitioners (let alone historians). Brands live or die, and, indeed, successfully perpetuate, in large measure because they are built on clearly established foundations, consistently repeated.

And yet we will find quite often that the world of James Bond and, in fact, the “brands” of 007 and Ian Fleming himself, seem to miss, if not actively defy this fundamental.

Such mysteries in and of themselves play an important role in the strength and longevity of the James Bond brand.

Seldom is it “only a number” with James Bond. Frequently, however, building arguments and keeping just the right bit of mystery about what, precisely, that number is — whatever the subject may be — adds all the more value in this study.

Spectacolul Madonnei va începe, propriu-zis, după ora 21, fiind împărţit în patru episoade:

• Pimp

1. Intro/Candy Shop
2. Beat Goes On
3. Human Nature
4. Vogue

• Old School

1. Die Another Day
2. Into the Groove
3. Heartbeat
4. Borderline
5. She`s not me
6. Music

• Multicultural

1. Here Comes the Rain again
2. Devil Wouldn`t recognize you
3. Spanish Lesson
4. Miles Away
5. La Isla Bonita
6. Doli Doli
7. You must love me

• Rave

1. Get stupid
2. 4 Minutes
3. Like a Prayer
4. Ray of Light
5. Hung Up
6. Give it to me

Halle Berry ( born August 14, 1966) is an American actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge  and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in Monster’s Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2009, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman.  She has also been involved in the production side of several of her films.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing runner-up in the Miss USA (1986), and winning the Miss USA World 1986 title.  Her breakthrough feature film role was in the 1991 Jungle Fever. This led to roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won a worst actress Razzie Award in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person.

Get This Pin-Up Here!

Is type 1 diabetic.

Storm in X-Men

Her parents, Judith Ann Hawkins & Jerome Jesse Berry, divorced when she was 4 years old. She was then raised by her mom. When researching for her role of Dorothy Dandridge, she discovered that she and Dorothy were both born in the same Cleveland, Ohio hospital.

One of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” [1998]

Miss USA; first runner-up to Christy Fichtner who was on the first season of “Who Wants to Marry My Dad?” (2004). [1986]

Miss Ohio USA. [1986]

Miss Teen All American. [1985]

Attended Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio.

Turned down the role of Annie in Speed (1994/I).

Buy This Title on Blu-ray

Is named after the grand old Halle Building in Cleveland, Ohio, which originally housed the Halle Brothers department store. The building is now an office building and the fictional setting for the Winfred-Louder department store on “The Drew Carey Show” (1995).

In high school, was an honor society member, editor of the school paper, and class president. Was also crowned prom queen.

Lost some hearing in one of her ears due to a physical encounter with a boyfriend in the early 90s.

Attended Heskett Middle School in Bedford Heights, Ohio.

First African American actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Portrayed Dorothy Dandridge in the made for television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) (TV). Dorothy Dandridge was the first African- American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and coincidentally Halle Berry is the first to have won in that category.

Was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People Magazine in 2002.

Graduate of Bedford High School, Bedford, Ohio

First black American in the Miss World Competition. She didn’t win a prize but her dress did.

She and Kim Basinger are the only “Bond girls” to win Oscars.

Buy this Title on Blu-ray

Her dress for the 2002 Oscars ceremony was voted the most popular from the first 75 years.

Bond Girl

Ranked #96 in Premiere’s 2003 annual Power 100 List.

Named one of the 50 most beautiful people in People Magazine in 2003.

Voted the 10th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.

Starred in four movies with Hugh Jackman: X-Men (2000), Swordfish (2001) and X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

 

May 2003 – Broke her arm on the set of Gothika (2003), filming in Montreal.

Measurements: 36C-22-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

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Was a Bearcats cheerleader at Bedford High School.

Half British on her mother’s side.

The first actress to star and portray two different comic book characters for two different comic book companies: “Storm” for Marvel’s X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003), and “Catwoman” for D.C Comics’s Catwoman (2004).

Buy This 8"x10" Photo!

She is currently the highest paid black actress in Hollywood. [2004]

Named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” in People Magazine in 2004. She has now appeared on this list eight times, tying with Julia Roberts for the most appearances.

Voted as #7 on the “Top 100 Sexiest Women 2004″ in FHM [DK].

Played a character called “Sharon Stone” in The Flintstones (1994). Ten years later she appeared with the real Sharon Stone in Catwoman (2004).

Wisely turned down the female lead in box office disaster Gigli (2003), which birthed the relationship of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

Adopted a cat (that was originally an extra for Catwoman (2004)) named Playto, to help herself learn about cats. However, she renamed the cat Playdough, because Playto was too serious a name for her.

Her first $1 million salary for a film was for Executive Decision (1996) – a part which she earlier refused…. until she was offered $1 million.

Voted #7 on VH1’s “100 Hottest Hotties.”

Ranked #15 in Stuff magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women in the World” (2002).

The age difference between herself and Rosamund Pike in Die Another Day (2002) – 12 years and 5 months – is the greatest age difference between two Bond girls in one film since Alison Doody and Grace Jones – a difference of 18 years – in A View to a Kill (1985).

On Febuary 26, 2005, she showed up in person to accept the Razzie award for Worst Actress for her role as Catwoman (2004) and became the first actress to do so. Accepting the award, Berry smiled and said “Thank you and I hope to God I never see you guys again.”

One of only three actresses, along with Faye Dunaway and Liza Minnelli, to win both the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Razzie Award for Worst Actress (Dunaway shared her award with Bo Derek).

Frequently hailed as one of Hollywood’s best dressed stars.

Was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” by People Magazine in 2005

Voted #1 on BET’s “All Shades of Fine: The 25 Hottest Women of the Past 25 Years” (2005)

Her favorite actresses are Dorothy Dandridge, Jodie Foster and Whoopi Goldberg.

HOT! New Poster Buy Now!

Named #41 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.

Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2006 Woman of the Year

Was born in Cleveland but grew up in Oakwood Village, Ohio. She still has family there.

Named #5 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005″ special supplement. (2005)

Was featured as #7 in Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2002″ supplement. (2002)

Mother is from Liverpool, England.

First actress to star in a “Bond-film” following an Oscar win

Named #6 in FHM magazine’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006″ supplement. (2006).

Well known for “living” her roles, she refused to bathe for two weeks in preparation for a role as a crack addict in Jungle Fever (1991).

Her maternal grandmother was English. Also has other English (distantly related to the Baronets Beresford, Viscounts of Tyrone, Earls of Tyrone and Marquesses of Waterford, to Barons Decies and to Baron Beresford, and to the Marquess of Campo-Maior Count of Trancoso in Portugal), Irish, German and remote Dutch ancestry.

Received the 2,333rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 3, 2007.

Is one of four African-American actresses to win an Oscar in a competitive category. In chronological order the others are: Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost (1990) and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006).

Ranked #55 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.

Saved from choking on a fig by Pierce Brosnan during shooting of the love scene on Cuba for Die Another Day (2002).

Is one of only 7 African-American actresses to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. The others in chronological order are: Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg and Angela Bassett.

Early in her career she auditioned for the role of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993), but lost out to Angela Bassett who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.

Was given her Oscar-winning role of Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball (2001) after both Angela Bassett and Vanessa Williams turned the role down.

Was named “Sexiest Woman Alive” by Esquire magazine in 2008.

 

 

I am unqualified to review Bond movies since I am not a die hard fan, but Die another Day (2002) shown on RTE last night proves the Broccoli family’s decision to replace Pierce Brosnan with Daniel Craig. Die Another Day is weak on many levels. The script, acting and action sequences leave much to be desired despite the movie delivering on what a Bond movie promises. By the time the credits roll, you cannot help feel unfulfilled. I (perhaps, unfairly) blame Pierce Brosnan.

Individual preference for casting of James Bond is highly subjective. Audiences hailed Brosnan as slick and suave as Bond, whereas I found him oily and sleazy. His portrayal of Bond in Die Another Day did nothing to counteract my opinion. Bond movies are clearly not made for feminists; the film franchise reliably portrays supposedly strong female leads incapable of resisting 007. Am I right to think Brosnan’s predecessors delivered equally cheesy chat up lines to Bond Girls with less conviction?

Brosnan was in his late-forties during the making of Die Another Day. In my opinion he showed signs of his age. He looks great in the movie; I certainly would not decline a vodka Martini from him. I feel guilty for my inability to look past his age during the movie. I guess the movie’s casting intended to portray a Bond younger than Brosnan’s actual age. I cringed when the ‘refined’ Brosnan delivered lines such as “will I have the pleasure of you later this evening?” to the youthful and very beautiful Romasund Pike.

Brosnan’s portrayal of womaniser Bond smacks of a man undergoing a midlife crisis. Pierce’s depiction of Bond was reminiscent of a recently divorced office colleague at a Christmas party, who cracks open a vat of expired, objectifying chat up lines in a world that thankfully has evolved. Never have I thought a Bond character to be more out of place in today’s world, than I did after watching Die Another Day.

If the Broccoli family ever doubt their decision to give Brosnan the boot, affirmation for their decision can be found in a bargain bin in HMV.

Five new Registries are now publicly available for the people most passionate about exclusively-numbered “James Bond” watches.

Announcing— “The James Bond Limited Edition Watch Registries”

Between 2002 and present day, Omega SA has produced exactly 40,035 sequentially-numbered wristwatches under license with Eon Productions, and associated with the last three 007 feature films.

Where did each individual watch start out? Where are they now? What sorts of “stories” go along with them: From where they’ve been worn, what personal life events they may been used to time, reasons they were subsequently sold—and bought by the next person? Additionally, there are print ads, images, press releases, and specifications to be included as well.

JamesBondWatches.com has created specific Blogs to answer all these questions and indulge passions. A great deal of information is already online in each one right now.

• The 2002 Omega Seamaster watch, limited to 10,007 pieces and released in conjunction with “Die Another Day,” starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, and in overall commemoration of 40 years of 007 feature films
  http://253780.blogspot.com/

• The 2006 Omega Seamaster watch, limited to 10,007 pieces and released in conjunction with “Casino Royale,” starring Daniel Craig as James Bond
  http://222680.blogspot.com/

• The 2006 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean BIG SIZE watch, limited to 5,007 pieces and released in conjunction with “Casino Royale,” starring Daniel Craig as James Bond
  http://29075091.blogspot.com/

• The 2008 Omega Seamaster watch, limited to 10,007 pieces and released while “Quantum of Solace” was being filmed, starring Daniel Craig as James Bond
  http://collectorsbondwatch2008.blogspot.com/

• The 2008 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean watch, limited to 5,007 pieces and released in conjunction with “Quantum of Solace,” starring Daniel Craig as James Bond
  http://quantumbondwatchle.blogspot.com/

An overall Registry Index is available at the following link:

http://jamesbondwatchregistries.blogspot.com/

“This is a rather die-hard group of James Bond fans,” observes Dell Deaton, creator of www.jamesbondwatches.com, http://jamesbondwatches.blogspot.com, and these new Registries. “As we reach critical mass with registries and followers to the Blogs, I wouldn’t be surprised if a get-together of some sort was arranged in 2010. I can already think of a great venue here in the United States. Similar collecting groups may see this as a common draw for places in their countries around the world as well.”

Blogs will be updated at most once per day. Each Blog includes an eMail link to get in touch with JamesBondWatches.com for those who have suggestions for information, including photographs, to be included. Contributors may choose not to have their names included.

Have you ever seen a round coin?  I bet you answered yes and thought, “What kind of fool question is this?” didn’t you?  I would be greatly surprised if you didn’t, and I would also be greatly surprised if you have ever actually seen a round coin.  You’ve seen and held a coin that is circular and has a front, a back and a side, but I doubt if you’ve ever seen one that is round from all sides like a marble.  What you have seen and held is a slice from a sphere.

The reason I ask this has to do with choices.  You can’t toss a round marble up in the air, catch it, flip it over on the back of your other hand  and say, “Heads I win, Tails I lose”.

Every day you wake up, and every day you make the decision to live; or maybe one morning you wake and decide - not.  Are you going to take a coin out and flip it?  I did.

Do you know that the suicide rate among veterans aged 24 and under is two to three times higher than the national average?  True story.  It’s not just in the United States, either.  There have been studies published in the US by the Veterans Administration, in the United Kingdom and even in Russia.

There are a lot of reasons given, some down to earth, some with fancy names like Separation Anxiety.  Here are a couple:

• harrowing experiences in conflict zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan
• those entering military service at a young age are already vulnerable to suicide
• obstacles to getting a new job, particularly if they were injured in action.
• become homeless
• turn to alcohol or drugs or suffer mental illnesses such as depression
• longer deployments were a contributing factor
• personal and legal problems

 This is the one that comes closest to the truth, as it relates to me.

Leaving any job can be hard, but for people leaving the armed forces the adjustment to their new circumstances can sometimes be particularly difficult

No kidding.

I joined the Navy when I was seventeen, I was intelligent enough, (so said the Navy), that I got a really good school in Electronics, went to school at the National Security Agency and the Army Security Agency, and in eight years in the Navy I went to sea three days and that was to go fishing!  I caught one fish.  I love to fish, but am generally lousy at it, and I almost got washed overboard on one of the trips.  The only reason I didn’t was I grabbed the rail as I went under it.  The Captain of the fishing boat was more upset that the wave that almost washed me overboard went down the open hatch and got his bunk wet.  I could understand that, sea water is tough to clean out of cloth.

After I was discharged, I actually lucked out and got a job working in a reduction plant for Kaiser in Mead, WA.  Now for those of you who don’t have a firm grasp on what this means, it means I was working twenty feet off of the ground on a crane that in the Fall the temperature of the crane metal was 120 degrees.  In the Winter, the metal was down in the 70’s, but the wind coming in the window made it thirty below.  The reduction cells below you put out gas that would gag a maggot because the crane you were working on could not put the correct ratio of chemicals in it, because the crane was broken.  If you worked down below on the cells, you would take the covers off and using the crane pull out a carbon block, take a twenty pound steel bar and chip off the crust around the hole you just created.  The hole being opened exposed the molten metal which was 2000 degrees Farenheight.  No mistake, 2000 degrees.  Then you would use the overhead crane and put a 400 pound carbon block back in the hole, and go do that for two more hours.  There were open 30 gallon barrels of ice cold water every so often that you would plunge your wrists into to help cool your system back down.  One of the guys I worked with had the nickname “42 and Puke” because he would get halfway through the carbon change, at cell 42, and puke his guts out.  Then you would take a break, eat lunch, and start over again.  You needed to sweat, because then when the molten metal spit at you it would hit and just bounce off, instead of burning its way in.  I still have burn scars around my neck and my arms from where there wasn’t enough sweat.  That was the job that I was lucky to get.  It paid better, and had better benefits, than any other job in town.  My first day there I wasn’t an Electrician yet.  I actually worked on the cells for over a year before I became an Electrician.  Want to know what my first job was on my first day there?  Go down to a particular cell, remove the glove, and bring it to the foreman.  No big deal, ok, I can do that. I went down and got the glove; it still had the man’s finger in it.  You learned to be careful really quickly.  My wife worked in the Emergency Room at the largest hospital, (it was also the only hospital), on the North side of town where the plant was.  She said you could always tell the guys that came in from Kaiser, even if it was their day off, because they would sit there and tell the nurses to take someone else, they were ok, even when they were holding a bloody rag to their arm, or holding ice on a burn.  We were used to it, it was our job, it’s just what we did.  Like an abusive situation, you can get used to anything if it happens long enough.  It becomes normal.

Now you ask, what does this have to do with anything?  I’ll tell you.  I got this job because a man I was stationed with in Puerto Rico and his Dad worked there. They put in a good word for me and I was in.  To get a job there at that time, if you weren’t a relative of someone who worked there, or a real good friend, you didn’t get on.  He was trying to watch my back, help me out just because I was in the Navy with him.

 I went through all of the training and schooling, had all of this experience, and this is the best job in town?  Did I tell you? I turned down a job with IBM and Al Gore’s company, Electronic Data Systems to go to school for two more years to become a computer mainframe Systems Analyst.  I actually had one of their headhunters fly up to Spokane and interview me at the Ramada Inn.  Why would I turn down a job like that and take one in a reduction plant?  Simple, my family meant more to me than a high wage and being on the road 75-90% of the time after the school.  I figured I wouldn’t know my children and I would be divorced in five years.

I would come home from the plant and my wife said she could see me outside and I would be whistling, (poorly), and as soon as I walked in the door I would be instantly angry.  Just like throwing a switch. I lived like this for several years.

Here’s why.  When you are in the Military, you form close bonds quickly with the people you work with.  You don’t have time to waste.  You count on these people to watch your back and you watch theirs.  You become closer to them than what used to be your other family, your relatives.  You laugh together, cry together, hope together, and if you are in combat, pray you all make it out together.  I was lucky, the equipment I had to work on was huge and fixed, so I didn’t have combat duty, so I can’t really talk about that.  I would put friends and relatives on a perfectly good plane though, and when they came back it had bunches of holes in it, so I did pray a lot, and I’m not a religous person normally. 

 When you get out of the service, there is no one there to watch your back, no one there to really talk to.  You look at the civilian people walking around in blissful ignorance and think, “You fool, you don’t have a clue as to what is really happening.”  You are lonely, cut off, and afraid – plain and simple.

So, one morning I got up and flipped the coin.  It came down Tails.

 At this time Lee was still alive, but he wasn’t around to talk to when I needed him.  Ken was becoming a friend, but I couldn’t talk to him.  I didn’t want to tell my wife and upset her.  So I lived a lie, I hid what I was going through. One time Ken and I were out getting firewood .  We each had a one ton truck that would hold two and a half cord of wood.  For those of you who don’t know what a cord is, it is a stack of wood 4′x4′x8′.  Now multiply that by 2.5 and that is how much we could get on each truck.  A cord of Tamarack weighs 3,000 plus pounds depending on the pitch content, so each truck had about 7,500 pounds of wood right behind the driver.  Interesting.  One day I started to drive off the road, I actually had the right front tire off when I had the thought that Ken would have to pull me out, and what if the only thing that happened was I was paralyzed for the rest of my life?  That would be a real joke, wouldn’t it?  Also not real fair to Ken, he’s actually a pretty decent person.  Why inflict my problems on him, he had nothing to do with it.  So I managed to get the wheel back on the road, nobody the wiser.  I did have a Colt Gold Cup Model 1911 .45 caliber at the time and it started looking pretty good, but then I thought if my wife found me like that she’d be mad as hell and would kill me herself if I screwed up, besides, it would be kind of messy.  So I sold the pistol before it looked better.  Did I rationalize myself out of it; did I just chicken out; did I not really want to die?  Maybe, I really can’t tell you, because I just don’t know.

I think my wife knew, she is a very smart, very caring, and very intelligent lady.  She asked me one time why I married her, I told her it was because she was smarter than I was, and why should I have to be the one to have to talk down.  She kept after me for several months to go to a weekend getaway called Marriage Encounter.  I had enough Encounters and just didn’t want to go.  Nag Nag Nag.  I finally went just so I wouldn’t have to hear about it anymore.  It was a good weekend, it forced me to talk to my wife about specific questions, like death, religion, and pain.  It was the first time I cried over my Dad.  When the weekend was over, Lee and Cindy were there to greet us.  They had gone through the same thing.  After the weekend, my wife and I decided to talk to people after they did their weekends and were what was termed a Post Encounter Presention Team.  That’s where we met Mike and Shirley.

Looking back, was it a good thing the coin came down tails?  Maybe.  Was it a good thing that I went on the weekend when I did?  Definite yes there.  Am I glad to still be here and see my wife every day and see my Grandkids? Damn straight!

If you think you need to flip the coin, and have it come down tails, re-consider.  I don’t talk religion, politics or sexual preferences, and I don’t want to.  There is one line I firmly believe in though:

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

Stick around and see what happens, it could get interesting.

I think everyone at some point in their lives thinks about suicide, of voluntarily opting out.

What caused you to think about it?
What caused you to stop from doing it?
Will you try again?

Goldfinger — Guy Hamilton, director; with Sean Connery as James Bond

The third film in the Bond fanchise came as 1964’s Goldfinger and is the first film in the franchise to see a change in director. Terence Young was out and seasoned English director, Guy Hamilton was in. This was Hamilton’s first of four Bond pictures that he would direct. Not that Hamilton is a better director than Young, but he is certainly on par. Goldfinger is an incredibly fun Bond film and one with probably one of the most memorable villains, Auric Goldfinger.

This is the first Bond film in the franchise to feature a villain who is working 100% on his own terms. Goldfinger is incredibly wealthy, incredibly organized and incredibly insane. He doesn’t work for SMERSH or SPECTRE or any agency like that. He’s truly on his own and has his own plans for world domination. Well, maybe not world domination per se, but he’s certainly greedy enough to try and destroy Fort Knox with an atomic weapon thus increasing the value of his own supply of gold by leaps and bounds. It’s a great scheme too because he’s not trying to screw over the Soviets and he’s not out to mess with the United States and their space program; no, he’s simply going to render a gigantic supply of gold useless for decades by poisoning it with nuclear radiation. It’s incredibly crazy and it’s not linked to one specific country. Goldfinger has no allegenience to any one country which makes him that much more dangerous. Goldfinger’s plan wouldn’t be as sinister if it wasn’t for the great acting from Gert Fröbe. Sure his lines were all dubbed because his German accent was too thick to not require subtitles, but his facial expressions and body language are pitch perfect. And he’ll forever be tied to the greatest villain line of all time: “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” Very straight forward especially for a Bond villain.

Bond first encounters Goldfinger in Miami where M has asked him to keep tabs on him at a beach resort. There Bond finds that Goldfinger is cheating a man in a game of gin rummy. Which is awesome considering that even though he’s about to hatch this plan that stands to make him billions of dollars richer, he’s still just hustling some poor schmuck by the pool. He’s doing this thanks to the aid of his assistant, Jill Masterson, who is spying on the opponent’s cards with binoculars from a balcony. Once Bond notices this he barges into Masterson’s hotel room to distract her and then eventually gets on the radio and blackmails Goldfinger into losing the game. After Goldfinger is ruined, Bond convinces Jill to go back to his place to celebrate and while getting some champagne from the kitchen, Bond is knocked out by one of the most famous Bond assassins, the deadly Oddjob. Oddjob, you’ll remember, is the only cinematic assassin to ever kill someone by throwing his hat at them. When Bond comes to he finds Jill dead in his bed, suffocated under her own skin by a thick layer of gold paint.

The film also features the Bond girl with the most memorable name this side of “Octopussy” which is of course the one and only Pussy Galore, played by Avengers star, Honor Blackman. She was just coming off The Avengers when this movie came up and at first wasn’t sure if she’d take it after being known as Catherine Gale for so long in England. But nevertheless she did the movie and is definitely one of the best Bond girls–mainly because she actually gives Bond a challenge. She fights off his advances for longer than most women Bond attempts to seduce. Pussy Galore is Goldfinger’s personal pilot and also runs her own all-female stunt pilot team, “Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus.” She’s not only a private pilot, but integral to Goldfinger’s scheme because she and her team of pilots are responsible for dropping nerve gas over Fort Knox in order to render everyone on the property unconscious–this is how Goldfinger and his team plan to infiltrate the highly guarded compound.

And infiltrate they do! Another great thing about this movie is that Goldfinger comes  so close to actually pulling off his evil plan! He successfully invades Fort Knox and activates the nuclear weapon. His flaw, like all cocky Bond villains, is that he leaves Bond alive and chained to the device. You idiot, Goldfiner! You could’ce been so rich and alive instead of, well, murdered! So of course Bond is going to break free. What’s great though is that we get to see Bond’s ignorance when it comes to technology. Sure he uses all of Q’s gadgets and they usually wind up saving his life, but when it comes to actually thinking technologically Bond is at a loss. While handcuffed to the bomb’s casing he doesn’t even pick the lock, instead he just smashes the cuffs with gold bars until they break. So obviously he’s baffled when standing over this nuclear weapon and attempting to figure out how to shut it down. Just as he’s about to rip out some wires and really do a number on the thing, a nuclear technician gently reaches over and turns a switch, instantly shutting down the device and stopping the countdown at “007″. So not only is Bond stumped by advanced technology, but by the film’s end the day is also technically saved by some unknown, unnamed, American, nuclear technician who does nothing more than flip a switch. Genius.

Pussy Galore sees the error of her ways and eventually decides to go with Bond instead of Goldfinger, but not before Goldfinger forces her to hijack a plane with Bond on it (bound for D.C. so Bond can be personally congratulated by Lyndon Johnson of course. You think Bond gets thanked by the President of the United States a lot? Probably.) In the last few moments, a gun is fired off in the cabin, breaking a window, and poor, portly Goldfinger is sucked out leaving Bond and Pussy to parachute to safety. And this isn’t the last time we’ll see Bond bed a girl while hiding under a parachute; it happens at least one more time in Goldeneye.

It contains one of the best villains, the best named character and has Connery doing some of his finest work as Bond. While not my favorite film in the franchise, Goldfinger has totally held up over the last forty-five years as one of the greatest Bond thrill rides. The action sequences are great–the best being a car chase featuring Bond and what seems like a hundred Chinese assassins–and they work so well with the sets here too. Especially in the case of Fort Knox, a place that few people know what the inside looks like. The final shootout in the underground vault is really incredible and Ken Adam’s production design really shines through as dozens of extras fire off weapons and do battle on the multi-level set up.

For anyone looking to start watching Bond films but aren’t sure where to start, I’d say that Goldfinger is probably the most accessible Connery film, if not one of the most accessible of the franchise. It has everything that all great Bond films have: great villain, great action, many seductive ladies that pique Bond’s interest and most importantly it’s not cheesy. I think the easiest way to get turned off by these movies is starting with the bad ones: Moonraker, Die Another Day, etc., but if you get the good ones out of the way first, the rest just follow along and are forgiveable. Goldfinger is most certainly a Bond film that needs no forgiveness.

Goldfinger is available on DVD and Blu-ray from MGM.

The Great Bond Rewatch of 2009 returns next week with Thunderball.

Sometimes, you’re not really aware you’ve hit a turning point until well after the fact. For the world of James Bond — in both his cinema and literary incarnations — one such turning point was 2002.

At the time, the year seemed to be normal for 007. The 40th anniversary of the film series hit and included Die Another Day, the 20th film in the series produced by Eon Productions. Box office receipts certainly seemed good (the film had two straight weeks as No. 1). Meanwhile, another continuation novel, The Man With the Red Tatoo was published. It seemed liked everything would continue.

However, the seeds for change were already being sown. Despite Pierce Brosnan saying publicly he had been asked back by Eon, the film makers were again talking about how exhausting the Bond series was and not being sure where the Bond films would go next. Within 18 months, Brosnan was out as 007 and Eon began a search that would end with the casting of Daniel Craig.

On the literary side, a new regime had taken over at the former Glidrose, now calling itself Ian Fleming Publications. Raymond Benson’s run as author of 007 continuation novels was over after six novels. In an interview on the Commander Bond site, Benson said the change was by mutual agreement.

Bond fans are still feeling those chanes today. There hasn’t been a “regular” Bond movie since Die Another Day. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace essentially were a two-part “Bond Begins” reboot.

Despite the recent announcement about a Bond 23 screenwriting team, there hasn’t been a firm release date disclosed. 2011 would seem to be the earliest date possible. Over on the literary side, there has only been one adult Bond novel since 2002: Devil May Care, published last year — and published as a one-shot, with author Sebastian Faulks saying he won’t do a second. What’s more, Devil May Care reflected one major change of course, having the story be a period piece instead of a timeshifted tale, a la the continuation novels of John Gardner and Raymond Benson.

Where all this is leading remains to be seen. But what is clear is that 2002 was the last year of business as ususal for 007, something that wasn’t readily apparent at the time.

Remember when I made a post on the V12 Vantage? Well in that post, I mentioned that my favorite Aston Martin ever was the V12 Vanquish and that I would do a post about it later on. Well this is later on! For all who have never seen the Vanquish (if that is possible), you may remember it from the James Bond movie: “Die Another Day”. That is the one where Halle Berry where’s that hot bikini walking out of the ocean, ah now you remember huh!

Anyway, back to the Vanquish or as Q in Die Another Day called it; the Vanish. Now I love most of Aston Martin’s creations but this car is just in a league of its own. It’s got this strong beast of a body, nice big wheels and of course a monstrous V12 engine. It’s just a bulgy, wide and strong car. The kind of car I can get used to. I’ve seen nearly all the Aston Martin’s on the road and the Vanquish just stands out completely from the rest. I’m sure if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. When the Vanquish was first created it was meant to be the flagship of the Astons to come and even though it is no longer being recreated, I think it really set Aston apart from their competitors. I would take an Aston Martin over a lot of exotics any day, they are just more subtle and modest with this amazing power and sound to them.

Taking a look under the hood of the Vanquish is always a pleasure. You can just admire that massive 6.0L V12 engine which harvests 520hp at 7000rpm and 425lb-ft torque. As the Vanquish evolved so did it’s performance but never it’s look to a large degree, do you know why? Because its mind blowing the way it is that’s why! When the V12 Vanquish of 2007 was released, we saw that the handling was significantly increased, as was the speed making it the fastest Aston Martin ever produced until 07′.

My Thoughts: We’ll you all know I love this car since I’ve mention it once or twice so I’ll keep it short. It’s fast, it’s beautiful in a powerfully subtle way, and I think it will be remembered for a long time to come.

Thumbs high up for the Vanquish! This goes into the Forever Driven Favorites Archives! Check out the category to see my other preferred posts.

See, the thing about a car like the Vanquish is that more than half the fun is listening to it’s roar. So listen!

Gazapo en DIE ANOTHER DAY

Gazapo de DIE ANOTHER DAY incluido en el libro HUMOR