James Bond veteran and BAFTA-nominated director Danny Kleinman has crafted all but one of 007's title sequences since taking over from Maurice Binder, the creator of Bond's iconic gun barrel shot, with 1995's GoldenEye. For Skyfall Kleinman created a moody, inky death dream of a title sequence powered by Adele's "Skyfall" theme song — a reflection, he explains, of the MI6 agent's dark emotional state as Bond's 23rd EON outing unfolds.
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If you weren't one of the scores of moviegoers who contributed to Skyfall's $90 million box office take this past weekend and you're still in spoiler-avoidance mode, then you should stop reading right here. If you did see the movie over the weekend, then you're probably still thinking about the surprises that Skyfall holds for James Bond fans. more »
Introspective masculinity, women on top, cross-dressing PSAs, gay undertones — the James Bond franchise has come a long way in 50 years, most notably during the current era built around Daniel Craig’s serious Blond Bond with the icy blue eyes. Behind the scenes, producers Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson set the record straight on recent Idris Elba-as-Bond rumors and pointed to the post-9/11 shift that spurred them to take Bond from the slick reign of Pierce Brosnan to the morally-complex brand of progressive contemporary heroism embodied in this week’s Skyfall.
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With film bloggers and critics going on about how Skyfall is a James Bond movie that depicts 007 as a human being instead of a cartoon character, I want to draw attention to a smart infographic posted by TinyMaster on Visual.ly that compiles some interesting data about where — and how many times — James Bond has hooked up over the 50 years he's been on the big screen. more »
The Vatican has apparently caught wind of Skyfall mania and it even gave its opinion through its official l'Osservatore Romano newspaper. The 23rd James Bond pic even nabbed a rare review, calling it one of the best in its 5 decades.
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With Skyfall's Daniel Craig seemingly winding down his reign as James Bond, it looks like screenwriter John Logan will be writing off into the sunset alongside him. Deadline reports that the Oscar-nominated Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator, Hugo) is writing two connected scripts that will likely see Craig through the last two 007 outings he's currently signed on for.
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Daniel Craig shared a laugh with royal guest Prince Charles today at the Royal World Premiere of Skyfall in London, where the Prince of Wales and his +1, Camilla, greeted the Blond Bond and his co-stars Naomie Harris, Dame Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, and sultry new Bond girl Berenice Marlohe ahead of Skyfall's debut. (Charles seemed particularly taken with Marlohe — join the club, buddy.)
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That cufflink-speeding train move? Just the tip of the bespoke iceberg when it comes to deconstructing Daniel Craig's Bond through his fashionista sensibilities. But what do Skyfall's style choices tell us about 007's frame of mind?
From the sharp-eyed folks at Clothes on Film, dapper deconstruction of Skyfall:
"For the man himself a modern cut of single breasted, two and three button Britishness. In context these costumes feel real. Silva’s (Javier Bardem) long leather coat might be a villain’s indulgence, but Bond looks immaculate and attainable; far from Savile Row though instilled with the swagger of 1960s cool. Even if Craig – here at his broadest – is in danger of bursting from the fabric on occasions, the vents always hang straight and providing he remembers to breathe in, the top button closes comfortably."
And: The stubble (and island casual outfit) say it all...
"Costume tells Bond’s tale just as much as the stubble that appears then disappears from his chin. Pre-credits he wears a grey sharkskin suit (actually ill-advised for Craig’s pale complexion), then hits the bottle in baggy leather flight jacket and untucked island shirt. For Bond this is as bad as Superman losing his cape – he is almost unrecognisable. Back in London, an unseen trip to Selfridges then stop off at Crockett & Jones and everything is okay again."
Read the full review here.
[Clothes on Film via Movie City News]
Bond isn't bi. At least that's what I took away from Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem's separate but equally vague responses to the erotically charged scene they share in Skyfall. On Monday, the actors took part in separate press conferences to promote the latest installment of the Bond franchise and, in both cases, questions about sexuality arose. more »
Director Sam Mendes and screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan have done a very wily thing for James Bond's 50th anniversary: They've given 007 a midlife crisis. The trauma takes root during the white-knuckle opening of Skyfall, the best film so far of Daniel Craig's run as Ian Fleming's suave super spy and one of the best of the Bond franchise. more »
Alluring. International. Deadly. The so-called Bond Girls are, let's face it, the fetish objects the producers hope will keep us coming back to the 007 pictures. (After the watches — the sweet, sweet watches.)
While the internet is loaded with glamour shots of Bond ladies from Ursula Andress to Michelle Yeoh, these women are more than mere pin-ups. Indeed, here are some oddball facts about the women in James Bond's life that ought to do you well at a dinner party — provided, of course, that you don't order red wine with fish.
Ursula Andress, the ur-Bond Girl (and not just because it is a pun), became an instant screen icon when she emerged from the Caribbean in her white bikini holding... something, I dunno, I never focused on her hands. But did this Swiss ingenue show any gratitude to the official EON James Bond productions? No! Just a few years after her debut as Honey Ryder in Dr. No she turned around and appeared in a legal loophole “unofficial” James Bond production, 1967's Casino Royale.
Andress wasn't the only one to make a mockery of her Bond Girl status. The woman who played Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love, Daniela Bianchi (who came from the Russian section of Italy, apparently), took part in the mockery known as OK Connery, also known as Operation Kid Brother. In it, Neil (brother of Sean) Connery plays a spy called-up as a replacement when his big brother isn't available. The movie has never been released on DVD.
Mie Hama, who played Kissy Suzuki in You Only Live Twice, is notable for what she did before being a Bond Girl. Prior to Hama, most of the women were European models or aspiring actresses who managed to marry well. Hama was a bus conductor. I'm not even 100% sure what a bus conductor is, but I can totally picture her in her native Japan being constructive and forward in modern society. And probably wearing a sharp outfit.
Barbara Broccoli was born into the world of James Bond; along with co-producer Harry Saltzman, her father, Cubby Broccoli, brought 007 to the big screen with Dr. No when Barbara was only two years old. It would be inaccurate to say Broccoli inherited the Bond legacy — she’s made it her own, serving as producer from Goldeneye onwards, and in many ways, ushering cinema's favorite secret agent into the modern era. The Skyfall producer rang Movieline to talk about the early days, Bond's role in the cultural conversation over the years, and what the future holds for the character who, fifty years later, is still synonymous with effortless cool.
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Perhaps all of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming James Bond installment Skyfall has created a bubble for all things 007, or this little piece of pop culture is really worth the thousands it recently fetched from its lucky buyer. The swimming trunks Daniel Craig wore as Bond in his first stint as the sexy agent in Casino Royale sold at auction for almost $72,000 at a charity auction in London. Judi Dench's comments on the cleanliness of the shorts may have also triggered a jump in the price.
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With her soulful contralto, Adele was born to sing a Bond theme song. She delivers with “Skyfall,” produced by regular collaborator Paul Epworth, and released yesterday on James Bond’s 50th birthday. That should be a relief to music lovers and Bond fans alike, but just how much musical DNA does Adele's "Skyfall" share in common with the best Bond themes to date?
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"This is the end/hold your breath and count to ten..." Adele's moody retro James Bond theme song has hit the web in full! How does it measure up to its predecessors? (Best theme in many Bonds, no?) Listen to the U.K. crooner sing "Skyfall" and chime in with your thoughts after the jump.
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