Remember a couple of days ago, when we saw what purported to be the perfect Batman, a composite photo created from all the actors who have played Batman onscreen (we assume he'd sound like Kevin Conroy)? Not to be outdone by the combination of multiple, independently wealthy superheroes, an enterprising person has done the same for Britain's top wetwork operative, James Bond. more »
In five decades, James Bond has racked up many feats from babes to bombs, but one figure 007 hasn't charmed is Oscar, though that will begin to change this year. 007 will receive a full tribute at the 85th Academy Awards.
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Is there a name more tattered in the annals of big-movie casting choices than George Lazenby?
Notice I say “choice” rather than “mistake,” because for all the static about the admittedly somewhat wooden Lazenby’s shortcomings, he managed to hold his own as the steady center of what James Bond fans have gradually come to recognize as one of the hidden highlights of the series, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
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In an industry where success is often measured by a movie's performance over a single (opening) weekend, the James Bond franchise is that rarest of things: a long-distance runner. At 23 movies — 22 if you don't count the independently produced Never Say Never Again — and counting, Ian Fleming's Agent 007 has managed to be mostly relevant at the box office for 50 years and, according to filmsite.org, while earning more than $1.5 billion. That's third only to, respectively, the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises. Even more so than Bob Dylan records (especially the recent ones), Bond movies are very much products of the times in which they are released. The campy 1980s sex-fluff of the Roger Moore 007 movies would probably not fare so well were they released in today's economically fraught kill-or-be-killed world. Daniel Craig is the right Bond for this era, and, if you ask me, in a dead heat with Sean Connery for the best Bond of all time. But, actually, I'm more interested in your opinion.
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No stranger to James Bond himself, Sir Roger Moore said he thinks the current man to hold the reins of 007, Daniel Craig, is the best actor to play the eternally debonaire British secret service agent. Eighty-four year-old Moore, who played Bond in seven films between 1973 and 1985 gave kudos to Craig's performance in his new book, Bond on Bond.
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There could be a new cold-blooded young buck waiting in the wings to play 007 if and when Daniel Craig is over his stint in the role. Heartthrob Robert Pattinson is eyeing the future post-Twilight and has dabbled recently with roles in Bel Ami (which didn't do so spectacularly at the box office) and Cosmopolis which opens in the U.S. next month, but failed to whip up a frenzy in Canada where it opened last month. Still, the dashing actor packs some fan-base mojo and James Bond could be a place down the line and the actor has taken a peek.
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Hollywood has a long history of sending white dudes to Japan to A) fall in love with a local hottie and B) somehow save Japan itself, and that irksome trend shows no sign of ending, to my dismay. The latest Caucasian hero set to do so is LOST’s Matthew Fox, who’s signed on to play real-life figure General Bonner Fellers in Peter Webber’s Emperor, a “nail-biting political thriller” about post-World War II diplomacy…and Fellers’ love affair with a Japanese woman. Sigh. Of course.
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