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. [ PHOTOS: Prince Charles meets 007 on the Skyfall red carpet ] Like the storylines connecting Casino Royale with the subsequent Quantum of Solace , Bonds 24 and 25 would take Craig through another multiple film dramatic arc, which Bond fans seemed to have loved. And with his Bond increasingly dealing with themes of age and obsolescence, as he does in November’s Skyfall , these two Bond films would presumably see Craig passing the torch to a new agent , or at least closing his chapter of the franchise. Logan, meanwhile, earned his first Bond credit on Skyfall alongside Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. [ Deadline ]
He is the most glamorous four-legged A-lister alive, and Uggie isn’t wasting any dog years to cash in. The celebrated Jack Russell who stole the limelight in last year’s multiple Oscar-winning film The Artist is pushing his memoirs. The book titled simply, Uggie: My Story just came out and the lovable pooch headed to the City of Lights for a signing and photo call – naturally. Uggie even gave a couple of woof woofs for French newspapers at an event on the famed Champs Elysées, and used the Arc de Triomphe as a backdrop for photos. The famous pooch then headed to the world-famous Left Bank Brasserie Lipp for some gastronomic indulgence. Lipp counted fellow author Ernest Hemingway as a regular in addition to fellow actors Harrison Ford, Gérard Depardieu, Gregory Peck, Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even French Presidents Francois Mitterand and Jacques Chirac dined there – maybe another career goal for Uggie? Published by HarperCollins, Uggie shares about his love for Reese Witherspoon, with whom he starred in Water for Elephants and his much less glitzy start as an unwanted puppy at the dog pound. “Uggie is doing wonders for Franco-American relations,” his co-author Wendy Holden said via The Guardian. “After all his favorite word is ‘moi’ and he is a huge fan of saucisse . If only Mitt Romney had such charisma.” Uggie already has a product line, including an iPhone/iPad app. He’ll likely be well-off as he settles into his golden years at age 11 (that’s 77 to you and me). He’s travelling in style and the hotels have been kind enough to ask what he requires, but his needs are simple: clean water and the occasional fresh patch of grass. He was born to be a star,” added Holden. “The fact he is a dog is really by-the-by.” [ The Guardian ] [ Photo credit: David Livingston/Getty Images ]
Compact and athletic in their identical cargo pants, Alex ( Gael García Bernal ) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) are almost the same size, a pair of well-traveled pixies making their way through Georgia (the country, not the state). They’re engaged to be married, but in the meantime they’re backpacking, a journey that, when The Loneliest Planet begins, is about to take them into the Caucasus Mountains on a multi-day hike for which they’ve hired a guide named Dato (Bidzina Gujabidze). They look so happy and free, Nica and Alex, trying out the few phrases of Georgian they’ve picked up and partaking of local street food after a minor investigation as to what kind of meat it involves. They’re the opposite of ugly Americans (Alex might not actually be American at all), ready to try anything and quietly confident that they’ll be welcomed, that the world is meant to be explored. The third film from Julia Loktev ( Day Night Day Night ) and, by this critic’s reckoning, one of the finest of the year, The Loneliest Planet is based on a short story by Tom Bissell that’s itself inspired by a famous Hemingway work, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber . That earliest incarnation of this narrative is about a wealthy couple on a hunting trip in Africa lead by a professional guide, the wife a beautiful, emasculating figure who punishes her husband for a recent display of cowardice out in the bush. Bissell offered up a less toxic, contemporized take on the characters, but Loktev’s version is something else again, a profoundly cinematic exploration of the way a single incident completely unsettles the way this man and woman think of each other and themselves. The Loneliest Planet is primarily a three-person drama, and its eventual deep emotional turmoil and the power shifts that come with it play out not in speech but in behavior, submerged in everything from the withholding of physical contact to the formation in which the trio of hikers walks. The splintering incident, which takes place at the midpoint of the film, is in fact never discussed, though it reverberates throughout everything that follows. It’s a frightening but relatively minor thing that comes complete with a punchline, the kind of story you’d get mileage out of at a dinner party, but what it reveals about Alex and, eventually, Nica, is such that the couple stumbles through the hours after in a state of shock. The Loneliest Planet was made with an intoxicating and precise faith in the ability of images to convey feelings that words would be too clumsy and blunt to appropriately delineate. Its sophistication in its storytelling isn’t minimalism, exactly – the film never feels like it’s making a gimmick of its stretches of silence or choosing them over exchanges of dialog, but rather makes it clear that speech is unnecessary or inadequate. The film’s giant in scope, set against gorgeous wilderness, pulling back for periodic long shots in which the characters are tiny beside the splendid scenery. But its dramas are claustrophobic, defined in part by the presence of Dato as the outsider witnessing this implosion, the three always in each other’s company as they make their way over rocky and grassy terrain and break to camp for the night. Loktev, working with cinematographer Inti Briones, allows the film to flow out in long takes, the camera another impassive observer, sometimes still and other times tracking alongside the trio as they walk. The unbroken shots demand very intimate performances – Bernal and Furstenberg both have interesting, mobile faces that are allowed to occupy the frame for unhurried beats. Furstenberg, with her bright red hair and gap teeth, is a goofily unconventional beauty, and Bernal’s at his best like this, when he allows his handsomeness to be accompanied by a note of shiftiness. He and Furstenberg suggest their characters’ whole history together in easy shorthand, from the game they make of conjugating verbs in Spanish to the way they settle in to read Knut Hamsun at night in their tent. They aren’t smug, but a halo of bohemian sophistication illuminates many of their actions, from Nica’s insistence that she doesn’t need help navigating a tricky crossing to Alex noting that he doesn’t have a car, only a bicycle. As it’s put to the test several times in the latter half of the film, it’s revealed as a surface quality covering up underlying expectations neither Nica nor Alex may have realized they harbored. Non-pro Gujabidze brings both a dry humor and an almost frightening soulfulness to his character. As Nica drifts to his side, a cowed Alex trails after them, seeking out penance by insisting they needn’t stop when he hurts his leg and going out into the rain without a jacket. Dato’s otherness becomes evident and a kind of test, the life he’s led so different and so marked by tragedy that he dwarfs Nica and Alex in the privilege they’ve been able to enjoy, in the existences that have left them unscarred, fresh and unaware. They are, for all their curiosity and adventurousness, just visitors, passing through and taking in these sites and experiences before heading home. For all the film’s long silences, it’s the opening up and talking that becomes the loneliest moment of them all, a sharp and the sudden reveal of the distance that can exist between two people. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The time is ripe for a James Bond auction. The latest in the franchise, Skyfall , heads to North American theaters in early November and the 50th anniversary of 007 is a key slot for a memorabilia sale. Posters from every Bond pic, stills, lobby cards, scripts and other memorables will hit the auction block and in December and is expected to take in over $200K. But the loot may pail in comparison to an earlier sale of Bond tidbits, including a bathing suit worn by 007’s latest incarnation, Daniel Craig . One of the centerpieces of the planned sale of Bond memorabilia is a rare From Russia With Love special advance Leicester Square world-premiere poster from 1963, according to Reuters. It is one of only a handful known to exist and it’s expected to nab $10,000 – $15,000. Certainly not bad, though not quite the tidy sum swimming trunks worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale fetched at a separate London auction . Judi Dench presented the swimming costume (as the Brits call it) and joked they were “unwashed,” selling for a cool $72,000. The latest items going under the hammer were assembled by a private British collector over 25 years, noted the auction house’s head Joe Maddalena. “He wanted to build the most comprehensive James Bond movie poster collection,” he said. “It’s really a mind-boggling collection.” Maddalena pointed out a yellow Dr. No silkscreen on linen poster from 1962 that is thought to be the very first 007 film poster ever to appear to the public. Other highlights going on sale is a rare U.K. advance for Goldfinger and a 1964 British Thunderball poster from 1965. They’re expected to sell for $4,000 – $6,000, though Maddalena noted that he tries to keep estimates “conservative.” The auction will take place n Los Angeles December 15 and 16 and will include hundreds of other Hollywood-themed memorabilia aside from Bond. Auctions have reaped huge sums in past sales. Marilyn Monroe’s “subway” dress from The Seven Year Itch sold for a whopping $5.5 million, while Audrey Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady grabbed $4.4 million. [ Source: Reuters ]
Readers may be more familiar with the ever-chaning Willow Smith hairstyles than they are with this veyr young artist’s voice, but the offspring of Will and Jada has set out to change that. By covering the biggest artist of her generation. Smith has posted a video of herself singing the chorus from Adele’s ” Skyfall ,” the theme song for this year’s new James Bond movie. Does she do the track justice? Would you buy this as a single? Listen and decide now: Willow Smith – “Skyfall”
Survey says… Willow jumped online to give us her rendition of ‘Skylfall’; the new James Bond theme song which is originally sung by Adele. What do you think about her version (even if it is just the hook)? Images via youtube
Also in Tuesday morning’s round-up of news briefs: Paramount hosts an interactive event for its Oscar hopeful; Sony sets new release dates for Robocop and Elysium ; And over in India, two of Bollywood’s biggest stars tie the knot. Skyfall is James Bond Back to His Best Say Critics Critics have hailed the latest James Bond film, Skyfall , as one of the best in the series in years, a brave and stylish if occasionally sentimental entry which revives Daniel Craig’s standing as one of the greatest 007s four years after the disappointing Quantum of Solace . The movie, directed by Sam Mendes and with cinematography from Roger Deakins, has a 100% “fresh” rating on the review-aggregator site rottentomatoes.com, The Guardian reports . Jim Carrey Eyes Loomis Fargo for Napoleon Dynamite Director Carrey will star in the action-comedy based on the real-life $17 million theft of an armored car. Jared Hess is directing from a script by Danny McBride and Jody Hill. Carrey would play the ex-military leader of a band of Southern armored car guards who pull off the theft, THR reports . Paramount Mounts Flight Interactive Events for Its Oscar Hopeful Taking place the day after the film’s world premiere as the closing-night attraction of the 50th New York Film Festival, director Robert Zemeckis, writer John Gatins and several cast members including John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, and Melissa Leo took part in the interactive post-screening Q&A that featured tweeted questions from the California venues and live queries from the New York audience, many of whom appeared to be industry voters, Deadline reports . Sony Moves Robocop to 2014, Sets Elysium to Summer 2013 Sony/TrisStar moved up Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium , the follow up to the director’s District 9 , from March 1 to August 9. The sci-fi pic set on a space station stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley. The pic is taking the spot previously occupied by Robocop which is being pushed back to February 7, 2014, THR reports . Two Top Bollywood Stars Tie the Knot Hugely popular Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were married in the Indian city of Mumbai. The pair are known as Bollywood’s “first couple,” BBC reports .
David Fincher can’t help but direct. The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo helmsman does what he does best and bosses around a couple of guys from Blur Studio in this Kickstarter campaign video for an animated adaptation of Eric Powell’s very cool comic-book series The Goon . Fincher, who’s teamed up with Powell, Goon publisher Dark Horse Entertainment and Blur directors, Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler, joins those last two men in the clip to attempt to raise $400,000 so that they can produce a finished first reel of the film. And he’s not about to leave the driving to them. After Miller and Fowler begin their appeal, Fincher bigfoots the two guys and decides that a series of niche spots are the way to go. He then proceeds to sell Powell’s world of zombies, vampires, fish-men and giant squid to Little Orphan Annie fans, liberals (“Put a caring man back in the White House”), conservatives (“Put the right man in the White House”) and arch conservatives (“Put a white man back in the White House”) as well as fans of hip hop, R-rated movies and movie trailers. Okay, so the humor is pretty lame, but the footage included in the Kickstarter clip (via FirstShowing.net ) is beautifully bad-ass and features voice work by Clancy Brown as the Goon and Paul Giamatti as Franky’s swashbuckling pupil-less friend Franky. (Now do you get the Little Orphan Annie reference? ) The airborne car scene with Franky spraying machine-gun fire from the hood of a sweet convertible muscle car is dreamy. [ FirstShowing.net ] There’s also this “proof of concept” video. Good stuff. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
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.
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.
