Craig as Bond

The Early Films: Notable Elements of Dr. No

admin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dr No is the film that brought Bond……..James Bond… to life on the silver screen. Yes, the very first film. It became the template and formula for the prototypical “Bond” film as we know it today. All the elements that we love and come to expect can be found here in this first movie.

There is quite a back-story involving the difficulties of the producers to find a studio and the right “star” to bring James Bond to life. It almost never happened, yes, no one was interested in funding or staring in this movie. Ian Fleming, the author, did sell the rights for a different “Bond” story to a British production company, which did produce a television episode. After years of struggle the producers brought together an actor and studio, both capable and interested in creating all the elements required to bring Mr. Fleming’s character to life on the big screen.

The opening scene!…..yes, this changed the way movies could open. The title imagery and music together were a perfect fit, it’s an iconic part of “Bond” lore. An odd, eccentric villain who seemed to enjoy witty repartee with our hero was introduced in Dr NO. The “Bond” women were special…and still are. The triumphant ending against all odds, quickly followed by a casual and light-hearted moment of intimacy. The last thing of note in Dr NO that became a “tradition” was a line in the ending credits that fans would wait for…..”James Bond will return in…”

The Early Books: Plot Summaries for Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker

admin — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Casino Royale: In this reboot of the James Bond franchise starring Daniel Craig in his first role as James Bond it is Set at the beginning of Bond’s career as he has just received his license to kill, Bond battles a banker named Le Chiffre in a high stakes poker tournament. It is known as being more realistic and brutal than previous Bond movies were as Daniel Craig has stated,http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id16027.

Live and Let Die:Live and Let die is the 8th overall James Bond film and the first to star classic Bond actor Roger Moore. It concerns a Harlem drug dealer named Mr Big as Bond’s primary nemesis. He also faces off against a psychic tarot card reader amongst other enemies. The villain was played by famous actor Yaphet Kotto and was influenced by many of the “blaxploitation” films of the time. It was also the first Bond film to feature an African-American ‘Bond girl’.

Moonraker: Adapted from Bond creator Ian Fleming’s third James Bond novel, Moonraker is the 11th James Bond movie produced and the fourth to star classic Bond series protagonist Roger Moore. The plot concerns James Bond as he attempts to stop Hugo Drax, an owner of a space shuttle manufacturing film. Bond travels throughout the world, and eventually into outer space to continue his goal of stopping Mr. Hugo Drax.

The Early Voice of Bond Theme Songs

www.craigasbond.com — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve heard the lilting title song to Goldfinger and wondered if the same singer followed up with the themes to Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker, you have a very astute ear! All themes were sung by multi-award winning Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. Awards include acknowledgement by the EMI awarding her for her 20-years as a recording artist as well as being decorated with the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) honors in 2000. And when it comes to her 1964 United Artists single for the theme from Goldfinger, that was also recognized in 2008 when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. For those of you who have been drawn to her voice from the moment you heard its seductive quality on the Goldfinger theme, you’ll be pleased to know she recorded a new album in 2009 with James Bond composer David Arnold as a co-producer along with Mike Dixon. Several prominent artists like Manic Street Preachers, KT Tunstall, the Pet Shop Boys and Nick Hodgson (of the Kaiser Chiefs) contributed to the song writing of the album titled The Performance. Reviewers of the album have commented that it includes many tracks that could have easily been “Bond themes,” so you may want to check it out.

2011 Bond Marathons

mgeedey — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Nope, we’re not talking about James running a 42.195 kilometer foot race; or even suggesting that he is pre-training for an iron man competition. We’re talking about a television marathon of all your favorite Bond films packed as closely together as possible. Now, we know if you’re a true Bond aficionado you probably have the complete collection at your fingertips, but suppose for just a moment that you’re not in the comfort of your own home yet still want to access some action moments to share with friends or family? Then you might just need to tap into some of the marathons like Spike TV, Syfy, and USA TV have been known to sponsor in years past (sometimes going up to 53 hours or more of 007 programming). If you want to find out when the next epic event will be happening this year you might want to keep tabs on your Direct TV listings so you can make sure you have the necessary supplies when the event occurs you know, the martini shaker and the girl!

Summer Never Looked So Good

www.craigasbond.com — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Here we are in the dead of winter when most of our thoughts revert to hot summer nights and the cool reprieve found inside the walls of a theater. Well, that reprieve is going to be a lot more sizzling this year than in years past due to Daniel Craig’s hot new film Cowboys & Aliens, scheduled to be released the Summer of 2011. Directed by the same director as Iron Man, Cowboys & Aliens has a similar theme in the sense that the main character (a cowboy played by Craig; hence the film’s title) has a shackle on one wrist that unleashes power similar to Iron Man’s surplus gear. A posse of top film makers like Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci combined talents to bring this exciting film to life. The basic plot line is simple: in Silver City, Arizona, Apache Indians and Western settlers must lay their differences aside when an alien spaceship crash lands in their city; but you know with the talent pool already mentioned there is going to be nothing “simple” about this film. Check out this trailer so you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about when it comes to full-blown excitement!

Ian Fleming and Some Trivia

www.craigasbond.com — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:40:44 +0000

What would a website dedicated to “all things Bond” be without paying homage to the creator of Bond himself, Ian Fleming. But before we delve into the story of the man, how about a tidbit on how the name Bond was developed in the first place. The name James Bond itself came from a famed ornithologist James Bond, the son of the Bond family who allowed Fleming the use of their estate in Jamaica to write (perhaps also by an Elizabethan Bond from Fleming’s earlier years). The Bonds were wealthy manufacturers whose estate outside Philadelphia eventually became the grounds of Gwynedd Mercy College. Fleming reputedly used the name after seeing James Bond’s 1936 book Birds of the West Indies. Also of interest is that the Bond novels were not at first received as bestsellers in the United States, and it was only after President John F. Kennedy included From Russia With Love as one of his favorite books that the sales of Fleming’s work took off state-side. Okay, back to Fleming who was born in London on 28th May 1908 and educated at Eton College and then abroad in Germany and Austria. After an early career at Reuters news agency, he became a stockbroker. During World War 2 he worked throughout as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence in the Admiralty in London, privy to many secrets. Following the war he became foreign manager, in charge of foreign correspondents, for Kemsley newspapers, owners of the Sunday Times and other papers. In 1952 he wrote his first thriller, Casino Royale, and introduced James Bond, agent 007 to the world. He published a further thirteen James Bond titles before his death at a relatively young age. But before we leave we should point out one more piece of trivia in that Ian Fleming’s personal interests were very often included as subjects or references in his Bond novels such as his love of Jamaica which was referenced in Live and Let Die and Thunderball; and his love of skiing in the Alps as used in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Don’t you just love an author that can weave personal snippets in a spy-lie manner into their work? Kudos, Mr. Fleming.

Top three Bond vehicles

www.craigasbond.com — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:23:29 +0000

One of the most noticeable features of James Bond isn’t his charming way with women, or the way he always escapes death at the last minute, but rather his smoking hot cars! Over the course of the Bond films, we have seen Bond driving the most decadent Aston Martins. While all of the cars are extremely beautiful to look at it, we narrowed it down to the top three Aston Martin vehicles. . . trust us, it was no easy decision.Aston Martin DB5Appearing in five of the total 22 Bond films, the Aston Martin DB5 is one of the most recognizable Bond vehicles. If you watch Goldeneye, Goldfinger, Tomorrow Never Dies, Thunderball, and Casino Royale, you’ll recognize the sleek, five-speed transmission vehicle.Aston Martin V8 Vantage VolanteFeatured in The Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton drives this beautifully designed car. In the film, Q adds quite a few features to the Bond vehicle; such as tire spikes, a self-destruct system, and heat-seeking missiles behind the fog lights. Beautiful and deadly? What a car!Aston Martin DBS V12As such avid admirers of the Daniel Craig films, we couldn’t forget the Aston Martin DBS V12. Featured in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, the DBS isn’t fitted with any weaponry; however, it doesn’t take away from the car’s beautiful design.

Daniel Craig as James Bond

www.craigasbond.com — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:20:02 +0000

It was only five years ago that Daniel Craig signed on to play the infamous James Bond. Following in the footsteps of actors such as Sean Connery and Roger Moore, the role was already intimidating enough. However, the actor would face criticisms from fans before Casino Royale had even been released.The actor would take these criticisms in stride, and when discussing his new role, he always expressed concern in playing the role just right. In an interview with The Mirror, Craig explained that all the negative comments made him lose his humor, but he also said: “but I vowed to work twice as hard to get it right.”Not only was Craig the first blonde 007, but he is the first actor to play Bond after Ian Fleming’s death. In-fact, Craig himself was born after the films started, making him the first actor born after the films started, to play 007.Despite all the criticisms, and the pressure the new Bond faced, Casino Royale made a total of 594, 239,066 globally, making it the highest grossing Bond movie ever made. Craig would go on to play Bond in the 22^nd Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and has signed onto all the movies leading up until Bond 25.According to a 2008 interview from Parade magazine, Craig has breathed new life into the Bond character: “The question I keep asking myself while playing the role is, ‘Am I the good guy or just a bad guy who works for the good side?’ Bond’s role, after all, is that of an assassin when you come down to it. I have never played a role in which someone’s dark side shouldn’t be explored. I don’t think it should be confusing by the end of the movie, but during the movie you should be questioning who he is.”The actor has overcome all the initial criticisms he faced, not only proving he can play 007′s role, but revolutionizing the way we view Bond’s character, too. Now, all we can do is eagerly wait for the release of the next Bond film.

The next Bond film has been suspended indefinitely

www.craigasbond.com — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:22:55 +0000

This past April, the next installment of the Bond films was indefinitely suspended. MGM currently holds a 50 stake in the company that makes the Bond films (EON). As such, EON cannot make films without the assistance of MGM, who currently, are in great financial trouble. It is because MGM is struggling that that filming has been suspended.MGM’s financial difficulties are deep. In-fact, the business is hoping another company will purchase them. Since the news of MGM’s struggles, rumors about the different companies that would purchase MGM have been surfacing. In July of this year, it was suggested that Lionsgate might step in and acquire the filming company. Only a month later and reports were focused on a possible Spyglass deal. However, as of yet nothing has been made official.Previously, the new Bond was scheduled for release in 2011. Some speculations have pushed the movie’s release as far back as 2013; however, according to IMDB.com, that release date is currently listed as 2012 (but even that date isn’t definite). The year is one that composer David Arnold suggested in an interview. Arnold had said that the earliest fans could expect to see the new Bond would be the later end of 2012.For now, nobody can set a definite date for the 23^rd Bond installment’s release. It will take time for the monetary troubles of MGM to subside, and until then, the next Bond film will continue in its suspended state.