Live-Blogging the Bond 23 "Skyfall" Press Conference

I couldn't begin to tell you why I do the things I do but rather than make you watch all 28 minutes of the Bond 23 conference, I'm watching it for you; I'm a giver.

007 by way of 11/03

50th Anniversaries on their way!

0:01 As the press conference begins we're reminded that it's exactly 50 years ago today Sean Connery was officially announced to play James Bond in Dr. No (1962). Fun, trivia right?

1:15 The confirmation of the worst kept secret in London: the title is "Skyfall"... They don't mention this but that make Skyfall the second shortest Bond title ever (after Dr. No). The longest title is On Her Majesty's Secret Service. #uselesstrivia

2:02 EDITED TO REMOVE COMPLETELY GARBLED NONSENSICAL SENTENCE WHICH IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU LIVE BLOG. The film will take place in London, Shanghai, Istanbul, and has a heavy Scottish component. 

3:21 Not present at the conference but in the film Sam Mendes tells us are wispy wonderful Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes who are described in virtually the same way as playing...

a part I can't tell you about in scenes I can tell you nothing about"

4:25 The stars come out Berenice Marlowe, Naomie Harris, Dame Judi Dench (Mendes makes a funny "you won't have heard of her but i think she has a very promising career ahead of her"), Javier Bardem will play the villain and of course Daniel Craig as Bond, James Bond 007.

5:53 Sam Mendes says he was a huge fan of Bond films (English schoolboys grow up with him) and he says the first one he saw was Live and Let Die (1973) which is, incidentally, one of the Roger Moore titles.

press conference attendees: Bardem, Marlowe, Mendes, Dench, Craig, Harris, Broccoli and Wilson

6:30 Lots of mutual back patting. Mendes loves Craig (he doesn't mention it but he gave Craig one of his first big American movie roles in Road to Perdition), the Broccoli estate loves Mendes, etcetera. Everyone loves everyone. 

7:35 Producer Michael G Wilson "No one really thought we'd get 50 years of Bond, let alone 23 pictures." They mention 23 a lot but it depends on how you count the films.

8:30 They will start shooting today... BOND GIRLS & SHIRTLESS BOND AFTER THE JUMP

Click to read more ...

488 Days Until "Bond 23"

It's been three years since we last saw Bond, James Bond but his licence to kill never expires. Neither financial difficulties --such as those experienced by his parent studio -- nor frequent cosmetic surgery (Connery to Lazenby to Moore to Dalton to Brosnan to Craig) can retire 007. His licence will be renewed all over again on November 9th, 2012 or thereabouts. That's the tentative release date for the as yet untitled Bond 23.

Thankfully everyone's favorite secret agent will still look like Daniel Craig when he returns (and presumably Judi Dench will still be giving him orders). Javier Bardem will be the new supervillain. Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris are also supposedly joining the cast in roles both new and familiar (Yay "Moneypenny"!).

No word yet on the number of or identity of the new Bond Girls but they'd better be sensational if they're hoping to pull any attention from that very formidable quintet. 

Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road) will direct and though he isn't a director that's known for using the same cast frequently, he has worked with his Bond before. Oscar-philes will note that Mendes was one of the earliest directors to give Craig a mainstream attention-grabbing part in Road to Perdition (2002).

It's all so fucking hysterical.
-Daniel Craig as Connor Rooney in Road to Perdition

It must have been hard to cast for Paul Newman's son given the legendary blue eyes. Craig's are crueler than Newman's but good call nonetheless, don't you think?

Are you excited for that the new Bond is back on track? What's your favorite of the 22 films? I've always been partial to Dr. No (1962), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997 but mostly for Michelle Yeoh) and Casino Royale (2006).

The Secret Marriage: Daniel & Rachel

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig! You may have heard that they pulled off the impossible feat of keeping a double-star wedding under wraps until entire days after the nuptials. They were married on Wednesday June 22nd.

Secret weddings are the best. Without the prying paparazzi lenses we are free to imagine the whole thing. So this is what The Film Experience officially believes they were wearing when they tied the knot.

WHY NOT?

The couple may prove ubiquitous for the remainder of the year. Consider...

JULY & AUGUST
In Rachel's next film --which seems like it's been "about to open" for years though now -- she plays The Whistleblower and some Best Actress whispers have emerged. Daniel Craig's next, Cowboys & Aliens, arrives first in July but is not garnering any Best Actor whispers for either alien of cowboy life forms. 

SEPTEMBER
The newlyweds started dating after working together (as fictional spouses) in Dream House from Jim Sheridan (In America). Naomi Watts and Martin Csokas co-star in a thriller about a seemingly idyllic house with a nightmarish history.

Dream House (2011)

DECEMBER
The year will end with a possible Oscar campaign for Weisz (though she's already a winner from The Constant Gardener) and a possible blockbuster for Craig by way of David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. May he have more luck with the (comparatively) dull "Mikael Blomkvist" part than Michael Nyqvist had.

Lisbeth Salander's Wardrobe Malfunction

The internet is very excited today by this snapshot of a poster image for David Fincher's take on the popular property The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, in which Daniel Craig embraces gothic Rooney Mara from behind.

It's a great image but it immediately gave me an acid flashback to Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's infamous Superbowl calamity. Perhaps Janet Jackson paved the way, martyring her career, so that decorative nipplage could one day wallpaper the land in movie poster form? Well done, Janet!

 The Playlist, who posted this image, suggest that David Fincher won a marketing war with this, but I can't imagine that this is the poster that will actually be up all over movie theaters... at least not in the USA where nudity is verboten... and this is tame for a European poster but it's still neat and grim looking.

The tagline is fun but no match for the "THE. FEEL. BAD. MOVIE. OF. CHRISTMAS." Here's the cleaned up red-band trailer to follow that camcorder version.

and now the American teaser poster (notice the order of the dates changes)

Daniel Craig (and Dame Judi) in "Equals"

Love it. This is for International Women's Day... which is today. It's actually the centennial of International Women's Day so a very big deal indeed. This PSA is directed by Sam Taylor-Wood who made that brilliant short "Love You More" and the John Lennon bio Nowhere Boy.