Connery: Memoirs Are Forever
From Sean Connery with love comes a memoir that will leave fans of the legendary actor shaken and stirred.
The original James Bond plans to unveil his long-awaited memoirs Aug. 25the day of his 78th birthdaywhich also conveniently happens to be the final day of the Edinburgh International Book Festival in his native Scotland.
Connery, who was born in Edinburgh and once worked as a milkman and a model there before becoming a movie star, will be on hand for the launch of Being a Scot, a chronicle of his life before, during and after 007 in a film career that spanned more than 50 years.
The Oscar-winning thesp cowrote the autobiography with a little help from Scottish writer and filmmaker Murray Grigor. The title is also a nod to his deep devotion to supporting his country’s independence movement.
“In this special year, it was obviously essential to bring Sir Sean back to the city of his birth, on the day of his birthday, for a world-exclusive launch of his first book,” said festival director Catherine Lockerbie.
The Book Fair kicks off Aug. 9 and is considered one of the publishing world’s biggest events. More than 800 authors will participate in 750 events, among them Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
But having Connery on hand is extra special because it’s also the centennial of James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s birth. A new adventure featuring the superspy, entitled Devil May Care and penned by Sebastian Faulks, just hit book stores last month to commemorate the occasion.
The Untouchables star quietly retired from the big screen after 2003’s box office dud The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Connery subsequently turned down an offer by director Steven Spielberg to reprise his role as Indy’s father in a cameo in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, saying he found retirement “just too damned much fun.”
Leonardo DiCaprio as the Real James Bond?
Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way bought the rights to make Fleming, a film based on the life of British author Ian Fleming, best known as the creator of James Bond. The story follows Fleming, who fought as a Commander of Naval Intelligence in World War II while creating James Bond and the many characters from his books. Apparently most of the characters in Bond are actually based on areal people Fleming encountered. Writer Damian Stevenson describes the film as “Shakespeare in Love or Finding Neverland with some real-life Bond-like espionage and female flattery thrown in.”
And while it has not been stated that DiCaprio would play Fleming, most insiders assume that Appian Way is developing the project as a starring vehicle for DiCaprio. I could definitely see DiCaprio playing the British author, but will he ever find time? IMDb lists seven projects on the actor’s development table.
source: Los Angeles Times
Official Title for Bond 22 Revealed, Other Details
Prior rumors that the next and 22nd installment in the James Bond franchise would be entitled 007 were way off, as today it’s been announced by the film’s producers that the official title is Quantum of Solace. The title is taken from a short story of the same name by Bond creator Ian Fleming. Said story is contained in the Fleming collection For Your Eyes Only, though the film’s plot has no direct connection to it, sans Bond of course. At the conference, Daniel Craig gave his impression of the title, saying it communicated Bond’s shattered emotions from Casino Royale…
“Ian Fleming had written about relationships,” Craig tells the BBC. “When they go wrong, when there’s nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire’s gone out, there’s no quantum of solace.”
If it had a beat, you could dance to that quote. More Craig…
“And at the end of the last movie, Bond has the love of his life [Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd] taken away from him and he never got that quantum of solace. So he’s looking for revenge, you know, to make himself happy with the world again. But it, the title, also alludes to something else in the film,” he added.”
Other details revealed: The exotic Olga Kurylenko, who plays the new Bond girl Camille, says she’s done weapons training but hasn’t started filming her scenes. She adds that her character is “is a fighter, this girl is going to kick ass. She’s on her own mission, and she’s driven by revenge.” On the other hand, actress Gemma Arterton says she’s filmed several scenes for her role of MI6’s Agent Fields, including a sex scene with Craig, calling her character “fresh and young and not a femme fatale.” And it seems the elder bird will have boosted screen time as well, with Dame Judi Dench saying her role is bigger this go around, “brilliant,” and filled with “prickly” relations with a maturing Bond.
Quantum of Solace will start one hour after the last events of Casino Royale according to co-producer Michael Wilson, with another producer adding that while there are no flashbacks in the film, Vesper Lynde will be “on [Bond’s] mind.”
Any opinions on the title? I found it to be a little space-age, but it’s growing on me and has a cosmopolitan quality that fits an even classier, worldlier Bond. Almost forgot: He’ll be traveling to Austria, South America and Italy in the film, soaking in the sights, but seeking revenge, always. Quantum of Solace will hit theaters on November 7th of this year.
Bond 22 Finally Gets Its Official Title! Bond Girls Speak!
In November 2008, everyone will be going to see Daniel Craig reprise his role as James Bond in…Quantum of Solace. The title was taken from a collection of short stories published by Bond creator Ian Fleming back in 1960. During the title revealing press conference, reporters were shown a minute of footage from the new film, including Bond swinging on a rope after an explosion at an art gallery in Siena, Italy. Another scene showed him meeting M - played by Dame Judi Dench - outside in the snow.
Actress Olga Kurylenko, who recently landed the role of Bond girl, said she still has not filmed any scenes, but was hard at work preparing.
“I’m doing weapons training and body flight training for aerial scenes and stunt work for fighting,” she said. “My days are so long, and it’s very physical. She’s going to be very different from the previous Bond girls. “She’s a fighter. This girl is going to kick ass. She’s on her own mission and she’s driven by revenge.”
The other female who will be involved with Bond, a secret agent played by Gemma Arterton, has already filmed a few scenes, including a love scene.
“I felt like a giggly girl, and I felt so young and inexperienced - but I kissed James Bond!”
The 21-year-old, who recently starred in the St Trinian’s film, said her Bond role is “not so frolicksome” and her character “fresh and young, not sultry and a femme fatale”.
Quantum of Solace is currently filming in an exotic location nowhere near you, and is directed by Marc Foster.
Update: It has been confirmed that the characters Q and Moneypenny will not be in Quantum of Solance. Producer Michael G. Wilson said that their addition would not feel ‘organic’, and that they may appear in future films if the story required them.
Below is a set visit by ITV News, showing the scenes mentioned above.