Sam Mendes Had Doubts About Daniel Craig as Bond
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: MGM, Action, Mystery, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Upcoming Releases,
Sam Mendes admits he was initially sceptical about casting Daniel Craig as James Bond.
The director revealed he was "one of the people" who didn't think the actor was the right man to play the British spy in 2006 movie Casino Royale, but he was "completely wrong" as Daniel has gone on to star as the secret agent in 2008 film Quantum of Solace and will reprise his role as the character in this year's Skyfall.
"I was one of the people who said I didn't think he was the right casting. At the time I was asked in an interview and I said I'm not sure, I would have advised him not to do it. I was completely wrong," he said.
But Sam admits it was "great" to see Daniel pull off the role after experiencing such "intense pressure" during the casting process for the part: "I bumped into him after Casino Royale and I was so excited [to see him as Bond]. To watch him go through that intense pressure of being cast as Bond with flying colors ... it was great to see him come through that and prove the doubters wrong."
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Daniel Craig Wants to Hold on to Bond Role
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: MGM, Action, Mystery, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
Daniel Craig wants to play James Bond for as long as he can.
The actor will be reprising his role as the British spy for the third time in new movie Skyfall and says he has no intention of quitting until he is told to. "I will keep going until they tell me to stop," he said.
However, Daniel - who took over from Pierce Brosnan as the suave spy in 2005's Casino Royale - knows there will be a time when he has to give it up: "I know there'll be someone after me, and hopefully someone after them - I'm just trying to keep [the series] going."
Daniel, 44, says despite there being a four-year gap between Skyfall and the last Bond film Quantum of Solace, work had still been going on behind the scenes. "We haven't been resting on our laurels, we've been plotting what to do with this film. The first one was a whirr - it was a new experience and flew by - the second one was the tricky second album, but this one we've really planned and got a great script. It's going to be different from the last one, but it will still be a great Bond movie."
This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: March 24, 2009
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, MGM, Paramount, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Sequels, Home Entertainment,
Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:
- Bolt: DVD, Blu-ray
- Goldfinger: Blu-ray
- The Kite Runner: Blu-ray
- A Mighty Heart: Blu-ray
- Moonraker: Blu-ray
- Never Say Never Again (Collector’s Edition): DVD, Blu-ray
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: DVD
- Quantum of Solace: DVD, Blu-ray
- Secrets of the Furious Five: DVD
- A Woman Called Golda: DVD
- The World is Not Enough: Blu-ray
Click here to see the TV-on-DVD options for this week.
Read More | Amazon
Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Say Yes to Jim Carrey
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
How will Will Smith remember Winter Solstice 2008? As the weekend he placed second.
Prior to Friday’s premieres, number crunchers were already predicting a close race between headliners Jim Carrey and Will Smith. Unfortunately for Warner Bros., Yes Man‘s ultimate victory felt slightly hollow. The comedy’s $18.2 million gross was nowhere near the figures Carrey used to generate. (Bruce Almighty‘s premiere earned $68 million in 2003; Liar Liar took in $31.4 million in 1997.) Yes did, though, do better than 2005’s Fun with Dick and Jane. (That film raked in $14.1 million during its open.)
Will Smith didn’t have much to celebrate over the last three days either. His latest film, Seven Pounds, only took in $14.8 million. That’s a number almost unheard of in Smith-land. The drama, directed by Pursuit of Happyness’ Gabriele Muccino, was the actor’s lowest grosser since Ali. (That film earned $14.7 million when it debuted in December 2001.)
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: The Day The Earth Stood Still Stands Tall
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
Mediocre reviews couldn’t keep The Day the Earth Stood Still from vaulting into first place this weekend.
The sci-fi remake starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly earned $30.5 million over the last three days, more than doubling the take of its nearest competitor. Although Earth had the smallest debut for a #1 film since October 17th (when Max Payne grossed $17.6 million), the Fox feature only cost a reported $80 million to make. It was also the studio’s best open since Horton Hears a Who unfolded in back in March.
The only other new entries in this week’s Top Ten were Nothing Like the Holidays and Milk. Holidays took in $3.5 million and scored itself a 7th place finish. Meanwhile, Milk - which had actually reached #10 before - reentered the charts at #9.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Another Festive Weekend for Four Christmases
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists,
Faced with little competition, last week’s #1 lived to see another win. Four Christmases took in $16.8 million over the last three days - a 46% drop from its first outing - to bring its cumulative total to $69.8 million. The comedy was only one of two films to pass the $10 million mark this weekend.
The only new entries in the Top Ten were Cadillac Records and Punisher: War Zone. Despite a relatively small opening (it only hit 687 theaters), Cadillac averaged $5,015 per theater for a 9th place finish. Meanwhile, Punisher took in a disappointing $4.3 million, less than 1/3 of what the first film did in 2004.
Despite premiering at #22, Frost/Nixon was actually this weekend’s top performer. Ron Howard’s film earned a whopping $60,236 per screen average from only 3 theaters.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Number One for Four Christmases
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, FOCUS, Disney, Miramax, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Period, Political, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists,
Theatergoers still recovering from Thanksgiving had no problem getting into the Christmas spirit this last weekend.
Despite horrible reviews, Four Christmases - a holiday feature starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn - managed to pull in over $31 million over the past three days. (The comedy’s five-day total was $46 million.) That was enough to tame some hungry vampires and give Reese her best opening since Sweet Home Alabama. (The 2002 film had a $35.6 million debut.)
But even with Witherspoon and Vaughn’s combined wattage, Christmases still wasn’t the brightest spot on the box office tree. This weekend’s top performer was actually a political drama with a very limited release. Although it was only seen in 35 theaters, Milk, starring Sean Penn and James Franco, found itself sitting in 10th place. The Gus Van Sant film also averaged $40,385 per theater…nearly $31,000 more than the laugher did per screen.
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Read More | Variety
Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Weekend for Twilight
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Musicals, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Although Disney features typically find a place at the top of the pack, the studio’s cute puppy was outmatched by a hot vampire this weekend. After pulling in $35.9 million on Friday ($7 million of which was earned at midnight), Twilight went on to suck up nearly $70 million in total. The film’s first day take alone was enough for Summit Entertainment to immediately greenlight a sequel. (A script for New Moon had already been in the works.)
The Stephenie Meyers adaptation - which was originally slated to premiere on December 12 - undoubtedly owes Warner Bros. partial credit for its success. Had the studio not chosen to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until next year, Twilight would most likely have debuted in fewer theaters. The Catherine Hardwicke film also wouldn’t have become the highest opener ever for a female director. (Deep Impact, helmed by Mimi Leder, took home $41.2 million in 1998.)
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Read More | Yahoo! Movies
Box Office Breakdown: Record Showing for 007
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Period, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
In the battle of Bond vs. Bourne, Jason won out this time…though not by much.
Although it was initially believed Quantum of Solace would break the $70 million mark, the final numbers for the Sony/MGM film came up slightly short. The 22nd Bond installment hauled in $67.5 million this weekend, just under $2 million shy of the debut for The Bourne Ultimatum. (The 2007 premiered to $69.3 million.)
But don’t feeling sorry for Daniel Craig. The actor has helped to revitalize the franchise in a big way. Quantum officially just became the best opener of all the 007 films. (Die Another Day grossed $47.1 million back in 2002.) The movie is also on pace to to beat the theatrical run record set by Casino Royale. (The 2006 film eventually pocketed $167.4 million domestically.)
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Read More | Variety
In Theaters this Weekend: November 14, 2008
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Sony, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Documentary, Drama, Foreign, Music, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Lists, New Releases,
Here are some possible suggestions for your upcoming weekend:
- Quantum of Solace (PG-13): starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton (directed by Marc Forster)
- The Beautiful Truth* (NR): (directed by Steve Kroschel)
- Camille* (PG-13): starring Sienna Miller, James Franco, Scott Glenn (directed by Gregory MacKenzie)
- A Christmas Tale* (NR): starring Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud (directed by Arnaud Desplechin)
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