Bondcast

TIFF Review: The Secret Life of Bees

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:02:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Family Films, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie, Bondcast

The Secret Life of Bees, adapted and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood from the best-selling book by Sue Monk Kidd, weaves racism and the civil rights movement around the story of Lily (Dakota Fanning), a young white girl taken in by three African-American sisters when she runs away from her controlling, emotionless father. It's a role that's in some ways reminiscent of the character Fanning played in Hounddog, a film that was critically panned and rather controversial for having a scene in which Fanning's character was raped.

This time around, there's no such awkward controversy; The Secret Life of Bees is a sweet, mostly charming coming-of-age tale that, while it doesn't particularly break any new ground with regards to the filmmaking, does an able enough job of adapting a bestselling book of the "women's bookclub" variety for the screen. Here's the basic story: Lily is haunted by the death of her mother; now, on the eve of her fourteenth birthday, she's had enough of her father, T-Ray (Paul Bettany), and starts to fight back against him.

When their maid, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), is accosted by a pack of angry white men on the way to registering to vote -- and ends up arrested herself for her trouble -- Lily decides that it's time for both her and Rosaleen to escape. She has a vague idea about where to go -- Tiburon, South Carolina -- based only on the name of a town written on one of the few possessions she has of her mother's, and a label from a honey jar.

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Zak Penn is Writing Dirty Dozen Remake

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Action, MGM, Warner Brothers, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, War

As if he didn't have too many comic book adaptations to write, Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand) has been named as the new screenwriter of Joel Silver's remake of The Dirty Dozen, which we unfortunately heard about early last year. Originally it was reported that the movie was being scripted by three high-profile writers, André Nemec, Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg, but apparently their work isn't good enough and a rewrite is now necessary. Of course, one has to wonder why Silver needs to go through so many writers when there's already a perfectly good screenplay by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller. It isn't like too much needs to be updated; the movie is set in World War II. I'm not familiar with E.M. Nathanson's original novel, though, and I guess the first movie may have omitted some things that the new adaptation could include. Anyway, I guess it just isn't common practice to reuse an old script when remaking an old movie.

For those who haven't seen The Dirty Dozen, it's about a group of military criminals sent on a suicide mission to assassinate Nazi officers. It features an iconic ensemble of actors, most of whom were reunited to voice characters in Small Soldiers as a sort of homage. To the faithful, it will be very, very difficult to see a new version without Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Ernest Borgnine, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy and the rest. I don't know what the time frame is for the production of the remake, but we may get to see it as early as next year. And if Silver can get the project going soon, maybe it can even go head to head with Penn's buddy Bryan Singer's Hitler assassination movie, Valkyrie. They might even make a good double feature -- or you can rent the original Dirty Dozen and then go see Valkyrie and more possibly experience a great double feature.

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Paul Haggis Hired to Polish 'Bond 22' Script

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Wed, 23 May 2007 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Drama, Romance, Deals, Sony, Fandom, James Bond, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, Daniel Craig

Why mess up a good thing? The trio that made Casino Royale work so well is now in place for the sequel. We already brought you news that the script for Bond 22 has been turned in by original scripters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, but now comes word that, just like last time, Paul Haggis is being brought on board to inject his own voice and do some re-working. The LA Times speculates that with all of the projects he has going on, including editing In the Valley of Elah, Haggis might have asked for a hefty raise to do this again, but I personally can't imagine that it's really a chore -- who wouldn't want to take a more or less finished Bond script and add their own changes to it? The Times goes pretty far in giving Haggis credit for the success of the last Bond film, saying that his writing "helped to revitalize the aging franchise and give it the edgier credibility it needed to hook a new generation of fans." Wow -- sounds like someone is a fan.

Further down in the article, the Times goes the Variety and HR route of re-hashing what has been reported on the online movie sites, when they tell us that four directors are now in contention to helm Bond 22. The "whisperings" --as they call them -- have Tony Scott, Jonathan Mostow, Marc Forster, and Alex Proyas being in talks for the chair, although what LatinoReview actually said is that an offer is already out to Forster, and that makes a lot of sense to me. There's no way Barbara Broccoli is going to go toe to toe with Tony Scott every day on the set -- she wants someone she can keep a lid on. Jonathan Mostow? It's possible, but Forster sounds so right that I'm digging around right now to see if I can confirm it. Stay tuned to Cinematical for updates.

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Cinematical Presents: Bondcast -- Episode Five

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Tue, 08 May 2007 21:02:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, James Bond, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, ComicCon, Daniel Craig

Click image for the big and right side up version of this photo.

Bondcast is finally back! We had some faulty equipment from Q Branch that led to this podcast being late. Q warned us that it was last used in the field by a certain Double 0 agent, and it might be a bit worse for wear. He was right, and we had to return it for servicing. Thankfully we didn't set off the embedded flamethrower or tear gas cannisters by accident.

In this episode Athena and I cover a very wide range of subjects, touching on everything from Daniel Craig's swimsuit, Pierce Brosnan's birthday, James Bond video games, and even Neil Gaiman ... which happens when you venture into tangent-ville. There's a slew of information in this episode, including upcoming DVD commentaries, events, book news, and more. Check out some of the highlights after the break, and be sure to give it a listen.

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Cinematical Presents: Bondcast -- Episode Four

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:01:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, James Bond, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, Daniel Craig

Bondcast returns! Although sadly, both on the bondcast and here, we have to mourn the passing of Barry Nelson, the first actor to ever play James Bond. Oddly enough, he was an American actor, and they made James Bond an American secret agent in the adaptation of Casino Royale that he was in. He passed away on April 7th, leaving behind a pretty impressive filmography, and a lasting honor as the first James Bond. A moment of silence for Nelson, Barry Nelson.

We'll be bringing you a Bondcast review of the Queen Mary SpyFi archives exhibit on the next episode, and our Casino Royale commentary will be coming up very soon as well. It's a summer packed with Bond events, and we're going to be putting on our finest 007-wear and hitting them up. The ever-present Bondcast microphone will bring you back audio reports whenever possible. Thanks for listening, and we hope to see you back on Bondcast!

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Cinematical Presents: Bondcast -- Episode Three

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Mystery & Suspense, MGM, James Bond, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, Daniel Craig

We're back! James Bond touches land, air and sea in this episode as we talk about our favorite Bond cars, the Spy-Fi Archives exhibit coming to the Queen Mary, and the re-opening of the 007 Stage in London. We also talk to a special guest in this episode, screenwriter and Young Bond Dossier expert John Cox -- who takes us into the literary world of the Young James Bond novels, which are very popular right now.

Some links and highlights from this episode:

The 007 Stage reopens: visit their revamped website and check things out.
The James Bond Car collection: subscribe and have Bond replica cars sent to you.
Spy-Fi Archives at the Queen Mary: on exhibit April 7th through September 2007.
John's amazing Young Bond Dossier site: check out the links to the Young Bond "apache" gadget, and the new Centenary Bond novel coming out next year.

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Cinematical Presents: Bondcast -- Episode Two

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Action, James Bond, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Bondcast, Daniel Craig

[Update! We had some problems with our RSS feed and iTunes subscription links below. All has been fixed. Happy listening!]

Bondcast is back! This episode Athena Stamos of CommanderBond.net and I talk about the aftermath of the Casino Royale DVD release and head to a screening party. We also cover our favorite Bond girls, although we both learned that it is very hard to choose just one. Athena takes us through the list of actors that were considered for the role before the mantle went to Daniel Craig.

Since they didn't include one with the recent release, we'll soon be bringing you our own feature-length Casino Royale commentary that you can play along at home with your copy of the film (or without it, if you have an extremely active imagination.) Upcoming interviews on the show include actress Lana Wood who played Plenty O'Toole in Diamonds Are Forever, and John Cox, who runs YoungBondDossier.com, a great source for James Bond news and information in the literary world.

Here are a few tidbits that, even with our vast Bond knowledge, we didn't have at our fingertips during the podcast. When we refer to the post, you can glance here for the points we're talking about.

England got the Region 2 DVD release of Casino Royale earlier this week (3/19), while the States got the Region 1 discs last week (3/13). Sort of ironic that we get Britain's superspy in our homes before they do.
CommanderBond reports that after battling with The Secret, Casino Royale has indeed ended up as #1 on the DVD sales charts.
Pussy Galore's bevy of flying beauties is the eponymous 'Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.' An interesting fact is that while the group is comprised solely of women, it was actually men wearing blonde wigs. Yow.
Robbie Coltrane portrayed Valentin Zukovsky in both GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. Plus, he also plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter films. The guy is versatile.
The Tudors actually premieres on Showtime on April 1st.

Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to join us for the next Bondcast!

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Cinematical Presents: Bondcast!

Kevin Kelly and Athena Stamos — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:03:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Noir, Sony, United Artists, Podcasts, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Bondcast

With Casino Royale coming out on DVD next week, rumors abounding about Bond 22 everywhere, and a general love (on our part) for all things having to do with that certain British secret agent, we're bringing you our very first Bondcast. Filled with news, rumors, speculations, stories ... and co-hosted by the lovely and talented Athena Stamos from CommanderBond.net. We'll have a new episode every two weeks in which we'll bring you interviews, reports, and more news on the next Bond film.

Plus, be sure to let us know what you'd like to hear. Got a favorite Bond flick? We'll break it down for you. Want the skinny on a particular gadget and its background? We'll dig it up. One of the Bond girls really tickle your fancy? We'll interview her. The sky's the limit. A big thanks to Athena for co-hosting, and to CommanderBond.net for letting us poach her, and for having such a great website devoted to all things James Bond. Swing by and check them out.

Be sure and swing by Moviefone's Casino Royale page which is jam-packed with trailers, interviews, and a great Unscripted where Daniel Craig and director Martin Campbell interview each other.

Corrections: I mistakenly refer to Vesper's boyfriend as Argentinian, not Algerian, whoops. Hopefully he won't be coming after me. Also, the Wal-Mart Casino Royale DVD set does come with a deck of cards and a poker chip, but sadly no briefcase.

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