John Barry, an appreciation

John Barry’s music, along with Ken Adam’s sets and Sean Connery’s depiction as James Bond, made 007 films events in the 1960s. Barry, though, kept on with Bond longer than either Connery or Adam. Barry worked on the series, on and off, for a quarter century: scores for 11 films plus crucial orchestrations and arranging [...]

Rest In Peace, John Barry Prendergast

We have lost a musical giant, and one of our true heroes. A supremely sad day. Thank you, Mr. Barry.

MGM watch: Studio wants its Bond 23 parter to co-finance other films, Deadline says

Nikki Finke’s Deadline entertain Web site says Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, negotiating with various studios to distribute Bond 23, to also co-finance other films. The story, which you can read BY CLICKING HERE, leads off with a report that actor Javier Bardem has been offered a Bond 23, but doesn’t offer many details. The rest of the report [...]

One-time 007 contender Cavill cast as Superman, Deadline says

Henry Cavill, one of the contenders for the role of James Bond in 2006′s Casino Royale, has been cast as Superman, in a new Warner Bros. movie to be produced by Christopher Nolan, the Deadline entertainment news Web site is reporting. An excerpt: In fact, Cavill also auditioned for the Batman role but lost out [...]

1967: The Man From U.N.C.L.E./Fugitive crossover

Well, not exactly. But the Quinn Martin-produced series The Fugitive, the first big hit for Martin’s QM Productions, was winding down its four-year run when it filmed the concluding scene to an episode. David Janssen as Dr. Richard Kimble, was walking down a city street. The filming site was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “street set,” originally to duplicate [...]

M by the numbers, 1962-present

With the news that Dame Judi Dench says she’s returning as M, it got us to thinking about the actors who’ve played M, James Bond’s boss. Our tally is as follows: Bernard Lee (Sir Admiral Miles Messevry): 11 films, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret [...]

Judi Dench tells BBC she’s coming back in Bond 23 as M

Even if Eon Productions hasn’t officially announced it, or the revamped Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for that matter, 76-year-old Dame Judi Dench tells the BBC she’s coming back as M in Bond 23 for her seventh appearance as M, James Bond’s boss. To view a short story and a video, just CLICK HERE. Eon and MGM when announcing [...]

New Hawaii Five-0 swipes plot of two episodes of original series

We finally had a chance to catch up with the Jan. 23 episode of Hawaii Five-0. It turns out the show centered around a false tsunami alarm, which was the plot of not one, but *two* episodes of the original show. One of the original episodes that utilized the plot was called Forty Feet High [...]

An alternate theory to the origin of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Theme

Could The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Theme have its makings more than two years before the show debuted? Maybe. Standard history: U.N.C.L.E. producer Norman Felton hired Jerry Goldsmith, who had already composed the theory for Felton’s Dr. Kildare series, to score the U.N.C.L.E. pilot. Possible revision: It might have been more complicated. The anthology series Thriller, [...]

Film 007′s upcoming 50th anniversary: what was going on in 1962, anyway?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. Next year is the golden anniversary of the first 007 film, Dr. No, and Variety has reported that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is “working up plans for a 2012 yearlong commemoration.” That got us to thinking about what was going on in the world in 1962, which quite a newsy year [...]