MI6 Confidential issue #10 hot off the presses!

Our friends and colleagues over at MI6 Confidential magazine have just published their latest issue, a big number 10.

This time around, editor Hugh Maddocks and his team spotlight 2006’s Daniel Craig-debuting Casino Royale, which is now considered by most James Bond fans to be among the series’ classics. As well as running interviews with the on-screen villains, Issue #10 highlights some of the aspects of the critically-acclaimed production that are often overlooked: pre-visualization, production design, scoring, special effects, costume design, and the publicity machine that made sure everyone knew ‘Bond was back!’

Some features in the new issue:

• Bay Area Bonding – Tracking A View To A Kill around famous San Francisco landmarks
• James Bond’s France – Searching for the real Casino Royale
• ‘Card Sense’ Jimmy Bond – A look back at the 1954 Casino Royale live teleplay on CBS
• That Sinking Feeling – Peter Lamont and Chris Corbould on recreating Venice
• Rogues Gallery – Interviews with the villains of Casino Royale: Mads Mikkelsen, Jesper Christensen and Clemens Schick
• Between Script & Screen – Before the cameras roll, storyboard artist Martin Asbury reveals his ‘pre-vis’ magic
• Scoring Casino Royale – Composer David Arnold talks about the score and Bond theme deconstruction
• Dressing 007 – Costume designer Lindy Hemming explains the new look for a new Bond
• Around The World With Casino Royale – How the worldwide publicity machine boosted Bond at the box-office
• Age of Heroes – Sean Bean discusses his new WWII film based on Ian Fleming’s 30 Commando Unit
• The Last Word – Director Martin Campbell on shooting the intricate poker sequence

Issue #10 is now shipping around the world. To order online, visit their website at www.mi6confidential.com

HMSS congratulates Hugh & company on the landmark 10th issue of their terrific full-color magazine!

UPDATE: And the Carte Blanche reviews continue to roll in…

(UPDATED JUNE 5, 2011)

The much-anticipated new James Bond novel Carte Blanche, by American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, sees print today in the UK and Europe. A terrific publicity campaign, lasting for almost the previous year, has pushed the publication of this book to the level of a media event — something James Bond fans can be excited about, regardless of their personal reaction to the story.

The reviews are coming in. As with any James Bond vehicle, critical views are hugely leavened by subjectivity, depending on the critic’s personal experience(s) with 007’s fictional exploits in their own lives.

• Jeremy Jehu, in the May 26 Telegraph gives the novel a very nice four-star review.
• That same day, the Guardian‘s Stephen Poole was’nt, um… quite as happy with it.
• Mark Sanderson of the London Evening Standard said, on May 26, Carte Blanche Is Another Fine Mr. Bond Yarn, in a positively glowing review.
• In the May 27 Independent, Boyd Tonkin has a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and quite positive review.
• Jennifer Selway, in the May 27 Scottish Daily Express, said it’s a “slightly mischievous take on Ian Fleming” in her 5/5 review.
• May 29’s Sunday Guardian‘s Stephanie Merritt said “fans will approve of Jeffery Deaver’s James Bond” in her glowing review, a much different opinion from her colleague above.
• The Independent‘s Alexandra Heminsley concurred with her colleague on May 29, saying “It’s hard to imagine anyone not being impressed by this novel” in her review from last Sunday.
• Peter Millar, writing in Sunday’s the Times, states “Carte Blanche is a worthy homage to the myth, but it is hard to see how much longer publishers can go on making silk purses from a franchise that is a bit of a sow’s ear” in his three-star review of May 29.
• In the June 3 Financial Times, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney tells us the history of the post-Fleming James Bond, in a knowledgeable piece that fans would do well to take in. The article culminates in a rather unenthusiastic review of Carte Blanche: “[Deaver’s] Bond is truer to today’s culture of managerial efficiency, but he has also lost much in the translation. 007 fans might have to face an unpalatable truth: their man is a shadow of himself in the 21st century.” Read Relicensed to kill, and think for yourself.
• The June 4 issue of Ireland’s Independent carries an anonymously-written review that sings Deaver’s praises but has reservations about Carte Blanche: “It’s pretty entertaining, but it’s not a great Bond novel — nor a great Deaver one.” You can read the whole review here.
• The Sunday Express of June 5 carries its second review. This time, critic Angela McGee says: “…Carte Blanche is excellent fun, a great read and Jeffrey Deaver has breathed new life into an old favourite.” Read the rest of her enthusiastic review here.

Keep watching this space, as we’ll update it with further reviews as they come in. If you haven’t read it yet, check out The HMSS Interview with Carte Blanche author Jeffrey Deaver!

Author Jeffrey Deaver and James Bond's Bentley Continental GT

007 Magazine publishes Dr. No issue

007 Magazine is publishing an archive files edition with new articles devoted to Dr. No, the first in the Bond film series. For details, you can view its Web site BY CLICKING HERE.

The price (not including shipping) ranges from $15.99 U.S. dollars to 9.99 British pounds and 11.99 euros.

Happy 65th birthday Cher

OK, you’re wondering why would a blog devoted to James Bond and other spy entertainment even pause to reference this. If you’re thinking that, you’ve obviously forgotten how Sonny and Cher were the guest stars in a 1967 episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E..

The episode in question, The Hot Number Affair, was not one of the better episodes of that 1964-68 series. Still, it was memorable. It utilized a number of Sonny and Cher songs in the soundtrack. And Gerald Fried, the composer for the episode, used kazoos for the score.

The U.N.C.L.E. episode was a modest beginning for Cher’s acting career. Meanwhile, Fried, in an interview, described the kazoo score in an interview for the Archive of American Television. You can see a brief reference to it at the 6:25 mark of this video:

2005: a new 007 is cast; past is prologue

Seems hard to believe but it has been more than five years since Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond. While researching something else, we came across how The New York Times reported the story. There were a few things that caught our eye.

First, there was a comment from producer Michael G. Wilson, yet another refrain by Wilson of something he has been saying since the 1990s:

“We are running out of energy, mental energy,” Mr. Wilson recalled saying. “We need to generate something new, for ourselves.”

Yes, Wilson could not let the announcement pass without complaining about how tired he was. We’ve written before about Wilson’s complaints about how exhausting it is to make James Bond movies, as close as a movie producer can be to having a guaranteed sale. So add this to the list.

Next, then-NYT reporter Sharon Waxman (now editor-in-chief of The Wrap, an entertainment-news Web site) quoted studio executives she didn’t identify concerning the new direction the 007 film series would take now that it had a new leading man:

For both Ms. (Barbara) Broccoli and Sony, executives said, the model was Jason Bourne, the character Matt Damon successfully incarnated in two gritty spy movies for Universal Pictures, “The Bourne Identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy.”

Note, this was published in Ocotober of 2005, months before cameras would start rolling on Casino Royale. There wasn’t a public hint that Eon Productions was even thinking about emulating the Bourne films, something that reached its peak in the first 20 minutes or so of 2008’s Quantum of Solace. In that film, the Eon team even hired Dan Bradley, second unit director of the Bourne movies. After Casino Royale, producer Broccoli said Bourne was never a consideration in interviews SUCH AS THIS ONE WITH UGO.COM and that Casino was inspired by From Russia With Love, not Jason Bourne.

Finally, there was this passage in the NYT story, citing Amy Pascal, chairman of Sony’s Columbia Pictures:

Ms. Pascal said fans would have to wait to see the movie before judging Mr. Craig. As for the online criticism, she observed: “Well, he is tall. He’s the same size as Sean Connery.”

Now, for the record, HMSS gave both Daniel Craig and Casino Royale a number of favorable reviews. So what we’re about to say isn’t a jab at Craig. It should be noted what Pascal said is demonstrably incorrect.

Connery, depending on your source, is generally listed at 6-foot-2 or so. Daniel Craig, again depending on the source, at around 5-foot-10. Now 5-foot-10 isn’t a midget by any means. But it’s a good four inches shorter than 6-foot-2. If Pascal wanted to brush off criticism of the choice, there were all sorts of other things to say. Don’t say something that doesn’t stand up to the tiniest bit of scrutiny.

007 alumnus Vic Armstrong talks to NPR

Vic Armstrong, former James Bond stuntman and second unit director, was interviewed by NPR on May 18 about his new book. He talked about how a fellow stuntman, who was working on 2001: A Space Odyessey and unable to get away from it, helped him get a job on You Only Live Twice, his first 007 film.

From that rather humble beginning (Armstrong figures he got about $100 a week on You Only Live Twice), he would eventually be put in charge of Bond’s action unit. As a second unit director (on Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day), he was responsible for tens of millions of dollars.

Armstrong also did many other films, including doubling for Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones and Christopher Reeve’s Superman. In the NPR interview, Armstrong says Yakima Canutt was the greatest stuntman of all time (he did a memorable stunt in 1939’s Stagecoach and staged the chariot race in 1959’s Ben Hur), while also favorably mentioning long time 007 stunt arranger Bob Simmons and George Leech, another veteran 007 stuntman (and Armstrong’s father-in-law).

To listen to the interview, just CLICK HERE.

CBS renews Hawaii Five-0

CBS renewed Hawaii Five-0 for a second seson again putting it at the 10 p.m. ET Monday time slot.

The move came despite the fact ratings had slipped in recent weeks. The show may have been hurt by the Two And a Half Men/Charlie Sheen fiasco, where the supply of new episodes of the comedy dried up because of conflicts with the now-fired star. That, in turn, lessened CBS’s audience for the programs that followed. The ratings for Five-0’s season finale on May 16 improved a bit compared to previous weeks.

In any event, Five-0’s producers can now figure out how to resolve the May 16 episode’s cliffhanger where Steve McGarrett 2.0 (Alex O’Loughlin) was framed for two murders, including the Goveror, by evil mastermind Wo Fat.

Wo Fat 2.0 now No. 1 criminal mastermind of all time

On the May 16 season finale of CBS’s Hawaii Five-0, it was revealed that Wo Fat controlled the Governor of Hawaii. That means he controlled the state. Now, criminal masterminds like to try to take over the world, or least signficant parts of it. But they fail. The revamped Wo Fat, it appears, has taken more territory than his mastermind colleagues. Therefore, he must be the No. 1 criminal mastermind of all time.

You scoff? Well, consider the following:

— Original Wo Fat. He tried to take over China (in the Nine Dragons episode of the original Hawaii Five-O). FAIL. He tried to develop a Star Wars-style weapon system two years before the Reagan administration announced such a project in the original Five-O’s final episode. He couldn’t even recognize that Steve McGarrett 1.0 was right in front of him wearing a fake wig and goatee. BIG FAIL.

— Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE. He tried to “inaugurate a little war” between the U.S. and Soviet Union so China could take over (You Only Live Twice). He tried to conduct an auction where nuclear supremecy would go to the highest bidder (Diamonds Are Forever). FAIL.

— Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me) and Hugo Drax (Moonraker), each tried to kill off the world’s population and they would take over. FAIL.

— Franz Sanchez (Licence to Kill) had off the president of Isthmus to leave him alone. You could argue he had de facto control of the country except he got killed off by the end of the movie. FAIL.

— GALAXY tried to take over the world with a weather-controlling maching (Our Man Flint). FAIL.

— BIGO tried to take over the world in Matt Helm movies. FAIL.

— Thrush tried to take over the world in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on multiple occasions. FAIL.

— KAOS tried to take over the world multiple times on Get Smart. FAIL.

Clearly, Wo Fat 2.0 is on to something. Instead of a grand goal (taking over the world, taking over a country), he has broken it down to smaller, accomplishable parts. Of course, he did kill the Governor in the May 16 episode, so it’s not entirely clear his control over the state of Hawaii will continue. Still, being an accomplished criminal mastermind, he may have a Plan B. The beauty of Wo Fat’s situation is *nobody knows he has control of Hawaii* except Steve McGarrett 2.0. And McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) is in jail for the Governor’s murder.

Also, Wo Fat didn’t take over just any state. He took over “our extended finger into the Pacific (Ocean),” as the Governor (that is the original Governor from the original Five-O pilot, played by Lew Ayres) put it. That’s not to be confused with the Governor (Jean Smart) who was under Wo Fat’s control in the new Five-0

This is even more impressive because Wo Fat 2.0 (Mark Dacascos) have probably has *less than 20 minutes of screen time* all season long.

It should be noted that Robert Short and Danny Biederman, who tried to develop a Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie in the early 1980s, had a storyline where Thrush had taken over the world (economically) but nobody knew it. That project, though, never saw the light of day, so it doesn’t count.

Congrats, Wo Fat 2.0.

Well, that never happened on the original Hawaii Five-O

The producers of the new Hawaii Five-0 doubled down big time with the May 16 season finale. Nothing like that ever happened on the original 1968-80 Hawaii Five-O show.

If you didn’t see it but intend to see it on DVR or Comcast On Demand, then stop reading now. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. (UPDATE: The episode is on the CBS Web site and you can view it BY CLICKING HERE.)

(SPOILERS APLENTY FOLLOW)

The Governor (Jean Smart) was allied with Wo Fat. Steve McGarrett 2.0 (Alex O’Loughlin) dresses up like a ninja, breaks into the Governor’s residence (for the second time in the episode). The Big Kahuna confronts her, admits her role in the conspiracy. Then, Wo Fat (who hasn’t been seen in several episodes except in still pictures) tasers McGarrett. Wo Fat then kills the Governor with McG’s gun and slips out of the residence. McGarrett’s under arrest, arrested for the Guv’s murder.

Meanwhile, Danno’s ex-wife is pregnant and is leaving Hawaii. Kono is also in trouble with the law. Chin Ho (evidently wisely) accepts a reinstaement offer from HPD. Five-0 doesn’t exist anymore. “To be continued….” it says at the end of the episode.

By contrast, in the old series, the Governor (Lew Ayres in the pilot, Richard Denning for the rest of the series) was a figure of virtue. Jack Lord’s McGarrett absolutely never pulled a gun on the Guv, nor was the Guv aligned with Wo Fat. Different era, different plot lines.

UPDATE II: A trivia note. Over the past several episodes, McGarrett was getting mysterious letters with pieces of evidence that had been stolen from his house. It turns out an aide to the Governor was sending them, to help McGarrett (she got killed at the start of the May 16 episode). The “Steve McGarrett” handwriting on those envelopers matches McGarrett 1.0’s handwriting in the original show. It was shown (appropriately enough) in a Wo Fat episode of the original show, The Ninety Second War.

Cesar Romero and a Man From U.N.C.L.E. mystery

A video has surfaced on the Internet from 1966. An Austin, Texas, television station interivewed cast member of the 1966 Batman movie, based on the 1966-68 Batman TV series. The movie had its world premier in Austin in the summer of 1966. In one of the interviews, Cesar Romero (in full Joker makeup but wearing an undershirt and smoking a cigarette) says one of his upcoming project is a two-part episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Romero had earlier played a villain in a first-season episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. By the time of the Austin television interview, production had begun on the show’s third season. In August of 1966, The Concrete Overcoat Affair, a two-part episode, would begin filming. Later, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would re-edit the show into a movie for international markets called The Spy With the Green Hat.

The plot of The Concrete Overcoat/The Spy With the Green Hat had U.N.C.L.E. enlisting the aid of three old mobsters, the Stiletto brothers, against Thrush, the criminal organization that was U.N.C.L.E.’s main opponent. Romero likely would have been portraying one of the Stiletto brothers. Initially the U.N.C.L.E. production team wanted Edward G. Robinson to play the Thrush chieftain of the story; instead, Jack Palace got the part.

Still, why did Romero bow out? We’ll probably never know. Romero died on Jan. 1, 1994. Key U.N.C.L.E. production staff of that era (producer Boris Ingster, associate producer Irv Pearlberg and supervising producer David Victor) are no longer with us. To view the Austin television station footage JUST CLICK HERE.

The Romero footage appears in the middle of the video. It begins with Lee Meriwhether (in full Catwoman costume), followed by Romero, followed by Adam West (also in full costume) and producer William Dozier (who also was the narrator of both the 1966 movie and the 1966-68 television series).