Sony shows new SPECTRE footage, THR says

Sony Pictures showed some new footage from SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond film, at the CineEurope event according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Here’s an excerpt from the story as it relates to SPECTRE. Warning: There aren’t many details.

“Who can forget the last James Bond?” asked Sony Pictures president of marketing and distribution Josh Greenstein to the CineEurope crowds at the studio’s presentation on Wednesday.

Skyfall, as he pointed out, earned over $1 billion dollars, but to get the excitement rolling for the 24th 007, Spectre, he introduced Miss Moneypenny herself, Naomie Watts, to debut new unfinished footage that featured the entire top cast of Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes and Dave Bautista. “For your eyes only,” she told the assembled audience of EMEA exhibitors.

Presumably, The Hollywood Reporter meant Naomie Harris, rather than Watts, but that’s what the story says.

Users on Internet message boards have speculated this may mean a new SPECTRE trailer could be released soon.

So far, a teaser trailer has been released as well a one-minute commercial during ABC’s telecast of the NBA Finals.

SFX magazine plays up U.NC.L.E.’s ties to Fleming

U.N.C.L.E. movie poster

SFX magazine has come out with a cover story about The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie. The tireless Henry Cavill News HAS PUBLISHED A POST with screen images.

Among other things, SFX begins with playing up Ian Fleming’s ties to the original 1964-68 series.

Napoleon Solo is Fleming’s other great contribution to the espionage game, brought to deadly, dapper life by Robert Vaughn…Teamed with David McCallum as taciturn, Beatle-mopped Soviet operative Illya Kuryakin, Solo fought the Cold War on the small screen while 007 ruled the big.

That’s a tad oversimplified, but within bounds. Fleming was involved with U.N.C.L.E. from October 1962 until June 1963. Writer-producer Sam Rolfe did much of the heavy lifting. And the whole project originated with producer Norman Felton, who initially devised the Solo character before meeting with the James Bond author. Fleming’s main contribution to the finished product was the name Napoleon Solo.

The SFX spread also includes an question-and-answer sidebar with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, who took on the Solo and Kuryakin roles that Vaughn and McCallum originated. Cavill, in one brief answer, address the Fleming connection between Solo and Bond, a role he auditioned for in 2005, but lost out to Daniel Craig.

HC: James Bond’s a very different thing. As much as Ian Fleming may have created both characters, they’re different — especially with the way Bond is in style now. If we were talking about previous Bonds then perhaps you could call them similar, but Napoleon Solo is a very different animal. He’s not for Queen and country. He’s for Napoleon Solo and Napoleon Solo.

To view the entire Henry Cavill news post, CLICK HERE. For information on how to order the SFX issue, CLICK HERE.

The U.N.C.L.E. movie’s Marvel-style promos

On social media, Warner Bros. has been putting out short videos of scenes from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Except, in these videos, wide lines have been inserted giving the effect of comic book panels.

For example, there’s THIS 13-SECOND VIDEO of Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin. Or there’s THIS VIDEO with Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo.

It’s probably not intentional, but these videos evoke some 1960s art by Marvel Comics artist Gene Colan (1926-2011). Colan had been away from comic books for some time before rejoining Marvel in the mid-1960s.

During this period one of Colan’s favorite techniques was to present separate, but related, panels . Here’s an example from Daredevil, vol. 1, No. 21, published in the summer of 1966: