Hawaii Five-0 reboot to end in April

Original cast of the Hawaii Five-0 reboot

The second Hawaii Five-0 series on CBS will come to an end in April, wrapping up a 10-year run, Deadline: Hollywood reported.

The show was a reboot of the 1968-80 original show that starred Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett. In the 2010-20 version, Alex O’Loughlin played McGarrett, with Scott Caan as Danny Williams.

Five-0 2.0 was darker than the original. For example, the governor was in the employ of arch-villain Wo Fat (until he bumped her off).

Also, it was revealed Wo Fat 2.0 (Mark Dacascos) had a personal reason for going after McGarrett, a development that would be extremely similar to the way the 2015 James Bond film SPECTRE rebooted Blofeld. McGarrett 2.0 and Wo Fat 2.0 had their final showdown in a 2014 episode.

Finally, Five-0 2.0 occasionally did homages to James Bond films, including Die Another Day. For example, a November 2011 episode took place mostly in North Korea. Scenes set there were photographed to look dark while scenes in other locations had bright colors. Die Another Day employed the same trick back in 2002.

Separately, a September 2012 episode of Five-0 borrowed elements of You Only Live Twice and Licence to Kill.

The series finale will be a two-hour episode on April 3, according to Deadline.

UPDATE (5:45 p.m. New York time): The show put out a post on Twitter confirming the conclusion of the series.

#H50 Ohana, be there for the final five episodes and say a last #Aloha. Hawaii Five-0 to conclude its successful 10-season run with a two-hour series finale, Friday, April 3: https://t.co/ARUarqTFbG pic.twitter.com/Ms81f3wY8F

— Hawaii Five-0 (@HawaiiFive0CBS) February 28, 2020

 

Bond 25 questions: The potpourri edition

New No Time to Die poster

We’ve had a few No Time to Die developments recently. Naturally, the blog has a couple of questions.

Will the gunbarrel be at the beginning?

Hard to say, but this week’s Cary Fukunaga video suggests it’s a strong possibility.

“The white dots on the screen…the adrenaline starts pumping,” Fukunaga’s voiceover says, accompanying the Daniel Craig gunbarrel from SPECTRE. “Settle in and get ready for a ride.”

That sounds like a description of the first 20 Bond films when the gunbarrel was at the start of the movie. Things got changed up with 2006’s Casino Royale, which began a new, rebooted timeline. The gunbarrel appeared at the end of the pre-titles sequence.

Then, for Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, the gunbarrel appeared at the end of the film. There was some pushback from fans. That generated pushback to the pushback where other fans questioned how dare fans question the artistry of the films. The comments section of this 2012 post demonstrates both sides of the argument.

The gunbarrel was back at the start of SPECTRE, although it wasn’t the best executed, including having Daniel Craig swinging his arm wildly showing he’s holding a gun.

In any case, Fukunaga at least sounds more appreciative of the gunbarrel logo than his Bond directing predecessor Sam Mendes. We’ll see.

Why didn’t Scott Z. Burns get a script credit?

Supposedly, the ace Hollywood “script doctor” in early 2019 was on his way to save No Time to Die’s script. Certainly, The Playlist website made it sound that way in a February 2019 story.

To give credit where credit is due, The Playlist was the first to report Burns participating in the writing of the film. Saving the script? Not so much. Burns ended up not getting a credit while Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, director Fukunaga and scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge did.

Ultimately, script credits are decided by the Writers Guild of America. The rules are a bit complex but in general favor the early writers over those who rewrite. There is also a cap on the number of credits available. In this case, Burns had no seat when the WGA musical chairs of writing credits ended.

Robert Iger steps down as CEO of Disney

Walt Disney Co. logo

Robert Iger, who expanded Walt Disney Co. by acquiring Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century Fox, has stepped down as CEO, effective immediately, the company said in a statement.

Iger’s successor as CEO is Bob Chapnek, Disney announced. He has been head of the company’s theme parks unit.

Iger will remain as chairman until the end of 2021, according to the announcement.

Under Iger, Disney became a major force among entertainment companies. The company’s acquisition of Marvel has been a major driver of profit. Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise has been bumpy, with more ups and downs.

Iger’s biggest bet was buying the bulk of 21st Century Fox (including the 20th Century Fox studio) for more than $71 billion. Properties such as Fox News, Fox Sports and Fox Business remain with Rupert Murdoch. Under Disney ownership, the film studio is now known as the 20th Century brand for Disney.

In December, Iger said he was a big James Bond fan while saying the company wasn’t looking to do another big acquisition. Whether or not that happens, it won’t take place under Iger’s watch.

Cary Fukunaga discusses No Time to Die

A new No Time to Die promotional video is out today with director Cary Fukunaga talking about the 25th James Bond film.

The format is different than the video blog promos of Skyfall and SPECTRE. Fukunaga’s dialogue is in voiceover form, accompanied by shots from the film as well as behind-the-scenes shots.

The writer-director says he had to “rediscover Bond” and to determine “after five years of retirement, who has he become?”

Based on the video, some themes of Skyfall may come up again.

“The rules of engagement aren’t what they used to be, the rules of espionage darker in this era of asymmetric warfare,” Fukunaga says.

At the same time, the director hypes No Time to Die’s villain, Rami Malek’s Safin, as “smarter and stronger than SPECTRE.”

You can take a look for yourself below (or not if you’re super spoiler adverse). The video runs lasts for 100 seconds.

M:I 7 Venice shoot delayed by coronavirus

A stunt from Mission: Impossible-Fallout

Updated to note the Paramount statement.

Mission: Impossible 7’s Venice shoot is being delayed by the coronavirus, Variety reported, citing a Paramount statement.

The delay was reported earlier by the tabloid Daily Mail said.

Paramount said it was delaying the Venice shoot because of an “abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew,” according to Variety.

There has been an outbreak of more than150 cases of coronavirus in Italy and the Venice carnival was cut short, according to The New York Times.

Star-producer Tom Cruise arrived in Venice last week and was scheduled to begin filming, the Daily Mail said.

M:I 7 is scheduled to be released in 2021. It is to be filmed back-to-back with an eighth installment coming out in 2022. Recent Cruise M:I movies were written around locations and stunts.

The most recent M:I film, Mission: Impossible-Fallout, was a hectic affair, which included Cruise breaking his ankle doing a stunt. The production altered its schedule and some late filming occurred to make a summer 2018 release date.

An outbreak of coronavirus in China has caused a China premiere and publicity tour for No Time to Die in April to be canceled. The disease has shut down theaters in China.

A look at Skyfall in Concert

The orchestra is applauded by a Toronto audience after Skyfall in Concert has concluded. The Spy Command photo

TORONTO — This weekend, there were two performances in Toronto of Skyfall in Concert, where an orchestra performed the score of the 23rd James movie live, synched up to a showing of the film.

The show was performed Feb. 21 and 22 at Meridian Hall in downtown Toronto.

The Thomas Newman score sounded subtly different in places with the live performance compared with the film’s original soundtrack.

There were also some changes to highlight the score. Some sound effects were dialed back a bit.

An example: In the movie, there were loud crashing sound effects when Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) loses the side mirrors of the vehicle she’s driving in the pre-titles sequence. With Skyfall in Concert, you still heard the effects but they weren’t as overpowering. Also, the film had subtitles for the dialogue.

The orchestra was stationed below the screen where the movie was shown. As a result, audience members could observe the musicians playing as the film played.

As Skyfall drew to an end, the orchestra played a rousing rendition of The James Bond Theme after the “James Bond Will Return” title card. This took place without the end title crawl. That began after the orchestra finished its performance of the Bond theme.

A number of James Bond fan groups, including James Bond Canada, The James Bond Complex, The Bond Experience, Being James Bond and many others were present for the Feb. 22 performance. The Bond fans had pre- and post-show gatherings.

New No Time to Die poster is out

A new No Time to Die poster is out today. It includes credits and a few things leaped out.

— Ana de Armas isn’t referenced among the cast. She is a rising star and has drawn a fair amount of publicity. Fans have suspected she has a small part and this may be a confirmation.

— Daniel Craig is again credited as a co-producer, as he was in SPECTRE. Personally, I was wondering if he might get promoted to executive producer but that’s not the case.

— The writing credit matches a Jan. 21 entry in a Writers Guild of America East database. The writing team of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, director Cary Fukunaga and scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge all get some form of writing credit. Scott Z. Burns, once hailed as coming in to save the script, is out man out.

— Hans Zimmer gets a “music by” credit. Presumably, that means that Steve Mazzaro, who has assisted Zimmer, will get an “additional music” credit (probably in the end titles).

The version below was tweeted out by UIPSA, which distributes Universal and Paramount films in South Africa. Universal is handling international distribution of No Time to Die.

The official @007 account on Twitter also had a tweet about the poster. But that version had no credits at the bottom.

UPDATE (4:20 p.m. New York time): A separate e-mailed release has a longer cast list. Ana de Armas is listed with Rory Kinnear, Dali Bessalah, David Dencik, and Billy Magnussen.

New No Time to Die poster

NTTD’s writing credit: Scott Z. Burns may be odd man out

Survivors: Robert Wade, left, and Neal Purvis. (Paul Baack illustration)

Sorry, Scott Z. Burns. You may have gone from saving No Time to Die’s script to being the odd man out.

The Writer’s Guild of America East database has a listing for the writing credit for the 25th James Bond film:

Screenplay by: Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Story by: Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga

The Writers Guild database listing the credit is dated Jan. 21, 2020.

The film’s script went through a series of revisions. In February 2019, The Playlist reported that Burns had been enlisted to rewrite the movie.

“It’s an overhaul and I won’t be surprised if Burns is ultimately given first screenplay credit,” wrote Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist.

What The Playlist didn’t know was that Phoebe Waller-Bridge, an actress and writer, had also been employed for script duty on No Time to Die. Also, director Cary Fukunaga also does writing on his projects.

Still, an April press release from Eon Productions listed Burns among the screenwriters.

Meanwhile, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade had been the first writers hired, joining the project in 2017. They were bumped in 2018 when Danny Boyle was hired to direct, bringing scribe John Hodge with him.

Boyle then departed over “creative differences” and Hodge also exited. In came Fukunaga as the new director. Back came the Purvis and Wade team. The writers now have their 007th Bond screenwriting credit.

Secrets of the Aston Martin DB5 replicas revealed

A replica Aston Martin DB5 rolls off the truck in preparation for Bond 25 filming

Earlier this month, Aston Martin invited writers to have a look at its No Time to Die fleet, including information about the DB5 replicas featured in No Time to Die.

Both Esquire and the PistonHeads website did writeups. Previously, the blog has taken shots from some readers for referring to the DB5s in the movie as replicas. But the articles make clear there are key differences between the replicas Aston Martin made for the film and the original DB5s made in the 1960s.

Why replicas were needed: Bond’s DB5 was going to be involved in a lot of stunt driving. Having actual DB5s, more than a half-century old, perform the task was too risky.

Esquire: “(T)he biggest challenge of all for Aston Martin came when Eon requested no less than 8 dynamic original DB5s capable of extreme stunts, including the Matera chase seen in the trailer, plus another unrevealed sequence… it soon became clear to the Aston team that the original DB5 simply couldn’t handle the demands of such a shoot, when cars need to deliver on cue, again and again. Any mechanical issue would hold up production and given the intensity of the driving, it was far too risky.”

How the replicas vary from the original: They may be hard to spot at a distance, but there are differences.

PistonHeads: The replicas included “roll cages, hydraulic handbrakes and fire extinguishers.”

But that’s not all. Again from PistonHeads: “The radiator grille of the replica comes fractionally further forwards, the bezels around its headlights are different, the silver strips down the front wing vents are fractionally longer and it also has guttering, something the original car is missing. You’ll also notice the windscreen doesn’t quite fit at the edges. From the outside and ten feet away, though, the only obvious difference – visible only from some angles – is the presence of a hefty roll cage in the stunt car.”

Esquire also provided this detail of the manufacturing process of the replica cars. “They (the Aston team) began by laser-scanning an original DB5 which the design team then smoothed off to make it symmetrical (because a 60 year-old hand made car simply isn’t).”

No time to lie: PistonHeads, referring to the DB5 replica, said an Aston representative refused “to say where the powertrain has been donated from.”

Aston Martin might want to consult with star Daniel Craig. (You know, the Daniel Craig who supposedly designed one of your cars.) In June 2019, Craig told Prince Charles the replica has a BMW engine. It begins around the 1:50 mark of this video. He also told the prince how the replica cars have carbon fiber bodies and new suspension components.

The No Time to Die hype train gets a full head of steam

Daniel Craig/James Bond character poster

The No Time to Die hype train is out of the station and is getting a full head of steam.

The latest example: The New York Times tells us that star Daniel Craig “helped design the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition he wears in the film. The watch is made of lightweight titanium and has what the brand describes as tropical brown detailing.”

Just a few months ago, Neiman Marcus offered for sale seven limited-edition Aston Martin cars (at $700,007 each) “designed by 007 himself, DANIEL CRAIG.”

Move over, Leonardo da Vinci (painter, sculptor, scientist, philosopher, engineer),  Michelango (sculptor, painter, architect, poet), Benjamin Franklin (inventor, writer, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States).

Daniel Craig is the new Renaissance Man, according to the publicity buildup for the 25th James Bond film.

Craig knows watches. He knows cars. Just look at the press releases and announcements.

All of this on top of being the best James Bond actor ever (Eon boss Barbara Broccoli during a December 2017 podcast with The Hollywood Reporter and No Time to Die Director Cary Fukunaga during an April publicity event in Jamaica.)

For a time, No Time to Die seemed to quiet on the publicity front. Clearly, that’s not the case now.

UPDATE (1:36 p.m., Feb. 20): Add stunt coordination to Daniel Craig’s Renaissance Man credentials. In a story by Esquire, there’s this passage:

“Integral to the shoot was Daniel Craig’s stunt driver Mark Higgins. He’s been working on Bond since Quantum of Solace, and it’s him razzing the stunt DB5 along the cobbles of Matera and doing the machine gun donut at the end of the trailer. A move he actually gives joint credit to none other than Daniel Craig himself.”