Quantum of Solace, the latest Bond movie currently in production, has suffered a string of mishaps that have many wondering if the film is cursed. While I don't put much faith in superstition, I think accidents will continue to happen until they change the name of this f'n movie.
In the latest mishap, Daniel Craig has injured his hand during filming and received medical attention. This comes a week after Daniel suffered an undisclosed facial injury and two months after a couple of stuntmen were seriously injured performing a car chase sequence.
We all know how James Bond prefers his drinks, but which car does he truly prefer, the Aston Martin or the Bentley? This is apparently the question of our time, evidenced by a growing feud between car manufacturers.
In this corner, Richard Charlesworth, director of royal and VIP relations at Bentley Motors:
"Fleming himself was a Bentley fan and a Bentley driver," continues Mr Charlesworth, who also oversees Bentley's heritage collection. "He was brought up at a time when the Bentley brothers were winning a lot of races. The way he wrote it, James Bond almost had a love affair with his Bentleys, almost more important than his conquests of women."
In the other corner we have the chief executive of Aston Martin, Ulrich Bez:
In the films, Commander Bond "requires the best of British", insists Mr Bez.
"And that's an Aston Martin."
I seem to remember Bond driving a few American cars, notably the Lincoln Continental, though Lincoln is conspicuously missing from this heated debate.
The new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, has been having a rough couple of weeks during filming. It's bad enough the film is saddled with a horrible title, but recent production woes are starting to accrue at an alarming rate.
Last week a man nearly died transporting Bond's Austin Martin towards the set, followed only hours later by a car chase gone bad that injured a stuntman. Today's snafu is far more serious with yet another stuntman fighting for his life after another car chase has gone horribly wrong.
From This is London:
The latest incident involved a Greek stuntman, who suffered serious head injuries after an Alfa Romeo 159 he was driving in a chase scene involving James Bond ploughed into a lorry.
The stuntman, who was playing a villain, had to be cut free from the mangled wreckage of the car by firefighters following the accident at Limone dell Garda near Brescia.
He was airlifted to hospital and was today in a critical condition in hospital with serious head injuries.
Another stunt driver Italian Bruno Verdirosi suffered minor injuries.
Below you'll find a video released by Sony that offers some behind-the-scenes footage of the next James Bond movie, the horribly titled Quantum of Solace. It plays like a travelogue of sorts, showing off a wide-variety of locations the film is using. You'll get to see things you've never seen before, like Bond wearing a tuxedo while holding a champagne flute! While you won't find much action here, save for a large plane buzzing low over the ground, you will see the new Bond girls, Gemme Arterton (ehh) and Olga Kurylenko (growl).
It seems like every new day brings Sam Raimi news, and today is no different. Apparently, Sam is some kind of mogul now, pulling off one deal after another now that he has all that Spider-Man money burning a hole in his pocket.
Variety is reporting that Mr. Raimi is set to direct not one, but several movies based on Tom Clancy's character, Jack Ryan.
Raimi is set to direct a series of films – not just one – about the character, to be produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Josh Donen. The plan is to follow a younger version of Ryan at the beginning of his career. However, Paramount, the studio behind the project, is considering setting the film in the present, with Ryan facing a global threat. Wethinks they've been closely monitoring the renewed success of the Bond franchise.
I wish I could get excited about this but, well, I can't. I'm not a big fan of the Jack Ryan movies, though I'm sure Raimi can pump it up several notches. My problem is, Raimi has F.U. money and can do whatever project he wants. The world is his oyster, whatever that means. It just strikes me as a step backwards. Disagree?
