Bond production gets green light

Turns out it was the right move for Daniel Craig to pledge his loyalty to another Bond film as MGM has finally been able to give the latest Bond film in the franchise the green light after a year of uncertainty over whether the project would ever see the light of day.

Producers for the film, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson announced along with MGM that the newest flick starring Daniel Craig as Bond for his third time will start production at the end of this year.

Sam Mendes will be directing the film which will ideally be finished by 2012 leaving a four year gap in the time frame since the last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, hit theatres.

After MGM was forced to file for bankruptcy in November work on the newest film, which is the 23^rd in the franchise, was suspended indefinitely as MGM and Spyglass Entertainment, which took control over the fledgling film company, was unsure if they would have the capital to ever pick the project up again.

Hopefully the presence of Craig in yet another Bond flick will be helpful given his debut in Casino Royale made it the highest earning Bong film at the box office in the almost five decade history of the franchise.

3d changing cinema

The cinema has always moved forward and constantly changed the way that people view movies.  The mammoth size of the screen accompanied by surround sound makes films come to life in a way that cannot compare to viewing in your living room.

However, the modern cinema experience has been enhanced even more over the last few years as 3D has become the latest technology to transform the way that people view movies.  With shots that seem to reach out and touch the audiences, now movies are just about as real as they can get giving you the feeling that you are sitting directly in the action.

Granted, 3D is not great for every film, as romantic comedies and dramas remain largely untouched by the new phenomenon given there is not much that is worth springing out to touch, but action and animated films have helped show the world that 3D does have an appropriate spot in the movie theatre.

The only downside of 3D technology is that it has driven up the prices of cinema tickets overall due to the added operating costs that the technology incurs.  However, as the movie industry has taken large financial hits over the last few years with the popularity of downloading and bootleg films, this could be just the boost that the movie industry needs to get back on top.  After all, as the price of 3D technology television is still out of reach for most families, the only place to go for a realistic experience is still the cinema.

Harry Potter Poster

The latest Harry Potter film has achieved new heights, breaking five different UK box office records including the title of biggest opening ticket sales and the largest single day of ticket sales.  In addition, the film holds the title of the largest opening on Friday, Sunday, and Saturday respectively in the UK.

Over the three day weekend the film raked in £18.3m taking in £2.8m on Friday, £5.7m on Sunday, and a whopping £6.6m on Saturday.  Previously Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (the last release in the franchise) and Quantum of Solace previously held the records.

Quantum of Solace held the record for Friday sales and for overall three day opening at £4.m for Friday and a total opening weekend of £15.3m.  Goblet of Fire held the records for both largest single day of sales at £5.6m and for the largest Sunday box office sales at £5.2m.

Managing director of Warner Bros Entertainment UK , Josh Berger, stated that the repeated high box office performances of the franchise is a testament to the amazing talent and expertise of the cast, the strength of the JK Rowling novels, and the film-makers.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows also broke opening records in both Canada and the US as the top performing film in theatres in both countries.

The film is only part one of the novel it is named after but we will have to wait until next summer for part 2.  One of the unique aspects of the films is that the cast and characters are aging with the audience, making it still highly relevant to its fans even through the passing years.

Social Networking Sites

Believe it or not, in the early 2000’s the closest thing that internet browsers had to a social network were websites that touted message boards and discussion forums.  Back in those far off days, the ability to talk to other fans, bands, gamers, enthusiasts, and others with similar interests from across the globe seemed pretty innovative.

However, the internet outgrew message boards and Myspace sprung up allowing users to step out of message boards and start to connect with each other on a more personal virtual level.  Although at first Myspace was simply a place to network to listen to new music and independent bands, it quickly grew to include just about everyone.

Yet, there was still not a true meeting place for those who simply wanted to get online and connect to friends and meet new friends, which is how Facebook was born.  Although Facebook was a little stunted at first given it was limited to only four East coast US schools, over the course of a year it quickly took off jumping from university to university until it opened its doors to the public and the social network dam burst.

Following suit Twitter popped up for those who wanted to get even more social exposure than Facebook could provide and business networks such as LinkedIN became the new rage.  Now, it is hard to imagine a world without social networking as the trend has changed the way that advertisers, people, friends, and even family members connect with each other.  In a world where distance often disproved the theory of six degrees of separation, the internet has made the popular philosophy a true way of life.

Angelina Jolie in Bosnia film row

Angelina Jolie has been forced to quit filming her latest production in Bosnia-Herzegovnia after officials and victims from the Serbian war expressed distress over the storyline of the film.  The plot of the film centres on the story of a Muslim woman from Bosnia that falls in love with a Serbian soldier whom attacked her during the violent Serbian war.

Women’s groups and politicians across Bosnia have been outraged about the film given the fact that thousands of women were assaulted throughout the course of the brutal three year war that spanned from 1992-1995.  In response, the Federal Ministry of Culture banned Jolie from continuing to film in Bosnia.

Being banned will not affect the course of the movie too much as most of the scenes are scheduled to be shot in Hungary, but there are a few scenes that Jolie wanted to exclusively shoot in Zenica, Bosnia.

Authorities in Bosnia are concerned that the scenes will bring back hate and grievances against Serbia and an official even went as far as to say that Jolie could propel the countries back into war with just the one film.  Attack victim Bakira Hasecic stated that she does not want to see sexual assault scenes played out again because it is painful and not something that should be recreated into a movie romance on the big screen.

In response, Jolie has taken the time to write to the Women Victims of War group to enlighten them about the point of the film and has sent the script to the Bosnia Culture Ministry in an attempt to get the movie green lighted for shooting again.  In the meantime, Jolie has been spending time on the film set in Budapest with Brad Pitt and the film’s stars Rade Serbedzija and Zana Marjanovic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The latest trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been released.

The seventh and final chapter of the Harry Potter franchise has released it’s first trailer recently for fans.

View the trailer here.

The Last Station

The Last Station starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy.

The movie is based on the last months of Leo Tolstoy’s life and inspired by the novel written by Jay Parini. The all star cast is directed by Michael Hoffman and provides an intriguing yet not so academic portrait of Tolstoy’s relationship with his family and the movement that he created in Russia during the time of the Tsar. Leo Tolstoy died at the age of 82 very publicly at Atapovo train station in Southern Russia in 1910, which happened to be the end station on the line. This is the inspiration behind the novel and movie title.

The main issue surrounding Tolstoy’s death is the struggle between his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) and Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) a disciple of Tolstoy. Both characters are battling for the rights to the money from the book ‘War and Peace’. Whilst Vladimir wants to supposedly use the money from the book rights to advance the cause of the Tolstoy movement and spread the message of universal love and passive resistance to violence. Sofya however is rightfully suspicious of Vladimir’s intentions and wants to keep the money from the book rights within the family. The struggle between these two characters is recorded by Valentin (James McAvoy) Tolstoy’s new secretary. The film is well acted by the all star cast and is worth a look.

Marion Cotillard is to star in Midnight in Paris

New details have been released about Woody Allen’s latest film Midnight in Paris to be filmed this summer

It has just been revealed that Carla Bruni-Sarkozi will take a role in Woody Allen’s latest film ‘Midnight in Paris’. However, she will not be taking the leading role in the film due to her responsibilities as first lady of France and Woody Allen’s concerns that she might have to be taken away on official duties at any time. Obviously this would have a detrimental effect on the filming schedule, something the famed director wishes to avoid.

The leading role will instead be taken by the Oscar winning Marion Cotillard, who was born in Paris and won acclaim for her role in ‘Taxi’ and ‘La Vie En Rose’. The film will also star Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.It is fascinating to see that Woody Allen has made at least one film every year since 1971 and great to see that he is spending time away from New York. It would be interesting to see if maybe Carla Bruni can persuade the French President Sarkozy to make a cameo, then again, the film would probably lose a lot of its appeal.

Cannes Film Festival 2010 Line-Up Announced

Cannes Film Festival 2010 line-up announced last Friday (15th April)

Cannes Festival 2010 will feature a number of big names in world cinema including films from Riddley Scott, Takeshi Kitano, Godard, Leigh and many many more….

Tim Burton has been announced festival president for 2010, a decision which critics highlight indicates a populist move for the festival, considering the main stream nature of Burton’s profile and films.

The festival this year will open with Riddley Scott’s ‘Robbin Hood’ featuring Russel Crowe and Kate Blanchett. This film is out of competition for the festival, however, likely to make an exciting start to the event. Another film out of competition, but appearing in the festival is Woody Allen’s ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger’ featuring Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts.

The 'Prawn' Mothership in District 9

District 9  movie review of great Sci-Fi epic though using mock-documentary style

The science fiction thriller based in South Africa in 1982 is based on a short film ‘Alive in Joburg’, Directed by Neil Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley. The film touches on a number of themes close to South Africa including apartheid and social segregation with regard to the Aliens who are stranded in South Africa.

District 9 successfully places a new spin on ‘Alien’ genre films. We’ve had ‘Men in Black’, ‘Independence Day’, ‘Alien’ and ‘Independence Day’, but for me these films always lacked a certain element of authenticity and were always too over Hollywoodised. The mock-documentary style really helps give the film an edgier touch which helps it seem all the more realistic.

Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkamp manages to create a new spin by adapting to the current trend of using a faux-documentary style to re-tell the build up to the main event. This is primarily explored by using interviews with people close to the protagonist Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) and documentray footage pieced together in the build to the relocation of the aliens. Sharlto Copley has hinted his desire to make a second film, however, in terms of exploring a potential prequel to the original film. Lets keep our fingers crossed.