andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Throughout Bond movie history, one thing has remained constant: the plot of each new entry in the series has jack all in common with the others. Quantum of Solace immediately breaks with tradition by featuring a story that picks up 20 minutes after the last one. It even explains why Vesper Lynd betrayed Bond. Sort of.

As Daniel Craig returns in the series’ first direct sequel, a number of predictable complaints will be made:

- “It’s not as good as the last one!”

Of course it isn’t. Ever tried photographing a especially gorgeous sunset, or capturing a particularly sprightly wild animal? Twice? It isn’t easy the first time. You can shock our systems once by reinventing Bond with Daniel Craig. Inevitably our systems will be shocked again once the next Bond rolls around. If Bond was changed every movie, we’d stop becoming shocked and beg to see the same actor twice. Get over it.

Also: Casino Royale was not a great movie. It was a great Bond movie. There’s a difference.

- “It’s a lousy title!”

It’s unwieldy, yes, but:

A) Quantum = a small increment or parcel into which many forms of energy are divided; solace = to console, soothe, provide peace. Makes sense, given the ending of Casino Royale;

B) It refers to a super-secret secret agency, QUANTUM;

C) Many Bond titles don’t make a lot of sense anyway.

- “Daniel Craig is not as good as (insert previous Bond)!”

People are still complaining about this?

- “The action sequences are incoherent!”

Actually, that one’s me. Here’s the odd thing: the Bourne movies have been fingered as the source of this modern tendency to utilize dozens of quick cuts within a two-minute period, which I’ve chalked up to bad directing (and it is) but am now having to accept as the modern norm. Indeed, Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction) hired Dan Bradley, the second unit director of the Bourne films, to helm the second unit of this movie, and it’s the second unit director who handles the stunts. So Forster cut everything this way on purpose.

And yet… during the Bourne films I always knew exactly what was going on. Paul Greengrass would show us Matt Damon running, followed by a crowded subway tunnel, followed by a display that told us what time it was, followed by a bad guy pursuing, followed by a… you get the idea. We still experienced the action along with Bourne; the picture on screen was augmented by a second one inside viewers’ heads. Quantum of Solace has no such mastery of montage. Instead we’re basically given a few snapshots (with less than half a second to look at them) after missing the action.

“The title song sucks!”

Imagine something written for Amy Winehouse and performed by Pete Doherty. On the upside, the animated sequence that accompanies it is terrific.

Simply put, enough of Casino Royale’s rough edges remain to give Quantum of Solace the same gritty feel. The action sequences (when you can follow them) are creative, and the villain (played by French actor Mathieu Amalric) is refreshingly realistic. Judi Dench is nearly given a full supporting role. And the location work (except for the villain’s headquarters, oddly enough) is spectacular. Like Royale, Quantum of Solace is very good – for a Bond movie. It will not, however, win the series any converts, and I feel obligated to mention that during at least three action sequences, I had no clue what was going on.

Jack White and Alicia Keys’ theme song for “Quantum of Solace,” the latest James Bond flick, has hit the Internet.

“Another Way to Die” can now be streamed on the website of White’s record label,Thirdmanrecords.com.

The track will be available digitally in North America on Tuesday (Sept. 23), while a limited edition 7” will be available in the U.S. on Sept. 30.

White recently spoke to Rolling Stone about the song, which he wrote and produced.

“I didn’t want to imitate anything or be retro,” he said. “It just had to feel like Bond.”

He added, “You’re definitely taking on a responsibility — there’s a tradition of powerful music in all these films. But that’s why I’m involved creatively with music — for challenges like this. That’s what I live for.”

White and Keys have shot a video for the track and plan to perform the song live, with the first time likely being at the Oct. 29 world premiere of the movie in London.

“Quantum of Solace,” starring Daniel Craig as 007, hits North American theatres Nov. 14.

Sir Roger Moore, best known as the longest-running Agent 007 on the silver screen, will release his memoirs later this year, titled “My Word Is My Bond.”

“The time is right to tell my story,” said the 80-year-old British actor, who starred as suave spy James Bond in seven films including “Live and Let Die” and “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

The book will cover aspects of Moore’s life beyond his work on the Bond films, including his friendship with Audrey Hepburn, his encounters with stars like Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor and his health struggles.

“For the first time, he will share his recollections of playing some of the world’s most famous roles, his fears of serious illness, including his own bout with prostate cancer (which he beat), and how his neighbour Audrey Hepburn got him involved in UNICEF, a charity he is still involved with today,” said publisher HarperCollins in a statement.

For his charity work, Moore was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.

Up-and-coming British actress Gemma Arterton has landed the role of the next Bond girl.

The 21-year-old Arterton, who graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts just last year, will appear in the upcoming movie about the famed British spy, which has the working title of “Bond 22.”

Other than a name, Fields, little is known so far about Arterton’s character. A production representative told the Hollywood Reporter that “it’s a nice-sized role” for the young actress.

Arterton’s most prominent role previously was in “St. Trinian’s,” a comedy remake of the 1950s British boarding school movie series. Released in December, the movie had Arterton playing an unruly student opposite Colin Firth and Rupert Everett.

Arterton joins the ranks of past Bond girls like Eva Green, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Jane Seymour and Ursula Andress.

Daniel Craig will reprise his role as Agent 007 in the follow-up to 2006’s “Casino Royale.”

Other cast members include Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Jesper Christensen and French actor Mathieu Amalric. Amalric, star of the critically adored biopic “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” is tapped to play Bond’s nemesis.

Director Marc Forster, who previously helmed “The Kite Runner,” “Finding Neverland” and “Monster’s Ball,” worked with Canadian filmmaker Paul Haggis to adapt a screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

The latest Bond film is set for release Nov. 7.

Lois Maxwell, the Canadian-born actress who played Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond films, has died at 80.

Maxwell, who had been suffering from cancer, died Saturday evening at a hospital in western Australia.

The actress originated the role of Miss Moneypenny, secretary to Bond?s chief M, in 1962’s Dr. No, which starred Sean Connery as the suave spy. She played the part until 1985’s ‘A View to a Kill,’ in which Roger Moore played Bond.

Though the smart and sophisticated Miss Moneypenny flirted with 007, she never succumbed to his sexual advances.

Born in Kitchener, Ontario, Maxwell served in the Entertainment Corps of the Canadian army before attending Britain’s The Royal Academy for Dramatic Art, where she studied alongside Moore.

In 1948, she won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Female Newcomer for her role in the Shirley Temple comedy That Hagen Girl. She also appeared in dozens of other films, including Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Lolita’ in 1962.

Her last film was the 2001 thriller ‘The Fourth Angel,’ starring Jeremy Irons.

Maxwell ranks second in greatest number of Bond film appearances, just behind Desmond Llewelyn who played Q in 17 films.

BARRY NELSON, the first actor to play JAMES BOND, has died in Pennsylvania. He was 89.

Nelson was a big star for MGM studios in the early 1940s after he was spotted by a talent scout and signed to a series of films including Johnny Eager, Dr. Kildare’s Victory and A Yank on the Burma Road.

He also became a forces favourite during World War II by starring in the wartime play Winged Victory. He reprised his role later in a movie version of the play, alongside Red Buttons and George Reeves.

Nelson returned to his acting career after the war and starred in films like Time To Kill and Undercover Maisie, and became a trivia poser when he played James Bond in a one-hour TV adaptation of Casino Royale in 1954.

He became a prolific stage star throughout the 1960s and 1970s, appearing on Broadway in hits like Seascape and The Act, for earned him a Tony nomination.

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

JAMES BOND star DANIEL CRAIG was stunned when he arrived in Beijing yesterday for the Chinese premiere of CASINO ROYALE, and was offered a pirate copy of the film.

Craig was approached by a bootleg DVD seller who offered him a copy for just $1.50, not recognizing him as the star of the film.

The actor says, “Someone tried to sell me a copy last night.

“I was wearing a hat and glasses so they didn’t recognize me. It saddens me.

“Going to the cinema is a great experience. You’re missing out by watching a bad copy of a DVD.

“As far as I’m concerned cinema is a collective experience and you get 50 per cent more by going to the cinema.”

(c) 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Daniel Craig must be feeling pretty smug right about now.

Craig’s turn as Bond in Casino Royale has already grossed $454 million US at the box office, taking the title of top grossing Bond film ever, BBC News reports.

Based on Ian Fleming’s first Bond book, it has been screened in 64 countries.

The movie has already surpassed the former record of $431 million US set by Die Another Day in 2002, Screen Daily said.

Die-hard James Bond fans were in an uproar when it was announced the blonde Craig would take over the role of 007 this year from Pierce Brosnan. Craig will now likely be holding the role of Bond for years to come.

Relatively unknown actress Eva Green has been cast as the next Bond Girl in the upcoming James Bond film.

She will play Vesper in “Casino Royale,” which has been shooting for a few months already, but without a leading lady.

Green, 26, was born in Paris, France.

She starred in 2003’s buzz hit “The Dreamers,” which gained popularity with its DVD release.

She has also appeared in this summer’s Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom, and Ars?ne Lupin.

Daniel Craig will play Bond and Jeffrey Wright will play Felix Leiter. Mads Mikkelsen was recently cast as the villain.

The film is due out on November 17, 2006.

James Bond?s silver 1965 Aston Martin DB5 coupe has sold for $1.9 million at an annual classic car auction in Arizona.

The buyer was a wealthy 45-year-old Swiss businessman who does not wish to be identified. He made his bid over the phone from Switzerland through car dealer Beat Roos.

“His instructions were to bring the car back to Switzerland,” says Roos.

The gadget-packed vehicle, which has been featured in Bond movies such as Goldfinger and Thunderball, will join the rest of the Aston Martins and Porches in the businessman?s personal car collection.

It was originally estimated to sell for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million.