Who has time to trim whiskers when you fighting international terrorists with only bullets and charm? Exactly. No one. Not even James Bond. The proof comes in the first image from Skyfall where Daniel Craig reprises the character with Sam Mendes in the director’s chair. The production also boasts a hell of a cast, including the return of Judy Dench and the inclusion of newcomers like Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and Javier Bardem. With Helen McRory cast and Maggie Smith rumored, it’s half of a Harry Potter reunion. The steel eyes are definitely there, but Bond looks downright haggard here. Old. Weathered. Hopefully it’s from heavy amounts of ass kicking that we’ll get to see on-screen. [007.com]

Could a first-look photo be more dull than this? It’s just James Bond sitting poolside, like any other Joe Shmoe. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the guns? Where’s, I dunno, James Bond’s face? This is a photo which could be from almost any type of film, nothing screams “Bond.” It’s such an odd photo to release, but, then again, it’s a still for a film almost a year away. By looking at this photo, a part of me can’t help but to imagine the parody version of Sam Mendes‘s Bond outing, since it only features the character staring down all sad-like. Imagine Bond narrating, “My name is James Bond. This is my neighborhood. This is my street. This is my life. I’m 42 years old. In less than a year, I’ll be dead,” as a whimsical but sad Thomas Newman score abruptly plays over Bond’s snark. If the franchise character gets even an inch mopier than what we saw in Quantum of Solace, I could see it being something along those lines. Or maybe Mendes will get the franchise back on the right track, which I feel fairly confident about. Take a look at Bond seriously debating if he should go back in the pool or not:

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that, tonight, is focused on a cornacopia of new Blu-ray release information. From James Bond to Jake Gittes, it’s going to be a beautiful year of high definition goodness. There is also non-Blu-ray news, for those who like variety. We begin tonight with a look at the box for Bond 50, the upcoming release of the Golden Anniversary Blu-ray edition of all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray for the first time as one complete offering. MGM and Fox laid out plans at CES today, which included making it available for pre-order right now. Put simply, it’s beautiful. They even delivered a trailer, which I’ve included after the jump.

Thomas Newman had his first feature job as an Orchestrator on Return of the Jedi, and has since crafted a career scoring more movies than you can shake a stick at (go ahead, try it). His most recent work includes moving music for Wall-E, The Help, Revolutionary Road and Little Children. He’s got a moderate spectrum of style, but it’s clear he focuses on dramatic, sweeping work. Beyond the third entry on that list, he also composed for American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and Jarhead; it looks like his working relationship with Sam Mendes has brought about a job on Skyfall. According to MI6 HQ, the ten-time Oscar nominee has been hired to maestro some notes for the forthcoming Bond film. Fantastic news all around. His work for Shawshank Redemption might be one of the best scores in modern movies, and anyone who helped make Real Genius should get every job ever. However, this move also means that composer David Arnold, who has worked on Bond from Tomorrow Never Dies through Quantum of Solace will have to skip this one. Apparently, he’ll be unavailable due to his duties with the London Olympics in 2012.

This might be the kind of casting rumor that some might see as a spoiler so be forewarned. MovieWeb is reporting that they’ve heard through the questionable, pinch of salt-style grapevine that Ralph Fiennes‘s claim that he’s “a government agent,” in the new Bond film Skyfall means a lot more than he’s allowed to say. Their estimation, and confirmation (for what it’s worth) from an insider source at EON, is that Fiennes will be playing M as a replacement for Dame Judy Dench who is bowing out after this installment. Doing the math, that means they’ve gotten a younger M, a much younger Q (Ben Whishaw), and that the whole thing is sponsoring Sesame Street. If this is true, it comes as bittersweet news because Dench and Fiennes are both amazing in different ways. It was refreshing to see a strong female presence commanding respect over Bond, and it’s about to turn back into a Boy’s Club, but there’s no denying the forcefulness of Fiennes. Which is the new fragrance he’ll be putting out next year. Seriously, it’s good news/bad news, but hopefully the movie involves a knife fight between the two of them. Don’t let us down, Mr. Mendes. The people demand a knife fight between Queen Elizabeth and Lord Voldemort.

The press for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is warming up, granting me ample opportunity  to watch Tom Cruise’s most excellent wirework as he tears ass down the face of the tallest building in the world. It’s truly a sight to see – there are no stuntmen, and the footage is exciting. I’ve seen it in IMAX, twice, and a few times on the television. With all the death Ethan Hunt is defying, there is one thing I can’t take my eyes off: his pants. Sure, Tom Cruise is a handsome fellow, and I’m not staring at his pants out of lust, but rather, out of confusion. Why am I seeing his ankles? Wait, why is he wearing climbing shoes? Are those capri pants? This is not the manly wardrobe of the world’s greatest super spy.

Q has become a very prominent character over the lengthy history of the James Bond franchise. He’s the dude who equips Bond with all of the latest spy gadgets, and most every Bond movie made has at least one scene where some actor portraying the tech wizard (guys like Desmond Lleweyn and John Cleese), gets to give Bond the rundown of all the latest and deadliest gizmos. But ever since Daniel Craig became the new Bond, things have changed. The Craig-starring Bonds have re-imagined the franchise to be something grittier and more reality-based. These days Bond is more likely to just cave in your face with his fists then he is to hit you with a taser hidden inside of a fountain pen. So in the last two Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, there hasn’t been a Q at all. Don’t fret fans of classic, cheesy Bond. The newest Bond film, now officially titled Skyfall, is set to bring Q back, and according to the BBC, he will now be played by Ben Whishaw. Who’s Ben Whishaw, you might be asking? Probably you’re not British. He’s a young actor who’s been turning heads on the BBC’s drama about 50s era news rooms The Hour, and he’s also set to play Richard II in a new BBC adaptation of the Shakespeare work. Fans in the States, on the other side of the pond, might even recognize him from his role in Julie Taymor’s version of The Tempest. If [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The 23rd James Bond movie is going to be called Skyfall, perhaps the most un-Bond name of any Bond film. Not even a hint of noir poetry to it, but when it comes to Bond, this is just a small piece of the puzzle. According to Coming Soon, who hit up a press conference in Britain, the movie’s plot will be separate from both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but it will still get personal in its own way. A synopsis from the press release reveals, “In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.” All the new information is comforting, considering the uncertainty the project went through with the financial struggles of MGM. That must seem like eons ago for Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, and the rest of the cast which started filming today. And now, as fans, we wait. Skyfall will hit theaters across the pond in October 2012, and we’ll see it almost exactly a year from now in November.

Buried deep within this sentence (Doritos are delicious) is an advertisement. Did you catch it? You probably didn’t because it was so subtly subliminal, but that’s exactly how product placement has worked for a century to varying degrees of success. After all, there’s a thin line between using real-life products in a film to create a sense of verisimilitude and using them to promote the product in question. Where that line is drawn is up to each person. One person might see a kid reading “National Geographic” in It’s a Wonderful Life and think it’s quaintly appropriate while another person might find it craven and conspicuous. To the same extent, different film productions have delivered brands with means ranging from the slyness of near-imperceptibility to almost Doritos-Scorchin’-Habanero-Flavor levels of obviousness. It’s far from new, and even though sold items have sneaked their way into movies for almost one hundred years, there’s been an explosion in recent decades, seeing a new revenue stream for studios and a new annoyance for film fans.

The sprawling, globe-hopping James Bond series is not only about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, it’s about to commence filming on its twenty-third film. That’s a lot of spy shenanigans, so it makes sense that, at this point, the movies are going to have to start recycling some locations and scenarios. MI6 is reporting that, to that end, the Bond franchise will be revisiting the city of Istanbul, Turkey to film scenes for the upcoming movie’s big opening sequence. Mr. Bond has already visited Istanbul in From Russia With Love and The World is Not Enough, so this will be his third go-around with the city. Locations used are said to include the city’s historic Sultanahmet Square as well as the waterside and shores of the Bosporus. Add this opening in Turkey with a train sequence to be filmed in India, and the logistics of this Bond film are starting to take shape, just in time for filming to begin in November. Another big piece of that Bond puzzle, in addition to where he will be traveling, is always who the sultry young starlets playing opposite 007 will be. Another report, this one from Twitch, sheds some light on that subject as well. They say they have word that French actress Bérénice Marlohe will be the latest lady to join the ranks of the Bond Girl army. Marlohe has mostly done television to this point, so I’ve never seen anything she’s been in; but her name gives us enough information [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

No one can ever criticize Marc Forster for covering the same ground. Thematically, all his works tie together, but rarely does he play in the same genres and styles. Over the past ten years, he’s made a James Bond film, a meta drama, a number of raw dramas, and is now working on an epic zombie film. Clearly, he’s not a man interested in repeating himself. Forster is not only a talented and eclectic filmmaker, but a candid one. In our interview for his latest drama, Machine Gun Preacher, the acclaimed director could not have been more self-aware and objective about his work, and what people think of it. Prime examples: Quantum of Solace and Stay. Upon the the release of both films, they were heavily criticized, and unlike how most directors may have responded to such criticism, Forster didn’t go with a simple “they didn’t get it.” In our chat, he openly discussed issues with some of his work, along with capturing his imagination, making blockbuster films personal, and the ethics of Machine Gun Preacher.

I’m a great big fan of Christmas, and I’m already compiling a long-list of festive goodies that will make my Christmas Merch Hunter Bumper Annual Special 2011 the column-based event of the year. And since the holiday season is now creeping upon us, with branded chocolate boxes and cookies already in my local store (cue near-mental breakdown of all parents in vicinity), it is high-time I suggested some merch products that channel the spirit of the season, without the explicit baubles and sparkle and whatnot. What follows then is a trio of goodies that are as camp as Christmas (to borrow a popular phrase from round these parts) and don’t care a jot about class or what anyone else thinks of them. This week’s column was brought to you by the letter T. For tacky.

It’s been rumored for a while now that Javier Bardem would be playing the villain in the next installment of the James Bond franchise, but that production has been through so much turmoil that it was never a given. Recently, things seem to finally be more official. Director Sam Mendes is on board, things are moving forward, and the film has a solid release date of November 9, 2012. And perhaps because things are finally chugging along for real on the film, Mendes has decided to spill a little bit of info on the casting process while chatting up The Telegraph. Perhaps the biggest news is that he confirmed that Bardem will indeed be in the film, and that he will most certainly be playing the bad guy. Bardem, of course, won an Oscar for his portrayal of iconic screen villain Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, so seeing him put on the villain’s cap in a franchise as big as Bond, and opposite a Bond as dynamic as Daniel Craig, should be a real treat. The other casting announcement that Mendes let loose is that Rhys Ifans will also be joining the cast. He didn’t disclose what sort of role Ifans would be playing, but I don’t think that matters so much, as everything I’ve seen him do he has done exceptionally well. The Telegraph dropped a bit of trivia by pointing out the Ifans and Craig had already appeared together in the 2004 film Enduring Love, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we talk with stuntman legend Vic Armstrong (who brought to life Indiana Jones, Superman and James Bond). We also chat with camera operator/cinematographer Peter Simonite (Skateland, Tree of Life), and we dig deeper into the monster-making world of effects master Shannon Shea. Plus, Matt Razak from Flixist spars off with Mike Smith from Examiner.com for our Movie News Pop Quiz, and we all learn an important lesson. By that, I mean a lesson about re-imaginings, reboots and re-re-re-makes. Listen Here: Download This Episode

If Bond movies are known for anything, it’s probably their sexy ladies and over the top action. But if they’re known for anything else, it’s got to be globe-hopping adventure. It seems appropriate, then, that reports are coming in about location scouting for Sam Mendes’ upcoming 23rd film in the franchise. According to sources in Mumbai, at least part of Bond’s newest adventure is going to take place in India.

How many James Bonds can be stuffed into one movie? Casino Royale, the first Bond spoof, seeks to answer that question with David Niven, Ursula Andress, Peter Sellers, Joanna Pettet, Daliah Lavi, and Woody Allen all playing 007. Plus, Orson Welles playing Le Chiffre. Seriously. Orson Welles. There were a ton of writers and directors (and actors) who worked on this movie, but somehow the love of the spy and the spoof shines through. Even in the trailer, you can see where Austin Powers was born (hint: in a spinning bed with Peter Sellers flashing his giant teeth for pictures). Unrelate sidenote: have you ever noticed that Ursula Andress’s name is one letter away from “Undress”? In fact, her spoonerism name would be Arsula Undress. What are the odds of that?

Shannon Shea has done special effects work on over sixty films. From Evil Dead II to Predator. From Dances With Wolves to Jurassic Park. From In the Mouth of Madness to Sin City. Every week he delves into his personal and professional history to tell the story of how he became a monster that makes monsters. So there I was, in a small conference room in Woodland Hills, California on a warm February afternoon in 2009. I knew that the meeting would go long, and I would have to spend at least an hour driving home to Los Angeles. Sitting next to me was Mark Dippe, Industrial Light and Magic alumnus and director of the movie Spawn, and across from me sat Dean Cundey, the guy that not only shot all of John Carpenter’s early movies, but also shot Jurassic Park and Back to the Future just to name a few. At the end of the table was producer Tom Kiniston; I had worked with Tom on the Tremors TV series, and next to him was Brian Gilbert, formerly of Stan Winston Productions. The director was Brian Levant, whom I had never worked with personally. However I was familiar with him because I was representing KNB EFX Group, and KNB had made the Turbo-Man Suits for Jingle All The Way, a Mr. Levant effort. We, along with other department heads had gathered to discuss Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Lake Monster. As we began to go through the [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s excited about James Bond! And Muppets! And Angry Birds! And a bunch of other things that could be classified as movie-related news and notes. Why? Because this is your nightly dose of all that is good and readable in the movie blogosphere. MGM and Sony have brokered a deal in which they will split the cost of the next James Bond film, the Sam Mendes directed 23rd film in the Bond franchise. But wait, there’s more! Included in the deal is a very juicy option for Bond 24, which would be in the works shortly after 23 is released, should all go as planned. The first milestone will come on November 9, 2012, when Bond 23 is due to be released. I say cheers to that.

If I could finish that time machine taking up space in my guest room to travel back to visit college-aged Gwen I think the first thing I would tell her would be to take more notes in her Film Studies classes. Remarkably she would need them nearly five years later. All those hours spent in the dusty, haunted film book section of the library stacks devouring the almost forgotten tomes detailing women’s objectification in cinema, the battle between art and pornography, and the influence of 1960s era sexploitation films on modern day moviemaking would definitely not be for naught. I still have vivid memories of discovering there were in fact sexy movies being made before 1970, and they were considered treasured celluloid artifacts. In 1966 the previously used American rating standard known as the Hays Code was traded out in favor of the industry-wide rating system we now know. While the studios got used to this new form of self-governing rather than censoring, many controversial films passed through to receive national distribution. Audiences could now attend sexual charged films just as easily as they could a family-friendly picture. By the time the rating system really got its legs in the late 1960s to early 70s it was too late. The country had had a taste of something always featured off-screen, and they wanted more. In the coming weeks I’m going to explore each decade’s contribution to modern-day exploration of sex on screen. I chose to start in the middle, mostly [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Welcome back to Junkfood Cinema; we blame the schools. This is the weekly movie column that shines a more favorable light on China’s plan to censor the internet. Every Friday I thrust a nice big bit of schlock in your face and expect you to smile as I wave it around with all its faults. Not to be labeled as someone with taste, I will then describe exactly why I love the terrible movie in question. To cap it all off, just before your lengthy and expensive therapy regimen begins, I will offer a tasty snack inspired by the film. This week we wrap up another successful, if borderline offensive, Blaxploitation History Month with one of my all time favorites: Slaughter.