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  • 8
    Mar
    2013
    7:46am, EST

    Daniel Craig's wife Rachel Weisz 'wouldn't say no' to playing James Bond villain

    Mario Anzuoni / REUTERS

    Daniel Craig and wife Rachel Weisz.

    By Bruna Nessif, E! Online

    Watch out, Daniel Craig, your wife might be your next target. Rachel Weisz snagged the April cover of Esquire UK, which hit newsstands Friday, and was very straightforward about whether or not she would take on the role of a 007 villian if it were offered to her.

    "I'd like to! I wouldn't say no. I'm not a snob about entertainment," Weisz told the mag.

    "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes turns down next Bond movie

    How amazing would it be to see her and hubby Craig onscreen, duking it out?!

    Weisz, who happens to play a wicked witch in her latest film, "Oz the Great and Powerful," went on to explain the types of parts she's usually interested in. And apparently she's quite passionate on the subject: the Oscar winner punctuated her sentiment with an F-bomb!


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    "Some of the material I'm attracted to is not ... it's just not commercial. Which means it's really f------ interesting, you know? It's off-center. It doesn't fit in a genre."

    Check out the 11 best James Bond villains!

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  • 1
    Mar
    2013
    9:18am, EST

    'Skyfall' critics highlight 62 movie errors in fun viral video

    By Cody Delistraty, NBC News.com contributor

    Even Roger Moore, a former James Bond himself, has called “Skyfall,” the best  Bond film ever made. The 2012 movie based on Ian Fleming’s debonair spy racked up five Oscar nominations and won two -- for best original song and best sound editing.

    Yet like all films, it has a few flaws. The fellows over at Cinema Sins have been poking holes in big-time movies like “The Hunger Games,” “Avatar,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and now take on “Skyfall" in a fun viral video.

    Watch on YouTube

    The video is breezy, clocking in around 4 minutes, but the lighthearted mockery moves a mile a second.

    The video pokes fun at the film's insistence that Bond could be shot off of a moving train, fall limply into the water below and somehow survive with minimal injuries. It also zeroes in on huh-I-didn't-notice-that-questions. When Bond is fighting for his life on top of that speeding train, the video asks, “Why is there a random broken piece of chain just sitting atop this rapidly moving train car?” Um, it was in the script?

    Francois Duhamel / AP

    Oh, Mister Bond: Did you really survive that fall?

    Some of the critiques are absolutely hilarious, asking viewers to think about the unbelievably in-depth evil plan of villain Silva (Javier Bardem). “After the Joker and Loki this is the third stupidest get-yourself-captured-and-then-escape-with-no-real-other-objective plan I’ve ever heard of in my life," cracks the video's narrator.

    Do you like to find goofs and ridiculous plots in films, or do you prefer not to question a movie? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • 5
    Dec
    2012
    10:37am, EST

    'Skyfall' passes 'Avatar' as biggest hit ever at UK box office

    By Mike Collett-White, Reuters

    LONDON -- "Skyfall", the 23rd official James Bond movie, has become the most successful film in British box office history, earning 94.3 million pounds ($152 million), its producers said on Wednesday.

    Francois Duhamel / AP

    Daniel Craig as James Bond in "Skyfall."

    The tally, earned over 40 days, surpasses the previous record of 94.0 million pounds set by 2009 3D adventure film "Avatar" over its 11-month run in UK cinemas, although the figures do not take inflation into account.

    "Skyfall," which has been well received by critics, stars Daniel Craig in his third outing as 007, and is directed by Sam Mendes.

    In it, Bond and British spymaster M, played by Judi Dench, are pitted against technological wizard Silva (Javier Bardem) who is bent on revenge.

    "We are very proud of this film and thank everybody, especially Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes, who have contributed to its success," said co-producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli in a statement.

    Globally, "Skyfall" has some way to go to match "Avatar." It has earned $870 million in ticket sales around the world, according to movie tracking site Boxofficemojo.com, compared with "Avatar's" record $2.8 billion.

    According to the same website, "Avatar's" adjusted box office total comes in at 14th in cinema history, with the 1939 classic "Gone With the Wind" in pole position.

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  • 18
    Nov
    2012
    6:58pm, EST

    James Bond actor visits British troops in Afghanistan

    By Reuters

    James Bond actor Daniel Craig surprised British troops in Afghanistan on Sunday by turning up at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province to introduce the latest 007 movie "Skyfall" as 800 soldiers sat down to watch it. 

    REUTERS

    Actor Daniel Craig speaks to military personnel during a visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.


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    According to the Ministry of Defence, after giving a brief speech ahead of the screening, the 44-year-old actor was given a tour of the camp and met soldiers to see some of the training they underwent before being deployed to forward operating bases. 

    He also fired some of the machine guns used by British forces in Afghanistan and visited Bastion Role 3 Hospital which specializes in treating trauma patients.

    "It was really good morale for everyone -- it's a decent thing for him to take time to come out and visit everyone here," said Private Scott Craggs who serves as a medical technician.

    "Skyfall", the 23rd official James Bond movie in the 50-year-old franchise, is now the highest-grossing instalment in the series with a global box office take of $669 million, surpassing the $599 million taken in by "Casino Royale" in 2006.

    Craig has starred in the last three Bond movies.

    Are you a Craig fan? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • 15
    Nov
    2012
    9:12am, EST

    Roger Moore: Daniel Craig is now my favorite James Bond

    By John Yuro, NBC News

    This year not only marks James Bond’s 50th anniversary onscreen, but also 40 years since Sir Roger Moore accepted the role that Sean Connery defined.

    © Danjaq LLC, United Artists

    Roger Moore played James Bond between 1973 and 1985.

    Moore’s first outing as the famed 007 came in 1973’s “Live and Let Die.” He appeared in a total of seven of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli’s films, concluding with “A View to A Kill” in 1985, the most of any Bond actor to date.

    Moore, now 85, visited NBC News to talk about his new book, “Bond On Bond,” and his thoughts on the newest film, “Skyfall.”

    NBC: Do you still feel a connection to the James Bond series?

    Moore: Yes, certainly. [“Skyfall” producers] Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson are friends of mine. I’m always interested in how production is going. I have two sons who both worked on Bonds from time to time. So yes, we’re part of the family.

    NBC: You’ve said in the past that Sean Connery will always be the best Bond, but you recently commented that Daniel Craig is now your favorite.

    Moore: If I had been able to see “Skyfall” before finishing the book, I would have then had to have written a chapter about Daniel Craig, who is a superb Bond. I think it has guaranteed another 50 years for the franchise.

    NBC: What would you have said in that chapter?

    Lyons Press

    Moore: I would have liked to talk about his performance in “Casino Royale.” His bravery in looking like he knew what he was about in “Quantum of Solace,” which I didn’t understand. I don’t think anybody did. But with Sam Mendes directing, “Skyfall” to me is just an extraordinary piece of motion picture.

    NBC: Do you look at any of the other Bond movies and say, ‘I think I did a better job portraying the character?’

    Moore: No, I would never say that. If I happen to see one of mine playing on television, if my wife wants to see it, I think I could have done everything better.

    NBC: Are you proud of the films you made?

    Moore: I’m happy that I lasted long enough, that I fooled them long enough.

    NBC: An article published in British GQ this month said, “No one can agree on who the best Bond is. However, ask people which actor is their favorite, and most say Sir Roger Moore.” It says you’re handsome and funny, which hadn’t been seen since Cary Grant.

    Moore: Well I have to agree. Cary was actually a good friend of mine. He was a lovely, warm, funny man, and a marvelous actor.

    © Danjaq LLC, United Artists

    Roger Moore in 1985's "View to a Kill."

    NBC: “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes said in an interview that he feels Bond movies aren’t rooted in the novels, but in Hitchcock films. He said “North by Northwest” could be seen as the first true Bond film, that Cary Grant played the antecedent of the Bond character.

    Moore: He could be right, come to think of it.

    NBC: If Cary Grant had played Bond first, would you have been comfortable following in his footsteps?

    Moore: No, I would have been terrified. I think that’s one time when you say I’m not going to live up to the expectations that he would produce for his heir. But he had the epitome of sophistication. Cary’s humor was completely scatological. He loved whoopee cushions. He just adored that sort of thing.

    NBC: Going through some of the earliest reviews of the Bond films, they often mention the color photography or landscapes in some way. It takes much more than that to bring in audiences today, doesn’t it?

    Moore: Well certainly. In the '50s and '60s. travel was out of the reach of most people. They couldn’t go to exotic locations, which the Bond films used. Now they can go to those places, so Bond has had to step up its game a little.

    NBC: You wrote in your book that “Skyfall” should be “enjoyed in a theater with 350 of your local neighbors.” That reminded me of an article I read, expressing concern that the modern movie experience is no longer social. Instead of going to theaters, people are simply streaming movies on computers. It’s become solitary.


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    Moore: I think people are missing a great deal. I don’t think there is anything quite the equivalent of dressing up, though people dress down now to go. I don’t like everybody sitting around having their dinner sitting around me. Popcorn rustling. But they’re certainly improved since back in the days when I first came to America in the early '50s. People smoked in the cinemas. And the cigars, terrible King Edwards, would stink. You came out of the cinema really smelling.

    NBC: You’ve said that “A View to A Kill,” your last Bond movie, was unnecessarily violent. Do you think it’s really that bad now, compared to today’s movies?

    Moore: I think violence has become pornography, actually. The amount of violence, I don’t particularly enjoy it. I suppose that’s ridiculous, coming from somebody who’s done nothing but films where there are explosions and guns.

    NBC: What do you think it says about today’s age, if the movies are that violent?

    Moore: I don’t think they have to be that violent. One tries to out-do the other. Also, there’s a little too much fantasy for me, with steel men... I like good old-fashioned romantic comedies. Cary Grant movies.

    NBC: “Skyfall” has been getting great reviews. Do you think the reception has anything to do with them bringing a bit more humor back into the films?

    Moore: There are all sorts of things as to why it’s getting such good reception. Adele’s music track goes back to the John Barry style. It’s not stealing from John Barry, but you’re thinking, ‘this is a Bond film.’ It has locations not seen very often on the screen. There’s extraordinary stunt work, like the whole cycle chase and the fight on the train. Great stuff.

    NBC: You attended the “Die Another Day” premiere in 2002, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bond on screen. It’s now been 50 years. Do you think Bond is in a better place now than it was then?

    Moore: It certainly is now. My reaction when seeing “Skyfall,” I emailed Barbara Broccoli and said how [her parents] Dana and Cubby would be so proud of what you’ve done with “Skyfall.” It’s another 50 years of life guaranteed to Bond.

    Who's your favorite Bond? Tell us on Facebook.

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  • 9
    Nov
    2012
    9:28am, EST

    James Bond lied to us: Death by gold paint unlikely

    By Randee Dawn, NBC News contributor

    If 50 years of James Bond movies have taught us anything, it's that virtually any gizmo will work, any super-villain will have a super-crazy quirk, and there's pretty much no situation our Double-Oh hero can't escape, often with a quippy double entendre to toss over his shoulder.

    Matthew Lloyd / Getty Images

    Can you die from being covered in gold paint?

    But what's the real scoop behind what the films show us? Just in time for the release of the latest Bond film "Skyfall," we tracked down experts in four fields: Dermatology, dentistry, drinks and death (the 007 variety) to suss out the truth behind the myth.

    Does a "license to kill" actually exist?
    Answer: Yes.

    While real-life British MI6 agents may not live anything like the lifestyle of James Bond, the secret service's elite intelligence officers were permitted to kill enemies abroad, said Michael Smith, author of "SIX: The Real James Bonds." The practice goes as far back as the early 20th century; one agent was involved in the 1916 murder of the Russian Grigori Rasputin, and an attempt was made on the life of Egyptian President Abdel Gamel Nasser.

    MI6 officers continue to operate around the world, and while there is no actual "license to kill," the 1994 Intelligence Services Act -- which Smith said was designed to formalize MI6's practices -- "gave intelligence officers the right to do anything that would otherwise be considered a criminal act in the UK, from murder to bigamy, so long as the mission is signed off by the Foreign Secretary," he wrote in an email.

    Columbia Pictures

    Daniel Craig as James Bond.

    As for that "00" designation -- there was such a system in place. An MI6 station chief would be designated with 5 figures, the two-digit designator of the country he was based in, followed by 000. (Germany would be 12000, then; his first agent would be 12001, the seventh, 12007.)

    But lest anyone think Britain is alone in sanctioning intelligence officers to kill if necessary, so did other countries. Smith noted that the Russian KGB had a name for assassinations: a "wet job."

    Can you die if you're covered in paint?
    Answer: Not as portrayed in 'Goldfinger' 

    In "Goldfinger," Jill Masterson is smothered in gold paint, which either created or reinforced the apocryphal belief that being covered from head to toe in any substance would induce suffocation, since the skin is an organ. Nonsense, said David E. Bank, a dermatologist in Mount Kisco, N.Y. 

    Watch on YouTube

    Humans, he said, take in oxygen through the nose and mouth. "We don't breathe through our skin," he said. "A person is not going to suffocate." 

    Of course, if you dipped someone in molten gold, that would be a different story. "Then she would have burned to a crisp," he said. "To get gold to the point where it's a liquid you can plate on something, you'd burn the body to being unrecognizable."

    Now, if the paint had toxic elements in it -- mercury or lead -- then someone covered in it could be poisoned. But that wouldn't be instantaneous, as it would have to penetrate into the individual's bloodstream.

    "Mythbusters" looked into this phenomenon in 2009, and learned that while death didn't result, a painted person did undergo shifts in his blood pressure and body temperature.

    Can someone have super-strength in their jaws thanks to wearing metal teeth?
    Answer: No. 

    One of the most beloved villains in the Bond universe is Richard Kiel's Jaws, the tall, imposing henchman who appears in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and, later "Moonraker." He's got incredible steel teeth (predating rappers and their love for "grills") and apparently a very strong jaw -- at one point he's shown tearing through a steel cable with his teeth. 

    And while steel-covered teeth are a possibility, Matthew Messina, a dentist who practices in Ohio, said they wouldn't have that kind of tearing force. "We're still bounded by muscles and bone," he noted. "There's only so much power we can generate. He'd have an easier time with those plastic security devices they put on clothes in the store." ("Mythbusters" also came to a similar conclusion.)

    "Moonraker."

    Watch on YouTube

    He would also be at risk for magnets -- in "Spy," Jaws is lifted by a powerful magnet and carried into the air once it attaches to his teeth, something that could in fact happen, said Messina. 

    But in the long run, steel-coated teeth would have a different kind of deadly effect: They would irritate the gums almost immediately, food could get trapped between them and the actual teeth, and cause tooth decay. It's some of the same issues Messina said he sees in non-precious-metal grills some people wear today: The gums get irritated and the cheaper metals contain nickel, which is poisonous if it gets in the bloodstream. And then, there's the tooth decay issue. 


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    "Even the actor would have had some very sore gums from wearing those prosthetics in the movie," he said. "He would also not be the guy you wanted to sit next to at lunch, owing to his bad breath."

    Are martinis better shaken, or stirred?
    Answer: Experts disagree. 

    Traditionally, James Bond asks for his martini to be "shaken, not stirred." So is this the way to drink your concoction? The answer is as mixed as the drink.

    Old-timers say never shake a pure spirit drink, said Tim Keller, director of beverage for TAO Group in Las Vegas. By shaking it (with ice), the alcohol gets diluted and murky, and the taste changes. "Vodka tastes as close to nothing as possible, so traditionalists say always stir it," he said. But others say shaking the drink releases antioxidants and it has a better health benefit -- not that most people are quaffing alcohol for the health properties. 

    Watch on YouTube

    Keller says it's possible that when Ian Fleming wrote his books and the Bond films were first starting, shaking actually made more sense than it does today: Back then, vodkas were largely made with potatoes, and had an oilier taste that could be broken up by adding ice and water. But that's changed; vodkas today are made with a wide variety of vegetables and grains.

    So what if you prefer a gin martini? That's a slightly different animal, said Keller. "People who drink gin are more particular in how they like their martinis made -- some like the ice cubes to be rinsed in it, for example. From my research in the first book Fleming wrote, Bond had a Gordon's gin martini."

    But watch out: Asking for shaken not stirred may get you your drink, but probably won't earn you the respect of the bartender. "It's a little cheesy," said Keller.

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  • 9
    Nov
    2012
    9:12am, EST

    'Skyfall' is a spectacular way for James Bond to turn 50

    By Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

    REVIEW: The movie James Bond is now 50 years old and wearing his years very well in "Skyfall." The most significant reset of the 23-film series that's unconnected to a change of the actor playing 007, this long-awaited third outing for Daniel Craig feels more seriously connected to real-world concerns than any previous entry, despite the usual outlandish action scenes, glittering settings and larger-than-life characters.

    Dramatically gripping while still brandishing a droll undercurrent of humor, this beautifully made film certainly will be embraced as one of the best Bonds by loyal fans worldwide and leaves you wanting the next one to turn up sooner than four years from now.

    PHOTOS: 'Skyfall': New Photos of Daniel Craig as James Bond, Javier Bardem as Villain Raoul Silva

    Bond watchers have been especially eager for "Skyfall" to arrive for several reasons, particularly to see if the Craig sequence of films can bounce back from the crushing low of "Quantum of Solace" after starting so high with "Casino Royale" and to evaluate what fresh perspective might be delivered by such big and unexpected talents as director Sam Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins.

    The answers are “yes” to the first proposition and “quite a bit” to the second.

    PHOTOS: Fall Movie Preview 2012: Major New Releases From Spielberg, Jackson, Tarantino, the Wachowskis, Burton and More

    Whereas "Casino Royale" tasted like a fine old vintage served in a snappy new bottle, "Skyfall" seems like a fresh blend altogether, one with some weight and complexity to it. Much of this, to be sure, stems from Mendes, who, with series veteran writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade along with John Logan, yanks Bond, M and MI6 out of the world of colorful megalomaniacal villains and into the vexing world of shadowy terrorists and cyber warfare.

    In the process, they also give Bond not only a few aches and pains, but a sense of mortality, exemplified by a credits sequence festooned not by silhouetted naked women but by images of the secret agent's tombstone and of his being sucked to his doom underwater. Since it happens in the 10-minute action opener, it's giving nothing away to say that -- after an elaborate and logistically outrageous chase through the streets and bazaars and over the roofs of Istanbul, and then on top of a train into the countryside -- M is seen writing her veteran agent's obituary.

    He has survived, of course, but his brush with death has been so close that Bond goes Jason Bourne for a while, holing up anonymously on a tropical beach with a babe and drinking himself to oblivion. But when the modern new London headquarters building of MI6 explodes in a terrorist attack, Bond reports back for duty to a boss who herself is being none too gently being shown the door by intelligence and security committee chairman Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes).

    In fact, all British agents embedded within terrorist organizations have been compromised and are beginning to be killed, making M look incompetent and Bond seem a bit of a dinosaur whose wits and brawn are no match for high-tech warriors.

    “So this is it, we're both played out,” he says to her -- prematurely, as it turns out, though Bond still is put through some arduous tests to re-earn his old job back. Bond never has endured so many rude remarks about his physical prowess since Sean Connery made his middle-aged one-shot return to the role in the ill-advised "Never Say Never Again." For her part, M plays a more central role here than she has before, and Judi Dench, as usual, makes the most of the opportunity, investing her authority role with great dignity undercut with a sliver of insecurity.

    The globetrotting continues to Shanghai, where the striking high-rises make a terrific nocturnal backdrop to Bond's stealthy pursuit of the assassin/hard-drive thief he narrowly missed in Istanbul. From there it's on to Macau, where the old Bond re-emerges in a tuxedo to drink his martini (very smartly shaken, not stirred, by a deft lady bartender) in a casino where he gets hot and heavy with the striking yet nervously neurotic Severine, who is given a distinctive preoccupied edge by Berenice Lim Marlohe. Trailing along behind to keep an eye on things and trade dry banter (and perhaps more than that) is field agent Eve, very engagingly played by Naomie Harris.

    It is Severine who can take Bond to the man who's causing all the trouble. In a scene of surpassing beauty and weirdness, by yacht the two approach a strange island city, from which the entire population has just fled. It has just been taken over by a strange tall man with dyed blond hair, insinuating humor and heavily armed henchmen. At the 70-minute mark, Javier Bardem makes his fabulously staged entrance as Silva, who, like many Bond villains of the past, is half persuasive and half lunatic, has delusions of exceptional grandeur and is partial to explaining many things to his captive before he means to kill him. He also has a theatrically sexual side that brings something new to the gallery of Bond villains. In all events, Bardem makes him a riveting and most entertaining figure.

    Even if Bond is able to turn the tables on Silva and bring him back to London as a prisoner, that's far from the end of it, as Silva is one resourceful chap whose advanced computer skills test the expertise even of the new Q, the MI6 weapons and technology guru now reimagined as a very young man and wonderfully played in full geek drag by Ben Whishaw. The scene in which he and Bond meet for the first time in an art gallery is an instant mini-classic.

    Ultimately, there is a very conscious, even articulated effort to balance the old and new, the traditional and the modern in "Skyfall" -- stylistically, dramatically and thematically. Longtime series producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli never have gone so far as to hire a full control-demanding auteur to direct one of their films, and while Mendes certainly is the most distinguished outside director they've ever brought aboard, he's one as tradition-minded as he is innovative.

    Many of the dramatic scenes would do justice to a nongenre film, and the same can be said of the quality of the acting. The traditional quips surface at times in low-key form; some of them are quite good, and they're never corny. The action, much of it presumably staged by veteran second unit director Alexander Witt, is consistently strong (even if a motorcycle-and-jeep chase through the jammed streets of Istanbul reminds, as did a recent one through Manila in "The Bourne Legacy," that motorized chases through thick urban crowds are never entirely convincing).

    Tonally, the fundamental seriousness of the film places "Skyfall" at the other end of the Bond spectrum from the monkeyshines of some of the silliest Roger Moore entries, such as "Moonraker" and "A View to A Kill."

    The long climax, set at an isolated old house in Scotland presided over by a thickly bearded Albert Finney, plays out partly like a highly elaborated version of "Straw Dogs," albeit with far heavier artillery. The moving and highly satisfying ending nicely tees up the ball for the next round.

    Deakins' cinematography is dense, colorful and impactful, noticeably a notch or two above the series’ norm. Production values are similarly at the high end of things, and Thomas Newman's score is far from generic, finding many moods while delightfully allowing room for Monty Norman's immortal Bond theme when the moment calls for it.

    And, oh yes, there's Daniel Craig. He owns Bond now, and the role is undoubtedly his for as long as he might want it. Perhaps a tad less buff than in "Casino Royale" and certainly more beat up, he entertains the ladies less here than perhaps any Bond ever has. But two other women, his boss and the queen, have first call on his favors, and he repays them for their confidence many times over -- as he does the audience.

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  • 4
    Nov
    2012
    11:58am, EST

    Best bets: James Bond is back in 'Skyfall'


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    By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

    Big stars, big names this week. James Bond returns in "Skyfall," Abraham Lincoln gets a biopic, and Spider-Man webcrawls onto DVD and Blu-ray. Here are our top three entertainment picks for the week ahead.

    FRIDAY: 'Skyfall'
    Shake your martinis and rev up the Aston-Martin, Bond -- James Bond -- is back. The suave secret agent must save his boss, M (Judi Dench) when she appears to have exposed agents to discovery and death. Javier Bardem is earning raves as the film's villain. You can also expect glamorous Bond girls, exotic locations, thrilling action scenes and all the Bond staples that a $150 million budget can buy. (Opens Nov. 9.) 

    FRIDAY: "Lincoln'
    How can a two-and-a-half-hour movie about lobbying be so engrossing? "Lincoln," the new Steven Spielberg biopic of our sixteenth president, defies the odds by making Honest Abe's quest for enough House votes to end slavery oddly fascinating. This is a talky movie -- not a lot of action, and a lot of political machinations. Still, Day-Lewis plays a great Lincoln (gentle, storytelling, brilliant and somehow sad) and Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Jackie Earle Haley, Tommy Lee Jones and others round out an excellent, sure-to-be-Oscar-recognized cast. (Opens Nov. 9.)

    FRIDAY: 'Amazing Spider-Man' on DVD
    The "Spider-Man" movies got a well-received reboot earlier this year when Andrew Garfield took over the role of the gawky webslinging superhero. His origin story's been seen many times before, but this is a fresh, satisfying take, with Emma Stone as Spidey's girlfriend Gwen Stacy and Sally Field and Martin Sheen as his beloved Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Also memorable: Denis Leary as Gwen's cop dad and Rhys Ifans as scientist Curt Connors, who transforms into The Lizard, the film's bad guy. (On DVD and Blu-ray Nov. 9.)

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  • 1
    Nov
    2012
    8:25am, EDT

    'Skyfall' given thumbs up, major spread by Vatican's newspaper

    Indigo / Getty Images Contributor

    Daniel Craig at the world premiere of "Skyfall" in London.

    By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

    In a marketing bonanza for the new James Bond film "Skyfall," the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has endorsed the movie for the world's one billion Catholics to see, despite the devilish ways of cinema's most notorious spy.

    The daily newspaper devoted a full spread to the Sony and MGM movie in its Wednesday edition, timed to "Skyfall's" opening in Italy.

    Reviewer Gaetano Vallini wrote that this Bond -- played by Daniel Craig -- is "less of a cliche, less attracted by the pleasures of life." Continuing, Vallini said the character is "darker and more introspective" and that because of this, "he is more human, even able to be moved and cry."

    PHOTOS: "Skyfall" London premiere: Daniel Craig is back as Bond

    The newspaper had four other stories about "Skyfall," including a Q&A with Craig and an article explaining why author Ian Fleming came to select the name James Bond.

    Sony wasn't immediately available to comment on the Bond package, which generated headlines around the globe because of its breadth. The edition's only other full page spread was about the 500th anniversary of the inauguration of the Sistine Chapel.

    L'Osservatore Romano editor-in-chief Gian Maria Vian is under orders from Pope Benedict to make sure the paper is attuned to pop culture, whatever the form.

    Directed by Sam Mendes, "Skyfall" began opening at the international box office last weekend, breaking records in the U.K. and grossing nearly $100 million to date.


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    STORY: Adele's "Skyfall" is every inch a classic Bond theme

    "Skyfall" opens in North America on Nov. 9 (it opens in IMAX and other large-format theaters Nov. 8). There are nearly 78 million Catholics in the U.S., representing 25 percent of the population.

    In the movie, 007's loyalty to M -- played again by Judi Dench -- is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. It's up to 007 to track down and destory the threat if MI6 is to be saved. Javier Bardem also stars.

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  • 31
    Oct
    2012
    8:16am, EDT

    James Bond takes on James Bond in 'Deathmatch' video

    By Randee Dawn, NBC News contributor

    Talk about spy vs. spy! James Bond fans may have long wondered which Bond is the greatest. But which one would survive a death match: Roger Moore, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig?

    Watch on YouTube

    Brad Hansen, an editor and director with his own YouTube channel, decided to find out. Using his top-notch editing skills, he spliced together scenes from various James Bond films that appear to pit one Bond against the other, in his latest short film "Deathmatch."

    There's Daniel Craig and Sean Connery in an aerial dogfight! There's Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton training guns on one another -- and a rematch involving rockets, missiles and cars all at the same time. And then there's poor old George Lazenby. It's not so much what Daniel Craig does to him or not -- Lazenby always loses.

    You may not agree with the one man left standing at the end ... but the ride getting there is absolutely worth taking.

    (And stick around past the "credits" -- there's one final deathmatch between much, much lesser-known Bonds left!)

    Check out the video!


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    Related content:

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  • 30
    Oct
    2012
    8:47am, EDT

    James Bond fan reportedly legally changes name to feature 14 Bond girl monikers

     

    By John Boone , E! Online

    For one James Bond-loving barmaid, 007 new names were not enough ... she wanted 14! A 28-year-old British woman, born Emma-Louise Hodges, has reportedly legally changed her name to pay tribute to more than a dozen Bond Girls: Pussy Galore Honey Rider Solitaire Plenty O'Toole May Day Xenia Onatopp Holly Goodhead Tiffany Case Kissy Suzuki Mary Goodnight Jinx Johnson Octopussy Domino Moneypenny.

    Eat your heart out, Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson! And you too, Uma!

    Slideshow: Bond girls, then and now

    Launch slideshow

    Neckjazzling?! That's what Bond Girl Judi Dench rocked at the premiere!

    "I've always thought how great it would be to be a Bond girl -- and now I am," Miss Moneypenny, as she'll be called in short, told The Sun.

    Is this for real? Given that the report comes from the wacky British tabloid, who's to say (we sure hope so!). But whether this "The Secret"-esque tactic (want to become a Bond girl?! Name yourself after all of them) is true or just a quickly picked-up Internet hoax, really, who cares when it's as ridiculously fun as this.

    Check out tons of behind-the-scenes pictures from the Bond franchise!

    "I'm hoping it can mean I can find my own suave James Bond," she continued (good luck recalling that whole moniker between the sheets, Bondy!) "Ultimately though, I'm a good down-to-earth girl, so I opted for Miss Moneypenny as the main name -- even though she's not technically a Bond girl."

    Slideshow: Bond through the ages

    United Artists

    Launch slideshow


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    Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris) is, however, a sexy new addition to Daniel Craig's "Skyfall" series. We think this other Miss Moneypenny (don't make us recall all 13 of her other names, please) will have Bond raising his brow for completely different reasons, though. 

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  • 24
    Oct
    2012
    4:13pm, EDT

    Rare James Bond posters are going up for auction

    By Reuters

    In line with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, posters from every Bond movie in the series are hitting the auction block in December, along with stills, lobby cards, scripts and other 007 ephemera.

    Auctioneer Profiles in History said the Bond poster collection is expected to take in well over $200,000, led by a rare "From Russia With Love" special advance Leicester Square world-premiere poster from 1963. 


    Follow @ NBCNewsEnt

    It is one of a handful believed still in existence and is expected to fetch $10,000 to $15,000, the auction house said. 

    "It's such a rare thing when you get every title like this," said Joe Maddalena, the auction house's president, referring to the comprehensive offerings. 

    The posters and other items were assembled over some 25 years by a private British collector, Maddalena told Reuters. 

    "He wanted to build the most comprehensive James Bond movie poster collection," he said. 

    "It's really a mind-boggling collection," Maddalena added, pointing to examples such as a yellow "Dr. No" silkscreen on linen poster from 1962 that is thought to be the very first 007 film poster ever to appear to the public. 

    The auction house estimates what it called the "holy grail" of film poster collecting to sell for $3,000 to $5,000, but Maddalena said he strives to keep estimates conservative. 

    Other highlights include posters from the earliest Bond films, including a rare U.K. advance "Goldfinger" from 1964 and a British "Thunderball" poster from 1965, each estimated to sell for $4,000 to $6,000. 

    The auction, including hundreds of other, non-Bond film memorabilia, will be held on Dec. 15-16 in Los Angeles. 

    Hollywood memorabilia has achieved some stunning prices in recent years. 

    Profiles in History's 2011 auction of Debbie Reynolds' costume collection was led by the Marilyn Monroe "subway" dress from "The Seven Year Itch" which soared to $5.5 million, while Audrey Hepburn's Ascot dress from "My Fair Lady" fetched more than $4.4 million. 

    A charity auction of Bond items took in $2.6 million earlier this month in London, led by an Aston Martin driven by Daniel Craig in his second Bond outing, "Quantum of Solace," which sold for $390,000. Another bidder paid nearly $72,000 for Craig's "Casino Royale" bathing suit. 

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

Gael Cooper is the movies editor for TODAY.com and a pop-culture junkie. She is the co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?" and "The Totally Sweet '90s."

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