James Bond’s iconic Lotus Esprit ‘submarine’ car sells for $860,000

LONDON — The iconic submarine car driven by James Bond in the 1977 classic The Spy Who Loved Me fetched £550,000 ($860,000, 650,000 euros) when it was floated at auction for the first time in London on Monday.

Following an intense bidding battle, The Lotus Esprit was finally sold to a telephone bidder at RM Auctions in Battersea, south London.

The car was made for the scene in which Bond, played by Roger Moore, evades the gunfire from an overhead helicopter by plunging into the water, accompanied by a nervous Barbara Bach in the passenger seat.

“We are very happy with that price, it is very strong money for what is an important piece of movie memorabilia,” said Peter Haynes of RM Auctions Europe.

“Bearing in mind it is not a car that can be driven on the road, the price just goes to prove the draw that all Bond-related memorabilia has,” he added.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Skyfall’ filmmaker Sam Mendes to direct Daniel Craig again in James Bond 24

LONDON - Sam Mendes will direct Daniel Craig as 007 in the 24th installment of the blockbuster James Bond film franchise about the fictional British spy, its producers said on Thursday.

The film is set for release in the autumn of 2015 and follows on the success of Mendes-directed predecessor “Skyfall”, which earned $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide and was the highest-grossing film of all time in Britain, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said in a statement.

The screenplay for the Sony Pictures Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc film will be written by John Logan, who also worked on “Skyfall”.

“Following the extraordinary success of ‘Skyfall’, we’re really excited to be working once again with Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes and John Logan,” Wilson and Broccoli said.

Mendes has been rumored as the director of the latest Bond project for months, but his participation was not a certainty while he was involved in the creation of a stage musical version of children’s writer Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, which opened last month.

“I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honor all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24,” the 47-year-old Mendes said in the statement.

Mendes has a long background in theatre direction and burst on to the movie scene by winning an Academy Award for his debut feature “American Beauty” starring Kevin Spacey.

His collaboration with Craig as the suave superspy and handling of key new cast including Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw in “Skyfall” was widely praised by critics and helped the film become a major commercial success.

source: interaksyon.com

James Bond trusts Sony Xperia

MANILA, Philippines -  “Xperia is trusted by James Bond,” says Yasushi Asaoka, president and managing director of Sony Philippines. The consumer electronics company reveals that the Xperia TX (also coming in a variant known as Xperia T for some specific markets), the latest smartphone in Sony Mobile’s Xperia range, is set to feature in the newest James Bond film, Skyfall, the 23rd adventure of the longest-running film franchise of all time.


Sony Ericsson first partnered with Bond for Die Another Day starring Pierce Brosnan in 2002, using both the T68i and P800 in the film. “Key phone models have since been featured in the most recent Bond films, with the K800i and M600i making their debuts in Casino Royale, and the C902 bringing limited-edition glamour to Quantum of Solace,” said Asaoka. “We are absolutely thrilled that the Sony Xperia continues to be James Bond’s official handset of choice –– Xperia is definitely the perfect gadget for the franchise’s golden anniversary,” Asaoka added.

James Bond enjoyed its first world premiere in London in 1962 with Dr. No. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise, Sony Philippines will run a promotion. Buyers of selected Sony Xperia handsets will get a free, trendy, “made-for-Xperia” phone case for purchases until Nov. 15.  Participating handsets for this promotion are: Xperia ion, Xperia S, and Xperia P.

source: philstar.com

24-hour James Bond TV channel launched in the UK

LONDON – British pay television broadcaster BSkyB will launch a new 24-hour channel dedicated to showing James Bond films on repeat in October to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise, the company said on Tuesday.

The channel, to be called Sky Movies 007, will show 22 original Bond films in high definition from Oct. 5 for a month, beginning with the 1962 Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, it said. It added that it will also screen independent titles ‘Never Say Never Again’ and ‘Casino Royale.’

The launch comes after Sky bought the rights to the British film franchise from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in April, ending rival ITV’s 38-year stronghold on the films’s rights.

“We’re delighted that our customers will have the best Bond movie-watching experience ever with Sky Movies – uninterrupted, in HD (high definition), on demand and on the go,” Director of Sky Movies, Ian Lewis, said in a statement.

article source: interaksyon.com

Queen Elizabeth happy to play Bond girl

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth needed little persuading in making her film debut, appearing with the country’s most famous fictional spy James Bond during the London Olympics opening ceremony.

In a brief, tongue-in-cheek film broadcast to a packed Olympic stadium late on Friday – as well as a massive worldwide television audience – Bond actor Daniel Craig entered Buckingham Palace wearing his trademark tuxedo.

After a pause, Her Majesty turns from her writing desk and says simply: “Good evening, Mr. Bond.”

She uttered just four words, but they were seen as a highly personal touch from a monarch once seen as aloof.

“The queen was delighted to be asked, and be involved in something so exceptional,” a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman told Reuters on Saturday. “Very pleased to take part, and it was our Olympics and the queen was delighted to be part of it.”

Princess Diana’s death in 1997 was a low-point for the royal family, yet the huge crowds that greeted her during Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June were proof of how far the queen had recovered in the eyes of the public.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who escorted the 86-year-old monarch around the Olympic Park during an official tour on Saturday, said that she was “thrilled” about the film and keen to know if people found her cameo role funny.

“My impression is that she loved it,” the staunch royalist told reporters. “Maybe, you know, there won’t be many film performances that she will give and whether she will get an Oscar, I don’t know,” he joked.

The pre-recorded clip also showed 007 escorting the queen to the stadium in a moment of levity rarely shared by the public, who can only read about her well-reported sense of humor.

The 86-year-old monarch was happy for two of her beloved corgis, Monty, 13, and Holly, nine, to play a role. The depiction of her derring-do arrival was a quirky moment in an eclectic ceremony on Friday.

The opening shot showed the Queen sitting at a writing table in Buckingham Palace, welcoming Bond, played by Daniel Craig.

The pair made their way to a waiting helicopter in the grounds of the central London palace, apparently leaving her doting corgis on the doorstep.

The helicopter zipped across the city and a man dressed as Bond skydived down towards the Olympic Park in east London, followed by a figure in a pale peach dress matching that worn by the queen in the film.

She then appeared for real in the main stadium before 60,000 spectators – and without a hair out of place – before taking her seat.

The film was the brainchild of the ceremony’s director Danny Boyle, but it was London organizing committee (LOCOG) chairman Seb Coe who first approached the palace in 2011.

When asked how much it took to persuade the queen to take part, a LOCOG spokeswoman said: “Not much.”

“I think she really liked the whole concept Danny had put together.”

Oscar-winning director Boyle shot the scenes in the palace’s quadrangle, the Grand Entrance, the East Gallery, the Audience Room and the West Terrace, in March and April this year.

“You don’t have to tell her something twice,” Boyle was quoted as saying by British media. “She picks it up straight away, about cameras and angles.”

The queen was then given a viewing before its official showing.

“She was very happy to take part, she was happy to do what she did,” the Buckingham Palace spokeswoman added.

Her off-beat appearance was a hit with the British media.

“It’s been received really well, we always knew it would,” the palace spokeswoman added.

When asked if it might be the monarch’s last appearance in a film, she said: “Never say never, but I imagine so, it was a very special one-off.”

Other members of the Royal Family have had cameo appearances in long-running TV and radio soap operas.

Her stuntman Gary Connery said the part had been exciting, but he’d not been allowed to keep the dress. “It’s all part of it, and you just go with the flow,” he told BBC television.

“Last night was the first time I’d actually had the make-up on. The process of making me the queen … had been three to four months.”

It capped off a successful year for the queen who in June marked 60 years on the throne with a weekend extravaganza that saw millions of flag waving Britons take to the streets to show their affection and appreciation for a monarch more normally renowned for her stately dignity.

source: interaksyon.com