BOND 24 Is Officially Titled SPECTRE And Cast Confirmed

Today, the folks behind the ever successful Bond franchise have finally made their official announcement concerning Bond 24. The title will be Spectre, which hints to the evil organization headed-up by Bond's greatest villain Blofeld. We actually haven't seen the group in decades, and this could be a great way to bring-back the tone of the classic films. Sam Mendes played with these concepts back in Skyfall, while finally giving us updated takes on the classic characters Moneypenny and Q. Like the last film, the name will actually be an important aspect to the film's plot.

The casting was also confirmed and it does look like a majority of it was on the money. Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Dave Baustita and Sherlock's Andrew Scott were all confirmed as new cast members. While Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear were set to return as well.

Scott will be apart of MI6 as Agent Denbigh, while Waltz will be playing a character called Oberhauser and Bautista is playing an iconic henchman named Mr. Hinx. The ladies will be playing characters named Madeleine Swan (Seydoux) and Luciana Sciarra (Bellucci).

A quick google search of the name Oberhauser, and I get famous Nazi/SS officer war criminal Josef Oberhauser. Blofeld worked with the Nazis during WWII, could this be Sam Mendes just messing with us?

Locations for Spectre will include Pinewood London, Mexico City, Rome, Tangier, Erfond (Morocco) and Sölden (Austria).


They've included the first teaser poster for the film due out in November 6th, 2015. Someone has pointed out the bullet-hole in the poster is stylistic take on the old Spectre logo from the old Bond films. Along with promo image of the cast of Spectre.

                            
                            

SOURCE: 007

Official BOND 24 Title And Cast To Be Announced This Week

Production for Bond 24 will start on Monday, but before work on the 24th installment they will officially announce the cast and it's title. We'll find out on Thursday and this should confirm casting news in the last couple of weeks. The news will be streaming on the official 007 website and we'll of course report back on this. Apparently, Christoph Waltz and Lea Seydoux are locks for new leads, with Waltz rumored for the villain role. An even bigger rumor suggests he might be resurrecting the iconic Bond villain Blofeld. I'm sure we'll be hearing other roles in the film as well with the official press release.

SOURCE: MGM

Christoph Waltz Joins BOND 24 Will He Play A Villain?

TheWrap reports that two-time Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds) has landed a role in Sam Mendes' untitled Bond 24. His role is unknown but considering his iconic role as the Nazi Col. Hans Landa, it might be safe to assume he'll be playing the villain. This would sort of echo when Mendes cast Javier Bardem in role for Skyfall, after winning an Oscar himself for No Country For Old Men.

Production is expected to begin very soon with November 2015 release date set. The rest of the new additions includes Waltz's Basterds co-star Lea Seydoux and Guardians of The Galaxy breakout star Dave Bautista as the henchman.

A bit of speculation for the moment. We have been hearing rumors that producers are interested in bringing-back the iconic Blofeld back to the franchise. Now that they recently got the rights back to use the villain. There had even been chatter that he would make his return in next installment. When Ralph Fiennes was cast there was some notion he might have been playing him, before it was revealed he was apart of MI6. Could Waltz get away with playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld and bring back SPECTRE to the franchise?



SOURCE: THEWRAP

Dave Bautista Nabs Henchman Role In BOND 24

LatinoReview is reporting that Guardians of The Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has landed the henchman role in Sam Mendes' Bond 24. The role of Hinx is said to be similar to that of Jaws and Oddjob. An iconic role that could boost the actor's profile even more. There is chatter that he might be too busy with other projects, but I'm sure he would be willing to drop those for a Bond role of lifetime like this. The casting so far seems to be on-point, and can't wait to hear who they hire for the villain.


SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

French Actress Léa Seydoux Confirmed For BOND 24

TheDailyMail is confirming previous reports that French actress Léa Seydoux (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Inglourious Basterds) has indeed landed a leading role in the untitled Bond 24. It's production is about to begin, and offices have already been opened in Italy. Director Sam Mendes has an excellent eye for talented actors, so we should expect more interesting actors added to the lineup soon. No word in this report if Seydoux will be playing friend or foe in the 24th installment.

Originally, Skyfall was going to have a female main antagonist (Rachel Weisz was rumored for the role) set around the backdrop of the heroin trafficking in Afghanistan. That was seemingly removed with rewrites, and another threat/villain was used instead. I'm curious if they'll retread back to this synopsis, considering the current Middle East conflicts would make it quite topical. Léa played an assassin/thief for hire in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, so she could easily play another villain.

However, we've been hearing rumors for a while now that producers are asking for iconic Bond villain Blofeld to finally make an appearance. MGM recently got back the rights to use the character. Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the leader of the criminal organization known as S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and hasn't shown-up since 1983's Never Say Never Again. I'm sure we'll see Mendes use him before the end of his planned trilogy.

There is also talk via Variety that Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave, Children of Men) was being eyed for the nemesis role.

SOURCE: DAILYMAIL

Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema Will Shoot BOND 24, Production Starts This December

There are only a handful of cinematographers, who's work you actually take notice of. One being Hoyte van Hoytema, who has been hired to lens Sam Mendes' sequel to Skyfall aka Bond 24 according to HitFlix. Some of the amazing work Hoyte has done includes, Let The Right One In, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Spike Jonze's Her, and Christopher Nolan's Interstellar.

To say that this next Bond film will look stunning is an understatement, congrats to Mendes on landing him. It's also been expected that production will begin in December, with a release date set for November 6th, 2015. Daniel Craig is set to return in the lead, which is said to be his second-last film as 007.







SOURCE: HITFIX

Penelope Cruz Linked For The Second-Time As Bond Girl In Sam Mendes' BOND 24

French magazine Premiere (via ThePlaylist) has caught-wind of an updated casting list of Bond 24 from Sony, apparently the new addition is Spanish actress Penelope Cruz. She had been rumored to be in the mix back in June and it's quite possible she's landed one of the two new female roles in the film. The second, according TheWrap is a Scandinavian woman with a troubled past. Craig recently dropped out of a indie film, which could mean Sam Mendes is ready to begin production on the 24th installment. Her husband Javier Bardem played the baddie in Skyfall, which might have played a part in her being approached for the role.

TheWrap also linked Chiwetel Ejiofor as in the mix for the villain role, which could make this one of more interesting Bond casts ever. The returning cast includes Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw. Production is expected to begin soon, with the release date set for fall (October in the UK and November in the US) of 2015

SOURCE: PREMIERE

Chiwetel Ejiofor Wanted For Villain Role In BOND 24?

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave, Children of Men) is being linked to a bunch of major productions lately, being one of the many actors linked to Star Wars: Episode VII. The doesn't seem to be only huge franchises he's being eyed for, as TheWrap reports Bond producers are interested in him for the untitled Bond 24. Apparently, the role isn't a supporting one, as Chiwetel could play a Bond villain in the 24th installment. This wouldn't be new for the actor, as he's played villains in sci-fi films Children of Men and Joss Whedon's Serenity.

Jeff also mentions two major female roles that are being cast as well. One being a Scandinavian woman with a troubled past, who ends up a love-interest for Bond. A few names that come to mind include Swedish actresses MyAnna Buring (Kill List, Downton Abbey), Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) and Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, Dragon Tattoo, The Drop, Sherlock Holmes 2). My bet is on Noomi, since her ex-husband Ola Rapace had a role in Skyfall and she would be a different kind of Bond girl.

Director Sam Mendes looked at a lot of unknown actresses, when casting Skyfall. I'd suggest an unknown like Danish actress Mia Jexen for the role as well.

We don't have many details on the project, but at one point Bond 23 was said to focus on the heroin-trade in Afghanistan. That plot was ultimately scrapped for Skyfall. Yet, it's possible they could weave the unused elements in the final two films in Sam Mendes' trilogy. The returning cast includes Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw, with the release date set for November 2015 (October UK).

SOURCE: THEWRAP

Trailer For Wes Anderson's THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Looks Stellar

First Poster For Wes Anderson's THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Penelope Cruz Set For Role In BOND 24?

News of director Sam Mendes returning for Bond 24 and possibly Bond 25 recently was confirmed. Now a fresh rumor from Yahoo points to that Penelope Cruz might have a role in the follow up to Skyfall. If memory serves me right there was talk of female villain in the early stages of development for Bond 23. Daniel Craig's current partner Rachel Weisz had actually been linked for that possible role. Eventually, Javier Bardem (Penelope's husband) was cast instead and the original plot of an organization running the Afghanistan heroin trade was also scrapped for an M related revenge plot.

Sam Mendes Likely Directing A BOND Trilogy?

Showbiz411 is reporting that director Sam Mendes is confirmed to be making the follow up to Skyfall the untitled Bond 24 film. They mention that Sam will likely also make Bond 25, which is expected to be Daniel Craig's last film as 007. There was more rumblings of serious talks with Christopher Nolan taking over as well. Perhaps, we could see a Nolan reboot of 007 in Bond 26 after Mendes is done with the franchise. Sam and screenwriter John Logan are currently working out the story for the next film.

Sam Mendes Coming Back To Direct BOND 24?

This shouldn't come as a shock but TheDailyMail reports that Skyfall director Sam Mendes is quite possibly returning to make Bond 24. I say it's not surprising because earlier it was reported that Mendes was working with screenwriter John Logan on Bond 24's script. It was the first hint that Sam could be back in the director's chair.

Producers are likely giving the pair a creative atmosphere to make the follow up just as successful as Skyfall, if not bigger. Hence the other writers not being involved in the new film. The film has made $1.1 billion making it the biggest Bond film ever released and the second biggest film (edging out Dark Knight Rises) of 2012 just behind Avengers. Nothing is confirmed but if Sam officially signs on expect him to complete a Bond trilogy to finish off Daniel Craig's run as 007. Production is expected to take place sometime during the year with a November 2014 release date.

Mads Mikkelsen And Ralph Fiennes Join John Le Carre Adaptation OUR KIND OF TRAITOR Starring Ewan McGregor

ThePlaylist reports that Mads Mikkelsen (Pusher II, Casino Royale) and Ralph Fiennes (Skyfall, In Bruges) have joined Our Kind Of Traitors. The John Le Carre adaptation will be directed by Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders), scripted by Hossein Amini (Drive) with Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, The Impossible) in the lead. It centers on a British couple (McGregor and ?) that get mixed up with a money-laundering Russian (Mikkelsen) while he's in the process of defecting.  The couple end up getting in between the Russian Mafia and Secret Service.

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Mama, The Help) had been linked to play McGregor's wife but it's unknown if she'll end up in the film.

Wes Anderson Re-Teaming With Composer Alexandre Desplat For THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

ScreenDaily reports that Alexandre Desplat (Zero Dark Thirty) will be scoring his third film for Wes Anderson. Desplat will be composing the music for The Grand Budapest Hotel. The pair previously worked together on Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom. Grand Budapest Hotel stars Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Mathieu Amalric, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Saoirse Ronan.

Saoirse Ronan Joins Wes Anderson's GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Variety reports that Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, Atonement) has taken the female lead in Wes Anderson's next film. The Grand Budapest Hotel has already lineup an excellent cast with Bill Murray, Ralph Fiennes, Owen Wilson, Jude Law and Jason Schwartzman taking roles.

First Trailer For 'SKYFALL' Starring Daniel Craig

A Slew Of New 'SKYFALL' Images

'SKYFALL' Adds Another Bond Girl With Model Tonia Sotriopoulou

MI6 (via ThePlaylist) reports that Greek model Tonia Sotiropoulou has joined fellow Bond girls Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris for the 23rd film Skyfall. Tonia confirmed the news via her Facebook page mentioning she's headed to Turkey. It was said that the original location of India had been changed to Turkey over production issues with the local government. Of course there will be other locations with London being one of the major settings of the film. The rest of the cast includes Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whisaw with release date set for November 9th 2012.