The BJMDDS General Discussion Thread......

[Harvey danish]

Overview
Main article: James Bond (film series)
In the late 1950s, EON Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for Casino Royale (those rights were recovered in 1999[32]). In 1962, the first adaptation Dr. No was made, which featured Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in six more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was not part of the EON series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for one film) before the latter's last EON film, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for seven films), Timothy Dalton (for two films), Pierce Brosnan (for four films) and Daniel Craig (two films to 2008). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the EON series. The 21st film, Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006,[33] with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day.[34] Notably, it is the first Bond film to have been released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Daniel Craig is Quantum of Solace, which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (For Your Eyes Only, 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot. Daniel Craig is expected to return as James Bond for a third movie in the as yet unnamed "Bond 23."[35]

As of April 19, upcoming Bond film - known only as Bond 23 - has been suspended indefinitely due to the crippling debt and uncertain future of MGM. [2]

The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever.[4] The 22nd and newest movie in the series, Quantum of Solace, was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for Quantum of Solace were almost $161 million (£103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the Harry Potter film series even when not adjusting for inflation.[36][37]

The EON films
Franchise Count Title Year Actor Director Total Box Office * Budget * Inflation Adjusted
Total Box Office *†
1 Dr. No 1962 Sean Connery Terence Young $59,600,000 $1,200,000 $425,488,741
2 From Russia with Love 1963 $78,900,000 $2,500,000 $555,909,803
3 Goldfinger 1964 Guy Hamilton $124,900,000 $3,500,000 $868,659,354
4 Thunderball 1965 Terence Young $141,200,000 $11,000,000 $966,435,555
5 You Only Live Twice 1967 Lewis Gilbert $111,600,000 $9,500,000 $720,388,023
6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969 George Lazenby Peter R. Hunt $87,400,000 $7,000,000 $513,445,231
7 Diamonds Are Forever 1971 Sean Connery Guy Hamilton $116,000,000 $7,200,000 $617,520,987
8 Live and Let Die 1973 Roger Moore $161,800,000 $12,000,000 $785,677,477
9 The Man with the Golden Gun 1974 $97,600,000 $13,000,000 $426,826,774
10 The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Lewis Gilbert $187,300,000 $28,000,000 $666,367,656
11 Moonraker 1979 $210,300,000 $34,000,000 $624,527,272
12 For Your Eyes Only 1981 John Glen $202,800,000 $28,000,000 $481,005,579
13 Octopussy 1983 $187,500,000 $27,500,000 $405,873,493
14 A View to a Kill 1985 $157,800,000 $30,000,000 $316,186,616
15 The Living Daylights 1987 Timothy Dalton $191,200,000 $40,000,000 $362,876,056
16 Licence to Kill 1989 $156,200,000 $32,000,000 $271,586,451
17 GoldenEye 1995 Pierce Brosnan Martin Campbell $353,400,000 $60,000,000 $499,954,330
18 Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 Roger Spottiswoode $346,600,000 $110,000,000 $465,588,535
19 The World Is Not Enough 1999 Michael Apted $390,000,000 $135,000,000 $504,705,882
20 Die Another Day 2002 Lee Tamahori $456,000,000 $142,000,000 $546,490,272
21 Casino Royale 2006 Daniel Craig Martin Campbell $599,200,000 $150,000,000 $640,803,677
22 Quantum of Solace 2008 Marc Forster $586,090,727 $230,000,000 $586,090,727
Totals Films 1-22 $4,809,157,447 $1,123,000,000 $11,686,214,000

* All figures are in US Dollars[38]
† Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.

[stockslivevan]

Welcome to the mad house, Shark.

[bjmdds]

bjmdds - May we make amends? I know we've had pretty turbulent arguments back at MI6, but I hope you can let bygones be bygones, and Craigons be Craigons.

Who are you at MI6?

[bjmdds]

Welcome to the mad house, Shark.

You mean the only sanity out there for the last 5 years.

[Lord Shark]

bjmdds - May we make amends? I know we've had pretty turbulent arguments back at MI6, but I hope you can let bygones be bygones, and Craigons be Craigons.

Who are you at MI6?

Largo's Shark. You may remember me, but maybe not...

[Captain Nash]

Welcome to the mad house Shark.
As a member of Mi6, you're likely on the side of evil from the get go.
Though one or two members have no malice with the place.

[katied]

Welcome to the mad house Shark.
As a member of Mi6, you're likely on the side of evil from the get go.
Though one or two members have no malice with the place.

Now now, Nash.I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be!

Lord Shark-you're Largo's Shark over there, yeah?

[Lord Shark]

Welcome to the mad house Shark.
As a member of Mi6, you're likely on the side of evil from the get go.
Though one or two members have no malice with the place.

Now now, Nash.I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be!

Lord Shark-you're Largo's Shark over there, yeah?

That's right!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys and gals.

[The Sweeney]

Welcome to the mad house Shark.
As a member of Mi6, you're likely on the side of evil from the get go.
Though one or two members have no malice with the place.

Now now, Nash.I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be!

Lord Shark-you're Largo's Shark over there, yeah?

That's right!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys and gals.

Welcome Sharky.
You probably already guessed who I am from MI6....

[bjmdds]

Sweeney, how's the weather in your part of the world now? Planning on staying there a long time?

[Captain Nash]

Karate Kid remake? Anyone think it grosses over $30 million opening weekend in the USA?

It'll have a certain appeal. Though it's not one that I'd rush out to see.
It'll probably do well in the USA, you guys'll watch any rubbish.

See I told ya.

Box office: 'Karate Kid' kicks up $56 million; dominates 'A-Team', resurrects summer B.O.

Who would have thought a 12-year-old descended from Hollywood royalty would be the summer box office savior? Such is the case as Jaden Smith and his starring role in The Karate Kid propelled the box office to 11 percent up from last year at this time, when everyone was talking The Hangover and Up. He also dominated over the macho A-Team, more than doubling the opening weekend gross of the ’80s television adaptation.

[007]

Wax on...wax off...

[Omega]

Alice in wonderland is like the top movie of the year to the tune of a billion dollars! I fail to see the attraction it was a so-so story, with so-so acting. Poor Depp was looking for his muchness, he'd go from being decent as the Hatter then to Jack Sparrow to Brave heart for some reason. The girl, Alice, was cute, I think there was a shot where her legs looked great. But the movie was I don't know *inspired* maybe by Narnia. The Disney cartoon was a more vivied full of color with colorful characters this world was predictable and drab.

The A Team is a mixed bag of 50/50 reviews, but the viewer ratings on IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes BO Mojo are incredibly high, the very opposite for the Karate kid. I may give the A team a look see since the viewer reviews are in conflict with the professional critics. A lot of those critics are like if it isn't The Godfather it's trash so I'd love to see them get some egg on their face if the movie is fun. Word of mouth will carry the A Team on if it happens at all.

[FormerBondFan]

Toy Story 3 will get the gold this coming weekend.

[The Sweeney]

Sweeney, how's the weather in your part of the world now? Planning on staying there a long time?

Ridiculously hot - mid 40's constantly.

I've done 1 year and 2 months.....10 months to go!

[Harvey danish]

Word of mouth will carry the A Team on if it happens at all..... comment from Omega.......... ..............agreed

[Omega]

Word of mouth will carry the A Team on if it happens at all..... comment from Omega.......... ..............agreed

Have you seen it Harvey?

[Harvey danish]

Haven't seen it yet but in due time I'll rent the DVD to watch it from the homestead.. enjoyed the original years back.. George Peppard was in other types of similar movies back in the day... the 60's produced alot of WWII military movies that had the attention of all American males of the era captivated... and along the line there where mixed English / American action war films that where captivating... Robert Shore "the moniker Nash" has played in several besides "Jaws" and the filming in the European places made the background breathtaking... A- Team well Vietnam was the central story background in the late late 60's all of the seventies and continued through the eighties till present. Whether it was in the jungles of Nam or stories of returning Vets and their trials , tribulations, the The A Team I remember had an opening comment from the original series......... and if you can find them and need help ...... yeah....... I'll see it just like the rest of you.. seems alot of remakes comming down the pipeline.. Hawaii 5-0, others not worth mentioning but outthere............again am looking to seeing SALT.. maybe a Saturday matinee flick that will get my happy fat ass out there and check it out

[Harvey danish]

MGM's parade of CEO candidates seems to have marched down a blind alley, so says THR.

Jonathan Dolgen, Peter Chernin and Bill Mechanic each have made it clear he has no interest in taking the Lion's reins despite urgings from studio lenders and the prospect of a recapitalized new ownership structure. At the same time, lenders have been unable to work up much enthusiasm for others interviewed as prospective new CEOs.

Well-regarded executives at Summit and Spyglass have been consulted but failed to convince weary Lion debtholders that their management prowess alone could put the studio back on the path to prosperity. Burdened by a crushing debt load of almost $4 billion, MGM owners tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the studio and now seeks to fashion a financial and management restructuring.

The goal: to buy three to four years of solvency in the hope the studio's value will rise in the meantime.

In a bit of good news, investment films Qualia Capital, Anchorage Advisors and others remain interested in sinking $500 million or more into the Lion in exchange for an equity stake. That would get film chief Mary Parent back into action after movie development and releasing was halted because of the studio's woes.

An idea gaining currency in the absence of an obvious candidate would be to keep the "office of the CEO" arrangement that's been in place since Harry Sloan resigned as CEO in August to become non-executive chairman of MGM. Restructuring specialist Stephen Cooper would remain in place longer than planned, with Parent and CFO Bedi Singh maintaining co-CEO roles during a prepackaged bankruptcy to clean up debt.

In the process, studio equity would shift from a current group of owners to MGM lenders and any new equity investors. MGM's ownership consortium includes Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle.

J.P. Morgan leads a steering committee representing more than 100 MGM debtholders, though consolidation of publicly traded Lion debt in recent months means one-third of the debt now is held by Highland Capital and a handful of other lenders. Lenders holding two-thirds of the studio's debt would have to approve any prepackaged bankruptcy.

MGM has the sci-fi thriller "Red Dawn" set for release in November and the horror thriller "Cabin in the Woods" slotted for January. But no trailers have been shot, and it's assumed both will be pushed to later release dates.

The situation has been frustrating for those still in the trenches at MGM. But some see a silver lining in the incremental management shifts since MGM's financial woes reached crisis proportions.

Older-guard executives tended to be too laid back to address the Lion's increasingly dire challenges, some suggest.

"We'd be sitting in a meeting with all these problems and $4 billion of debt, and we'd be talking about that night's Lakers tickets," a studio insider recalled. "There was always two MGMs -- the old MGM and the Mary Parent MGM. If Mary Parent had her way, the Bond film would come out in November."

MGM's rights to the James Bond movie franchise represent its most highly valued asset, but the studio recently was forced to postpone development on the next Bond pic until its corporate problems were sorted. A planned co-production with Warner Bros. based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy tome "The Hobbit" also has been delayed.

[Harvey danish]

MGM's parade of CEO candidates seems to have marched down a blind alley, so says THR.

Jonathan Dolgen, Peter Chernin and Bill Mechanic each have made it clear he has no interest in taking the Lion's reins despite urgings from studio lenders and the prospect of a recapitalized new ownership structure. At the same time, lenders have been unable to work up much enthusiasm for others interviewed as prospective new CEOs.

Well-regarded executives at Summit and Spyglass have been consulted but failed to convince weary Lion debtholders that their management prowess alone could put the studio back on the path to prosperity. Burdened by a crushing debt load of almost $4 billion, MGM owners tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the studio and now seeks to fashion a financial and management restructuring.

The goal: to buy three to four years of solvency in the hope the studio's value will rise in the meantime.

In a bit of good news, investment films Qualia Capital, Anchorage Advisors and others remain interested in sinking $500 million or more into the Lion in exchange for an equity stake. That would get film chief Mary Parent back into action after movie development and releasing was halted because of the studio's woes.

An idea gaining currency in the absence of an obvious candidate would be to keep the "office of the CEO" arrangement that's been in place since Harry Sloan resigned as CEO in August to become non-executive chairman of MGM. Restructuring specialist Stephen Cooper would remain in place longer than planned, with Parent and CFO Bedi Singh maintaining co-CEO roles during a prepackaged bankruptcy to clean up debt.

In the process, studio equity would shift from a current group of owners to MGM lenders and any new equity investors. MGM's ownership consortium includes Providence Equity, TPG Capital, Sony, Comcast, DLJ Merchant and Quadrangle.

J.P. Morgan leads a steering committee representing more than 100 MGM debtholders, though consolidation of publicly traded Lion debt in recent months means one-third of the debt now is held by Highland Capital and a handful of other lenders. Lenders holding two-thirds of the studio's debt would have to approve any prepackaged bankruptcy.

MGM has the sci-fi thriller "Red Dawn" set for release in November and the horror thriller "Cabin in the Woods" slotted for January. But no trailers have been shot, and it's assumed both will be pushed to later release dates.

The situation has been frustrating for those still in the trenches at MGM. But some see a silver lining in the incremental management shifts since MGM's financial woes reached crisis proportions.

Older-guard executives tended to be too laid back to address the Lion's increasingly dire challenges, some suggest.

"We'd be sitting in a meeting with all these problems and $4 billion of debt, and we'd be talking about that night's Lakers tickets," a studio insider recalled. "There was always two MGMs -- the old MGM and the Mary Parent MGM. If Mary Parent had her way, the Bond film would come out in November."

MGM's rights to the James Bond movie franchise represent its most highly valued asset, but the studio recently was forced to postpone development on the next Bond pic until its corporate problems were sorted. A planned co-production with Warner Bros. based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy tome "The Hobbit" also has been delayed.