The BJMDDS General Discussion Thread......

[Dr. No]

Huh It opened lower in some places.

The following info is from Sony Pictures:

Sony Pictures’ and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s SKYFALL, the 23rd film in the beloved James Bond series, opened overseas in 25 markets and grossed a staggering $77.7 million, #1 everywhere. Setting the pace was, of course, the UK, which opened to an enormous estimated $32.4 million (£20.1). Smashing the all-time Saturday attendance record yesterday, this is the biggest opening of 2012 and the 2nd biggest Friday-to-Sunday opening weekend in history there, behind just the 3D Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This launch was 76% bigger than Daniel Craig’s first turn as 007, Casino Royale, and 30% bigger than Quantum Of Solace. Of the $77.7 million on Skyfall, IMAX is estimating a weekend gross of $3.5 mil in 79 locations in 15 territories which include the UK, France, Russia, Korea, Bulgaria, Middle East, Kazakhstan and Brazil.

FRANCE bowed with $9.1, 39% more than Casino Royale’s opening Friday to Sunday (beating the entire 5-day opening as well) and just 15% less than Quantum, which opened during a holiday period. RUSSIA opened to $8.6, beating Casino Royale’s first weekend by 171% and Quantum’s by 58%. KOREA managed to take an gigantic 49% of the market, grossing $6.1, which was more than triple Casino Royale’s opening and 58% more than Quantum’s opening Fri-Sun (22% more than Quantum’s entire 4-day opening).

BRAZIL launched with a huge $6.5, the biggest Bond bow ever there, beating Casino’s opening by 130% and Quantum’s by 37%. BELGIUM earned $1.4, up 40% on Casino Royale’s first Friday to Sunday by 40% and 17% on Quantum’s. MGM’s licensees: NORWAY opened to $2.7, capturing well over 65% of the entire market and besting the opening of Casino by 52% and Quantum by 15%. SWEDEN launched with a huge $2.6, the biggest opening of 2012, 27% bigger than the opening of Casino, and just 4% less than Quantum, which opened during a national holiday. DENMARK also opened to $2.6, the biggest non-3D opening ever there, beating Casino by 23% and Quantum by 30%.

POLAND bowed with $2.5, more than tripling the opening weekend of Casino and besting Quantum by 67%. FINLAND earned a huge $1.5, the biggest opening in history there excluding previews, beating Casino Royale’s bow by 82% and Quantum’s by 23%. Other openings include the CZECH REPUBLIC ($.835), ISRAEL ($.825), PORTUGAL ($.630), HUNGARY ($.425), ROMANIA ($.325), SLOVAKIA ($.310), BULGARIA ($.175), and ICELAND ($.155).

Arguably the best Bond film in years, Skyfall will certainly make its mark when it opens in North America on November 9.

http://www.hollywood.com/news/syfall_ja ... l/43177976

[Dr. No]

BJ,be safe and report in on how things are going(if you can)

I second that. Look after yourself BJ.

Are you in NYC BJ?
I hate to think what it will be like there, cities runs well when everything is working shut downs and bad weather like this is scary.

I don't remember a late October November storm before. must of had one sometime this is going to be a bad one with teh amount of rain dumped alone, yankee soil can't take it all kinds of washouts small creeks over flowing power lines falling, trees,

We are getting some of the weather I grateful it isn't coming any closer. If I know we could get weather like this bad this late in the season I'd got a few trees cut down during the summer.

Stay safe BJ.

[Dr. No]

My good friend's mother was just ordered to evacuate because she lives near the shoreline on the Rockaways. She has Manhattan daughters to stay with. People here are getting quite concerned now. I hope this storms veers east away from land

It was supposed to veer east in the first forecasts. One in a million for it head over here, so much for computer models.

[FormerBondFan]

James Cameron's Avatar would have gross higher on the opening day if it wasn't for the nasty blizzard.

[Omega]

Did you vote early BJ? If this slams the north east it might take more than a week to clean up.

[English Agent]

I've seen SKYFALL
------------------------

Saw Skyfall..........Saturday early afternoon.

I need to see the film for a second time, to be able to give a better adjudged review, as there were some distractions to watching the film, as there were some muppets in the audience.

Anyway, what i will say now is that Skyfall, is a very different type of Bond film to any of its predecessors in tone.

The good news is that there is no shaky cam, no fast edits, and the plot is pretty straightforward and there is far more character development. The trailer does not give away all the films secrets!.......also the villian is a complete basket case.

Bad news...film does drag a bit at times, but it is a long film. Villain could of done with more screen time. Apart form Naomi Harris and M, female roles in film are almost absent, apart from a small segment involving that French actress.

That will do for now!

EA

[bjmdds]

No. I intend to vote on election day which will be 6 days post storm an hopefully all is back to normal by then. It's so quiet and calm right now here. The tv stations are running storm watch news 24/7 now.

[bjmdds]

I've seen SKYFALL
------------------------

Saw Skyfall..........Saturday early afternoon.

I need to see the film for a second time, to be able to give a better adjudged review, as there were some distractions to watching the film, as there were some muppets in the audience.

Anyway, what i will say now is that Skyfall, is a very different type of Bond film to any of its predecessors in tone.

The good news is that there is no shaky cam, no fast edits, and the plot is pretty straightforward and there is far more character development. The trailer does not give away all the films secrets!.......also the villian is a complete basket case.

Bad news...film does drag a bit at times, but it is a long film. Villain could of done with more screen time. Apart form Naomi Harris and M, female roles in film are almost absent, apart from a small segment involving that French actress.

That will do for now!

EA

That's not a glowing endorsement EA. There is NO OTHER type of TONE to a Bond film. THAT is the point. Once you attempt an Oscar worthy Bond film, with ridiculous character analysis, you are locked into that mold forever and cannot return to the traditional fun of a Bond film....EVER, or else Eon would be deemed a regressive failure......therefore, with MP recast with Harris, with Q a childish head of armor(armor now or is it computer chips?) and DC staying in the role with Eon's unflinching support, what is there to expect? Where do they go now? Bond in a 3 way with MP and a villain? The new M getting more women in a Bond flm than Bond due to being better looking? How about a Shakespearean approach in Bond 24 where he has to decide whether or not to kill himself("to be Bond, or not to be Bond.....that.....is the question"). Utter and stark insanity and you and Sweeney and all the Cr-egg websites can go gaga over junk. It's no longer a Bond film and the characters are no longer recognizable, and it's no longer a fun thing to watch.

[English Agent]

No, no .............i dont go gaga over Craig in the role, i just accept that he was picked to play the part.......i'am just a member of the audience!

We all know 'BJ' that Bond is bigger than any actor, and one day DC will be replaced................but i still expect to see whoever is in the role, to be in entertaining Bond films!

As i have mentioned this new film particularly the last half hour of the film, takes Bond into territory ive never seen in any other Bond film.

Personally, i will say its not the greatest Bond film ever, as i did find some parts of it dull and slow, but there were also some terrific parts to the film.

EA

[bjmdds]

Masking garbage around gun fights and train chases and motorcycle stunts does NOT define a well made Bond plot. Mendes used the action as a hook to get people to believe this is a Bond film. Bond saves the world.......NOT himself........and making M look bad is more of an anti-government Mendes ruse to get his own political point cross. You cannot fool me with this trick. It's obvious Broccoli has issues with men's role in society and democratic governments. It was evident in QOS referring to the USA and the UK as the bad guys suddenly in a Bond film and it's obvious in this latest farce as well. Who the hell wants to even think of Bond involved with bisexuality? Who does this appeal to now in society? Is this how Broccoli sees the world, first placing her creation in drag and then having the main villain hunger for Bond sexually? It is not Bond's psyche that requires analysis.........it's Broccoli"s

[Goldeneye]

Watching the weather on TV BJ hope you and everyone in the area stay safe.

Maybe we can get a grant of a billion from the feds to get the mobile DCINB bunker up and running, send it out when forum members are in harms way to keep them and their family safe.



We'll be keeping an eye out for you, don't hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

[bjmdds]

'Skyfall:' Are James Bond and Jason Bourne melding together? Those who see “Skyfall” will judge the question for themselves (our take -- there’s a similar sense of inner torment but the styles and storytelling are rather different). Broccoli said that if there is a similarity, it’s because the Bourne filmmakers were looking at Bond, not the other way around.

“It’s strange when people ask if we’re affected by the Bourne films. Because the Bourne films are really ‘From Russia With Love,’” she said, adding, “It’s more that we pull from our own family library much more than going outside it.”

That library can be felt here in this, the 50th anniversary film, with numerous allusions to previous titles and assorted characters returning (Q, for instance, now played by Ben Whishaw as a young-buck computer whiz).

Neal Purvis, one of the writers on “Skyfall,” went a step further and said that there were specific texts that filmmakers were looking at.

“There were two books that were the starting point: ‘You Only Live Twice' and ‘The Man With the Golden Gun,’” Purvis said. “In ‘You Only Live Twice’ he seemed to be dead. And in ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’ he was given a really worthy adversary. That," he said, "seemed like a really good template.”

[English Agent]

No............Skyfall is not a Bourne clone, this is no QOS..........new film is nothing like any previous Bond film, as i have already mentioned.

Hope things turn out better soon for our North American friends on the East coast.

EA

[carl stromberg]

No............Skyfall is not a Bourne clone,

EA

It's a Batman rip off this time with Bond Manor - sorry "Skyfall Lodge".. s

[The Saint 007]

Many people are saying that Skyfall rips off quite a bit from Batman. Even Sam Mendes said it was inspired by The Dark Knight. I know that some other Bond films have had inspirations from other popular films/shows at the time, but not to the point where it lost the Bond feeling or vibe altogether. With Craig's Bond films, however, these Bourne/Batman inspirations have been taken to such an extreme, that it doesn't feel like you're watching a Bond film.

[The Sweeney]

I agree. This is not a Bourne clone but closer to Nolan's Batman. However, I've already outlined in another thread 10 points which are Flemingesque in Skyfall, and Nolan himself has gone on record as a Bond fan. Inception was definitely inspired by Bond.

So really TDK is a Bond rip-off, like Bourne before it was. Batman has his Q and his gadgets and his outlandish villains. I've always been a fan of the DC comics since I was a kid, and even back then I saw similarities between Bond and Batman.

The fact that EON have finally realised this is a good thing. 2 of Craig's Bond films now sits in my top 5, along with Connery. Skyfall is probably closer to FRWL than any other Bond film.

[Kristatos]

I know that some other Bond films have had inspirations from other popular films/shows at the time, but not to the point where it lost the Bond feeling or vibe altogether.

I'd make a possible exception for Moonraker. Star Wars-style blasters don't belong in a Bond film.

[The Saint 007]

I know that some other Bond films have had inspirations from other popular films/shows at the time, but not to the point where it lost the Bond feeling or vibe altogether.

I'd make a possible exception for Moonraker. Star Wars-style blasters don't belong in a Bond film.

Well, at least there was no lightsabers, plus they didn't have the entire adventure take place in outer space. But I could hardly imagine the final space battle just using standard weapons, though.

[The Sweeney]

I know that some other Bond films have had inspirations from other popular films/shows at the time, but not to the point where it lost the Bond feeling or vibe altogether.

I'd make a possible exception for Moonraker. Star Wars-style blasters don't belong in a Bond film.

Well, at least there was no lightsabers, plus they didn't have the entire adventure take place in outer space. But I could hardly imagine the final space battle just using standard weapons, though.

I find DAD and Moonraker the most far removed as Bond films. They are nothing remotely like Fleming or the classic movies. YOLT comes a close third.

Moonraker's only saving grace is the centrifuge scene, and Barry's excellent soundtrack.

[Napoleon Solo]

So really TDK is a Bond rip-off, like Bourne before it was. Batman has his Q and his gadgets and his outlandish villains. I've always been a fan of the DC comics since I was a kid, and even back then I saw similarities between Bond and Batman.

You could put Dick Tracy in the mix, too. Gadgets (starting with the two-way wrist radio, which later evolved into the two-way wrist television and two-way wrist computer), colorful villains (starting with the Mole in 1941, The Brow, Flattop, Prune Face, Mumbles, etc., etc.) and odd-sounding names (Tess Trueheart, Sam Catchem, Diet Smith), etc. . Main difference was that Tracy was a family man (marrying Tess on Christmas Day 1949).

Tracy even had his abrupt "space" period. In '62, Diet Smith calls Tracy and asks him to look at his new invention, the magnetic-powered space coupe. By '63 or '64, Diet Smith's men have gone to the moon in it and there's a race of Moon people. Junior (Tracy's adopted son) even marries one of them, Moon Maid. Chester Gould toned all this down before retiring at the end of 1976. Max Allan Collins, his first writing successor, shut it down for good when Moon Maid died from a car bomb meant for Tracy. The Moon people broke off diplomatic relations.