The BJMDDS General Discussion Thread......

[katied]

I didn't know that about Deano getting a huge paycheck


I kinda hope that if they do remake the Matt Helm they set the films in their period setting,instead of modernizing them.Though they'll have to be careful not to get into retro movie parody territory(Austin Powers, anyone?)

[bjmdds]

Dean got a percentage of the gross I believe and it ticked off Connery.

[Mazer Rackham]

Anyone else think it was a crime that Dean Martin was given a bigger salary for his Bond spoofs than what Connery got as Bond? Totally unfair on Broccoli's part, especially since Dean Martin was a horrible horrible actor.

Anyway, hope the Matt Helm films are good enough to erase everyone's memory of those horrible Martin vehicles.

They've been skinflints since before time began. They have always underpaid and over used their stars and they always will.

Think about it, a series that has made billions and stars who have made scant millions. It is not like Bond is a collaborative effort like a Harry Potter series what we are talking about is one actor carrying the movies.

[Omega]

Dean got a percentage of the gross I believe and it ticked off Connery.

They might have kept Connery longer if they paid him what he was worth and gave him better stories by YOLT he was burned out on their halfhearted producing. They put more time & thought in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) they the did the previous 3 Bond movies.

[katied]

Heh.My parents have CR '67 in their Netflix queue.Must try to talk them out of it .

[bjmdds]

Good cop/bad cop duo of Jackman/Craig probably rehearsing their lines for the upcoming show. The question for both is, Why Bother? How can this add to their careers UNLESS since it will probably involve race relations Broccoli can pay off the Tony voters and get one or both, a nomination, and perhaps an award, to go on their resume?

[katied]

Good cop/bad cop duo of Jackman/Craig probably rehearsing their lines for the upcoming show. The question for both is, Why Bother? How can this add to their careers UNLESS since it will probably involve race relations Broccoli can pay off the Tony voters and get one or both, a nomination, and perhaps an award, to go on their resume?

Good ol' Babs.She gets so much grief for her contributions to the Bond franchise(heh)that she's trying elsewhere.And is going to fail.Pay off? Tony voters?I certainly hope not, though Babs seems to have a bottomless fund to do so with.

[carl stromberg]

Great news! I have found the millionth negative review of QOS.

http://www.reelfilm.com/dcjb.htm

Quantum of Solace (November 13/08)

Though it boasts the shortest running time in the history of the James Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace ultimately feels like one of the longest - with the erratic pacing, uniformly inept action sequences, and hopelessly convoluted plot effectively cementing the movie's place as an atrocious misfire of unprecedented proportions. The film - which acts as a direct sequel to its 2006 predecessor by following 007 (Daniel Craig) as he attempts to avenge Vesper Lynd's death - opens with a disastrously indecipherable car chase that is, unless one is intimately familiar with the events of Casino Royale, almost entirely free of context, although there's little doubt that it does set an appropriately underwhelming tone that persists for the remainder of the proceedings. Director Marc Forster's obstinate insistence on infusing each of the movie's myriad of action set-pieces with jittery camerawork, rapid-fire cuts, and tight close-ups renders such moments absolutely meaningless, with the filmmaker's penchant for splicing in footage of random events - ie a horse race, an opera, etc - only heightening the pervasive atmosphere of incompetence. The generic action-movie feel extends to virtually every aspect of the production, as screenwriters Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade shoehorn the film's woefully bland characters into a storyline that even the most astute viewer will have trouble comfortably following. The almost total lack of recognizable James Bond elements - ie the one-liners, the opening gun-barrel shot, the 007 theme, etc, etc - compounds Quantum of Solace's various problems, while Craig's tough but charmless performance feels as though it belongs within an entirely different movie (ie he'd be right at home within a Bourne-esque adventure). The end result is a misguided, downright interminable piece of work that surely marks the nadir of the James Bond series, and it subsequently goes without saying that a reboot of the reboot is surely warranted.

[katied]

Too right about the quick cuts and jittery camerawork( Bourne!) They should have been handing out dramanine as you walked into the movie(seriously, some people are affected by that-I wasn't with QOS but had vertigo-balance problems-and felt dizzy during and after seeing 28 Weeks Later.

[bjmdds]

I wonder how MGW feels now knowing Potter has passed Cubby's franchise in worldwide attendance? I do not think this factors in inflation though, unless someone knows differently. Barbs is probably itching for that TONY award know.

[katied]

Well, she's a long shot to get it

[bjmdds]

Harold Potter is now ahead of QOS at the INTERNATIONAL box office by $125 million at $542 million totals. It is a good thing for Eon that it did not go head to head with their trash last November for viewers might have seen Potter more so repeatedly than Craig's egg. It is at $74 million and counting in the UK and should exceed QOS there too.

[FormerBondFan]

HP 6 now takes the lead worldwide at the box office.

[katied]

If y'all haven't seen District 9 yet, what are you waiting for?


I thought of QOS a few times-there was some shakycam, but it wasn't as bad.

[bjmdds]

Better than Cruise's WOTW?

[katied]

Better than Cruise's WOTW?

Absolfreakinglutely.I might even go see it again,actually.

[Mazer Rackham]

Struggling Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is turning to a turnaround expert who has helped businesses from energy to doughnuts to help it dig out from billions in debt.

The studio said Tuesday it hired Stephen Cooper, the former CEO of such ailing businesses as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. and Enron Corp., to join an "Office of the CEO," which replaces Chief Executive Harry Sloan.

Cooper, named vice chairman, joins Mary Parent, the chair of MGM's worldwide motion picture group, and Chief Financial Officer Bedi Singh in the CEO office and has as his main task "to lead MGM's efforts to evaluate alternatives to improve its balance sheet," the studio said.

Sloan will continue as chairman.

The announcement comes as the studio faces the payback of $3.7 billion in debt by 2012, and a $250 million revolving line of credit that matures in April.

The debt was amassed when the studio was taken private for nearly $5 billion in 2005 by a group led by Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group.

In May, MGM told its lenders it was in compliance with its debt agreements as of March 31, but that it had hired financial adviser Moelis & Co. to help it restructure.

The studio has made about $500 million a year in revenue from its library of 4,000 movies and TV shows including a range of James Bond classics, but declining DVD sales have cut that by about 5 percent this year.

It also abandoned talks last year to continue selling its movies to CBS Corp.'s Showtime pay TV channel and instead took a 28.6 percent stake in Epix, a fledgling pay channel to be launched in October with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures.

Epix has so far struck just one deal with a distributor, Verizon Communications Inc.'s FiOS network, which has 2.5 million customers.

The last movie MGM released in theaters was "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise, in December. It plans a handful of new releases in the coming months, including "Fame" next month and "The Cabin In The Woods" in February.

Sloan began his tenure at MGM in October 2005 and agreed last August to continue as CEO through October 2011, but was an apparent casualty of the collapse of the credit markets and an industrywide decline in home video revenue.

The studio has had a number of disappointments since its rebirth under private owners.

It brought in actor Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner to head subsidiary United Artists, but their first movie, "Lions for Lambs," flopped and was estimated to have lost $30 million. Wagner has since left the label to pursue projects independently.

MGM is in deep trouble, struggling to keep from being bought out, 50/50 chance at this point

[bjmdds]

http://www.chillertheatre.com/gt/gtc4.htm It looks like there will be good reason to attend this in October. I always go to this particular convention and with Lazenby and Ann Margret and Mickey Rooney as some lead guests, it should be quite fun indeed. It is only 45 minutes from me. I always felt Ann Margret could have made a great Bond girl instead of a Matt Helmster in the 1960s.

[katied]

Showing my dad's age(69) here but he had a crush on Ann Margret back in the day(before he married my mom that is )


I find it interesting they have a promotional picture of George Lazenby from when he was Bond instead of a recent one.

[bjmdds]

Lazenby looks like a friendly sort who will mingle among the Saturday night band party, unlike the current sourpuss in the role who avoids people at all cost.