The BJMDDS General Discussion Thread......

[Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

Happy Birthday to Sean Connery - 85 today.

There is a special programme on BBC4 at 10pm.

[bjmdds]

Do you think EON sent him a vodka martini, shaken not stirred? By the way, Shaken has been AWOL.

[Alessandra]

You said it FBF. Look at poor Ale. She must be devastated that her hero Cavill's UNCLE film bombed badly. Hammer can get out of show business already. He has a horrible presence on film. He made the Lone Ranger look like the Lone "Stranger". Fantastic Bore, with it's PC poorly casted Storm character, was also a known flop before it was even released. Ant-Man underperformed for Marvel with Paul C-Rudd. Batman V. Superman looks like another waste of time. Eisenberg's film just bombed this weekend with Stewart. Those are 2 more horrid actors with NO appeal and Eisenberg as Lex Luthor??????? Ridiculous There is plenty of garbage out there FBF so let's hope No Escape surprises you and you finally get the satisfaction you deserve for your protege Brosnan.

What? Me devastated?? Not quite, BJ, my dear. I'm doing great, as is Henry.

I saw the film thanks to my friend who owns a movie theater and it's bloody GREAT!! NOW I understand why it did so badly in the US. Because it's WAY too refined for US audiences, and despite Solo in theory being American, the movie is distinctly European.

And (sorry but this is the truth, and yes I AM being an Italian/European snob here, but it's still the truth) the vast majority of Americans won't even get half the jokes in there. There are some HILARIOUS scenes with Cavill and Hammer fighting over dresses to pick for Vikander to pretend to be the fiancée, and I don't think American audiences even KNOW the brands mentioned there, let alone the underlying humor. Truth be told, only Italian and French and the British upper class will get those references completely. Particularly refined Americans will at least get part of it. But they need to be people who know the fashion of the 60s in depth. How many Americans of that kind are there? Not many.

I have a clear sense of why this didn't do well now. This? Is actually like the most stylish old Bond movies and people right now are WAY too ignorant and vulgar for this level of class and refinement.

I knew there had to be some reason and I KNEW it couldn't be anything about the plot, cause those who were fans of the show and watched it said that while the first half was a bit slow, things definitely picked up in the second (which is true). My US FEMALE friends who went to see it, loved it. WOMEN love it because if they are refined they will get to watch not only a great spy story, but also a fantastic fashion and style piece. It's not a movie for unrefined men, which means 95% of today's male audience will be immediately excluded from it. THAT is why it didn't do well.

On the other hand, Bond movies have been turned into vulgar, common folk representations especially when it comes to Bond itself, courtesy of Daniel Craig (never forget the best definition for him: "A plumber with a hint of gay". Directly from my friend who was on the CR set) and courtesy of the RIDICULOUS choices Sony and Babs made. FINALLY I get it and I get it all. It took Man from U.N.C.L.E. to make me realize where the whole truth was. Bond used to be the man men ASPIRED to be because he was elegant, refined, wealthy and badass. Now? ANYONE IS Bond because he is a vulgar, messed up, inelegant twat who runs after any skirt that gives him a bit of personal attention, no particular qualities needed (wait till you see the ridiculousness that is the LURVE story in Spectre). The image of the majority of men (and women) nowadays. Harsh, I know, but true.

[FormerBondFan]

No Escape's RT rating is now 46%.

[Kristatos]

Maybe they could have used a bit of reverse psychology in the publicity:

"Don't see The Man From UNCLE, you'll hate it. It's far too refined for an oaf like you."
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Two tickets for The Man From UNCLE, please."

[ml94]

Dapper Pierce Brosnan cuts a suave figure at No Escape screening in New York... as co-star Lake Bell puts on a leggy display in a crop top and mini-skirt. [video][/video]

Pierce looks great.

[ml94]

Happy Birthday to Sean Connery - 85 today.

There is a special programme on BBC4 at 10pm.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!

[Veronica]

Happy birthday to the legend,Sir Sean Connery.

[FormerBondFan]

Happy Birthday Sir Sean

[video][/video]

[bjmdds]

DETAILS: You grew up outside of Dublin. Did you see legalized gay marriage coming?
Pierce Brosnan: I never thought in a million years, but hallelujah! Enough of the shaming. It's a great indication of the forward-thinking of a nation that's been so mangled by religion.

DETAILS: Can you picture a gay 007?
Pierce Brosnan: Sure. Why not? [Pauses thoughtfully] Actually, I don't know how it would work. I don't think Barbara [Broccoli, the James Bond producer] would allow a gay Bond to happen in her lifetime. But it would certainly make for interesting viewing. Let's start with a great black actor being James Bond. Idris Elba certainly has the physicality, the charisma, the presence. But I think Daniel [Craig] will be there for a while yet.

[Napoleon Solo]

You said it FBF. Look at poor Ale. She must be devastated that her hero Cavill's UNCLE film bombed badly. Hammer can get out of show business already. He has a horrible presence on film. He made the Lone Ranger look like the Lone "Stranger". Fantastic Bore, with it's PC poorly casted Storm character, was also a known flop before it was even released. Ant-Man underperformed for Marvel with Paul C-Rudd. Batman V. Superman looks like another waste of time. Eisenberg's film just bombed this weekend with Stewart. Those are 2 more horrid actors with NO appeal and Eisenberg as Lex Luthor??????? Ridiculous There is plenty of garbage out there FBF so let's hope No Escape surprises you and you finally get the satisfaction you deserve for your protege Brosnan.

What? Me devastated?? Not quite, BJ, my dear. I'm doing great, as is Henry.

I saw the film thanks to my friend who owns a movie theater and it's bloody GREAT!! NOW I understand why it did so badly in the US. Because it's WAY too refined for US audiences, and despite Solo in theory being American, the movie is distinctly European.

And (sorry but this is the truth, and yes I AM being an Italian/European snob here, but it's still the truth) the vast majority of Americans won't even get half the jokes in there. There are some HILARIOUS scenes with Cavill and Hammer fighting over dresses to pick for Vikander to pretend to be the fiancée, and I don't think American audiences even KNOW the brands mentioned there, let alone the underlying humor. Truth be told, only Italian and French and the British upper class will get those references completely. Particularly refined Americans will at least get part of it. But they need to be people who know the fashion of the 60s in depth. How many Americans of that kind are there? Not many.

I have a clear sense of why this didn't do well now. This? Is actually like the most stylish old Bond movies and people right now are WAY too ignorant and vulgar for this level of class and refinement.

I knew there had to be some reason and I KNEW it couldn't be anything about the plot, cause those who were fans of the show and watched it said that while the first half was a bit slow, things definitely picked up in the second (which is true). My US FEMALE friends who went to see it, loved it. WOMEN love it because if they are refined they will get to watch not only a great spy story, but also a fantastic fashion and style piece. It's not a movie for unrefined men, which means 95% of today's male audience will be immediately excluded from it. THAT is why it didn't do well.

On the other hand, Bond movies have been turned into vulgar, common folk representations especially when it comes to Bond itself, courtesy of Daniel Craig (never forget the best definition for him: "A plumber with a hint of gay". Directly from my friend who was on the CR set) and courtesy of the RIDICULOUS choices Sony and Babs made. FINALLY I get it and I get it all. It took Man from U.N.C.L.E. to make me realize where the whole truth was. Bond used to be the man men ASPIRED to be because he was elegant, refined, wealthy and badass. Now? ANYONE IS Bond because he is a vulgar, messed up, inelegant twat who runs after any skirt that gives him a bit of personal attention, no particular qualities needed (wait till you see the ridiculousness that is the LURVE story in Spectre). The image of the majority of men (and women) nowadays. Harsh, I know, but true.

As Ernst Stavro Blofeld once remarked, "All that you say could be true. What else?"

The Cavill version of Solo is Europeanized, at least to a degree. He wears British-cut suits, for example.

However, I think UNCLE's box office prospects may have been doomed by Paramount moving Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation up to July 31. In 2015, the spy movie market is only so big and M:I got there first. The majority of people were going to attend more or another. In UNCLE's second box office weekend, it was still being outdone by M:I. Perhaps the movie would have done better if it stayed with the original mid-January date.

Anyway, too late now. UNCLE ended up being the answer for a question that wasn't asked. I enjoyed the movie but the market has spoken. It doesn't appear it's doing that great internationally. Still a number of markets to be heard from but it's not getting a big lift outside the U.S.

[FormerBondFan]

DETAILS: You grew up outside of Dublin. Did you see legalized gay marriage coming?
Pierce Brosnan: I never thought in a million years, but hallelujah! Enough of the shaming. It's a great indication of the forward-thinking of a nation that's been so mangled by religion.

DETAILS: Can you picture a gay 007?
Pierce Brosnan: Sure. Why not? [Pauses thoughtfully] Actually, I don't know how it would work. I don't think Barbara [Broccoli, the James Bond producer] would allow a gay Bond to happen in her lifetime. But it would certainly make for interesting viewing. Let's start with a great black actor being James Bond. Idris Elba certainly has the physicality, the charisma, the presence. But I think Daniel [Craig] will be there for a while yet.

It doesn't matter what Pierce said in this day and age. James Bond is not for us anymore after his unfair dismissal from the b1tch herself.

[Omega]

I liked Uncle AND mi. More about them later.
Broke my phone and couldn't remember my password here. I'll be back in businesses once i get the replacement restored from the back up.

[Veronica]

I think it was a mistake putting UNCLE alongside MI. MI is an established successful franchise and people are familiar with it. Of course more people were going to see that movie. Never the less I am excited to see the movie myself. The IMDB rating is good. Seems the audience likes the movie. I just read an article about Cavill in Marie Claire and the author describes UNCLE as "witty and brilliant". Cavill also stated if he would play Bond he would like to honor the franchise. Something among those lines.
He also stated that if Barbara and Michael are reading this they should give him a call.

[Napoleon Solo]

Not that it matters now, but Warners didn't seek the matchup with M:I.

Warners shifted the UNCLE release date to Aug. 14 first. A few months later, Paramount shifted M:I's release date to July 31.

At that point, WB had two choices: shift UNCLE to a third release date or take its chances. In all likelihood, UNCLE would never have been changed from mid-January IF Batman v. Superman hadn't been delayed to 2016. It originally was supposed to be July 2015.

[ml94]

AVTAK now on tv here in finland.

[bjmdds]

Variety:The Weinstein Company’s “No Escape” got a jump start on the weekend, debuting in 3,007 theaters on Wednesday, before expanding to 3,350 venues on Friday. The picture will likely bring in $12 million over its first five days of release and $9 million for the weekend. It’s also an acquisition. The indie label picked up “No Escape” from Bold Films for roughly $5 million, which means even a modest debut could still line the film up to be profitable. The picture centers on an American engineer (Owen Wilson) who finds himself in a head-on collision with a political coup in a Southeast Asian nation. John Erick Dowdle co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Drew, and directs the film. Advertising for the film has focused on a key scene that finds Wilson hurling his daughter from great heights. At a screening on Monday, he nodded to the ubiquity of the sequence by joking that instead of “No Escape,” the film should be entitled “throwing a child from roof to roof.”

[Kristatos]

DETAILS: You grew up outside of Dublin. Did you see legalized gay marriage coming?
Pierce Brosnan: I never thought in a million years, but hallelujah! Enough of the shaming. It's a great indication of the forward-thinking of a nation that's been so mangled by religion.

DETAILS: Can you picture a gay 007?
Pierce Brosnan: Sure. Why not? [Pauses thoughtfully] Actually, I don't know how it would work. I don't think Barbara [Broccoli, the James Bond producer] would allow a gay Bond to happen in her lifetime. But it would certainly make for interesting viewing. Let's start with a great black actor being James Bond. Idris Elba certainly has the physicality, the charisma, the presence. But I think Daniel [Craig] will be there for a while yet.

LOL, Pierce really doesn't give a f**k any more, does he? "Sure, let him be played by a one-legged midget, see if I care".

[bjmdds]

Ale said: "Because it's WAY too refined for USA audiences...............And (sorry but this is the truth, and yes I AM being an Italian/European snob here, but it's still the truth) the vast majority of Americans won't even get half the jokes in there............. Truth be told, only Italian and French and the British upper class will get those references completely. Particularly refined Americans will at least get part of it. ...........I have a clear sense of why this didn't do well now. This? Is actually like the most stylish old Bond movies and people right now are WAY too ignorant and vulgar for this level of class and refinement...........WOMEN love it because if they are refined they will get to watch not only a great spy story, but also a fantastic fashion and style piece. It's not a movie for unrefined men, which means 95% of today's male audience will be immediately excluded from it. THAT is why it didn't do well".................. So the Americans are not refined enough to "get" the film's content and while women do "get" it, 95% of the male species do not, because they are neanderthals, and THAT is why it BOMBED at the box office? I guess the director geared his "SPY" action film towards European females and not men, who could never be expected to figure out how great this film truly is........... Unbelievable derogatory statements about the population of the USA Omega, you saw the film. Did you understand it? FBF?

[Veronica]

Has anyone seen an "honest" trailer for Kingsman?
"From Matthew Vaughn comes a James Bond movie..."