Actors Fund performance of Daniel Craig's A Steady Rain on 8 November

Daniel Craig

A special Actors Fund performance the Broadway play A Steady Rain featuring James Bond star Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman is set to take place on Sunday, 8 November.

The performance, beginning at 7:00pm, will be held at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in Manhattan.

The special, added performance will benefit the non-profit organization, which lends support to show people in need. To book tickets for this performance, phone 212-221-7300, ext. 133, e-mail [email protected] or visit the official Actors Fund website.

A Steady Rain tells the story of two seasoned cops whose lifelong friendship is severely tested when a seemingly routine domestic disturbance call results in the death of a young boy. When the horrific truth of the situation is revealed, one of the two must take the blame for the fatal mistake.

The Actors Fund, which was founded in 1882, is a non-profit organization that provides for the social welfare of all entertainment professionals. Some of the many programs The Actors Fund provides include a nursing home and assisted living care facility; senior and disabled programs; mental health services; chemical dependency services; entertainment industry assistance programs; the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative; the AIDS Initiative; and supportive housing on both coasts.

Keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page–as well as our brand new Twitter feed–for all the latest James Bond news and coverage.

Bond villain Christopher Lee receives knighthood

British actor Christopher Lee was knighted on Friday at Buckingham Palace, a far cry from the dark and gloomy Hammer Horror film sets where he made his name playing Dracula in the 1950s.

Christopher Lee

Lee, 87, became famous for his blood-curdling performances as the thirsty count. He has also portrayed a succession of baddies from Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun to Saruman in The Lord of the Rings.

He was knighted by Prince Charles for his services to drama and to charity spanning during a decades-long career that has seen him appear in more than 250 film and television productions.

“A whole new career opened up for me when I was in Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars (Episode II: Attack of the Clones),” Lee said.

“What’s really important for me is, as an old man, I’m known by my own generation and the next generation know me too.”

Lee became a household name as Dracula but admitted he became typecast by the end of the 1960s — a problem he quickly overcame with his performance in The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

“Since then I’ve never been typecast although I’ve played a lot of bad guys, there’s more scope than being the man in the white hat,” he said.

However, he returned to Hammer Horror for the first time since 1976 this year, filming The Resident with Hilary Swank.

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for all the latest James Bond-related news.

Daniel Craig on Bond 23: 'We start the end of next year.'

Daniel Craig has just put the Bond 23 timeline into perspective, stating that production is set to kick off in the second half of 2010.

Daniel Craig

The comment was made by Craig after a performance of his Broadway play A Steady Rain alongside Hugh Jackman. While signing autographs and posing for photos with fans, one female member in the crowd asked when the next James Bond film was coming out—to which Craig replied ‘Uh, we start the end of the next year, so…’

To view the brief Craig comment, visit this YouTube link (and scroll forward almost one minute in).

CommanderBond.net readers will recall that producer Michael G. Wilson had stated that work had begun on Bond 23 earlier this year, although he failed to divulge any specifics. With Craig’s latest comment now, it seems fairly certain that we’ll be back to a three-year wait between Bond films.

As always, keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page for the most up-to-date Bond coverage on the net.

Richard 'Jaws' Kiel to attend Germany's Movie Days Memorabilia Convention

James Bond fans in Germany will definitely want to take note of this upcoming event: Richard Kiel, famous for his role as steel-toothed villain Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, will be attending the Movie Days Memorabilia Convention.

Richard Kiel with Sir Roger Moore

This two-day event will feature numerous film stars in attendance and will take place from 28-29 November at the Braunschweig Convention Center. Opening hours are from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday and 11:00am to 6:00pm on Sunday.

A huge selection of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, posters, photos, comics, signed autographs, action figures, statues, manga, merchandise, masks, videogames and much more will be available on the more than 300 display tables.

Furthermore, Andreas Wisniewski (Necros in The Living Daylights) and Jeremy Bulloch (Smithers in For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and an HMS Ranger crewman in The Spy Who Loved Me) will also be attending.

For full details, visit the official Movie Days website.

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

Daniel Craig appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly rescheduled

Daniel Craig

Earlier this month, CommanderBond.net reported that 007 star Daniel Craig was set to make an appearance on US talkshow Live with Regis and Kelly mid-month. The appearance had to be pushed back, but we are now able to report a new date when fans can catch Craig on the show—Thursday, 29 October.

This will be the second appearance for the James Bond star on the lighthearted talk show this year. He last appeared on it in January to promote the WWII war drama Defiance (and was also featured last November for the release of Quantum of Solace).

Expect discussion to revolve around his current participation in the hugely successful Broadway play A Steady Rain, which is playing at Manhattan’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. With any luck, some 007-related discussion will also pop up.

The Live with Regis and Kelly show is broadcast at various times weekly. To find your local affiliate carrying the show, visit the official website.

As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest news from the world of 007.

Joseph Wiseman (1918-2009)

Canadian stage and screen actor Joseph Wiseman has died at the age of 91.

The New York Times reports that Wiseman, known best for his memorable role as the villainous Dr. No in the very first James Bond film, passed away on Monday at his home in Manhattan, New York.

His daughter, Martha Graham Wiseman, confirmed the death, saying her father had recently been in declining health.

Born in Montreal on 15 May 1918, Wiseman and his family moved to the United States when he was a boy. He made his Broadway debut in 1938 with Abe Lincoln in Illinois. This was followed by several other stage performances in the 1940’s and 50’s, including Journey to Jerusalem (1940), Candle in the Wind (1941), Joan of Lorraine (1946), Antony and Cleopatra (1947), Detective Story (1949) and The Lark (1955).

In 1969, he took the title role in In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which earned him a Drama Desk Award. His later performances included Zalman or The Madness of God in 1976, The Tenth Man in 1989 and Judgment at Nuremberg in 2001. Off-Broadway work included the premiere of Tony Kushner’s Slavs in 1994.

Prolific for his talent in projecting villainy, critic Robert Brustein called him ‘the spookiest actor in the American theatre. He would be ideally cast as Dracula.’

Wiseman put this talent to use in his film work, which is clearly evident in his restrained, but memorable portrayal of Dr. Julius No opposite Sean Connery’s 007 in the 1962 debut of James Bond. The performance made him an iconic Bond baddie.

His other film credits included Detective Story (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), The Garment Jungle (1957), The Unforgiven (1960), The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968) and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974).

Wiseman’s wife, choreographer Pearl Lang, died in February of this year. He is survived by his daughter, Martha, and sister, Ruth Wiseman.

CommanderBond.net wishes the best to the family and friends of Joseph Wiseman.

Bond 23 Abu Dhabi location rumours denied

Reports that the world’s most famous spy might be sipping Martinis in Abu Dhabi have been denied.

The British press claimed producers of the next James Bond movie, known only as Bond 23 at the moment, were eyeing Emirates Palace hotel as a location for filming of the latest in the cult series of 007 films starring Daniel Craig.

One report claimed sources close to Abu Dhabi ruler and President of the UAE High Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the producers of the forthcoming film had contacted the royal office to discuss the possibility of shooting scenes at the multi-million dirham resort.

However, it looks unlikely the shaken-not-stirred hero will be swinging from the gold-leaf ceilings of the seven-star hotel.

A spokesman for the resort said: “It is not true. No-one has been to visit. We know nothing about it.”

As always, keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date Bond coverage on the net.

Bond girl Olga Kurylenko headlines Campari promo calendar

Quantum of Solace star Olga Kurylenko has been lined up as the new face for the Campari Group.

Full details of the campaign featuring the latest Bond girl follow in the release below. For photographs of Kurylenko from the promotion, visit this Daily Mail article.

Bond girl Olga Kurylenko headlines Campari promo calendar

Olga Kurylenko

Drinks brand, Campari, has roped in the talents of Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko, for a new 2010 promotional calendar.

The top model and actress shot to international fame as the character ‘Camille’ in the most recent James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

In keeping with its experimental approach to the arts, Campari chose the young up-and-coming Italian photographer Simone Nervi to immortalise Olga Kurylenko.

He is well known for working with images and bodies, moulding and changing them “to show the observer his deep passion for reality, its form and representation.”

The 2010 Campari Calendar will be printed to a limited run of 9,999 copies, to be distributed worldwide.

It is the eleventh annual calendar for the brand and aims to capture, “the simple but captivating, modern and sophisticated fascination of places, intriguing moments and the city’s most absorbing ritual: the aperitif.”

“Olga was a natural choice: an international actress, with great charm, grace, elegance and sensuality that represents the perfect incarnation of the Campari brand”, said CEO of Gruppo Campari, Bob Kunze-Concewitz.

Olga Kurylenko added that like her, the brand was, “dynamic, passionate and cosmopolitan.”

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest James Bond-related news (be sure to check out our Twitter feed as well!).

MGM debunks rumours of Fox takeover of James Bond

James Bond will be staying with the lion.

A few days ago, the We Are Movie Geeks website ran a report claiming that 20th Century Fox was supposedly in line to acquire the marketing and distribution rights to the 007 series from the troubled MGM studio (and current home of Bond).

That report, which met with some skepticism amongst online Bond fans, has now been debunked by MGM itself.

Film School Rejects reports that an official source has confirmed that the James Bond franchise remains with MGM and that they will announce the release date and distribution strategy [of Daniel Craig’s Bond 23] in due time.

As always, keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date Bond coverage on the net.

An evening with Bond girl Valerie Leon

007 Magazine alerts us to an upcoming event in the UK featuring Valerie Leon.

The ever glamorous icon of the 70’s Valerie Leon, Hammer Horror star, twice Bond girl and six times Carry On girl talks about her life and career during this golden age of British Film and Television. The talk will be illustrated with vintage stills and other items from her association with some of the 70’s classics.

007 fans best remember Leon for her roles as the hotel receptionist opposite Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me and as the lady in the bahamas who ‘catches’ Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again.

The event is expected to last approximately 75 minutes.

This will take place at The Jermyn Street Theatre, 16b Jermyn Street, London, SW1. (Nearest tube Piccadilly Circus.) on Sunday, 1 November at 8:00pm.

Tickets cost £12.00. To purchase tickets or for further information, phone the box office at 0207 287 2875.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest James Bond-related news (be sure to check out our Twitter feed as well!).