Third Time Lucky For Brosnan And His Bride

The IMDB has posted this news about Pierce Brosnan’s upcoming wedding, let’s hope the star finally get’s to tie the knot this August.

For those of you who don’t already know Pierce Brosnan’s wedding to ET! reporter Keely Shaye Smith has been delayed twice. The first time was because Brosnan’s son was in a car accident (I’m sure you all heard that news) and the second because Shaye Smith injured herself not long after Sean (Brosnan’s son to Cassandra Harris) recorved.

Actor Pierce Brosnan has set a date for his wedding – for the third time. The 007 hunk is determined to marry journalist Keely Shaye Smith, 35, in August at his favorite hotel, Ashford Castle, in County Mayo, Ireland, come what may. Irish-born Brosnan, 49, has twice postponed the nuptials after first his teenage son, Sean, and later his fiancee – who he’s been dating for seven years – were injured. And the popular actor is clearly confident that this time things will go according to plan – he’s paid out $60,000 to reserve the hotel’s 83 rooms.

Bond Actors Amongst The Best Great Britain Has To Offer

This report comes from that internet news babe Ananova.

Results gathered from The Orange Film Survey, which consisted of more than 10,000 voters, has returned results which show Bond actors from Britain to be the top of their class.

Paraphrasing the results to just Bond actors and actresses:

Top British actors:

1 Sir Sean Connery;

2 Sir Anthony Hopkins;

3 Sir Alec Guinness;

4 Hugh Grant;

5 Sir Michael Caine;

6 Pierce Brosnan;

7 Robert Carlyle;

8 Ewan McGregor;

9 Sir John Mills;

10 Lord Olivier.

Top British actresses:

1 Julie Walters;

2 Dame Judi Dench;

3 Catherine Zeta Jones;

4 Elizabeth Hurley;

5 Emma Thompson;

6 Liz Taylor;

7 Barbara Windsor;

8 Helen Mirren;

9 Dame Margaret Rutherford;

10 Dame Maggie Smith.

Well thats great news for James Bond fans and the actors of the Bond series. See! Bond has the best there is to offer!

Also I just thought it was interesting that a few names such as Hugh Grant and Catherine Zeta Jones have all been mentioned in the Bond world. Grant was up for the role of Bond during casting for GoldenEye and Zeta Jones is the latest Bond Girl rumour in the world of Bond 20.

Indiana Jones Leaves Bond Shaken But Not Stirred

I’ve pulled this report off Reuters so enjoy (by the way as far as I’m concerned Bond still rules)…

LONDON (Reuters) – Indiana Jones has left James Bond shaken but not stirred after being voted top movie hero of all time by a massive majority in a British magazine poll.

Readers of Total Film voted the archaeologist-adventurer, played by Harrison Ford, into the top spot while smooth-talking Bond came in second.

Dr. Jones, a professor of archaeology who travels the 1930’s world saving precious artifacts, has appeared in three films. The first, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” became Paramount Pictures’ highest-grossing film when released in 1981.

The magazine put Jones’ success down to his “boys’ own hero” qualities.

Ford makes two appearances in the poll, also securing the number six spot for his role as Han Solo in the “Star Wars” trilogy.

Russell Crowe’s muscle-bound Maximus from last year’s box office smash “Gladiator” came in third, followed by Bruce Willis’ John McClane from the “Die Hard” films.

Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver in the “Alien” films, was the only woman character to feature in the top 10, securing the number five spot.

Well at least Bond still came second!

Moore Plays Real-Life Bond, Walks From Car Crash

That’s exactly the headline that Yahoo News! have used.

Actor Roger Moore did on Saturday in real life what he had done so often when playing his most famous character, British secret service agent James Bond — he walked away unperturbed from a car crash.

Moore, aged 73, and his Swedish ‘partner’ Christina Tholstrup were being driven from Gothenburg airport in southwestern Sweden to a television studio when another car lost control and swerved into theirs.

Both Moore and his partner avoided serious injury thanks to air-bags (and no these weren’t special Q-Branch ones). Despite chest pains Moore refused to see a doctor and went on to appear, two hours later, on Swedish TV.

Victoria Hervey 'desperate' to be Bond girl

It girl Victoria Hervey says she’s desperate to appear in a James Bond film.

According to the Guardian’s film website, the producers of the next Bond film are considering casting her alongside Pierce Brosnan.

She says it’s been her dream since she was a child.

“I’m desperate to be a Bond girl,” says Victoria. “That’s what I really want to do with my life.

“It’s been my dream to play one of those sexy, smart ladies. I’ve wanted to do it since I was a little girl.”

Pierce Brosnan Seeks Role With The UN

Actor Pierce Brosnan has met with the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in a series of briefings at UN headquarters in New York to explore what he can do for the world body.

Secretary-General Annan said that celebrities like Mr Brosnan could be very effective advocates for the organisation. “Depending on the topic that we agree on, I think he can use his voice to help us in some of the work that we do, just as people like Michael Douglas have been very active in disarmament,” he said.

Should Brosnan become an advocate for United Nations he will join a long star studded list of other celebrities who do similair work. Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali, actors Mia Farrow and Peter Ustinov, and supermodel Claudia Schiffer are also in the celebrity line-up. But most importantly former James Bond actor, Roger Moore, also acts as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

A spokesman for Pierce Brosnan said the actor had been inspired by his briefings at the UN, but would not be talking in detail about the organisation’s work until he decides exactly which cause he wants to adopt.

For the full article please visit BBC News. Along with a sexy pose from Claudia Schiffer the article comes with a photo of Brosnan (sporting a very interesting beard) meeting with Kofi Annan.

Michael Kitchen in 'Proof of Life'

Daniel Dykes here. Today I tottered off to see Mel Gibson’s “What Women Want” (which coincidentally is a great movie) and in amongst the 20 minutes of adverst before the movie (yup, in Australia there are 20 minutes of movies which means only 3 trailers and the rest boring adverts) the trailer for the latest Russel Crowe/Meg Ryan pic popped up and I caught a quick glimpse of Michael Kitchen aka. Chief of Staff Bill Tanner.

Well sure enough it’s him and he’s billed 10th in the movie. He plays Ian Havery. And that’s about all that I can tell you, the movie is yet to be released in Australia.

Still it’s nice to see him doing something non-Bond.

Raymond Bensons 'Evil Hours' Free!

I (Daniel Dykes) received this press release today from ‘Publishing Online‘. So here it is, minus some secret contact details.

PublishingOnline to Offer Free Download of New Novel By 007-Author

First Installment of Raymond Benson’s Evil Hours Available Immediately

PublishingOnline, a leading international distributor and publisher of eBooks and digital literature, announced today that the first installment of Evil Hours, a 14-part serial novel by Raymond Benson, the acclaimed author of original James Bond titles and film novelizations, is now available for free digital download on its new, state-of-the art Web site.

“We are extremely excited to be the exclusive representative of this new work by Raymond Benson, and we are very proud to have Evil Hours help us to showcase what we believe will fast become the Internet’s standard-setting eBook Web site,” said Min Yee, Publisher of PublishingOnline.

“Mr. Benson has long been one of PublishingOnline’s best-selling authors, and the tens of thousands of James Bond readers are testament to his unique ability to draw readers into his thrilling world of action and suspense,” Min Yee added.

Evil Hours follows the tracks of Shannon Reece as she tries to uncover the truth surrounding her mother’s brutal murder 26 years earlier in the small, working class town of Limite, Texas. Although the alleged murderer was convicted, imprisoned and subsequently killed by fellow inmates, the case has long bothered Reese, and with the help of a private eye unravels a hidden trail of deceit that ultimately leads to the most unsuspecting of places in the novel’s haunting conclusion.

In an exclusive interview with PublishingOnline, also available on the new site, Benson says that his latest work, which he calls “Larry McMurtry meets David Lynch,” was written in the down time between the second and third of his four original 007-novels.

Each of the 14 episodes will be made available free to PublishingOnline members in PDF format, or one dollar per episode for non-members, on each Friday through April 6. Membership with PublishingOnline is free.

About Raymond Benson

Raymond Benson’s first 007 foray, a short story in Playboy magazine, was published in 1997, and since then, following in the footsteps of previous Bond authors John Gardner and Kingsley Amis, he has written four original Bond novels, with a fifth one due in June, 2001, and two 007-film novelizations. He is also the author of PublishingOnline’s bestselling The James Bond Bedside Companion, the ultimate authoritative book on James Bond facts and ephemera. The Kirkus Reviews has called Benson’s writing in his novel The Facts of Death “a postmodern treat for fans and newcomers…” and the Boston Sunday Herald called the writing in his most recent work “as irresistible as ever.”

About PublishingOnline

PublishingOnline is a leading distributor and publisher of digital books. With eBooks offered off its Web site in the world’s most populous languages; with an Affiliated Publisher Program comprising dozens of publishers; with the rights to hundreds of exclusive works; and with a growing collection of out-of-print and rare, award-winning titles, PublishingOnline is aggressively building the largest online library in the world.

Membership with PublishingOnline is free and entitles readers to many benefits including free downloads of literary masterpieces, exclusive offers and e-mail alerts. PublishingOnline’s new Web site utilizes the latest in eCommerce and search technology and can be accessed at www.PublishingOnline.com.

That’s the press-release in full, if you’ve read Evil Hours and would like to submit a review please send it our way.

Sean Connery's Interview About Bond & Finding Forester

Please visit this news article in the James Bond section to read this story.

Star Trek X's Bond Reference

Yes the tenth Star Trek movie is in the works (which I’m personally looking forward to) and there’s a little reference to Bond in the film. Well not quite, but you’ll see what I mean.

The films scribe, John Logan (Gladiator) talked with StarTrek.Com and confirmed the film would involve Romulans and a Khan-like main villain – “Picard needs an adversary or a foe that is up to his level. That’s why James Bond should always fight Blofeld; that’s his adversary. We hope this adversary will be every bit as memorable not only for who he is, but how and why he behaves as he does”. Still Logan also added some new details including a hint “that Federation races rarely seen beyond the original Star Trek series will appear in Star Trek X'” as well as portraying “the crew of the Enterprise as having lives between adventures, growing personally as well as within their relationships with each other”. Logan doesn’t forget to have some fun: “There will be lots of little things that fans will recognize. I want to put in a lot of cool stuff that no one in the main audience will understand, but fans will see and get it right away. One of the best parts about writing this is that I get to do things with the races, the characters and the homeworlds that I’ve always wanted to do”.

It’s not all Bond related but there is a reference in there so it gets posted! I think it will be pretty cool to see the movie now with the Bond reference in mind.