'Another Way To Die' Eligible For Best Song Oscar Nomination

Quantum of Solace title track ‘Another Way To Die’ is included in the newly released list of songs eligible for the Best Song Oscar nominations.

The Jack White-Alicia Keys duet is featured on the list along with 48 other tracks. Variety reports that members of the Academy Award’s music branch will vote on the final nominations at screening event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 6 January 2009.

To be eligible, a song must contain original words and music written specifically for the film. In a change to the rules, only two songs from a single film may be nominated. Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year leads this longlist with 11 eligible songs.

Click here for the full listing of eligible songs.

The 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, 22 February at the Kodak Theater. The event will be broadcast live on ABC.

In related award news, the Quantum title song took home the top prize at the International Press Academy’s Satellite Awards this past Sunday.

Stay up-to-date with all the latest Quantum of Solace coverage at CommmanderBond.net.

'Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond' Biography Slated For April '09 Release In US

Andrew Lycett’s detailed biography on James Bond’s creator, author Ian Fleming is scheduled to be reprinted in the United States this upcoming April.

Exhaustive in its content and attention to detail, Lycett’s Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond was originally released in the UK and US in hardback in 1995, with paperbacks following in 1996 and 2002.

This new edition will be a 512-page paperback retailing at $19.95. A specific release date in April 2009 is yet to be announced. The original blurb follows:

Ian Fleming’s life was just as dramatic as that of his fictional creation–James Bond 007. Andrew Lycett’s direct access to Fleming’s family, friends nd contemporaries has enabled him to reveal–for the first time–the truth behind the complicated fa&ccedilade of this enigmatic and remarkable man.

With an extraordinary cast of characters, this is biography at its best–part history part gossip, part informed reassessment of one of the century’s most celebrated yet mysterious personalities.

Most recently, Lycett took part in an Ian Fleming lecture at Bletchley Park as well as wrote an article regarding the origins of the author’s “Quantum of Solace” short story.

• Order the US paperback edition of Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond from Amazon.com

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest literary 007 coverage.

Pierce Brosnan's 'Mamma Mia!' Becomes Biggest British Box Office Hit Ever

Pierce Brosnan doesn’t need a James Bond film in order to rule the box office charts.

The Telegraph reports that the musical comedy Mamma Mia!, featuring the former 007 star performing ABBA songs along with Meryl Streep has become the biggest box office hit ever in the UK.

Since its 18 July release, the film has grossed an astonishing £69.05 million (about $108 million), surpassing the previously untouchable Titanic and it’s £69.03 million total. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone follows in third place with £66.1 million.

Mamma Mia!, which co-stars Colin Firth and Julie Walters, cost £28 million to make and has grossed $571.1 million (£365 million) in box offices around the world.

‘Mamma Mia! is pure escapism, proving a fun and inexpensive way to forget about the state of the economy for a couple of hours,’ said David Kosse, the president of Universal Pictures International.

‘For Mamma Mia! to make history in this way and beat Titanic, which has held the record in the UK since 1998, is truly phenomenal. This film has exceeded our expectations and delighted audiences around the world since it opened in July.’

In addition to topping the UK box office charts, Brosnan’s musical comedy has become the most popular film of the year in 15 countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Cyprus, Iceland, Slovenia and Sweden.

Phil Clapp, chief executive of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association (CEA) praised the film for contributing to what was the best summer for cinema attendance in 40 years in the UK. He called Mamma Mia! an ‘absolute phenomenon … in times of economic gloom, people seek affordable and escapist entertainment.’

Furthermore, Mamma Mia! broke records upon its recent DVD release–becoming the fastest selling title ever in the UK–selling 1.7 million copies on its first day, surpassing Titanic‘s previous record of 1.2 million.

As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main pages for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.

James Bond Christmas TV Marathons Announced

Continuing on with tradition, Spike TV will once again feature a marathon of James Bond films just in time for Christmas.

Scheduled from Monday, 22 December through Thursday, 25 December, the marathon will feature films from the Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan 007 eras.

Additionally, the USA Network will air Brosnan’s first three Bond films back to back on the 22nd and Showtime will host Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale on Christmas Day.

CommanderBond.net has the full schedule (all times are EST):

Spike TV

Monday, 22 December:

• 9:00am
• Moonraker: James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide. Starring Roger Moore, Lois Chiles and Michael Lonsdale.

• 12:00pm
• For Your Eyes Only: Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Starring Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet and Lynn-Holly Johnson.

• 3:00pm
• Octopussy: A fake Faberge egg and a fellow agent’s death leads James Bond to uncovering an international jewel smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on NATO forces. Starring Roger Moore, Maud Adams and Louis Jourdan.

Tuesday, 23 December:

• 10:00am
• Live And Let Die: 007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader. Starring Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto and Jane Seymour.

• 12:30pm
• The Man With The Golden Gun: Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world’s most expensive assassin and must hunt him down to stop him. Roger Moore, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland.

• 3:30pm
• The Spy Who Loved Me: James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed. Roger Moore, Barbara Bach and Curd Jurgens.

Wednesday, 24 December:

• 9:00am
• Thunderball: James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme. Starring Sean Connery, Claudine Auger and Adolfo Celi.

• 12:00pm
• You Only Live Twice: Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of spacejackings before nuclear war is provoked. Starring Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama.

• 2:30pm
• Diamonds Are Forever: A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas, where he uncovers an extortion plot headed by his nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Starring Sean Connery, Jill St. John and Charles Gray.

• 5:30pm
• Never Say Never Again: A SPECTRE agent has stolen two American nuclear warheads, and James Bond must find their targets before they are detonated. Starring Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Max von Sydow.

• 8:30pm
• Die Another Day: James Bond and an enigmatic spy named Jinx must take on a madman with a satellite-laser weapon. A fast-paced but routine Bond outing. Madonna sings the song and has a cameo. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Toby Stephens.

Thursday, 25 December:

• 10:30am
• Dr. No: James Bond’s investigation of a missing colleague in Jamaica leads him to the island of the mysterious Dr. No and a scheme to end the US space program. Starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress and Joseph Wiseman.

• 1:00pm
• From Russia With Love: James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE. Starring Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi and Pedro Armendariz.

• 3:30pm
• Goldfinger: Investigating a gold magnate’s gold smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. Starring Sean Connery, Honor Blackman and Gert Frobe.

• 6:00pm
• Die Another Day: James Bond and an enigmatic spy named Jinx must take on a madman with a satellite-laser weapon. A fast-paced but routine Bond outing. Madonna sings the song and has a cameo. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Toby Stephens.

---

USA

Monday, 22 December:

• 8:00am
• GoldenEye: James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent believed to be dead. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Famke Janssen.

• 11:00am
• The World is not Enough: James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can’t feel pain. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle.

• 2:00pm
• Tomorrow Never Dies: James Bond heads to stop a media mogul’s plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce and Michelle Yeoh.

---

Showtime

Wednesday, 24 December:

• 7:30pm (Showtime 2)
• Casino Royale: Daniel Craig is aces in his first go-round as British secret service agent James Bond, who tries his hand at outwitting a terrorist banker (Mads Mikkelsen). Ripping spy jinks with Eva Green as the Bond girl and Judi Dench as M.

Thursday, 25 December:

• 5:30am (Showtime 2)
• Casino Royale: Daniel Craig is aces in his first go-round as British secret service agent James Bond, who tries his hand at outwitting a terrorist banker (Mads Mikkelsen). Ripping spy jinks with Eva Green as the Bond girl and Judi Dench as M.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.

'Another Way To Die' Scores Satellite Award

James Bond has triumphed again at the International Press Academy’s Satellite Awards, landing a win in the Original Song category with Jack White and Alicia Keys’ Quantum of Solace duet, “Another Way To Die”.

In 2006, Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name” from Casino Royale also took home the award for Original Song.

Quantum of Solace scored five nominations at this year’s awards, including Original Score, Visual Effects and Film Editing.

Original Score

• David Arnold – Quantum of Solace
• Thomas Newman – WALL•E
• John Powell – Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!
• WINNER: A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire
• David Hirschfelder – Australia
• Danny Elfman – Milk

Original Song

• WINNER: “Another Way to Die”/Jack White – Quantum of Solace
• “If the World”/Guns N’ Roses – Body of Lies
• “Down to Earth”/Peter Gabriel – WALL•E
• “By the Boab Tree”/Angela Little et al. – Australia
• “Jaiho”/ A.R. Rahman and Gulzar – Slumdog Millionaire
• “The Wrestler”/Bruce Springsteen – The Wrestler

Visual Effects

• Quantum of Solace
• Iron Man
• The Dark Knight
• The Day the Earth Stood Still
• WINNER: Australia

Film Editing

• Quantum of Solace
• WINNER: Iron Man
• The Dark Knight
• Australia
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Frost/Nixon

Sound (Mixing & Editing)

• Quantum of Solace
• Iron Man
• WINNER: The Dark Knight
• Australia
• WALL•E
• The Day the Earth Stood Still

The winners were announced last night at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.

“Another Way To Die” is also nominated for a Broadcast Film Critics Association award, while the music video has been nominated for a Grammy.

Stay up-to-date with all the latest Quantum of Solace coverage at CommmanderBond.net.

New Edition Of 'The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader' In June '09

A new edition of Christoph Lindner’s The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader is slated for release in June 2009.

Originally published in the UK and US at the end of 2003, The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader features various essays examining from different perspectives the cultural icon that 007 has become.

This new edition of The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader will be published in paperback by Manchester University Press. At 272 pages in length, it will retail for £14.99. Cover artwork is yet to be revealed.

The book’s original blurb follows:

Sean Connery’s tuxedo, Ursula Andress’ bikini, Oddjob’s bowler hat, and Q’s gadgets are just a few defining features of the 007 world examined in this text. Drawn from the fields of literary, film, music and cultural studies, the essays in this collection range from revitalized readings of Ian Fleming’s spy novels to the analysis of Pussy Galore’s lesbianism, Miss Monneypenny’s filmic feminism and Pierce Brosnan’s techno-fetishism.

Together the essays not only consider the James Bond novels and films in relation to their historical, political and social contexts, from the Cold-War period onwards, but also examine the classic bond canon from an array of theoretical perspectives. What the text aims to show is that there is much more to the 007 series than cheap thrills, fast cars and beautiful women.

With essays by Umberto Eco, Tony Bennett, Tara Brabazon, Toby Miller and Jim Leach, among others, Lindner illustrates not only how the Bond character has conquered the globe, but has sustained its pre-eminence across six decades. Starting with the original books and moving through the films, the music and the marketing, this study should be of use to students of film, media, popular literature, marketing and cultural studies.

• Order the UK paperback edition of The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader (2nd ed.) from Amazon.co.uk

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest literary 007 coverage.

Daniel Craig's 'Defiance' Set For 6 January UK Premiere

The UK premiere for Daniel Craig’s upcoming war drama Defiance has been set for Tuesday, 6 January 2009.

The James Bond star will walk the red carpet along with co-stars Jamie Bell and Liev Schreiber at the Odeon Leicester Square event in London, which begins around 6:00pm.

In the film, Craig, Bell and Schreiber play three Jewish brothers who escape from Nazi-occupied Poland and join Russian resistance fighters, helping to build a village to protect themselves and help others who are fleeing. Based on true events, the film is directed by Blood Diamond‘s Edward Zwick.

Fans have a chance to win tickets to this grand premiere. Visit The Sun for ful details.

Craig recently sat down for an interview with Dark Horizons to discuss his role in Defiance, making Quantum of Solace and what the future holds for Bond.

As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main pages for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.

'A View To A Kill' Renault 11 Sells For 4,200 Pounds At Auction

The Renault 11 taxi that was featured in the early car chase from 1985’s A View To A Kill was sold for £4,200 ($6,400) earlier this month.

Going up for sale as part of a Coys auction, the James Bond vehicle (lot 402) was offered at no reserve.

Full details follow:

Lot 402
Registration Number: 359 ETD 75

A View To A Kill was the fourteenth James Bond movie, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent. In A View To A Kill, Bond is pitted against Max Zorin, played by Christopher Walken who plans to destroy California’s Silicon Valley.

In one of the most exciting and memorable sequences of the movie Bond steals a Renault 11 taxi from a Parisian cab driver and uses it to pursue an assassin through Paris at high speeds chasing May Day (played by Grace Jones), after she jumps from the Eiffel Tower and opens a parachute.

In a sequence coordinated by famed French stuntman Rémy Julienne, the Renault 11 suffers a few dings, first losing its roof then managing to jump onto and off a sight-seeing bus. Then the entire back of the car is severed in a collision with another car–leaving 007 to drive with only the Renault 11’s front wheels.

Rémy Julienne used three vehicles for the stunt scenes; one complete, one with its roof removed and finally 2 halves of a taxi.

This complete car was used for close up work and the initial scenes in the movie before Bond damaged the car during its high speed pursuit. The car had resided in Peter Nelson’s Cars of the Stars museum for several years where it was purchased by the vendor. Prior to this the car was bought by Mr Nelson direct from Rémy Julienne. The car has been used for various Bond displays including one in Paris and more recently in Edinburgh for the recent launch of the latest Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

The car is described as being in good condition and is a desirable item for any Bond collector to get their hands on a genuine film car used by 007 himself. Offered at No Reserve.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond news.

The Blades Library Book Club: Zero Minus Ten

Welcome back to The Blades Library Book Club – the place for quality discussions of the books of James Bond!

Every two months a James Bond 007 novel is chosen for the club members to read. A thread is posted in the club forums listing locations on where you can find the novel. Discussions about the book will go on as the book is read and when it is finished. Another thread will be created so that club members can post their review and give a rating on the current book.

All fans of the Literary Bond are eligible for membership. All you need to do to sign up is register on the CBn Forums (it’s free and only takes a minute) and then post your name in the sign up thread.

The Book Club’s 30th Book

We are progressing though the James Bond 007 novels in chronological order, since quite a number of members are using the club as an opportunity to read the books for the very first time.
After moving through the Bond novels by Ian Fleming, Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, we now continue with author Raymond Benson and the first of his contributions to the literary 007 canon: 1997’s Zero Minus Ten.

Obtaining The Book

Ordering online should be fairly easy. Zero Minus Ten can be ordered online (although in used condition) from the following sources:

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com
• eBay

Discuss other places to buy Zero Minus Ten or where you got your copy in this thread.

Discuss The Book While Reading

Want to talk about the book while reading it? Post a new thread in The Blades Library.

Review And Rate The Book

After you have finished reading Zero Minus Ten, you can discuss it with other club members in The Blades Library, and give the book your personal rating out of five in this thread.

If you have any questions or suggestions just post them in a new thread. Happy reading.

*New* Archive Of All Past Read Books

Additionally, club members can review or comment on any of the past read books in the club any time they want. Click here for the full archive of the past read books in the club.

Previous Books Read

• COLD: October 2008 – November 2008
• SeaFire: August 2008 – September 2008
• Never Send Flowers: June 2008 – July 2008
• Death Is Forever: April 2008 – May 2008
• The Man From Barbarossa: February 2008 – March 2008
• Brokenclaw: December 2007 – January 2008
• Win, Lose Or Die: October 2007 – November 2007
• Scorpius: August 2007 – September 2007
• No Deals, Mr. Bond: June 2007 – July 2007
• Nobody Lives Forever: April 2007 – May 2007
• Role Of Honour: February 2007 – March 2007
• Icebreaker: December 2006 – January 2007
• For Special Services: October 2006 – November 2006
• Licence Renewed: August 2006 – September 2006
• Colonel Sun: June 2006 – July 2006
• Octopussy & The Living Daylights: April 2006 – May 2006
• The Man With The Golden Gun: February 2006 – March 2006
• You Only Live Twice: December 2005 – January 2006
• On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: October 2005 – November 2005
• The Spy Who Loved Me: August 2005 – September 2005
• Thunderball: June 2005 – July 2005
• For Your Eyes Only: April 2005 – May 2005
• Goldfinger: February 2005 – March 2005
• Doctor No: December 2004 – January 2005
• From Russia, With Love: September 2004 – November 2004
• Diamonds Are Forever: July 2004 – August 2004
• Moonraker: May 2004 – June 2004
• Live and Let Die: May 2003 – June 2003
• Casino Royale: March 2003 – April 2003

'Quantum of Solace' Grabs $9 Million Over The Weekend

Quantum of Solace grossed roughly $9 million worldwide over this past weekend, reports AFP.

In its fifth weekend at the US box office, Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film finished sixth place overall (a drop of one spot from last week), falling 43% to $3.8 million. The film’s theatre count was heavily slashed by 788 screens from last weekend to 2,635.

Quantum‘s cumulative total stands at $157.6 million in the US, getting closer each day to the franchise record of $167.5 million, held by 2006’s Casino Royale.

Internationally, 007 continued to play strong on 4,200 screens in 70 markets. It grossed $5.2 million, bringing its international total to roughly $367 million.

The Bond film finished third overall, behind The Day the Earth Stood Still and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

These new weekend grosses brings the worldwide total for Quantum of Solace up to $526 million.

Keep your browsers pointed to CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date and complete Quantum of Solace coverage. Check out our continually updated box office report for all the latest news at how 007 is doing around the world.

Have you seen Quantum of Solace in theatres yet? Post your review and join in the discussion in the Member Reviews section on the CBn Forums.