The brutality of war is on full display in the first trailer for “1917” from director Sam Mendes.
The movie, which features a star-studded cast of just about every acclaimed British actor around, centers on on two young British soldiers on a single day at the height of WWI.
The two soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers—Blake’s own brother among them.
This is Mendes’ first film since directing 2015’s James Bond movie “Spectre.” He is reuniting with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins; the pair previously worked together on “Skyfall,” “Jarhead,” and “Revolutionary Road.”
“1917” opens in limited release December 25 and in wide release January 10.
The movie follows young British soldiers on a single day at the height of World War I.
This is Mendes’ first feature film since his Bond outings “Skyfall” and “Spectre.” He has passed 007 directing duties on to Cary Fukunaga.
Cumberbatch can next be seen in “Avengers: Endgame.” Firth most recently appeared in “Mary Poppins Returns.” Strong is next in “Shazam!” And “Game of Thrones” alum Madden recently received acclaim for the series “The Bodyguard.”
Filming is set to begin April 1 and the release date has been set for December 25.
Accio, “Spectre” tickets! The 24th James Bond movie has the box office shaken and stirred overseas, setting a new record for the biggest opening in United Kingdom history.
Leave it to 007 to save the day, at least in the U.K., when the U.S. box office was in total crisis mode. We don’t get “Spectre” until this Friday, November 6, but British audiences ate up the Daniel Craig spy thriller, giving it $63.8 million in its opening week, breaking the spell held by “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” According to Variety, the movie made a total of $80.4 million in its first week — including $3.9 million from Netherlands and $12.7 million from the Nordic region — setting more records in Finland, Norway, and Denmark.
Still more records were set for IMAX, Variety added, with “Spectre” making $5 million so far, and earning the highest per-location average in company history with $105,000 in 47 theaters.
Box office prognosticators expect “Spectre” to top the U.S. box office next week, taking in around $80 million. We’ll see. The last movie, “Skyfall,” — also starring Daniel Craig and directed by Sam Mendes — was the highest-grossing Bond film ever, and the first in the franchise to cross the $1 billion milestone. So far, “Spectre” has a respectable 77 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, from 44 reviews. (Let’s just hope it doesn’t drop in the next few days.)
Are you planning to get tickets to “Spectre” this weekend?
It’s been three years since James Bond last blew our minds with “Skyfall.” Now, director Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig are back with “Spectre,” the 24th entry in the 007 franchise.
This new mission might just be Bond’s toughest — and most personal — yet, as he travels the globe and takes on the organization of super-secret villains known as SPECTRE. To help you prepare for this huge sequel, here’s a breakdown of the five things you need to know to get the full Bond experience.
1. Bond Is On the Run As self-absorbed and headstrong as James Bond is, it shouldn’t come as any great shock that the elite secret agent is at odds with his bosses in this new sequel. After receiving a message from his past, 007 goes off the grid (shocker) to Mexico City, in search of SPECTRE. And with MI-6 under turmoil by politicians trying to revamp the organization, no one is happy to see Bond taking matters into his own hands and going rogue. Look for Bond’s travels to take him to everywhere from Italy to Morocco in this sequel.
2. It Brings Bond Back to His Roots “Spectre” will continue “Skyfall’s” trend of bringing classic, ’60s-era Bond elements back into play. Not only does Bond have Miss Moneypenny and Q backing him up, he’ll be dealing with the rise of the classic organization of villains known as SPECTRE. This shadowy group was last seen in 1971’s “Diamonds are Forever.” Even an early trailer for the film featured a version of composer John Barry’s theme from 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” There’s also a callback to the white dinner jacket (pictured) that Bond hasn’t worn since the Roger Moore-era. Hopefully all of this means that “Spectre” will appeal as much to fans of the Sean Connery Bond era as the current incarnation.
3. Bond’s Haunted by His Past The Bond franchise has never been overly concerned about maintaining continuity between films. However, “Spectre” will draw on plot points from Craig’s previous three films. Jesper Christensen‘s Mr. White (previously seen in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace“) will return as the film explores the connections between the Quantum organization and Spectre. Bond himself will be driven by his failure to protect Judi Dench’s M in the climax of “Skyfall.” Also look for this sequel to shed more light on Bond’s mysterious, tragic past that lead him to be an orphan.
4. This Time… It’s Personal (Especially for the Villain) Look for Bond to be squaring off against several foes this time around, of both the physical and political variety. Two-time Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz will play Franz Oberhauser, a high-ranking SPECTRE member who claims to have close ties to Bond. Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) will play Mr. Hinx, a skilled assassin in the tradition of villains like Jaws and Oddjob. And Andrew Scott (“Sherlock”) will play Max Denbigh, a British government official with plans to radically change the scope and purpose of the new M’s intelligence organization.
5. James Bond Will Return… But What About Daniel Craig? Nothing has been confirmed yet, but “Spectre” could very well be Daniel Craig’s final bow as 007.
This one is for the real cinephiles. Empire asked Bond director Sam Mendes to guest edit the “Spectre” issue and he launched a massive Q&A with fellow A-ist directors, talking to Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Ang Lee, Edgar Wright, Alfonso Cuaron, Joe Wright, Paul Greengrass, Joss Whedon, Rob Marshall, Sofia Coppola, Susanne Bier, George Clooney, Alexander Payne, Roger Michell, and Christopher Nolan. He got those famous names to candidly (and often hilariously) answer questions including…
“Have you ever walked off a set in a temper?”
“What is the most common phrase you use on set?”
“Music or no music on set?”
“What’s the most takes you’ve ever done?”
“How many cups of coffee a day?”
“What’s your best-ever day on set?”
Here are the “most takes” responses:
Spielberg: I did 50 takes on Robert Shaw assembling the Greener Gun on Jaws. The shark wasn’t working, so I just kept shooting to make the production report look like we were accomplishing something and to keep cast and crew from going crazy from boredom. It was a strategic indulgence.
Soderbergh: 48.
Fincher: 107.
Clooney: 18.
Nolan: I never pay attention to the number of takes.
Edgar Wright: I don’t think I have ever gone Kubrick crazy. So maybe 20 or so… But it’s usually six or seven takes.
Payne: Probably around 26. I’m normally a four-to- seven kind of guy, but every so often, when the actors, the operator, the dolly grip and the assistant cameramen must all work in sync, it might take a while to get right.
Marshall: I try not to do more than seven or eight. It can become counterproductive.
Cuarón: The long takes process doesn’t allow for that many takes. In the past I have shot over 50 takes of different shots. Sometimes you end up using take 64, sometimes take four.
Michell: Like current Australian batsmen… Very rarely double figures.
Lee: For acting, 13. For action, 36.
Bier: Twenty-five, I think. Which, if you’re trying to get the best performance, is way, way too much.
Joe Wright: Thirty-seven maybe, can’t really remember. I’m usually in the range of 12 to 16 unless it’s a very technically challenging shot.
Coppola: I can’t remember, nothing too crazy, because we never have that much time in the schedule.
Whedon: On an elaborate shot, 30. On a bit of dialogue, I’ve seldom gone into double digits.
Greengrass: I don’t count over ten.
The hard copy issue had more questions, and Collider shared the responses for “What’s your worst-ever day on set?”
Joe Wright: The day an actor tried to punch me. I’ll say no more.
Whedon: Buffy presentation. My first gig. Whole thing was a nightmare. At one point there was pure chaos and a total lack of confidence from all involved. I stood outside the set, wanting to slink off home and realising that if I did, if I didn’t walk in there and somehow take control, I was going to be an increasingly miserable script doctor forever. So I walked in. Worst day ended up not so bad.
Edgar Wright: Too many. I can remember a low point on every shoot. Shaun, it was in the pub finale; we were up against it and had to cut action. Hot Fuzz, we were rained off, lost the light or night shoots went abysmally slow. Scott Pilgrim, I think there was a complicated, disastrous day of effect cues that sent me into a deep funk, and then on World’s End I remember a day where nothing went right where we ditched an entire sequence. Cue my transformation into The Sulk.
Payne: I abhor when the actors don’t know their dialogue cold. When I have to spoon-feed dialogue to a lazy actor, I think of all the great Russian novels I could be reading instead of wasting my time. It makes me want to turn exclusively to documentaries — no hair and make-up, no second takes, and everyone knows his or her dialogue.
Read more at Empire. Who tried to punch Joe Wright, director of the new “Pan,” “Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice,” and “Hanna”? And do you think Fincher was just joking with the 107 or was that the exact highest number? The “Fight Club,” “Gone Girl,” “Seven,” “Benjamin Button,” “Social Network” and “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” director is known for being a perfectionist, so it wouldn’t be a shock if the real number were even higher.
James Bond is a man of action — shake, don’t stir! — and he’s usually too focused on moving forward to look back. But director Sam Mendes told Entertainment Weekly that “Spectre” is a culmination of the three previous Daniel Craig Bond movies while developing 007’s mostly unexplored backstory. As Mendes put it:
The Bond creation myth never happened. I felt there was an opportunity there: What made him? And who were the people who affected him along the way? You’re sort of telling the story backwards of how Bond became Bond.”
Mendes told EW that Bond was “rebooted” at the end of “Skyfall” but that was just the beginning of the story, which is picked up by “Spectre.”
Daniel Craig added to EW:
A lot of the film is a celebration of what it is to be Bond. But it’s not retro. Hopefully it’s not just classic Bond but a classic thriller.”
Every classic Bond thriller needs a Bond villain, and who better than Christoph Waltz? He plays Oberhauser, the self-described “author” of all Bond’s pain.
Sam Mendes previously told BBC Radio of “Spectre”: “This is a bigger movie than ‘Skyfall.’ It’s shot in more places – we were in Mexico City and Tangiers and northern Sahara and Rome and the Alps and London. It’s been an enormous undertaking.”
“Spectre,” the 24th movie in the James Bond franchise will shake – not stir – its way into theaters October 26 in the U.K. and November 6 in the U.S. It took director Sam Mendes five years to make the latest Daniel Craig Bond movie, following their collaboration in “Skyfall.” Sam talked to BBC Radio about the new movie and his decision that “this is probably it” for him when it comes to directing Bond movies. He did say that once before, but this time he added, “I don’t think I could go down that road again,” because it swallows up so much time and energy. So if he’s not around for Bond25, we’ll have to stay tuned for who might be jumping in. (Christopher Nolan? Wes Anderson – kidding! Although that would be interesting…)
“Spectre” follows a cryptic message from Bond’s past that sends him out to uncover still another sinister organization. The movie co-stars Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Monica Bellucci, Léa Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, and Ben Whishaw. Sam said they just finished shooting it, with a cast and crew of more than 1,000 people. “This is a bigger movie than ‘Skyfall,’” the told the BBC. “It’s shot in more places – we were in Mexico City and Tangiers and northern Sahara and Rome and the Alps and London. It’s been an enormous undertaking.”
The director also shared that a “Spectre” theme song was just finished and we’ll be hearing more about it soon. “I can say that the song’s been recorded and it’s fantastic and I’m very excited about it. You won’t have to wait long [to find out who sings it].” Rumor has it, Ellie Goulding recorded the theme song, but we’ll just have to wait and see/hear.
Are you excited for a “bigger” movie than “Skyfall”? Yahoo Movies UK has spoilers and screen shots on the huge opening scene, if you want to head over there for a preview. The pre-credits scene was described by producer Michael G Wilson as “the biggest sequence we’ve ever done.” Here’s another look at the teaser trailer, which came out in March:
%Slideshow-273996%
Earlier today, as the world anxiously awaited the premiere of the teaser trailer for “Spectre,” the latest James Bond adventure (once again starring Daniel Craig as 007), we were on the set of the film in Mexico City, watching them film the movie’s dramatic opening sequence and chatting with various members of the crew. This sequence obviously didn’t make it into the teaser, which was weirdly action-free, but it did give us a hint at what’s to come from this spy thriller.
Mexico is a location that the James Bond franchise has utilized plenty of times before, most recently in the mostly forgotten Craig entry “Quantum of Solace” and the hotel where part of this action sequence takes place, the Gran Hotel de Mexico, had already been used in a 007 movie — the even-more-forgotten Timothy Dalton joint “The Living Daylights,” way back in 1987 (no, I don’t remember that one either).
As far as the production pipeline goes, Mexico is but a dot on the map. So far, the production has already shot sequences in London, Austria (where much of the teaser trailer unfolds), and Rome, and still has additional photography in Morocco left to go. Yes, this shoot is very international. Several members of the production, in fact, have noted that this Bond adventure is substantially larger than “Skyfall,” the last Daniel Craig outing and the first Bond movie to make $1 billion globally. “Spectre” reunites much of the team that made “Skyfall” such a smash including, crucially, director Sam Mendes and writers John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, and the atmosphere from the Mexico shoot definitely gave off the feeling that the filmmakers were trying to top themselves in every way possible. This might seem odd given the chilly, subdued vibe of the trailer. But it’s true.
When asked if this would be an even bigger opening scene than last time around, production designer Dennis Gassner reacted with mock incredulity. “Have you looked down there, man?” Fair enough.
The scene in question involves Bond and his seduction of Estrella (Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman, who made a splash in the truly incredible “Miss Bala”). Bond is seducing Estrella to get a better view of the square, called Zocalo, which a quick Internet search revealed to be the main plaza in Mexico City. There’s something going down in the square, and Bond knows it. While precise details remained vague, he was after Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona), who is a very bad dude. Bond ends up chasing Sciarra through a Day of the Dead parade, which today was populated with nearly 1,500 extras (each extra requiring more than 90 minutes of hair, costume and makeup), follows him onto a helicopter (where the fight continues), and eventually ends up on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. The part we saw only involved the Day of the Dead parade and the rooftop, but it was easy to imagine the rest, scored by Thomas Newman’s breathless music (he’s another “Skyfall” alum returning to the series).
It’s important to note that this production took up the entire square. The extras were decked out to the nines, with meticulously constructed and manicured costumes (see photos) that costume designer Jany Temime said was meant to imitate the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and boundless imagination of the native Mexican people. (More tantalizingly she talked about Bond’s new tuxedo, the exact color of which she wouldn’t say. Also, there are some fashionable ski pants in the mix, undoubtedly for the Austrian alps stuff that she kept referring to as “the ski sequence.”) There was a large stage with a huge skeleton wearing a giant embroidered sombrero, a full band, and acrobatic dancers. There were also massive skull floats and fully articulated puppets of skeletons that had dangling limbs and skulls. Behind it all was the biggest Mexican (or any) flag that you could imagine (and if you read some of the leaked Sony emails, you’ll probably understand why). The scene being filmed was insane and huge, with Michael G. Wilson, a longtime producer on the franchise, later calling it the biggest sequence he’d ever been a part of… Although perhaps not as big as it could have been, at least aspect ratio wise, as Alexander Witt, a second unit director on the project, confirmed that while the film will be exhibited in large format IMAX theaters, none of the movie was actually shot in IMAX.
We watched as Sciarra, wearing a gorgeous white suit covered, tellingly, in blood, as he ran through the crowd and was chased into the square. Craig might have been down there, too, but the thickness of the crowd (and our far away vantage point) rendered his pursuer anonymous. Since the trailer showed Monica Bellucci, who plays his wife, Lucia, at someone’s funeral, it’s safe to say that Bond catches up to Sciarra… and that it doesn’t end particularly well. We then saw the helicopter, piloted by Chuck Aaron, a daredevil pilot who is known for his helicopter loop-de-loops (this is the first film he’s worked on), as it takes off for parts unknown.
What’s so interesting about what we saw being shot today and what the teaser trailer revealed, was that we were watching a boisterous, colorful chase sequence inside a movie that is, at least at this early stage, being marketed as a somber spy thriller. There will be a lot of heat and majesty to “Spectre” that the trailer doesn’t even make mention of, and it should be the same winning combination of stylistic flourishes, classic Bond moments, and genuine psychological intrigue that made “Skyfall” such a brilliant, breathless ride.
We would also like to propose a theory. Make of it what you will. Ever since Waltz was announced as the bad guy, there was endless speculation that he would be playing Blofeld, a villainous baddie that appeared both in Ian Fleming’s original novels and several of the films (he was essayed by Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas, Charles Gray, and Max von Sydow). There are many reasons for this speculation: SPECTRE is the name of the organization that Blofield runs and internal emails leaked seemingly offering confirmation of the character’s identity. But an offhanded comment made by costume designer Jany Temime about how this is the “women’s movie,” made several of us think that maybe Bellucci will end up calling the shots as a female Blofield. If the next trailer shows her in a Nehru jacket, we’ll be there to say, “I told you so.”
Accio, 
It’s been three years since James Bond last blew our minds with “
As self-absorbed and headstrong as James Bond is, it shouldn’t come as any great shock that the elite secret agent is at odds with his bosses in this new sequel. After receiving a message from his past, 007 goes off the grid (shocker) to Mexico City, in search of SPECTRE. And with MI-6 under turmoil by politicians trying to revamp the organization, no one is happy to see Bond taking matters into his own hands and going rogue. Look for Bond’s travels to take him to everywhere from Italy to Morocco in this sequel.
“Spectre” will continue “Skyfall’s” trend of bringing classic, ’60s-era Bond elements back into play. Not only does Bond have Miss Moneypenny and Q backing him up, he’ll be dealing with the rise of the classic organization of villains known as SPECTRE. This shadowy group was last seen in 1971’s “
The Bond franchise has never been overly concerned about maintaining continuity between films. However, “Spectre” will draw on plot points from Craig’s previous three films. 
Look for Bond to be squaring off against several foes this time around, of both the physical and political variety. Two-time Oscar-winner 
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but “Spectre” could very well be Daniel Craig’s final bow as 007.
James Bond is a man of action — shake, don’t stir! — and he’s usually too focused on moving forward to look back. But director Sam Mendes told 
