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Bond 24 Is Spectre & It’s Even Got A Poster (As Well As Andrew Scott & Ben Whishaw Starring)

December 5, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

It’s official, Bond 24 has been announced with a major event in London and it will be called Spectre. Of course that’s the name of the evil organisation headed by Blofeld in early Bond movies (It stands for (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), and the name of the film signals its return.

Both Blofeld and SPECTRE disappeared from Bond after a protracted legal battle decided Thunderball screenplay co-creator Kevin McClory owned them. However a few years ago Eon Productions purchased the rights and brought them back into the official Bond fold. Every film since Casino Royale has had rumours of a SPECTRE appearance, but it’s only now it will actually happen.

The announcement also confirms that alongside returnees Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear, newbies Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott will star. Although there’s no confirmation, the presumption is that Waltz will be Blofeld.

Here’s the official press release (and take a look at some pics from the launch event below): ‘007 Soundstage, Pinewood Studios, London. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. SPECTRE begins principal photography on Monday, December 8, and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.

‘Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond’s sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.

‘A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

‘The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios, and on location in London, Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, in Morocco. Bond will return to the snow once again, this time in Sölden, along with other Austrian locations, Obertilliach, and Lake Altaussee.

‘Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, “We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE.”.

‘Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema and Editor is Lee Smith. Production Designer, Dennis Gassner returns along with Costume Designer, Jany Temime and Composer, Thomas Newman. Action Specialist, Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Stunt Coordinator is Gary Powell, SFX Supervisor is Chris Corbould, and Visual Effects Supervisor is Steve Begg.

‘Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was a worldwide box office phenomenon, opening #1 in 70 territories around the world, taking over $1.1 billion worldwide and setting a new all-time box office record in the UK by becoming the first film to take over £100 million.

‘The launch of SPECTRE was streamed live on 007.com and Facebook.com/JamesBond007, and the video is now available on demand at both sites.’

Take a look at some pics from the launch below. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott DIRECTORS: Sam Mendes FILMS: Spectre

Ben Whishaw Talks About Trying To Come Out With Dignity

November 6, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Coming out is rarely an easy thing to do, and that’s as true for celebrities as it is for everyone else. In days gone past famous gay people were either outed or they did big, splashy interviews were they had to divulge every detail of their life (which they often did under the threat of being outed if they didn’t).

However in recent years it’s become a lot simpler, with an increasing amount of celebs releasing short, simple statements, authorising brief mentions of same sex partners in newspaper articles or thanking their partner when they receive an award.

Ben Whishaw went the simple statement route, with his reps releasing the following in August 2013: ‘Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark [Bradshaw] entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy. Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work.’

Now he’s been talking about coming out and the difficulty finding a dignified way to do it. Talking to Marie Clare (via Radio Times), he says, “I suppose now I’m very grateful that it happened the way it did. It was never a secret, everyone around me in my life knew, it’s just very hard to know how to say it, in a way, with some sort of dignity and to remain private. It was something that happened at that time and now I’m very happy it’s just a fact and I can get on with life.”

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ACTORS: Ben Whishaw

New Paddington Trailer – Now with Ben Whishaw voicing the Peruvian bear

October 28, 2014 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment

Last summer there was surprise when after Colin Firth had been due to voice Paddington in the live-action/CGI movie about famous bear, he stepped out and Ben Whishaw came in. It means that while we’ve had trailer and teasers, were haven’t heard from Paddington himself – until now, that is.

You can take a look at the new trailer below, complete with added Whishaw, alongside Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From the producer of Harry Potter and Gravity, Paddington comes to the big screen for the first time in an epic new adventure. Featuring an all-star cast and effects courtesy of award-winning VFX company Framestore, PADDINGTON is THE big family film of Christmas.

‘Voted Best Animated Character at the 2012 British Animation Awards, and adapted from Michael Bond’s beloved books, Paddington follows the comic misadventures of a polite young bear with an endearing talent for comic chaos.

‘Paddington has grown up deep in the Peruvian jungle with his Aunt Lucy who, inspired by a chance encounter with an English explorer, has raised her nephew to dream of an exciting life in London. When an earthquake destroys their home, Aunt Lucy decides to smuggle her young nephew on board a boat bound for England, in search of a better life. Arriving alone at Paddington Station, Paddington soon finds that city life is not all he had imagined – until he meets the kindly Brown family, who find him with a label tied around his neck which reads ‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’ They offer him a temporary home whilst he searches for the explorer who impressed Aunt Lucy all those years before.

‘But when Paddington catches the eye of a sinister, seductive taxidermist, it isn’t long before his home – and very existence – is under threat …’

The film is due out in the UK November 28th, 2014, with a mid-January US release planned. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent, Nicole Kidman DIRECTORS: Paul King FILMS: Paddington

In the Heart of the Sea Trailer – You should see the size of Chris Hemsworth’s Moby Dick

October 16, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

We’ve been waiting quite a while for In The Heart Of The Sea – about the true story that inspired Moby Dick – which shot last autumn but won’t by in UK cinemas until March next year.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Oscar winner Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”) directs the action adventure “In the Heart of the Sea,” based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s best-selling book about the dramatic true journey of the Essex.

‘In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. “In the Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

‘“In the Heart of the Sea” stars Chris Hemsworth (“The Avengers,” “Rush”) as the vessel’s veteran first mate Owen Chase; Benjamin Walker (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) as its inexperienced Captain, George Pollard; Cillian Murphy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) as second mate Matthew Joy; and Ben Whishaw (“Skyfall”) as novelist Herman Melville, whose inquiries into the event 30 years later helped bring the story to light.

‘Tom Holland (“The Impossible”) also stars as young seaman Tom Nickerson, and Brendan Gleeson (“Edge of Tomorrow”) as the same man, 30 years later. Spanish actor Jordi Mollà (“Riddick”) is the captain of another ship, the Archimedes, who tries to warn the Essex of what may lie ahead.’

Thankfully from the trailer it doesn’t look like this film will be as stunningly boring as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. [Read more…]

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ACTORS: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw DIRECTORS: Ron Howard FILMS: In The Heart Of The Sea

Lilting (DVD Review)

October 6, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Cheng Pei Pei, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles, Naomi Christie
Director: Hong Khaou
Running Time: 91 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: September 29th 2014 (UK)

An aging Cambodian-Chinese woman (Cheng Pei Pei) talks to her son, Kai (Andrew Leung) in a nursing home. However he’s not really there. It’s her remembrance of the last time she saw him a few weeks before, the day before he died. Now she is left alone, living in Britain but unable to speak English.

Her son’s partner, Richard (Ben Whishaw), wants to help her, even though he’s going through his own grief, something that’s complicated not just by the language barrier but also because Junn didn’t know her child was gay (or perhaps she did know but was in denial). Richard’s remembrance of his lover revolves around his gentle coaxing of him to come out, so that perhaps Junn can come and live with them, something he hopes will assuage the guilt he knows Kai feels. Now he still wants to help Junn, but she’s not sure she wants his help, partly because she always disliked him and doesn’t trust him. [Read more…]

Ben Whishaw To Take The Lead In New Gay-Themed BBC Spy Drama

September 20, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Out actor Ben Whishaw is a busy man, but he’s finding time to slot in another role, with The Independent confirming he’ll take the lead role in the five-part drama London Spy. Unusually for what’s being described as a dramatic thriller, he’ll be playing a gay character.

The show is about ‘Danny [Whishaw] is an outgoing and pleasure-seeking romantic who becomes embroiled in the world of British espionage after falling for the enigmatic Alex.

‘But when Alex disappears, Danny must decide whether he is prepared to find out what has happened to him.’

The intriguing sounding script comes from openly gay writer Tom Rob Smith, whose novel Child 44 has been turned into a movie starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman, which is due out Spring 2015.

The author comments, “Ben Whishaw is quite simply one of the best actors in the country. It’s an extraordinary privilege, as a writer, to have him play the lead.”

The show will start filming in October, with Whishaw presumably slotting it in before he’s needed on set to play Q in the next James Bond movie, which is set to shoot this winter.

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ACTORS: Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw Talks About The ‘Tension’ Of Coming Out As Gay

August 4, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

James Bond and Cloud Atlas actor Ben Whishaw has never shied away from playing gay or sexually fluid characters, but he’s always kept his private life close to his chest until exactly a year ago today, when his representatives confirmed that he had entered a civil partnership with another man in 2012.

With Whishaw’s film, Lilting, hitting UK cinemas this week, the actor has been talking to The Sunday Times about the difficulties of coming out – something that’s particularly relevant to the movie, where he plays a man grieving for his dead boyfriend, who also has to deal with the fact his partner’s mother never knew her son was gay (you can read our review from the film’s BFI Flare screening here).

Whishaw says of the difficulties of coming out, “It is hard, I applaud anyone who does it. There is so much tension around doing something like that, that maybe you’re not quite thinking rationally. You can say absurd things because you are in a panic.”

Talking of his own experiences coming out to his parents, he says, “I did have to. It’s a phrase I’m not entirely comfortable with, but since it’s the only one we have… My experiences were not dramatic. No walking around the block [which happens in Lilting]. And everyone was surprisingly lovely. I hadn’t anticipated that they would be, but they were.

“I identify with the character in Lilting in as much as I had a lot of fear in doing it for a long time. And who can say what? I’m not sure I know. But it takes courage and people have to do it in their own time, which is a negotiation you see happening in the film.

“It’s hard to have a conversation with people you’ve known your whole life about a very intimate thing. It’s massively weighted with all sorts of stuff, whatever the wider world is saying… It’s an intimate and private and difficult conversation for most people.”

Whishaw still has no wish to be an open book, as he still doesn’t like to discuss the specific of his own relationship with Mark Bradshaw

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ACTORS: Ben Whishaw FILMS: Lilting

Out Actor Ben Whishaw Set To Replace Colin Firth As The Voice Of Paddington

July 18, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

When a live action/CG version of the classic character Paddington was announced, Colin Firth was due to voice the bear. He stuck with the project right up until last month, when just five months before release he dropped out, suggesting he didn’t think he could do the bear justice.

Now we know who will replace him, as The Daily Mail says out actor Ben Whishaw has taken over the role.

As it’s just the voice work that’s changing, the movie is still on track to make its November UK release and Christmas US release.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From the producer of Harry Potter and Gravity, Paddington comes to the big screen for the first time in an epic new adventure.

‘Featuring an all-star cast and effects courtesy of award-winning VFX company Framestore, Paddington is THE big family film of Christmas. Voted Best Animated Character at the 2012 British Animation Awards, and adapted from Michael Bond’s beloved books, Paddington follows the comic misadventures of a polite young bear with an endearing talent for comic chaos.

‘But when Paddington catches the eye of a sinister, seductive taxidermist, it isn’t long before his home – and very existence – is under threat.’

You can take a look at the latest trailer – which is obviously minus Whishaw’s voice – here.

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ACTORS: Ben Whishaw, Colin Firth FILMS: Paddington

Lilting (BFI Flare Review)

April 4, 2014 By Scott Elliott Leave a Comment

Starring: Ben Whishaw, Pei Pei Cheng, Morven Christie, Peter Bowles
Director: Hong Khaou
Running Time: 91 mins
Certificate: NR
Release Date: August 8th 2014 (UK Cinemas)

We managed to catch the excellent Lilting for the BFI: Flare: London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival gala, courtesy of American Airlines. And we’re glad we did!

Lilting, written and directed by Cambodian-born (but British resident) Hong Khaou tells the story two people finding each other in the aftermath of a devastating bereavement: A non-English-speaking mother (Cheng) whose only lifeline into an alien and intimidating culture is suddenly severed; and her son Kai’s secret boyfriend Richard (Whishaw), whose world crumbles when the love of his life is so cruelly taken away. Having previously battled him for her son’s love and attention, mother and boyfriend must now come to terms with the reality of life without Kai, and what that means for both of them. [Read more…]

Ben Whishaw, Meryl Streep & Brendan Gleeson Join Suffragette

February 21, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

A great cast is coming together for the women’s rights movie Suffragette as Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff and Samuel West have now been joined by Ben Whishaw, Meryl Streep and Brendan Gleeson have all signed on, according to Screen Daily.

Mullligan takes the central role a young woman who becomes part of the early British feminist movement, battling to get women the vote and engaging in violent acts to bring about change. Meryl Streep is playing small but pivotal role of leegendary suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.

It’s not known exactly who the other actors will play.

Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane) is directing from a screenplay by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, The Invisible Woman). Filming is set to start next week.

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ACTORS: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff, Samuel West, Ben Whishaw, Meryl Streep, Brendan Gleeson DIRECTORS: Sarah Gavron FILMS: Suffragette