So, you guys see any good movies lately? Haha, of course not, it cost three days worth of food rations to afford a movie ticket these days, eh comrade? And what's the deaaaal with movie popcorn?
But at least some people in this country have made it out recession proof, as evidenced by the fact that the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace did way better in the box office than any other Bond film, ever.
That means blond, craggy-faced Daniel Craig did better than Sean Connery's 007. Even with that stupid title of this film and all the obvious marketing tie-ins.
We already knew QoS was doing well overseas, where it's been out since Halloween and already made $322 million. That's like…Dark Knight money. And over here, it's already garnered $70 million in American dollars, $30 more than Casino Royale did.
So as it turns out there is less of a gender inequality than we originally thought: blonds have more fun, regardless of how big their breasts are.
Take a look at the top ten box office grosses this weekend right now. Thankfully, Beverly Hills Chihuahua is finally off that list (barely), but what do we have? Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Saw V, High School Musical 3, and overseas the new James Bond film is killing it.
What does that tell you? In a time where the Academy and Emmy boards are recognizing great films and television that no one is watching, people will still shell out that hard-earned money they've been hoarding on a franchise they trust. Much in the way people have stopped eating out except for McDonalds, this period of economic strife is not being too kind to the original film, as people would rather not gamble on a movie that's not a sure bet.
That being said, Madagascar 2 is supposed to be pretty good, and was written by Etan Cohen (not to be confused with Ethan Cohen), one of the guys who wrote Tropic Thunder.
The Ingredients:
• MTV's sometimes-redemptive, voyeuristic guilty-pleasure, Made
• Ford Motors
• James Bond: Quantum of Solace
Put 'em in a pot and what do you got? A corporate marketer's wet dream:
CONTINUED »
Black, white and red all over musician Jack White is reportedly upset that "Another Way to Die," the Bond theme he recorded with songstress Alicia Keys, was co-opted by Coca Cola for use in a series of Coke Zero commercials. Coke is temporarily rebranding Coke Zero as Coke Zero Zero 7 in order to promote Quantum of Solace, which premieres October 29, and White just can't stand this deception!
In a statement released Monday, White says he is "disappointed," adding that "Another Way" was "not for Coca Cola." Coke spokespeople have yet to respond, as they're having difficulty hearing Jack from their golden lounge chairs on top of their Scrooge McDuck piles of money.
No word yet on what sort of moral dance White did to arrive at the idea that it's OK to sell out to MGM but not Coke.
In the meantime, laugh at White getting a taste of his own, bitter medicine, as Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher is currently telling any British press person who will listen that it's a "pisstake" that a movie about a great British spy is being soundtracked by "a bunch of fucking Americans."
Amy Winehouse, who, when not delivering racist raps or disappearing into a crack den can earn $1 million for a single Louis Vuitton gig or $2 million for performing for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, will earn $0 from the new James Bond movie. Last month, friend and producer Mark Ronson said Winehouse wasn't available to record the title track for the new Quantum of Solace and that he wouldn't be working with her. Now the honor goes to Leona Lewis, who in 2006 won the UK's The X Factor singing competition, and who does not walk around public streets in only a bra or sport visible track marks.
The new James Bond sci-fi novel Devil May Care not only moved a very respectable 44,093 copies in its first four days of release in the UK, but it's become Penguin's fastest-selling fiction title ever. [BBC] (By comparison, Tom Clancy and Nick Hornby have sold about 11,500 copies in their first four days.) Sure, you can thank the publisher's PR department and un-ending interest in the franchise for moving so many units, but we'd like to think it all had to do with these awesome advertisements: CONTINUED »
Daniel Craig is an expert at looking handsome in a tuxedo and stripping down to squarecuts on the beach. He should also be a life coach, because he seems to be the only one trying to reach out to Amy Winehouse to put a shirt on over her bra and get her act together to record the new James Bond theme song. And by "reaching out," we mean "delivering niceties in the press," like so: "It would be amazing if she could, she's got an amazing voice and would blend herself beautifully to this. But…we'll see." [BBC] At the very least, producers could bestow her with a clever, pun-y name, like "Beehive Urself." Or "Heroin Addict."
"Work on a possible James Bond film theme has been abandoned because singer Amy Winehouse is not ready to make music, producer Mark Ronson has said.
"The Brit award winner told Sky News that 'unless by some miracle of science it gets recorded and someone sings a vocal,' the song would not materialise." [BBC]
How ever could she not be ready to make music? Ronson's citing creative differences and Amy not yet finished recording her own music. We're citing this: CONTINUED »
Sean Connery is having some problems with his neighbor about their shared upper East Side townhouse roof, blah blah blah. The real story here is how many times the Daily News mentions that the actor was the first James Bond: CONTINUED »
Most of you naysayers who poo-pooed Daniel Craig's blonde Bond shut your mouths after you saw him walk out of the ocean in a square cut swim trunk. Now Sony would like to casually remind you that Craig's Casino Royale just notched $300 million in worldwide ticket sales, making it the best-selling James Bond flick to date.
But with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ having topped that number domestically – and soared past the $600 million mark worldwide – it remains comforting to know we still prefer to see a man tortured naked on a cross than to see a man tortued naked in a seatless chair.
And suddenly, producers knew Daniel Craig was right for James Bond.
• While Daniel Craig may have nearly locked in the James Bond spot, it's not definite. What is definite? That he's making Sienna Miller scream louder than Jude Law ever could. [R&M]
• So much for Anna Anisimova's dreams of becoming a better looking Donald Trump. Her plans to trash Diane von Furstenberg's former West 12th Street HQ (for which she paid $23 million) to build a 150-foot condo complex got the kabash when the city council sided with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, capping building heights at 100 feet. Though there's always a Hamptons summer to make headlines again. [Page Six]
• Katie Holmes' dad Martin is about as pleased with her as Brooke Shields is with Tom Cruise, sounding off on his daughter and movie star fiance about their shotgun wedding. Meanwhile, the duo's uber-handler Lee Ann DeVette is asking parishioners at Katie's families Christ the King Church not to speak to reporters. [The Scoop]
• Rush Limbaugh feels left out of yesterday's Top 10 Ubersexuals list, which explains his running his mouth over Bono landing the No. 1 slot despite Rush's claims of the U2 frontman having a mistress. [Page Six]
• Donny Deutsch finally admits what we've known all along. It's an "ego trip" to do his low rated CNBC show The Big Idea, and he wrote his latest book because "seeing your name on a book is really a big f - - - - - - deal." [Cindy Adams]
• Apprentice wanna-be Raj Bhakta is venturing into politics. The bow tie wearing, babe chasing former contestant is considering running for Congress in the 13 th District in Fort Washington. Even if The Donald won't endorse him, maybe he can meet some cute campaign workers to hit on. Or at least a receptionist. [R&M]
• Paris Hilton may have broke up with Paris Latsis on the phone with new beau Stavros Niarchos listening in, but it's the new Greek shipping heir that's laughing last: he's "just having fun" with the heiress. [Page Six]
• We're really not sure what's going on with Michael Jackson's legal woes (something about missing a deadline to file a multi-million dollar counter claim), but we do know he's still hot for young boys with smooth bodies. [Fox 411 & R&M]
• After an 18-month search for the new James Bond after Pierce Brosnan's $20-plus million dollar salary demands, producers went with 37-year-old Daniel Craig rather than Colin Farrell or Ewan McGregor. [This Is London]
• Boy George didn't exactly make an effort to prematurely defend himself from his recent cocaine charges, neglecting to set the record straight on his sobriety. Not that the Howard Stern show is the best place to do that. [R&M]
• There will be no diamond-encrusted bra to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, as Britney Spears decided to pull the item from her eBay charity auction so nobody is "misled" into thinking it's something that it's not. That is, she wore it during her HBO special, not her … Baby One More Time video. [AP]
• Heath Ledger enjoyed kissing Jake Gyllenhaal about as much as Al Reynolds enjoys kissing Star Jones. [NYP]
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