Tag: Javier Bardem

  • Review: Dune – Part Two

    Review: Dune – Part Two

    Despite a long-held belief that Dune was unfilmable, Denis Villeneuve proved quite the opposite in 2021. It wasn’t just that previous filmmakers hadn’t understood the premise or had access to the right level of special effects, they perhaps didn’t have the capacity to give the material breathing space. With DUNE: PART TWO, Villeneuve defies the old adage to prove that very good things come in quite large packages.

    Picking up shortly after the events of the first part, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) survives the Harkonnen attack, allying himself with the Fremen of Arrakis to bring down the invaders. Thanks to the machinations of his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Freman leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul and Jessica have been sent to bring about a prophecy. However, warrior – and Paul’s love interest – Chani (Zendaya) sees the prophecy as another tool of oppression.

    Glossu Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista), nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), fails to control the spice production and destroy the last of the free. So, the Baron sends his other nephew Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) to finish the job. From afar, Princess Irulan Corrino (Florence Pugh), the Emperor’s (Christopher Walken) daughter, is convinced of Paul’s survival and prepares her own plans.

    Dune: Part Two (2024)

    From the moment a voice booms “Power over spice is power over all”, Villeneuve immerses audiences completely in his version of this world. There’s no recaps or pandering to an audience with short memories: we’re straight into the desert, running skirmishes against Harkonnen and tripping out on the holy waters of worm juice. This is pure cinematic storytelling of the highest order.

    Yet even with the long running time – at almost three hours, it comes in slightly longer than the first half – there are moments that feel artificially compressed. At one point, there’s a massive build-up to Paul’s trek across the desert, as though it will be his ultimate test. Then it’s kind of over, and he’s in a relationship with Chani. As with Zendaya’s moments in the first film, Pugh feels sandwiched in to establish something that’s not wholly explored here. 

    Which is not to diminish the film’s many accomplishments. The intricacies of building not just a narrative but an entire mythology are daunting for any storyteller. Bringing Herbert’s vision to screen has vexed many filmmakers before Villeneuve, and will no doubt do so again in the next wave of remakes and reimaginings. Still, the boldness of a film that challenges the very foundations of prophecy, religion and holy wars will not be lost on viewers in 2024.

    On a purely audiovisual level, it’s still difficult to say where the practical ends and digital begins. Sure, a giant skull-shaped tank in the middle of a desert isn’t something that exists, but there are moments where it feels just as much art documentary as wholly created. As complex as the story remains, without quite the same level of world building needed, Villeneuve allows himself some visual indulgences. During an arena sequence at House Harkonnen, for example, almost all colour drops from the picture to give audiences a laser focus on the moment. At other times, the climactic moments of worms crashing on the scene are just cool.

    It’s no secret that Villeneuve is planning Dune: Messiah to complete the cinematic trilogy, so we are ultimately left with a story just beginning. Indeed, taken by itself it’s still half a film and must be considered together with Dune at the very least. At the end of the day, DUNE (in its totality) has elevated the notion of what a modern blockbuster can be. If cinema as we know it is prophesied to die out, it’s now up to audiences to read the right signs and demand more like it lest we face an entertainment landscape as barren as Arrakis.

    2024 | USA | DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve | WRITER: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts  | CAST: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS), Warner Bros. Pictures (US) | RUNNING TIME: 165 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 28 February 2024 (Australia)

  • Review: Dune

    Review: Dune

    Frank Herbert’s stories have been on the sci-fi fantasy landscape long enough that everyone at has at least an idea of Dune. Whether it’s the endless swathes of sand or just really big worms, it has influenced countless productions and stories. After Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt, David Lynch’s problematic feature, and an under-budgeted mini-series, the book was largely thought to be unfilmable. At least until now.

    Herbert’s work is sometimes difficult to follow let alone summarise, but here goes nothing. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) moves to the desert planet of Arrakis when his family accepts control of it. The only source of the highly valuable resource known as spice, their arrival results in betrayal, assassination attempts, the prophecy of a religion known as the Bene Gesserit and an almost mystical force that drives Paul towards the native peoples known as the Fremen.

    If Herbert’s novel was a kind of colonialist fantasy, crafting Paul as a white god-king to tribal peoples, then the opening to director Denis Villeneuve’s version aims to establish two things. Firstly, through the narrative voice of Chani (Zendaya) — who Paul sees in prophetic visions — this is a reclamation of the story from the perspective of its fictional native peoples. The other thing that’s apparent is that Villeneuve’s aesthetic vision is a staggeringly beautiful one.

    Dune

    Villenievue is no stranger to iconic sci-fi, having wowed audiences with Arrival and disappointed others with Blade Runner 2049. Yet from the moment DUNE opens, it’s clear there is something a bit different about this outing, carrying with it an almost mythical weight that filled this viewer with unexpected awe. It’s transportive, from the costume designs (that look more than a little Moebius inspired at times, keeping Jodorowsky’s dream alive) to the stunning vistas. Production designer Patrice Vermette achieved this through a combination of large scale sets and effects, crafting something truly immersive.

    DUNE is still a deeply complicated outing, and it’s possible that if you haven’t got some familiarity with the source material you’ll find yourself a wee bit lost at times. The intricate balance between the machinations of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (an almost unrecognisable Stellan Skarsgård) and the will of the Bene Gesserit are hard enough to follow on page let alone in a 156 minute film. It’s still quite the chore here, especially given it only covers part of the book, but when it’s this pretty you’re paying attention the whole time.

    Film Twitter favourite Chalamet brings an excellent balance of boyishness and almost otherworldly grace to his Paul Atreides. Similarly, Rebecca Ferguson is a standout as the Lady Jessica, Paul’s Bene Gesserit mother and consort to Duke Leto (a bearded Oscar Isaac). It’s hard to get a bead on Zendaya’s take on Chani, as the film wraps up before he more significant scenes take place. (One review refers to being ‘Zendaya baited’ given her more visible presence in the publicity). One suspects she’ll be a major player in the next chapter.

    Being in Australia, where the non-festival release date isn’t until December, we already knew that a Part 2 had been greenlit. While one could argue that this is only ‘half a film,’ being armed with the knowledge that this isn’t trying to cram all of Herbert’s tome into a single picture allows us some breathing room. Indeed, it allows us to simply sit back and absorb this as the spectacle that it is.

    SFF 2021

    2021 | USA | DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve | WRITER: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth  | CAST: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS), Warner Bros. Pictures (US) | RUNNING TIME: 156 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 8 November 2021 (SFF), 2 December 2021 (AUS), 21 October 2021 (US)

  • Review: Mother!

    Review: Mother!

    What Darren Aronofsky has done so well in MOTHER! is get to the heart of creation in all of its subjective and emotional shades. It’s frustrating, at times maddening, beautiful, and baffling. So naturally it’s also about unconditional love.

    As such, it begins in flames. Out of the ashes a young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) awakens to the remote country house she and her poet husband (Javier Bardem) have just moved into. The only thing stranger than the arrival of a couple (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) is their unwillingness to leave, and the scores of people who soon join them. That said, this bare-bones description seems barely adequate to cover the totality of Aronsfky’s fable.

    Mother!

    There’s something reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s psychological thrillers inherent in MOTHER! For a long period of time, we observe what is happening onscreen as the potential byproduct of a fractured mind, one clue being Lawrence’s repeated consumption of a mysterious yellow liquid. Just like Repulsion, the building itself appears to mirror Lawrence’s diminishing control over her situation.

    As the allegorical tale progresses, a kind of nightmare logic takes over, where the people Lawrence cares for the most become violent strangers to her. Pfeiffer throws some magnificent shade at Lawrence when the latter suggests some kind of ownership of the house or Bardem. As an audience member, we might want to join Lawrence’s character in screaming frustrated bloody fury at flood of people taking over her space.

    That’s because one can’t control the things you love, no more than a creation can be controlled once it has been birthed into the world. As the notion of time become increasingly elastic, diving deeper into the dream fabric Aronofsky is using to weave his tale, the story is about giving everything to someone who is never truly satisfied with it. “Nothing is ever enough,” says Bardem. “I couldn’t create if it was.” 

    Whether Aronofsky is speaking of himself, to a higher power, or to mothers everywhere remains open to interpretation. If Noah is about the flood narrative of Genesis, then MOTHER! is akin to the creation story. We witness creators delivering their souls to hungry masses, only to watch them destroy it and devour it. Which makes this an incredibly brutal film as well, and will completely divide audiences as to whether Aronfsky has gone too far in pushing his own creations. Whatever the case, it’s unmissable, impossible to look away from, and one of the truly original films of the 21st century.

    [stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US | DIR: Darren Aronofsky | WRITER: Darren Aronofsky | CAST: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer | RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes | DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount (AUS) | RELEASE DATE: 14 September 2017 (AUS)[/stextbox]

  • Beautiful James Jean artwork graces new ‘mother!’ poster

    Beautiful James Jean artwork graces new ‘mother!’ poster

    The unique artwork of James Jean gave rise to the much talked-about first poster for MOTHER!, the upcoming film from Darren Aronofsky. Now Paramount Pictures has sent us the gorgeous companion piece featuring Javier Bardem.

    The Eisner Award winning cover artist of comics such as Fables and The Umbrella Academy, Jean’s work has been seen in multiple commercials and on album cover art, such as the 2006 My Chemical Romance album, The Black Parade. Just last month, we selected Jean’s one-sheet for The Shape of Water as one of the best posters of July.

    If the first poster was about Jennifer Lawrence really putting her heart into it, then this new one is ablaze with possibilities. We live to pun.

    MOTHER! is  in cinemas from 14 September 2017 in Australia. A trailer teaser can also be seen below, with the highly anticipated  full trailer dropping on 8 August.

    Mother! James Jean

  • Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales

    Review: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales

    Shiver our collective timbers, it’s been six years since Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Yet this be a age o’ reboots that we fine patrons of the cinematic arts are livin’ in, and Disney have seen fit to bring a Spring upon this behemoth. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES isn’t a change of course so much as it is a case of steady as she goes, with the franchise proving it is still a few fathoms away from Davy Jones’ Locker.

    Despite being billed as ‘The Final Adventure’ in some promos, the latest installment has all the earmarks of the opposite of that. Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) hunts down myths and legends in pursuit of his cursed father Will (Orlando Bloom). His pursuits lead him in the direction of Trident of Poseidon, the only thing that can lift all the curses of the sea. Before doing so, Henry must track down Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), a captain without a ship who’s also being pursued by the dark forces of the vengeful Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem).

    "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES"..The villainous Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) pursues Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he searches for the trident used by Poseidon..Pictured: Javier Bardem (Captain Salazar)..Film Frame..© Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    The basic concept runs parallel to the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, right down to Jack’s separation from his beloved ship. Pinging between some base-level wordplay and massive set-pieces, such as the one where a building is literally dragged through town, writer Jeff Nathanson (Tower Heist) isn’t going through the motions but he is highly in touch with them. Depp himself is a little bit of a microcosm of this approach, initially feeling like he is parodying his own performance with non sequiturs (“Spaghetti wolf!”) but ultimately settling into the iconic character. An extended bit involving a whirling guillotine is comedy gold. 

    Where the film attempts some departure is in the introduction of a new male lead. Unfortunately for the underwritten Thwaites, his vanilla presence is almost entirely forgettable, but at least this much is consistent with his character’s father. Thankfully the Hermione-esque Carina Smyth (Skins‘ Kaya Scodelario) is a sea breeze of fresh air, mirroring the Keria Knightley role as a strong presence. Touted as an astronomer and a horologist, many a gag is had with the pronunciation of the latter, but this is far more about poking fun of the dimwitted pirates. It’s the villainous Javier Bardem and the surprisingly emotional turn from Geoffrey Rush that ultimately steal the show.

    Much of the charm of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES is in revisiting old friends, and many of the supporting characters (including Kevin McNally as the always wonderful Joshamee Gibbs) are back for the ride. Yet in a film that features cameos from one of The Beatles, and has a massive climactic moment that splits in the ocean in twain, we can forever be grateful that it found time to explore the world of zombie sharks. For that reason alone, the Pirates of the Caribbean series should earn an infinite number of sequels. Given the end-credits stinger, we can probably expect a few more.

    [stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2017 | US | DIR: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | WRITER: Jeff Nathanson | CAST: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin McNally, Geoffrey Rush | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 129 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 25 May 2017 [/stextbox]

  • Universal announces Dark Universe

    Universal announces Dark Universe

    It’s taken decades, but the classic Universal stable of monsters are back under the freshly minted banned of Dark Universe. Following the Australian premiere of The Mummy in Sydney last night, Universal has released the new logo and official universe cast. 

    The Invisible Man and Frankenstein’s Monster will be played by Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem respectively. Even more exciting is the news that Bill Condon will be directing BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the next film in the Dark Universe, due out in February 2019.

    Universal announced that it will not release a Dark Universe film as previously planned for 13 April 2018, and that BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN will instead be the next chapter in a series of movies following next month’s The Mummy.  The actress chosen to play the lead role in Condon’s version of this timeless story will be announced soon. Danny Elfman has composed the score for the new Dark Universe logo below.

    The Universal Monster movies began in the 1920s with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but is best known for the collection of films from the 1930s to the 1950s that starred The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, The Invisible Man, the Wolfman, Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature for the Black Lagoon. Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., and Bela Lugosi are inseparable from these roles.

    Director Condon also made the wonderful Gods and Monsters in 1999, depicting Ian McKellan as an ageing James Whale, the director of the 1930s Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man to name a few.

    Dark Universe stars - The Mummy and Bride of Frankenstein

  • Review: Skyfall

    Review: Skyfall

    A measured and stylish Bond film that takes us back to the very roots of the character and the franchise.

    [stextbox id=”grey” caption=”Skyfall (2012)” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″]

    Skyfall Australian poster

    Director: Sam Mendes

    WriterNeal PurvisRobert WadeJohn Logan

    Runtime: 143 minutes

    Starring: Daniel CraigJudi DenchJavier BardemRalph FiennesNaomie HarrisBérénice Marlohe, Ben WhishawAlbert Finney

    Distributor: Sony

    Country: UK/US

    Rating (?)Highly Recommended (★★★★)

    More info

    [/stextbox]

    In the first four decades of James Bond films, the various filmmakers have taken us on a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous, increasingly upping the ante on explosive mayhem and gadgetry. Indeed, it was at the point where the films had become a parody of themselves that 007 got a post-Bourne refresh and were brought back down to some semblance of reality with Casino Royale (2006) with the introduction of Daniel Craig to the role of Bond. Having now successfully carved out a niche for the series as serious action dramas once again, Skyfall aims it take it up a notch with Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes injecting unexpectedly dark drama into the twenty-third outing of the world’s most famous spy on his fiftieth anniversary.

    On a mission in Turkey to retrieve a stolen data packet containing the details of all of the undercover NATO agents in terrorist organisations, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris) and goes missing, presumed dead. As a result of the leaks, MI6 head M (Judi Dench) comes under fire from the government, with Intelligence and Security Committee Chairman, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) urging her to retire. However, when former MI6 agent Silva (Javier Bardem) attacks the very heart of MI6 in London, Bond comes in from the cold to fight once more as a solider of the British Empire. Yet like M, he begins to struggle with his place within a modern world, wondering if he still has what it takes to hunt in the shadows.

    Thoroughly and unapologetically British, Skyfall mostly takes place within the borders of the Queen’s domain, apart from three particularly spectacular sequences in Turkey, Shanghai and Macau. It’s part of a broader approach of stripping Bond back to his most basic elements, from his love of Empire to his old-fashioned nature in a world of modern espionage. It’s not the first time that Bond’s relevance in the 21st century has been questioned, but it may be the first time since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) that somebody has asked what would happen if Bond was stripped elements at his core. More than this, it forcibly knocks out the rarefied air that the Bond films have breathed for the last fifty years, ensuring that not just Bond but the whole MI6 organisation has to become accountable to the real world. In the light of some very recent scandals in British and America spy politics, this firmly grounds Skyfall within reality, just as Casino Royale set out to do over half a decade ago. While the film skirts dangerously close to making it seem a little too procedural at times, screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan (two-thirds of whom co-wrote Craig’s first two Bond outings) keep the film above water by using this reality to heighten the dramatic tension.

    Daniel Craig;Javier Bardem in SKYFALL

    On the opposite end of the scale is Bardem’s villain, delightfully scene-chewing and practically cat-stroking his way through one of the more outlandish Bond villains of the modern era, a deformed mix of Hannibal Lecter and allegedly Bond’s own historical villain Jaws (Richard Kiel). With a hairstyle only rivalled by his singular coif in No Country For Old Men (2007), his Silva gleefully tells Bond that “Mummy has been very bad” while making sexual advances on the captive 00 agent. Indeed, this is a well-rounded cast, where even the smallest of parts makes a significant contribution to the whole, and in some cases sets up future developments for the series. Fiennes’ minor antagonist makes several dramatic changes throughout the film, surprising. The new Q (Ben Whishaw) is ideally cast as a young tech-geek, making a clear break from the befuddled quartermasters before him. Bond girls come in the typically feisty (Harris) and fatale (Bérénice Marlohe) variety, and for once are there for the overall betterment of the narrative.

    For long-time Bond fans, there are many rewards to be found in the deliberately delayed final act. In many ways, it is a distinct entity from the rest of the film, taking place almost entirely in Scotland and giving the film a clear line-of-sight to Sean Connery. The film characteristically lurches from high-concept to the slicker demands of suits and cocktail parties. Yet as Skyfall works its way to a DIY siege in the final reels, Mendes and his team prove that Bond still has a few surprises up his tuxedo sleeve after all these years.

    Skyfall is released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.

  • Two New Trailers for Skyfall Arrive

    Two New Trailers for Skyfall Arrive

    Skyfall poster officialComing Soon and Sony have released new US and international (Australian) trailer respectively for the latest James Bond film, Skyfall. In them, we get our first look at a blonde Anton Chigurh…er…Javier Bardem as the new Bond villain Silva. Sony has also sent us a hi-res photo of Bardem in character.

    Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, and is joined by Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Helen McCrory, Ola Rapace and Tonia Sotiropoulou.

    Skyfall will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.

    [jwplayer config=”Custom Player” mediaid=”72123″]

    Australian Trailer:

    Javier Bardem - Skyfall

  • Video: Skyfall Cast and Filmmakers Arrive On Location in Istanbul

    Video: Skyfall Cast and Filmmakers Arrive On Location in Istanbul

    Source: Press release

    Skyfall (Bond 23 ) posterDaniel Craig and cast and filmmakers of Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time, have arrived in Istanbul, Turkey.  Their arrival marks the third time a James Bond adventure has filmed in the historic city.  Previously, Istanbul served as a backdrop for scenes in From Russia With Love and The World Is Not Enough.  Skyfall locations in Turkey include Adana, Fethiye and Istanbul.  At a photo call and press conference today to mark the occasion were producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, director Sam Mendes, and cast members Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, and Ola Rapace.

    In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.  As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

    Skyfall is from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.  2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary motion picture franchise.

    Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions presents Daniel Craig as Ian Fleming’s James Bond in Skyfall.  The film also stars Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw, with Albert Finney and Judi Dench as ‘M.’  Directed by Sam Mendes.  Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.  Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan.  Director of Photography is Roger Deakins, ASC BSC.  Production Designer is Dennis Gassner.  Editor is Stuart Baird, A. C. E.  Costume Designer is Jany Temime.   The film will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in Australia on November 22, 2012.

  • Bond 23 Skyfall Officially launched

    Bond 23 Skyfall Officially launched

    Skyfall (Bond 23 ) posterThis morning EON Productions, MGM and Sony held a press conference in London to officially announce the start of Bond 23, and reveal its official title as Skyfall.

    In addition to the title, Craig confirmed his love of the series (“Bond with a capital B”) and said that he could do it for a few more years, and Barbara Broccoli confirmed that “Yes, definitely” he would be around for that period.

    Sam Mendes, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe also discuss their roles in the film.

    Bond 23 will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.

    The video of the press conference can be found below:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIchuaYT_ac

    The official press release reads as follows:

    Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today presented the cast of the 23rd James Bond adventure, entitled SKYFALL. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. SKYFALL, which goes into production on Monday, November 7th, will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in North America on November 9th 2012.

    Joining Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Director Sam Mendes were members of the cast of SKYFALL, including: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe. The filmmakers also announced Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw.

    In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

    “We’re so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct SKYFALL and be working once again with Daniel Craig. We’ve a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure,” said Wilson and Broccoli.

    The Director of Photography is Roger Deakins, a nine-time Oscar® nominee who previously shot the films Jarhead and Revolutionary Road for Mendes. The Production Designer is Oscar® winner Dennis Gassner, who previously designed Quantum of Solace and collaborated with Mendes on the films Road to Perdition and Jarhead. The Editor is Stuart Baird, A.C.E., whose many credits include Casino Royale. Jany Temime, whose many credits include the Harry Potter series, In Bruges, and Children of Men, is the Costume Designer. Action specialist Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Gary Powell is Stunt Co-ordinator, Chris Corbould is SFX Supervisor and Steve Begg is Visual Effects Supervisor, all of whom have worked on previous Bond films.