Here’s one last “new” Beatles video before Friday’s release of the “1+1” box set. This is a beautiful version of “We Can Work it Out.” While we’re bathing Beatles memories, check out the “Let it Be…Naked” CD as well as the individual “Hey Jude” album, each of which is available on amazon and iTunes. They’re not part of the regular American Beatles collection, but so important to the history.
Helen Mirren at “Trumbo” Premiere: “I Wasn’t Big Enough to be Phone Hacked!”
Dame Helen Mirren moves through Jay Roach’s “Trumbo” as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper like a viper dancing to cool jazz music. She’s completely evil and delicious and you love her. At the star studded after party for “Trumbo” last night at Villagio on Central Park South, the subject of British phone hacking came up in regard to privacy and gossip. Was Dame Helen hacked? “Me?” she cried. “I wish! I’m not big enough for them!” she laughed.
Mirren was joined at the premiere by her director husband Taylor Hackford (who’s about to start shooting “The Comedian” with Robert DeNiro and Jennifer Aniston), as well as “Trumbo” stars Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Louis CK, and Michael Stuhlbarg, plus the amazing Tony Bennett, Dana Delany (shimming in silver), Julie Taymor, actress singer Ilene Kristen, director Richard La Gravenese, Steve Kroft and Jenny Conant, Broadway’s Nikki L. James, Alex Gibney, famed author Victor Navasky (“Naming Names”), philanthropist Jean Shafiroff, and our old pal Kathie Berlin.
Diane Lane brought her beautiful 22 year old daughter Eleanor Lambert (father is Christopher Lambert aka Greystoke), who was star struck meeting Cranston. Does she want to be an actor, I asked the stunning Lane? “No, I think she wants to be a journalist,” Diane said. (“I’ll talk her out of that,” I responded.)
Cranston– exceptional as the crusading Trumbo– is so full of projects he can barely see straight. The former Dr. Tim Watley from “Seinfeld” has his “All the Way” LBJ movie at HBO with “Trumbo” director Jay Roach, a new series on Amazon, a movie he’s just made directed by James Franco, another he’s making co-starring Franco, and Wes Anderson’s new animated film.
Trumbo spent a lot of time in the bathtub writing scripts, which Cranston has replicated with director Jay Roach’s help. Was it cold? Was their shrinkage?
“What? No, haha,” Cranston said. “They kept filling the tub with warm water. It went on for hours and hours.”
Dalton Trumbo, if you don’t know, was the Oscar winning screenwriter of “Roman Holiday,” “The Brave Ones,” “Spartacus,” and dozens of other films– dozens and dozens, he was very prolific. But in the early 1950s he was blacklisted by the House Unamerican Activities Committee because he was a Communist.
For a decade he couldn’t use his own name on scripts, and neither could many other screenwriters. So Trumbo organized a group that wrote under pseudonyms while the famous Red Scare and witch hunt of the 50s dragged on, and destroyed lives. Trumbo is also known as the author of the searing 1938 anti-war novel, “Johnny Got His Gun,” which was required reading in the late 60s and early 70s when young people read books other than “Twilight.” (The 1971 movie is worth watching on amazon.)
The Blacklist affected thousands who aren’t portrayed in the film including later Oscar winner Lee Grant, Tony winner Zero Mostel, and lots of actors and crew on TV and in theater whose faces you might know better than their names. Lives were destroyed. Among those depicted in the film are the famed actor Edward G. Robinson, who named names but still suffered. Michael Stuhlbarg does a beautiful job portraying Robinson’s agony and decline. “Trumbo” also has beautiful work from John Goodman, Elle Fanning, Alan Tudyk, John Getz, Roger Bart, David James Elliott, Richard Portnow, Stephen Root, and Dean O’Gorman as a spot-on Kirk Douglas.
Music Mess as iTunes Discounts Adele, Carrie Underwood, Versus Bieber, One Direction
It’s hard to measure what’s actually number 1 when everything is a different price.
On the pop charts, pricing is now an issue as all the top hits are being offered at wildly conflicting ranges.
For example: iTunes has pumped up sales of Carrie Underwood’s new album by discounting it to an incredible $5.99. The result is that “Storyteller” is number 3 on the iTunes charts. Who wouldn’t buy something for $5.99 just to see what it is? That’s what albums sold for 40 years ago. “Storyteller” is also at that price (for download) at amazon.
Meanwhile, Adele’s forthcoming “25” album is ranked as the number 1 album on both iTunes, where it’s selling for $10.99, and amazon, where it’s the same price for the download and but only $9.99 for the CD, which you could buy and then upload into a computer for free. That’s four dollars off the basic list price. It’s also four dollars cheaper than the deluxe edition of One Direction’s “Made in the AM,” which is at number 6 on iTunes awaiting release next Friday, and two dollars less than Justin Bieber’s “Purpose,” currently second to Adele.
So what’s doing better? The deep discounted albums or the highly price ones? Over at amazon, the Beatles’ new “1+1” box set, selling for $50.98, is at number 4 among their physical CDs. (It’s worth it.)
And who’s eating the cost of these discounts? The record companies take the hit to stimulate sales and chart position. But there’s no parity, just a free-for-all on the charts.
“Riverdance” Star Michael Flatley–Chicago Born– Gives Up U.S. Citizenship
Michael Flatley was born in Chicago, Illinois. But he’s most closely associated with Ireland, as he heads up the Riverdance troupe that’s famous all over the world. But I can tell you exclusively that Flatley has given up his U.S. citizenship according to the latest report from the Federal Register dated October 27, 2015.
Keep refreshing…
There was speculation two years ago that Flatley had turned back his U.S. citizenship for a British passport. He already has an Irish passport, according to reports.
Flatley, who’s said to be worth around $400 million, has a six story townhouse in Knightsbridge, London. He also owns a home in Ireland. Michael Jackson hid out with Flatley in 2006 after ripping off the prince of Bahrain and before returning to the U.S.
Many people probably think Flatley is already Irish. But he is American. He just doesn’t want to be anymore. It’s likely too expensive for some one with good dance moves.
Here’s the People’s Choice Awards Long List of Meaningless Nominations
Here’s the long, meaningless list of nominees for People’s Choice Awards. These are the lowest of the low. The whole thing is arranged in advance, and only “winners” show up. This is so Hollywood old school, it’s breathtaking. But it’s right after New Year’s, everyone’s groggy, and someone will show up and give a scripted speech. The whole is such a joke–and so cynical. So many categories. I especially like “Favorite Monday Night Show at 8pm” and “Best Actress in a Comedy Whose Name Starts with a T.” The actors and publicists all know how much nonsense this is. The audience remains happily clueless. Ignorance is bliss. Jane Lynch is hosting this year. She used to be so much fun and jaundiced, especially in those Christopher Guest movies. How can she keep a straight face? We’ll see, I guess.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2016 Nominees:
MOVIES
Favorite Movie
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Furious 7
Inside Out
Jurassic World
Pitch Perfect 2
Favorite Movie Actor
Channing Tatum
Chris Pratt
Johnny Depp
Robert Downey Jr.
Will Smith
Favorite Movie Actress
Anne Hathaway
Melissa McCarthy
Meryl Streep
Sandra Bullock
Scarlett Johansson
Favorite Action Movie
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The Divergent Series: Insurgent
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
Favorite Action Movie Actor
Chris Hemsworth
Chris Pratt
Dwayne Johnson
Robert Downey Jr.
Vin Diesel
Favorite Action Movie Actress
Charlize Theron
Emily Blunt
Michelle Rodriguez
Scarlett Johansson
Shailene Woodley
Favorite Animated Movie Voice
Adam Sandler (“Hotel Transylvania 2”)
Amy Poehler (“Inside Out”)
Rihanna (“Home”)
Sandra Bullock (“Minions”)
Selena Gomez (“Hotel Transylvania 2”)
Favorite Comedic Movie
The DUFF
Pitch Perfect 2
Spy
Ted 2
Trainwreck
Favorite Comedic Movie Actor
Jack Black
Kevin Hart
Mark Wahlberg
Robert De Niro
Will Ferrell
Favorite Comedic Movie Actress
Amy Schumer
Anna Kendrick
Melissa McCarthy
Rebel Wilson
Sofia Vergara
Favorite Dramatic Movie
The Age of Adaline
Fifty Shades of Grey
The Longest Ride
The Martian
Straight Outta Compton
Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor
Channing Tatum
George Clooney
Johnny Depp
Matt Damon
Will Smith
Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress
Blake Lively
Dakota Johnson
Jennifer Lopez
Kate Winslet
Rachel McAdams
Favorite Family Movie
Cinderella
Home
Hotel Transylvania 2
Inside Out
Minions
Favorite Thriller Movie
The Boy Next Door
Insidious: Chapter 3
Poltergeist
Taken 3
Unfriended
TV
Favorite TV Show
The Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Grey’s Anatomy
The Voice
The Walking Dead
Favorite Network TV Comedy
2 Broke Girls
The Big Bang Theory
Mike & Molly
Modern Family
New Girl
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
Andy Samberg
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jim Parsons
Johnny Galecki
Matthew Perry
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
Anna Faris
Kaley Cuoco
Melissa McCarthy
Sofía Vergara
Zooey Deschanel
Favorite Network TV Drama
Empire
Gotham
Grey’s Anatomy
How To Get Away With Murder
Scandal
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
Jesse Williams
Justin Chambers
Scott Foley
Taylor Kinney
Terrence Howard
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
Ellen Pompeo
Kerry Washington
Sara Ramirez
Taraji P. Henson
Viola Davis
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
Baby Daddy
Faking It
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Real Husbands of Hollywood
Young & Hungry
Favorite Cable TV Drama
Bates Motel
The Fosters
Pretty Little Liars
Rizzoli & Isles
Suits
Favorite Cable TV Actor
Adam DeVine
Christian Slater
Eric Dane
Kevin Hart
Taye Diggs
Favorite Cable TV Actress
Ashley Benson
Hilary Duff
Lucy Hale
Sasha Alexander
Shay Mitchell
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
Girls
Homeland
Masters of Sex
Shameless
Veep
Favorite Premium Cable TV Actor
Dwayne Johnson
Joshua Jackson
Justin Theroux
Matt LeBlanc
Nick Jonas
Favorite Premium Cable TV Actress
Claire Danes
Emmy Rossum
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Kristen Bell
Lisa Kudrow
Favorite TV Crime Drama
Bones
Castle
Criminal Minds
NCIS
Person of Interest
Favorite TV Crime Drama Actor
Jim Caviezel
LL Cool J
Mark Harmon
Nathan Fillion
Shemar Moore
Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress
Emily Deschanel
Lucy Liu
Mariska Hargitay
Pauley Perrette
Stana Katic
Favorite Network TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show
Arrow
Beauty and the Beast
Once Upon a Time
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
Favorite Cable TV Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show
American Horror Story
Game of Thrones
Outlander
Teen Wolf
The Walking Dead
Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
David Tennant
Ian Somerhalder
Jensen Ackles
Misha Collins
Sam Heughan
Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress
Caitriona Balfe
Emilia Clarke
Ginnifer Goodwin
Jennifer Morrison
Lady Gaga
Favorite Competition TV Show
America’s Got Talent
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing with the Stars
MasterChef
The Voice
Favorite Daytime TV Host
Dr. Oz
Ellen DeGeneres
Rachael Ray
Steve Harvey
Wendy Williams
Favorite Daytime TV Hosting Team
Good Morning America
Live with Kelly and Michael
The Talk
Today
The View
Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host
Conan O’Brien
James Corden
Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Kimmel
Stephen Colbert
Favorite Streaming Series
House of Cards
The Mindy Project
Orange is the New Black
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Favorite Actor In A New TV Series
Chace Crawford
John Stamos
Josh Peck
Rob Lowe
Zachary Levi
Favorite Actress In A New TV Series
Emma Roberts
Jamie Lee Curtis
Lea Michele
Marcia Gay Harden
Priyanka Chopra
Favorite Animated TV Show
American Dad!
Bob’s Burger
Family Guy
The Simpsons
South Park
Favorite New TV Comedy
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Dr. Ken
Grandfathered
The Grinder
Life in Pieces
The Muppets
Scream Queens
Truth Be Told
Favorite New TV Drama
Blindspot
Blood & Oil
Code Black
Heroes Reborn
Limitless
Minority Report
The Player
Quantico
Rosewood
Supergirl
Wicked City
MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist
Ed Sheeran
Justin Bieber
Luke Bryan
Nick Jonas
The Weeknd
Favorite Female Artist
Demi Lovato
Lana Del Rey
Madonna
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift
Favorite Group
Fall Out Boy
Fifth Harmony
Imagine Dragons
Maroon 5
One Direction
Favorite Breakout Artist
Fetty Wap
Halsey
Shawn Mendes
Tori Kelly
The Weeknd
Favorite Male Country Artist
Blake Shelton
Brad Paisley
Dierks Bentley
Keith Urban
Luke Bryan
Favorite Female Country Artist
Carrie Underwood
Cassadee Pope
Kacey Musgraves
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Favorite Country Group
The Band Perry
Florida Georgia Line
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Zac Brown Band
Favorite Pop Artist
Demi Lovato
Ed Sheeran
Kelly Clarkson
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift
Favorite Hip-Hop Artist
Big Sean
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Nicki Minaj
Wiz Khalifa
Favorite R&B Artist
Chris Brown
Ciara
Janet Jackson
Ne-Yo
The Weeknd
Favorite Album
American Beauty / American Psycho by Fall Out Boy
Beauty Behind the Madness by The Weeknd
If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late by Drake
Smoke + Mirrors by Imagine Dragons
Title by Meghan Trainor
Favorite Song
“Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar
“Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd
“Love Me Like You Do” by Ellie Goulding
“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth
“What Do You Mean?” by Justin Bieber
Favorite Music Icon
Madonna
Paul McCartney
Prince
Steven Tyler
Stevie Wonder
DIGITAL
Favorite Social Media Celebrity
Anna Kendrick
Beyoncé
Britney Spears
Dwayne Johnson
Taylor Swift
Favorite Social Media Star
Cameron Dallas
Frankie Grande
Lele Pons
Matt Bellassai
Nash Grier
Favorite Mobile Game
Candy Crush Saga
Despicable Me: Minion Rush
Fruit Ninja
Plants vs. Zombies
Temple Run
Favorite Video Game
Batman: Arkham Knight
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Grand Theft Auto V
Minecraft
Super Smash Bros.
Favorite YouTube Star
Connor Franta
Grace Helbig
Jenna Marbles
Miranda Sings
Tyler Oakley
The DailyMail.com Seriously Popular™ Award
Bella Thorne
Cara Delevingne
Kylie Jenner
Maddie Ziegler
Ruby Rose
Monty Python’s Eric Idle, John Cleese Among Performers Set for Mike Nichols Memorial
Sunday update: About 300 to 400 invited celebrities will pack the lobby of Barry Diller’s IAC building on West 18th St. and the West Side Highway around 6pm. I’m told a lot of people didn’t get invites and aren’t happy. (Ours was apparently lost in the mail.) This is all so odd. A proper Nichols memorial should have been held in a Broadway theater or at Lincoln Center. And why did it take a year to do anything at all?
EXCLUSIVE I told you some time ago about the planned memorial for beloved director Mike Nichols.
The memorial is set for this Sunday, November 8th. Nichols would have turned 84 this Friday. He died last year on November 19th.
Since I wrote about it, Elaine May has been added to the list of hosts that includes Barry Diller, Bryan Lourd, and Lorne Michaels.
Now I’m told that Monty Python’s Eric Idle and John Cleese will perform at the gathering. Idle and Cleese, of course, were associated with Mike through their Tony winning collaboration on the Broadway hit “Spamalot.” You can imagine the whole crowded guest list singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” at the end of the gathering.
Sunday’s event was originally going to be held in a restaurant. But I hear the guest list got out of hand, and now it’s in a bigger space. I’m reluctant to give out the location so I don’t cause a stampede. Guests should include Mike’s widow Diane Sawyer and friends like Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Carly Simon, Nathan Lane, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman (from the movie “Closer”), Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and so on. There will be readings and other music.
All in all, it sounds like a nice celebration of Mike’s life. Bravo!
Leah Remini Balked at Scientology Giving Out Free Turkeys at Thanksgiving Stuffed with Propaganda
So far my favorite episode from Leah Remini’s “Troublemaker.” She writes about the millions of dollars she was conned into donating to “the church.” The asks for money, Remini writes, were “relentless.” Remini was punished or criticized when she asked what happened to the money.
At one point she puts her foot down about community outreach. This is what happens:
““We came up with this,” one self-satisfied Scientologist told me. “We’re handing out turkeys with a Way to Happiness book.”
“First of all, the idea that you think anyone needs your fucking turkey is condescending. But on top of that, you have the balls to stuff it with The Way to Happiness?”
The entire room went quiet. I knew they were shocked not only by how I was talking to them but also because I thought their idea was terrible. In turn, I was angry not only because their idea was shitty but also because they didn’t know it was a shitty idea. As I had felt many times before, I wished these Scientologists had better human technology.
“I’m out,” I said. In the aftermath of that meeting, the group working on the new org begged me to go to the opening. David Miscavige personally requested that I be there, and there would be hell to pay for everyone if I didn’t show up. But they wouldn’t back down on their turkey-and-booklet plan, so I compromised. I agreed to attend the opening but said I would only sit there.
“I’m not speaking, because I don’t want to be part of this org.” (They picked me up at my house, probably just to make sure I actually went.)”
The book is out today. I bought it on Kindle-Amazon. And it’s just about as satisfying a report on Scientology and all the things we’ve heard about it over the years as you could find. Bravo, Leah.
Leah Remini Explains Scientology’s “Billion Year Contract” and Tom Cruise’s Fake Girlfriend
In “Troublemaker,” Leah Remini’s expose of life in the cult of Scientology, you will find many crazy episodes and passages.
Here’s one. Read it very carefully. She and her sister Nicole signed “billion year contracts” with the cult. Yes, that’s right. Billion year contracts.
“After we signed our billion-year contracts, Nicole and I were put on the EPF, or Estates Project Force, part of the basic Sea Org training for new recruits. It was a lot like boot camp. All EPFers spent twelve hours a day doing hard labor, like pulling up tree roots with our bare hands, working heavy machinery on the grounds of the Fort Harrison and the Sandcastle, or cleaning bathrooms and hotel rooms.
Then for two and a half hours each day, we would do the basic courses for the EPF, in which you learned the Sea Org policies and rules and what it meant to be a member. We were all given detailed check sheets, which listed all the actions we needed to take in order to complete each course. The first course being how to study Scientology.”
Remini also goes into new details about Tom Cruise’s fake girlfriend, Nazanin Boniadi, who was handpicked for the actor and then dispensed with when she wasn’t needed.
This is what happened to Boniadi when Cruise and crew were done with her:
“Tommy [Davis, celebrity wrangler and son of actress Anne Archer] told Naz that he briefed Tom and told him that Naz was being handled. She was then quickly demoted to living in a cheaper motel, away from Cruise’s environment, and subjected to doing four months of menial labor, including tasks such as digging ditches and cleaning public toilets with a toothbrush.
Eventually she was promoted to selling Dianetics books on the streets of Tampa. Better, but still humiliating. All the while she was being deprogrammed with security checks and the PTS/ SP course. She wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone, particularly her Scientology friends, since she was considered a traitor. She was not allowed to go anywhere alone unless escorted by either church security, ethics staff, or a representative of Flag’s President’s Office. And if you ask the church, they will deny that these practices exist or that people are punished at all.
And if you ask the church, they will deny that these practices exist or that people are punished at all. One day, while being escorted to do amends, Naz saw a friend and fellow actress, Marisol Nichols. Naz smiled and said hello, but Marisol turned her back to Naz and walked off. Naz asked her escort why she would do something like that, and the woman’s response was “Why wouldn’t she? You just got done scrubbing toilets. What makes you think you have anything to talk about with a successful Scientologist like that? You have nothing in common.”
Naz had started to believe that perhaps she was as evil as they were suggesting. After all, this was her religion and they were telling her she had committed the ultimate sin of betraying Tom. Naz found her faith being tested because she couldn’t reconcile any of any of these practices her church had appeared to be behind.
But she mainly complied because her mother was still a Scientologist at the time and would have been forced to disconnect if she didn’t remain in good standing with the church. Naz’s mom, like many Scientologists, said to her daughter, “Naz, please just do what they ask and get through your punishment.” Naz’s house, as well as her mother’s house, were visited by church officials and anything Tom had ever given her— pictures of the two of them together, gifts given to her by Bella and Connor, anything of their lives together— was removed.”
Leah Remini Publishes Defense Against Scientology Retribution: All Her Family Secrets
Leah Remini knows Scientology will come after her for writing “Troublemaker” and telling what goes on in the cult.
Cleverly, she prepares against retribution with this opening salvo in the book, which is published today:
“Let me start with this: I am an apostate. I have lied. I have cheated. I have done things in my life that I am not proud of, including but not limited to: • falling in love with a married man nineteen years ago • being selfish and self-centered • fighting with virtually everyone I have ever known (via hateful emails, texts, and spoken words) • physically threatening people (from parking ticket meter maids to parents who hit their kids in public) • not showing up at funerals of people I loved (because I don’t deal well with death) • being, on occasion, a horrible daughter, mother, sister, aunt, stepmother, wife (this list goes on and on). The same goes for every single person in my family: • My husband, also a serial cheater, sold drugs when he was young.”
She adds:
“Why am I revealing all this? Because after the Church of Scientology gets hold of this book, it may well spend an obscene amount of money running ads, creating websites, and trotting out celebrities to make public statements that their religious beliefs are being attacked— all in an attempt to discredit me by disparaging my reputation and that of anyone close to me. So let me save them some money. There is no shortage of people who would be willing to say “Leah can be an asshole”— my own mother can attest to that. And if I am all these things the church may claim, then isn’t it also accurate to say that in the end, thirty-plus years of dedication, millions of dollars spent, and countless hours of study and training didn’t really “fix” me? Perhaps Scientology doesn’t work.”
More to come…
Review: James Bond “Spectre” Is A Fitting Follow Up to “Skyfall,” and A Massive Hit
Sam Mendes really directs great live theater. He also has an Oscar for Best Director of “American Beauty.” But somehow he’s become the go-to director of James Bond movies. First it was “Skyfall” and now it’s “Spectre.”
SPOILERS ABOUND “Spectre” first of all ends with the warning: “James Bond will be back.” And you bet Mendes and Daniel Craig will, too. Nothing succeeds like success and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson are not going to fool around. Two hits, and a third has to be coming in two or three years. Bank on it.
And you want theatre? The opening sequence in Mexico City looks like something Julie Taymor would have dreamt up for Mendes. Outstanding.
“Spectre” is missing Judi Dench, but she makes an appearance, and her M is key to the story. Ralph Fiennes is now M, and he’s fine. We just miss Dame Judi. Ben Whishaw is an expanded Q, loyal to James and ever inventive. Naomie Harris is back as Moneypenny, too.
They are all joined by the purring Monica Bellucci as the Italian wife of Bond’s victim, and one of his many conquests. Bellucci is radiant, sexy and age appropriate. Go back and see “Malena” from 2000– she is a modern Sophia Loren.
Leah Seydoux is James’s real Bond girl here. She plays the daughter of Mr. White, James’s foe from “Quantum of Solace” (Jesper Christensen reprises his role). As Monica, Mr. White’s daughter, Seydoux holds her own with Bond. She’s a knockout, and she can act. Seydoux is an excellent match for Daniel Craig.
Mr. White is not the only Bond throwback. “Spectre” stands for Special Executive for Counterintelligience, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. The nefarious organization appeared in several Ian Fleming novels and in the movies “Dr. No.” “From Russia With Love.” “Thunderball.” “You Only Live Twice,” “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, and “Diamonds Are Forever.”
SPECTRE was the invention of Ernst Blofeld, aka Number 1, a great Bond villain. Now Christoph Waltz is playing Blofeld’s presumed dead son, who goes by a new name. Waltz, of course, is a delicious villain who takes responsibility for all the bad things that have happened in Bond’s life. Some of his connection is explained, but not all, which is a bit frustrating. But the new Blofeld looks like he may be sticking around for a sequel. I hope so.
Daniel Craig is better than ever, I think. He’s really made Bond his own character. He’s made the movies less about his body and more about Bond’s mind. I don’t blame him when he says he doesn’t want to make more of these– the whole thing looks physically punishing. But one more seems right to wrap it all up. You only live twice, you know!
Kudos for nice references to “Skyfall,” which obviously is on the mind of younger audiences. But the Sam Smith song is really all wrong, I suspect the producers are well aware of that by now. It’s so dull you think about your taxes and ironing while it’s playing. Too bad. For such an action-centric movie, the song has no propulsion.