News

James Bond is arguably the world's most famous spy. Everyone has heard of 007, who likes his drinks "shaken, not stirred", his cars fast, his women beautiful and a selection of guns and gadgets on tap. Ahead of the release of the 23rd Bond film Skyfall, we take a look at the character of Bond. 1. James Bond was born in Germany to a Scottish father, Andrew Bond, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix. They were killed in a mountain climbing accident in Aiguilles Rouges when he was 11 years old. Orphaned, he went to live with his aunt - Miss Charmain Bond - in a village called Pett Bottom. 2. He joined the Ministry of Defence and became a Royal Naval Reserves Commander. He then applied to M for a position within the Secret Service and rose to the rank of principal officer, well known by his code number 007.

3. Bond smokes on average 60 cigarettes a day.

With a lot of UK filming locations, photos have been leaking out pretty regularly from the set of the latest Bond film "Skyfall". Now one of those key locations, Hankley Common in Surrey, witnessed one hell of a scene the other night according to MI6 HQ.

Spoilers Ahead *

After several weeks of filming at that location, a full scale Scottish manor house constructed for the production was blown up to simulate an attack on the location. Early last week came reports of a scene in which Bond brings down a helicopter that crashes into the estate.

The manor was made to replicate actual locations used in Glencoe, Scotland for filming earlier this year which, understandably, couldn't be damaged or destroyed.

A few weeks ago it was revealed that the manor is doubling as 'Skyfall Lodge' in the film, the name to be given to Bond's family estate where he and...

James Bond is returning to his roots!

BBC (via Mi:6-hq) have been informed by the owner of Duntrune Castle on the Poltalloch Estate near Lochgilphead in mid-Argyll, Scotland, that their home will be used for several days of significant filming on Bond 23 at the end of February.

The owners of the castle said the finale to the film will be shot there;

“They are coming here at the end of February and are going to film for several days… They are using the castle – just the outside – it’s going to be used for the end of the film. They want a winter scene, so they are going to bring their own snow. It looks as if they are going to construct the set and then blow it up. I think they are going to attack the castle from land and sea – there are going to a lot of bangs and explosions.

The complete list of short films screening at Fantastic Fest has been announced. Unfortunatly as with most short films, there isn’t too much known about many of these. I know Infernal Nuns recieved a lot of praise from various blogs after it screened at Fantasia and Cop Hard is based on the popular web series, but apart from that, I’m pretty much in the dark. What I do know is that sometimes the short films are more rewarding than some features. Remember folks, some of these directors may go on to do some very big things in the near future, so try and check them out. Here is the press release.

Austin, TX-Wednesday, August 24th, 2011- Fantastic Fest is excited to announce the short film lineup for the seventh edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 22-29 in Austin, Texas. Fantastic Fest loves its short films – they provide a...

Anybody can tell a good tale, spin a quality yarn so to speak, if given an hour and a half. But to accomplish that same feat in 15 minutes or so, now that's doing something. And Fantastic Fest has announced the lineup of 50 films doing just that for this year's program.

The Fantastic Fest shorts will be presented during the festival, which runs September 22-29 in Austin, Texas. With running times as long as thirty minutes and a short as two, and coming from over a dozen countries, the films look as diverse as they will be entertaining. Take a gander at the huge list complied below, and for those of you lucky enough to be in the great state of Texas during the fest, we envy you.

Fantastic Fest 2011 Shorts

All Men Are Called Robert (2011)

U.S. Premiere

Director: Marc-Henri Boulier, France, 6 minutes

A naked, terribly bruised man is running through the woods.

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? The Legend Of The Mighty Soap Trailer When I was a kid I watched HBO relentlessly. Whenever there wasn't reairings of Fraggle Rock, Braingames, Heartbeeps,...