Madagascar 2 Movie Poster

After five weeks atop the international boxoffice, Quantum of Solace has finally been bumped from the number one slot by the animated sequel Madagascar 2.

Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter:
“A solid $10.8 million from 6,350 screens in 72 markets greeted “Quantum of Solace” as it slid to second place during its seventh week of international release. The film’s sole new opening saw Venezuela bring in $415,000 from 75 screens, hailed by Sony as 98% bigger than the comparable bow for 2006′s “Casino Royale.” “Quantum’s” international cume stands at $357.8 million. Market grosses include $77.4 million in the U.K., $30.8 million in France and $37.1 million in Germany.”

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Pierce Brosnan with children...it just looks wrong if he is 007

Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster has recently revealed that the plot of the movie almost revolved around James Bond looking for Vesper Lynd’s orphaned son. It was later decided to eliminate that plot point from the movie in an effort to not deal with questions such as what to do with the son after Bond finds him. Would 007 feel like he had a responsibility to take care of the child? Would he just abandon it? These were questions that, thankfully, would never need to be addressed as writer Paul Haggis was outvoted on the idea.

According to the Coventry Telegraph:
Forster said: “Haggis had an idea they weren’t fond of, and I didn’t know if it would work or not. The idea was that Vesper in the last movie, maybe she had a kid, and there would be an orphan out there. It wasn’t anything to insult the franchise. But they felt it wasn’t particularly Bond – him looking for the kid. I think Paul thought he just leaves the kid, he doesn’t deal with it.

“But [the producers] thought that would be really nasty, too, because Bond was an orphan himself. If he would find a kid, would he just leave it? They were so vehemently against it. That was the only time I saw, really, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ They said, ‘Once he finds the kid, Bond can’t just leave the kid. It’s not right.’”

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In a plan worthy of James Bond himself, Sony Pictures is using night vision goggles in theaters in Sweden to find anyone using a camcorder to bootleg Quantum of Solace. These are unprecidented measures meant to ensure that the film does not wind up on the Internet weeks before it’s US release.

According to The Local:
“This isn’t some sort of PR-stunt, believe me, it’s simply self defence,” said the head of Sony Pictures in Sweden, Zoran Slavic to TT-Spektra.

Slavic explained that the audience is informed of the surveillance before entering the theater and that it involved security personnel equipped with night vision goggles standing in the aisles.

“It’s not something you record, it’s sort of like night binoculars which don’t cause any disturbance whatsoever,” said Slavic, who refused to divulge whether or not the measures had netted any would-be bootleggers.

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Forget Harry Potter…there’s now a new king of the one-day UK box office opening. On October 21, 2008, its first day of release, Quantum of Solace took £4.9 in ticket sales, beating out Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s £4.025 million take back in 1995. These numbers also eclipsed Daniel Craig‘s first James Bond movie, Casino Royale, which pulled in £2.9 million in ticket sales on its first day of business in the UK.

Source: The Press Association

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The Quantum of Solace Video Game for Nintendo Wii

Bond fans in Los Angeles, California, should be sure to head over to the Best Buy in West Hollywood on Monday, November 3, 2008, beginning at 10:00 p.m. for the exclusive launch of the Quantum of Solace video game.

The event will feature Bond girls, MI6 agents, the Aston Martin DBS from the film and other fun surprises. Additionally, those in line at 10:00 PM will get the exclusive opportunity to be one of the first to play the Bond song “Another Way to Die” performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys which is soon-to-be-released as downloadable content for Activision’s Guitar Hero® World Tour.

According to the press release, “Already know who you’re voting for; sick of presidential election coverage; or just can’t wait for the new movie to step into the shoes of James Bond?  Then take a break from politics and come celebrate the launch of Activision’s new Quantum of Solace video game at the Best Buy midnight opening event, with fun activities and prizes awarded throughout the evening.

Prizes include but are not limited to Best Buy gift cards ranging from $10.00 – $2,500.00, one Sony BRAVIA XBR 52” 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV, three PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems, and more…”

Live in the USA but not in California? Then be sure to check out this list to see if your local Best Buy is participating in the midnight Quantum of Solace video game launch.

Click here to order the Quantum of Solace Video Game for Playstation3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PC DVD or GameBoy DS

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Director Guillermo del Toro

The James Bond films are full of cameos ranging from the ever-present Michael G. Wilson to Madonna, Ian Fleming and more. In Quantum of Solace, Marc Forster invited his director friends Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron to take small voice cameos.

According to eTaiwanNews:
“Quantum” director Marc Foster tells the newspaper El Universal in an interview published Wednesday that he knows both directors and asked them to portray members of a fictional Bolivian army. Del Toro, whose films include the “Hellboy” movies and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” does several voices. “Children of Men” director Cuaron will perform the speaking part of a helicopter pilot.

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Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Marc Forster at a Quantum of Solace press event

Paltalk, a Socialcasting Web site, invites you to take part in an online voice and video interview with Quantum of Solace director, Marc Forster, on October 23, 2008 at 5pm EST.

According to the Web site, “Get the insider scoop on the latest Bond gadgets and hear how Bond defeats the baddies one more time. We’ve even created a cool contest where you can submit to us your fantasy Bond Girl profile – just for fun. Two winners will get a special Bond gadget pack signed by Marc Forster. Just go to http://www.paltalk.com/bond-contest/ and enter the contest.”

For more information or to sign up to participate, head over to Paltalk’s Hollywood Now page.

The interview is completely free. Only registration is required.

To discuss this story and all the latest James Bond news with 007 fans from around the world, please visit the MI6 Debriefing Room

Daniel Craig - The 6th 007

While he is signed on to do a total of four James Bond movies, Daniel Craig recently told Playboy magazine “I did sign on for four so a piece of paper says there are two more to do. But let’s see how this one goes. In the film business, everything doesn’t always go according to plan”. He added that “We’ll wait and see. If it goes wrong, we’ll have to rethink things.”

In all likelyhood, the actor is simply trying to hedge his bets having seen how nasty the press can get when people are unhappy with their James Bond. And it’s true…based on what happened to Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, you never can tell who will be 007 from one movie to the next. Still, despite his trepidation it’s a safe bet that Craig will have to make good on the four movies stipulated on his “piece of paper.”

Source: Den of Geek

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Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport

Bond fans passing through London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 should be sure to stop by Sony’s new Bond Experience Zone, which has just opened to promote Quantum of Solace.

According to DFNI Online:
The zone, which has been developed by design and communication agency Imagination, will feature a selection of the brand’s premium portfolio of high-definition products including VAIO notebooks, video and photo cameras, and will offer visitors the chance to take part in a series of challenges. To demonstrate the high-definition capabilities of the camera, it will focus on the tiny serial number reflected in a cocktail shaker. Participants will then be asked to identify the number through the viewfinder in order to win a prize.

BAA head of category for technology Jonathan Coen said: “The Sony Experience Zone is an exciting an innovative part of T5. Travellers can try and completely immerse themselves in the new Sony technologies.”

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