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There are certain characters in pop culture who, no matter the actor portraying them, conjure up a particular look and feeling about them when they're thought of or talked about. For instance, the general public image of Batman is someone in a cape and cowl who broods about while fighting crime, a persona that dominates despite the gulf of difference between Adam West and Christian Bale's screen portrayals of the Caped Crusader. James Bond is undoubtedly such a character; while he's only been played by six different actors during his 63 years on cinema screens — and these actors all brought something so unique to their portrayals that they're frequently ranked against each other in order of personal preference — there still exists a consistency to Bond's pop culture persona.

The reason for this is actually a fairly direct one. When Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman formed Eon Productions in...

The 97th Academy Awards' red carpet presented more than Hollywood's A-list donning dazzling fashion; it highlighted an actor throwing his hat in the ring to star in the next James Bond. Joe Alwyn, who quietly dated Taylor Swift for 6 years, expressed his interest in portraying the iconic spy. When asked by Variety if he would be interested in tackling the role of Agent 007, Alwyn shared:

"Oh, wow. Who wouldn't throw their hat in the ring? You know?"

The Brutalist star also joked that he would portray Bond "if you're offering!" The Bond talk continued as the English actor was asked about his martini preference. Alwyn shared he enjoyed Bond's favorite cocktail both shaken and stirred.

Talks about who would be the next Bond have ramped up since Daniel Craig departed the role in 2021, following No Time to Die. Over the decades, Bond has been portrayed by talented actors like Barry Nelson,...

Movie Legend: An American actor was cast to play James Bond, and even signed an official studio contract!

A key aspect of the iconic film, Back to the Future, is that when Marty McFly sees his mother as a teenager, he learns that all of these rules and beliefs that she had repeated to him his whole life were mostly just hogwash, and that his mother didn't believe in any of them when she was actually his age. That is a powerful lesson about how often "traditions" weren't actually traditions until they were long divorced from the original intent.

I mention this because of the longstanding tradition that James Bond can never be played by an American actor in an "official" Eon Productions James Bond film. Bond has been played by a Scottish actor, an Irish actor, an Australian actor, and three English actors, but never an American. That has...

All it took was three words; "Bond. James Bond," and movie-going audiences were hooked. When Sean Connery debuted as Ian Fleming's fictional MI6 agent in 1962's Dr. No, no one knew what to expect. With Fleming's ingenious creation already having been adapted to television once before in 1954 to an uninspired reception, the one thing no one was seriously expecting was a giant hit. They were wrong.

James Bond proved to be such a massive success that the character is still going strong over sixty years later, with no less than eight actors bringing the role to life in various projects. Every fan has their favorite iteration of England's most famous secret agent, but if you require a refresher on which talented actors have been tasked with protecting "Queen (now King) and country," this list will provide exactly that.

Related How James Bond's Moonraker Spurred a Strange Dental Legend...

For audiences who enjoy just about any type of horror film, Shudder is by far the best streaming service for them. Every month, the platform offers plenty of new options to its subscribers and rarely disappoints them. Thankfully, the films set to arrive in the coming weeks are undoubtedly worth watching for those who love scary movies outside the confines of Halloween.

From classic horror films to new additions, the streaming service certainly has it all. While not every film is likely to be everyones particular brand of horror, those in the mood for something spooky are all but guaranteed to find something they deem worth watching. Whether viewers are diehard horror fans or casual viewers of the genre, Shudder has them covered in July.

The Shining Stream on July 1 Your browser does not support the video tag.

Based on the classic Stephen King novel of the same name and directed by Stanley Kubrick,...

On June 13, 1980, Warner Bros. bowed Stanley Kubrick’s psychological horror film The Shining in theaters nationwide. The film, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, went on to gross $47 million and endure perpetually as one of the titles routinely mentioned as among the scariest movies of all time. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

After viewing Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, I find myself wishing that Kubrick, like Graham Greene, would let us know when he’s being serious and when he’s merely providing us with “an entertainment.” The main problem that I had with this Warner release, based on Stephen King’s popular novel, is that I couldn’t decide whether Kubrick was trying to impress the hell out of us with all of his juggling of time, or simply trying to scare the hell out of us as Jack Nicholson runs berserk with an ax. Somehow,...

Kubrick changed The Shining's ending, forgetting the book's boiler explosion, which is key to the original story. Kubrick's ending differed to be unexpected, killing Hallorann & preserving the hotel's villainous presence. Doctor Sleep offers closure by exploding the Overlook, mirroring Jack's fate in the book and fixing The Shining's mistake.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining made many changes to Stephen King’s novel of the same name, and it subtly set up the novel’s ending but, ultimately, completely forgot about it. King’s novels have been a source of inspiration for many artists for decades, especially filmmakers. Various King’s novels and short stories have been adapted to the big screen, some more successfully than others, and one of the most famous yet controversial ones is Kubrick’s version of The Shining. Kubrick took the premise and characters of King’s novel but made many changes to it, to the...

Casino Royale has been adapted multiple times, with various film and TV versions changing up the story with their own unique twists. The 1954 TV adaptation marked James Bond's first appearance on screen, creating a legacy that would continue for 70 years. The 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale was a hit at the box office, despite receiving poor critical reception for its bizarre take on the spy genre.

As one of the largest franchises in history, it’s unsurprising that James Bond has seen three screen adaptations of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. James Bond has seen eight actors portray 007 in the movies, with the reimaginings of the mysterious spy also coming with multiple remakes of Ian Fleming’s original novel. While Daniel Craig’s 2006 franchise film gets all the glory, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond story, Casino Royale, has also been adapted a few times outside of Eon Production’s series.

The Shining's fan theories are endless, ranging from the downright silly to the legitimately plausible. Some are based on blink-and-you-miss-it background details, whereas others examine recurring elements throughout The Shining's runtime. Some theories even recontextualize the film's narrative, offering a new perspective on The Shining's plot and themes.

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Though it was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, Kubrick took more than a few creative liberties. One thing about Stanley Kubrick's films is that nothing is as it seems. Nearly every film with Kubrick's name attached has countless theories surrounding it. The Shining is certainly not an exception; in fact, it arguably has the most.

The fan theories revolving around this film are so many, and so in-depth, that a feature-length documentary titled Room 237 exists that talks about them in detail.

I love Stanley Kubrick‘s classic Stephen King adaptation The Shining (watch it Here) and would probably have a blast watching the movie at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon – which is the place that stood in for the Overlook Hotel in the exterior shots of the location. (The interior scenes were filmed on sets in England.) Chances are, I’m not going to be able to do that any time soon, but some fans are going to have that opportunity later this year! On Set Cinema has announced that they will be showing The Shining at the Timberline Lodge on Sunday, October 6th! The event details can be found at This Link and tickets can be purchased Here.

King’s novel (available Here) has the following description: Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel,...

The James Bond franchise has had multiple actors playing 007 in various adaptations, including TV, radio, and movies. Lesser-known actors like Barry Nelson, Bob Holness, and Bob Simmons have all portrayed James Bond at some point. The 1967 version of Casino Royale featured multiple versions of James Bond, including one played by Ursula Andress, showcasing her versatility as both a Bond girl and a spy.

Though six actors are famous for playing the martini-drinking secret agent, multiple actors have portrayed 007 in TV, radio, and movie adaptations of James Bond. The James Bond franchise has been a staple of the spy genre since author Ian Fleming released the first 007 book, Casino Royale, in 1953. In 1961, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Salzman formed Eon Productions and began creating almost exclusively James Bond films. In Eon’s time producing the movies, James Bond has become one of the movie franchises with the most recast characters...

Odd as it might sound, there have been many times in the history of the James Bond franchise where an American actor almost played the role. Ian Fleming's Bond was born to a Scottish father and Swiss mother, so it made sense the first actor to play the role in a movie was Scotsman Sean Connery. The character has since been played by an Irishman, an Australian, and a Welshman too. A fact some devotees of the franchise might not know is that the very first actor to play James Bond was an American named Barry Nelson.

He played "Jimmy" Bond in a 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale for anthology series Climax! Now that Daniel Craig has exited the role following No Time To Die, the race is on again to find the next performer to play 007. Almost every actor linked to play Bond next - Henry Cavill, Regé-Jean Page,...

“The Shining” has obsessed Oscar-winning Pixar director Lee Unkrich since he saw it in theaters at the age of 12. After years of “The Shining” Easter eggs popping up in Pixar films, Unkrich’s fascination with Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror cult classic culminates in his monumental making-of book: “Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining” (Taschen), currently available in a Collector’s Edition of 1,000 copies. (A smaller standard edition has not yet been announced.) The three-volume collection includes hundreds of never-before-seen production photographs from the Stanley Kubrick Archive in London, interviews with cast and crew, and a deluxe set of facsimile reproductions of ephemera from “the masterpiece of modern horror.”

The Kubrick film’s sense of the uncanny and bravura filmmaking (including the innovative use of Garrett Brown’s Steadicam) possessed Unkrich from his first viewing at an Ohio movie theater and ultimately led to decades of rewatching the story of the Torrance...

The role of James Bond has been officially and canonically played to date by just six actors: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig (David Niven and Barry Nelson don’t count as part of the canon). It’s traditionally been one of the most sought-after parts in all of cinema history, so it makes sense that while only those half-dozen stars have filled 007’s shoes over the 60-year course of the franchise, dozens more have tried out for the part and didn’t make the cut.

Although original producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman of Eon Productions (still run to this day by Broccoli’s descendants) always insisted that the character of Bond be English, the role has only been played by three Englishmen to date: Moore, Dalton, and Craig. The other Bonds have hailed from Scotland (Connery), Australia (Lazenby), and Ireland...

Back in March, Amazon officially acquired MGM. The company whose logo bears Leo the lion was once a Hollywood powerhouse, a premiere studio of the Golden Age, but has now become something of a smaller production company that has, as of late, chosen to put their name behind some really wonderful, auteur-driven work like "Licorice Pizza," "Cyrano," and "Three Thousand Years of Longing." Of course, when Amazon chose to spend 8.5 billion on the company, they weren't doing it because of their commitment to MGM's motto "Ars Gratia Artis (Art for Art's Sake)." No, that money goes to MGM's dizzying back catalogue of films, and most importantly, this means they now have the deal with Eon Productions for the James Bond franchise.

For Bond fans who have not gone in and bought a bunch of Blu-rays or DVDs of the series, they have been patiently awaiting the day that the 25 pictures...

Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, "Casino Royale" was published on August 13, 1953. He arrived just in time. In Tony Bennett's and Janet Woollacott's 1987 book "Bond and Beyond: The Political Career of a Popular Hero," the authors point out that Bond's literary function was to lend England -- smarting after the damage of the second World War, and currently embroiled in a Cold War -- a little bit of patriotic panache. James Bond was a tough, get-the-job-done jet-setter who, over the course of his first novel, manages to out-gamble the wicked Le Chiffre, a member of the Russian secret service. It's a simple story, but an exciting one.

"Casino Royale" was adapted to American television in 1954 as part of the anthology series "Climax!" In that version, Barry Nelson played James Bond, now American, against Peter Lorre's Le Chiffre. James Bond would infiltrate movie theaters in 1962 with "Dr. No" starring Sean Connery,...

Ahead of the U.S. release of “No Time to Die,” Daniel Craig will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 007 actor will get his star in a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Pt. His will be the 2,704th star on the Walk of Fame, and the fourth James Bond actor to receive the honor after David Niven, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. Barry Nelson also played Bond in a TV movie and received a star during his career. Craig’s star will be placed next to Moore’s, located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.

Rami Malek, who plays the villain Lyutsifer Safin in the upcoming “No Time to Die,” Craig’s fifth and final outing as Bond, will speak at the Walk of Fame ceremony. Bond franchise producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will also serve as guest speakers. The Walk...

Every actor wants to work. And a small percentage of those actors get to work in films that people remember; and a much smaller percentage get to play an iconic character over the course of several films; and an infinitesimal percentage manage to find success by tackling other roles after becoming famous as that iconic character. Which brings us to Sean Connery, who died this week at the age of 90.

His portrayal of super-spy James Bond was as essential to the 1960s as The Beatles. He wasn’t technically the first Bond — Barry Nelson played the Ian Fleming character in an American TV adaptation of “Casino Royale” in 1954 — but Connery invented an action hero who was overtly sexual in a way that his predecessors hadn’t been, although still able to dispatch the bad guys with ruthless efficiency, all the while never spoiling the crease in his tuxedo.

Connery himself came from working-class origins,...

I shaved off my lockdown beard last night. All sorts of thoughts should have been running through my head: what does this beard represent, grown as it was throughout the most seismic global event of the century, and is my shaving it off a psychological means of reclaiming myself? Something like that?

Actually, I was thinking how much this felt like the scene in Die Another Day when a straggle-bearded James Bond, fresh from fourteen months of torture and captivity, strolls into a luxury hotel in Hong Kong, asks for his usual suite and promptly de-Bee-Gees himself. I even hummed the theme song as I shaved, which is harder than it sounds.

Such golden moments as these, spun from nearly sixty years of Bond adventures, have become part of the fabric of our lives. Is it even possible to put on a dinner suit and bow tie without making a Bond quip to the mirror?...

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece is full of doubles, doppelgängers, and alter-egos.

Mirrors, ghosts, doppelgängers, reflective surfaces, repetitions, and perfectly symmetrical frames…these are just a few cinematic devices which Stanley Kubrick uses to create an uncanny atmosphere in his 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining. Sigmund Freud defines the term “uncanny” in his essay “‘The Uncanny’” as something which is familiar yet somehow frightening. The Shining tells the story of a family of three — Jack (Jack Nicholson), Danny (Danny Lloyd), and Wendy (Shelley Duvall) — whose lives are terrifyingly disrupted when they move into the Overlook Hotel for the winter. Family is, by definition, the most familial subject matter, and therefore it is all the more terrifying when one’s family members somehow seem different. The Shining is filled with uncanny doubles, where those who look or act familiar are mysteriously different, which provoke feelings of terror. Kubrick creates this uncanny atmosphere by meticulously crafting a story-world...

Mark Allison Feb 22, 2017

Iam Fleming's James Bond novels still have narratives and ideas that haven't made it to the 007 movie series...

A spoiler lies ahead for Spectre

See related The world of the Peaky Blinders

Over the course of 11 years, Ian Fleming wrote 12 James Bond novels and nine short stories before his death in 1964, forming the basis for the film series which survives to the present day. 24 films and 55 years since the birth of the cinematic Bond, it might come as a surprise that the franchise hasn’t completely exhausted its source material. More often than not, however, the James Bond films have been adaptations in name only.

Starting with Roald Dahl’s outlandish screenplay for the fifth Bond film, You Only Live Twice, the film scripts began to drift away from their literary inspirations. For most of Roger Moore’s seven-film tenure, for example, entire plots and characters were...

Jack is back. The BFI have unveiled a brand new trailer for the upcoming UK re-release of the horror classic The Shining, directed by the one-and-only Stanley Kubrick. A full 144-minute digitally restored version of the film will be screening in a few UK cinemas around Halloween - you can find theater listings here. While I assume we've all seen this film and are quite familiar with most of it, it's always fun to watch a new trailer for a beloved classic film. Even Rodney Ascher, director of the Room 237 doc, commented on Twitter: "Impressive new trailer!" The Shining stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone & Joe Turkel. Redrum. "Demands to be seen on the big screen." Here's the new re-release trailer for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, direct from BFI's YouTube: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where...

Stop! Don't touch that dial... if you like your atom-age propaganda straight up, MGM has the movie for you, an expensive 1946 docu-drama that became 'the official story' for the making of the bomb. The huge cast includes Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake, Audrey Totter, Hume Cronyn, Hurd Hatfield, and Joseph Calleia. How trustworthy is the movie? It begins by showing footage of a time capsule being buried -- that supposedly contains the film we are watching. Think about that. Mom, Apple Pie, the Flag and God are enlisted to argume that we should stop worrying and love the fact that bombs are just peachy-keen dandy. The Beginning or the End DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 112 min. / Street Date September 22, 2015 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Tom Drake, Beverly Tyler, Audrey Totter, Hume Cronyn, Hurd Hatfield, Joseph Calleia, Godfrey Tearle, Victor Francen,...

Great Party, Isn’t It? Ring in the New Year with Jack, Shelley and The Shining

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining, which stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd, Joe Turkel, and Barry Nelson, will be screened at the Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn, NY. Based upon Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the 146-minute film will be screened on Friday, January 1st, 2016 at 12:10 am (ten ...

Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

Gun to your head - or, rather, powerful laser device pointed close to your groin - you could probably list all six actors who've played James Bond.

But Connery, Brosnan, Moore and so on are the just the tip of the (admittedly quite small) iceberg, as this list of the "other" Bonds proves...

1. Bob Holness

Best known for everyone's favourite pee-themed, letter-obsessed quiz show, Holness enjoyed a wide and varied career before he settled down behind the Blockbusters desk, once working as an airborne traffic reporter and briefly holding down a job in a South African printing press.

How he then ended up as secret agent James Bond 007 seems as great a mystery as "Who are the kind of parents that call their daughter Pussy Galore?" But he did, thanks to a 1956 BBC radio play based on Moonraker.

2. Barry Nelson

Eight years before Sean Connery met Dr No, Barry Nelson...

Robert Walker: Actor in MGM films of the '40s. Robert Walker: Actor who conveyed boy-next-door charms, psychoses At least on screen, I've always found the underrated actor Robert Walker to be everything his fellow – and more famous – MGM contract player James Stewart only pretended to be: shy, amiable, naive. The one thing that made Walker look less like an idealized “Average Joe” than Stewart was that the former did not have a vacuous look. Walker's intelligence shone clearly through his bright (in black and white) grey eyes. As part of its “Summer Under the Stars” programming, Turner Classic Movies is dedicating today, Aug. 9, '15, to Robert Walker, who was featured in 20 films between 1943 and his untimely death at age 32 in 1951. Time Warner (via Ted Turner) owns the pre-1986 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library (and almost got to buy the studio outright in 2009), so most of Walker's movies have...

'The Beginning or the End' 1947 with Robert Walker and Tom Drake. Hiroshima bombing 70th anniversary: Six movies dealing with the A-bomb terror Seventy years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Ultimately, anywhere between 70,000 and 140,000 people died – in addition to dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and most other living beings in that part of the world. Three days later, America dropped a second atomic bomb, this time over Nagasaki. Human deaths in this other city totaled anywhere between 40,000-80,000. For obvious reasons, the evisceration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been a quasi-taboo in American films. After all, in the last 75 years Hollywood's World War II movies, from John Farrow's Wake Island (1942) and Mervyn LeRoy's Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor (2001), almost invariably have presented a clear-cut vision...

Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson on the Oscars' Red Carpet Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson at the Academy Awards Eli Wallach and wife Anne Jackson are seen above arriving at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony, held on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The 95-year-old Wallach had received an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2010. See also: "Doris Day Inexplicably Snubbed by Academy," "Maureen O'Hara Honorary Oscar," "Honorary Oscars: Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo Among Rare Women Recipients," and "Hayao Miyazaki Getting Honorary Oscar." Delayed film debut The Actors Studio-trained Eli Wallach was to have made his film debut in Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1953 blockbuster From Here to Eternity. Ultimately, however, Frank Sinatra – then a has-been following a string of box office duds – was cast for a pittance, getting beaten to a pulp by a pre-stardom Ernest Borgnine. For his bloodied efforts, Sinatra went on...

Sure, there have been countless articles detailing the debonair men that portrayed the world’s most famous superspy in Ian Fleming’s creation of Agent 007 (a.k.a James Bond). And of course there have been many debates arguing who is considered the best Bond of them all (yes…I concur with the majority of the Sean Connery census that he is the ideal licensed to kill Lothario of them all). Plus, the listing of who’s the better Bond from top to bottom is always a lively discussion among Agent 007 aficionados.

Well, here is one more list to join the fray in terms of examining the actors that carried the action-packed load in bringing Fleming’s dashing Danger Man into the forefront of adventure, mystery, travel and romance. In Of Human “Bond”-age: Top Ten Actors That Had Played James Bond we will take a look at the actors...

In a recent Reddit Ama, Denzel Washington revealed he would be interested in playing James Bond after Daniel Craig.

“The next James Bond? They better hurry up! Yes I would! Who’s doing James Bond now? Daniel Craig! Did they shoot another one? Everybody should tweet Denzel is James Bond! Send it to the studio!” he replied to user BigTalk45. “We start the Denzel is Bond campaign today! James Washington. Denzel Bond!”

Denzel Washing As First Black James Bond?

Like Liam Neeson, Washington has found something of a second career renaissance playing middle-aged action heroes. Washington’s last film Safe House received many comparisons to the Bond franchise among reviewers.

If it turns out that Washington does take on the roll, it would be historical for two reasons. Washington’s casting would make it the first time that Bond has been black and played by an American (Barry Nelson doesn...

Update August 14: Broadway will go dark: The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in memory of Lauren Bacall on Friday, August 15, at exactly 7:45 p.m. for one minute.

One of the leading ladies of Hollywood’s Golden Age died today after a stroke. The sultry, fiery Lauren Bacall was 89. MSNBC’s Thomas Robert broke the news in a tweet, and the Bogart estate has confirmed it. She was famous for starring — onscreeen and off — with Humphrey Bogart in such 1940s classics as The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage and Key Largo. In one of Hollywood’s great love stories, they married in 1945 and stayed together until his death in 1957. Four years later she married another acting legend, Jason Robards Jr.; they divorced in 1969.

Related: Reactions to Lauren Bacall’s Death

Bacall worked in films consistently through the mid-1960s and...

Mark Romanek has entered negotiations to direct The Shining prequel The Overlook Hotel for Warner Bros. We reported in May that Gravity director Alfonso Cuar&#243n was the studio's top choice to direct The Overlook Hotel, but it seems a deal was never reached.

The Overlook Hotel is based on the original prologue that Stephen King wrote for The Shining novel, which was cut before the book was published in 1977. The prologue tells the origin story of The Overlook Hotel and its first owner, Bob T. Watson, a "robber baron" at the start of the 20th Century who set out to build the greatest resort in America, nestled within the Colorado Rockies, where he and his family also lived.

We reported in April that Glen Mazzara, a former showrunner on AMC's The Walking Dead, signed on to write the screenplay. The writer recently turned in his first draft to producers Brad Fischer,...

Gravity director Alfonso Cuar&#243n continues to be in high demand at Warner Bros. Just days after he entered talks to direct the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the filmmaker has emerged as the studio's top choice to make The Shining prequel The Overlook Hotel.

Schmoes Know reports that the "ball is in Alfonso's court" for the project, but it isn't yet known if he plans on accepting their offer.

Back in April 2013, we reported that Glen Mazzara, the former showrunner of AMC's The Walking Dead, will be writing the script, which is set years before Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) moved into the hotel in The Shining. Schmoes Know reports that a script has just been turned in, although it isn't known how well-received it was by the studio. Laeta Kalogridis, James Vanderbilt and Brad Fisher are set to produce.

No production schedule has been set for The Overlook Hotel,...

Television anthologies used to be all the rage, and CBS was one of the first to broadcast its programs in color. The throwback to the old serial storytelling format and eye-popping tones was a combination irresistible to viewers. CBS’ mystery program, the aptly titled Climax!, was one such program — and the show happened to be the first to portray an iconic movie character on any screen. James Bond author Ian Fleming was paid $1,000 (albeit, almost nine grand, today) to adapt his first novel, Casino Royale, into a one-hour TV action-adventure episode that aired live in 1954. Actor Barry Nelson, perhaps looking more like a Marine than a sexy double agent, played “Jimmy” Bond. (Nelson played hotel manager Stuart Ullman in The Shining.) The role...

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In honor of Halloween being just around the corner, 8-Bit Cinema has released their latest trailer. This one renders the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece The Shining in classic 8-Bit arcade style action. Imagine if you could take a hold of Jack and unleash his violent abuse on wife Wendy and kid Danny. Come play with The Shining forever and ever. Redrum!

The Shining was released May 23rd, 1980 and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Anne Jackson. The film is directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Mickey Rooney movie schedule (Pt): TCM on August 13 See previous post: “Mickey Rooney Movies: Music and Murder.” Photo: Mickey Rooney ca. 1940. 3:00 Am Death On The Diamond (1934). Director: Edward Sedgwick. Cast: Robert Young, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Mickey Rooney. Bw-71 mins. 4:15 Am A Midsummer Night’S Dream (1935). Director: Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle. Cast: James Cagney, Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Ross Alexander, Anita Louise, Mickey Rooney, Joe E. Brown, Victor Jory, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Grant Mitchell, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dewey Robinson, Hugh Herbert, Arthur Treacher, Otis Harlan, Helen Westcott, Fred Sale, Billy Barty, Rags Ragland. Bw-143 mins. 6:45 Am A Family Affair (1936). Director: George B. Seitz. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lionel Barrymore, Cecilia Parker, Eric Linden. Bw-69 mins. 8:00 Am Boys Town (1938). Director: Norman Taurog. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Leslie Fenton, Gene Reynolds, Edward Norris, Addison Richards, Minor Watson, Jonathan Hale,...

Blu-ray Release Date: June 11, 2013

Price: Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Twilight Time

Elizabeth Taylor and Warren Beatty become uneasy lovers in The Only Game in Town.

Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra) and Warren Beatty (Ishtar) star in filmmaker George Stevens’ final movie, the 1970 drama-romance film The Only Game in Town.

Taylor stars as an aging and exhausted showgirl fed up with waiting for her married lover (Charles Braswell) to divorce his wife, while Beatty portrays a piano-playing gambling addict who keeps compulsively losing the stake he needs to high-tail it to New York. Together, they parlay an instant attraction into a mutual effort to get their lives together—no strings attached.

Written by Frank D. Gilroy, who adapted his own Las Vegas-set stage play, The Only Game in Town was gorgeously shot by French New Wave stalwart Henri Decaë (known for his work with Jean-Pierre Melville and Claude Chabrol) and scored by the great Maurice Jarre...

Glen Mazzara, who served as showrunner on the last two seasons of The Walking Dead, has been hired to write The Shining prequel The Overbrook Hotel.

We first reported on this project back in July, when Warner Bros. was in the very early stages of developing a prequel, set before Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family moved into the forboding hotel. No story details have been given at this point, but there are elements of Stephen King's original novel that delved into the history of The Overbrook, which weren't used in director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic.

Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island), James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), and Brad Fischer (Black Swan) are producing through their Mythology Entertainment company. No production schedule has been given at this time.

Coincidentally, Stephen King is also revisiting The Shining with a sequel novel entitled Doctor Sleep, which focuses on an adult Danny Torrance,...

So...Bond is back, and after an astonishing run in the cinemas (he's still going too!), it would appear that he's more successful than ever. However, with the success of Skyfall (2012) comes an all too familiar question – just who is the best ever Bond?

Eight actors have tackled the part, with varying degrees of success; so here they are in reverse order: the best Bonds – according to me.

8. Barry Nelson (one TV episode)

Bit of a shame having to put him last! After all, he was the first ever Bond. This live television adaptation of Casino Royale (1954) was an episode of an American anthology drama series called Climax. Long considered lost in the TV vaults, it was rediscovered a few years back and has now achieved a belated cult status among fans. Nelson’s performance does have some curiosity value and for what it's worth, he rises above the fluffed...

Before James Bond made his film debut in 1962′s Dr. No, starring Sean Connery, he made an appearance on a 1954 episode of the TV show, Climax! It was an adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, with Bond portrayed as an American CIA agent played by Barry Nelson. This is, as of today, the only TV adaptation of one of Fleming’s novels- but could Bond ever make a reappearance on the small screen?

It wouldn’t be the first time a movie or film series became a TV show (Mash, The Odd Couple, My Big Fat Greek Wedding). There’s no plans to bring Bond to TV as of now, but this article will focus on some reasons why a James Bond TV show could be a good idea.

10. The ”Bond Formula” Would Work For a Weekly Series

While the Bond series has, throughout the years,...

What’s the one word that really brings a smile to the face of a movie studio executive? Well aside from “profit” that word would probably be “franchise”. That’s a film property that spawns countless sequels and lucrative merchandising. Well Skyfall celebrates 50 years of the greatest. longest-running film franchise of them all (we’ll see if Harry Potter or “Star Wars” can go five decades): James Bond 007. 1962 saw the release of the first ‘Cubby Broccoli/Harry Saltzman produced feature adaptation based on Ian Fleming’s popular novel ( there was a live Us TV version of “Casino Royale” with Barry Nelson as “Jimmy” Bond broadcast in 1954): Dr. No. The series quickly become the main jewel in studio United Artists’ crown. As several pop-culture scholars have stated, the 60′s were the three B’s: Beatles, Batman, and Bond. While the lads from Liverpool broke up by the end of...

From 1962’s Dr No to the upcoming Skyfall, James Bond films have been guaranteed to thrill us, grip us, make as laugh and keep us on the edge our seats. And with the plethora of information available in books, on the DVDs and Blu-rays, and in the new cinema documentary Everything or Nothing, there isn’t a lot left to be said about Britain’s foremost secret agent and his cinema exploits. Undaunted, here I present 20 things that you probably don’t know about the James Bond films – surely even the most ardent fan will find a few unfamiliar factoids here.

They are presented roughly chronologically, so let’s begin with the very first Bond…

1. The First Cinematic James Bond Was… Bob Simmons

The first actor to play James Bond was Barry Nelson (who actually played CIA Agent “Card Sense” Jimmy Bond) in a fairly lack-lustre and under budgeted CBS...

There's a lot of death in Bond films - 1,300 people dying in the official films alone. Find out where and when

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What has Blackwell, Texas got in common with James Bond? The British agent has used his license to kill to bump off a population the same size as its 354 inhabitants since the films began in 1962.

The launch of Skyfall is sure to increase that number. James Bond films are famous for two things: one is his awesome sex life; the other is the sheer numbers of people who get shot, poisoned, eaten by sharks or sliced up by a circular saw.

How violent are Bond's films? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the body counts are extremely controversial, with several sites with competing counts and methodology.

Argument reigns, for example, over whether Sean Connery's 1983 Never Say Never Again...

On the 50th anniversary of the first Bond film, it may pay to reflect that the British spy was almost played by an American

Fans across the globe are celebrating James Bond's 50 years in film on Friday, as part of Global James Bond Day, but they might reflect that no matter how quintessentially British 007 is, the filmed Bond franchise nearly began with an American in the role.

Hollywood idol Cary Grant was urged to take the role by his close friend, the Bond producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli – who had Grant as the best man at his wedding.

Grant's English birth and upbringing – he became a Us citizen in 1942 – might have helped to soften the blow of a "possible American Bond", but the deal was kiboshed by Grant, who would only commit to one film. He would also have been 58 – Roger Moore's age when he played Bond for the final time,...

The opening shot, viewed from inside the barrel of a gun. The silhouetted beauties of Maurice Binder's credit sequence. That Monty Norman instrumental theme, promising sex and danger in just four notes. The martinis. The game of chance that's really a game of nerves. The women, gorgeous and lethal. The patient Miss Moneypenny, who'd give as good as she gets if he ever gave her a chance. The supervillain, living in a luxurious, elaborate hidden lair. And the line of introduction: "Bond, James Bond." It's remarkable how many enduring elements of the James Bond film franchise were there from day one, built into the initial installment, "Dr. No," (released 50 years ago, on October 5, 1962). That's why, even if you've never seen "Dr. No," you feel like you know it. Even so, there's plenty you may not know about the landmark spy film, including the real-life spies who made it, how...

Fans get their chance to see all three versions of Ian Fleming's classic Casino Royale - the first James Bond novel - as part of our Bond season on Sky Movies. We'll be showing Daniel Craig's classic 2006 debut, the 1967 parody starring David Niven and 007's first screen appearance in the TV version of Casino Royale featuing Barry Nelson as "Jimmy" Bond. Going back to basics, Craig's Bond had just earned his licence to kill when he came up against Mads Mikkelsen's terrorist financier Le Chiffre across the gaming tables.

Before Connery, Moore, Brosnan et al, the legendary super-spy made his screen debut in this black and white TV special with Barry Nelson (who would later appear in The Shining) as an American Bond. He's assigned to clean out the villainous Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre, star of Fritz Lang's M) in a high-stakes game of baccarat. But when Bond's old flame Valier Mathis (Linda Christian) show up things get more complicated.

Warner Bros. is currently exploring a possible prequel to the 1980 Stanley Kubrick horror classic The Shining. The studio stressed that they are still in very early stages, and the project is not even officially in development at this time.

Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island), Brad Fischer (Black Swan), and James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man) have been brought on as producers, to explore a new take on the project. The story will be set before Jack Torrance and his family arrive at the foreboding Overbrook Hotel. Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers starred in the original classic.

No screenwriters or directors have been attached yet, although it is possible that either Laeta Kalogridis or James Vanderbilt could draft the script, since they are accomplished screenwriters and producers.

Author Stephen King, who wrote the original novel Stanley Kubrick's movie is based on, is also writing a sequel novel, although...

Jean Hagen, Debbie Reynolds, Singin' in the Rain Debbie Reynolds on TCM: The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Singing Nun Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Affairs Of Dobie Gillis (1953) A lovesick teenager searches for romance at college. Dir: Don Weis. Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Barbara Ruick. Bw-73 mins. 7:15 Am I Love Melvin (1953) A photographer's assistant promises to turn a chorus girl into a cover girl. Dir: Don Weis. Cast: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel. C-77 mins. 8:45 Am The Tender Trap (1955) A swinging bachelor finds love when he meets a girl immune to his line. Dir: Charles Walters. Cast: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne. C-111 mins, Letterbox Format. 10:45 Am Bundle Of Joy (1956) A shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling. Dir: Norman Taurog. Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou. C-98 mins. 12:30 Pm Tammy And The Bachelor...

Best known as the wife of superstar Tyrone Power, Linda Christian was a knockout with a decent amount of TV and movie credits. She costarred with Johnny Weismuller in his last role as Tarzan and was the first Bond girl, co-starring in Casino Royale, the TV version from 1954 opposite Barry Nelson’s 007. She died this morning at age 87.

From The New York Times:

Palm Desert, Calif. (AP) . Linda Christian, a Hollywood starlet of the 1940s and .50s who was in Johnny Weissmuller.s last Tarzan movie and the first adaptation of a James Bond novel, but who was probably best known for her marriage to her fellow heartthrob Tyrone Power, died here on Friday. She was 87. The cause was colon cancer, her daughter Romina Power said. Born Blanca Rosa Welter (some sources say Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer) in Mexico on Nov. 13, 1923, Ms. Christian pursued an acting career in...