Longtime Bond Writers Purvis and Wade Leave Series After Skyfall

The latest James Bond film Skyfall marks the last Bond movie for the series' veteran screenwriting team of Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The duo's Bond film debut was The World is Not Enough and they then worked on Pierce Brosnan's last Bond film, Die Another Day, as well as all three Daniel Craig entries.

Purvis and Wade made the announcement while appearing at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. “We’re very happy to have done five Bond movies, I think we’ve gotten it to a good place," Wade told The Hollywood Reporter. "I know that John Logan and Sam Mendes [Skyfall's co-screenwriter and director, respectively] have come up with a plot for another one, which takes the pressure off, because these films take up a lot of time.”

Meanwhile, MI-6 reports that Sony Pictures has launched their "For Your Consideration" Oscar campaign for Skyfall, pushing the film in the categories of best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best actor (Daniel Craig), best supporting actor (Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw), best supporting actress (Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe), best cinematography (Roger Deakins), best film editing, best art direction, best costume design, best makeup, best sound mixing, best sound editing, best visual effects, best original score, and best original song (Adele, which seems the most contender to actually land an Oscar nomination let alone a win).

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Sean Connery Skyfall Cameo Was "Discussed"

Sean Connery very nearly had a cameo in the latest Bond flick, Skyfall, according to director Sam Mendes.

Beware, minor spoilers for Skyfall follow.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Mendes explained that he considered bringing back the original Bond as the ultimate nod to the series' 50 year history.

“

So, it was a very brief flirtation with that thought, but it was never going to happen, because I thought it would distract.

Apparently Connery was very nearly approached to play the role of Kincade; the Scottish gameskeeper who appears at the Bond family estate of Skyfall.

"There was a definite discussion about that - way, way early on," Mendes revealed. "But I think that's problematic. Because, to me, it becomes too... it would take you out of the movie. Connery is Bond and he's not going to come back as another character. It's like, he's been there.

"So, it was a very brief flirtation with that thought, but it was never going to happen, because I thought it would distract."

Ultimately, the role went to veteran English actor Albert Finney, which seems like a good decision. As exciting as the thought of seeing Connery back in a Bond film is, as Mendes points out having him appear as another character would be pretty jarring.

Regardless, it seems that the decision not to include Connery hasn't harmed the film's prospects; since opening in the UK two weeks ago the movie has smashed box office records. Let's see if it can do the same in the US when it opens there on November 9.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and reckons he would make a hilarious Bond. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Skyfall Director's Vampire Hunter TV Series?

Via Deadline, the co-writer of Skyfall, 007's 23rd film which is already garnering critical praise and smashing box office records overseas, along with the film's director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) are teaming again for a TV drama. But it's not another globe-trotting spy adventure.

John Logan (already signed on to write Bond 24 and 25) and Mendes have already sent out a script to premium cable networks for a vampire hunter "origin story set in the 1800s London in the vein of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," starring such characters as Van Helsing and Doctor Frankenstein, who would be tracking down and killing vampires.

Mendes, with Daniel Craig, plotting how to take down a nest of vamps.

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Skyfall Scribe Logan Set to Pen Two More James Bond Films

As Skyfall opens in the U.K. today, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have quietly hired Skyfall writer John Logan to pen not one but two 007 films.

According to Deadline, the writer pitched an original two-movie arc while Skyfall was in production, and he has already begun writing the scripts.

A successful playwright, Logan has also worked on such films as Gladiator, Hugo, The Aviator, The Last Samurai and Star Trek: Nemesis. He also wrote the screenplay for Darren Aronofsky's forthcoming biblical epic Noah, starring Russel Crowe.

Skyfall hits stateside theaters stateside on November 9.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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Watch an Explosive Scene From Skyfall

Watch the first clip from Skyfall! It's an action scene featuring Javier Bardem's sinister Silva and Daniel Craig's James Bond during a chase in the London underground. Via Apple:

Skyfall opens in the UK on Oct. 26 and in the US on Nov. 9.

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Sir Roger Moore: "Daniel Craig Is The Best James Bond Ever"

Sir Roger Moore has predicted that Skyfall is going to be a huge hit following a private screening over the weekend, and has nothing but good things to say about the incumbent 007.

Speaking at "An Evening With Roger Moore" at the Rose Theatre in Kingston-Upon-Thames last night Sir Roger revealed, "I was invited on Saturday morning to a private screening of Skyfall. Now, I have always said that the best Bond was obviously Sean [Connery], but I’m happy to say when Skyfall is released on October 26, it is going to be the biggest [Bond film] there has ever been in the cinema, and he [Daniel Craig] will go down as the best Bond in history. It is fantastic."

Speaking to packed house on the former 007's 85th birthday to promote his new book Bond on Bond, Sir Roger went on to reveal how he had always backed Craig to make a big impact, "Before I saw Skyfall, I felt very angry about the way that the English press treated Daniel Craig. Before he’d started [Casino Royale] they predicted doom and gloom and they criticised him. I used to write letters of support to him, and I was so pleased when I saw Casino Royale because he was truly excellent in it. He’s a wonderful actor, if you’ve seen Munich or In Cold Blood, you know he’s a terrific actor."

We also happen to agree with Bond No. 3 as you'll find out in our Skyfall review here.

Bond on Bond by Sir Roger Moore is out now. Skyfall is in UK cinemas on October 26, and US cinemas November 9.

Tom is IGN's Social Media Editor and his favourite Bond is Timothy Dalton, come at me bro. You can stay abreast of his current pet peeves by following him on IGN and Twitter.

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Watch a Music Video for Adele's Skyfall

Check out this new music video featuring the full theme song for Skyfall, co-written and performed by Grammy winner Adele:

Skyfall opens October 26 in the UK and stateside on Nov. 9.

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Skyfall: New Photos and Video Blog Featurette

A new video blog entry for Skyfall has been posted online, this one chronicling the making of an underwater sequence:

In other James Bond news, the official 007 Twitter account announced that Skyfall will open in IMAX theaters one day earlier. Finally, Comic Book Movie points out these 14 new stills from Skyfall via the James Bond Brasil Facebook page.

Source : ign[dot]com

Skyfall: New Photos and Video Blog Featurette

A new video blog entry for Skyfall has been posted online, this one chronicling the making of an underwater sequence:

In other James Bond news, the official 007 Twitter account announced that Skyfall will open in IMAX theaters one day earlier. Finally, Comic Book Movie points out these 14 new stills from Skyfall via the James Bond Brasil Facebook page.

Source : ign[dot]com

Bond's New Q May Join Spielberg's Robopocalypse

Soon to be seen as the new "Q" in the next James Bond film Skyfall, British actor Ben Whishaw may play a techie of a very different sort in Steven Spielberg's next film, Robopocalypse.

Variety reports that Whishaw, also appearing in this fall's Cloud Atlas, is "at the top of DreamWorks' list since the casting process began to play a hacker named Lurker." No formal offer has been made yet, though.

This report comes on the heels of the news that Anne Hathaway is in talks to play the female lead opposite Chris Hemsworth and that former 20th Century Fox boss Tom Rothman has come aboard to produce the adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson's book.

Robopocalypse is set to open April 25, 2014.

Source : ign[dot]com

Adele to Sing the Skyfall Bond Theme

It's looking increasingly like Adele has been selected to record the Bond theme for the upcoming 23rd film, Skyfall, after it was revealed that she's been visiting the studio where the soundtrack is being recorded.

According to The Sun, the Grammy-winning singer visited the legendary Abbey Road studios earlier this month to record with Thomas Newman; the man given the hefty responsibility for the Bond soundtrack by director Sam Mendes.

Adele hinted on the Jonathan Ross show late last year that she’d been asked to record the song, and apparently began preliminary sessions with producer Paul Epworth shortly after.

The 23rd Bond film, Skyfall, will see an operation in Istanbul go awry, leaving James Bond missing and presumed dead. Daniel Craig returns to play the titular character, while it recently became clear that he has signed on for at least another two movies.

With Skyfall due to release in the UK on October 26 and in the US shortly after, it hopefully won't be too long before we hear what's essentially the first new music from Adele since her obscenely successful album, 21.

To see Adele slip up on Jonathan Ross by admitting she's been asked to record a theme, skip to the six-minute mark below.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant, and would make an awful James Bond. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Bond Skyfall Trailer 2 Hits

The new trailer for Skyfall has hit the net, alongside a couple of brand-new stills from the latest James Bond picture.

Beware of spoilers from the trailer ahead…

It kicks off with M apparently writing Bond’s obituary, before being berated by Ralph Fiennes’ Gareth Mallory for losing a drive that contains the identity of every of every agent embedded in terrorist organizations across the globe.

Bond then makes a miraculous return from the grave before becoming embroiled in a series of spectacular action set-pieces, including one atop a train.

We are also introduced to the new Q – played by Ben Whishaw – who issues Bond with his iconic weapon of choice, the Walter PPK.

And we get our first glimpse at a very blonde Javier Bardem as the film’s villain Silva, whose plan seems to be… well, you’ll just have to watch the trailer below!

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and is a big fan of blonde Bardem. His idle chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

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New Skyfall TV Spot

Check out this brand new TV spot for the next James Bond movie, Skyfall. The spot ran during today's Olympic Games opening ceremony telecast:

Skyfall opens stateside November 9.

Source : ign[dot]com