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George Lucas Discusses Star Wars Future with Disney

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George Lucas and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy just released a video as the two discussed the future of not only Lucasfilm as a filmmaking entity, but also the direction that Star Wars will head towards as Disney purchased Lucasfilm earlier today. Movie Fanatic finds it fascinating when Lucas talks about when he first made Star Wars and people said, "That is the type of film that should have been made at Disney." Now... it is!

Right after the initial announcement, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger and Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm, joined forces to talk in a video conference call about the deal. The video has now been made public and is below. Let us know what you think about this historic merger in the comments section below.

Lucas' long term goal to have his series be a nine-part epic is now firmly on its way to reality. Now with Disney owning Lucasfilm, Pixar and Marvel... looks like they are on their way to being an entertainment monolith of the highest creative order.


Movie Fanatic Round Table: Best Bond Villain Ever!

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James Bond is storming back into theaters with Skyfall, marking 50 years of bringing bad guys in from the cold. Javier Bardem has the esteemed honor of portraying Daniel Craig’s latest villain and is more than up for the task. More on him later, but for now… we wanted to assemble the Movie Fanatic Round Table, containing some of Hollywood’s most astute minds, and come up with the best Bond villain of all time.

Movie Fanatic Round Table Pic
We’re a varied bunch, so you shouldn’t be surprised that every journalist chose a different villain!

Be sure to stay with Movie Fanatic for our 007 Days of Bond, starting exactly seven days before Skyfall hits theaters and our 50th anniversary edition of the world’s best cinematic spy is unleashed into the world -- oddly enough on Halloween, October 31.

Ned Ehrbar, Metro World News
While Blofeld seems like the classic choice, I have to go with Christopher Lee's Scaramanga from The Man with the Golden Gun. There's just something about his combination of high-class manners and clear mental instability that makes him that much more terrifying. Plus, Lee knows how best to play bad. I have to say, though, Javier Bardem in Skyfall is vying for a pretty high spot on my list.

Christopher Lee Roger Moore The Man with the Golden Gun
Don Kaye, MSN Parallel Universe
The first James Bond villain I ever encountered was Goldfinger, and for a long time he remained my favorite, until something I read in a book called The Jaws Log led me to eventually make a different choice. The Jaws Log was a book written by screenwriter Carl Gottlieb about the making of Jaws, and there is a section in there where he discusses the movie's casting. In talking about Robert Shaw, who played Quint, Gottlieb mentions Shaw playing a villain in the second James Bond movie, From Russia with Love, noting that Shaw's character was the one nemesis who "looked like he could bust up Sean Connery pretty badly."
 
When I eventually saw From Russia with Love a little while later, I realized Gottlieb was right: Shaw's Red Grant, a SPECTRE assassin who seems to have almost been created Frankenstein-like in a lab with the sole intent of killing Bond, is terrifying. Without being an outsized menace like Richard Kiel's Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, Grant is physically intimidating and a definite match for Connery's Bond. He is also shrewd, calculating, immensely intelligent and quite capable of turning on a different persona, at one point fooling Bond into thinking he is a British agent. And yet we know next to nothing about him, except that his singular purpose in life seems to be the extermination of 007 (his partner and mentor, Rosa Klebb, is pretty ghastly as well).

Red Grant in From Russia with Love
The great Shaw plays the role as an implacable force of nature with an almost total lack of humanity -- in some ways he's a colder version of Rutger Hauer's Roy Batty, who actually was an android -- and his climactic fight with Connery aboard a train is one of the classic sequences in the entire Bond canon. While I love Goldfinger, Stromberg, Blofeld, Scaramanga, Le Chiffre and so many of the others, Red Grant is probably the one villain whose blank, unwavering evil is the most unsettling of all.

Gerrad Hall, TheSevenSees.com
I have to go with Dr. Evil. Wait...that's the wrong international spy movie franchise. In that case, I have to choose Goldmember. What's that, I'm still thinking of Austin Powers. Then, of course, I must mean Goldfinger! (insert applause, the crowd goes wild) Admittedly, I've not seen all 23 James Bond movies, but I have a distinct memory of Sean Connery's Goldfinger, maybe because it involved Fort Know, which I grew up near.  

Goldfinger
But surely the portly villain had something to do with it, a man who would be no match for the more athletic bad guys we've seen of recent. I also recall that I sometimes could barely understand a word he was saying, but it didn't matter because his actions spoke louder than words. He was menacing in every sense of the word.

Joel D. Amos, moviefanatic.com
Mr. Big. Just say the name and it has to be the Bond series’ best villain. You can’t top it. Maybe Goldfinger, and honestly Javier Bardem’s antagonist deserves to be the choice with this question, but Skyfall has not debuted for wide audiences yet, so I cannot bring myself to anoint the No Country for Old Men Oscar winner our victor of Best Bond villain.

But, just as Live and Let Die is the surprise joy of a Bond run that produced more camp than culture-defining films, so too is the bad guy at the heart of Roger Moore’s Bayou adventure.

Mr. Big Live and Let Die
The Live and Let Die baddie is also a man of his time. The funky factor is off the charts with Mr. Big’s Soul Train ‘do and getup. Toss in the mind-expanding idea of a card reader holding the key to Bond’s success or failure and Mr. Big as puppet master to her prophetic predictions, and it is pure 1970s encapsulated. 

Django Unchained Stills: Don Johnson and Walton Goggins Debut

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A whole heck of a lot of new stills have dropped for Django Unchained, including a first look at Don Johnson's, Walton Goggins', and Franco Nero's characters. Check them out (click thumbnails to enlarge):

Django Unchained Don Johnson

Django Unchained Christoph WaltzDjango Unchained Jamie FoxxDjango Unchained Kerry WashingtonDjango Unchained Walton GogginsDjango Unchained Franco NeroDjango Unchained Jamie Foxx Kerry WashingtonJamie Foxx in Django UnchainedDjango Unchained KillshotDjango Unchained Leonardo DiCaprioDjango Unchained Samuel L. JacksonDjango Unchained Shadow

Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave freed by a bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz, in order to help him find a gang of vicious killers. If they succeed, Schultz promises to free Django's wife from the plantation owner Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception).

Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), Anthony LaPaglia, Bruce Dern, Jonah Hill, and RZA (The Man with the Iron Fists) also star.

Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed the film. Catch Django Unchained in theaters December 25.

Oz: The Great and Powerful Teaser Art Premieres

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The first of three new art images for Oz: The Great and Powerful has debuted, featuring the Wicked Witch being all wicked-like. Take a look:

Oz: The Great and Powerful Wicked Witch Artwork

Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) directs the film, which takes place before the events of The Wizard of Oz, and tells the story of the Wizard's origins. James Franco plays Oscar Diggs, a circus magician who is transported to the land of Oz, where he helps its inhabitants solve their longstanding plight.

Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Michelle Williams, and Rachel Weisz star as the three witches. Zach Braff, Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), and Bruce Campbell also star.

Oz: The Great and Powerful will premiere March 8.

Wreck-It Ralph: John C. Reilly Talks Video Game Journey

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John C. Reilly has never been as animated onscreen as he is with Disney’s latest, Wreck-It Ralph. The Oscar nominee portrays the title character, a villain inside an 8-bit video game called, the exact opposite of his moniker, Fix-It Felix, Jr. Movie Fanatic caught up with Reilly for an exclusive video interview where he tells us, among many highlights, which video game within the film was his favorite.

“I was a big fan of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, so the idea of a whole world made out of candy is kinda awesome,” Reilly said of the Sugar Rush part of the film.

Reilly also gives us insight into which character cameo was his favorite from the video game world portrayed in Wreck-It Ralph and here’s a surprise… it’s not from a video game. “They had Emmett Kelly, the famous tramp clown, is a bartender in the first party scene,” Reilly said and smiled.

The film melds video game worlds old and new as Ralph heads into various arcade games in search of a little something something that he hopes will change his life forever. He's tired of being the bad guy!

Star Wars Episode 7: Questions, Answers, Predictions!

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With the news yesterday that Disney bought Lucasfilm and a Star Wars Episode 7 landing in 2015, a myriad of questions have arisen when it comes to the George Lucas signature property. Movie Fanatic managing editor Joel D. Amos and senior staff writer Micah J. Gordon sat down to talk about one of the biggest movie news stories of our lifetime and we get to the bottom of all the questions that Star Wars and Disney fans have to be answered.

Star Wars Logo

1. Was it a good idea for Disney to buy Lucasfilm?

Micah: Absolutely. It’s a good idea for Disney to buy anything. Now, I know nothing about valuation of a company but with such a powerful brand as Star Wars for them to play around with, Disney should easily be able to make their investment back. And if not, they have 700 septillion Walt Bucks (Disney prints their own currency) in the vault to keep them afloat.

Joel: To Star Wars fans on the whole, this is music to our ears. Lucas had been straining to keep the brand relevant in recent years and nothing adds relevance than one of the most creative studios in Hollywood taking over your property. Disney already works closely with Lucasfilm and their ILM shop, most recently on The Avengers. Funny thing, when I was at Lucasfilm recently for The Avengers Blu-Ray press day, it occurred to me that Disney should just swallow Lucasfilm and take it to a new stratosphere… which apparently they were listening to my thoughts ‘cause that’s what happened!

2. Given the perceived failure of the second trilogy, does the Star Wars franchise even have any good faith left?

Micah: I think people are cheering for Star Wars to recover. Sure, when someone you love hurts you, the wounds may take a while to heal, but then you remember that day in the park when you shared a wedge of brie and a bottle of Côtes du Rhône and just watched the dogs play, and it gives you some hope that things can change. People will be split on this, but I think enough fans will be rooting for Disney to succeed so they can wash away the last trilogy.

Joel: As long as fans are still playing Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope through Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the fans will cherish the idea of a seventh episode that takes place after the Death Star has been destroyed and Darth Vader redeemed and well, frankly, dead.

3. Having someone else take over the Star Wars world on screen… is it a good thing for fans that Lucas is gone?

Micah: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Lucas is the general manager of a beloved franchise who traded away all the star players for a little kid that can’t act and racist CG alien. You thank him for his time with the club, kick him up to the front office, and bring in a young Harvard grad (a little nobody named Joss Whedon perhaps?) to whip the team back into shape.

Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode 4
Joel: Many in our business have frequently discussed the idea of how well Star Wars would do if Lucas let go of the reins and hand it over to another director. Some have suggested that his friend Steven Spielberg would be a good choice given how protective Lucas is of the series. But now with him handing over the universe to Disney, look for a helmer in his thirties to tackle the seventh installment and I guarantee a majority of fans will be pleased with Episode Seven.

4. What should Star Wars 7 be about? Darth Vader is dead… where do you go?

Micah: I’m not really a Star Wars fan, so I’m not super knowledgeable or super precious about the material. That said, it seems the best way to continue the franchise could be with an entirely new cast of characters, set far in the future from the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Mark Hamill could make an appearance as the ghost of Luke. As long as the villain is called “Darth Brooks,” I’ll go see it.

Joel: As some franchises have done (J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek for example) bringing a character from the original film series (Abrams used Leonard Nimoy’s Spock) to create a congruency is a great idea. I’m thinking Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker be shown decades later (which fits with his age anyway) is a good start, but have him be a launching pad to an entirely new universe populated with characters that do not in any way remotely remind of us Jar Jar Binks.

5. With Disney now owning Pixar, Marvel, The Muppets universe and now Lucasfilm… will they be overloaded and overwhelmed?

Micah: Honestly, yes, it’s a little much -- but not from Disney’s business end, from our audience end. Disney can definitely handle owning everything. It’s just that tofu, edamame, miso, tofurkey, soymilk… each tastes different, but at some point you can’t help but notice they all come from the same damn plant. Disney’s in danger of becoming a soybean: Fruitful, able to feed the entire world, but eerily omnipresent and with indeterminate health risks.

Joel: Disney can do it all. Period. I think what they’ve done with Pixar and especially with Marvel and The Avengers, is a very good indication of what to expect from their collaborations with Lucasfilm. They’ll follow the same model: Provide the creative space for their properties to live and breathe on their own… all while keeping that Disney touch of gold that more often than not works wonders.

6. Outside of the Star Wars movies, what do you think Disney buying Lucasfilm means?

Micah: Sunday morning American Graffiti cartoon?

Joel: Theme parks! Other than the Star Tours ride at Disneyland, Disney has been chomping at the bit to create a Star Wars theme park beyond just one ride at their California location. Also… could we see a Willow remake in the works? With Disney running the ship… it could happen!

Harrison Ford in Star Wars
7. With a release date for Star Wars 7 already set for 2015… doesn’t it beg to be asked if this deal has already been in the works for years?

Micah: I just always assume that huge corporations are making secret deals in their underwater biopods. The Disney/Lucasfilm merger has probably been in the works for a long while, but what’s more disconcerting is the Human/Jellyfish merger that Disney has been working on down there.

Joel: There is no question this deal has been in the works for ages. And yes, Star Wars 7 pre-production is well underway and it would be a surprise if we don’t start hearing casting news around the first of the year.

Who is Your Favorite James Bond?

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Welcome to the first day of Movie Fanatic’s 007 Days of James Bond! As the new film is merely a week away, we will spend the next seven days exploring the best moments in the film series, from best Bond girls, best gadgets (check out the Movie Fanatic Round Table Best Bond villain!) and of course we start off determining who was the best Bond!

Sean Connery James Bond
James Bond is back to save the day in Skyfall and as the franchise celebrates 50 years of thrills -- we turn to our readership to once and for all anoint which actor is the best Bond. Each performer put their own stamp on the character, and thus the films that they starred in.

Sean Connery famously originated the role with a brash toughness, George Lazenby gave emotion to the role for his one-off, Roger Moore went kitsch, Timothy Dalton gave a Shakespearean Bond, Pierce Brosnan brought back the tuxedo-sporting swagger and Daniel Craig has managed to incorporate all of the above while still carving out a stellar turn as the man with a license to kill.

Be sure to come back tomorrow as we announce the Top 10 Bond Girls as Movie Fanatic's 007 Days of Bond continues!

Who is the best Bond?

Rise of the Guardians Featurette: An Entirely Different Breed of Bunny

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This new featurette from Rise of the Guardians focuses on Bunnymund a.k.a The Easter Bunny. Check it out:

Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine) voices the character, who along with Santa Claus, voiced by Alec Baldwin, the Tooth Fairy, voiced by Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Jack Frost, voiced by Chris Pine, and the Sandman, who doesn't speak, comprises "the Guardians."

The Guardians must band together to ward off the evil Boogeyman, voiced by Jude Law.

Rise of the Guardians hits theaters November 21. Head to our Rise of the Guardians character posters page for another look.


The Shining Wins the Tournament of Movie Fanatic Horror Bracket!

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All this month, leading up to this day, you have been casting your votes for your favorite horror films of all time. Today, Movie Fanatic is excited to announce the winner of the Tournament of Movie Fanatic Horror Bracket: The Shining!

The Shining Poster

The Shining joins Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which won best comedy, as the second ever winner of the Tournament. Jack Nicholson, Stanley Kubrick, and Stephen King fought a long, hard battle together, beating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, and Halloween to reach yesterday's finals matchup. Then, in a final epic battle of first-seeded horror classics, The Shining inched out what may be the narrowest victory we've ever had, beating Poltergeist by a margin of 50.6% to 49.4%!

Take a look at the final bracket, then scroll down to read through some of our favorite The Shining quotes! Have an amazing Halloween, and thank you for being a part of the Tournament of Movie Fanatic Horror Bracket!

Horror Bracket Winner

Jack Torrance: Here's Johnny! | permalink

Grady daughters: Come play with us, Danny. | permalink

Jack Torrance: Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in. | permalink

Danny Torrance: Redrum. Redrum. Redrum. | permalink

Danny Torrance: Danny isn't here, Mrs. Torrance. | permalink

Cloud Atlas Explained: All the Characters in One Infographic

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Cloud Atlas is a relatively simple movie disguised as a complex mess. The film, at its heart, is about little more than the everlasting vitality of life, and the unbreakable human will to survive.

But then there's the matter of the makeup, and that weird birthmark, and the intertwining storylines. Is that Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) under all that makeup? Or Hugo Weaving (The Hobbit)? How many Tom Hankses are there? If you split up the main characters into three groups, you'll see that each time period has a "Struggler," a "Villain," and a "Savior."

Halle Berry and Tom Hanks Cloud Atlas

The Struggler in each story has a comet-shaped birthmark, which some have suggested indicates that all of these characters are reincarnations of the same "soul." Others have suggested that the common actors signifies some kind of spiritual connectivity. In reality, the interconnectivity of the characters has nothing to do with the actors playing them (though Weaving and Hugh Grant are pretty much only jerks).

The birthmark signifies a shared lust for freedom--a "birthright" to advance civilization, if you will--with all six stories paralleling each other pretty tightly (which is perhaps why the 45-minute climax was so utterly taxing). While some element of each plotline carried over to influence the next (Sixsmith, The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, the Sonmi statue, etc.), ultimately the film does little to reinforce the theory that souls are being recycled.

Take a look at this infographic, which explains the character types for each time period, then check out our Cloud Atlas review.

Cloud Atlas Characters Explained Infographic

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Signs Frank Grillo for the VIllain Crossbones

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Frank Grillo has signed on to play the villain Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The character is a former gang leader who goes on to work as a henchman for Red Skull.

In the comics, Crossbones is responsible for the death of Captain America, though we're guessing it's unlikely that this storyline comes in to play for the second film.

Crossbones from Marvel Comics

Grillo had a very busy 2012, appearing in The Grey, End of Watch, and Lay the Favorite, with a role in the upcoming Bin Laden assassination movie Zero Dark Thirty.

Chris Evans returns as Captain America, with Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Scarlett Johansson also reportedly starring, some of whom appeared in The Avengers with Evans. Anthony and Joe Russo direct The Winter Soldier, which is slated for release April 4, 2014.

The Hobbit International TV Spot: I Never Doubted You for a Second

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The new Spanish-language trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a.k.a. El Hobbit, has dropped. Take a look:

Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins in the prequel trilogy to director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, with Ian McKellen returning as Gandalf the Grey. Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Graham McTavish, Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas), Cate Blanchett, Billy Connolly (Brave), and Luke Evans also star.

The film is based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel, with production for the first two films having been completed this summer in New Zealand.

The first part, An Unexpected Journey, will premiere December 14, with The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again hitting theaters December 13, 2013 and July 18, 2014, respectively. Check out some The Hobbit images for more.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Re-Ups on Director Francis Lawrence

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The Hunger Games film series is turning into a primarily Lawrence-based affair. Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence has just signed on to helm the two-part finale The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.

Of course, Lawrence is joined by star Jennifer Lawrence (no relation) in the role of Katniss Everdeen. The second film is currently being shot, with Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks returning to their roles from the first film. Sam Claflin joins on as the hunky tribute Finnick Odair.

Francis Lawrence on the set of Water for Elephants

Lawrence is best known for directing the 2007 Will Smith film I am Legend. He signs the Mockingjay deal while still directing his first Hunger Games movie, with the first film being directed by Gary Ross.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will hit theaters November 22, 2013.

Rise of the Guardians Featurette: The Sandman Cometh

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The Sandman gets the featurette treatment in this new video for Rise of the Guardians. Hear the filmmakers discuss the new technology they used to create the silent character's "golden sand."

Rise of the Guardians tells the story of all the most beloved mythical characters of childhood lore, who band together to save the world from the evil Boogeyman, voiced by Jude Law.

Alec Baldwin is Santa Clause, with Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) as the Tooth Fairy, Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine) as the Easter Bunny, and Chris Pine as Jack Frost. Peter Ramsey directs the film, which is based on the book series by William Joyce.

Rise of the Guardians will open November 21.

Star Wars Disney Merger Money Going to Charity: Lucas Will Donate Most of the $4 Billion

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The internet was abuzz yesterday with the news that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm, with the intention of releasing Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015. Today, a representative from Lucasfilm told The Hollywood Reporter that George Lucas plans to donate the majority of the $4.05 billion transferred in the merger to charity.

With questions about the significance of the Disney/Lucasfilm merger abound, Lucas' decision to use such a high-profile, culturally significant business deal as a way to advance his philanthropic endeavors is a welcome change for the usual cash-obsessed mentality of Hollywood.

The only question left is: How will the next Star Wars trilogy be? Let us know what you think of all the Star Wars-related events of the last few days in the comments section below! Are you excited? Apprehensive? Or do you not care at all?

George Lucas Pic


Breaking Dawn Part 2 Behind-the-Scenes Footage: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson on Set

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A five-minute video of behind-the-scenes footage from the set of Breaking Dawn Part 2 has hit the internet. It's mostly just shots of shots, but it does give a little bit of insight into the goings-on of the set. See for yourself:

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson star as Bella and Edward, who are now married with a child named Renesmee, played by Mackenzie Foy. The final installment of the Twilight Saga sees the Cullen family banning together with other Vampire clans to save Renesmee from the Volturi.

Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Maggie Grace, Michael Sheen, Nikki Reed, Kellen Lutz, Peter Facinelli, and Dakota Fanning also star. Bill Condon directs the film, which will open November 16, though truly dedicated fans can catch a Twilight marathon on the 15th, culminating in a midnight screening of the final film.

Top 10 Bond Girls: Pussy Galore & More

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As the Movie Fanatic 007 Days of Bond continues, today we celebrate the women in James Bond’s world as we reveal our Top 10 Bond Girls. Since Ursula Andress initiated the iconic part in Dr. No, 22 subsequent films have continued to define and change the archetype she created. Some of simply been arm candy for the superspy while others have played integral parts in advancing the story and others have even fought side by side with 007. With the arrival of Skyfall bond girls, the legend continues.

Without further ado, we present the Top 10 Bond Girls!

10. Jane Seymour, Live and Let Die
Seymour essentially introduced herself to the world with her Bond girl role in Live and Let Die. She was impeccably cast as the mysterious and exotic fortune teller who would prove a romantic conquest for Roger Moore's 007 and aide him with information that helped him close the Bayou set case.

Jane Seymour Live and Let Die

9. Barbara Bach, The Spy Who Loved Me
In The Spy Who Loved Me, Bach plays coy as she pursues Roger Moore. Meanwhile, her true motif sits underneath her steely presence: She seeks revenge against Bond fir killing her lover.

8. Diana Rigg, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Rigg has the rare distinction of being the only Bond girl who got him to put a ring on it. George Lazenby’s Bond falls head over heels for her and is actually the only time during the series that the super suave stud gets married.

7. Michelle Yeoh, Tomorrow Never Dies
The martial-arts queen from Hong King not only had the beauty aspect of being a Bond girl down, but she also knew how to kick some serious ass. It was a fantastic move by Bond producers to cast an Asian film star in the role, before she even started work on Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

6. Honor Blackman, Goldfinger
Besides possessing the best Bond girl name in the series, Pussy Galore, Blackman was also the oldest actress to tackle the archetype. Her role in Goldfinger was part aviatrix and all perfect yin to Sean Connery’s yang.

5. Famke Janssen, GoldenEye
Janssen is the first Bond girl on our list who was more evil than enlightening. In GoldenEye, Famke Janssen captured the super spy's fancy, but like a black widow, Janssen's Xenia Onatopp mated and almost killed him. No matter the villain, Bond always wins -- especially when it comes to war of the hearts.

Famke Janssen Pierce Brosnan Goldeneye

4. Carole Bouquet, For Your Eyes Only
Bouquet scores on this list if for no other reason than she killed at walking through that forest with the crossbow. In one of the weaker Bond films (influenced by Ice Castles, much?), this Bond girl made the movie!

3. Eva Green, Casino Royale
Green gave one of the best performances as a Bond girl ever with her role as Vesper Lynd, the treasury agent that was Daniel Craig’s first love interest in the series. She was Bond’s equal in many ways and without her -- the character and the actress -- Casino Royale would not have been half the success it was.

2. Halle Berry, Die Another Day
Sure she didn't invent the emerge from the water in a bikini move (see below), but the actress (Is Bond her best role?) did work it in her own way. She also did something Andress could never do; she was an equally attractive partner for Bond beyond romance coupled with her stellar action abilities.

1. Ursula Andress, Dr. No
Isn't the first always the best? In this case, yes, as Andress debuted and set the standard for all future Bond girls in two ways. First she defined the Bond girls introduction: Her emerging from the water in that iconic white bikini that will forever be a difficult task to top. Second, she set up how the Bond girls would affect our hero. Andress turned a brut thug in Connery into a panting puppy dog -- job done.

Ursula Andress in Dr. No

Dishonorable mentions: Denise Richards in The World is Not Enough and Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Casting News: Jamie Foxx in Talks to Play Electro

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Pre-production is moving quickly on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Earlier this summer, Marc Webb signed on to direct the sequel, with Andrew Garfield returning to play Spidey. Then, about a week ago we confirmed that Shailene Woodley will play Mary Jane Watson.

Now let's talk villain. It's been rumored that Electro will be the villain in the new film, and we now have reason to believe this rumor. Reportedly, Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) is in early talks to take the role.

Jamie Foxx Photograph

Marc Webb coyly confirmed that he wanted Foxx for the role, saying in a press conference yesterday "I think Jamie Foxx is electrifying!" and "I'd love to work with him and you'll be hearing more on that shortly, I'm sure."

Webb also stated that he is excited to be able to play around with the Spider-Man universe, after having to adhere to the origin story in the first film. He is even revisiting the suit, so we will probably see some changes there.

Do you want Electro to be the villain in the next film? Do you think Jamie Foxx is the right man for the part? Let us know in the comments section below!

Breaking Dawn Part 2: Secrets From Cast and Creator

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The entire Cullen clan, plus their new vampire daughter-in-law Bella, was out in full force yesterday in Beverly Hills and Movie Fanatic was there to capture the thoughts of an ensemble saying goodbye to an institution. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and the rest of the cast talked about everything under the sun as the final press tour has begun. Breaking Dawn Part 2 is about to hit theaters.

The Cast of Breaking Dawn Part 2
It was a scene filled with much joy as opposed to a somber gathering of people saying goodbye. The Twilight gang was there to celebrate a franchise that made them all movie stars.

Stay with us in the coming weeks as we bring you interviews with the big three, but also exclusive insight from players who have been there from the beginning. We also catch up with the Cullen clan further and the creator of the entire universe, Stephenie Meyer. But until then… we proudly present five things that stood out from the cast of Breaking Dawn Part 2.

5. Lautner was concerned about how the “imprinting” of Renesmee would play out onscreen. No one wants to watch a grown man flopping around after a child that he knows he’s eventually going to marry. "It’s a fine line, and I was worried about it," Lautner said. "It’s simple -- [Meyer] said it’s a lifelong bond between two people and that’s it," Lautner said. "At this point the girl’s like, what, 10-years-old? So it’s more of a protective thing, like a brother-sister relationship. That’s really all it is. I couldn't allow myself to think ahead and go beyond that, so that’s kind of the zone I had to stay in."

4. Pattinson seemed to reflect the sentiment that equal parts of Lautner’s fame had to do with screen presence and those abs when asked what he would do differently if he could go back and do the series all over. “Try and get a six-pack as early as possible and you'll be a much more successful actor," Pattinson said and laughed. Oh, and there was one more. "Start drinking vodka instead of beer.”

Taylor Lautner Eclipse

3. Elizabeth Reaser let her political affiliation slip when a question was asked as to what she would gift her Twilight alter-ego Esme for Christmas. "I think she'd be extra happy if Obama won.”

2. Stewart loves her mom, playing a mom to Mackenzie Foy in Breaking Dawn Part 2, but is in no hurry to be a mom. "I have a great relationship with my mom and she can be a bit feral when it comes to being a mom," Stewart said and laughed. "I can't wait to be a mom... but I can wait.”

1. Stephenie Meyer was even there as the victory tour of the world commenced yesterday in Los Angeles. What she said about the future of the franchise, we believed, perfectly capped the day.

Stephenie Meyer Picture
"I had planned out where it would go for a couple more books, so I know exactly what would happen. There are other characters that I think would have a lot of voice in those coming stories,” Meyer admitted about the future. But, in the end, she may be the only soul who reads it. "Maybe someday I'll write it out, just for myself. We'll see. I'm not in to permanence so I wouldn't say no, absolutely. I'm not going to do it today. I don't know how I'm going to feel in five years."

The Hobbit Character Posters: Meet All the Dwarves

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17 new character posters have dropped for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, mostly featuring the dwarves. Brace yourselves, there are a lot of "oins" and "ilis." Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

 The Hobbit Thorin Poster

The Hobbit Ori PosterThe Hobbit Oin PosterThe Hobbit Nori PosterThe Hobbit Kili PosterThe Hobbit Gollum PosterThe Hobbit Gloin PosterThe Hobbit Gandalf PosterThe Hobbit Galadriel PosterThe Hobbit Fili PosterThe Hobbit Dwalin PosterThe Hobbit Dori PosterThe Hobbit Bombur PosterThe Hobbit Bofur PosterThe Hobbit Bilbo PosterThe Hobbit Bifur PosterThe Hobbit Balin Poster

Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit hired by Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. The film series acts a prequel to The Lord of the Rings series, and is based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ian Holm, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), Luke Evans, Billy Connolly, Cate Blanchett, Stephen Fry, and Hugo Weaving (whose latest movie Cloud Atlas is explained in our infographic) also star.

The first installment of The Hobbit series hits theaters December 14. Until them, take a look at some more The Hobbit images.

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