Showing posts with label Dame Judy Dench. Show all posts

Friday, 10 June 2016

Naomie Harris joins six decades of Bond Girls for 007-themed party to celebrate Duke of Edinburgh Awards' 60th anniversary

Joanna Lumley and Jane Seymour join Naomie Harris as six decades of Bond Girls come together for 007-themed party to celebrate Duke of Edinburgh Awards' 60th anniversary

PUBLISHED: 01:01, 10 June 2016 | UPDATED: 10:05, 10 June 2016

Six decades of screen sirens who bewitched James Bond with their beauty were brought together in Buckinghamshire on Thursday night.

Some of the early Bond girls such as Joanna Lumley joined present 007 star Naomie Harris at the Diamonds Are Forever Gala to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards.

Hosted by comedian David Walliams, the VIP guests met the Prince Philip, the Duke Of Edinburgh, who was joined by his son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

Dame Judi Dench, Jane Seymour, Maryam D'Abo, Samantha Bond, Caterina Murino and Sir Roger Moore were also invited to the 007-themed fundraiser at Stoke Park - which has previously featured in Goldfinger and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Bond beauties: Jane Seymour and Joanna Lumley attend the Diamonds Are Forever Gala to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire

Sheer daring: Current Bond actress Naomie Harris looked amazing in a black butterfly-patterned sheer floor-length number by Zuhair Murad

Also in attendance was former Bond star Colin Salmon and the franchise's producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, as well as Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna, 70, is one the earliest Bond girls, playing one of Blofeld's Angels of Death alongside George Lazenby On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.

Speaking about her favourite Bonds, she said: 'Sir Roger was amazing. Pierce Brosnan was incredible as well.

Representing the Eighties and the Noughties: Maryam d'Abo (left) and Caterina Murino both opted for slinky black numers

Good memories: Former 007 star Samantha Bond looked glamorous in in a low cut black and white dress, while Italian actress Caterina was stunning in black

Flashback: Former Bond girl Maryam (who starred in 1987 Bond film The Living Daylights) and Bond producer and screenwriter Michael G Wilson chatted to Dame Judi Dench over champagne

MI6 colleagues reunion: Dame Judi and Samantha both played colleagues to Pierce Brosnan's Bond

'People are always asking me who's going to be the next bond but Barbara Broccoli is holding her cards very close to her chest.'

Mingling in the garden at the champagne reception, Joanna posed for photos with fellow Bond girl Jane, who played Solitaire alongside Sir Sean Connery in Live And Let Die in 1973.

Her former Bond Sir Roger - who played the spy between 1973 and 1985 - was one of the big names at the bash and gave his opinion on who he would like to see in the role next.

Fabulous! Ab Fab's Joanna was thrilled to talk to the Duke of Edinburgh

On her majesty's secret service: Former Bond Sir Roger Moore greets Prince Philip

He explained: 'Anybody who is athletic - Daniel Craig has made that so. He is still Bond.'

Representing the Eighties Bond films was Timothy Dalton's The Living Daylights co-star Maryam d'Abo, who played Kara Milovy in the 1987 movie, while the Noughties was represented by Caterina, famous for Solange Dimitrios alongside Daniel Craig in his 007 debut Casino Royale in 2006.

Joining the actresses were not actual Bond girls, rather 007's MI6 colleagues; Samantha and Naomie, the past and current incarnations of Moneypenny.

Iconic: The three women acknowledged how important the Bond franchise had been to their careers

Goofing around: Dame Judi shared a laugh with former Bond co-star Colin Salmon (left) and comedian David Walliams

Garden party: (L-R) Fiona Hawthorne, Colin, Dame Judi, David, Michael G Wilson and David Mills

Downton star Samantha played Miss Moneypenny alongside Pierce Brosnan in four 007 films, Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).

Meanwhile, Daniel Craig-era Naomie took on the role of Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall in 2012 and reprised her role in last year's blockbuster Spectre.

The actress admitted she had no idea who was in the frame to replace Daniel once he officially stepped down from Bond: 'I have no idea. I know nothing, exactly the same as everyone else.

Lady in black: Dami Judi looked elegant in her floor-length black gown

Catching up: Dame Judi was seen deep in conversation with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli

Meet and greet: Jane spoke to Sophie, Countess of Wessex, while Naomie chatted to former Bond actor Colin

Sharing Bond memories: Caterina, David and Maryam talk to Prince Edward, Earl Of Wessex

'I love Daniel Craig, and really really hope he's going to come back.'

Completing Bond's female colleagues at the party was Dame Judi, who played M for seven movies, before she was killed off in Skyfall.

Speaking about the Duke Of Edinburgh's work with young people, Dame Judi said: 'It has galvanised a lot of young people into doing a lot of good things.

'My own nephew did the Duke of Edinburgh Awards - it gives people a focus, they realise "there's something I can do" and it's thrilling.'

Speaking about her favourite Bonds, Joanna said: 'Sir Roger was amazing. Pierce Brosnan was incredible as well'

All for a good cause: Dame Judi admitted her nephew had taken part in the Duke Of Edinburgh Award scheme

Glamour: Samantha and Jane with Bond producer Barbara, who is currently focusing on the next Bond film, which may or may not include Daniel Craig

Dapper: Colin chatted to DJ and actor Goldie, who famously starred in The World Is Not Enough in 1999

The garden with the golden gun: Party organisers had erected a giant 007 logo on the grass

When they were young: Joanna (front, in black) with George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Jane with Sir Roger Moore in Live And Let Die (1973)

Screen sirens: Maryam with Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights in 1987 and Samantha as Miss Moneypenny with Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day in 2002

Daniel's Dames: Caterina Murino and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale in 2006 (left) and the actor with Naomie in Skyfall in 2012

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

SPOILER ALERT: Dame Judi Dench creates stylish 007 Skyfall souvenir

SPOILER ALERT: Dame Judi Dench creates stylish 007 souvenir by turning brass bullets from final Skyfall scene in to cufflinks

PUBLISHED: 13:01, 15 January 2013 | UPDATED: 16:57, 15 January 2013

IT was the moment she finally got out from behind her London desk and in amongst the action – and it cost James Bond’s M, played by Dame Judi Dench, her life.

The matriarchal MI6 spy chief went out in a blaze of glory in her dramatic last ever scenes for the blockbuster franchise, fatally injured in a gunfight with Javier Bardem’s flamboyant villain and his henchmen in the latest Bond outing, Skyfall.

But while clearly emotional at bowing out of the series, the acting dame was clearly thrilled that she got to fire off a few shots at the baddies before she went down, the only time throughout her seven-film tenure as M she got to show her credentials in the field.

Dame Judy Dench attends a photocall with cast and filmmakers to mark the start of production which is due to commence on the 23rd Bond Film Skyfall

After shooting her final James Bond scenes as M in Skyfall Dame Judi Dench kept the casings of the four bullets she fired and had them turned into cufflinks as Christmas presents

For the Oscar-winning actress, famed for her Shakespearian roles, kept the four brass shells she discharged from her pistol and had them fashioned into gold cufflinks.

She gave one pair to her 15-year-old grandson, Sammy, and another to her daughter Finty’s boyfriend for Christmas.

Designer jeweller Roger Elliott, 63, gold-plated the cartridges and studded their tips with rubies.

He created bullet-shaped end bars and engraved them with Skyfall, the name of Bond’s fictional childhood home in the Scottish Highlands where M dies the arms of 007, played by Daniel Craig.

Mr Elliott, from Redhill, Surrey, who has made a necklace and earrings for Dame Judi in the past, said: 'She told me the cartridge cases were especially meaningful to her because they marked the end of her career as M.

'She also said they were the only gunshots she ever fired on screen.

“Dame Judi normally plays more deskbound characters, so the action sequence was very unusual for her.

'I made more of them than Dame Judi expected. She was delighted with the result.

'I hope they made a lovely present. They are quite unique.'

Jeweller Roget Elliott plated the bullet casings in 18-carat gold, studded them with rubies and engraved them with the film's title

Dame Judi thoroughly enjoyed getting out of M's office: 'It's extremely nice to get a go in the field, as it were, and get a bit of the action. It made me feel very grown-up.'

Dame Judi inherited the role of M from Robert Brown and before him, Bernard Lee. Her character, introduced in 1995’s Golden Eye, was loosely based on real life former MI5 head Dame Stella Rimmington.

Her M was initially sceptical of Pierce Brosnan’s Bond and his womanising ways, branding him a dinosaur relic of the Cold War.

The two eventually formed a close relationship, with M playing mentor and mother-figure, a bond that was cemented in their final outing together, in which her character is central to the plot.

The actress, whose meatier M role in Skyfall has seen her nominated for a Bafta, has revealed that, just like her character, she was reluctant to give up the part after 17 years.

Asked if the end had come as a relief, she said: 'No, certainly not. I could go on for years. Maybe I'll come back as a ghost. Now that would be Shakespearian.'

At least she enjoyed her action-packed final scenes, in which Bond uses her as bait to lure Bardem’s vengeful former secret agent, Raoul Silva, to his isolated ancestral home for a fight to the death.

Dench has said her favourite memory of filming was 'going to the ammunition shed', adding: 'It's extremely nice to get a go in the field, as it were, and get a bit of the action. It made me feel very grown-up. It's not just the fellas who are spinning about and shooting guns – I get a go.'

Mr Elliott now plans to sell replica versions of the Skyfall cufflinks to Bond fans.

He said: 'You can’t put a value on the originals, because they are so sentimental.

'The materials themselves were not that precious as the shells were made of brass.

'But I will make solid gold copies which should sell for around £1,600 and silver versions for about £600.'

Dame Judi Dench and director Sam Mendes (far right) on the set of Skyfall in M's make-shift office

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Skyfall receives 8 BAFTA Nominations

SKYFALL RECEIVES 8 BAFTA NOMINATIONS!!!

SKYFALL has received nominations for Outstanding British Film (Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan), Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), Original Music (Thomas Newman), Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Editing (Stuart Baird), Production Design (Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock) and Sound (Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers).

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli commented today, “We are absolutely thrilled SKYFALL has received 8 nominations from the British Academy. We thank everybody who has voted for SKYFALL and all those who have contributed to the film’s continuing success."

Skyfall set for triumph at this year's BAFTA awards with Judi Dench and Javier Bardem nominated... but Daniel Craig is left off the list

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2259428/BAFTA-2013-nominations-Judi-Dench-Javier-Bardem-Skyfall-Daniel-Craig-left-list.html#ixzz2HUFGWRf4
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Skyfall looks set to triumph at this year's BAFTA awards, with Judi Dench and Javier Bardem both nominated.

While Javier was nominated in the supporting actor category for his role as the villainous Silva, Judi received a nod for supporting actress after reprising her role as M.

But noticeably absent from the nominations was Bond himself, Daniel Craig, as well as the movie's director Sam Mendes.

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Set for triumph: Skyfall has received several nominations for this year's BAFTA awards, but Daniel Craig was noticeably absent from the list

Terrifying: Javier Bardem was also nominated in the supporting actor category for his role as Silva in Skyfall

Skyfall is also nominated for Outstanding British Film and Original Music - a nod to Adele who provided the hit Bond theme of the same name.

The film also picks up nods for Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Sound.

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Video: James Bond 'Skyfall' Full Press Conference - Digital spy

James Bond 'Skyfall' Full Press Conference

Uploaded on 3 Nov 2011

Director Sam Mendes, stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Javier Bardem, Berenice Marlohe and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, introduce 'Skyfall', the 23rd installment in the James Bond series, at the press conference launch in London.

For all the latest Skyfall news, check out our complete James Bond coveragehttp://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/completecoverage/james-bond-007/

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