Hollywood: Has James Bond bombed?
By Tony Rizzo
Daniel Craig as 007. Photo Credit: MGM/Sony Pictures
HOLLYWOOD -- Has James Bond bombed? When you've made five James Bond films (collectively grossing $3 billion), you must believe you can do anything. Daniel Craig, now 54, must have felt he needed to drastically change his career direction now that he's no longer 007. Why he chose Shakespeare's "Macbeth," post-Bond, must be because of director Sam Gold, who promised this Broadway production would be innovative and different. In view of Denzel Washington's Oscar nomination for HIS "Macbeth" film, it was a gutsy decision for Craig.
However, critics were waiting with their little hatchets! One called the production "uninvolving, ponderous and a real blunderball." His leading lady, Ruth Negga as Lady Macbeth, came off much better, and critics proclaimed, "She stole the show with her mellifluous voice and the requisite intensity for the woman plotting to kill King Duncan!"
Barbara Broccoli, Bond films producer, produced this show, but admits she's still searching for the next 007. Her short list has Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Idris Elba and "Euphoria" star Jacob Elordi, who's Australian, 6-foot-5 and just turning 25. He's no stranger to sequels; he starred in "The Kissing Booth 1, 2 and 3." Craig's not crying, however; he got a $100 million paycheck to reprise his role as Detective Benoit Blanc in a pair of "Knives Out" sequels.
Not on any Bond list is 38-year-old Chris Hemsworth, 6-foot-3 and built better than Craig. Hemsworth has completed two Netflix films, the sci-fi thriller "Spiderhead," with Miles Teller, and a sequel to the action thriller "Extraction." He's also prepping the $65 million "Furiosa," a "Mad Max" prequel, for a May 2024 release. But first we'll see "Thor: Love and Thunder," premiering July 8.
I caught "The Batman" on HBO Max and was pleasantly surprised how perfectly suited Robert Pattinson is in the title role, and how entertaining and compelling the film is. We're looking forward to his next two "Batman" films!
The music world is going out of its mind because of an upcoming auction of a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin reputed to have been used to create the Oscar-winning score of "The Wizard of Oz." The Rolls Royce of violins is expected to bring a winning bid of up to $20 million.
The Stradivarius belonged to Odessa-born Toscha Seidel (1899-1962), considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. Seidel used his violin to play on the scores of two other MGM films: "The Great Waltz" (1938), with Louise Rainer and Miliza Korjus, and "Intermezzo" (1939), with Ingrid Bergman and Leslie Howard. Though there are still about 600 Stradivarius violins worldwide, one sold in 2011 for $15.9 million.
Seidel once gave violin instruction to Albert Einstein, who paid him with a sketch reportedly diagramming his theory of relativity. What the heck might that be worth?
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