Eva Green Almost Didn't Audition For Casino Royale Because She Didn’t Want Be A ‘Prissy’ Bond Girl

Eva Green Almost Didn't Audition For Casino Royale Because She Didn’t Want Be A ‘Prissy’ Bond Girl

Over the decades that the James Bond franchise has continued there were always certain elements that you could be sure would be included. Among them was the famous "Bond Girl." While the exact definition of what constituted the Bond Girl was somewhat fluid, you could always be sure the role would be played by a beautiful woman who would catch the eye of James Bond.

When the James Bond franchise got something of a reboot, Eva Green was offered the female lead of Casino Royale, but the actress actually turned down an audition initially. It seems she didn't have the highest opinion of the Bond Girl, and wasn't really interested in becoming one. According to Green...

I was probably a bit stupid or naive. I said, ‘Ugh, a Bond girl? What kind of prissy girl is that?’ They also kept the script secret. So it wasn’t until they gave me the script [nine months later] that I realized it was a meaty role. I didn't see her as a Bond girl. She’s a strong character; she’s got cracks.

To be fair, it seems Eva Green had no idea what she was actually saying no to when she was asked to consider the role. She saw the role as being something "prissy" that she had no desire to play. Once she had more of an idea of what the role actually was, she tells THR she became much more interested in it.

In the early James Bond movies most of the female roles were little more than sex objects that James would would either sleep with and/or rescue from the villain. There were always some exceptions to that rule, in some of the later films we saw actresses like Michelle Yeoh and Halle Berry take on roles of characters who were perfectly capable of fighting alongside James Bond, though the fact that they could do this might actually disqualify them from being "Bond Girls" depending on exactly how you define the term.

However, with Casino Royale the entire franchise saw a reboot. With that came a very different Bond in Daniel Craig and a very different sort of female lead. Eva Green's Vesper Lynd isn't another secret agent, but neither is she simply eye candy. She was one of the more complicated, and therefore more interesting, female lead's in the history of the franchise. She was so much more interesting that it's quite unfortunate that we lost her at the end of the film. Though the character's death went on to influence the rest of the Craig Bond films.

I for one am certainly glad that Eva Green joined Casino Royale as it's one of my favorite Bond films of all time and she's no small part of that. The next James Bond movie is finally moving toward production. Eva Green will be seen next in the new live action Dumbo.

Did DC Just Subtly Confirm Robert Pattinson As Batman?

Did DC Just Subtly Confirm Robert Pattinson As Batman?

Matt Reeves, DC, and Warner. Bros. have yet to officially announce anyone as the new post-Ben Affleck Batman. All we know at this point is Robert Pattinson was reported to be cast as the lead of The Batman, per Variety, with Deadline saying Pattinson had the edge on a short list but Nicholas Hoult was still in the running. But now some fans are reading into an Instagram post from DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee, seeing it as a hint to Pattinson's confirmation:

Hmmm. Was it just a coincidence that this top DC exec staged a social media image to show Robert Pattinson's name in all-caps? That tablet shot seems to show pieces of Howard Stern interviews, with Stern talking to Pamela Anderson and then Pattinson. But as a DC guy, he had to know fans would interpret Pattinson's name as some kind of easter egg hint.

Over on Reddit, fans are discussing Jim Lee's post, and also reports that Robert Pattinson was seen on the Warner Bros. lot in L.A.:

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean he was doing anything for The Batman. As fans have noted, he is also part of Christopher Nolan's WB film Tenet. As far as we know, The Batman won't start filming until this fall for a 2021 release, so if Robert Pattinson's set visit had anything to do with Batman, it could possibly be for another screen test or to sign papers, etc. That's all speculation, though. What we're waiting for is official word from The Powers That Be.

I'd love to hear from Matt Reeves directly on this, but that will happen in due time. For now, Robert Pattinson is being treated as the new Bruce Wayne. It's going to be very awkward if Reeves turns out to go in a different direction. Fans seem to have mixed reactions to Pattinson -- and there was a petition against his casting -- but I'm seeing a lot of early support/let's give him a chance responses. I'm also fond of Willem Dafoe's point about his chin.

As we wait for official word, one way or the other, keep up with all things DCEU in our handy guide, and check out our 2019 movie release schedule for news on everything already confirmed to be coming to theaters this year.

Ryan Reynolds And Taika Waititi Are Working Together For The First Time Since Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds And Taika Waititi Are Working Together For The First Time Since Green Lantern

Sounds like Green Lantern superhero buddies Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi will reunite on screen in Free Guy. Let's hope this movie is a little bit more successful!

Taika Waititi is joining Ryan Reynolds' action comedy Free Guy, Deadline reports, which follows a bank teller who discovers that he's actually a player inside a video game. With the help of an avatar, he tries to prevent the makers of the game from shutting down his world.

The film, directed by Shawn Levy, also stars Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Joe Kerry (Stranger Things), Utkarsh Ambudkar (Brockmire), and Lil Rel (Get Out).

There's no word on who Taika Waititi would play. He's become best known for his directing work -- including Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok -- but he also has a solid list of acting roles.

One of his early roles was in the 2011 DC Comics movie Green Lantern. Taika Waititi played Ferris Aircraft engineer Thomas Kalmaku, friend of Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. Check out a scene with Hal and Tom, with Hal showing Tom his suit:

It's a fun scene -- Taika looks so different! -- but Green Lantern was a notorious misfire across the board, and Ryan Reynolds has been joking about it ever since. Still, he co-starred with Blake Lively, who is now his wife, and the rest of the cast was equally strong. And now Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi are reuniting nearly 10 years later, when their careers are in very very different (and better) places.

Now Ryan Reynolds is becoming synonymous with Deadpool, but fans are also excited for his Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, which opens in May. He also has the sequel The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard in the works.

As for Taika Waititi, he has become such a sought-after writer/director, he was the only one fans were semi-OK with taking on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when it looked like James Gunn wouldn't return.

Taika Waititi is directing an episode of Disney+'s Star Wars series The Mandalorian, and he might also be voicing a character. He's also a director and producer of the FX series What We Do in the Shadows, which is based on his film.

Last we heard, Free Guy was looking at a July 3, 2020 release date -- but don't go circling the date on your movie calendar, 'cause it may move. In the meantime, keep up with what we do know is coming this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.

How Anthony Mackie Learned About Avengers: Endgame's Captain America Twist

How Anthony Mackie Learned About Avengers: Endgame's Captain America Twist

SPOILER WARNING: Big time spoilers follow! Please see this movie and then come back here later!

Avengers: Endgame may not close the door for every character, but it certainly serves as a finale for some huge pillars of this cinematic franchise. New beginnings and endings collide in the final scene of Endgame with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. It ends in a huge moment for both characters, and Anthony Mackie has finally opened up about filming the scene, what it means for the future, and the extremely touching and awesome way he first learned about it.

Okay, it's spoiler time. The Russo Bros. may be lifting the spoiler-ban on Monday, but I don't want to get beat up, so this is your last chance to turn away.

All right then. In the final moments of Endgame, Steve Rogers volunteers to travel back in time and return the Infinity Stones to prevent some very dark alternate realities. After doing his job, Steve decides to finally live the life he's always wanted and instead of returning to the present, stays in the 1940's to be with Peggy Carter. He arrives back in the main timeline as an old man, having lived a full and content life with his one true love.

But the world needs a Captain America, and Steve hands Sam Wilson his old shield. That's right, Falcon becomes the new Captain America. It's a super sweet and touching scene that has a lot of weight to it, and that's almost the exact same way Mackie learned about the scene. He was told by none other than Chris Evans, and they got to share a nice moment together.

We were at [Chris Evans’] house and he goes, 'You excited?' And I go, 'What are you talking about?' and he goes, 'You don't know?' He jumps up, runs out of the room and comes back in with the script… We cried. We drank. We laughed. I am very happy I got that moment with Chris, for him to not only pass me the shield, but to tell me it was happening.

Mackie told the IMDb Show that he learned about Falcon's future at Chris Evans' house. Mackie didn't even know about it yet and it sounds like Evans was incredibly excited to tell him about it. It's great that the two of them got to share a private moment about it, considering that their characters are so close in the movies.

Sam Wilson's future is looking bright, and Mackie sounds excited to see where it all goes. He also spoke about how he feels about the big change, what it means going forward, and what he hopes it'll mean to his sons. (I'm not crying, you are!)

It means a lot to me for my sons to see Captain America as a black dude and for me to be that dude to my sons. So that moment was not just, 'Hey, we're acting.' It was more of a thing. And then they cut and I cried. And Chris cried. And the Russos cried. And everyone cried. It was an emotional day.

We can probably bet on the Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+ series to shed some light on how Sam will become Captain America. Until then, why don't you go see Avengers: Endgame. It doesn't need the help, but it's a really good movie.

Toy Story 4 Will Feature A Don Rickles Tribute

Toy Story 4 Will Feature A Don Rickles Tribute

In April 2017, Don Rickles, who voiced Mr. Potato Head for the Toy Story franchise, passed away. Rather than recast the role for Toy Story 4 since recording had not begun when Rickles died, it was announced earlier this year that he will still serve as the voice of Mr. Potato Head thanks to archived audio. It’s also been revealed that the next Pixar movie will feature a tribute to the stand-up comedian. In director Josh Cooley’s words:

Yes we're gonna have a tribute to him. We, you know we went through everything that could possibly, he's recorded so we went through all the past films, all the shorts, all the video games, all the theme park stuff, all the ice- capades all the toys. He's done a lot over the past 25 years. And you know he did sign on to be on this film before he passed and so we're very honored for that and we're also very honored that his family asked us to see if can create a performance.

CinemaBlend’s own Dirk Libbey visited Pixar Animation Studios to learn more about Toy Story 4, and Don Rickle’s presence in the movie was among the topics discussed. Considering that Mr. Potato Head is one of the main supporting characters in the Toy Story franchise, as well as the fact that these movies introduced Rickles to an entire generation, and it’s incredibly fitting that Toy Story 4 will pay tribute to the man.

Aside from Don Rickle’s voice being featured in Toy Story 4, it will be interesting to see how the folks at Pixar honored him for the movie. I can easily imagine a short message being displayed onscreen either before or after the credits roll, but perhaps there will be a more unique way that the tribute unfolds. In any case, since it looks like Toy Story 4 could really be the end of this film series, it’s all the more appropriate that Rickles is properly commemorated here.

This isn’t the first time the Toy Story franchise has had to deal with the loss of a main cast member. In 2000, only a few months after Toy Story 2’s release, Jim Varney, the original voice of Slinky Dog, passed away. When it came time to record Toy Story 3, Blake Clark was tapped as Varney’s successor. But in Mr. Potato Head’s case, there was so much audio from a variety of projects that recasting the character for Toy Story 4 wasn’t necessary.

Along with Don Rickles, Toy Story 4 will feature old favorites like Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger and Annie Potts all reprising their respective roles. The new cast members include Tony Hale, Jordan Peele, Keegan Michael-Key, Christina Hendricks and Keanu Reeves.

Toy Story 4 hits theaters on June 21, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release schedule to learn what other major motion pictures are opening later this year.

8 Zac Efron Movies That Prove He's Bigger Than High School Musical

8 Zac Efron Movies That Prove He's Bigger Than High School Musical

Zac Efron has come a long way from East High School with his starring role in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile, on Netflix now. Looking back to 2006, Zac Efron was at the forefront of High School Musical, a corny-but-peppy-and-bubbly Disney Channel original movie that became a full pop culture phenomenon, the likes of which likely surprised even the folks at Disney. It was an overnight sensation — literally — once it aired on the Disney Channel that fateful evening. Since then, Zac Efron has been a household name, and has earned no shortage of adoring fans.

However, because of his success in this three-part film series, there are some folks out there who still associate Zac Efron's acting with his work as Troy Bolton in High School Musical. Despite his best efforts to branch out and expand himself as an actor, there are some musical lovers out there who only see Zac Efron for the work he did in the past without recognizing his developing talents. That's not really fair. In the past decade, Zac Efron has proven to be a versatile, charismatic performer, having varied himself well enough to be more than his work in the Disney Channel trilogy. He should be accredited as an accomplished, talented and dedicated actor.

Much like how we are not much like our high school selves once we get older, Zac Efron has grown up and matured in a strong, promising actor. He has developed an esteemed resume and shown himself to be an established actor in many different respects. So, let's take a moment to showcase a number of the roles that prove that he's bigger than his hit performances in High School Musical 1, 2, and 3.

Me And Orson Welles

In 2008, shortly after he rose to celebrity through his appearances in High School Musical 1 & 2, Zac Efron worked alongside director Richard Linklater in the period piece biopic Me and Orson Welles, which followed a starry-eyed teenager who got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with the great Orson Welles in his 1937 production of Julius Caesar. It was certainly the work of a young performer, but it gave audiences outside of the High School Musical fanbase a chance to see an actor on the rise.

Plus, it showcased that had dramatic range and potential that wasn't fully explored in those TV movie musicals. Sure enough, as the years went on, the actor would continue to prove himself in a variety of different performances.

The Lorax

While Zac Efron rose to super-status through his vocal pipes, singing tunes for High School Musical, the actor reached a new career phase when he did his first voice-only performance in The Lorax, Illumination Entertainment's 2012 feature-length adaptation of Dr. Seuss beloved children's book. As the voice of Ted Wiggins, the child protagonist, Zac Efron uses his popularity with the younger crowds to draw viewers into this new take on the old environmental tale. While the film itself didn't win over many critics, it provided Zac Efron with one of his first major box office smashes. During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide.

During its 2012 release, The Lorax made over $348 million worldwide. That's not too bad for a first big animated outing.

Neighbors

After a series of unremarkable performances in inert or underwhelming dramas, Zac Efron finally found his calling outside of High School Musical. And it was in the comedy department. In a role that allowed the rising actor to finally be free from the restraints of Disney's child-friendly image, Zac Efron appeared alongside Seth Rogen in 2014's surprise hit R-rated comedy Neighbors, allowing the actor to prove his comedic chops (while also not being afraid to take off his shirt a few times).

Though the comedies he appeared in afterwards didn't acquire the same success (See: Baywatch and Bad Grandpa), Efron's work in Neighbors proved that he was on his way up the ladder, creatively. Plus, could be really funny, to boot.

The Disaster Artist

As anyone who has seen The Room will note, the role of Chris-R is just as puzzling and bizarre as anything else in Tommy Wiseau's elusive passion project. Yet, the actor who played the role, Dan Janjigian, gave a convincingly menacing and surprisingly compelling performance, channeling more believable and palpable emotion intensity in just one scene than anyone else did throughout the entirety of the movie. It is often considered the one good performance in a film that's certainly less-than-great, and Zac Efron certainly had his work cut out for him.

In James Franco's dramedy biopic, The Disaster Artist, Efron played Janjigian/Chris-R in a similar memorable sequence, and he reportedly went method in the same way his on-screen persona did. Once again, Zac Efron proved his talents are quite versatile.

The Greatest Showman

Following 2008's High School Musical 3, Zac Efron opted not to participate in any more movie musicals. The actor was focused more on comedic and dramatic roles, challenging himself as an actor and pushing himself more as a performer. It wasn't until nine years later when he appeared in The Greatest Showman that he got a chance to sing and dance again.

Sure enough, while it was nearly a decade after his first movie musical, Zac Efron was far from rusty in the singing department. The box office numbers and chart-topping album sales also suggest that audiences will continue to come out in droves to see Efron belt out a tune or two in a theater near them. Plus, this time, Zac Efron got to sing as a very much adult character dealing with the period issues of the day.

The Beach Bum

Similar to how fellow High School Musical alum (and Efron's former fling) Vanessa Hudgens moved away from her Disney image with Harmony Korine's cult hit Spring Breakers, Zac Efron wanted to work with the auteur indie director to push himself as an actor into more adult territory. The result is a limited-but-impressive turn in The Beach Bum, Korine's recent follow-up to Spring Breakers, which finds Efron playing the role of Flicker, a hard-drinking, Creed-loving, Panini beard-wearing party-lover who mirrors Matthew McConaughey's titular Beach Bum on his path to self destruction.

Even though he is only in the movie for 10 minutes -- maybe 15 minutes max -- it is a great and unique turn for Zac Efron. And it's another performance that shows Zac Efron's talents as a supporting actor, beyond his leading man roles. Plus, just look at that facial hair.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

In what could easily be described as his most controversial role to date, Zac Efron's performance as Ted Bundy in the historical drama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile was met with a great deal of trepidation and concern from the media due to the subject matter at hand. The story of Ted Bundy is not for the faint of heart, and it was certainly a far cry from Zac Efron's Disney days. Yet, through his involvement in this film, Zac Efron provided a meta thesis to the dramatization of this true story.

Zac Efron's charisma and good looks are eerily similar to the late serial killer, and it shows how the media painted a muddled picture of the events that caused people to question whether a person like Ted Bundy could commit such heinous crimes, despite the stark evidence that suggested — over and over — that he did. It's an intriguingly metatexual performance, and one that shows Efron's dramatic range.

As a young, on-the-rise actor, Zac Efron is continuing to prove himself with a variety of different movies and shows. The actor is steadily expanding and challenging himself in different roles and with different opportunities, and there's a good chance that we'll continue to see Zac Efron's stardom rise in the future. For now, though, we hope we showed you how Zac Efron continues to develop and excel an actor, and how he is much bigger than his work in the High School Musical movies.

How Tim Burton Is Different From Every Other Director Danny Elfman Works With

How Tim Burton Is Different From Every Other Director Danny Elfman Works With

The collaboration between Tim Burton and Danny Elfman is one of the great director/composer relationships in modern cinema. The two men first came together for Pee-wee's Big Adventure back in 1985, and while they’ve both worked with other filmmakers in the time since then, that does nothing to undercut the fact that they’ve made 17 features together (18 if you count Henry Sellick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas). Clearly it’s a special relationship for both men, and as I recently learned during an interview with Elfman, it’s one that is unique in some very key ways.

Specifically, it comes down to the amount of time that Danny Elfman and Tim Burton actually spend talking about the work. When working with other filmmakers, having discussions about music and the proper approach can take multiple days of analysis, but that just apparently isn’t the way that Burton functions. As I learned from the legendary composer during the recent Los Angeles press day for Dumbo, going through a score discussion with the director apparently barely takes more than an afternoon. Said Elfman,

The spotting sessions we do, where we go through the whole film and talk a little bit about each piece of music, Tim is quicker than any director I've ever worked with. I'm working right now on a film where the spotting session will take two days. We did half of it last week, and I do half of it tomorrow. And with Tim, if it's a two hour movie, the spotting sessions are two-and-a-half hours. If it's an hour and 45 minute movie, it's two hours and 15 minutes.

That’s pretty intense, but one could argue that it very much speaks to the power of the collaboration between the two men.

When I followed up by asking why it is that Tim Burton is able to plow through those spotting sessions, Danny Elfman’s explanation was simple: he doesn’t like to dissect, and instead is more interested in just jumping around and just expressing where it is that he wants specific cues. Music is apparently a detail of the filmmaking process that he doesn’t put a tremendous amount of thought into – but Elfman also made it clear that part of that extends from the fact that there is a lot of trust in their collaboration:

He doesn't want to talk about it. It's just like, 'Okay let's start the music here. And then skip to the end of the scene.' He skips to the end. 'I think this is a good place to come out.' And then he might have like three words. He goes, 'Keep it kind of understated here. Okay, next.' It's like, 'Oh yeah, make sure you play the something here. Okay, next.' He doesn't analyze. Some people get very analytical, and they really want to talk about the psychology of a scene, and Tim doesn't. He's like, 'You know, there's music. You'll find it. When you find it, I'll know it.'

What’s extra funny about this, though, is that it’s not exactly a recent development that began with their work together on Dumbo. This whole conversation was accessed when I asked Danny Elfman about the evolution of his relationship with Tim Burton since they first started working together in the mid-1980s – and the four time Oscar nominee explained that things have basically been the way they are now since the very beginning. Said Elfman,

It's still more or less the same, other than he's much more sure of himself and what he likes and doesn't like then when we started, obviously, in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and he was just like, 'Oh, great. Music. Cool.' And now he's much more selective. But other than that, the process is really similar. He doesn't talk about the movie a lot, and he doesn't talk about the music a lot.

It’s pretty incredible to learn this when you consider the power of their work together – but also clearly a situation of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

Audiences can now hear the latest score from Danny Elfman in theaters everywhere, as Dumbo is now playing in wide release. And for those of you interested in playing it at home, the MP3 album is available now, and CDs will be released this Friday, April 5th.