As promised, here’s the first video blog from Skyfall director Sam Mendes. Skyfall is currently shooting in London with Daniel Craig making his third outing as James Bond and Dame Judi Dench returning as M.

I actually wouldn’t call this a “video blog” at least how we’ve come to know them from Peter Jackson’s use of the term and the medium to document the making of The Hobbit films. There’s no footage of the actual film, none of Dench, and only a fleeting glimpse of Craig, no sneak peeks at Ralph Fiennes or Javier Bardem. It seems to be  more of a Mendes interview, in which he mentions his personal feelings about Bond and the legacy he’s been handed, as well as Daniel Craig as Bond in particular.

I’m making two assumptions based on this clip. One it’s probably only the start of updates we’ll be getting (that might be wishful thinking on my part), as I think Mendes has decided if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, or at least control the flow.  I also think this is probably part of a “making of” for the dvd release. We’ll see. I can’t think about dvd now. That’s a year away. I’m too excited for Skyfall’s theatrical release this fall.  Even though it’s still shooting, Skyfall hits theaters in the UK on 26^th October and November 9 here on this side of the pond.

Enjoy the video. We also have a few more pics of filming in the past few weeks. (I'm kind of partial to the one at the top of the post. I'll let you figure out why.) More will surely follow.

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Well, it’s all over but the shouting.  (You think I'm kidding, the crowds were insane!) The winners have been declared for the Orange British Academy Film Awards for 2012 held tonight February 12 at the Royal Opera House in London.  Miss Piggy was a lovely and gracious hostess  and a welcome addition to the regular red-carpet personalities like Edith Bowman and  Fearne Cotton. Jon Hamm showed up just to class up the joint, as did presenter Penelope Cruz.

Sir Tom Jones kicked things off with a musical homage to 50 years of James Bond. It was a little difficult to discern the words, but he's still got the voice. Host Stephen Fry, was, as always witty, charming and erudite.

You’ll find the complete list below, but in case you haven’t heard yet, The Artist swept almost every category for which it was nominated. That’s not really all that surprising and it does pretty much seal the deal for the Oscars in two weeks time. If Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and its star Gary Oldman were going to pull any upsets, this would have been the place for that very British film to do it.  TTSS did win Best Adapted Screenplay (which was deserved. I thought it would. The writers are British, of course, but one of the cowriters, Peter Straughan’s wife Bridget O’Connor, died before seeing it produced) as well as Best British Film. 

So, needless to say, Oldman and Michael Fassbender were denied and Jean Dujardin is going home with the golden mask. (Although I would have liked to have seen Fassy get it, I thought surely the British Academy would see fit to reward Oldman. I do think, however, that Dujardin’s win puts the nail in Clooney’s Oscar coffin.)  George did show up of course, just in case. As did Brad Pitt. George was flying solo and Brad was sans Ange. He must have left her in Berlin. Love the pic of George and Colin Firth sharing a bro-hug. And only the beautiful Livia Firth could get away with that manly tux on the red carpet.

Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus) was denied in favor of another first-time actor turned director Paddy Considine who was awarded the Best Debut by a British Director, Writer or Prducer prize for Tyrannosaur.  Ralph looked fantastic though and we all know that’s more important.

Meryl Streep glammed it up and put on the ritz as if she expected to win. Everyone predicted it was in the bag for her in Blighty and they were right.  (There were ads for The Iron Lady during the BBCAmerica telecast of the BAFTAs that emphasize the fact that it's been 29 years since she won an Oscar. Heavy-handed in my opinion.) Viola Davis lost out, but her costar Octavia Spencer continued her run and won Best Supporting Actress for The Help. (Who were those guys Spencer had with her? They look like bodyguards.) Poor Michelle Williams who seemed a front-runner at one point, has all but been forgotten. She looked good though. 

Kenneth Branagh lost out to Christopher Plummer, but I’m just glad he showed up (Plummer didn't). I can’t get enough of him. He’s still as adorable as he was in Henry V. (And can I just say that I freakin’ LOVE that his wife isn’t some waifish trophy?)  Although, I do have to say Gary Oldman always looks like someone just handed him the keys to the kingdom whenever you see him with his arm around wife no. 4, Alexandra Edenborough.

One category that was a surprise: the Orange Rising Star Award. Last year it was won by Tom Hardy, and in the five years before that it was won by the likes of Kristen Stewart, Noel Clarke, Shia Labeouf, Eva Green and James McAvoy. This year the nominees were Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers, Snow White and the Huntsman) who showed up with his gorgeous pregnant bride, Elsa Pataky, Eddie Redmayne, (My Week with Marilyn, Pillars of the Earth, Les Miserables), Tom Hiddleston (Thor, The Avengers, Deep Blue Sea, War Horse, Midnight in Paris), Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids for which he won an IFTA the night before, The Boat That Rocked, Friends with Kids) and Adam Deacon (Kidulthood, Adulthood). Guess who won? That’s right, the actor you’ve never heard of. I guess the other four don’t need a leg up, at least according to UK cinema-goers, who vote for the award. Deacon couldn't believe it either, calling it "surreal" before saying "Fank you".  Actually Adam Deacon appeared in a movie ten years ago with Gerard Butler. Deacon was in Shooters when he was just 16. I guess that’s a reason to watch it again. *coughlikeIneedonecough*

Martin Scorsese was given the British Academy Fellowship Award,sort of a 'lifetime achievement' award, presented to him by Max von Sydow. It was an oddly introduced tribute with only two taped testimonials, one by Robert De Niro and another by Christopher Lee (who appeared in Hugo this year). I guess  they couldn't given him this one and Best Director, so that went to Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist. (By the way, how does a movie with no dialogue win Best Original Screenplay?)

Some exciting news was leaked on the red carpet as well. Bond girls Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe, who both looked stunning, were in attendance and Harris revealed that Skyfall would include “a lot” of Daniel Craig nakedness. You read that right. She said “nakedness”.  Now, while I don’t expect Craig to go all ‘Fassbender’, another slow climb out of the sea, dripping wet in those tight blue trunks would be appreciated. Just sayin’.

The biggest surprise of the night, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe showed up to hand out the BAFTA for Best Picture…The Artist. (Since it was a suprise they didn't walk the red carpet. It would have exploded from the hotness.)

So here’s your complete list of winners as well as a lot of pretty pics of the pretty people.  Meet you back here in two weeks for the Oscars!

Outstanding British Contribution To Film

John Hurt

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Kristin Wiig, Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids
John Michael McDonagh – The Guard
Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris

Best Supporting Actress

Carey Mulligan – Drive
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Judi Dench – My Week With Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Outstanding British Film

My Week With Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Jim Broadbent – The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Ides of March
Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Production Design

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer

Richard Ayoade – Submarine
Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw – Tyrannosaur
Joe Cornish – Attack the Block
Ralph Fiennes – Coriolanus
Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, Sarah Brocklehurst – Black Pond

Best Film Not in the English Language

Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Best Costume Design

The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week With Marilyn
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Makeup & Hair

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week With Marilyn

Best Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Film Editing

The Artist
Drive
Senna
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Sound

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Original Music

Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore – Hugo
Alberto Iglesias – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
John Williams – War Horse

Best Visual Effects

The Adventures of Tintin
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

Best Animated Short

Abuelas
Bobby Yeah
A Morning Stroll

Best Short Film

Chalk
Mwansa The Great
Only Sound Remains
Pitch Black Heist
Two And Two

Best Film

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Tomas Alfredson – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Actor

George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Gary Oldman – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Actress

Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Viola Davis – The Help
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Tate Taylor – The Help
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – The Ides of March
Steve Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Animated Film

The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Rango

Best Documentary

George Harrison: Living In A Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Rising Star Award

Adam Deacon
Chris Hemsworth
Tom Hiddleston
Chris O'Dowd
Eddie Redmayne

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The cast and crew of Skyfall, the latest in the James Bond franchise were spotted near Glencoe, Scotland, on Thursday February 9, filming scenes with Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench on location (as well as Bond’s Aston Martin DB5) in near freezing conditions. It’s Scotland in February. I’m sure they knew what they were in for.  In Ian Fleming’s novels, James Bond's father hailed from Glencoe. The author was also known to love the area. Thursday’s shoot included the picturesque peak of Bauchaille Etive Mor, one of the best known and loved of all the Munro peaks, as a backdrop

Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road) is at the helm of Skyfall, also known as Bond 23, with a screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (the pair responsible for The World is Not Enough, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace) and John Logan (The Hurt Locker, Hugo, Coriolanus).

The cast includes Bérénice Marlohe, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw and locations will include, in addition to Pinewood Studios, London and Scotland, Shanghai and Istanbul. 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond films and MGM and Sony will release Skyfall in the UK on 26^th October  and in the US on November 9.

Enjoy the latest pics courtesy of MI-6 HQ. We also have a couple of new ones from the Charring Cross shoot last week of Bond in action.

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Seriously, what's up with Sam Worthington's hair in that poster? (Remember the line in Steel Magnolias about the "brown football helmet"? No? Trust me it's in there.) Anyway, whatever is on Perseus' head looks a bit…bouffant. I hope it's a trick of photoshop since I'm pretty sure the ancient Greeks didn't have AquaNet. But as usual, I digress. 

We have new pics from Wrath of the Titans, the sequel to 2010’s Clash of the Titans, featuring star Sam Worthington who reprises his role as Perseus. He’s promised not to suck in this one.  We also have some scans including first looks at Edgar Ramirez as Ares and Toby Kebbell as Argenor plus Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes who return as Zeus and Hades. Set ten years after the events of Clash…, the film revolves around Perseus and his relationship with both his son, Helius and his father, Zeus.

The synopsis:

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus—the demigod son of Zeus—is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius.

Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth.

Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

I’m guessing they’ll save mankind so that some angry God or Gods can threaten it again in Something of the Titans 3

Wrath of the Titans opens, in the prerequisite 3D of course, in the US, Canada and the UK on March 30, which is not far away at all. Stay tuned. Enjoy the pics courtesy of LatinoReview via HeyUGuys and the scans courtesy of Empire via ComicBookMovie)

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…well, so did a lot of other ‘starlets’. Actually this is the cover of the annual Hollywood Issue. Every year the mag, which has been around since 1913 (with a hiatus from ’35 to ‘83), pays tribute to old Hollywood glamour with an issue timed to coincide with the Academy Awards and more often than not, featuring the faces of Hollywood’s future.

This year is not only no exception but, in my opinion it’s one of the more visually stunning covers of the past few  years. Opting for trendy pastels, the actresses included, shot by the great Mario Testino, all look like they stepped off of the set of Grand Hotel or Dinner for Eight.

(I love Vanity Fair. Not only is it the first place I was ever published – letter to the editor but I'm taking it- but I used to collect them for the covers. i stopped when stbx threatened to turn me in to "Hoarders".)

The cover would not have been complete without this year’s “IT Girls”, Jessica Chastain, Rooney Mara, Jennifer Lawrence and Mia Wasikowska (three of whom have been nominated for an Oscar either past or present). Featured on the fold-out are Elizabeth Olsen, Adepero Oduye and Shailene Woodley over to Paula Patton, Felicity Jones, Lily Collins and Brit Marling.

Behind the scenes of the shoot with Mario Testino

Jessica Chastain on meeting Meryl Streep and her Ralph Fiennes fan-girl moment

Rooney Mara on David Fincher

Other vids can be found on the Vanity Fair site.

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