Sometimes the first official image from a movie can drastically change the public’s perspective of an upcoming film. It can show you an exciting new look from a main character, or it can give you hints to the story or plot. Then some times the first official still is just a man sitting by a pool in the dark.

Empire has debuted the first official image from Skyfall. A lonely and sullen looking Bond playing footsie with a swimming pool after hours. Maybe that watch is a new Q gadget, or perhaps there are sharks with laser beam head gear just out of frame!

Yeah, not exactly the most exciting first still in the history of movies, but it is still notable for a few reasons. One, it is James Bond, and with the recent strife with MGM, seeing him officially in Skyfall is nice to see. There was real concern that the movie would never get made, but it is really happening.

Also this is the 5oth anniversary of James Bond, which is a huge deal. The Golden Anniversary for a cinematic icon is important to recognize, and any opportunity this year to talk about Britain’s most dashing spy will be used. Hopefully they will be more meaty in the future.

The 50th anniversary of the longest running film franchise of all time is something to celebrate, and while at CES the first major release of that celebration was announced. Bond 50 is a comprehensive Blu-Ray collection of all twenty-two James Bond films, together for the first time in a single, high definition, collection.

The announcement was made by a who’s who of Bond creatives from the franchise’s storied history. Director’s John Glen, Martin Campbell and Micheal Apt, who together combined to direct eight of the films, were joined by Bond Girls Olga Kurylenko and Caterina Murino as they debuted the impressive new set.

The James Bond films are one of the longest and most storied film franchises in the history of cinema. Despite over twenty films and nearly five decades of action, the series has been rather consistent in the score department. For well over three fourths of the James Bond films music dudties have been held by two men, the late great John Barry and excellent David Arnold.

It was assumed that Arnold would be returning for his sixth Bond film with Skyfall, but it seems the delays caused by MGM have actually caused Arnold’s schedule to be too full, he will be spending much of the next six months being the musical director for the summer Olympics. MI6 is reporting that in Arnold’s absence, director Sam Mendes is calling on a long time collaborator to fill his shoes.

American composer Thomas Newman will be scoring the new James Bond film, “Skyfall”, due out later this year. It will be his first 007 adventure.

Newman has been a long time collaborator with “Skyfall” helmer Sam Mendes, having scored four of the directors other films: “American Beauty” (1999), “Road to Perdition” (2002) [which also starred Daniel Craig], “Jarhead” (2005) and “Revolutionary Road” (2008).

Newman is an interesting choice for a big budget action film, but in many respects so is director Sam Mendes. One thing is for certain, Newman always brings his A game, so you can expect to hear an exceptional Bond score once Skyfall hits theaters later this year.

The James Bond franchise is bigger than one actor. It is all about the character of James Bond. However, the most recent iteration of that character, actor Daniel Craig, is extremely popular. So much so that producer Michael G. Wilson has come out publicly with his wish to keep Daniel Craig on board for a record number of films.

MI6 reported the producers comments:

“Daniel’s been a terrific Bond, a superb actor and a terrific man. The fans love him and I don’t think there’s a better actor to play the part… Filming has gone very well so far and I’d love Daniel to surpass Roger’s record and do eight pictures. Daniel’s been an absolute pleasure to be around because he takes the role so seriously. There’s really no one more passionate about making these films work than him – he’s a film maker’s dream.

A lot of people have said Daniel’s been their favourite Bond since Sean Connery and I can’t argue with them. He’s doing a great job.”

No deals are in place and all of this is likely conditional on the success of the next two Bond films, but it is great to hear the filmmakers have so much confidence in their current Bond.

Skyfall is due in theaters in November of 2012.

The most recent James Bonds films have had a significantly more serious tone than usual for the spy series. The first casualties of a heavier Bond film were the lighter, side characters that have been a fixture of the franchise for the last half a century. Well the most beloved of these characters has just been granted a reprieve, as Ben Whishaw, who has already been announced as part of the cast, will be playing  Q in the new 007 adventure, Skyfall.

BBC reported over the holiday weekend that the character of Q will be returning to the big screen in the next Bond film.

At the age of 31, Whishaw is 12 years younger than Bond actor Daniel Craig, a first for the Q character. Whishaw recently starred in the BBC’s 1950s news drama The Hour.”

“The role of 007′s gadget designer was played by Desmond Llewelyn in From Russia With Love and most recently by John Cleese, opposite Pierce Brosnan, in 2002′s Die Another Day.

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Two summers ago, Activision announced the rerelease of one of the most popular first person shooters ever with Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo Wii. With updated graphics (for the Wii…) and control, there was still something missing from the experience: players.

While the Wii has been a focus of the casual gaming market, the hardcore fanbase who would care most about the Goldeneye name had grown up and moved away from the Nintendo systems and their waggle controls and instead found their way to the XBox 360 or PlayStation 3. Enter San Diego Comic Con 2011 and Activision lets us take a peek at actual gameplay of the revamped Goldeneye 007: Reloaded. Business is about to pick up.

Gameplay:

It’s hard to review a reimagining of a title without looking at the original inspiration at the same time. The most noticeable difference is gameplay. In the early days, people didn’t really know what a shooter should play like on a console and the gameplay compensated for the limited control scheme with the Nintendo 64′s single analog controller. Now, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded feels and plays like a standard twin stick shooter.

New to the series is the disappearance of health packs since the emergence of regenerating health which has become the industry standard in shooters since the initial release. What is nice though for the Goldeneye “purist” (if those even still exist) is that players can opt for the Classic difficulty setting which takes away regenerating health to give the game a more old school feel.

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That’s right folks, the often delayed and occassionally in trouble next James Bond adventure is now a reality. In fact, it even has a title: Skyfall.

The announcement was made today at a London press conference by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who confirmed that stars Daniel Craig and Judi Dench will indeed return in the Sam Mendes-directed 23rd James Bond adventure. Also confirmed were actors Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes, who will join the previously announced Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw in the film.

“We’re so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct Skyfall and be working once again with Daniel Craig,” Wilson and Broccoli said in a joint statement. “We’ve a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure.”

In Skyfall “Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.” Mmm, tested loyalties and Bond stopping at nothing to save the world?

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New York Comic Con was a huge showcase for the folks at Activision. In addition to the Spider-Man photo booth where people could green screen themselves webslinging through the city, the other side of the Activision booth had part of a full size helicopter people could pose next to. Why a helicopter you ask? Well, remember that question asked about “What is cooler than drop kicking a helicopter?” that was posed for a little game called Prototype? One of the showcase pieces given its first hands on to the public was Prototype 2 on the XBox 360.

During our playthrough we played both a story mission and a challenge mission of the game. Much like the original Prototype, Prototype 2 has impressive visuals and fantastic animation. One thing that quickly stood out though is the change in the field of view.

The player model for James Heller is smaller on the screen which allows players to see furher into the distance, more of what is in front of him and more importantly, more of what is on the side and behind him. This quickly changes up the gameplay as a player can relax a little more without the constant fear from the original of a rocket launcher off screen delivering a killing blow from out of nowhere.

The combat of Prototype 2 seems fairly consistent to the first meaning it is both brutal and fun. This game gives new meaning to collateral damage as players may be aiming at the Blackwatch soldiers but end up tearing through hordes of innocent New Yorkers in the process. Some of the classic powers return as well as updates on the tendrils which in effect turns a target into a magnet for every destructible item close by to come flying at it as seen in the game’s most recent trailer.

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After studios going bankrupt, directors walking out, and everyone giving up hope on what would be the 23rd James Bond flick, it looks like things are finally coming together on what could be a huge sequel.

We know that Daniel Craig will be back, and he has recently gone on record as to say that fan favorite bad guy Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) was in contention with Ralph Fiennes to play the film’s main villain. After an interview with ABC Nightline, it looks like Bardem let slip who the victor of that battle was. From ScreenRant:

For all the secrecy surrounding director Sam Mendes’ (American Beauty) Bond film, the confirmation of Bardem’s casting came pretty casually (irony alert) as the actor sat down to talk to ABC Nightline about more serious matters – like suffering refugees. Of course, most people reading this are probably more interested in the Bond news – said Bardem:

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When Goldeneye: 007 was released for the Wii late last year, gamers who had since moved on from the N64 for their first-person shooter needs were clamoring for a wider release. On November 1st, their prayers will be answered in the form of Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, a high definition redux of the 2010 title for Wii.

With the release date fast approaching, the developers at Eurocom Entertainment have revealed eight minutes of in-game footage focusing on the stealthier aspects of gameplay.

Not only will Goldeneye: Reloaded feature a redesigned version of the campaign from last years title, it will also include additional game modes such as the Mi6 Ops missions, similar to the Special Ops of Modern Warfare 2 or Deniable Ops from the latest Splinter Cell, as well as online multiplayer for up to 16 players (in addition to the classic four-player splitscreen).

Check out the video below for all the super-sneaky spy action of Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded, available on XBox 360 and PS3 November 1st, 2011.

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At Comic Con, we got our first look at the gameplay of the next-gen console upgrade of the Goldeneye franchise with Goldeneye 007: Reloaded. At PAX, Activision has released the first official trailer for the game’s Mi6 mode which we were only able to see in person in San Diego and were unfortunately unable to share with you until now.

From everything we have seen, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded does an awesome job of capturing the feel of the classic Goldeneye experience and updating it to the modern era. The question remains however if the game has evolved with the times to capture the interest of those who loved it so many years ago.

In addition to the game’s classic story (that is often forgotten because of the heavy nostalgia for the game’s multiplayer) will be the Mi6 mode. Almost in the way that Special Ops mode was added to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Mi6 will be a series of missions for players to tackle outside of the standard story. It will add more play time to the single player experience as well as increase the value for people who had already experienced the classic story years ago, giving them something all new.

Take a look at the trailer and gallery below and make sure to let us know your thoughts on Goldeneye 007: Reloaded coming this fall for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 from Activision and Eurocom.

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Last year when Activision and Eurocom announced a relaunch of the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye as a Wii exclusive, classic shooter fans who had moved on from the Nintendo consoles to the more powerful and better controlling XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 were up in arms. They were the people who cut their teeth on first person shooters for the first time on the N64. It wasn’t their fault Nintendo had moved on to gimmicky controls and sacrificed graphics in favor of “family gaming”.

This year, their prayers will be answered with an all new, built from the ground up version dubbed Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded coming to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. What fans will get is a retelling of the classic Bond story with new graphics and new mechanics that control and look more like a Call of Duty title rather than the waggle and aiming layout of the Wii (although it will be PlayStation Move compatible).

During the Activision press event, we had the opportunity to see the walkthrough of one of the game’s early levels which not only looked gorgeous but had engaging gameplay and very entertaining stealth takedowns. We also got to hear about the various new MI 6 modes that have everything from Stealth to Defense missions resembling Horde mode from Gears of War.

Take a look below at our developer interview, the game’s announcement trailer and the first image gallery for Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. Stick to the Flickcast for more on this already much hyped and anticipated title as more develops.

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