News

Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and a member of the jury on Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance. He has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach.

Erik Reichenbach is a former two time Survivor Fan/Favorite and Comic Book Artist. Follow him on Twitter: @ErikReichenb4ch.

“Does it hurt to get betrayed? Yeah, of course it does. Why? Because you were being kept out of the secret. There were secrets being talked about behind your back. And the thing that you trusted wasn’t true.” — Jonathan Penner, Survivor: The Philippines...

“Observe, Mr. Bond, the instruments of Armageddon.”

In celebration of the life of Sir Roger Moore, and to benefit Unicef, there will be a double feature screening of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only at select AMC Theatres on May 31st at 6pm and June 4th at 2pm. For a list of participating theaters, go Here (the only St. Louis AMC Theater participating is The AMC Chesterfield 14)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The Spy Who Loved Me sports a labyrinthine story involving outer-space extortion. The leading lady is sexy Russian secret agent Barbara Bach, who joins forces with Bond to foil yet another megalomaniacal villain, who plans to threaten New York City with nuclear weaponry. Curt Jurgens stars as Stromberg, Richard Kiel costars as ‘Jaws’, and other Bond lovelies include Caroline Munro and Valerie Leon.

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Roger Moore was back as Secret Agent 007 in For Your Eyes Only,...

I was 12 years old in 1968. One of my favorite places was the library, in those days the closest library to us was the Tesson Ferry Branch in South St. Louis County. My most prized possession was my library card.

My Mother used to drop me off there on a Saturday or a summer weekday and I would spend the whole day reading. One of those days I pulled a book off the shelf called Hitchcock/Truffaut and sat down to read it. I knew who Alfred Hitchcock was from his television show, and from his monthly Mystery Magazine as well as anthologies that I was reading avidly, Tales That Frightened Even Me, More Tales for the Nervous and, my favorite, Stories to be Read After Dark.

I was aware that Alfred Hitchcock was most renowned for directing movies. I had seen a few on television, Saboteur was a mainstay on Kplr TV,...

Without uttering a word, the main title sequence for FX’s new anthology series “Feud: Bette and Joan” sets the dramatic yet somber tone for the entire series by using musical and graphical cues from ‘60s cinema.

While the images trace the plot of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” it also reflects the misery of the actresses drawn into a cycle of torment of their own devising. Take a look at the sequence:

The credits fit right in with “Feud,” a technicolor feast that examines the even more colorful rivalry between acclaimed actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, which reached its pinnacle while they co-starred in the psycho-biddy horror movie “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” in 1962. The series takes place during and after the shooting of the film, in which Bette (Susan Sarandon) and Joan (Jessica Lange) play combative siblings Baby Jane and Blanche, respectively. There is no love lost between these sisters,...

Exclusive: Jeremy Renner and Don Handfield are producing the first animated film through their banner the Combine, along with Straight Up Films and Cinesite. I.F. (Imaginary Friend) is inspired by the song “Imaginary Friend” by two-time Grammy-nominated kid-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo from his album Perfect Quirk. Development and pre-production will begin this year with some stellar talent aboard. First off, the Combine produced John Lee Hancock’s Michael…...

New York -- Robert Vaughn, the debonair, Oscar-nominated actor whose many film roles were eclipsed by his hugely popular turn in television’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., has died. He was 83.

Vaughn died Friday morning after a brief battle with acute leukemia, according to his manager, Matthew Sullivan.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was an immediate hit, particularly with young people, when it debuted on NBC 1964. It was part of an avalanche of secret agent shows (I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Secret Agent), spoofs (Get Smart), books (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold) and even songs (Secret Agent Man) inspired by the James Bond films.

Vaughn’s urbane superspy Napoleon Solo teamed with Scottish actor David McCallum’s Illya Kuryakin, a soft-spoken, Russian-born agent.

Photos: Stars We've Lost In Recent Years

The pair, who had put aside Cold War differences for a greater good, worked together each week for the mysterious U.N.C.L.E. (United...

Suicide Squad inspired Top 10 list: Villains We LoveSuicide Squad inspired Top 10 list: Villains We LoveScott Goodyer8/3/2016 9:42:00 Am

We here at Cineplex are very excited that Suicide Squad, the most buzzed about film of the summer is almost upon us!

Distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by David Ayer (Training Day), this is the third installment of the DC extended universe.

This action-packed blockbuster is about a secret government agency that recruits imprisoned super villains to take on extremely dangerous missions in order to save the world, in return for clemency.

The massive and impressive cast includes: Will Smith (as Deadshot), Jared Leto (Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Adeale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc), Jay Hernandez (El Diablo), Jai Courtney (Boomerang) and Viola Davis as Secret Agent Amanda Willer, who brings this motely crew together.

With so many fun villains in this movie, we decided to make our own fun list of movie villains we love!

Back for his first Korean film since 2010's brutal I Saw the Devil, filmmaker Kim Jee-woon recently shot the violent 1930s resistance fighter action drama The Age of Shadows (previously known as Secret Agent). Along for the ride are ace star Song Kang-ho and pretty boy Gong Yoo, who's also making waves this summer in the zombie thriller Train to Busan. Set for a Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) release in September, The Age of Shadows features Gong as the leader of a violent Korean group seeking independence from Japan. Song plays a Korean character who works for the Japanese, trying to stamp out the insurrection. Beatifully shot by A Bittersweet Life Dp Kim Ji-yong, The Age of Shadows invokes a brooding and tense period atmosphere and many hope this will...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Lee Byung-Hun ended 2015 on a high note with the hit political thriller Inside Men, which attracted over nine million viewers to theaters. He did a fantastic job at pulling off the character of political henchman Ahn Sang-Goo in the film.

(Still: Ahn croons Lee Eun-Ha’s ‘Spring Rain’ as he advances against Moon to hammer his fingers to shreds.)

On the heels of the massive success of Inside Men, Lee recently starred in the Us thriller Misconduct, with Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins and Josh Duhamel.

Lee has extended his influence beyond Asia to Hollywood, and his films continue to make waves internationally.

Here are his next films to look forward to.

The Magnificent Seven

Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ and Columbia Pictures’ The Magnificent Seven, in which Lee features as Billy Rocks, who is probably the new version of one of the seven.

"No threat is too small, no evil too great for this secret agent mouse and his sidekick! Villains: You've been warned.”

Netflix has released the first trailer for their upcoming animated action series, Danger Mouse. This is a remake of the original cartoon that aired in the UK from 1981 to 1992. I remember watching a few episodes of that show, but I was more into Mighty Mouse since that’s what was airing in the Us when I was growing up. The new Danger Mouse series updates the world’s greatest super spy rodent for the 21st century, and it looks like a lot of fun.

The world’s greatest secret agent, Danger Mouse, returns in dashing, globe-spanning style with a new animated series that features all the classic characters, catchphrases and comedy that made it an 80’s cult favorite. With the world once more teetering on the edge of disaster,...

The 1950s were a time of great experimentation for comic book publishers. Retail outlets were disappearing and post-war military scale-backs undermined Px sales. Superman was kept alive by its massive television exposure, but virtually all other superhero comics were either gone or in deep trouble.

Necessity being the mother of invention, comics publishers back then had no choice but to try new ideas and concepts. Western comics were hit-or-miss; those that featured top-line movie stars or characters were doing okay, the others were sort of meh. Romance comics, teevee tie-ins and some funny animal books were selling. The horror and crime comics that had been keeping publishers such as EC, Harvey and Gleason in the money were being condemned by the media, camera-hungry politicians and sanctimonious self-appointed “experts.”

So until DC and Marvel finally succeeded in rejuvenating the superhero genre, experimentation was the watchword of that decade. And that brings...

After a truly spectacular and fresh opening sequence, everyone might as well be enacting a Bond puppet show, which is sometimes unpleasantly retro-icky. I’m “biast” (pro): loved Casino Royale and Skyfall

I’m “biast” (con): didn’t love Quantum of Solace

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

The opening gambit of Spectre — the fourth outing for the 21st century’s James Bond — is absolutely spectacular. It begins with a long and apparently uncut sequence in which the secret agent and a lady friend wend their way through raucous Day of the Dead revelers in Mexico City, through streets heaving with partiers, into a fancy hotel (where the party continues), up to a room. They are dressed for the mock morbid mood, gloomy yet merry, and we catch that fun-ereal contagion: if soaking in this gruesome funk doesn’t make you want to instantly sign...

The Bond franchise which has been with us so long, has become so deeply entrenched in popular culture, that we often forget what it was that first distinguished the Bonds a half-century ago. Skyfall might be one of the best of the Bonds, and even, arguably, one of the best big-budget big-action flicks to come along in quite a while, but it’s not alone. The annual box office is – and has been, for quite some time – dominated by big, action-packed blockbusters of one sort of another. The Bonds aren’t even the only action-driven spy flicks (Mr. James Bond, I’d like you to meet Mr. Jason Bourne and Mr. Ethan Hunt).

That’s not to take anything away from the superb entertainment Skyfall is, or the sentimentally treasured place the Bonds hold. It’s only to say that where there was once just the one, there are now many.

Ahead of American Ultra's arrival in UK cinemas, here's our pick of the 25 finest, sneakiest secret agents in film...

Operatives. Spies. Moles. Infiltrators. Secret agents go by many names. In fact, Britain's national security agency doesn't even call them agents - they're covert human intelligence sources, or simply “officers".

Whatever we choose to call them, secret agents lead necessarily furtive and obscure lives - so obscure that most of what we know about them is defined by what we've seen and read in books and movies.

During the Cold War, the image of the secret agent as a well-groomed sophisticate in a suit proliferated all over the world, and even in the high-tech landscape of the 21st century, that image still stands - just look at such movies as Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and, of course, the Bond franchise. But secret agents can come in many other guises,...

Gearing up for the fall roll-outs, Karlie Kloss stars in a new film for Diane Von Furstenberg’s fall 2015 collection titled, "Dvf Secret Agent".

Directed by Peter Lindbergh, the 23 year old model showcases looks from the new collection, as she races away from a mystery man played by, Noah Mills.

Kloss who covers the September issue of Flare spoke about her mindset on the runway, “I focus on the woman I’m embodying. At an Oscar de la Renta show, I think about elegance; at Alexander Wang, it’s all about attitude and independence.”...

Good news, everyone: despite the fact that there is a teen-killing murderer at large, Rosewood High is still going ahead with its prom -- and the little liars are getting in on the action. For some reason, the liars think it's a great idea to attend their school dance (note: it's not), and they head to the event only to get -- you guessed it -- attacked by A. It's like, have they learned nothing from starring in the previous four seasons of this show?

Keep reading our "Pretty Little Liars" recap to find out what secrets the girls unravel as they attend what has to be the most whack prom that's ever been thrown.

The Liars Continue to Make Questionable Decisions, Live #ThatBarnPromLife

The liars are banned from prom for obvious reasons, but don't worry -- Spencer's mom offers to throw them a mock dance in her barn.

The most recent feature from South Korean director Kim Jee-woon (above right) was The Last Stand, but now the director of I Saw the Devil and The Good, the Bad, and the Weird is moving forward on a new movie, with backing from Warner Bros. Secret Agent is Kim’s next feature, and also the first South Korean […]

The post ‘Secret Agent’ Is the Next Film From ‘I Saw the Devil’ Director Kim Jee-Woon appeared first on /Film.

Warner Bros. is jumping deeper into the Asian market, in South Korea, where the domestic box office booms. The major will finance and handle Korean distribution for Kim Jee-woon's "Secret Agent," a 1930s period drama centered on an organized South Korean uprising during the days of Japanese colonialism in the country. Kim is a cult filmmaker known internationally for uber-violent genre films from the gruesome "I Saw the Devil" (which is getting a Us remake from director Adam Wingard) to his first and only English-language effort, 2013's "The Last Stand" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Kim's affectionately weird spaghetti Western homgae "The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) made good money at the South Korean box office, which last year became the sixth top market in the world, grossing over $1.5 billion. Read More: In the Works: David Fincher, Kim Jee-woon and David Yates Set to Direct Long-Awaited Graphic Novel Adaptations Looking at the numbers,...

Warner Bros. has officially entered the movie making business in Korea becoming the second major U.S. studio to do so. According to the report at Variety Warner Bros. will finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language movie, Kim Jee-woon's Secret Agent (밀정/Mil-jeong). The studio may decide to bring on other partners later but right now Secret Agent is all theirs. Secret Agent will be a 1930s period drama based on the history of Organization of Righteous Bravery, a part of the armed independence movement during Korea under Japanese rule.Kim Jee-woon is no stranger to the TwitchFilm community. The director of such favorites as A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life, The Good The Bad and the Weird, and I Saw The Devil his films have...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Warner Bros. Pictures is set to finance and distribute its first ever Korean-language film with "I Saw the Devil" and "The Last Stand" director Kim Jee-woon's 1930s period drama "Secret Agent".

Song Kang-ho ("Snowpiercer") stars in the film alongside Gong Yoo ("The Suspect") with filming to begin in October in China and Korea. The film will deal with the history of Organization of Righteous Bravery, a part of the armed independence movement during Korea under Japanese rule.

Despite its small size, South Korea has become one of the most thriving box-office markets on the planet. Warner is a direct distributor in the country, and so will handle the Korean theatrical release.

Source: Variety...

Have you been keeping track or how many major campaigns Karlie Kloss has scored in 2015? An easier task might be counting up how many she hasn't landed yet. For her fifth one this fall season, the 22-year-old is making her debut as the face of Diane Von Furstenberg for the designer's latest campaign, titled "Film First." And she won't just be posing for snapshots in this campaign; she'll also be staring in the brand's "Dvf Secret Agent" promotional film, named after the handbag it advertises (not unlike her pal Gigi Hadid's latest Oscar-worthy gig).  "The Dvf Secret Agent bag and the character Karlie plays, are really metaphors for the Dvf woman," Diane von...

"Game of Thrones" star Lena Headey and HBO comedy show host John Oliver are set to lend their voices to the upcoming revival of hit 1980s animated series "Danger Mouse" which will premiere on Cbbc in the UK this Fall followed by a U.S. Netflix launch in Spring next year.

The series follows the world's greatest super spy, the eye patched and white Danger Mouse (Alexander Armstrong) and his reluctant civil servant hamster sidekick Penfold (Kevin Eldon) as they take on a host of villains. Headey will provide the voice of Us Secret Agent Jeopardy Mouse, while Oliver is mad scientist wolf Dr Augustus P. Crumhorn III. Stephen Fry also lends his voice as the character of Colonel K.

Lena Headey says: "I wanted to do it [Danger Mouse] because it was pure nostalgia for me. I have children now and it's just a treat to be involved in something that...

HBO star John Oliver (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”) and Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones” Queen Cersei) are cast as voice over talent for the BBC and FremantleMedia’s revamped animated series “Danger Mouse.” The beloved 80s cartoon was about a secret agent mouse and his hamster friend Penfold and was originally voiced by David Jason and Terry Scott.The announcement was made at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Oliver is reportedly cast as scientist wolf Dr. Augustus P. Crumhorn III, and Headey will voice the U.S. Secret Agent Jeopardy Mouse. “Danger Mouse” will air on the BBC’s kids’ channel […]...

Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver and Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) have boarded the BBC’s reboot of classic children’s animated series Danger Mouse. The news was announced late Sunday night during a Comic-Con panel. Oliver will voice the role of mad scientist wolf Dr. Augustus P. Crumhorn III, while Headey will be the voice of U.S. Secret Agent Jeopardy Mouse. Danger Mouse will air on kids' channel Cbbc in the fall. "I've loved Danger Mouse my whole life,” said Oliver…...

Game Of Thrones star Lena Headey and The Daily Show's John Oliver have joined the Danger Mouse telly reboot cast...

While I never could have predicted this news story, I'm very glad to be passing it on - Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones' Cersei Lannister) and John Oliver (The Daily Show's hilarious co-host, formerly seen on Community) have both signed up for roles in the upcoming Danger Mouse reboot.

Lena Headey will play Us Secret Agent Jeopardy Mouse, “a super-proficient American, female version of Danger Mouse” who has been described as “the unseen star of the Us Secret Service" who completes her missions “with the minimum of fuss.”

Said Headey of the role: “I wanted to do [Danger Mouse] because it was pure nostalgia for me. I have children now and it’s just a treat to be involved in something that you loved as a kid and be able to share it.

Lena Headey and John Oliver are joining the vocal cast of Cbbc's Danger Mouse.

It was announced during a Danger Mouse panel at Comic-Con this weekend that the Game of Thrones star and the Last Week Tonight host are joining the show's second series.

Headey will play Us Secret Agent Jeopardy Mouse, while Oliver will play the mad wolf scientist Dr Augustus P Crumhorn III.

Headey said: "I wanted to do it [Danger Mouse] because it was pure nostalgia for me.

"I have children now and it's just a treat to be involved in something that you loved as a kid and be able to share it. Those moments as an actor that come along once in while are not to be missed."

Oliver added: "I've loved Danger Mouse my whole life. Danger Mouse was a significant part of my childhood.

"So to get a chance to do it is like getting...

A clip from Alfred Hitchcock's dark thriller from 1936, adapted from Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent. By coincidence, Hitchcock's previous film, released earlier in the same year, was called Secret Agent. Austrian actor Oscar Homolka plays Verloc, who is plotting a terrorist outrage in London, with Sylvia Sidney as his wife. In this scene, Verloc blames Scotland Yard for the death of his wife's hapless brother, blown up accidentally as he carries a bomb intended for Piccadilly Circus tube station

• Sabotage is released on Blu-Ray on 1 June courtesy of Network Distributing Continue reading...

Early into production of the next James Bond film, Spectre, leading man Daniel Craig suffered a knee injury on the set. Craig had to have surgery to repair the damage. Will the film still make its November release date?

Secret agent James Bond may have a knack for shrugging off beatings and injuries that would lay out a normal man, but the guy who portrays him doesn’t have that sort of luck. A studio spokesman told the BBC that 007 actor Daniel Craig injured his leg while filming a fight sequence in the Austrian Alps, as part of the latest film in the Bond franchise, Spectre. The knee injury was at first thought to be only a sprain, but it turned out that the damage was more serious than originally believed, so Craig had to undergo arthroscopic surgery. He is currently resting and recovering.

What does this mean for the film,...

How Cell Phones Would Have Ruined Most Of Our Favorite Movies

By

Alex Simon

If you’re a pop culture maven, most likely it can be agreed that the modern cell phone can be traced back to two classic TV series of the 1960s: Star Trek and Get Smart. Captain James Tiberius Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew were always armed with their “communicators” when traveling abroad on a distant planet. They were palm-sized devices with covers the flipped open, providing instant connection with the orbiting space ship. This design was aped, no doubt, by former Trekkies for the classic “flip phone” design that ruled the high-tech roost in the late 90s and early millennium.

Secret Agent 86 Maxwell Smart had his shoe phone, surely the most creative (and ridiculous) example of technology ever invented by someone who was most likely thought to be a creative and scientific genius. However, it...

Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...

Call the Midwife topped the ratings on Sunday (January 25), according to overnight data.

The BBC One period drama attracted an average audience of 9.04 million viewers (34.1%) at 8pm, adding around 700,000 viewers on last week's premiere.

Earlier, Countryfile attracted 7.62m (35.1%) at 6.30pm, while Still Open All Hours aired to 7.85m (34.1%) at 7.30pm. Last Tango in Halifax continued with 6.32m (25.8%) at 9pm, while Match of the Day's Fa Cup round-up scored 2.43m (19.8%) at 10.30pm.

Over on BBC Two, Hugh Jackman's Real Steel appealed to 1.35m (6.2%) at 6pm, before Top Gear opened with 5.28m (20.2%) at 8pm. The new series of Dragon's Den averaged 2.35m (9.6%) at 9pm.

ITV's Get Your Act Together dipped to 2.49m (10.9%) at 7pm (108k/0.4% on +1), before All Star Family Fortunes entertained 2.58m (9.8%) at 8.15pm (93k/0.4%).

The new series of Mr Selfridge opened to low ratings in comparison to previous years. The first episode of the period drama was watched...

Call the Midwife was down from last year's launch but still topped the ratings on Sunday, overnight data reveals.

The BBC One period drama attracted an average audience of 8.31 million viewers (32.8%) at 8pm, down from last year's overnight score of 9.61m and 2013's 9.32m.

Earlier, Countryfile appealed to 7.01m (32.3%) at 6.30pm, followed by Still Open All Hours with 7.12m (30.4%) at 7.30pm. Last Tango in Halifax continued with 6.24m (25.5%) at 9pm, while Match of the Day 2 scored 2.74m (21.7%) at 10.35pm.

BBC Two's Snooker Masters final was seen by 1.88m (7.9%) at 7pm, followed by repeats of Britain's Flying Past with 962,000 (3.9%) at 9pm and Qi with 965k (5.3%) at 10pm.

On ITV, Get Your Act Together opened with 2.57m (11.5%) at 6.45pm (156k/0.6% on +1), while the final ever Foyle's War gathered 3.54m (14.2%) at 9pm (490k/2.4%).

Channel 4's Secret Agent with Phil Spencer interested 981k (4.3%) at 7pm (197k/0.8%), followed by The Hotel with 1.30m...

Dexter Fletcher is directing the Matthew Vaughn production, which will star Taron Egerton

Hugh Jackman is set to mentor Taron Egerton in an upcoming movie about Olympic skier Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards that will be produced by Egerton’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” director Matthew Vaughn, TheWrap has learned.

Dexter Fletcher is directing the untitled movie, in which Jackman will co-star as Chuck Berghorn, a ski expert who helped a down-on-his-luck Edwards train for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

While Edwards placed last in the 70m and 90m ski-jumping events, he was hailed as a heroic failure, as he was...

To say that Spy looks like the funniest comedy of its kind in years isn’t saying much, especially if we’re talking broad Hollywood releases. In her latest collaboration with director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), Melissa McCarthy follows some really terrible vehicles starring Jackie Chan, Rowan Atkinson and Steve Carrell for something that looks familiar right down to the font of the credits. Every now and then a studio has to make a spy movie spoof featuring an inept or otherwise bumbling agent, and McCarthy is the latest in a line going back as far as Chaplin (excluding the 101-year-old Without Hope, in which Marguerite Marsh plays a waitress who foils an evil espionage plot). They tend to work as well as their lead can do, but lately that hasn’t necessarily been the case (Chan, Atkinson and Carrell are not the reasons their respective spy comedies fail their mission). Will McCarthy rise above? On...

Screenwriter and producer Brian Clemens has passed away at age 83 in his native England. Clemens wrote scripts for some of the most revered British television programs of the 1960s and 1970s including "Danger Man" (aka "Secret Agent"), "The Avengers", "The Persuaders", "The Professionals",  "The Baron" and "The New Avengers".  Clemens also produced or executive produced several of the aforementioned shows.  He also contributed single episode scripts for other popular shows including "Highlander", "The Protectors" and "Remington Steele".  Clemens wrote numerous scripts for "Father Dowling Mysteries" and three "Perry Mason" TV movies in the early 1990s. A prolific writer, he also  wrote screenplays for feature films beginning in the 1950s. His credits include "Station Six Sahara", "The Corrupt Ones" (aka "The Peking Medallion"), "See No Evil", "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad", Disney's "The Watcher in the Woods", "Highlander II: The Quickening" and the Hammer horror film "Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter...

Irreverent run-and-gun game Glorious Leader! has been pulled from Kickstarter following an alleged hack "inspired by the attack on Sony"...

First appearing on Kickstarter last month, Glorious Leader! was a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Contra or the rather more obscure arcade title Sly Spy: Secret Agent.

The twist was that you played a slightly grotesque caricature of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he blasted his way through wave after wave of capitalist forces. One level saw the leader ride a unicorn, while another had him charge across the ocean on the back of a narwhal.

It seems that someone, somewhere didn't see the funny side of Glorious Leader!, however. The team behind it, Moneyhorse Games, has stated that it was the victim of a hack over the Christmas break, which it says has "destroyed data pertaining to Glorious Leader! and other projects we had in development.

Still Open All Hours remained on top of the Sunday ratings, overnight data has revealed.

The BBC One comedy dipped by around 250,000 viewers from last week's episode to an average 6.12 million (26.6%) at 7.30pm.

Earlier, live Fa Cup coverage scored 5.48m (26.4%) at 5.30pm, while Countryfile appealed to 5.16m (21.3%) at 8pm. Last Tango in Halifax dropped by around 400k to 5.28m (21.8%) at 9pm.

On BBC Two, a Top Gear repeat brought in 1.52m (6.8%) at 7pm, followed by Kate Humble's Into the Volcano with 1.51m (6.2%) at 8pm. Racing Legends interested 1.10m (4.6%) at 9pm, while a Qi repeat amused 1.12m (6.2%) at 10pm.

ITV's Diversity Live amazed 2.77m (12.3%) at 7pm (219k/0.9% on +1). Foyle's War returned for a brand new series with 4.70m (19.5%) at 8pm (309k/1.5%).

On Channel 4, Phil Spector's Secret Agent attracted 1.32m (5.9%) at 7pm (137k/0.6%), followed by The Hotel with 1.60m (6.6%) at 8pm (115k/0.5%). Walking the Nile intrigued 1.79m (7.4%) at 10pm...

The fifth and, yes, best film from director Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake,” “X-Men: First Class”), “Kingsman: The Secret Service” is a startlingly enjoyable and well-made action film leavened by humor and slicked along by style, made by, for, and about people who’ve seen far too many Bond films.

Fleet-footed and unrepentantly British, it’s a reunion of sorts behind the scenes for Vaughn and comics writer Mark Millar, but it’s infinitely better than their 2010 collaboration “Kick-Ass.” Credit for that goes to Vaughn’s adaptation of the script alongside producer Jane Goldman, which finds cheer and cleverness in Millar...

Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel Inherent Vice hit the big screen last weekend and tells the tale of a particularly crap (and perpetually stoned) gumshoe named Larry "Doc" Sportello who is roped into a missing-person case by his ex-girlfriend. Sportello’s clumsiness certainly isn’t unprecedented. Here's a look back at ten other hopeless movie and TV detectives whose methods of deduction could leave a game of Guess Who? permanently unwon.10. Dick Steele, Spy Hard (1996)If detectives are designed to play it cool, Secret Agent Dick Steele (Leslie Nielsen) made for one tepid exception. People rightfully had their doubts when a task as simple as Steele hanging his hat came with its own complications. 9. James Carter, Rush Hour (1998)When FBI Agent James Carter (Chris Tucker) was in his element, he was a force to be reckoned with. But upon getting caught up in the case...

Because the sky is blue and grass is green and we all have to pay taxes and one day die, Dwayne Johnson is going to fulfill his destiny as an actor and machine-like human by playing a secret agent (a real one, not a silly one as he did in Get Smart). The world’s most lovable former wrestler turned Scorpion King turned adrenaline fueled action star confirmed over Twitter that he’ll be starring in an adaptation of The Janson Directive, a project that’s been in gestation over at Universal for some time. You’ve got competition, Jason Bourne — there’s a new Robert Ludlum-penned mystery man in town. With that tweet, Johnson also confirmed that The Janson Directive is being propelled forward with a script by Akiva Goldsman. It’s promising news when you hear that the Oscar-winning writer of A Beautiful Mind is penning the script; it’s another when you remember...

Star Wars Rebel Heist #2

Written by Matt Kindt

Pencils by Marco Castiello

Inks by Dan Parsons

Colors by Gabe Eltaeb

Lettering by Michael Heisler

Cover by Adam Hughes

Published by Dark Horse Comics

-

It’s a bittersweet affair when one reads a Star Wars comic these days. Disney recently decided not to keep Star Wars at Dark Horse where it’s been since 1991 and instead is shipping it off to Marvel (which Disney owns) starting in 2015. This makes sense for Disney from a financial standpoint but not necessarily from a comics one.

-

It can be argued that Dark Horse’s release of the series Dark Empire coupled with Timothy Zahns Thrawn Trilogy started the second coming of Star Wars that lead to the special editions and later the prequel films. Dark Horse knows Star Wars and knows how to do Star Wars right. This is evident all throughout...

Some of the international movie posters presented in Cinema Retro issue #28, which features in-depth coverage of the making of Zulu.

By Brian Hannan

The 50th anniversary showing of Zulu in Britain next month is unlikely to be repeated in the U.S. where the film flopped. But even the poorest box-office performer has an afterlife. So in 1965 Zulu was pushed out again anywhere that would have it. That meant it supported some odd, not to say ugly, bedfellows – exploitationer Taboos of the World in Kansas City, The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming in Phoenix, B western Stage To Thunder Rock in Long Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini in Des Moines and Rhino in Abilene. They liked it in Long Beach where it supported both Circus World and That Man from Rio. It was the second feature to None But the Brave in Provo, Utah, and to two more successful Joe E.

Jack Bauer is back. But do we want him? Don’t feel the need to answer right away. The first hour of 24: Live Another Day gives you ample time to reflect on your relationship to the television icon. The grim savior of 8 terrible days — and one dog day afternoon in Sangala — keeps his scowly mouth shut and remains silent during the first half of the first hour during his latest lousy 24-hour-stretch (only 12 hours of which will be dramatized in this 12-ep revival). Silent Sphinx-Jack presents a mystery of suspicious motives for the CIA to decipher — and a still-life...

By Robert Welkos Billionaire: Arnon Milchan Net Worth: $4.7 billion (Forbes); $4.2 billion (CelebrityNetWorth) Hollywood Connections: Producer began his Hollywood career in 1977 after being introduced to producer Elliot Kastner (“Harper”). Set up New Regency Productions in 1991. Has worked with directors like Martin Scorsese, Terry Gilliam, Oliver Stone, Roman Polanski and Sergio Leone. Company partnered with Warner Bros. and then 20th Century Fox. One of the producers of this year’s Oscar winning picture “12 Years a Slave.” Films Of Note: “Pretty Woman,” “JFK,” “Fight Club,” “Heat,” “L.A. Confidential,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Noah.” Films In The Works: “Birdman.” Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu. Cast: Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis. IMDb logline: “A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory.” “The Revenant.” González Iñárritu to direct Leonard DiCaprio in...

The Iris Prize Festival held every year in Cardiff, UK, is a gay short film festival. They give out an annual “Iris Prize”– the only short film prize in the world which provides the winning filmmaker with funding, support and guidance to make a new film. This year the festival will run from October 8-14, 2014 and they’ve announced their opening night film: Jayson Bend: Queen and Country.

We’ve been pining for a gay take on James Bond for years now, and this short film might just be the ticket. It stars Canadian actor, Davis Brooks as Jayson Bend, a 009 agent trying to take down some sort of villainous, Vidal Sassoon-esque hair mogul.

Okay, the plot seems sort of silly, but the special effects look great and we’re totally feeling sexy agent Jayson Bend. Here’s hoping a future trailer will give us a better look at...

Phil Spencer cleaned up dog poo while filming 'Phil Spencer: Secret Agent'. The famed property presenter claims he's been forced to pick up ''an awful lot'' of excrement from the pets of home owners when embarking on visits to houses which are failing to sell on the housing market, and has been shocked by the unhygienic conditions of some homes. He exclusively told Bang Showbiz: ''When I'm filming 'Secret Agent' and the houses seem to be less than tip top, that's the reason I'm there because they haven't sold in a year or two so I try and help. I certainly have...

Hollywood producer gives interview in which he confirms earlier claims that he was an arms dealer

The Hollywood producer behind box office hits including Fight Club, Pretty Woman and La Confidential has spoken about his life as an Israeli secret agent and arms dealer, saying he was proud of working for his country.

Arnon Milchan gave a lengthy interview to the Israeli documentary programme Uvda, broadcast on Monday on Channel 2, confirming claims made earlier in an unauthorised biography that he worked for an Israeli agency that negotiated arms deals and supported Israel's secret nuclear weapons project.

Milchan, who was born in Israel, was recruited as a young businessman to the Bureau of Scientific Relations – known by its Hebrew acronym, Lakam – by Shimon Peres, now Israel's president, in the 1960s. The bureau, which worked to obtain scientific and technical information for secret defence programmes, closed in 1987.

Milchan, 68, is the chairman of New Regency Productions,...

New Regency chairman Arnon Milchan has produced numerous box-office hits throughout the years, yet it's his own life story that has the potential to be his next blockbuster. Leading Israeli investigative documentary program Uvda (Fact) is set to air a lengthy report next week with the mogul, which will for the first time see him confess to his involvement in promoting Israeli arms deals and support for the nation's nuclear project. Milchan's secret has long been rumored and was the subject of a 2011 book by Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman called Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned

read more...

We’re less than two weeks away from the North American launch of Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, and Sony has taken the opportunity to put together a nifty compilation video showcasing one of the series’ trademark features, that being the lineup of outlandish weapons players will be able to select from in battle. These will include brand-new gadgets such as the Winterizer and the Nightmare Box, as well as returning favorites, like the iconic AI partner robot Mr. Zurkon, who will be bringing along multiple family members to assist in battle this time around.

Additionally, Sony has announced plans for a companion mobile app to go along with Into the Nexus. Titled Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus, the game will apparently be an infinite auto-runner in the vein of Temple Run, albeit with a Ratchet-centric theme. Players will be able to hop between grindrails, encounter enemies, and collect the...

There’s nothing new under the sun — but somehow, these awesome properties have never been adapted for screens big or small. Psst, Hollywood: Let’s change that.

Weetzie Bat is a short novel by Francesca Lia Block that reads like a candied love song for young, artistic misfits. If you’ve never heard of it, think Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Catcher in the Rye meets Sixteen Candles. The first in the Dangerous Angels series, it’s the kind of book that doesn’t quite fit amongst the stacks of action-adventure plots, prim teenage sleuths, and Blume-ian freckled kids...