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The studio behind Hitman is making a James Bond game
IO Interactive says 'Project 007' will tell the secret agent's origin story.
A 'GoldenEye 007' fan remake is dead after a cease and desist demand
'GoldenEye 25' will instead become an 'original game.'
James Bond's next Aston Martin might be electric
James Bond movies tend to be a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist, and that might be reflected in his choice of whip next time around. The Sun sources have claimed that the director of the next Bond movie, Cary Joji Fukanaga, wants 007 to drive Aston Martin's electric Rapide E (above) instead of one of its gas-powered coupes. It may seem like blasphemy for Bond's flashiest vehicle to be a sedan, but Fukanaga, lead actor Daniel Craig and the producers reportedly believed "the time was right" for the secret agent to use an emissions-free ride.
Aston Martin is re-making James Bond's DB5, spy gadgets included
Aston Martin is creating a limited edition version of the definitive James Bond car, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5. In collaboration with James Bond film producer EON Productions, the automaker will build 25 "Goldfinger DB5s," with a straight-six, 282 horsepower, 3,995cc motor that will allow a top speed of 145 mph and 0 to 60 time of 7.1 seconds. It will even sport the famous revolving license plate and other gadgets, built by Oscar-winning James Bond effects supervisor Chris Corbould.
Paul Manafort's password inspiration: Bond. James Bond.
Apparently, being involved in high-level political intrigue doesn't guarantee that you'll be any good at password management. Security researchers speaking to Motherboard have discovered that former Trump campaign manager and international lobbyist Paul Manafort used uncannily appropriate password variations for his old (2012-2013) Adobe and Dropbox accounts: Bond007. Yes, you read that correctly -- as Christina Wilkie notes, this was a secret foreign agent signing in as another secret foreign agent. Cheekiness aside, the James Bond nod underscores the tendency toward terrible password habits and how they can have very real consequences.
Apple and Amazon reportedly pursuing James Bond film rights
Sony's distribution rights to the James Bond films expired with 2015's Spectre and MGM has been looking for a new distributor ever since. As of now, Warner Bros. is expected to land the rights, but two new rather surprising players have jumped into the game -- Amazon and Apple. Sony has also pursued a deal with MGM, as have Universal and Fox, but sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that the tech companies are willing to throw down as much as or more money than Warner Bros. to land the rights.
Hulu is now offering its originals and Bond in 4K
Streaming service, Hulu is making sure your next 4K UHD TV has content. That is as long as you're a super fan of James Bond or enjoy its library of originals. Also you're going to need a Xbox One S or a PlayStation 4 Pro.
Recommended Reading: The gadgets and cocktails of James Bond
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The (James) Bond Index Bloomberg Business With the latest installment in the Bond collection debuting this weekend, Bloomberg Business offers a guide to the drinks, gadgets, clothes and one-liners of the secret agent. The interactive piece is not only a handy reference tool, but it's rather fun to scroll through, too. It's certainly a must-read for the Bond trivia nerds.
EPIX enables mobile downloads for offline movie watching
Joining the likes of Google Play Movies and iTunes, streaming content provider EPIX announced on Tuesday that it will allow subscribers to download movies onto their mobile devices for later playback, whether or not there's an available internet connection. The feature will reportedly be available on iOS and Android devices as well as Amazon's Kindle, beginning this month. Available titles will include The Hunger Games, James Bond and Star Trek. There's no word on limits to how many titles subscribers will be able to concurrently download or how long they'll be able to keep each one.
Tesla Model S owners can pretend they're in a James Bond submarine
Elon Musk loved that Lotus Esprit car/submarine from Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me so much, he dropped $866,000 to buy it in an auction two years ago. By the looks of it, though, that's not all he did: he also paid homage to Bond's transforming vehicle by using it as a Model S easter egg. If you have one of Tesla's best-selling EVs, just hold down the T button while on the entertainment system's menu to trigger the Access Code prompt. Yup, you guessed it -- you need to type Bond's number code into the box (hint: it has two zeros and a seven). The screen on your Model S dashboard should then show the Lotus Esprit sub and a "Depth"drop-down menu with the max option of 20,000 Leagues.
Elon Musk wants to put a Tesla engine inside James Bond's submersible Lotus
Tesla's CEO has apparently dropped $866,000 on the amphibious Lotus Espirit from The Spy Who Loved Me. His intent? He wants to turn the prop car (which never actually swam) into a true aquatic vessel, courtesy of a Tesla electric powertrain. At this point, we're just wondering what's left for Musk to experiment with -- have land and space bored him already? [Image credit: Karen Roe/Flickr]
Voxeljet 3D printer used to produce Skyfall's Aston Martin stunt double
Spoiler alert: a reoccurring cast member bids farewell in the latest James Bond flick. When the production of Skyfall called for the complete decimation of a classic 1960s era Aston Martin DB5, filmmakers opted for something a little more lifelike than computer graphics. The movie studio contracted the services of Augsburg-based 3D printing company Voxeljet to make replicas of the vintage ride. Skipping over the residential-friendly MakerBot Replicator, the company used a beastly industrial VX4000 3D printer to craft three 1:3 scale models of the car with a plot to blow them to smithereens. The 18 piece miniatures were shipped off to Propshop Modelmakers in London to be assembled, painted, chromed and outfitted with fake bullet holes. The final product was used in the film during a high-octane action sequence, which resulted in the meticulously crafted prop receiving a Wile E. Coyote-like sendoff. Now, rest easy knowing that no real Aston Martins were harmed during the making of this film. Head past the break to get a look at a completed model prior to its untimely demise.
Sony Xperia TL review: the company's second US flagship is much improved, but still imperfect
As Sony's second stab at the US mobile market, the Xperia TL arrives with a major corporate synergistic push: a 007 movie franchise tie-in. But an awkward distinction as the official Bond phone and a smattering of pre-loaded "Skyfall" multimedia content alone won't drive consumer adoption; the specs and pricing will. Following in the footsteps of the company's first stateside flagship, the Ion, this AT&T 4G LTE exclusive is priced aggressively at $99 on two-year contract, packing a 4.6-inch HD Reality display (1,280 x 720) powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5GHz, 16GB of storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD), 1GB RAM, NFC, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, as well as an integrated 1,850mAh battery. With Ice Cream Sandwich running the show and a planned upgrade to Jelly Bean in the works, it has all the makings of a current-gen high-end offering. So will the Xperia TL help Sony build much-needed buzz for its mobile division here in the states? Can a sub-$100 price tag effectively lure consumers away from the bigger, faster and flashier Android phones AT&T has to offer? Or is this mainly one for Sony loyalists? Find out after the break as we put the TL through its paces.%Gallery-169692%
Sony Xperia TL comes to AT&T on November 2 for $99 with a two-year contract
We've already gotten our collective mitts on Sony's Xperia TL, and come November 2nd, you'll be able to do the same by plunking down $99.99 and inking a two-year contract with AT&T. In case you need a refresher, the LTE handset runs a skinned build of Ice Cream Sandwich, packs a 1.5GHz dual-core S4 processor, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, NFC and a 4.6-inch 720p display powered by the firm's Mobile BRAVIA Engine. Since Sony's smartphone flagship is lucky enough to call itself the official James Bond phone, it'll come stuffed with behind the scenes footage of the upcoming film Skyfall and Bond-themed ringtones, wallpapers and more. For the full lowdown on the Xperia TL's arrival on Big Blue, hit the jump for the press release.
Sony's Xperia T is now available on O2 and ThreeUK, Walther PPK/S not included
O2 and ThreeUK have announced that they'll be carrying Sony's Xperia T, the phone James Bond totes 'round in Skyfall. He's got a tough decision on his hands depending on which network he chooses, however, with O2 offering an exclusive tie-in edition of the handset with custom ringtones and pre-release images. On the other hand, he probably gets through plenty of data reading classified files and flicking through the Tom Ford catalogue, so perhaps he'd prefer Three's unlimited data. Either way, you can follow in the footsteps of your hero right now, with price plans starting from £30 per month.
Carphone Warehouse stocking Sony's Xperia T, J and Tablet S for wannabe James Bonds
Given that James Bond himself is rocking Sony's Xperia T as his handset of choice in Skyfall, it's natural that wannabe Bonds will be clamoring for similar gear. Fortunately, Carphone Warehouse has announced that it's stocking the T, Xperia J and Xperia Tablet S when they make their debut in the UK. The two smartphones will be arriving on the increasingly busy September 5th, while the Tablet S's arrival date is still in the air, but we know it'll cost you £330 for the WiFi or £430 for the 3G version.
Sky adds Bond Channel to its movie offering, will screen entire back catalog in high-definition
Fresh from his appearance at this year's Olympic opening ceremony, James Bond is getting his own dedicated channel on Sky. The UK broadcaster will start showing all 22 movies in high-definition from October 5th, gearing up to the British spy's latest adventure, Skyfall, which launches a month later. Android, iOS and PC platforms will be able to stream the collection through Sky Go, while its new on-demand service will also be showing the full gamut of Bond adventures in a few months. For England, James.
'Bond 50' 22 movie Blu-ray collection details revealed, ships in September (video)
MGM and 20th Century Fox revealed during CES that all 22 of the James Bond movies would be released together for the first time in the Bond 50 Blu-ray disc collection this fall, and now ahead of the Cannes International Film Festival there's additional details to share. The Bond 50 set will include 23 discs -- one for each movie and its bonus content, plus an extra containing two Bond featurettes digging into the world of James Bond and the six actors who have played him, plus videoblogs from the upcoming flick Skyfall (there's an open slot in the specially designed case for it as well). The set ships September 24th in the UK and September 25th in the US with other countries getting it the same week. While no price is mentioned in the press release, Amazon currently is taking preorders for $199. That's a hefty price but if you absolutely must have all of Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig in one box this is it. The release with all the details follows after the break, plus the same trailer for the boxed set, a video reveal of the box itself, and the just revealed trailer for Skyfall, which is due to hit theaters October 26th in the UK and November 9th in the US.
Mini quadrotors play Bond, James Bond (video)
This week's TED2012 conference isn't all talk -- sometimes the videos features speak for themselves. Check out this phenomenal one from the University of Pennsylvania starring a number of nano quadrotors playing the James Bond theme by banging percussion, hitting the piano and strumming a guitar. The room in the video has infrared lights and cameras and the 'copters are outfitted with reflectors, making it possible to plot their position. The result is technical wizardry worthy of Q himself. Check it out after the break.
BMW My Remote app arrives in the US, 3-Series with stinger missiles due soon
BMW's My Remote iOS app has been available here in Europe for a while. Reenacting the car park chase from Tomorrow Never Dies is one of the principal ways to let off steam on a weekend. Sadly, the company has brought our exclusive fun to an end by releasing the app in the USA -- albeit without the weaponized vehicles from the movie. Once installed on an iPhone, you'll get remote locking, horn and headlights as well as a positioning app so you never get lost in a parking lot. The age and model of your Beemer will decide what features you'll be able to use (full details after the break) but remember Bond: you have a license to kill, not to violate the traffic laws.[Thanks, Mark]
