Entertainment
No Time To Die: World premiere for new James Bond movie
Actor Daniel Craig walked the red carpet for the final time as James Bond in rain-swept London on Tuesday, at the star-studded but much-delayed world premiere of the latest superspy blockbuster, “No Time To Die”.
British star Craig’s fifth and final outing in the franchise is hitting big screens after its release was repeatedly postponed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Royal couples Prince Charles and Camilla and Prince William and Kate were also at the premiere at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall.
Charles talked with the stars, shaking hands with Craig having trodden the sodden red carpet.
The film is part of a backlog of major productions held back by distributors during the pandemic, hitting cinemas hard, and forcing some new films to be streamed.
The release will be in cinemas only, with struggling theatres hoping Bond will lure back crowds.
“I’m greatly relieved, we make Bond movies for the cinema,” Craig, dressed in a dark pink tuxedo jacket, told Sky News on the red carpet.
Reflecting on 15 years of playing 007, Craig said: “I genuinely don’t have any bad memories, but I think it’s going to take about another 15 years to unpick all this.”
Vue Entertainment, the UK branch of the cinema operator Vue International, hailed the movie’s release as “the cinematic event of the year”.
It will go on general release in Britain on Thursday and in the United States on October 8 — a year and a half behind schedule.
– Craig bows out –
In the film, reportedly costing $250 million (£182 million, 214 million euros), Bond returns to active service after retirement, vowing: “I have to finish this.”
He deploys his trademark hi-tech gadgets in spectacular scenery in Italy and Norway while battling the villainous Safin, played by Oscar-winner Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”).
“I get shot and then I get blown up. It feels like James Bond to me,” Craig said in an official podcast.
With Craig bowing out, calling the role “a massive part” of his life, speculation has mounted over who will inherit his fabled licence to kill.
UK bookmakers are tipping the likes of Tom Hardy (“The Revenant”, “Dunkirk”) or Rege-Jean Page, the mixed-race star of the Netflix hit “Bridgerton”.
Craig, 53, has held onto the role longer than any of his predecessors since his 2006 debut in “Casino Royale”.
He has won praise for adding depth and emotional complexity to the all-action role, but only reluctantly agreed to one final appearance as Bond.
After “Spectre” in 2015, Craig told Time Out magazine he would rather “slash his wrists” than reprise the role but recently apologised for appearing flippant.
Emmy-winning US filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga directed the new film, becoming the first American to helm the franchise.
His previous films include a 2011 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”.
The filmmaker stepped in after the original director Danny Boyle, known for “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Trainspotting”, left over “creative differences” in 2018.
‘World Has Changed’
Fukunaga said in a promotional video that his Bond is “like a wounded animal”, struggling because “the world has changed, the rules of engagement aren’t what they used to be: the rules of espionage (are) darker in this era of asymmetric warfare”.
The Bond films are based on a character created by upper-class British writer Ian Fleming in novels published in the 1950s and 1960s.
As the MeToo movement has heightened awareness of misogyny in popular culture, some have argued that time has run out for the franchise.
The new film’s director has also criticised Bond’s sexual exploits.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fukunaga said that in one 1960s-era film, “basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman”.
“That wouldn’t fly today,” he stressed.
Among those working on the screenplay was Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the British creator and star of the TV series “Fleabag” and writer of the first series of “Killing Eve”.
In the film, Bond spars with a black female MI6 agent, played by Briton Lashana Lynch, and has to take a back seat to her as she flies a plane.
“It’s an incredible moment to have a female black lead in a movie who is holding her own,” she told Sky News on the red carpet.
“It feels really empowering for me to even play her. It felt like the stars aligned for this one,” she said.
Entertainment
Eight Stabbed, Hundreds Arrested at Notting Hill Carnival
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that eight people were stabbed and hundreds were arrested during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals, held annually in west London.
In an update on their policing operation late Monday, the Met reported that five people were stabbed on the final day of the three-day celebration, which is internationally renowned for its vibrant display of British Afro-Caribbean culture.
This followed three other stabbings on Sunday. Three of the victims were left in life-threatening conditions.
Police made at least 230 arrests on Monday alone, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon.
These arrests added to the scores of others made earlier in the weekend. In addition to the arrests, three firearms were seized, and 35 officers sustained injuries during the event, which attracts around a million attendees every August bank holiday weekend.
The number of arrests and incidents this year closely mirrors last year’s figures when there were 10 stabbings and approximately 300 arrests.
Despite the heavy police presence, with around 7,000 officers deployed, the carnival was once again marred by violence, particularly knife crime. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of revellers enjoyed the event without incident, filling the streets of Notting Hill with colour, music, and dancing.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Ade Adelekan expressed his frustration over the recurring violence, noting that a woman attending the carnival with her child was among those stabbed.
“We only very narrowly avoided a fatality,” he said, urging attendees to report any crimes they witness.
The Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture, has its roots in the 1950s, following the post-World War II influx of immigrants from former British colonies.
The annual event is known for its feathered dancers, steel bands, and earth-shaking sound systems, symbolizing the rich cultural heritage of the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK.
Entertainment
Portable Granted Bail After Night in Police Cell Over ₦14m Debt
The Lagos State Police Command has freed renowned street artist, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, following a night spent in police detention.
Portable was apprehended on Tuesday in Lagos’ Abule Egba vicinity for purportedly defaulting on the balance payment for a G-Wagon vehicle he had purchased from an auto dealer.
Reports suggest that although the ‘Zazoo Zeh’ maestro acquired the vehicle valued at ₦27 million, he only disbursed ₦13 million, leaving a ₦14 million outstanding balance.
In footage that went viral, Portable was observed scaling a gate as law enforcement officers approached him with an arrest warrant.
Subsequently, another video emerged depicting him being restrained, handcuffed, and conveyed by approximately four policemen into a waiting vehicle.
During the altercation, a female voice, purportedly that of the car dealer, was heard in the background, issuing profanities and recounting Portable’s alleged threats when confronted about settling the debt.
The Police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that Portable was released on bail on Wednesday after spending Tuesday night in police custody.
He further disclosed that both Portable and the car dealer are expected to reconvene at a later date.
“He (Portable) has been released; he was granted bail on Wednesday to come back with the complainant later,” Hundeyin stated, stressing that “the outcome of that meeting will determine our next line of action.”
This incident marks not the first encounter between the singer and law enforcement.
In April 2023, Portable was detained by the police in Ogun State and arraigned on five charges related to alleged assault and theft at the Ifo Magistrate Court, in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Subsequently, he was held at the Ilaro Correctional Centre before being released upon meeting bail conditions.
Entertainment
Autopsy Results Fail to Determine Cause of Mohbad’s Death
In a recent inquiry into the untimely demise of Nigerian musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad, held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Sunday Osiyemi, a Forensic Scientist and Pathologist, revealed that the results of the autopsy conducted on the deceased failed to unveil the cause of death.
Speaking before Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi, who presided over the coroner’s inquiry, Prof. Osiyemi cited various factors contributing to the inconclusive findings, notably the significant decomposition of the body due to the extended delay of 21 days before the autopsy was performed.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu, representing Mohbad’s family, emphasised that according to the pathologist, the body should have been exhumed within 12 hours post-burial to prevent decomposition, a critical factor in determining the cause of death.
Shittu further elucidated that the pathologist referenced the administration of certain drugs to Mohbad before his demise, suggesting a potential correlation between the drugs and the difficulties encountered in pinpointing the cause of death.
“He also went further to say that it may be attributed to reactions to certain drugs administered on him before he died. Again he then qualified that to say he does not know whether it is those drugs that actually led to his death,” Shittu stated.
With the cause of death remaining elusive, the coroner adjourned the proceedings to June 11th for further examination and cross-examination of the pathologist’s findings, signaling a continuation in the quest for answers surrounding Mohbad’s untimely passing.
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