Knight And Day Poster Art

Following the promising trailer (it doesn't feel quite right, but that seems like it's because the trailer was probably cut with only a few scenes actually in the can), we now have even more promising poster art for James Mangold's Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz spy romp.  In fact, this image is more than promising; it's downright awesome.  I love it, in both its US one-sheet and UK quad configurations.  I'm so glad that studio publicity departments are slowly getting away from the boring, boring, boring "Photoshopped head close-ups" poster design of recent years and experimenting once more (a bit, anyway) with more striking compositions and even, ever so slightly, artwork.  I applaud Fox's publicity department for having the courage to go with a teaser image that doesn't even show their big stars' faces!  This is great, appealingly-retro-but-at the same time forward thinking spy artwork.  I love it. 

I really, really hope that John Powell's score for this film matches this poster artwork.  Looking at it, for some reason the music I hear in my head is the theme from the anime series Cowboy Bebop, which itself owes more than a little to George Martin's cue "Baron Samedi's Dance of Death" from his score for Live and Let Die.  It's a modern theme with definite Sixties (and, clearly early Seventies) spy music roots, and I'd love to see that combination drive this movie, based on that poster and what we know about the plot and the Eurospyish MacGuffin.  I love Powell's scores for the Bourne films, the Italian Job remake and, particularly, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but his spy music is seldom what I'd call "retro."  To me, this poster demands something more like what Michael Giacchino concocted for The Incredibles.  (And based only on his great but very contemporary and very electronic Alias scores, I wouldn't have pegged Giacchino for writing such a perfect tribute to John Barry, so you never know...) I'd love to hear Powel's ode to spy music of the past, but perhaps I'm just forming the wrong expectations based on a teaser poster.  Whatever the music turns out to be, I love this poster and I'm definitely looking forward to the film!

More Spy Sales

I guess January is the season for sales on spy DVDs.  Or the season to break spy fans' banks!  Hot on the heels of Network's big sale and concurrent with Deep Discount's sale on Acorn titles comes a matching Deep Discount sale on A&E titles and another Network sale that will be much more appealing to American buyers.

Between Acorn and A&E, Deep Discount is now covering just about all the major Region 1 British spy TV releases.  A&E doesn't do a lot in that field anymore, but they do handle one of the biggest: The Prisoner.  And in this sale (up to 60% off), you can get The Prisoner: The Complete Series on DVD for just $27.98... on Blu-ray for just $39.98. And this Blu-ray is awesome.  If you've got the equipment for it and you haven't picked this up yet, now's the time.  It's got every single feature from the Network Region 2 DVD release, and the high-def transfer looks amazing.  It normally retails for a hundred bucks, so this is a steal.  I've got to mention some non-spy titles in this sale, too, just because they're among my favorites.  A&E recently issued the surviving episodes of Peter Cushing's 1968 Sherlock Holmes TV series for the first time ever on Region 1 DVD, and it's outstanding.  And it's just $13.48 in this sale.  And with even less spy relevance, one of the funniest British series ever, Jeeves & Wooster: The Complete Series, is just $23.98 (for eight discs!).  Back when I was buying these, you couldn't even get a single season that cheaply!  (Now you can get those for $7.98.)  The P.G. Wodehouse adaptation stars Dr. House himself (and Gunseller author, if you want a spy connection) Hugh Laurie and the great Stephen Fry (Stormbreaker).  And it's great, if I didn't make that clear.  Plus, if you were so inclined, between the Acorn sale and the A&E sale you could assemble the complete Poirot collection for an unusually affordable price right now at Deep Discount. But enough divergences; let's get back to spies, shall we? 

We've got spies galore from Network.  Yes, the very people who created those great special features on the aforementioned A&E Prisoner Blu-ray.  The order minimums (and resulting shipping costs) on their most recent sale pretty much excluded American buyers.  But now they've got a more limited sale with no minimums!  And though it might be limited, it's pretty much limited to the things Double O Section readers probably want anyway.  (Honestly, it's a little bit annoying if you did buy stuff in the last sale. But a godsend if you didn't.)  It's a 50% off sale on Network's web exclusives, which includes the recent releases Whiplash: The Complete Series (with Peter Graves, review here) and Zodiac: The Complete Series (from Avengers writer Roger Marshall, full review here), ITC's prototypical Sixties adventure show, Man of the World, and all of the company's fantabulous ITC* soundtrack sets!  I know I just itemized them last week, but for those with short memories, they include The Prisoner (and this three disc set is almost entirely different music from the tracks available on Silva Screen's three individual CDs), Department S, Man In A Suitcase , The Champions, The Protectors, Jason King and two volumes of Danger Man. These are all exhaustive, multi-disc sets containing nearly all the surviving tracks for these series.  And they're as cheap as you're ever likely to find them in this sale!  The sale ends January 28; no coupon is necessary.

*In case you're thinking my vocabulary got weird, that's actually a sort of obscure (and, admittedly, dumb) spy reference I couldn't resist.  I know some of you got it.

Tradecraft: Mossad And Assassin

Here are two stories that I missed in the trades, but luckily Dark Horizons caught them. 

Variety reports that producer Eric Eisner's L+E Pictures "has acquired feature rights to Shmu-el Segev's 'Alone in Damascus,' which recounts the story of Israeli spy Eli Cohen."  Israeli filmmaker Lior Geller will write the script.  So what, exactly, is Alone in Damascus?  The trade doesn't say.  Presumably it's a book, but perhaps a forthcoming one.  There is no book of that title currently available in America, at least.  The plot sounds interesting, though.  The trade reports that "Cohen worked as a Mossad agent from 1960 until his public execution in 1965 and built close ties with Syrian leaders, almost rising to the rank of Syrian defense minister. He's credited with supplying Israel with many details on Syrian political and military matters."

An Israeli spy rising through the ranks in Syria (albeit a less successful one) was also the subject of the fantastic documentary The Champagne Spy (full review here) in 2007.  That film criminally remains unreleased in America, though you can purchase an expensive German import DVD through Amazon.  At one time, it was reported that The Champagne Spy would also be developed into a fictionalized narrative feature for Hollywood.
And The Hollywood Reporter reports that True Memoirs of an International Assassin, an action-comedy spec script by Jeff Morris that was on the 2009 Black List, has been picked up by Mark Gill and Neil Sacker's West Hollywood-based independent production company The Film Department.  According to the trade, "Memoirs focuses on an accountant who writes a novel about the life he wishes he had, that of a fearless assassin. He sells the book, the publisher labels it a memoir, and the world comes to believe he is his alter ego. When he goes on vacation to Belize, he finds himself coerced into killing the country's prime minister and must now become the hero he's always written about but never dreamed he'd be."

Upcoming Spy DVDs: XIII

TV Shows On DVD reports that XIII, the miniseries that aired on NBC last year, will soon be available on DVD and Blu-ray from Phase 4 Films under the title XIII: The Conspiracy.  Stephen Dorff, Val Kilmer and Casino Royale's Caterina Murino starred in the spy thriller, which was based on a very Bourne Identity-inspired French graphic novel of the same name by Jean Van Hamme.  The reason for the new subtitle, apparently, is that a full series is now in development, without a network, from an independent European producer/distributor.  (This is the same model as the one being used by the long-in-development new Saint series, so XIII fans should remain hopeful, but not hold their collective breath.)  Anyway, the product description for the miniseries reads:

The first female U.S. President is shot dead by a sniper during her Independence Day speech. Three months later, a wounded man is found hanging from a tree with no memory of his identity. The only clue is a tattoo on his neck, 'XIII'. Submerged in a far-reaching conspiracy which threatens to overthrow the entire government, XIII's identity becomes the key to unraveling a complex and dangerous truth that will shock and excite. From the first bullet, this gripping action-thriller will leave audiences gasping for breath.

Apparently, the version of XIII on Blu-ray will run 180 minutes, while the DVD only runs 136 minutes.  Both retail for $29.99.  Amazon lists a February 9 release date for both, but TV Shows On DVD hears that that might not be correct.  Their sources suggest that the February 9 date might be for rental only, with retail release following on April 6.

Roger Moore's Gold Of The Seven Saints On Sale On Warner Archive Site

I hadn't even realized that one of Roger Moore's rarely seen, pre-Bond, pre-Saint movies (from his early days in Hollywood as a Warner contract player), Gold of the Seven Saints, had been released through the Warner Archive Collection last fall until regular reader and commenter Delmo alerted me to the fact.  So I haven't actually bought it yet, but now's a great opportunity, because it's on sale (along with all of the Warner Archives Westerns) for 35% off through the Warner Archive website.  That makes it a very affordable $12.96 as opposed to the regular, overpriced $19.95.  (I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: if Warner just lowered that standard price point on their Archives to $14.95, I would by so many more titles--and I'm sure I'm not alone.)  For those of you who have caught this on TCM, it's the one where Roger sports an Irish accent--and sings.  (No, Sean Connery wasn't the only actor to warble a little Celtic ditty onscreen before becoming Bond!)  And, as Moore points out in his excellent, fantastic, must-read autobiography, the title turned out to be very portentous for him.  Gold, the number seven, and Saints would all prove recurring themes in his future film and television roles.  Gold of the Seven Saints is also available through Amazon, and presumably will be eventually through DeepDiscount as well, as other Archive titles have become.  For now, though, this sale's the best deal going!

Another Great Spy Sale

Network isn't the only purveyor of UK spy shows having a sale.  DeepDiscount is having their own sale that should be of interest to American fans of British spy and mystery television: 50% off all Acorn Media titles, now through January 29.  Ever since A&E wound down their offerings of classic ITC series, Acorn has become the closest thing to an American equivilant of Network.  This sale includes spy essentials from their catalog like Callan: Set 1 (review here), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley's People, A Perfect Spy, the Canadian spy drama Intelligence (Season 1 and Season 2) and even pre-orders on the forthcoming (and equally amazing) Callan: Set 2!  Also on sale are mysteries with serious spy angles, like Anthony Horowitz's excellent, excellent Foyle's War (a great deal on the complete series), the latest Poirot set, which includes Agatha Christie's tale of British agents "Cat Among the Pigeons" (review here) and The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 1 , which contains the terrific proto-Deighton Victorian spy yarn "The Dixon Torpedo" (full review here).  The only detractor from Acorn's DVDs is their sometimes prohibitively high price point, but at 50% off, they suddenly become very affordable.  Spy fans, mystery fans and fans of British television in general can't afford not to poke around this sale.  (And if you only get one thing, by all means make it Callan.  All spy afficionados need Callan!)

Tradecraft: Red Menace

Each time we heard about a new cast member joining the Bruce Willis spy thriller Red, we got the same logline: a retired covert operative (Willis) is lured back into action when a younger, more high-tech assassin comes gunning for him.  But everyone they cast was old (Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox, Ernest Borgnine), so I kept wondering who could be playing the young assassin of the premise?  Well, thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, now we know: Karl Urban.  "Urban will play the CIA's top cleaner, the youthful counterpart of Bruce Willis' grizzled former agent," says the trade.  Great choice!  I've been a fan of Urban's since his Xena days, and I keep waiting for Hollywood to see his star potential.  Sadly that has yet to happen (although he always shines in supporting heroic roles, as in Star Trek and The Lord of the Rings), and he keeps getting villainous roles instead.  But he's good at that too.  He was already great playing the hotshot young assassin gunning for the hero in The Bourne Supremacy; let's just hope he gets more screentime playing that role in Red.  Red is based on a comic book by Warren Ellis.  I haven't read it, but Ellis is usually good.  I definitely have high hopes for this one!

Tradecraft: S.H.I.E.L.D. Has Eyes Everywhere

Variety reports that Iron Man's primary S.H.I.E.L.D. representative, Agent Coulson (remember, despite a larger role in the upcoming sequel, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury didn't appear in the first film until a brief scene after the credits), will pop up in other Marvel films, further uniting the films' comic book-like "shared universe."  Not only will Clark Gregg (the boss in (500) Days of Summer, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' ex on The New Adventures of Old Christine) reprise the role in Iron Man 2; he will also pop up in the Coulson character in Kenneth Brannagh's Thor in 2010.  The trade reiterates that "the character is the latest to appear in multiple Marvel productions as the comicbook company's film division preps for the eventual production of The Avengers [based on the Marvel comic of the same title, and no relation to the TV series spy fans more readily associate with that name], which unites Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor in one pic. Marvel has been keen on brokering deals with actors to make sure auds will recognize characters when they crossover and appear in its other films."  Foremost among those deals, of course, is the nine picture deal with Samuel L. Jackson to portray Fury in multiple pictures, including Thor.  I think it's cool that Marvel is using their spies to hold their universe together! In Marvel's film universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate."

Tradecraft: Marc Forster Has Ludlum In His Sights

Having sucessfully derailed a Bond movie, director Marc Forster has acquired his next spy target: Robert Ludlum.  Variety reports that the Quantum of Solace director is now attached to direct Ludlum's The Chancellor Manuscript for Paramount.  The studio acquired the novel for $4 million dollars back in 2005, at the time with an eye for Martin Scorcese to direct and Leonardo Di Caprio to star.  According to the trade, Di Caprio remains attached.  The actor is also producing, along with Douglas Wick and Ludlum copyright holders Captivate Entertainment.  Writer Peter O'Brien (who's currently penning the story for Microsoft's latest Halo game) has been tapped to adapt the novel, following in the footsteps of previous scribes Michael Seitzman and Alessandro Camon. 

As Variety puts it, "the story centers on Peter Chancellor, who turns in a novel about D.C. power brokers who are blackmailed into altering U.S. policies. When some operatives get hold of the manuscript, they think he has uncovered their actual scheme and try to hunt the author down."

The trade also reminds us of other Ludlum properties in development: "In recent years, the late Ludlum's thrillers have proven irresistible to studios and big-name talent. Universal, the studio behind Ludlum's Bourne franchise, is developing The Sigma Protocol. And Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington and helmer David Cronenberg are attached to an adaptation of The Matarese Circle at MGM."  They don't even mention Ron Howard's involvement in The Parsifal Mosaic or the in-development (but recently set back) fourth Bourne film, both at Universal.  Or Simon Kinberg's Osterman Weekend remake at Summit.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love that Hollywood has finally discovered Robert Ludlum!  (There are more movies based on his books in development right now than were actually made in the author's lifetime.)  I'm most looking forward to The Matarese Circle, but I fear its fate might be tied in with that of troubled studio MGM.

So much do I want to see as many Robert Ludlum titles turned into movies as possible that I'll even see one directed by Marc Forster.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  Pray that he learned his lessons of how not to make an action spy movie on Quantum of Solace.  Then again, I fear that he may think that's exactly how to make a Ludlum movie.  After all, he imported Bourne's Second Unit director, Dan Bradley, for his Bond film, and where he went most severely off track with 007 was in attempting to emulate the unique and finely honed action direction and editing that Paul Greengrass pioneered on the second and third Bourne movies, which is clearly not as easy as it looks...

Last Day To Save In Network's Massive 40-50% Off DVD Sale

This story is another victim of my illness.  I started this post a week ago to announce the start of this sale, but now I'm only getting it up in time for the conclusion.  Luckily, I can help you speed-shop and save quickly by telling you exactly what spy fans are likely to want out of this sale! 

UK spy factory Network (the people behind such recent releases of interest as Whiplash and Zodiac, and such spy classics as Danger Man and The Saint) is having another 40% off sale, as they did last January!  Unfortunately, there are a few new restrictions this time around that make the deals less appealing to American customers.  But for those lucky UK spy fans, there are many, many wonderful bargains to be had!  The fine print is this:  In order to get the 40% off (with the coupon code SALE100), you have to spend £100.  For big spenders, there's even more savings to be had if you spend £200: a whopping fifty percent.  And it's honestly not hard at all to find £200 worth of appealing spy products on the Network website.  Here's the unfortunate kicker for U.S. customers, though: when you buy £100 worth of merchandise, that means (by just any configuration I can come up with, anyway) that the weight of your order goes over 1 kilo, which triggers a "large order" shipping surcharge of a whopping £66!  On £100 orders, that's obviously enough to negate your savings, and it significantly diminishes them on even the £200 orders.  So, unfortunately, the deals this year seem relegated to UK buyers.  Which make me jealous, but, man, is there a lot to be had for those lucky Brits! 

The DVDs, of course, are PAL and mostly Region 2, so if you're not in Europe, you'd also have to be sure that you have the capabilities to play them. (Most people with a DVD drive on their computer and some free software do these days.) 

Also on sale, in addition to the countless DVDs, are the company's many multi-disc ITC soundtrack sets like The Prisoner (and this three disc set is almost entirely different music from the tracks available on Silva Screen's three individual CDs), Department S, Man In A Suitcase , The Champions, The Protectors, Jason King and two volumes of Danger Man. These are all exhaustive, multi-disc sets containing nearly all the surviving tracks for these series.  They're all collectors' dreams, but at £20 - £35 a pop (pre-discount, that is), perhaps overkill for more casual fans.  For them, the easy soludion is Network's budget range of affordable, single-disc highlight CDs, most just £8.99 pre-discount.  These are: The Prisoner: Original Soundtrack Highlights, Department S: Original Soundtrack Highlights, Man In A Suitcase: Original Soundtrack Highlights and Danger Man: Original Soundtrack Highlights.  At least the highlights disc, if not both full sets, is absolutely essential in any complete library of spy music.  Perhaps best of all these sets is the two-disc compendium The Music of ITC.  This fantastic volume includes selections from all of those shows plus terrific non-spy cues like Randall & Hopkirk, Deceased and Gideon's Way and, most amazingly, the only tracks ever released anywhere from certain crucial ITC programs like The Persuaders!, The Zoo Gang (which boasts a theme by Paul McCartney), Return of the Saint and The Baron.  This set contains all known existing cues from the latter two.  I'll talk more about this release when I finally get around to doing my Best of 2009 post (man, this illness has set me back so far this year!), but if you could buy just one thing in this sale, I would recommend that it be The Music of ITC.  Unfortunately, thanks to the price limits, you can't buy just one thing.  So why not also consider some DVDs! 

Mission: Impossible fans who just can't get enough Peter Graves should consider his pre-Mission ITC Outback Western, Whiplash.  (Read my review here.)  Avengers fans curious to see what Roger Marshall did with a very similar concept will discover a long-buried treasure with Zodiac (review here).  That one's a real bargain, since it's only £16.99 before the discount!

Among the many other spy-related bargains are:

The Prisoner: The Complete Series on Blu-ray, totally remastered and loaded with extra features

Man of the World, one of ITC's first adventure series, setting the template for much of their Sixties output

Mister Jerico starring Patrick Macnee (review here) for only

The Bulldog Drummond Double Bill featuring both the sublime Deadlier Than the Male (review here)and its (somewhat lesser) sequel Some Girls Do plus special features. (Needless to say, I consider this absolutely essential stuff for any self-respecting spy fan.)

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, featuring some great Victorian espionage as well as terrific Holmsian mysteries (Review here)

Michael Powell's episodes of Espionage on a single disc, or Espionage: The Complete Series on many

The Ipcress File Special Edition (the two-disc one that comes with the Len Deighton book and the John Barry soundtrack CD as well as loads of special features)

The (unintentionally?) side-splitting adventures of the world's smarmiest spy, Gene Bradley, in The Adventurer

The Sandbaggers: The Complete Series (perhaps the greatest "serious" spy show of all time, featuring a few extras not available on the US versions), also available as individual seasons

The Baron

Return of the Saint (the most feature-laden version of this hard-to-find series in the world)

The Persuaders! (bursting at the seams with mouthwatering extras)

Danger Man

Department S

Jason King

The Champions

The Saint sets (The Complete Monochrome Series and The Complete Colour Series) Although The Saint is available in sets of varying quality in most countries, Network's is again the one with by far the most special features.

Finally, the company have also made available some of their wonderful documentaries from these ITC Complete Series sets as standalone discs.  This is very handy for international viewers who might own, say, The Saint in its entirety from A&E or Umbrella, but still crave the excellent feature-length making of, The Saint Steps In... To Television (review here).  Also available is the equally wonderful Prisoner documentary, Don't Knock Yourself Out (now also available on A&E's American Blu-ray release of the series) and In Character: Richard Bradford from Network's Man In A Suitcase complete series.

Also on sale, in addition to DVDs, are the company's many multi-disc ITC soundtrack sets (including The Prisoner, Department S, Man In A Suitcase and two volumes of Danger Man), most ranging from £10 to £15!

So UK readers, let the bargain-hunting commence!  But hurry, because the sale ends tomorrow, January 16! And for everyone else, it really doesn't hurt to have a yearly Buyer's Guide to Network's spy products.  They are many and they come fast and furious.  Already scheduled for 2010, we have Danger Man: The Complete Series 1 and the long-awaited Callan: The Monochrome Years.  Network is probably the most consistant company in the world for quality spy TV releases, and that tradition looks to continue. 

Tradecraft: Catching Up

No sooner did I return from my snowy travels than I was (unsurprisingly, I suppose) felled by illness.  I thought the resulting days off work would at least give me a chance to catch up on blogging and watch a few Eurospy movies, but alas neither was to happen.  It was more of a flop down on the couch and watch whatever happens to be on TV sort of illness than a productive one.  So now I'm even more behind than I was, and I think the last month has probably been the lightest period of posting in the history of this blog.  Mostly recovered now, I'll start catching up with a look at all the spy stuff that's been going on in the trades for the last week.  There's a lot of stuff here, and the best isn't all at the top, so dig in!

Deadlier Than The Male: Knockout and Hanna

Female assassins are big these days.  Two films centering on them are moving forward from big indy directors, and we have casting news from the trades on both Steven Soderbergh's Knockout (first reported here) and Joe Wright's Hanna (first reported here). 

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe) and and Michael Angarano (Snow Angels) are in talks to join Knockout, Soderbergh's revenge-oriented spy movie.  "The script by Lem Dobbs centers on a spy (mixed martial artist Gina Carano) who works for a Blackwater-style security contractor and is betrayed by one of her teammates. Tatum, who will train with a Mossad agent in preparation for the part, will play one of the agents in her spy cell. Angarano plays a teen who sees Carano in trouble and decides to help, unwittingly ending up as her partner." Soderbergh appears intent on surrounding his non-actress lead with as many top-notch thespians as possible, so far including Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Ewan McGregor and Dennis Quaid.  The truly amazing thing about this film is that the helmer is making it for just $25 million and even so still shooting in suitably spy-like locales, taking advantage of tax incentives in Spain and Ireland. I'm really looking forward to this one; I just hope Carano has the chops to carry it.  If Soderbergh can get a great performance out of a porn star (as he's said to have in The Girlfriend Experience), perhaps he can do it with an MMA fighter as well...

Joe Wright's Hanna is going the other direction.  Wright is looking to cast an Oscar-nominated actress in the lead role: fifteen-year-old Saoirse Ronan.  Ronan was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Wright's Atonement, and seems likely to receive another nomination this year for her performance in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.  Hanna sounds a lot like a combination of two Luc Besson movies: La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hanna "follows a 14-year-old Eastern European girl who has been raised by her father to be a cold-blooded killer.  She connects with a french family, forms a friendship with their daughter and goes through the pangs of adolescence.  When the girl is dragged back to her father's world and discovers she was bred as a killing machine in a CIA prison camp, she must fight her way to a free life."  The studio's logline, of course, also invokes Bourne (as does the one for the Soderbergh film), an apparent requisite for any spy movie in this day and age.  But Bourne-style action with a fifteen-year-old?  Count me in! 

Covert Affairs - Plural

Also according to The Hollywood Reporter, USA has picked up their new spy pilot Covert Affairs for a whole season: "Cable's top network has picked up the 90-minute pilot starring Piper Perabo to series with an 11-episode order. The spy drama, from Universal Cable Prods., centers on Annie Walker (Perabo), a multilingual CIA trainee unexpectedly promoted to field operative while reeling over a mysterious ex-boyfriend who appears to be of particular interest to her agency bosses."  At least one of those bosses is played by Peter Gallagher (which is awesome). The rest of the pilot's cast includes Christopher Gorham, Anne Dudek and Kari Matchett (who was great on 24 and especially Leverage), all of whom will remain aboard for the series. Eion Bailey, who plays her ex in the pilot, "is expected to at least be a recurring on the show."

USA's president of original programming Jeff Wachtel told the Reporter, "This in some ways is the most ambitious show that we've undertaken. The story is bigger, the production values are bigger, and the ensemble too is a little bigger than our other shows."  It hasn't been decided whether Covert Affairs will debut in the summer or the fall, but it will likely be paired with another USA hit.  Spy trendsetter Burn Notice would seem like an obvious choice. Covert Affairs is created and co-executive produced by Matt Corman and Chris Ord and executive produced by Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman.

Malkovich Joins Red

The Hollywood Reporter reports that John Malkovich has replaced John C. Reilly in the all-star Bruce Willis spy thriller Red, based on the Warren Ellis comic book.  Willis plays a retired operative contending with younger, more high-tech assassins out to get him.  "The role will allow Malkovich to exercise his comic sensibilities as he plays a retired CIA agent, a contemporary of Willis', who is erratic and paranoid that everyone is out to kill him and joins Willis in a quest to find out wha wants them dead."  Red starts shooting in Toronto this week under the direction of Robert Schwentke.

Consent to Kill

We've had Licence to Kill, Permission to Kill... now director Antoine Fuqua gives spy fans his Consent to Kill!  Variety reports that Shooter director Fuqua "will direct spy thriller Consent to Kill for CBS Films with Lorenzo DiBonaventura and Nick Wechsler producing." The trade reports that the script by Fuqua's Shooter collaborator Jonathan Lemkin is adapted from a 2005 novel by Vince Flynn about counterterrorism agent Mitch Rapp.  While the studio is reportedly keeping the logline under wraps, Variety says "in Flynn's story, Rapp battled a vengeful Saudi billionaire, an ex - East German Stasi spy and a husband-and-wife team of assassins -- all while dealing with a knee injury."

Female Star Gets Under Covers

J.J. Abrams has found his new female spy star.  According to The Hollywood Reporter , the actress poised to become the next Jennifer Garner is Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who will star opposite the previously announced Boris Kodjoe.  The trade reminds us of the essentials on Abrams' first spy series since Alias: "Undercovers, which Abrams co-wrote with Josh Reims, revolves around a domesticated husband (Kodjoe) and wife (Mbatha-Raw) who are re-activated as CIA agents after years of retirement. Abrams also will direct, marking the first pilot he has helmed since Lost in 2004."  (Deadline Hollywood adds, "as they work together for the first time on new cases, they discover new aspects from their past - even as they re-ignite their passion for each other.") The Hollywood Reporter says that "Mbatha-Raw, a graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, broke through during the summer when she was cast as Ophelia opposite Jude Law in the Donmar Warehouse production of 'Hamlet,' which had successful runs in London's West End and on Broadway," but spy fans will likely better know the actress from the fifth season of MI-5 (Spooks) , in which she played Jenny.  She's certainly paid her dues on British television, having also played a companion on Doctor Who and starred on the archeological adventure series Bonekickers. 

Von Donnersmarck Back on Tourist

The ongoing saga of The Tourist, which has had even more twists and turns than that other spy movie discarded by Tom Cruise, Salt, has taken another turn for the better.  Former Variety columnist Mike Fleming, now reporting for Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood blog, reports that The Lives of Others  director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck who was at one point attached to direct and then wasn't , is now back on board as the director of The Tourist!  This is wonderful, wonderful news.  The Lives of Others was probably my second favorite spy movie of this past decade (after Casino Royale and just ahead of The Bourne Ultimatum), and I've been eager to see whatever the director did next ever since that film won the 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.  I'm especially glad it's another spy movie!  And intrigued that it seems to be a more action-intensive one than The Lives of Others.  For those playing the Home Version, let me remind you that after going through cast iterations that included Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, Charlize Theron and Sam Worthington and Sam Worthington and Angelina Jolie now teams the two biggest movie stars in the world, Jolie and Johnny Depp.  I can't wait to see those two spying for Von Donnersmarck.

Update: More On Mendes And Bond

Other trades have approached yesterday's Hollywood Reporter story about American Beauty director Sam Mendes' involvement with the next Daniel Craig James Bond movie from different angles.  Variety rather characteristically framed the news in the wider context of MGM's serious financial troubles.  "The long-running drama surrounding MGM's future took an odd turn Tuesday with rumors sweeping through the town about Sam Mendes directing next James Bond film," said the trade.  "The beleaguered studio refused to confirm reports about Mendes being in talks for the 23rd Bond pic. MGM also denied other reports that pre-production had been halted after producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli told Total Film magazine that the uncertainty surrounding the Lion's ownership had left the project's timeline 'a little up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible.'"

While it's easy for spy fans to think of Bond 23 is the be all end all in this story, Variety reminds us that ultimately 007 is but one very lucrative piece in a much larger puzzle. "The Bond franchise is a major piece of MGM's assets, which include a 4,000-title library, the logo, the United Artists operations, rights to the Pink Panther franchise and half-ownership in the upcoming Hobbit films. The package, which could be sold piecemeal, is expected to fetch somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2 billion and the first bids are expected to be submitted by mid-January. The beleaguered studio has left open the door to continue operating as a standalone entity or forming some kind of strategic partnership if MGM's 140 debtholders agree to do so, possibly through a prepackaged bankruptcy."  Yes, they like using the word "beleaguered" in conjunction with MGM, and why not?  It's sadly apt. 

Maverick entertainment blogger Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood appears to have the inside track on the whole matter.  She asserts that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson's EON Productions are close to hiring Mendes as a "consultant" on Bond 23, not a director.  But ultimately, the distinction is just a matter of semantics.  According to Finke's sources (who are usually quite reliable), she explains that "once EON hires a director on their Bond films, it triggers a first payment from MGM. Well, given that MGM is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and EON may have the right to take Bond elsewhere, it stands to reason that the producers wouldn't want to do anything right away that further complicates ownership of Bond #23."  Makes sense.  Mendes could develop Bond 23 as a consultant throughout pre-production, and then come aboard officially as director once the MGM situation is resolved.  Finke also reveals that she hears "Craig is 'insisting' on Mendes' hiring because the actor was stung by criticism of the last Bond film."  (The two, of course, previously worked together on The Road to Perdition.)  Really?  Craig is insisting?  I didn't think Bond actors ever had enough clout with the producers to insist and get away with it.  I guess Brosnan should have "insisted" on hiring Quentin Tarantino instead of just talking about it all the time!  Of course, Mendes is a deservedly respected director, so it's easy to see his appeal to Broccoli and Wilson as well. 

Personally, I'll be a bit sad if the next Bond movie is released without the MGM logo.  Even though 007 started off as a United Artists property and only became associated with MGM when MGM and UA merged in the early Eighties (I believe Octopussy was the first Bond film to carry the famous roaring lion logo), the studio and the character seem inseparable to me now.  But that's a purely nostalgic point of view.  The franchise might well be better off not shackled to a perpetually sinking ship.  There's no doubt that Broccoli and Wilson are guarding their interests closely, and will proceed in whatever direction they deem best for the franchise.  I only hope that MGM's financial situation doesn't end up delaying the next Bond film the way a similar situation ended up causing a six year gap between Licence To Kill and GoldenEye in the Nineties!

New Spy DVDs Out This Week

It's a big week for spy TV DVDs.  First up, from Warner Home Video comes Chuck: The Complete Second Season, available on DVD and Blu-ray.  Yep, the one with that cool For Your Eyes Only-inspired cover art.  As previously reported, the six-disc set comes loaded with extras like webisodes, deleted scenes, a gag reel and four featurettes: "Truth, Spies and Regular Guys: Exploring the Mythology of Chuck," "Dude in Distress: Explore Some of the Season's Best Action Sequences," "Chuck: A Real-Life Captain Awesome's Tips For Being Awesome" and "John Casey Presents: So You Want to Be a Deadly Spy?" (More on that one here.) Additionally, for a limited time only, the set will include two pairs of 3D glasses and the 3D version of the episode "Chuck Versus the Third Dimension." As the only major spy series currently airing on network television, Chuck is a big deal.  All spy fans should check it out. 

Of course, basic cable offers a wider spectrum of spy entertainment.  And the very best of that, Burn Notice, gets repackaged this week as Burn Notice: Season 1 and 2 DVD Set.  Beyond merely bundling Season 1 (reviewed here) and Season 2 at a bargain price, however, the new set from Fox also boasts a "FREE download of the first episode of Season 3, plus a first look at Season 3.5, premiering on 1.28 on USA."  I suppose their wording makes it deliberately unclear whether or not that first look at Season 3.5 (only weeks away!) is actually a feature included on disc in this set, or part of that free download.  I suspect the latter, though.  Either way, this re-release is the perfect way to catch up on my favorite contemporary spy series from the begining!  Really, if you haven't seen this one, you're missing out.  It's a great series, and it only gets better as it goes on.  And, did I mention, it's coming back at the end of the month! The only downside here is that this two season bundle isn't available on Blu-ray; Season 2 was issued on its own on Blu-ray as well as standard def.

Rounding out this week's TV releases, in addition to Cable and Network, we have Cancelled.  The show that's probably most famous to spy fans simply for not being The Saint (it's a long story; read it here) gets a complete series release: The Philanthropist: The Complete Series includes every episode of the rather lacklustre James Purefoy show that morphed out of his attachment to a new Saint series, from some of the same producers.  Like the famous Simon Templar, Purefoy's "famous" Teddy Rist is a wealthy, debonaire globetrotting adventurer who helps those in need.  This pale imitation is a sad reminder of what might have been, and what a great Saint Purefoy would have made.  Sigh...