Chris Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "skyfall"
HUNT FOR THE NEXT BIG THRILLER
ANNOUNCING BOOK HUNT WINNERS
Last week a fantastic time was had playing a Book Hunt to mark the impending launch of my next Alex Morgan action thriller, Hunter: Intrepid 2.
Hunters solved five clues in as many days, including making a wish list for Santa from the That Book You Like store; checking out a pic of me alongside my ex-airborne alumni Bradley Trevor Greive; scouring digital publishing guru-swami Momentum Books' website for the scoop on Hunter's heroine; and honing mathematical skills watching fellow Aussie thriller writer Luke Preston's foreboding book trailer for Dark City Blue.
Scores of responses came through, and you solved the clues with aplomb. A handful of you wrote in every single day which increased your chances of winning significantly.
The winners were drawn this morning by my very own Intrepid agent, the almost-three-year-old Morgan. All the entries were placed in a pith helmut I picked up in Kenya more than a decade ago, and Morgan drew them out from that - even wearing the hat afterwards.
Our thanks to everyone for playing in the Book Hunt with such vim and vigour. Without much further ado, here are the winners of the five prize packs:
1. Patricia Featherstone
2. Rob Borg
3. Gloria Bale
4. Jason Woollett
5. Michael
Winners will receive signed copies of Defender and Hunter as well as an extra reading gem each from our friends at Momentum / Pan Macmillan (thanks guys!) and a bookmark from That Book You Like (because there's nothing as annoying as losing your place in a good book).
We will get in touch and post these packs out as soon as the print copies of Hunter arrive - which will be before Christmas. My apologies we can't send it sooner, but you simply can't rush a printer on a quality job like this ... ;)
This brings me nicely to the next item - the Defender / Hunter book drinks at the Commodore Hotel, North Sydney, on 8 December from midday - 5pm. There's been a slight change of plan. We'd love to see you all for a beer, and while we'll have the new 'Defenders' to hand, there may not be any 'Hunters' there, so instead we'll take orders on the day and deliver them by Christmas. If you can't make it along, we'll start taking orders soon - the signed and beautifully wrapped Defender / Hunter combo would make a great present, if you don't mind my saying!
So congrats to our winners and here's to all you dedicated Hunters - and to the countdown to Hunter launching on 1 Defender, I mean, December.
I'll be in touch soon with new ways to get a bit of Intrepid in your life - 12 ways in 12 days, in fact. That's all I can say for now or I'll get in some serious trouble.
Chris
ps. I'm looking forward to finally seeing Skyfall this week - and reviewing it on the Momentum blog soon thereafter at momentumbooks.com.au.
Last week a fantastic time was had playing a Book Hunt to mark the impending launch of my next Alex Morgan action thriller, Hunter: Intrepid 2.
Hunters solved five clues in as many days, including making a wish list for Santa from the That Book You Like store; checking out a pic of me alongside my ex-airborne alumni Bradley Trevor Greive; scouring digital publishing guru-swami Momentum Books' website for the scoop on Hunter's heroine; and honing mathematical skills watching fellow Aussie thriller writer Luke Preston's foreboding book trailer for Dark City Blue.
Scores of responses came through, and you solved the clues with aplomb. A handful of you wrote in every single day which increased your chances of winning significantly.
The winners were drawn this morning by my very own Intrepid agent, the almost-three-year-old Morgan. All the entries were placed in a pith helmut I picked up in Kenya more than a decade ago, and Morgan drew them out from that - even wearing the hat afterwards.
Our thanks to everyone for playing in the Book Hunt with such vim and vigour. Without much further ado, here are the winners of the five prize packs:
1. Patricia Featherstone
2. Rob Borg
3. Gloria Bale
4. Jason Woollett
5. Michael
Winners will receive signed copies of Defender and Hunter as well as an extra reading gem each from our friends at Momentum / Pan Macmillan (thanks guys!) and a bookmark from That Book You Like (because there's nothing as annoying as losing your place in a good book).
We will get in touch and post these packs out as soon as the print copies of Hunter arrive - which will be before Christmas. My apologies we can't send it sooner, but you simply can't rush a printer on a quality job like this ... ;)
This brings me nicely to the next item - the Defender / Hunter book drinks at the Commodore Hotel, North Sydney, on 8 December from midday - 5pm. There's been a slight change of plan. We'd love to see you all for a beer, and while we'll have the new 'Defenders' to hand, there may not be any 'Hunters' there, so instead we'll take orders on the day and deliver them by Christmas. If you can't make it along, we'll start taking orders soon - the signed and beautifully wrapped Defender / Hunter combo would make a great present, if you don't mind my saying!
So congrats to our winners and here's to all you dedicated Hunters - and to the countdown to Hunter launching on 1 Defender, I mean, December.
I'll be in touch soon with new ways to get a bit of Intrepid in your life - 12 ways in 12 days, in fact. That's all I can say for now or I'll get in some serious trouble.
Chris
ps. I'm looking forward to finally seeing Skyfall this week - and reviewing it on the Momentum blog soon thereafter at momentumbooks.com.au.
GLAMOUR, HUMOUR AND CHARM: SKYFALL REVIEW
If, like me, you’re an Ian Fleming fan first and a Bond movie fan second, mark my words: you will love SKYFALL. If however, you prefer the vodka martinis, the cheesy one-liners, or the gadgets and gimmicks of earlier Bond films – the exploding pens, invisible cars and so on– don’t despair. The essential ingredients of the 007 franchise – glamour, humour, charm - are still front and centre in the long-awaited 50th anniversary 23rd film directed by Sam Mendes, but they’re present in a way that is much more a reflection of our times and tastes. The requirement to suspend your disbelief still holds strong and there’s just enough of the old tricks & gadgets to remind you of the rich history behind any Bond film. Besides, I’d be a hypocrite if I decried any story that presents such a perfect balance of gritty realism with a liberal dose of escapism!
I was more engaged by Daniel Craig this time around than I was in his last outing, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, in which I found his Bond surly and arrogant. For the record, he was incredible in CASINO ROYALE - I saw that film half a dozen times at the cinema. Back then, Craig convincingly portrayed the raw material that would become the secret agent – the wet-behind-the-ears new boy under immense pressure to prove himself worthy of Double-0 status. A nice parallel given that Craig’s appointment as the new 007 met with a fierce backlash from diehard fans. Craig had as much to prove as Bond himself. His hunger to prove the detractors wrong was palpable in CASINO ROYALE and in SKYFALL he has very successfully channelled that hunger again.
In his performance, the core elements that drive the man to act so selflessly and under any circumstances on behalf of his country – loyalty, integrity, devotion to duty – are not affected, they’re just there. The relationship between Bond and his boss, M, once again played with such conviction by the inimitable Judi Dench, is an obvious metaphor for everything we have come to expect of the character – the quintessentially tenacious British Bulldog. In his devotion and loyalty to M, the lofty ideal of serving Queen & Country as courageously and unreservedly as 007 does, is presented perfectly in a very intimate and familial way which makes the entire premise utterly believable. This is underpinned by the majestic yet understated performance of Javier Bardem in the guise of agent-gone-bad, Silva. In fact, Bardem’s opening scene involves an extremely challenging sexually charged situation involving Bond. It was unexpected but brilliantly done and the confidence, reality and humour conveyed by both actors is priceless.
Unlike many of his predecessors, Silva is no megalomaniac. His motivations and objectives are significantly more clinical, more personal than the Blofeld-Stromberg-Drax variety of the old days and this is what is so engaging. He has been personally wronged, he has suffered intolerably as a result and he is hell bent on revenge at any cost. We’ve all been there, right? More than anything Silva is flawed (obviously), vulnerable (disturbingly so) and damaged (beyond repair). But what makes this film so great is that these traits are equally true of Bond and M. The history and volatility that connects this unlikely threesome - 007, M & Silva - is the centrepiece of the entire narrative and its strength and plausibility is achieved by the outstanding performances of all three.
If you haven’t guessed already, I absolutely loved this movie. This is not the Bond of Connery, or Lazenby, or Moore, Dalton or Brosnan. Daniel Craig has indisputably captured the Bond who clung protectively to Gala Brand under a shower while the tiles blistered and boiling water rained down upon their bodies, as an atom bomb launched just metres away through a blast wall in MOONRAKER, 1955. His Bond is the guy you can imagine, swimming through Caribbean coral at midnight to rescue Solitaire, with spear gun in hand and a limpet mine strapped to his chest, running the gauntlet of sharks and barracuda in pitch darkness only to be dragged down to the edge of death by a murderous octopus in LIVE AND LET DIE, 1954.
As a fan who first discovered Ian Fleming & James Bond as a teenager back in 1977, I feel as though the franchise has finally gone full circle. The earliest films – DR NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER & THUNDERBALL – all remained reasonably true to the original novels. After that it was pretty much a free-for-all in terms of outlandish plots and spectacular stunts. With Daniel Craig’s entry to the series, CASINO ROYALE began the process of returning us to the raw material, QUANTUM OF SOLACE was a bit try hard, but now SKYFALL has absolutely hit the mark.
In SKYFALL Daniel Craig returns 007 to the world imagined by his creator, his family seat, his history and his heritage.
It is unequivocally the Bond of Ian Fleming.
This post first appeared on Momentum blog: www.momentumbooks.com.au.
If you’re a fan of the Bond films or Fleming books, you’ll love the INTREPID series. Visit www.intrepidallen.com for more.
I was more engaged by Daniel Craig this time around than I was in his last outing, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, in which I found his Bond surly and arrogant. For the record, he was incredible in CASINO ROYALE - I saw that film half a dozen times at the cinema. Back then, Craig convincingly portrayed the raw material that would become the secret agent – the wet-behind-the-ears new boy under immense pressure to prove himself worthy of Double-0 status. A nice parallel given that Craig’s appointment as the new 007 met with a fierce backlash from diehard fans. Craig had as much to prove as Bond himself. His hunger to prove the detractors wrong was palpable in CASINO ROYALE and in SKYFALL he has very successfully channelled that hunger again.
In his performance, the core elements that drive the man to act so selflessly and under any circumstances on behalf of his country – loyalty, integrity, devotion to duty – are not affected, they’re just there. The relationship between Bond and his boss, M, once again played with such conviction by the inimitable Judi Dench, is an obvious metaphor for everything we have come to expect of the character – the quintessentially tenacious British Bulldog. In his devotion and loyalty to M, the lofty ideal of serving Queen & Country as courageously and unreservedly as 007 does, is presented perfectly in a very intimate and familial way which makes the entire premise utterly believable. This is underpinned by the majestic yet understated performance of Javier Bardem in the guise of agent-gone-bad, Silva. In fact, Bardem’s opening scene involves an extremely challenging sexually charged situation involving Bond. It was unexpected but brilliantly done and the confidence, reality and humour conveyed by both actors is priceless.
Unlike many of his predecessors, Silva is no megalomaniac. His motivations and objectives are significantly more clinical, more personal than the Blofeld-Stromberg-Drax variety of the old days and this is what is so engaging. He has been personally wronged, he has suffered intolerably as a result and he is hell bent on revenge at any cost. We’ve all been there, right? More than anything Silva is flawed (obviously), vulnerable (disturbingly so) and damaged (beyond repair). But what makes this film so great is that these traits are equally true of Bond and M. The history and volatility that connects this unlikely threesome - 007, M & Silva - is the centrepiece of the entire narrative and its strength and plausibility is achieved by the outstanding performances of all three.
If you haven’t guessed already, I absolutely loved this movie. This is not the Bond of Connery, or Lazenby, or Moore, Dalton or Brosnan. Daniel Craig has indisputably captured the Bond who clung protectively to Gala Brand under a shower while the tiles blistered and boiling water rained down upon their bodies, as an atom bomb launched just metres away through a blast wall in MOONRAKER, 1955. His Bond is the guy you can imagine, swimming through Caribbean coral at midnight to rescue Solitaire, with spear gun in hand and a limpet mine strapped to his chest, running the gauntlet of sharks and barracuda in pitch darkness only to be dragged down to the edge of death by a murderous octopus in LIVE AND LET DIE, 1954.
As a fan who first discovered Ian Fleming & James Bond as a teenager back in 1977, I feel as though the franchise has finally gone full circle. The earliest films – DR NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER & THUNDERBALL – all remained reasonably true to the original novels. After that it was pretty much a free-for-all in terms of outlandish plots and spectacular stunts. With Daniel Craig’s entry to the series, CASINO ROYALE began the process of returning us to the raw material, QUANTUM OF SOLACE was a bit try hard, but now SKYFALL has absolutely hit the mark.
In SKYFALL Daniel Craig returns 007 to the world imagined by his creator, his family seat, his history and his heritage.
It is unequivocally the Bond of Ian Fleming.
This post first appeared on Momentum blog: www.momentumbooks.com.au.
If you’re a fan of the Bond films or Fleming books, you’ll love the INTREPID series. Visit www.intrepidallen.com for more.
MY TOP ACTION MOVIES OF ALL TIME
(Read the full blog and watch the accompanying movie clips at http://www.intrepidallen.com/blog/201....)
Being in the line of fire certainly helps a scene to come alive, but it isn’t the only thing. If the dreaded writer’s block ever pops up, I know I can always trust the big screen to throw me some great ideas.
Here’s my list of the Top Classic Action Films that I turn to when the ol’ memory needs reviving.
Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood
This was the type of film guys my age sat down to watch with their dad's, it was a natural part of growing up. The Alistair Maclean classic Where Eagles Dare is not your stock standard war film: it’s full of double-agents, behind the lines missions and really powerful characters pitted against each other. I loved it as a boy and I still do. It highlighted conflicts and betrayals on both sides of the war rather than the standard ‘us against them’. Real life is much more complex and they nailed that well in the context of an action movie. The cable car scenes are legendary and the ending is just brilliant, but I won’t give it away. The character that I most identify with is Major Smith, played by Burton: a cold, hard and relentless professional – that’s how I see him.
Taken (2008) with Liam Neeson
This film copped a bit of flak over stereotyping certain people and groups, but I’ll leave it there. The real strength of the film’s premise is in displaying a father’s commitment to the protection of his child and the inherent instinct to protect them no matter the cost. I love the way that they convey the normal dad behaviour, with all the normal insecurities and sometimes overbearing characteristics, pitted against the man as a professional spy. They do that really well. For me, it reinforces that no matter how specialist and dangerous people may be due to their career choices, at the end of the day they’re just people. Neeson looks like he would comfortably sit down and have a beer at the bar with you, just as easily as loppin’ your head off.
The Eagle has Landed (1976) with Michael Caine
This is a favourite among ex-Paratroopers. Michael Caine plays the German Paratrooper (Fallschirmjäger) Commander perfectly. Once again, it’s the character interplay and people not necessarily being who they seem to be that keeps this movie current, despite its WWII setting - especially the scene where a young German soldier dies in the process of saving a little English girl from drowning. It’s written by another of my favourite authors, Jack Higgins. As an aside, I remember one of the guys in the regiment years ago loved this film so much that he changed his name by deed poll to Kurt Steiner (the name of Caine’s character). That’s dedication!
Bad Boys I (1995) with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence
A little out of left field for me, I know, but I love the way that they nailed the banter between two really tight friends in a very contemporary way. It’s over the top and out of control but funny, and the things that make it funny are all the normal human elements of the characters, not the gun ho, macho, shoot ‘em up stuff that, as you may know, the movie is full of.
Iron Man Series (2008-10)
My favourite superhero movie series of recent times is the Iron Man series (with another set for release in April 2013). The reason it's my favourite is simple: Robert Downey Jr. RDJ has made an unbelievable character somehow believable. He’s cocky, self-assured, fearless, and funny at the same time. The combo of him and the director, Favreau, who also appears in the movie as Happy Hogan, is fantastic. They just understood what they wanted to achieve when they set out to do the movie and they delivered it. It’s a fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining blockbuster. Hand in hand with that is another Marvel, The Avengers (2012) with Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. Absolutely fantastic movie and anything with Scar-Jo has to be tops (fortunately, my Sar agrees).
The Peacemaker (1997), with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman
When this came out in the late nineties, I liked it because it was a contemporary action thriller that focused on relevant and current issues at the time. The lone radical individual carrying a nuclear weapon in a backpack around a major city is now almost a clichéd scenario but back then I think they forecast pretty well the fears of a major incident in just about any city of the world - sadly, all too familiar now. I like the two lead characters a lot. Clooney’s military officer character was understated and mission focused; a ‘get the job done’ kind of guy. Kidman’s nuclear specialist was a great model for strong, independent and intelligent female leads, equally adept at saving the day as her male counterpart, far removed from the clichéd window-dressing of old. They make a great partnership.
Finally, I’d say Skyfall (2012) with Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem
Skyfall has the essential ingredients of the Bond franchise: glamour, humour and charm. It took Bond back to basics. It humanised him, pushed him back into his family history and brought out his loyalty and sense of duty to his country that is a really important part of that character’s background and the original premise that Fleming created him on. Without being a Fleming story, they got as close as they ever have in bringing Fleming’s Bond back to life, even more so than in Casino Royale (2006). You can read my Skyfall review on the Momentum blog here.
Skyfall is the perfect dose of realism and escapism that might be found in my favourite action flick of all time (to come), and that would be any featuring Alex Morgan and Intrepid!
These are the films that are kept right at the ready by my desk when I need some inspiration. They capture all of the elements that I try to include and emulate in my own stories: the human elements behind the action heroes; the interactions, betrayals and insecurities that are so familiar to everybody; and, from an action point-of-view, the characters are relentless, cold, hard-hitting professionals that no matter what, get the job done.
Chris
Being in the line of fire certainly helps a scene to come alive, but it isn’t the only thing. If the dreaded writer’s block ever pops up, I know I can always trust the big screen to throw me some great ideas.
Here’s my list of the Top Classic Action Films that I turn to when the ol’ memory needs reviving.
Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood
This was the type of film guys my age sat down to watch with their dad's, it was a natural part of growing up. The Alistair Maclean classic Where Eagles Dare is not your stock standard war film: it’s full of double-agents, behind the lines missions and really powerful characters pitted against each other. I loved it as a boy and I still do. It highlighted conflicts and betrayals on both sides of the war rather than the standard ‘us against them’. Real life is much more complex and they nailed that well in the context of an action movie. The cable car scenes are legendary and the ending is just brilliant, but I won’t give it away. The character that I most identify with is Major Smith, played by Burton: a cold, hard and relentless professional – that’s how I see him.
Taken (2008) with Liam Neeson
This film copped a bit of flak over stereotyping certain people and groups, but I’ll leave it there. The real strength of the film’s premise is in displaying a father’s commitment to the protection of his child and the inherent instinct to protect them no matter the cost. I love the way that they convey the normal dad behaviour, with all the normal insecurities and sometimes overbearing characteristics, pitted against the man as a professional spy. They do that really well. For me, it reinforces that no matter how specialist and dangerous people may be due to their career choices, at the end of the day they’re just people. Neeson looks like he would comfortably sit down and have a beer at the bar with you, just as easily as loppin’ your head off.
The Eagle has Landed (1976) with Michael Caine
This is a favourite among ex-Paratroopers. Michael Caine plays the German Paratrooper (Fallschirmjäger) Commander perfectly. Once again, it’s the character interplay and people not necessarily being who they seem to be that keeps this movie current, despite its WWII setting - especially the scene where a young German soldier dies in the process of saving a little English girl from drowning. It’s written by another of my favourite authors, Jack Higgins. As an aside, I remember one of the guys in the regiment years ago loved this film so much that he changed his name by deed poll to Kurt Steiner (the name of Caine’s character). That’s dedication!
Bad Boys I (1995) with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence
A little out of left field for me, I know, but I love the way that they nailed the banter between two really tight friends in a very contemporary way. It’s over the top and out of control but funny, and the things that make it funny are all the normal human elements of the characters, not the gun ho, macho, shoot ‘em up stuff that, as you may know, the movie is full of.
Iron Man Series (2008-10)
My favourite superhero movie series of recent times is the Iron Man series (with another set for release in April 2013). The reason it's my favourite is simple: Robert Downey Jr. RDJ has made an unbelievable character somehow believable. He’s cocky, self-assured, fearless, and funny at the same time. The combo of him and the director, Favreau, who also appears in the movie as Happy Hogan, is fantastic. They just understood what they wanted to achieve when they set out to do the movie and they delivered it. It’s a fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining blockbuster. Hand in hand with that is another Marvel, The Avengers (2012) with Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. Absolutely fantastic movie and anything with Scar-Jo has to be tops (fortunately, my Sar agrees).
The Peacemaker (1997), with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman
When this came out in the late nineties, I liked it because it was a contemporary action thriller that focused on relevant and current issues at the time. The lone radical individual carrying a nuclear weapon in a backpack around a major city is now almost a clichéd scenario but back then I think they forecast pretty well the fears of a major incident in just about any city of the world - sadly, all too familiar now. I like the two lead characters a lot. Clooney’s military officer character was understated and mission focused; a ‘get the job done’ kind of guy. Kidman’s nuclear specialist was a great model for strong, independent and intelligent female leads, equally adept at saving the day as her male counterpart, far removed from the clichéd window-dressing of old. They make a great partnership.
Finally, I’d say Skyfall (2012) with Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem
Skyfall has the essential ingredients of the Bond franchise: glamour, humour and charm. It took Bond back to basics. It humanised him, pushed him back into his family history and brought out his loyalty and sense of duty to his country that is a really important part of that character’s background and the original premise that Fleming created him on. Without being a Fleming story, they got as close as they ever have in bringing Fleming’s Bond back to life, even more so than in Casino Royale (2006). You can read my Skyfall review on the Momentum blog here.
Skyfall is the perfect dose of realism and escapism that might be found in my favourite action flick of all time (to come), and that would be any featuring Alex Morgan and Intrepid!
These are the films that are kept right at the ready by my desk when I need some inspiration. They capture all of the elements that I try to include and emulate in my own stories: the human elements behind the action heroes; the interactions, betrayals and insecurities that are so familiar to everybody; and, from an action point-of-view, the characters are relentless, cold, hard-hitting professionals that no matter what, get the job done.
Chris
