| Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ doc Sound of 007 explores 60 years of James Bond music

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Has it been 60 years already, Mr. Bond?
Has it been 60 years already, Mr. Bond?
Photo: MGM & UAR

Marking the 60th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise, Apple TV+ plans to release a documentary film entitled The Sound of 007 in October 2022. It will celebrate the music of the Bond films, from Dr. No with Sean Connery in 1962 to Daniel Craig’s last romp as the man from MI6 in 2021, No Time to Die.

MGM, the studio behind James Bond, goes up for sale. Will Apple bite?

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Does Apple TV+ have James Bond film 'No Time to Die' in its sights?
Does Apple TV+ have James Bond in its sights?
Photo: MGM Studios

MGM, the movie studio that owns the James Bond franchise, is supposedly up for sale — and The Wall Street Journal says some “big technology companies [are] logical buyers.”

Apple has previously been reported as expressing interest in acquiring the James Bond movies, and has held talks about purchasing MGM.

Apple TV+ might save James Bond film No Time to Die [Updated]

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Does Apple TV+ have James Bond film 'No Time to Die' in its sights?
Does Apple TV+ have James Bond in its sights?
Photo: MGM Studios

Rumors are swirling that Apple TV+ might scoop up No Time to Die, the James Bond film currently languishing in box office limbo. The movie — the 25th 007 flick, and the last to star Daniel Craig as the British spy — has seen its release date slip repeatedly as many cinemas remain closed due to COVID-19.

Now, MGM Studios reportedly might pull the trigger on a streaming debut rather than waiting out the pandemic. If Apple TV+ added No Time to Die to its growing library, it would be the streaming service’s biggest coup yet.

From Cupertino with love: Apple could acquire James Bond franchise rights

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James Bond
Both Apple and Amazon are reportedly among the bidders.
Photo: Eon Pictures

Apple is in the running to secure movie (and possibly TV) distribution rights for the James Bond franchise, a new report claims.

While Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and Fox are the more likely candidates, Apple and fellow tech giant Amazon have also reportedly thrown their names into the hat. Jony Ive as 007, anyone?

Bond producers rejected $50m offer so 007 wouldn’t have to use an Android

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bond-producers-rejected-50m-offer-so-007-wouldnt-have-to-use-an-android-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201511maxresdefault-jpg
The name's Sung. Sam Sung. Photo: MGM
The name’s Sung. Sam Sung. Photo: MGM

James Bond depressed the brake in his Aston Martin, slowing the silver beast down to stalking speed. As the car dawdled outside the six-star Maldives hotel, he rolled up the sleeve of his Giorgio Armani shirt, checked the time on his gleaming $20,000 Omega watch, and then reached into his pocket and withdrew the middling Samsung Galaxy S6.

Something’s wrong with the above scene — and Bond producers seemingly thought so too, because apparently they turned down a massive $50 million marketing and promotional package from Samsung, which would have seen Bond carry a Samsung handset in the new movie Spectre.

Why? Because Bond only uses the best.

James Bond goes rogue to catch his Spectre

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Why so introspective, Mr. Bond?
Why so introspective, Mr. Bond?
Photo: Columbia Pictures

Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as famous super spy James Bond looks to take a darker, more roguish turn than ever, with Bond looking to “disappear” from the British spy agency that gives him the “00” license to kill rating.

The new trailer has all sorts of dramatic moments interspersed with the action, gadgetry, cars, women, overly-confident villains and explosions fans want to see.

Check it out below and be ready to see your first glimpse at the big bad behind the scenes of anti-spy organization, SPECTRE, which seems to be aimed squarely at Bond, James Bond’s broad shoulders.

Explosions! Intrigue! Casual sex! First SPECTRE TV spot goes full Bond

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That's quite a suit, Mr. Bond.
That's quite a suit, Mr. Bond.
Photo: Sony PIctures

“You’ve got a secret,” says Naomie Harris’ Miss Moneypenny in the new TV spot for upcoming Bond film SPECTRE. “Something you can’t tell anyone because you don’t trust anyone.”

Daniel Craig is back in a new Bond film, this one named after the fictional spy syndicate that figured heavily in the Ian Fleming novels and debuted in the film Dr. No in 1962.

Here’s a full trailer full of the things you’ve come to associate with James Bond, including explosions, intrigue, and plenty of women. Bond is such a slut, right?

What do Steve Jobs and James Bond have in common? Turtlenecks. Black turtlenecks.

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CEO by day, super spy by night. Photo: Sony

The name’s Jobs, Steve Jobs.

Sony has released the teaser poster for its upcoming, eagerly-anticipated new Bond movie, Spectre, and — correct us if we’re wrong — but doesn’t it look as though 007 has ditched the customary tux to slip into something a little more… Jobsian?

In what may be the most exciting James Bond/Apple crossover since the famous fake letter from Sean Connery to Steve Jobs, style icon James Bond cosplaying as Apple’s late CEO is perhaps the best compliment Apple can be paid as it continues to take on the fashion world. Certainly, the likeness hasn’t escaped the Interwebz, whose denizens have already jumped into action with the appropriate parodies:

9 secret lairs that are even cooler than Apple’s spaceship campus

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FULLSCREEN

Apple's forthcoming Campus 2 is set to become Silicon Valley's most envy-inducing headquarters: the kind of futuristic home base that belongs in a James Bond movie.

With work progressing nicely, en route to a 2016 opening, we thought the time was right to look at some of the (fictional) headquarters it will be competing against for title of best secret lair of all time.

Scroll through our gallery to take a look at some of our other picks. You never know when Tim Cook will decide to incorporate an underground cave or shark tank into Apple's new home...

The James Bond movies have given us plenty of memorable headquarters over the years — mostly belonging to supervillains. While the most famous one is probably Blofeld's hollowed-out volcano lair from You Once Live Twice, I’ve always been partial to Karl Stromberg’s underwater hideaway Atlantis, from Roger Moore’s best Bond entry, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Not only can the self-sufficient HQ rise to the ocean’s surface or dive below it to suit requirements, but it’s also got four helipads, plenty of luxury dining space, and a shark tank for getting rid of those pesky guests who overstay their welcome.

Photo: Eon Productions

The Batcave is probably the most iconic superhero lair of all time, and has undergone plenty of different interpretations since first appearing in an episode of the 1943 Batman movie serial entitled “The Bat’s Cave.”

Which version scores a place on this list? Multiple versions stand out, although my personal favorite remains the one from the 1966 Batman TV show, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Quick Robin, to the Batpoles!

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Bruce Wayne’s Batcave may have an undisputed place on this list, but as mansions go, Wayne Manor can’t hold a candle to the X-Men’s Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. Also known as the X-Mansion and Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, this Westchester County, New York manor house has been in the Xavier family for generations.

Today it is both the headquarters and training ground for current and future X-Men: the only learning establishment where your teachers are likely to include Wolverine and Nightcrawler.

Photo: Marvel Comics

If I could pick one location on this list to claim as my own, it would be Tracy Island from the classic Gerry Anderson 1960s TV series, Thunderbirds. The secret headquarters of International Rescue, the palmtree-lined tropical island hideaway looked like the best holiday resort ever — and that was before you caught a glimpse of the giant rocket hidden under the swimming pool.

Photo: AP Films

Marvel Comics has always been great at cranking out the kind of superhero headquarters that would have other comic characters turning green with envy. Given the celebrity status of its inhabitants, The Fantastic Four, the Baxter Building is the antithesis of a secret lair. Located at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City, the top five floors of the 35-story tower block are used to house the Fantastic Four’s headquarters.

With everything from extensive lab space, to rocket launch sites, to art deco relaxation areas, it’s the Google HQ that Google never had.

Photo: Marvel Comics

Sure, Dexter's Laboratory was a kid’s cartoon, but is there anyone out there who didn’t dream of having a fully equipped high tech lab hidden at the back of their bedroom? From shrink rays and super intelligence caps, to crime-fighting canine androids and giant robots, Dexter built all this and more with a seemingly endless budget and more floor space than Jeff Bezos can dream of. The kitsch, retro vibe just serves to make this lair all the better.

Could have done with improved anti-sister locks on the doors, though.

Photo: Cartoon Network

Austin Powers’ arch-nemesis Dr. Evil gets a place on this list for the sheer variety of his evil lairs over the years. At various times occupying a lunar base, personalized sub, Blofeld-style extinct volcano, and sinister HQ hidden behind the Hollywood sign, Dr. Evil’s constantly-rotating assortment of villainous HQs no doubt made some architects and contract builders very, very rich indeed. Before they were unceremoniously offed for failing to provide sharks with laser beams on their heads.

Photo: New Line Cinema

A possible allusion to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, Dr. Manhattan’s mechanical cathedral on Mars is not only one of the most brain-searingly unforgettable images in Watchmen, a comic that is never anything less than memorable — it’s one of the most stunning hideaways seen anywhere. It might be a visual representation of Dr. Manhattan’s melancholy and loneliness, but it’s also a dope crib, yo!

Photo: DC Comics

How do you create a list like this without paying homage to Star Wars’ iconic Death Star? The mother of all evil lairs, this Empire production looks the kind of thing that Google would be sure to build were it ever to expand its headquarters into space.

Not only is it as sleekly minimalist as the best Apple product, it possesses planet-obliterating power that is nothing short of extraordinary. That easily-destructible exhaust shaft though? How it made it past quality control I will never know!

Photo: LucasFilm

15 movies you’re going to want to watch in 2015

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For long-time Star Wars fans, 2015’s upcoming Episode VII is shaping up to be the movie the prequels should’ve been.Narrowing down our excitement about the new trilogy is a task worthy of the most highly trained Jedi, but we’ve tried our best. Without further ado, then, here are the (appropriately enough) seven things we’re most excited about seeing in Star Wars: Episode VII.
Yes,  this is the year we finally get a new Star Wars movie. But that's not all. Photo: Walt Disney Company

2014 was a great year for movies, but — if anything — 2015 looks to be even better. If you’re fretting over which films to build your year around, look no further: Cult of Mac has you covered.

From sci-fi epics from the brains behind The Matrix, to the next instalment in the James Bond franchise, to, yes, the next Star Wars movie, here are the flicks you’ll want to check out this year.