Showing posts with label James Bond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Bond. Show all posts

Friday, November 30, 2012

Looking for where James Bond star Daniel Craig lives in the East Village

The Daily Mail goes looking for some info on Daniel Craig's East Village home and other stuff ... the paper speaks with a "bored-looking concierge" who denies that the James Bond star lives in the "low-key building" in question.

But! Some locals blab. Per the article:

Step into the grimy street outside and the locals are positively falling over themselves to talk about their famous neighbour.

'Of course that’s his place — we see him going in and out all the time,' drawls the lady in the next-door tattoo parlour.

'I did a double-take the first time I saw him in the supermarket,' adds star-struck Debra Johansen. 'He had a flat cap on and he had his head down. He doesn’t look at anyone.'

Not that he and his wife Rachel Weisz will be spending too much time here.

Work is understood to be ongoing on a house in Regent’s Park, where they intend to set up a more permanent home.

...

Back in the UK, the couple have also been spotted house-hunting in Dorset, where they have reportedly briefed estate agents to find them a property with 'a minimum of six acres to ensure complete privacy'.

If celebrity real estate is your thing ... Any guesses where he lives? I thought it was here, though there's isn't a tattoo parlor next door. (And he's not here. Yet.)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Bowery 2008: waiting for Bond and Obama

I was looking for something about the Bowery on Google Street View the other day when something somewhat entertaining happens around East Fourth Street... the image date changes when you head north past East Fourth Street ... and you're in October 2008...

[Click to enlarge image]

... where, as you can see, we were waiting for the new James Bond movie ... the 2008 election (can Obama do it?) and the monstrosity of 2 Cooper Square... Things don't seem too different today... we're waiting for the new James Bond movie ... the 2012 election (can Obama do it?) ... and perhaps a new 9-story hotel on East Fourth Street...

Friday, October 12, 2012

A Daniel Craig moment outside the Theater For The New City Building

The Post noted in April that Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig were continuing their house hunting around town... and that Weisz, who previously lived on East 11th Street with then-husband Darren Aronofsky, looked at 238 E. Fourth St.

Anyway, last evening around 10, our own Mrs. Grieve is in a cab waiting for the light to change on East 10th Street near First Avenue. At that moment, the front door to the Theater For The New City Building opens and Daniel Craig walks out. He heads to the curb, tosses his gum into the street and turns to wait for other people coming out the door — a woman in her late 50s and Rachel Weisz. Then the light turns and the cab moves on...

Maybe they were at a party. Or maybe they are the people who are buying the $4.95 million penthouse here that went into contract in the summer:


This full-floor apartment is truly one-of-a-kind with unobstructed views in every room from all four exposures and over-sized windows! The views include the Empire State bldg., Chrysler Bldg., and new Freedom Tower, among others. It's what New Yorkers dream of owning and wait for years to find! It even has 3 balconies. Sophisticated and chic, the home is in triple mint condition with contemporary finishes & materials - a fully custom renovation featured in Elle Decor (UK Edition). A key-locked elevator opens into a warm and welcoming foyer, but it's the massive living room (34' x 28'9") that really draws you into the space with scenic views that are spectacular both during the day and at night, especially from the balcony.

And who throws gum on the street?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

No James Bond tonight; Films in Tompkins series over for the summer

The weather on July 26 forced the cancellation of the free screening of "Goldfinger" in Tompkins Square Park. Afterwards, reps for the Films in Tompkins series said that the James Bond actioner would be rescheduled for tonight.

Unfortunately, that is no longer happening. The rep said yesterday that the organizers have "concluded the series for this summer."

So console yourself with this discussion about Dame Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" theme song...

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

238 E. Fourth St. off the market; will Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz be our new neighbors?


Back in April, the newish luxury home at 238 E. Fourth St. (just west of Avenue B) hit the market ... $8.5 million for the 6,500 square-foot condo with paparazzi shield private garage, south-facing garden, "whimsical powder rooms," "a glass and steel Juliet balcony overlooking charming, and historic 4th Street," etc.

Anyway, as of around 1 today, the listing was no longer available on Streeteasy...


And the listing is no longer on the Town Real Estate site ... So, did the owner change her mind and pull the home from the market? Or did someone buy it...? (Though you'd think it would be listed in contract then...)

Maybe someone with a lot of money who looked at the house before came in and bought it ... and it's all being done really quietly and stuff... maybe people like Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, who the Post noted checked out the space in April ... Per the listing:

This residence is over 6,000 square feet and built to fulfill every need for both exquisite, over-the-top entertaining and to the same degree for total discretion and privacy, whichever is preferred at any given time.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Is this home fit for James Bond?

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

'Goldfinger' rescheduled for Aug. 23 in Tompkins Square Park

Given the end of the world storms of last Thursday... officials canceled the free screening of "Goldfinger" in Tompkins Square Park.

However, reps for the Films in Tompkins series say that the James Bond action-adventure has been rescheduled for Aug. 23.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

[CANCELED] Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 007, Pussy Galore and Goldfinger

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with "Goldfinger," with pre-movie music by The Luddites. This is the third in the James Bond series, starring Sean Connery as 007 and Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore.

Here's what Bosley Crowther had to say about the film in The New York Times in 1964:

[I]n this most gaudy of his outings—the most elaborate and fantastic to date—he manages to bestow his male attentions on only a couple of passing supplicants. One is a pliant little number who expires early, sealed in a skin of gold paint, and the other is a brawny pilot who remarkably resembles Gorgeous George. Neither is up to the standard of femininity usually maintained for Mr. Bond.

Why this neglect of his love life is difficult to imagine—except that Mr. Bond's off-handed conquests were always open to a certain amount of doubt, a certain amount of skepticism as to how much of a Lothario he actually is. Indeed, they have often intimated a bland contempt for, or, at least, a slippery spoof of the whole notion of masculine prowess. One might question whether Bond really likes girls.

Oh, Bosley!

And now, some friends channel Shirley Bassey...



And as we'll cut-n-paste all summer long:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

CANCELED due to the weather... no makeup date yet...

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

From Kingston with love



We've been keeping an eye on the former Holy Basil space on Second Avenue near East Ninth Street... Last fall, the DOH hit the Thai eatery with 110 violation points, and they never reopened.

In December, an entity named "Honey Rider LLC" went before the CB3/SLA committee... and the owners of Shoolbred's and the Ninth Ward on Second Avenue were behind the new venture (named for Ursula Andress as Honey Rider in "Dr. No"?).

Anyway, Grub Street had more details yesterday on the new venture... it will be called Kingston Hall. One of the owners said that "the theme is Jamaica in 1962: The country has just become independent and the vibe is still 'British colonial, but with a sixties feel ... not Bob Marley, more Ian Fleming.'"

(Which explains the James Bond reference... and our stupid headline. Wait till we try to work in Pussy Galore.)

And they expect to open Friday night... the photo above shows how the exterior (above The 13th Step sign) was looking this past weekend.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Holy Basil closed, space for rent

Holy Basil remains closed for 'technical difficulties'

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Is this home fit for James Bond?

Or at least an actor who has played the character in the movies...

Last Thursday, the Post noted that Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig were continuing their house hunting around town... and that Weisz, who previously lived on East 11th Street with ex-husband Darren Aronofsky, looked at 238 E. Fourth St. just west of Avenue B.

At the time, the listing for 6,500 square-foot condo (asking $8.5 million) was not yet online.


Now it is.

Let's take a look via Town:

Surrounded by charming cafes and the most beautifully tended gardens in Manhattan, discover a published, discreet home, stunning from the moment you pull into the garage and enter this gracious, four story residence. Enter this beautiful home, and enter another era where true artisanship is revered. From the ceramic tiled foyer, which guides you past the chic, whimsical powder room, and into an awe-inspiring great room, with dramatic 18 foot custom-crafted wood coffered ceilings, created by the millwork artisan of the Gramercy Hotel Rose Bar, this home enchants the spirit as well as the senses. The great room serves as a grand, yet comfortable living space, centered around the massive, Italian Renaissance-style wood burning fireplace, which graces a sleek, poured concrete epoxy-finished floor.

Oh lordy. Make it stop. There are actually four more overly descriptive paragraphs just like this one. But you get the idea.

Just look now...







And floor plans...


Previous 238. E. Fourth St. coverage here.

[Images via Town]

Friday, April 20, 2012

Is James Bond moving to the East Village?

Well, at least Daniel Craig, the actor who has played James Bond of late ... along with his wife Rachel Weisz, the Academy Award-winning actress ... The Post reported yesterday that Weisz looked at the soon-to-be-on-the-market 238 E. Fourth St., that condo with a private garage (paparazzi shield, as Curbed put it) near Avenue B.

This address is/was a favorite of EV Grieve, who, we're told, posted a lot of items on the construction. (Obsessively so, to be honest.)

Let's take a quick look back at the EVG archives...

In November 2008, Grieve noted that Bellet Construction at 238 E. 4th Street near Avenue B was coming down... At that time, the paperwork taped to the front said the space will become a two-family residence....



Soon enough!



Turns out that those Novogratz people with 38 kids designed the penthouse...



In any event, Weisz-Craig have reportedly been looking all over town for a place to live ... so the chances of them landing here seem somewhat remote...

Friday, November 14, 2008

James Bond in New York

As you read here exclusively, the new James Bond movie opens today -- The Quantum of Solace...Which reminds me there has only been one Bond film with scenes in New York -- 1972's Let and Let Die, the first one starring Roger Moore. Which I've seen now, oh, 10,000 times. Well, it's not the best Bond film...and a little, uh, dated, in terms of diversity. Still.



Did Felix Leiter really just say "Get me a make on a white pimp mobile"?





The Live and Let Die novel by Ian Fleming was published in 1954. In that, Bond stays at the St. Regis; he tries to make himself seem more "American" to throw off the enemy.

Bonus excerpt!

First!

"He was reminded to ask for the 'check' rather than the 'bill,' to say 'cab' instead of 'taxi' and to avoid words of more than two syllables."

Later!

"He spent the morning on Fifth Avenue and on Broadway, wandering aimlesly, gazing into the shop windows and watching the passing crowds. He gradually assimilated the casual gait and manners of a visitor from out of town...[Bond] had a typical American meal at an eating house called 'Gloryfied Ham-N-Eggs' ('The Eggs We Serve Tomorrow Are Still in the Hens') on Lexington Avenue."

Here are a few screenshots from the movie, filmed in part in Harlem:





Thursday, August 7, 2008

When will it be time for Pussy Galore in the headline?


As I've mentioned, I only follow the Sean Connery/neighbor-on-71st-Street fued to see how the Post can work in a James Bond reference. So today!:

SON OF 007 FOILS NEMESIS 'DR. NO'
By DAREH GREGORIAN
August 7, 2008

Previously in the Post:

007 IN A FIX OVER TOWNHOUSE
By DAREH GREGORIAN

July 30, 2008
Sean Connery's downstairs neighbors are proving to be a bigger headache for the former James Bond than Dr. No, Blofeld and Goldfinger combined.


'HOUSE ARREST' AT THE CONNERYS'
By MELISSA JANE KRONFELD and CHUCK BENNETT
July 26, 2008
Sean Connery's family nemesis - his neighbor "Dr. No" - was at it again yesterday.

JUDGE POINTS 'SCOLD' FINGER
CONNERY & FOE SPANKED
By DAREH GREGORIAN
MOLD FINGER:Dr. Burton Sultan (left) accuses Sean Connery of causing water leaks and other mayhem at their East Side condo.
December 27, 2007
A Manhattan judge has had enough of a court feud between Sir Sean Connery and his neighbor, and is urging the James Bond star and his arch-enemy Dr. Sultan to make peace.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I challenge them to work in "Octopussy"


Sean Connery continues to squabble with his neighbor on 71st Street. I only follow the story to see how the Post can work in a James Bond reference. For instance:

007 IN A FIX OVER TOWNHOUSE
By DAREH GREGORIAN

July 30, 2008
Sean Connery's downstairs neighbors are proving to be a bigger headache for the former James Bond than Dr. No, Blofeld and Goldfinger combined.


'HOUSE ARREST' AT THE CONNERYS'
By MELISSA JANE KRONFELD and CHUCK BENNETT
July 26, 2008
Sean Connery's family nemesis - his neighbor "Dr. No" - was at it again yesterday.

JUDGE POINTS 'SCOLD' FINGER
CONNERY & FOE SPANKED
By DAREH GREGORIAN
MOLD FINGER:Dr. Burton Sultan (left) accuses Sean Connery of causing water leaks and other mayhem at their East Side condo.
December 27, 2007
A Manhattan judge has had enough of a court feud between Sir Sean Connery and his neighbor, and is urging the James Bond star and his arch-enemy Dr. Sultan to make peace.

JUDGE SAYS DR. NO TO 'BOND' SUIT
By DAREH GREGORIAN
December 30, 2006 -- Even at 76, the original James Bond can still take down his archenemies.

Bonus!
James Bond billboards in Times Square:





Unrelated but, c'mon, it's funny...What a crew: Dick Van Dyke and Connery in a hep stache meet Queen Elizabeth II at the You Only Live Twice premiere.

Friday, June 27, 2008

At the Waterfalls: This was bound to happen

As everyone knows, Olafur Eliasson's waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge is ON as of yesterday.

Didn't take long for it to create problems, as this EV Grieve EXCLUSIVE video shows:



And now that I'm being stupid, might as well air the EXCLUSIVE Cloverfield 2 footage that was uncovered recently on YouTube (via Goldenfiddle)...