1942 replies to this topic

[Hockey Mask]

Good to know. Bowie has always been a favorite of mine.

[Guy Haines]

He didn't do those things because he didn't want to. There was a whole Bowie section at the Olympics opening ceremony; he just wasn't there himself. His final live performance had been six years before that. Famously they wanted him for the villain in A View To A Kill but he didn't like Bond movies.
Likewise: McCartney has a knighthood and Bowie didn't because Bowie turned it down. He never lived in anyone's shadow.

And regarding Bond, I think David Bowie said something about not wanting to spend months standing around on location watching his stunt double fall off cliffs. Which when you think about what happened to Max Zorin in the end is not far off the truth. ;-)

[rubixcub]

Interview with Sam Smith from today about the writing of the song, and the Oscar nomination:
http://deadline.com/...iew-1201701674/

 

Dave

Edited by rubixcub, 19 February 2016 - 10:01 PM.

[AMC Hornet]

So WotW is the first 007 song to go #1 on Billboard?

 

Does Simon le Bon know about this?

[marktmurphy]

So WotW is the first 007 song to go #1 on Billboard?

 

Does Simon le Bon know about this?

 

Maybe they've amended the article since you saw it but it doesn't say that now.

 

It was the first to get to no.1 in the UK, though.

[Dustin]

History is such a fickle business. Constantly ending, starting, changing, repeating...

[AMC Hornet]

 

So WotW is the first 007 song to go #1 on Billboard?

 

Does Simon le Bon know about this?

 

Maybe they've amended the article since you saw it but it doesn't say that now.

 

It was the first to get to no.1 in the UK, though.

 

That was fast.

 

I must not be the only one to notice and comment.

[DaveBond21]

Yeah, Duran Duran got to No.1 in the US, but only No. 2 in the UK. Skyfall also reached No.2 there.

 

But Sam Smith got to No.1.

 

The next best was Madonna's Die Another Day which reached No. 3 in the UK.

[Royal Dalton]

Gosh...

[Vauxhall]

Well, well, well...

The Oscar winning SPECTRE.

Fairly incredible, but congratulations to all involved.

[DaveBond21]

Congrats to Sam Smith, Jimmy Napes and the whole Bond team!!

 

Oscar for Best Song!

[tdalton]

It's sad that "Writing's On the Wall" wins this award when so many, much better Bond songs didn't even manage a nomination, much less a win.  

[SecretAgentFan]

But I must say I feel relieved that Lady Gaga did not win.

[JimmyBond]

I unabashedly enjoyed the song, so I'm glad it won.

 

But I can't deny that tdalton is right in that over the years there were probably better Bond songs out there that deserved to win an Oscar as well.

[tdalton]

The win has been an inspiration, though.  Tomorrow I'll go find a kazoo and a whistle and start work on my submission for the 2017 Oscars.  Seems like my odds would be pretty good.

[SecretAgentFan]

Have the Oscars ever been about the really best work?

 

It´s a popularity contest, fueled by jealousy and strategic thinking.

[Double-Oh Agent]

My sentiments pretty much echo Vauxhall and tdalton.

 

I can't believe Writing's On The Wall won. I never would have predicted that when I first heard the song. (However I went ahead and picked it to win in my Oscar pool.) Congratulations have to go to Sam Smith and company.

 

To think we've had back to back Oscar-winning songs (Skyfall and Writing's On The Wall). Both however pale in quality to the superior Bond theme results of Goldfinger, Live And Let Die, Nobody Does It Better, For Your Eyes Only, A View To A Kill, and You Know My Name which were never victorious even if they were fortunate enough to get nominated.

[thecasinoroyale]

As said before, it really isn't about the "quality" of product - it's about the people behind it and the critical reaction overall...so the Oscars, at time, strike me as being a little pointless and uneventful really.

[SecretAgentFan]

In any event, I think it´s wonderful that two Bond songs now have gotten recognized.  And not in a cheesy production number like "For your eyes only".  Remember that presentation at the Oscars back then?

[Agent 76]

It's not even one of the best Bond themes ever, but well winning an oscar doesn't hurt of course.

 

 

Other Bond themes in the past deserved way more.

[RMc2]

Well done, SPECTRE and Sam Smith are now Oscar winners!

 

Apart from the weakness of the nominees as a whole, I think this reveals more about the politics of the Oscars. Bond films tend to get nominated when established Academy darlings are involved.

 

Being positive, I like to think this also attests to the popularity of the series again. Much like TSWLM's nominations reflected its surprising success back in '77. The Craig era has earned Oscar attention.*

[SecretAgentFan]

It probably was the only song the majority of the Academy had indeed known because they had watched SPECTRE.  The other nominated songs were featured in films most members probably did not see or like ("50 shades of grey").

 

If the performance on that evening had had any impact, it should have been Lady Gaga´s and Dianne Warren´s song.  That was indeed powerful.  Smith seemed to be extremely nervous and struggled to reach the high notes.

 

Still, I dislike Lady Gaga´s constant headline-grabbing.  So - I´m fine with this choice.  Not that it matters.

[Surrie]

It's not even one of the best Bond themes ever, but well winning an oscar doesn't hurt of course.

 

 

Other Bond themes in the past deserved way more.

 

Agreed. Previous Bond themes were far more deserving, and I still can't enjoy listening to WOTW. Oh well, glad the Bond franchise is doing well from it. 

[FlemingBond]

awful song.

my dad is a bond fan, but he didn't see Spectre in the theater. he said when sam smith started singing last night he changed the channel. i told him yes i thought it was an awful song too.

but that's the oscars. if it wasn't for the pretty clothes i don't think people would tune in

[tdalton]

awful song.

my dad is a bond fan, but he didn't see Spectre in the theater. he said when sam smith started singing last night he changed the channel. i told him yes i thought it was an awful song too.

but that's the oscars. if it wasn't for the pretty clothes i don't think people would tune in

 

That was the prevailing wisdom of the people leaving the theater when I saw the film back in December.  You heard various people giving differing opinions on the film itself, but pretty much everyone that mentioned the song was in agreement that it was horrible.

 

I still have yet to meet a person in "real" life who likes the song.  

[stromberg]

he said when sam smith started singing last night he changed the channel.

Tried to watch it, but just couldn't stand it. But I didn't change the channel, I went to the fridge instead

 

That said, I'm still happy that a Bond movie once again won an Oscar, no matter for what. And I give it the benefit that it was for "Best Song", not for "Best Singer". Because the song itself isn't that bad (herad a few really nice cover versions), I just can't stand Sam Smith's singing.

[marktmurphy]

My sentiments pretty much echo Vauxhall and tdalton.

 

I can't believe Writing's On The Wall won. I never would have predicted that when I first heard the song. (However I went ahead and picked it to win in my Oscar pool.) Congratulations have to go to Sam Smith and company.

 

To think we've had back to back Oscar-winning songs (Skyfall and Writing's On The Wall). Both however pale in quality to the superior Bond theme results of Goldfinger, Live And Let Die, Nobody Does It Better, For Your Eyes Only, and A View To A Kill which were never victorious even if they were fortunate enough to get nominated.

 

I remember checking the nominations lists of the years of most of those and they were up against some pretty memorable tunes a lot of the time.

[Orion]

I'm with Stromberg, it'd be quite a good song if it wasn't Smith singing it.

[Dustin]

I'd even go so far as to say it's not Smith so much that bugs me than specifically the way he sings it. He certainly could have sung it differently, he just set out to do it in his trademark style; that's what makes it such a tough piece for me...

[marktmurphy]

His comment on being the first gay man to win an Oscar was misguided to say the least. He's not even the first gay man to win that Oscar.