2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond films, which makes the introduction, entitled “The Arrival,” doubly special. In the short, Bond is informed of his mission at Buckingham Palace then flown via helicopter to Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London, where he parachutes into the arena.The short intro is reportedly being directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) who is also serving as the creative director of the London 2012 opening ceremony. What a great way to open the games!
...and once again puts things more eloquently than I could myself. Needless to say I completely agree with him on this one. It was absolutely amazing!
I was one of the allegedly 300 billion people watching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on TV, and I think I received the intended message: China is here, big time. The scope, precision and beauty of the production was, you will agree, astonishing. The distinguished director Zhang Yimou was given $300 million and full reign of his imagination, and perhaps some of his background in opera was also useful.
The sheer size of the production was awesome. It said a lot for China, both positively and perhaps negatively. With the exception of the star pianist Lang Lang, a duet between Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan, and some featured dancers, the emphasis was not on individuals, but on masses of performers, meticulously trained and coordinated. What was your reaction to the opening spectacle of 2,008 drummers, creating waves and shapes of lights with their drums? Mine was amazement and pleasure.
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