The X-Men Series

As most of us know, if X-Men First Class seemed a lot like an early 60's Bond film, in tone, look and style, that was not by accident.
Do check out the excellent extras package that come with the blu-ray. Both director Matthew Vaughn and Producer Simon Kinberg expand at length on their efforts to capture the look and feel of the early Bonds, from Ken Adam's set design, utilizing big sweeping ceilings and space, to Fassbender's Eric being patterned on the look and style of Sean Connery. Vaughn, who says he came very close to directing a Bond film himself, says he was inspired by the early Bonds success in representing the period not only in look and style but with "a muscular and action oriented" approach as well.
Vaughn wanted the Connery style for the young Erik's suits and the young Connery's "bad-ass, charming and ruthless" take on Bond in Fassbender's take on the young Eric.
No wonder Fassbender's Erik/Magneto drew instant comparisons to Bond.
Vaughn also asked that the titles be done with Binder's opening DN sequence in mind. The similarity is striking.
When discussing the Bond influences in the special features bits, we get several shots of Connery in both DN and GF as well as Adam set designs from those two movies and TB.
A good home double bill would be to follow X-Men: First Class with DN, as the latter heavily influenced the former and both are set in 1962. First Class and GF would work as well or First Class and TB. FRWL clips weren't shown, probably because the film lacked the Ken Adam set design.
The producers said they would like to grow the First Class series through the 60's and 70's and continue to tie their stories in with world events, like they did with the Cuban Missle crisis, so as rumoured, the JFK assassination the following year (1963) would tie in nicely as the second installment of a trilogy. The title could simply be X-Men First Class:__________________ (fill in the blank) as First Class refers to Prof X's First Class of X-Men in the film continuity.
Hopefully more Fassbender as Connery/Bond (if he's not wearing his Magneto cape outfit) and more Bond inspired look and style in the next couple of films.
X-Men First Class gets an honorary Bond-film status.

People have seen Fassbender in the role since Inglorious Basterds. It makes sense that a movie with a 1960s setting would yield the same comparisons.

I like that Vaughn deliberately attempted to echo Ken Adam, the young Connery and Binder's titles too.

Fassbender's moments did indeed have a Bond-like feel to them when he wasn't using his magnetic powers...

I'd love to see Bond use a knife like that on someone's hand one day...

First Class' similarity to the tone and spirit of the early Bonds is one of the things I loved about it so much. That, the music and Michael Fassbender's total badassery. It would be interesting if they did the next film centred around the Kennedy assassination, though if they go that route it would be cool to see them play up the fact of the conspiracy surrounding it and not focus on the bogus single-shooter official coverup.

Drax wrote:

It would be interesting if they did the next film centred around the Kennedy assassination, though if they go that route it would be cool to see them play up the fact of the conspiracy surrounding it and not focus on the bogus single-shooter official coverup.

Wouldn't that just be ground already covered by Oliver Stone?

Sharky wrote:

Drax wrote:

It would be interesting if they did the next film centred around the Kennedy assassination, though if they go that route it would be cool to see them play up the fact of the conspiracy surrounding it and not focus on the bogus single-shooter official coverup.

Wouldn't that just be ground already covered by Oliver Stone?

They could make it fresh, say by having the CIA/government infiltrated by a rogue faction of mutants or something.

I thought I read somewhere that Magneto (Fassbender) might be the one that directs the magic bullet, to ensure JFK is hit.

This would lend credence to the original version of events. Oswald did it with Magneto's help.

I know I saw this speculation somewhere. But playing with the conspiracy angle would be interesting too.

tiffanywint wrote:

I thought I read somewhere that Magneto (Fassbender) might be the one that directs the magic bullet, to ensure JFK is hit.

Then there's still the fatal head shot that very clearly came from the front as evidenced in the Zapruder film. Another mutant intervention?

Drax wrote:

tiffanywint wrote:

I thought I read somewhere that Magneto (Fassbender) might be the one that directs the magic bullet, to ensure JFK is hit.

Then there's still the fatal head shot that very clearly came from the front as evidenced in the Zapruder film. Another mutant intervention?

This would be a great angle. Use mutants to explain discrepancies in the lone-gunman theory. That could be a lot of fun. But if you take the mutants out of the equation, the blown away in a cross-fire assualt has always been an interesting theory.

Steven King btw, in his new time-travel JFK assassination fiction story 11/22/63, is convinced that Oswald acted alone. He is convinced that Oswald had both motive and the gun-skills to blow him away from his sniper's perch, and wouldn't have needed any help from Magneto.

tiffanywint wrote:

Steven King btw, in his new time-travel JFK assassination fiction story 11/22/63, is convinced that Oswald acted alone. He is convinced that Oswald had both motive and the gun-skills to blow him away from his sniper's perch, and wouldn't have needed any help from Magneto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lzl0RrwY7w&feature=related

The Zapruder film, while perhaps not proving a conspiracy, does demonstrate conclusively that Kennedy's assassin was in front of the motorcade and not behind it in the book depository, where Oswald was located.

Drax wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lzl0RrwY7w&feature=related

The Zapruder film, while perhaps not proving a conspiracy, does demonstrate conclusively that Kennedy's assassin was in front of the motorcade and not behind it in the book depository, where Oswald was located.

Then how come the autopsy reports show that the shot to the skull entered from the rear, fracturing the parietal, occipital and temporal bones? As stated, the violent move of Kennedy's entire body forward after the second shot, was a huge neuromuscular seizure due to the nerve damage in the brain. This phenomenon has been observed in goats and other livestock when shot in the head.

Sharky wrote:

Drax wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lzl0RrwY7w&feature=related

The Zapruder film, while perhaps not proving a conspiracy, does demonstrate conclusively that Kennedy's assassin was in front of the motorcade and not behind it in the book depository, where Oswald was located.

Then how come the autopsy reports show that the shot to the skull entered from the rear, fracturing the parietal, occipital and temporal bones? As stated, the violent move of Kennedy's entire body forward after the second shot, was a huge neuromuscular seizure due to the nerve damage in the brain. This phenomenon has been observed in goats and other livestock when shot in the head.

Because the autopsy was bogus. Most of the doctors who treated Kennedy immediately after the shooting described a large chunk of his skull missing from the back of his head.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7534746051869908853#docid=8440302925206489846

That video, starting at 51:00 I think, contains interviews with many of said doctors.

What about the guys shooting from the grassy knoll? I also heard that a guy popped out of a sewer grate and opened fire. Poor guy never had a chance.

I have no idea what to believe other than someone wanted him dead and they got it done.

tiffanywint wrote:

What about the guys shooting from the grassy knoll? I also heard that a guy popped out of a sewer grate and opened fire. Poor guy never had a chance.

I have no idea what to believe other than someone wanted him dead and they got it done.

November 22 1963 was perhaps the most significant date in American history of the last 100 years. There was a coup d'etat that day.

tiffanywint wrote:

What about the guys shooting from the grassy knoll? I also heard that a guy popped out of a sewer grate and opened fire.

About half the witnesses of the assassination reported hearing a shot coming from the grassy knoll. Indeed, right after the shooting dozens of people rushed in that direction in search of the shooter. I have also encountered the theory that the fatal shot came from inside the sewer adjacent to the grassy knoll. In any case it was either from there or from the grassy knoll itself. They've done surveys over the years and as of at least the late 70s something like 80% of Americans don't by the official version. The Warren Commission was a joke. It was helmed by Allen Dulles ffs, one of Kennedy's mortal enemies and in all likelihood one of the masterminds of the assassination.

Edit:

The Kennedy assassination (and I would say 9/11 too ) can be partly understood by way of the following clips:

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY

The famous speech in which President Eisenhower warned of the military industrial complex.

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiRBxDEGDqw

This is a great documentary from the mid-80s about how the military industrial complex has gotten out of control. There was a coup d'etat on November 22, 1963 in which the USA was taken over by the Secret Government mentioned here.

3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sKNumOGU50&feature=related

In this last video CIA whistleblower John Stockwell explains Kennedy's policies around the military industrial complex that in all likelihood got him killed.

It was The Comedian and Klaus Hergesheimer.

The Mob. The Mafia. The CIA. LBJ. The Russians, The Cubans, The Cuban Exiles

or my personal favourite from Cheers

The Beatles.

I still gotta read James Ellroy's AMERICAN TABLOID, which ends on 11/22/63, and THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, which begins right after the assassination.

I'm not a big Oliver Stone fan (although I did like Platoon) but his "JFK" treatment of the Jim Garrison prosecution I thought was well done, notwithstanding Costner's oh-so-earnest OTT speechifying.

Sequel gets release date:

http://collider.com/x-men-first-class-2-sequel-release-date/170336/

Quote :

Fox is poised to have a massive year in 2014. First up, the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s excellent X-Men: First Class has landed a prime July 18th release date in 2014. Director Matthew Vaughn is poised to return once again, with all of the original cast—including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult—contracted to reprise their characters. The sequel is currently untitled, but Simon Kinberg—the scribe behind X-Men: The Last Stand—recently came onboard to write the script. Vaughn has had a hand in the screenplay in all of his previous projects, so I expect he’ll have a lot of say in the script. Production is expected to get underway in January once Lawrence wraps The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

I'm in the minority on FIRST CLASS, thinking it was a hugely missed opportunity. I mean hell, Magneto is already a bad guy, Xavier is already a crip- ah, handcapped guy, Mystique is included to make no sense being included. WTF are they gonna do? Same ole shit, but with MAD MEN fashion?

It was like making Episode I and having Anakin become Darth Vader and showing the birth of Luke and Leia. They have little room to move.

And the guy who wrote LAST STAND is at the wheel. Terrific.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Sequel gets release date:

http://collider.com/x-men-first-class-2-sequel-release-date/170336/

Quote :

Fox is poised to have a massive year in 2014. First up, the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s excellent X-Men: First Class has landed a prime July 18th release date in 2014. Director Matthew Vaughn is poised to return once again, with all of the original cast—including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult—contracted to reprise their characters. The sequel is currently untitled, but Simon Kinberg—the scribe behind X-Men: The Last Stand—recently came onboard to write the script. Vaughn has had a hand in the screenplay in all of his previous projects, so I expect he’ll have a lot of say in the script. Production is expected to get underway in January once Lawrence wraps The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Great news. Vaughn should do a Bond movie.

There's rumours that it will be based on "Days of Future Past", a story arc from the comics that dealt with time travel.

Time travel. Ugh.