Ian Fleming had Scottish ancestors. He was the grandson of Robert Fleming, a Dundee banker whose firm then moved to London in 1900. It existed until 2000, when it was sold to Chase Manhattan. James Bond was in many ways a projection for Fleming, and the Scottish roots came from it.

That’s how you choose to spin the news?

Patrick Gomez doesn’t indeed seem to understand that asking for a few more adjustments before recording some overdub isn’t exactly songwriting.

You can notice that Singer (along with people like Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg) were automatically credited on any X-Men related project in the last few years, regardless of their actual involvement (even Legion, on which they clearly didn’t work). It’s just a contract thing. Being an executive producer…

After First Class was released, Matthew Vaughn had a meeting with Fox where he proposed to complete a trilogy with the new cast, with a second part taking place in the seventies, centered on a young Wolverine, and the final part being an adaptation of Days of Future Past. Instead, Fox wanted to move straight to Days…

Have you seen the Mr. Show sketch about the method actor who goes the extra mile even when he’s just an extra? It was shot something like 25 years ago, but it may apply to the present situation.

You’re absolutely right. Tom Hanks caries a decent, everyday man quality to his parts. He’s about as relatable and likeable as James Stewart. Stewart may have been a lifelong Republican, but nobody minds.

For a few right-wingers, Tom Hanks is THE white whale.

The voice overs were actually done by an impersonator, Mark Silverman, who also voiced Serling in last season’s finale, “Blurryman”. That’s mentioned in the end credits.

I’ve said for a long time that, for a proper tale on how celebrity and power corrupts your soul, you should read the life of Roman emperor Tiberius by Suetonius. Tiberius seems to be all right at the beginning of his reign, then he gradually turns into a creep, just because he has absolute power and can do whatever he…

Paul F. Tompkins and Tawny Newsome were part of the main cast for Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, and this cast still regularly gets together for some live improv performances even if the TV show itself was canceled. It was also produced by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who often guested as rival real estate agents…

You could have mentioned that Delroy Lindo is also leaving, as he’s been cast on a network show. It was announced a couple of months ago, but I only heard about it around the accidental “finale”.

Machina ex deo.

One thing that’s not very obvious to foreign audiences is that, in one of the very first scenes, the track Dujardin listens to on the radio, before he changes channels in his car, is “Et si tu n’existais pas” by Joe Dassin (Jules’ son, who was a very popular singer-songwriter in France). The lyrics are about somebody…

That’s weird that you mention James Gunn, but I was about to say that Deerskin, in particular the relationship between Dujardin and Haenel, borrows a lot from Rainn Wilson and Elle Page in Super. The guy goes through a serious mental unraveling, and her enthusiasm more or less pushes him to go even more over the edge.

Well, if the current writers for the Simpsons assume that their rap episode can be as rich and vibrant as they had hoped, the score wouldn’t be their only issue...

Please, enough with the Le Carré references. This episode, like the entire season, had little to do with Le Carré. Most Le Carré novels are based on disappointment and deception. The emphasis is never on the actual operations, which are a distant thing for every operative involved, but on the effort taken to hide them…

Charles Jr. didn’t die. He’s trapped in the Upside Down. Just like Evelyn’s grandson was stuck there for a few days in the early 80s. Baby Lindbergh will actually be a major character in the fourth season of Stranger Things.

They tried to go John Le Carré as early as season 3 (with the Iranian diplomat that they turned into an asset, which was quite similar to the plot of Smiley’s People), but at the same time they lost their main contact to the intelligence community, who was the late Henry Bromell. Bromell (who was also the showrunner…

The Russian who lost a leg while crossing the border lives under the identity of one Alex Surnow. It’s probably a tip of the hat from Howard Gordon (who was the showrunner on Homeland and on most seasons of 24) to Joel Surnow, who created 24.