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The 85th Academy Awards—the Oscars—will pay tribute to 50 years of the James Bond films, it was announced Friday.
Show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said in a statement that there will be a special sequence ‘saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday.
‘Starting with Dr No back in 1962, the 007 movies have become the longest-running motion picture franchise in history and a beloved global phenomenon.’
The six actors who have portrayed Bond in the official franchise—Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig—will feature in the sequence.
The Oscars telecast will take place on February 24. Nominations will be announced on January 10 in Los Angeles.
The latest entry in the Eon Productions franchise, Skyfall, has taken over US$1,000 million, with the film still yet to open in China.
The film, directed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, has overtaken 1965’s Thunderball as the highest-grossing Bond film adjusted for inflation.
Since the “reboot” of the franchise in 2006 with Casino Royale, the Bond films have had more critical nods than their predecessors, which were generally acclaimed on their technical merit. In the mid-1960s, Goldfinger won an Oscar for sound effects, while Thunderball won for special visual effects.
Daniel Craig had a BAFTA nomination for Casino Royale, the first Bond actor to achieve this, while Skyfall’s Javier Bardem received a best supporting actor nomination by the Screen Actors’ Guild.
Skyfall is on the shortlist of the Producers’ Guild of America’s best film nominees, alongside Lincoln and Argo.
The theme song, by Adele and Paul Epworth, could take home a best song Oscar.
The British Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, paid tribute to 50 years of the Bond films last year, with Tom Jones singing the theme song from Thunderball.