Huffington Post

While we can see exactly why Monica Bellucci was picked to be the next Bond girl, the 50-year-old Italian actress reveals she was puzzled when called to discuss a role in the upcoming film, “Spectre.” “Why do you call me? I’m 50 years old. What am I going to do in James Bond?” the actress recalled telling director Sam Mendes, in an interview with The Sunday Times.

Bellucci actually thought she was being approached to replace Judi Dench, 80, whose character was killed off in the last Bond film. “I just blurted out: I’m not a girl, I’m a woman, I’m a mature woman,” she said.

In fact, Bellucci is the oldest woman in history to play 007’s onscreen love interest. Before Bellucci signed on to the upcoming film, actress Honor Blackman was the oldest Bond actress, playing Pussy Galore at age 39.

Bellucci continues the trend of women over 50 taking entertainment and fashion by storm. Joni Mitchell just graced the cover of New York Magazine, with gray hair at 71. Dame Helen Mirren is the new face of L’Oreal, alongside actresses in their 20s and 30s.

As for Bellucci, she says sexy is a state of mind. “What is the problem with a man of 30 being with a woman of 50?” she told Event Magazine. “It is a matter of energy and the soul, not a matter of age of the body. True sexiness is in the mind, the imagination, not in the age of the body.”

You might recognize Monica from her role in Passion of the Christ.

Monica as Mary Magdalene

Monica Spectre Press

On The Beach

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Michael G. Wilson and Stephanie Sigman photographed

Filming on SPECTRE has now moved to Mexico City with Producer Michael G. Wilson and actress Stephanie Sigman (Estrella) taking part in a press conference to mark the occasion.

“During the past 53 years, the James Bond movies have been renowned for filming in the most beautiful and exotic locations in the world,” says Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. “For the opening of SPECTRE, we are filming an exciting sequence in Mexico City featuring the Day of the Dead festival.

Mexico City was chosen for the film because of the authentic needs of the story. This is the fourth time Bond has been to Mexico and indeed LICENCE TO KILL was shot almost entirely in Mexico City.”
SPECTRE is in cinemas from 6 November 2015

007 Spectre in Mexico

Day of the Dead Video

It took Christoph Waltz 30 years to become an overnight sensation. The Austrian actor was thrust into the limelight by Quentin Tarantino and before you could say “next Bond villain” he’s bagged two Oscars. GQ opens a file on Spectre, stardom and psychiatry with Hollywood’s secret weapon

Here are some exclusive quotes from the interview with Christoph Waltz in the new issue of British GQ:

Christoph Waltz Spectre Press

Interview In GQ

On whether he hesitated in doing a Bond film:
“I did, yes. I always hesitate… You ask yourself, hang on: what James Bond are we talking about? The thing about Spectre is that it is not the work of hack writers. It does not have a hack director. The actors are not hams. The action sequences in Mexico are extravagant to say the least. The scenes in Austria are traditional Bond action in the snow. These films with Daniel Craig have shifted the tone. They don’t depend on a set formula that forces actors simply to go through the motions.”

On whether he is playing the classic Bond villain Blofeld:
“That is absolutely untrue. That rumour started on the Internet, and the Internet is a pest. The name of my character is Franz Oberhauser.”

Prada Watch

On whether a Bond film can be artistically fulfilling:
“A James Bond film can be artistically fulfilling. Absolutely it can. It can be complex and it can be interesting. I consider Bond movies to be an extension of popular theatre, a kind of modern mythology. You see the same sort of action in Punch and Judy, or in the folk theatre of various cultures, like Grand Guignol.”

On achieving success later in his career:
“I do feel I can say – without smugness – that this feels good. I am entitled. I am entitled to judge the situation and say that yes: it feels good, and that yes, I agree with you. I feel like I served my time. I feel I have paid [my dues].”