Director Danny Boyle has revealed that the Queen of England requested a picture with James Bond, Daniel Craig, after their Olympics skit, a piece that he helped to create.

Boyle organised the opening to London’s 2012 Olympics, and stated that the Monarch only agreed to the position because it was informal, and also because she wanted her staff to have a day with the movie star.

Daniel Craig and the Queen acted alongside each other in a scene which saw the duo meet at Buckingham Palace before jumping out of a helicopter that was over the Olympic Stadium.

Boyle stated, “She knew the jubilee, obviously in the same year, was gonna be very formal. And you have an instinct when you perform in public. You just have instincts. And I’m sure that was part of the instinct, ‘Let’s change it, make it different’.”

The Trainspotting director added, “I think she also must have known, because I was involved, that they were going to make it like a People’s Games … so there was a chance to take a risk with it.”

Boyle, who was speaking to the Radio Times, noted, “She wanted her staff to have a day out with a movie star. And so we did. Daniel Craig came and he’s a movie star! He’s James Bond! Everybody can get their picture taken.”

When asked whether the Queen joined in, Boyle exclaimed, “Absolutely! Yeah. But she was very, very keen and insistent that her staff did as weel. I liked that about her very much. You though, ‘Yeah, that’s decent, looking after them like that’. And we had a lovely afternoon filming with the two of them’.”

It was also revealed that Boyle started to worry immensely just 10 minutes before the opening ceremony when it started to rain. However the down pour soon ceased and the event was a resounding success.

What do you think of the Queen?

Queen Wanted Picture Alongside Daniel Craig After James Bond Olympic Skit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Oscar winning director Danny Boyle has said he believes Britain will abolish its Monarchy in his lifetime, and replace it with an elected head of state.

His idea for a substitute? Multi-millionairess Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, one of the celebrity names included in Boyle’s widely praised direction of the UK’s Olympic opening ceremony in London last July.

Boyle made his comments in a Guardian interview. The Brit director — who famously refused a knighthood at the end of last year — said of the Royals:

“I think the pressure on them is utterly impossible, as recent events show. It’s a ludicrous spotlight they’re under. You can still have a royal family if you like … but actually have an elected head of state.”

In the interview Boyle laughed off the idea of taking on the role, replying that he wasn’t looking for a job. Given that he directed Ewan McGregor in 1996′s Trainspotting, later winning eight Oscars for 2008′s Slumdog Millionaire — he he does have a point.

Offering an insight into his 2012 decision to refuse the knighthood, Boyle said:

“Not my cup of tea, never has been. I believe in being an equal citizen rather than a preferred subject,” a philosophy that goes some way to explaining his views on monarchy in general.

He did, however, praise Queen Elizabeth for her surprisingly on-point acting in the Olympic Ceremony opening sketch in which she appeared alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

“She’s very sharp,” said Boyle, adding, “she has a natural sense of rhythm.”

The ‘man of the people’ helmer also revealed that the monarch kept her short but stunning cameo with 007 a complete secret from her own family.

Despite Boyle’s Republican ambitions for Britain, it’s debatable whether the monarchy will lose its crown any time soon. The next generation of Royals is set to make its first steps when Kate Middleton gives birth in July [expected.]

In addition, according to a national poll conducted by Ipsos MORI last year — which also saw Queen Elizabeth II celebrate her Diamond Jubilee marking 60 years on the throne — support for a monarchy was at an all time high.

Their records indicate that numbers calling for a British Republic were 18% in 1969, 18% in 1993, 19% in 2002, and 18% in 2012.

That translates to three-quarters of the UK’s 62,641,000 population who want Britain to remain headed by monarchy, a finding that has been described by pollsters as “probably the most stable trend we have ever measured.”

What do you think of Danny Boyle’s comments about the UK monarchy? Can you relate?

Director Danny Boyle Predicts British Monarchy Will Be Abolished In His Lifetime, Rates J.K Rowling For The Job is a post from: The Inquisitr

Paul McCartney played a set at the Friday’s opening ceremonies to the 2012 London Olympics that drew praise and adoration for the living legend. One thing it didn’t net McCartney was a big payday.

London Olympic organizers said that the former Beatle and others who performed in Friday’s opening ceremonies were paid one pound, the equivalent of $1.57 in American money, The Huffington Post reported.

Paul McCartney and the other performers would have gone on for free, but in order to make their contracts binding there needed to be some form of payment, The Huffington Post reported.

“The top talent basically gave their services for free,” a London 2012 spokeswoman told AFP.

“But in order to have a formal contract for their services you have to show an amount, so that was set at a pound which enables them to have a contractual arrangement.”

The other performers, which included Mike Oldfield and Emeli Sande, also received the nominal payment for their acts, the report said. The show from British director Danny Boyle, entitled “Isle of Wonder,” featured British music from across generations. Paul McCartney’s set gave way to two of the hottest local acts, the band Arctic Monkeys and grime star Rascal.

The show has been a hit, with a two-disc set titled Isles of Wonder currently topping the iTunes album charts in Belgium, Britain, France and Spain, AFP reported. It’s reached No. 5 in the US.

Paul McCartney can likely afford the free show. As Britain’s wealthiest musician, he has an estimated fortune of £665 million ($995 million), according to Rich List 2012, which is published by The Sunday Times newspaper.

Paul McCartney Paid $1.57 For Olympics Opening Ceremony Gig is a post from: The Inquisitr

Just when we thought the London Summer Olympics had seen its fair share of strangeness, the report of a UFO hovering over the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremonies was revealed to the world by the mysterious MrScipher from the planet YouTube.

It was only a month ago that former Ministry of Defense UFO desk officer Nick Pope proclaimed his belief that the Summer Olympics were the perfect venue for visiting space aliens to reveal themselves to the human race. Mr.Pope is of the opinion that the immense world wide audience would not only appeal to companies paying millions of dollars a minute to advertise fast food and car insurance, but savvy visitors from distant planets would certainly be smart enough to take advantage of the biggest media event of the year.

The setting was perfect for something bizarre to occur. The crowd of thousands and a television audience in the hundreds of millions had already seen a visual spectacular created by film director Danny Boyle, that included such diverse tableau as a tribute to the British national health care system, complete with nurses, doctors and somersaulting youngsters cavorting on row after row of hospital beds.

After two skydivers impersonating James Bond and Queen Elizabeth parachuted from a helicopter into the stadium, the sky erupted with a massive display of fireworks. While all this was going on, the enterprising MrScipher noticed an unusual shape popping in and out of sight in the brightly lit night sky. He groped for his video camera to record what was sure to be the penultimate moment of human history.

To the utter amazement of those who were lucky enough to see the unusual shape moving silently behind the glare of the fireworks, many were stunned by what they saw. The object had the appearance of the classical UFO seen in the movie, “Day The Earth Stood Still.” MrScipher grabbed the shot and rushed to post it on Youtube.

As word began to spread and true believers wondered if they would finally get to “phone home,” counter claims began to appear in the press, informing all concerned that, alas, it was just the Goodyear Blimp with the running lights turned off. A spokesperson for the company explained that the blimp’s lights had been turned off so they wouldn’t interfere with the brilliance of the opening ceremony. He also informed us that there were no logos or adverts visible on the blimp because the blimp was on a “private hire.” Conspiracy theorists exchanged knowing glances, looked over their shoulders and bolted for the door.

Even now, there are still true believers who are convinced that the UFO was real and the blimp story is being floated by those evil plotters in MI-6 and the CIA to cover up the existence of the best dang UFO since Roswell. We might even wonder when the claims will surface that there are dead aliens being autopsied in the Buckingham Palace Basement, while the CIA and British Intelligence fight over powerful alien weapons tech.

You will have to decide for yourself as you examine the photos and watch the videos. It sure looks like a convincing UFO but they swear its only the Goodyear Blimp. I haven’t formed an opinion yet. Do you grok my meaning, Earthling?

UFO Spotted Over Olympic Opening Ceremony is a post from: The Inquisitr

The reach of the Olympic Games extended even to iTunes after the band Arctic Monkeys played the opening ceremony.

The English indie rock band, which formed in 2002, took to the stage to play their 2005 hit, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” and also to cover The Beatles’s famous “Come Together” in front of the Queen, the crowd and, in essence, the whole world.

Examiner.com reported that the Arctic Monkeys, fronted by lead singer Alex Turner, looked as comfortable as if they were playing any other gig. Their rendition of “Come Together” coincided with appearance of the winged cyclists riding through the stadium — one of the more visually memorable moments of the opening ceremony.

Arctic Monkey’s inclusion in the ceremony gave international audiences a taste of contemporary English music and added to an electric environment that also featured the London Symphony Orchestra’s performance of “Chariots of Fire” conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and a performance by former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.

Digital Spy reports that the Arctic Monkeys’ performance has been a hit on iTunes. The opening ceremony was titled “Isles of Wonder” and after the show, the soundtrack — “Isles Of Wonder: Music For The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games” — was released. A physical release of the album is planned as well.

Underworld song “Caliban’s Dream” — which played during the lighting of the Olympic cauldron featuring Alex Trimble on vocals — reached number ten on the chart.

Arctic Monkeys’ cover of “Come Together” by The Beatles was No. 16 on the charts.

Arctic Monkeys Shine While Playing Olympics Opening Ceremony is a post from: The Inquisitr

A six-minute tribute to the victims of the London subway terror attacks of July 7, 2005, was cut from the American broadcast of the London Olympics opening ceremony.

The NBC network showed a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps instead

Choreographer Akram Khan told the BBC that he felt “disheartened and disappointed” by the NBC decision against airing his performance for U.S. television viewers. He added that “I am really sad that I couldn’t show the work in America, and that really upsets me, because I don’t think it’s any less or more than any of the other pieces.”

Of its programming decision, NBC has said that it was attempting to tailor the 2012 Summer Olympics broadcast for the American audience. It also said that it wasn’t aware of that the performance of “Abide With Me,” by the singer Emeli Sandé, that featured Khan and 50 dancers, was specifically a tribute to the 52 innocent persons killed in the suicide bomb attack that occurred a few days after London was named the host city for the 2012 Games.

Time offered this assessment of the 7/7 tribute controversy:

True, there was some disagreement over whether the segment was actually, literally a tribute to terrorism victims. The official program of the opening ceremonies describes that section of the program as a general tribute to “loved ones who couldn’t be with us.” But the commentary on the BBC telecast of the ceremony referenced it as a 7/7 tribute, and from the coverage in the British press, the symbolism and staging of the event seemed to clearly, if not officially, reference the 2005 attack.

But it also doesn’t really matter. Specific or general, a tribute to the missing seems like precisely the most sensitive section of a ceremony to edit out. And besides that, given the stranglehold NBC maintains on content for an event its audience has a massive interest in, why edit anything out? It may have been a long ceremony, as they always are, but there was plenty of time to air the song rather than have Ryan Seacrest interview athletes…

Perhaps NBC’s decision is less than surprising in the context that IOC officials have refused to even observe a moment of silence for the Israeli athletes murdered during the 1972 Munich Games.

Here is the footage from the London Olympics opening ceremonies broadcast that wasn’t aired on U.S. television:

Watch the London Olympics Opening Ceremony Footage Censored By NBC [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr