Daniel Craig is back in Knives Out sequel Glass Onion – and this time he’s investigating influencers
In his first film since his final outing as James Bond, Daniel Craig returns as stylish detective Benoit Blanc in murder mystery Glass Onion – a sequel to his 2019 hit Knives Out.
This time, it’s celebrities and influencers who are under suspicion as the movie takes a satirical look at the decadence of the very modern rich and famous.
But while the film jokes about online tropes and memes, its star says the virtual world is not somewhere he ever plans to have a profile. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me to a social media account,” Craig told Sky News.
The starry ensemble cast also includes Kathryn Hahn, Madelyn Cline, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr, and Kate Hudson. Pic: John Wilson/Netflix
One of the messages of the film is thinking before we speak – which the actor says is a lesson for all of us, whether we’re online or not.
“I could learn it, we all could learn it; I mean, I’m not above any of it,” he said. “Probably one of the reasons I stay off social media is I would say things that I would regret and I don’t want to do that.
“I kind of want to try and have some thought before I speak – you’ll see in this interview that I don’t!”
Such was the success of the 2019 hit Knives Out that Netflix has picked up the franchise, reportedly paying £375m for this film and one more sequel.
The streaming platform has also broken form to show Glass Onion in all three of the America’s big cinema chains – something both Craig and writer-director Rian Johnson advocated for.
“I’m saying the obvious and we keep saying the obvious, but movies are a wonderful collective experience,” said Craig.
“It’s been something that’s important to us from the get-go and with the first movie, just seeing audiences experience it together and experience it together at home also – so there’s no wrong way to do it,” Johnson added.
Daniel Craig returns as stylish detective Benoit Blanc in murder mystery Glass Onion. Pic: John Wilson/Netflix
While Craig is returning, the rest of the very starry ensemble cast is new, and with filming taking place in a bubble during the pandemic the actors found themselves spending a lot of time together.
But despite so many A-listers being involved, there was seemingly no diva-like behaviour on – or off – set.
Kate Hudson, who plays Birdie Jay, a former supermodel turned fashion designer, thinks the casting was key.
“You want to bring that energy and that sort of sparkle with the characters and how we interact with each other to life,” she said.
“And that’s how you do it, you do that by bonding and creating environments that keep us close, which is what they did. And also casting people that are going to really like each other – that aren’t going to be disruptive.”
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Janelle Monae is another new addition to the cast. Pic: John Wilson/Netflix
Janelle Monae, who plays tech entrepreneur Andi Brand, credits Johnson with creating the right atmosphere.
“I was very shocked by just his calmness on set,” she said. “This is a big cast, a lot of personalities, things happen in production, technical difficulties, some things may not go as planned, and I never saw him lose his cool – and that helped us as the actors.
“And also, he would plan these murder mystery parties on the weekend so we’re filming a murder mystery whodunit, and then we’re playing like mafia, a murder mystery game just for fun, but all that stuff that we did outside of filming helped for us to just trust each other onscreen even more – and we really, really like each other.”
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is out on Netflix on 23 December
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
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The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
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