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Newsletter Christmas 2018
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Merry Xmas, 007!
Many seasonal wishes to all our readers, supporters, good friends and members. We do hope that you have enjoyed all our regular website news items and updates on the world of 007 during the course of 2018, and also our JBIFC Newsletter.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year, wherever you are.
During the second half of the year things began to really heat up in the world of the cinematic James Bond. Preliminary studio work commenced and some location recces were undertaken. The pre-planning of Bond 25 then went through a number of ups and downs, of course, with the sudden departure of one director (Danny Boyle), and next - a short while later - the selection of an exciting new replacement (in the reliable form of U.S. director Cary Fukunaga).
This brief period of uncertainty brought out the inevitable doom-mongers in the media (especially in the UK), and also on Bond forums on social media, individuals who are always on the lookout to criticise the EON franchise and all aspects of the fictional character originally created by Ian Fleming. However, with Cary very much on board, the year is ending on a real high for 007 aficionados. Bond 25 will commence full production at Pinewood in early March, 2019, and everything is looking both tantalising and really exciting for what is still arguably the most successful movie franchise in cinema history. Welcome back, Mr. Bond. We've been expecting you!
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The Spy Who Loved Her
In a major piece of surprise news for Bond fans, new director Fukunaga recently confirmed that French actress Lea Seydoux, the leading Bond woman in the last 007 movie Spectre (2015), is to return for the as-yet-untitled Bond 25.
According to exclusive comments made by the American director to the British Daily Mail showbiz journalist Baz Bamigboye, carried in the paper on 7th December, Fukunaga said 'Lea will be returning', as well as MI6 HQ regulars Ralph Fiennes (as 'M'), Ben Whishaw (as 'Q'), and Naomie Harris (as Miss Eve Moneypenny). Seydoux, who played Dr. Madeleine Swann in Daniel Craig's fourth 007 adventure, will apparently reprise her role as psychiatrist Swan.
Bond star Craig wanted Seydoux back, and so did Fukunaga. The new director also heaped praise on the regular Bond team of actors and British actors in general, pointing out that he had worked with British thespians on many past projects: 'You have some of the best actors in the world here', commented Fukunaga. 'Why wouldn't I have the best coming back?' Well said, Cary: we are with you all the way on that point.
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Double-Shot
The latest news will be very reassuring for Bond fans, signalling that, while Fukunaga will inevitably be keen to put his own distinctive brand on the new film, at the same time some welcome continuity will be retained from previous entries in the Craig cycle of the Bond franchise. The revelation also constitutes some of the first hard news on key casting for the new 007 adventure. Lea Seydoux had previously commented in interviews that she would love to return for another James Bond movie, and now it seems that the 33-year old award-winning Parisian actress is seeing her wish come true.
Asked at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2018, for example, whether or not she would like to return to Bond, she had commented: 'Of course, I would love it'. She had added: I loved working on Bond; it was actually one of my best experiences. Yes, I would love that but we'll see'. Precisely when she was officially offered a chance to return is difficult to say, but it would appear that the appointment of Fukunaga gave Craig a chance to lobby on her behalf.
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In a sense, Seydoux will be joining a very exclusive club, which is made up of women who have made more than one appearance in a Bond movie. The circle has included the late Lois Maxwell (as Moneypenny), the late Eunice Gayson (as Sylvia Trench), Martine Beswicke (two separate roles), Maud Adams (two separate roles), and past and present Moneypenny actresses Caroline Bliss, Samantha Bond and Naomie Harris. Dame Judi Dench, of course, also played 'M' opposite two Bond actors, Brosnan and Craig.
Another actress who could have made a good case for informal membership of the club was the late actress Angela Scoular, who played Buttercup in the Charles K. Feldman-produced 'unofficial' Bond movie Casino Royale (1967) but also played Ruby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). But the most famous candidate for informal membership would be, of course, Ursula Andress, who set hearts racing in Dr. No (1962), and was later persuaded to play an extrovert version of Vesper Lynd opposite Peter Sellers as '007' in Casino Royale (1967).
Similarly, Valerie Leon could make a good bid for informal membership, too (she was in EON's The Spy Who Loved Me and, a few years later, appeared in the 'unofficial' Bond movie Never Say Never Again).
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Interestingly, just one day after the Bamigboye Daily Mail report, Variety,the highly respected American screen entertainment industry journal, expanded slightly on the 'Seydoux will return' revelation by noting some other brief details concerning the casting for Bond 25. According to Variety: 'Besides Seydoux, EON is looking for two other actresses - one would play an MI6 agent who works with Bond and another a mystery woman - as well as the Bond villain'. The journal noted that, according to 'insiders', the actor Rami Malek (who played the rock singer Freddie Mercury in the recent 2018 biopic movie about the famous band Queen) was being eyed for the role of the main baddie. However, Malek's availability was said to be uncertain, due to his commitment in March-July, 2019, to the last season of Mr. Robot. The JBIFC also understands that a number of other actors have been closely looked at for the role of main villain.
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Significantly, perhaps, Baz Bamigboye in his Daily Mail column also referred to the new screenplay for Bond 25 by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade as having 'major input from Fukunaga'. Again, it is going to be truly fascinating to see what new story angles and character perspectives the American director will bring to his James Bond movie. Some intriguing clues were offered in an interview Fukunaga gave in Los Angeles in November to the Inquirer.net website. At that stage, the director hinted that the new screenplay was still being developed, but he also dropped some hints about the overall direction Bond 25 may take. Reflecting on his appointment to such a 'large' job, Fukunaga said at one point: 'Now that I have the job, I just keep my head down and try to figure out how to make this as good as possible'.
After revealing that A View to A Kill was the first Bond movie he ever saw (and also his love of the theme song by 'Duran Duran'), Fukunaga said he was looking forward to working with Daniel Craig on Bond 25, and said of the current 007 actor: 'In his first Bond movie, Casino Royale, he brought an incredible amount of vulnerability and humanity to the character, which was a big shift from Pierce Brosnan's run'.
He continued: 'In terms of what I can bring to change the character, Bond is on a character arc that started with Casino Royale, and I will be carrying that over. There will be changes, I am sure. As in any story, a character has to change in order [to have] a narrative'.
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Now we know that Ralph Fiennes will be back as Gareth Mallory ('M') for Bond 25, it makes it even more satisfying to think how lucky the EON series is to have one of Britain's leading film and stage actors as the MI6 boss. Ralph's status as a critically-acclaimed actor was confirmed yet gain in November when he won the 'Best Actor' award in the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his role as Antony in Simon Godwin's new production of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, staged at the National Theatre in Britain's capital city.
Fiennes co-star, Sophie Okonedo, who plays Cleopatra opposite Fiennes' Antony, also picked up the ES award for Best Actress. It is the second time Fiennes has won the Evening Standard Best Actor statuette in three years (having taken the prize in 2016).
Critics have been full of praise for Ralph's latest stage role.
Just a few weeks later, on 15th December, Fiennes attended the European Film awards ceremony held in Seville, Spain, where he collected another award: he received the European Achievement in World Cinema Award, and electrified his audience with a speech about how culturally 'unifying' film can be in a world seemingly characterised by turmoil and intolerance. As well as his return to the role of 'M', Ralph will also be back on the big screen soon as another 'M' - but this time as the villainous Professor Moriarty, in Holmes and Watson (2018), a new Sherlock Holmes film which is currently in post-production. Sounds intriguing.
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Now, pay attention, 007. On the lookout for a last-minute Christmas treat? Also interested in the historical background to Ian Fleming and James Bond? How about a new book about Fleming's wartime career? The newly published book Ian Fleming and Operation Golden Eye: Keeping Spain out of World War Two, by Mark Simmons (Casemate Publishers, September 2018), which was also reviewed on the JBIFC's main website, is a slim but fascinating and notably well-researched study of the various Allied operations and schemes created to keep Spain and Portugal out of World War Two. Naval Intelligence officer Fleming, helped by key figures such as Alan Hillgarth, was the main architect of 'Operation Golden Eye', a propaganda, sabotage and disruption scheme that was planned to be launched had Nazi Germany put its troops into Spain and threatened key British bases such as Gibraltar. It's a great read, and also has information and analysis on how Fleming drew upon his wartime experiences for his post-war writing career and the creation of 007. Well worth a purchase.
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The Man With The Golden Pen
Another truly great Xmas present idea (if you have not indulged already!), is The 007 Diaries, by Roger Moore (History Press, 2018), which was a very welcome reprint during 2018 of a Pan paperback first published back in 1973, originally under the title Roger Moore as James Bond 007. Fans of the late and much-missed Sir Roger will know that the 3rd 007 kept his own personal diary record of what he saw and experienced during the making of his debut Bond movie Live and Let Die, and this was published to the delight of Bond fans when the movie launched Moore's tenure as 007. Written with a real eye for detail and regularly peppered with Sir Roger's often humorous observations and insights, the Diaries are the only record of the making of a Bond movie on location written on the spot by one of the James Bond stars, penned as the cameras rolled on the production on a day-by-day basis. A typical extract: B-Day Thirty-Six: 'This morning I was bleary-eyed at the early start but I soon woke up when we passed a sign which said "Beware Crocodiles Crossing", then stopped at another which warned: "Trespassers Will Be Eaten". That was not bluff...'. A must-have book for all Bond aficionados.
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The Secret History
And here's another possible Xmas present: if you live in the UK, you might want to keep an eye on the discount book stores that have popped up in many city centres in recent years. The last few months have seen a real bargain on sale in such stores in the form of James Bond: The Secret History (John Blake Publishing, 2016), written by novelist, film journalist and music expert Sean Egan. This highly entertaining history, which first appeared in hardback in 2016, traces the creation and evolution of Bond by 007 creator Ian Fleming and then provides succinct chapters and highlights on the transference of the book Bond to the cinema screen, up to and including (briefly) Spectre in 2015.
In the process, as spy author and Bond expert Jeremy Duns comments in a short foreword to the book, Egan has written 'an excellent overview of the history of the James Bond phenomenon' and provides 'a lot of information and insights that cast the familiar in surprising new angles'. Included in the middle of the volume are some eye-catching colour stills, such as a great and rare photo of John Barry with Barbara Broccoli. Egan's book is well worth your reading time, and remains a real bargain if you can find it. Discount stores have been retailing the hardback version of the book, complete with a Daniel Craig front-cover. It's the sort of book you can dip into or just read in full as you sip your Vodka Martini and finish the turkey sandwiches between Xmas and New Year.
Live and Let Dive
Just as Bond author Ian Fleming loved good quality wrist-watches and all the intricate branding details associated with beautifully designed but sturdy time-pieces for agent 007 to use on missions in the field, the cinematic James Bond has always had an iconic watch for many of his adventures, something that has often been part of the major tie-in marketing campaigns for each new entry in the EON franchise (remember the Seiko watch, anybody?). Fleming himself equipped his famous secret agent with 'a heavy Oyster Perpetual' and, up until Licence To Kill in 1989, the screen Bond regularly wore a Rolex (Timothy Dalton in 1989, for example, sported a silver Rolex Submariner 5513). From Goldeneye (1995) onwards, and with an even greater emphasis on product placement, the Bond films switched to an Omega. A great example of a Bond wrist-watch marketing campaign was launched by Omega in the second half of 2018, to promote the new Seamaster Diver 300M Master Chronometer watch, and entitled with the headline 'Black Tie or Deep Blue'. An excellent still of super-cool Daniel Craig in tuxedo, with his head just above the water, was employed as the main photographic image in advertisements for the Seamaster, accompanied with the blurb: 'The Seamaster Diver 300M will take you from the bottom of the sea, to the centre of attention and to the top of the world'. Full-page versions of the stunning image were carried in British newspapers such as The Times (17th November). It's a great image, and a truly iconic wrist-watch. And we think you'll agree that the image of Craig is an excellent teaser to 'wet' our appetites for the upcoming Bond 25!
Stuntman Extraordinaire: Peter Brace
It is important to always remember that there is a whole army of support workers, designers, technicians and other highly-skilled specialists who work very hard behind the scenes to bring us each new James Bond movie, especially the men and women who often carry out a variety of risky and dangerous stunts. The JBIFC were very sad to hear of the passing of stunt artist Peter Brace, who died on 29th October, aged 94. For about 35 years of a 40-year career in the film industry, Peter, who was often seen as a 'gentle giant' on set (he was an impressive 6ft 4in tall), performed an incredible number of stunts for movies of all kinds. He was also a veteran of the early Bond films - he performed stunts in Dr. No (1962) and in From Russia, With Love (1963), for example. Moreover, in Goldfinger (1964), Peter can also be seen directly on-screen in the memorable opening pre-credits sequence, where he played an oil refinery guard whom 007 (in the form of Sean Connery's stunt double Alf Joint), jumps and kicks in the face. In You Only Live Twice (1967), Peter was a stunt driver in the car chase sequence where Bond, who is a passenger in an open-topped Toyota 2000GT sports car driven by Aki, is pursued by Blofeld's rather inept assassins. Later on in the same movie (Sean Connery's fifth as Bond), Peter was one of the ninja commandos who quickly abseil down ropes into the secret SP.E.C.T.R.E. rocket-base housed in a Japanese volcano (a huge set at the time, which had been designed at Pinewood Studios by the master of film design, the late Ken Adam). Peter's stunt skills also included impressive abilities as a horseman and as an accomplished swordsman. But Peter found he was not just in demand as a stunt performer: directors loved his physical size and his distinctive chisel-chinned face, and he made various on-screen appearances as tough guys, including as a Nazi soldier in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning war movie Reach for the Sky (1956), and as a hard-nosed prison inmate in Mackintosh Man (1973). Peter was also a Mafia henchman in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983). As late as 1990, Peter played a grim-looking hangman in Sherlock Holmes and the Prince of Crime. His last piece of film stunt work was conducted for the Mel Gibson movie Braveheart (1995). Tributes to Peter came from various people in the film and television world, including his friend and fellow veteran 007 stunt artist Vic Armstrong. Peter Brace (1924-2018). R.I.P.
Did You Know?
Just two one-off roofless models of the Toyota 2000GT were specially made for the Japan-based location shooting for You Only Live Twice. It is said that a roofless version was required to accommodate Sean Connery's size and height. Surprisingly, in the period 1967-1970, only 351 models of the full-roof version were produced. Interestingly, in 2012, current Bond star Daniel Craig, speaking on the BBC's '50 years of Bond Cars' Top Gear special programme, revealed that the Toyota 2000GT was his favourite Bond car of all time.
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Bond Bits: Brief Items of News You May Have Missed
Nearly Moneypenny? It's a story she has mentioned before but former ITV and BBC 'golden girl' news presenter Selina Scott recently told again how she was sounded out for both real-life Intelligence work and also, later in life, for the famous role as M's secretary (much to her surprise). Speaking to this year's Edinburgh Television Festival, she revealed how she was once invited to discuss a mysterious job offer at a discreet location in St. James's, near Whitehall, when she was a student: she was shocked to discover she was being interviewed for a job with the Security Service (MI5). She politely declined. Curiously, years later, EON producer Cubby Broccoli invited her to his Mayfair office and asked if she would consider the role of Miss Moneypenny. She politely declined...
Hideaway Royale: Colonel Sun would be pleased.According to the London Metro newspaper (15th October), if you want a Bond-style holiday, the 'Safe House' loft in Athens, Greece, features secret agent props and games for aspiring 007s. The special attic, which sleeps four, is only a 5-minute saunter from the Acropolis. The Metro's report was suitably illustrated with a picture of Daniel Craig...
Blofeld's Ghost? The singer Sam Smith, who sang the theme song for Spectre, revealed to 'Beats 1' in early November that he believes his home in north London is haunted by a 'spectre' of another kind: 'This whole building was an old school. I think this was the nun's quarters, haunted for sure'. He said he often heard someone walking up the stairs. Hmmm. Probably nothing to worry about, Sam, unless the ghost leaves some Writings on the Wall... (or even an Octopus)...
Bond girls are forever, says Valerie: Current Bond author Anthony Horowitz made some headlines in early October when he told the Cheltenham Festival that we might have to ditch the term 'Bond Girl'. The author had commented: 'You can't use it in the 21st century'. However, Valerie Leon, who appeared in both The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Never Say Never Again (1983), was not impressed at the idea. Speaking to the London Evening Standard (30th October) on the eve of her one-woman show, Forever Carrying On, Valerie said: 'It's ridiculous. Being a Bond girl is such a thrill. Besides, what could they possibly replace the term "Bond girl" with? "Bond lady"? "Bond woman"? Oh, please!'...
Golden Fingers:Meanwhile, the ever-productive Mr. Horowitz, who had great success with his second best-selling James Bond novel Forever And A Day earlier this year, has been back at the writing-desk again to produce another book in his new 'autofiction' mystery crime series. Entitled The Sentence Is Death (Century, 2018), the novel is his follow-up to last year's The Word Is Murder. The term 'autofiction' has been coined to explain how the author becomes a part of the plot in such books and, in this case, it is clear that Horowitz has had a lot of fun blurring reality with fiction...
007 in Amsterdam: No, not Sean Connery looking for diamonds, but Anthony Horowitz looking for atmosphere and memories. Like his hero Ian Fleming, Horowitz loves to indulge in 'Flemingesque' Thrilling Cities style visits to locations across the world. To this end, the hard-working current Bond writer pens an occasional travel-writing column for the UK's Sunday Telegraph, and in the 4th November edition Horowitz gave his thoughts on a visit he made recently to the famous Dutch city, which he had visited before, but many years ago. Included in his article was the intriguing comment that, this time, he had been invited to visit the city to give a talk on James Bond to a group of academics. That Mr. Bond certainly opens some doors...
Licence Renewed: One of Horowitz's predecessors as a post-Fleming Bond author, the novelist William Boyd, who penned the 007 adventure Solo in 2013, is returning to the world of fictional espionage. According to The Times (18th December), Boyd has just finished writing a new TV series about spies in Berlin in 1961, set during the Cold War. Sounds very intriguing...
Triple-X seen in New York: 007 is not the only spy to visit New York - a KGB agent does, too. Barbara Bach, who played Major Anya Amasova (KGB agent 'Triple X') in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) put in an appearance alongside her husband Sir Ringo Starr at the UNICEF Snowflake Ball, held in in New York in November. Other guests included singer Sheryl Crow (who sang the theme song for the 1997 Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies)...
Rosamund reaches new heights: Rosamund Pike, a relatively unknown actress at the time who played the beautiful but devious double-agent Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, has become one of the UK's leading actresses since her break-through role, always ready for a huge variety of different acting challenges. Her latest key role, in the gritty movie A Private War, has brought much critical acclaim. Pike plays the journalist Marie Colvin, who was tragically killed in 2012 while reporting from the war-zone in Syria, and Pike's portrayal is so effective that Rosamund is up for a Golden Globe award. And deservedly so. The JBIFC are rooting for you, Rosamund...
Bond icons help Xmas Charity Funds: The London Evening Standard newspaper (13th December), in its 2018 Christmas Appeal for AIDS Foundation projects, carried an offer of some specially created and stunning prints of six British stars, including three 007 luminaries: Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench and three-times Bond singer Dame Shirley Bassey. The stars were photographed by celebrity photographer Andy Gotts and each print retailed at £105 each. Highly collectable, and all for a good cause...
Live and Let Very High: Singer Sir Paul McCartney, now 76-years young, wowed the audience at his sell-out concert at the 02 Arena in London on the evening of Sunday 16th December with his sheer stamina, when he delivered a great combination of old Beatles hits, songs from his 1970s band Wings,and new songs from his latest album. To top this, Sir Paul was also joined by his fellow surviving Beatle Sir Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones for a great version of 'Get Back'. Moreover, in an excellent treat for 007 fans, the concert also included some pyrotechnic explosions during a suitably blistering version of his classic James Bond song Live and Let Die - in fact, the explosions were so loud they had Sir Paul wincing behind his piano! Brilliant stuff...
High Time to Thrill: Fans of James Bond music and songs might like to visit the Barbican centre in London between Xmas and the New Year. Saturday, 29th December, at 2.30pm, will see the London Concert Orchestra, conducted by John Rigby, give a concert performance on 'The Music of Bond'. Tickets from: barbican.org.uk (020 7638 8891)...
Bond 25 update: Excellent news, and an early Xmas present: the award-winning Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren, whose credits include the acclaimed movie La La Land, has confirmed to 'Indiewire' that he will be Director of Photography on Cary Fukunaga's Bond 25...
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