Michael L. VanBlaricum, president of The Ian Fleming Foundation and Illinois alumnus, was asked to curate a “Birth of Bond” exhibition, while the Rare Book & Manuscript Library feature Fleming’s work in an exhibition titled “Casino Royale and Beyond: 60 Years of Ian Fleming’s Literary Bond” until July 12th.

Meanwhile the Spurlock Museum is exhibiting “Unconventional Bond: The Strange Life of Casino Royale on Film”, telling the rocky stories of “Casino Royale” and “Thunderball”, running until June 16th.

And the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music are running an exhibition until March 14th 2014 called “The James Bond Theme: Music to Live, Die and Love Another Day”, featuring music, photos and art related to James Bond.

Source: Daily Illini

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Recently I watched Octopussy and then The Man With The Golden Gun on successive nights, which was an interesting experience as it allowed me to compare two Roger Moore Bond films from the late and then early part of his reign.

The Man With The Golden Gun is frequently ranked by fans towards the bottom of the films, although I have always had a soft spot for it simply by virtue of the fact that it was the very first Bond film I saw. It was released prior to the films being shown in TV in the UK and so my first experience of a Bond films was on the big screen – I loved it.

On the other hand, by the time Octopussy was released I didn’t bother going to see it. I’d grown bored with the many aspects of the Bond series, which were a world away from the books that I continued to love. As well as avoiding Octopussy (and Never Say Never Again) I also missed its successor, A View To A Kill and only caught up with them many years later.

The Man With The Golden Gun

Both Octopussy and The Man With The Golden Gun are a long way from Ian Fleming’s stories, with the plot of The Man With The Golden Gun entirely discarded and only the character of Scaramanga remaining intact; the locations, story, motivations and just about every facet were changed.

However, the story is straightforward and lacks the convoluted twists that many of the more recent Bond films have suffered. Roger Moore is in good form as James Bond and Christopher Lee is often admired for his portrayal of Scaramanga, as is his golden gun.

The gadgets aren’t (too) over the top, the golden gun itself being just about right and the car that turns into a plane believable. Also the film includes a rare example of Bond’s mean streak displayed during the Moore era, when he questions Andrea Anders about Scaramanga.

Of course there are a number of weaknesses with The Man With The Golden Gun, including the reappearance of Sheriff JW Pepper and Mary Goodnight’s role written as a dumb blonde. And while the 360 degree roll in the AMC Hornet is spectacular (and over the top), what really ruins the stunt is the comedy whistle that John Barry later said he regretted; otherwise the score is as atmospheric as Barry gets, although many fans dislike Lulu’s theme song.

However, I love the funhouse and the film often has moments of real suspense.

Octopussy

Octopussy contains some small elements from the short story after which it is named, as well as another story contained in the book, The Property of a Lady; it also contains influences from a number of other sources.

However, while Octopussy may not be the worst Bond film, it is very uneven in tone and the Flemingesque moments are offset by those moments that made me abandon cinematic 007 in the first place; the auto rickshaw stunts for example, which probably helped form my decision not to see the film when first released. Then there is the Tarzan yell, the gorilla costume, Bond dressed as a clown (admittedly though, Ian Fleming had made a note of something similar in his notebook)… what have I missed?

What Octopussy really lacks though it any atmosphere or suspense and in the end can’t decide what kind of Bond film it wants to be. That is a pity as the Flemingesque moments could have made it so much better.

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The film, The Silent Storm, will star Andrea Riseborough and Damian Lewis and will be directed by Corinna Villari-McFarlane, who also wrote the screenplay.

Asked about this non-Bond film Broccoli said that they always look at potential projects, whether film, documentary or stage. More recently Eon brought Once to Broadway and now London.

Source: MI6

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The watch was modified for use in the film, where it supposedly acted as a Geiger counter to detect the presence of the atomic bombs on board Largo’s yacht, and was the only one of its kind. Although it had long been considered lost, it came into the hands of someone who approached the collectors forum at Absolutely James Bond after suspecting that it might be the lost prop.

You can read the full story on James Bond Lifestyle about how it was investigated and authenticated, and there is an article on Sky News too.

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Craig reportedly climbed into the DB5, with licence plate BMT 216A, after arriving by helicopter and joined a parade of 100 Aston Martins for a lap of the famous circuit.

Other models reportedly included a 1951 DB2/4 and a 1953 DB3, while Sir Stirling Moss drove his old DBR1.

Source: Car Advice

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According to Baz Bamigboye, who got a number of Skyfall scoops (including Eve being Miss Moneypenny), the director has been involved in informal talks with Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Nolan is known to be a big Bond fan, although he may have second thoughts of being involved right after the massive success of Skyfall.

The article says that Mendes told Bamigboye that the film would require a year to 18 months preproduction followed by a six month shoot, with the plan to shoot the followup soon after. Given those timelines Bond 24 would appear in 2015, with Bond 25 (probably Daniel Craig’s last) in 2017.

Source: Mail Online

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In two of the three Daniel Craig Bond movies James Bond has appeared in brief scenes clad in nothing but swim shorts, but going back to the early Bond films reveals that this is nothing new. In both Casino Royale and then Skyfall 007 wears blue swimming trunks, in the first by Grigioperla and more recently in a pair by Orlebar Brown, but way back in 1965 Sean Connery wore a pair of blue swimming shorts during Thunderball.

Replica created for 50th anniversary exhibition

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the James Bond film series last year, British clothier Sunspel was approached by Eon Productions to recreate Connery’s swimming shorts for the exhibition at the Barbican. However, there was one small problem; the identity of the supplier of Connery’s Thunderball trunks are lost in the mists of time.

While Sunspel became well known for their navy polo shirt worn by Bond in Casino Royale, they had actually never before tackled swim wear. However, rising to the challenge the company’s designers set to researching the styles available at the time in order to recreate them as best they could for the exhibition.

According to the company, they spent months researching the kinds of a swim wear worn at the time as well knowledge of designing high quality clothes to create their first ever swim short.

Sunspel launches ‘refined’ version of the Thunderball swim shorts

As well as showing the replicas of Connery’s swimming trunks at the exhibition, Sunspel announced in May 2013 the release a refined version of the design in pale blue made from a modern fast-drying fabric. Being as they are from Sunspel, this swim short is out of the budget of many, but there are many collectors who are sure to be interested.

The launch price is £120, which is €132 for those in the Eurozone or $160 in the United States.

The shorts are a tailored fit with side pockets and a front pocket with a key holder, which is always very useful the beach. They are made from polyamide, which is resistant to chlorine and salt water, has a concealed zip fly, and can be adjusted by drawer cords that feature metal ends to prevent fraying.

To learn more about some Sunspel’s new swim shorts or order them online you can visit the Sunspel website below:

United Kingdom | Europe | North America

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While Sony had been pushing for a Bond film on an every other year basis, neither Barbara Broccoli nor half brother Michael G Wilson have been consistently vague on the timeline for the next Bond film. With no director as yet signed it seems unlikely that the project is ready to move ahead, but until there is either an announcement or we reach the end of the year it is impossible to be sure.

Source: MI6

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Profits were pegged at $458 million for the year ending March 31st compared with a loss of $5.7 billion the previous year. The turnaround in Sony’s fortunes have come about from the disposal of assets, including its Manhattan HQ and a weaker yen, but both Skyfall and the latest Spider-Man movie helped boost revenues.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

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However, according to Stamp, he told Saltzman that if he took the role he’d like to start the film dressed as a Japanese warrior, blowing his chances.

Although Stamp says that one of the books starts with Bond dressed in that way, his recollection is wrong; the closest would be Blofeld in You Only Live Twice dressed in Japanese armour to protect against his “Garden of Death”.

Source: Evening Standard

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