June 28th, 2013
by David Leigh
The submersible Lotus Esprit used for filming the underwater scenes in The Spy Who Loved Me is to be auctioned in September. RM Auctions, which specialises in selling iconic movie cars such as this one, is responsible for the auction having previously auctioned an Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball for £2.9 million. Source: Auto Evolution
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June 27th, 2013
by David Leigh
The modified Breitling watch worn by Sean Connery in Thunderball that recently emerged after being lost for decades was sold at auction yesterday for £104,000, smashing the estimate of up to £60,000. The watch, supposedly modified by Q-branch to include a Geiger counter, was adapted by the film’s art department and was the only example […]
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June 27th, 2013
by David Leigh
Attending the premiere of his stage version of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory last night, Sam Mendes preempted any questions about Bond 24 when he told Hey U Guys “I don’t know yet” and “I won’t make any decision until this is open. It’s taken a long time to get this open and this has […]
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June 27th, 2013
by David Leigh
While Greece may not be one of the first countries you think of when it comes to James Bond, it does have a couple of Bond connections. The first of those is Colonel Sun, by “Robert Markham”, but for most people the greater link is with For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore’s fifth outing as […]
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June 26th, 2013
by David Leigh
A copy of the screenplay for Kevin McClory’s second proposed Thunderball remake (the first was Never Say Never Again) is being auctioned this evening at Christie’s in London. According to MI6 another copy sold in 2008 for £46,850, although the estimate for this one is just £1,000 to £1,500. Unfortunately it is not clear whether […]
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June 24th, 2013
by David Leigh
While most Bond fans are aware of James Bond’s paternal Scottish lineage, many who have not read the books are unaware that his mother was actually Swiss; Bond’s (premature) obituary in You Only Live Twice tells us that his mother was Monique Delacroix of the Canton de Vaud. Bond visits Switzerland while engaged on two […]
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June 21st, 2013
by David Leigh
Ian Fleming Publications has today released Christoher Wood’s two film novelisations, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, in ebook format. Wood was responsible for the scripts of both films, receiving a co-writing credit with Richard Maibaum for The Spy Who Loved Me while getting full credit for Moonraker. The books are available for the Kindle, […]
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June 20th, 2013
by David Leigh
Although Italy hardly appeared in the books at all, James Bond has visited the country a number of times in the films, most recently with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. In the short story Risicco, James Bond visits first Rome and then Venice while trying to break up a heroin smuggling operation, meeting Kristatos […]
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June 17th, 2013
by David Leigh
Although it may not much feel like it at the moment, summer is fast approaching after a long winter that seemed to takeover spring, but finally the weather (at least where I live) has turned. The central heating is off at long last and although the mountains in the distance still have plenty of snow […]
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June 15th, 2013
by David Leigh
Eleven of John Gardner’s 16 James Bond novels have been published in ebook format in the United States. The books have been released in Amazon’s Kindle store, as well as for Kobo and Sony devices. The 16 books run from Licence Renewed to Goldeneye, with the five remaining books only being released in 2014 when […]
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