Author Profile: David Leigh

SPECTRE has been recognised by Guinness World Records for the largest stunt explosion in a movie. Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux joined Barbara Broccoli to accept a certificate for the record in Beijing on behalf of Chris Corbould, responsible for special effects on the film. Filmed in Erfoud, Morocco, the explosion required 8,418 litres of fuel […]

Last month saw the publication of The Man With The Golden Typewriter: Ian Fleming’s James Bond Letters, edited by Fleming’s nephew, Fergus. Here he answers a number of questions posed by The James Bond Dossier.  I understand that you have no memory of meeting your uncle, who died when you were 5 years old. When did […]

Sam Mendes is unlikely to do another Bond movie after SPECTRE. Having tied all Daniel Craig’s films together the director says he has now “finished a journey”. Following the release of Skyfall Mendes was initially reluctant to return to make another Bond film. He was subsequently persuaded to do so by Daniel Craig, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G […]

SPECTRE topped the US box office this weekend after going on general release from Friday. The latest Bond film took a total of $73 million according to early estimates. This figure corresponds to the range from the first forecasts before they were raised to the $80 million region. This is some way off the $88.4 million earned […]

To coincide with the release of SPECTRE in the US I was invited to talk all things 007 on Seattle-based radio show The Political Bistro. Co-host Mark Griswold is a subscriber to The James Bond Dossier monthly newsletter and got in contact to invite me on the show, which you can listen to here. It […]

MI6 Confidential, the full-colour magazine celebrating the world of James Bond 007, returns with its thirty-third issue. The team returning from Skyfall knew that the 24th adventure had to be bigger and better than its predecessor. Director Sam Mendes attracted talent in the form of leading actors Christoph Waltz and Léa Seydoux, he brought on […]

Today sees the official release of the first issue in a new series of James Bond comics, the first time 007 has been seen in this format in two decades. The first issue begins a six part adventure named VARGR, written by Warren Ellis with artwork by Jason Masters. This story is set in the modern […]

Last night saw the “Premiere de las Americas” take place in Mexico City, attended by Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Christoph Waltz, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista and Stephanie Sigman, as well as producer Barbara Broccoli and singer Sam Smith. VIP guests who walked the red carpet included recently-crowned triple F1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton.

The latest James Bond film has smashed UK box office records, taking a cool £41.7 million in its first week, the highest seven day UK box office take ever. Read my review of SPECTRE. Deadline reports that during the three day weekend period of Friday to Sunday it just exceeded Skyfall with £20.4 million compared to […]

After being bitterly disappointed by Skyfall I was hardly jumping with joy when it was announced that Sam Mendes was on board for another film. However, SPECTRE is a whole lot better. Although Mendes is undoubtedly a talented director, there were too many elements of Skyfall that I disliked. While individually I would probably have been […]

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The success of Skyfall meant it was always going to be a tough act to follow. In the UK it became the top grossing film of all time, reaching £103 million. Worldwide it went on to be the first Bond movie to break through the $1 billion ceiling. It had a few things on its side giving […]

I was lucky enough to attend the Royal World Première of SPECTRE on Monday night at the Royal Albert Hall, the third Bond première I’ve now attended. This time though with iPhone in hand I managed to get some shots of some of the cast members, including 007 himself, Daniel Craig. Note: all photos are […]

Renowned photographer Rankin takes us from script to screen in Blood, Sweat and Bond: Behind the Scenes of SPECTRE, released today. The book features a curated selection of exclusive photography and interviews with cast and crew interviews, featuring contributions from celebrity photographers such as Mary McCartney, Graciela Iturbide, Anderson & Low and Brigitte Lacombe. This hardcover is […]

Tune in here at 5pm GMT for coverage of the SPECTRE premiere.

One of the 10 Aston Martin DB10s made exclusively for SPECTRE is to be auctioned for charity. The Aston Martin DB10 was made exclusively for use in SPECTRE and, so far, has been unavailable to buy. Ten cars were supplied to the filmmakers of which two were written off while filming in Rome and five more badly […]

Last night saw the first public screening of SPECTRE at the Odeon Leicester Square. Although The James Bond Dossier was not lucky enough to be invited to the screening, here we’ve rounded up a number of reviews. MI6 The first review is by our friends at MI6. I’ve read it in full and it contains no […]

Today the British Board of Film Classification confirmed the runtime and rating for SPECTRE on their website. The BBFC notes that the film makers were given advice during post-production in order to secure a 12A rating. An early cut was likely to have received a 15 rating and so some changes were made to secure the 12A […]

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SPECTRE is the longest James Bond movie to date according to an invitation for a media preview screening on Wednesday.   Although the British Board of Film Certification website still has no information about the certification or running time, the invitation reveals SPECTRE has been rated 12A and runs for 148 minutes, or 2 hours […]