Author Profile: Q-branch staff

Bond fans around the world mourn the loss of the first man to play James Bond on the big screen. The first actor to play Ian Fleming’s secret agent in a feature film died overnight at his home in Nassau. Connery’s son, Jason, added that the actor had been ill for some time and that […]

Pete Brooker recently interviewed the editor of the newly launched Thunderballs James Bond Picture Archive for the From Tailors With Love podcast. In the extracts below Marty explains to Pete Brooker how a shelved podcast led to the unofficial Thunderballs James Bond Picture Archive. He also recalls his early experiences with Bond, and talks about what he’d like to see in Bond 25. For […]

A look at the career of Bond 25 screenwriter John Hodge. Note: in August 2018 John Hodge left the production of Bond 25 alongside director Danny Boyle. Born in 1964, John Hodge is a British screenwriter and dramatist best known for his big screen adaptation of the novel Trainspotting (1996) by Irvine Welsh. The film became […]

A look at the career of Bond 25 director Danny Boyle. Note: In August 2018 Boyle left Bond 25 along with his writing partner John Hodge. The son of Irish immigrants, Danny Boyle was born in Manchester in 1956. Realising from an early age that he wanted to make movies, Boyle abandoned his studies at the […]

The family of Sir Roger Moore today announced that the much loved actor has died from cancer at the age of 89. Roger Moore was born on the 14th of October 1927 in the city of Stockwell London to Lillian and George Moore, a policeman. After completing his education at Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, he moved […]

In this article we celebrate the life of Ken Adam, the man who was responsible for creating the distinctive look of the early Bond films in his role as Production Designer. Ken Adam’s contribution to the Bond movies has become the stuff of legends. Who can forget the sprawling lair of Dr No or the super […]

One of the actresses confirmed by Sam Mendes at the SPECTRE launch event at Pinewood was Léa Seydoux in the role of Madeleine Swann. Léa Seydoux was born in 1985 to Henri Seydoux and Valarie Schlumberger, both of whom are of German decent, her father a successful businessman while her mother is a renowned philanthropist. […]

When the ad for Mr Hinx went out it was short and to the point. And Dave Bautista, who was eventually cast, could have been born for the role. Here we look at his life and career so far. Dave Bautista was born in Washington on 18th January 1969 to a Filipino father and Greek […]

Christoph Waltz was confirmed for SPECTRE by Sam Mendes at the early December press event, a signing already reported in the weeks before filming thanks to a tipoff to the media. Here we take a look at the Austrian actor’s career to date. Christoph Waltz was born on 4th October 1956 in Vienna into a […]

Monica Bellucci says she was surprised to be approached by Sam Mendes, initially assuming her role in SPECTRE would be to replace Judi Dench. “Why do you call me? I’m 50 years old… what am I going to do in James Bond?” she demanded of the director. Photo: “Monica Bellucci, Women’s World Awards 2000” by Manfred Werner licensed […]

With Ralph Fiennes introduced as the new M at the end of Skyfall following in the long-serving footsteps of Dame Judi Dench, we take a look at the career of the first actor to play the MI6 boss, Bernard Lee. Bernard Lee was a respected English actor who starred in over seventy different movies during his […]

When Ursula Andress first appeared in Dr No, emerging from the Caribbean dressed in a white bikini, she not only got the pulses of millions racing, but also set the standard by which every following Bond girl would be judged. Cast as Honey Ryder, she helped launch what would eventually become one of the world’s […]

Although James Bond’s CIA buddy Felix Leiter has been played by a number of actors, Jack Lord’s portrayal of Leiter in Dr No probably remains the most memorable. Although he was approached to reprise his role as Felix Leiter in Goldfinger, he pulled out when agreements between the financial terms of his contract and the […]

Although Ian Fleming will be forever credited with the creation of James Bond, director Terence Young was responsible in many ways for the evolution of the smooth suave agent that people would later fall in love with. Young’s appreciation for tailored suits, fine wines and beautiful women was remarkably similar to that of Bond and […]

The Bond legend wouldn’t be the same without the cars but while the best known of these is the Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in Goldfinger, Bond’s very first car was the Sunbeam Alpine from Dr No.  1962 Sunbeam Alpine series II roader (1592cc, top speed 160 km/h) In retrospect, the producers of Bond […]

Although Ian Fleming tried and failed to bring his creation to the big screen, it took the combined efforts of a Canadian and Italian American to bring the first James Bond film to the big screen. This article takes a look at how Dr No came to be made. Interest in bringing Dr No to […]

Earlier this week we took a look at the life of Harry Saltzman, who was one of the principal driving forces behind putting James Bond on the big screen. In this article we look at his partner, Cubby Broccoli, with whom he formed Eon Productions and Danjaq. Albert “Cubby” Broccoli was born on Long Island […]

While Ian Fleming had seen the big screen potential for James Bond early on, his efforts to make a 007 film were ultimately thwarted, despite putting in considerable time and effort into the project. In this article to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Dr No this week we take a look at the life […]

A look at Little Nellie from You Only Live Twice. After identifying the area in Japan where the Ning-Po was unloaded in You Only Live Twice (1967), James Bond plans on scouting the mountainous area by air and tells Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese secret service, to “contact M. Tell him to send Little […]

When James Bond arrives in Spain on the tail of Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales in For Your Eyes Only, he sees him killed in front of him, shot with an arrow. Making his escape from the scene he runs into the assassin, Melina Havelock, who turns out to be the daughter of Sir Timothy Havelock, a marine biologist working for the British who had been murdered by Gonzales, triggering Bond’s investigation.