James Bond Headliners of 2003



Lotus To Axe Esprit

January 2, 2003 - Orange Today

Sports car maker Lotus is to end production of its Esprit model at the end of this year. The Esprit was made famous when it was used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me as a 'submarine car'.

It has been produced at Lotus's headquarters near Norwich for more than 25 years. A Lotus spokesman said the company planned to create a new Esprit which would be unveiled in a few years' time. The company plans to concentrate on the development of the Elise sports car.

Around 10,000 Esprits have been built since 1976 and the company expects about another 140 to roll off the production line. It is thought that around 30 people working on the Esprit production line will be redeployed within the Lotus group.

Deep sixed again!





The Power of Film: A Bond That Unites Koreans

January 2, 2003 - by James Brooke for The New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea, — In real life, President Bush wrestles with policies to force North Korea to stop selling missiles and making atom bombs.

On the big screen, at movie theaters here today, James Bond wrestled with a crazed North Korean colonel who was using a space-based laser to burn a massive hole in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

"The U.S. put North Korea in 'the axis of evil' and then the director merely followed the plot," said Kim So Won, a 19-year-old student taking a break from a New Year's Eve anti-American rally.

As her girlfriends nodded, she added, "We won't go see the movie."

The new 007 movie, "Die Another Day," opened here on New Year's Eve to a fledgling boycott. But reflecting the love-hate relationship with the United States — the fact that James Bond is British is a fine point lost on many people here — there were long lines of people waiting to see the film at the Seoul Theater.

Min Kyung Woo, a 28-year-old pacifist, lined up too, but on a picket line. "This is Hollywood's strategy toward Northeast Asia," said Mr. Min, who had not been converted by a pre-release showing of the movie intended by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to head off a boycott here.

"The movie industry is related to politics," he said.

Indeed, the boycott has been fueled by rising anti-American sentiment and the feeling among many here that North Koreans are replacing Colombians as Hollywood's current international bad guys.

"North Korean criminals in the movie are no different from Iraqi, Cuban or Russian terrorists, who easily commit mass murders in Hollywood action movies," the newspaper JoongAng Ilbo said in apparent surprise at the Bondian depiction of state-sponsored torture in North Korea, a nation that ranks high atop many "worst" lists compiled by international human rights groups.

While North and South Korea remain bitterly divided, judging by such reviews and those of some moviegoers here, the two sides have finally found common ground when confronting 007.

"I think there is plenty for Koreans to complain about in this movie," Doug E. Shin, a Korean-American pastor from Los Angeles, said as he walked in a jostling, and largely merry, flood of young South Koreans leaving a showing tonight. "Half the North Koreans were speaking with South Korean accents. That ox looked like it was from the Philippines. That shack at the end looked like it was from Japan."

"I guess the director didn't care," he continued. "But if the movie was about Japan, would they have treated the Japanese that way?"

A recurring complaint here is about a final scene where befuddled Korean farmers, goading an ox, look at luxury cars that James Bond has dropped, upended, in a rice paddy. While North Korean agriculture plods along on ox power, South Koreans say the only ox carts seen here are in museums.

The correct image of South Korea, people say, is a nation with among the world's highest rates of cellphone ownership, high-speed Internet access and college-educated youth.

Then there is a scene where an American officer orders a South Korea military mobilization, which prompted someone to write in an Internet chat room that "Korea in the movie is viewed as America's colony."

After watching the movie today, Kim Yu Min, a 24-year-old office worker, said, "My girlfriends said, `At least James Bond doesn't go to bed with a Korean girl.' "

20th Century Fox, which distributes the MGM movie, has worked hard to try to smooth ruffled feathers here, a nation of 43 million people that is now the 10th-largest foreign box office territory for American movies.

Lee Joo Sung, president of 20th Century Fox Korea, told opinion makers at one showing here: "It's a movie. Not reality. Viewers must understand that it's fiction."

The movie, which stars Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry and is already expected to be the most lucrative Bond movie yet, ran into early controversy when a South Korean actor, Cha In Pyo, turned down the bad-guy role, normally a coveted ticket to Hollywood stardom. He became a local hero last fall when he told reporters that the script was "demeaning."

Rick Yune, the Korean-American actor who stars as the movie's crazed North Korean officer, has found himself at news conferences here parrying hostile questions from reporters concerned about South Korea's image. In one burst of patriotism, Lee Jung Hyun, a pop singer, declined an invitation to appear alongside Mr. Yune on a popular talk show, "Happiness Channel."

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency has obligingly given MGM free publicity by playing true to character.

Two weeks before the release here and well before pirated copies could have made their way to reviewers in North Korea, the news agency denounced the film as a "dirty and cursed burlesque" that clearly proved that the United States was "the root cause of all disasters and misfortune of the Korean nation."

Where in the film does it say that Bond and Halle are making love in Korea? It could be a coastal part of Japan. But who cares? This is the best kind of free publicity any film could wish for.





South Korean Cinema Pulls James Bond Film

January 8, 2003 - Japan Today

SEOUL — Bowing to public pressure, a cinema outside Seoul has canceled the showing of the latest James Bond movie, which South Korean critics say unfairly depicts their communist neighbor as a diabolically evil regime.

Only days after its opening, Broadway Cinema decided last Friday to halt the showings because of low audience turnout and sour public sentiment, theater worker Shin Sun-im said Monday. The film was scheduled for a two-week run at the movie house.

"Die Another Day," which features a North Korean villain, has come under attack throughout South Korea since its New Year's Eve premiere here. On Monday, a small group of South Korean students and civic activists in Seoul called for a nationwide boycott of the film. Before the film's release, North Korea slammed it as the latest example of "corrupt sex culture" in the United States.

In the movie, Bond is sent to North Korea to investigate a rogue communist officer who is planning an invasion of South Korea. The British spy is caught, imprisoned and subjected to torture. Later, the North Korean officer uses a satellite-based laser to burn a swath through the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. His plot is foiled by Bond and an American agent.

Despite calls for a boycott, many South Koreans are watching the movie. Local media reported Monday that the movie ranked fifth in audience draw.

Too bad, now the film will be made into an illegal DVD or VHS and sold on the Korean streets. This is what they call 'free market'.





OSCAR Snubs OO7 Special Effects And Sound

January 9, 2003 - Variety

It's definitely the year of the digital character as a cast of computer-generated beings are featured prominently in the seven pictures tapped to compete in February for the visual f/x Oscar nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Wednesday revealed its f/x and sound editing selections, with George Lucas (news)' Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound having plenty of reason for celebration.

The f/x behemoth once again dominated the list, snaring four of the seven slots with "Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Chamber of Secrets," "Men in Black II," "Minority Report" and "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones." While ILM was the lead house on "Harry Potter," British f/x shops Mill Film, Cinesite and Moving Picture Co. also provided visuals for that picture.

Sony Pictures Imageworks received a nod for its work on "Spider-Man" and for its contributions to "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," though the main f/x studio for the fantasy sequel was once again New Zealand-based WETA Digital.

WETA walked away from last year's Oscar ceremony with the best f/x trophy for its work on "The Fellowship of the Ring."

The seventh picture in the running is "XXX," whose computer-generated visuals were created by Digital Domain. The picture is the only one on the list dominated by physical rather than digital f/x.

The seven selections signal a year in which live-action pictures starring digital characters in digital settings clearly impressed voters. WETA's work in creating the character of Gollum in "Rings" has been particularly celebrated, with its amalgam of a digitally made-over human actor, but "Spider-Man," "Potter," "MIB II" and "Star Wars" also extensively feature digitally created characters with significant roles.

Among surprise omissions in the list were "Stuart Little 2," a live-action pic that featured three major digital characters, including the lead mouse, and "Die Another Day," the latest James Bond actioner from MGM, which boasted considerably more effects than any of the previous 19 outings.

Leaders of the f/x teams on the seven movies in contention will put together 15-minute reels of their work for the Feb. 5 "bakeoff" at the Academy, where the f/x branch will choose three Oscar nominees. Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 11.

Meanwhile, in the sound editing category, "Potter," "Rings," "Report," "Spider-Man" and "XXX" made the semifinalist list. They were joined by "Road to Perdition" and "We Were Soldiers." Skywalker Sound worked on three of the pictures -- "Potter," "Rings" and "Report."

As with f/x, each picture's sound team will compile a 10-minute reel for a bakeoff to be held Feb. 4. Voters select the three nominees for Oscar consideration.

Typical when it comes to OSCAR. They have snubbed the Bond series for years. Only offering best sound for Goldfinger and best special effects for Thunderball. Diamonds Are Forever was nominated for best sound and lost. The Spy Who Loved Me had the most nominations and didn't win one award. Moonraker had competition with Star Trek and Alien. And the last time Bond was nominated was for Best Song in For Your Eyes Only. However, Cubby Broccoli did receive the Thalberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1982.





Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Manuscript Soars at Sale

January 10, 2003 - Reuters

Rare original manuscripts for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, one of the best-loved childrens' stories of all time, fetched a sky high price at auction in London Thursday.

"They sold for 29,290 pounds ($46,250) in very competitive bidding," a spokeswoman for auction house Sotheby's told Reuters. The presale estimate for the documents was 12-15,000 pounds. The buyer's identity has not been revealed.

The novel of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the flying car with the bubbly personality, was originally penned by James Bond author Ian Fleming in 1961 as he recovered after a heart attack and is based on stories he used to tell his son.

The work prompted Fleming to complain to his publishers they never gave him a moment's rest.

Originally written as three stories but published in 1964 under the name of Ian Lancaster as one, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was an instant success.

It was made into a classic children's film in 1968 with Dick Van Dyke (news) and Sally Ann Howes in the leading roles, and 34 years later has had a new lease of life as a hugely popular London stage musical.

Fleming manuscripts are extremely rare. The major Fleming collection held by the Lilly Library at Indiana University does not even include typescript of Chitty, Sotheby's said.

Fantasmagorical!





DVD Pirates Add Extra Credit To Die Another Day

January 15, 2003 - Reuters

Taiwan's Justice Minister has warned video compact-disc pirates not to underestimate the government's resolve to root out rampant piracy after counterfeiters taunted him by tagging pirated movies with this credit: 'Come and catch me, Chen Ding-nan!'

ON A TV news footage recently, a DVD player was shown playing the credits of the latest James Bond thriller Die Another day (above), but the pirates had added a sub-credit onto the video which read: "Come and catch me, Chen Ding-nan!" This was an open challenge to Mr Chen, Taiwan's Justice Minister.

'This is an open challenge to government authority. If you have guts, don't run away,' said an outraged Mr. Chen in comments broadcast on a cable news network yesterday. 'It is unbelievable and unforgivable. If these pirates believe that they will never be caught, they are dreaming,' the minister said.

The minister's warning came after pirated VCDs seized by police featured the challenge at the beginning of the movies. A television news report on Monday had said that the pirated editions of many new movies, such as Die Another Day and Hero, were now available on both VCDs and DVDs at the price of NT$100 (S$5) each at night markets.

Die Another Day, the latest James Bond thriller, is officially scheduled to start showing in Taiwan theatres on Jan 31 while Hero by Chinese director Zhang Yimou is scheduled to start showing on Friday. Its mainland distributor said that vigilant steps to prevent piracy, including requiring viewers to pass through metal detectors at early screenings, were a key factor in the movie's success.

Assistant US trade representative Joseph Papovich said during an October visit that Taiwan was considered one of the largest producers and exporters of pirated CDs, DVDs and other optical discs in Asia and one of the largest producers in the world.--Reuters, AFP

And to prove that theory just log onto Ebay and check out how many DVDs are sent from Taiwan.





NightFire Comes To GameBoy Advance

January 20, 2003 - by Tommy Craig for VideoGameCity

Product Description Get deep into the excitement and intrigue of the most complete James Bond game yet. All-new scenarios and gameplay complement a completely original storyline that delivers all-out Bond-style intensity on the handheld systems.

James Bond 007: NightFire for the Gameboy Advance video game system promises to take players higher and deeper than ever before. As Bond, players will operate in the Austrian Alps, a Japanese highrise, an island in the South Pacific, and even in a zero-gravity space station to defeat the evil criminal mastermind Raphael Drake.

NightFire will offer a deep gameplay experience that will stay true to the Bond universe. For the first time on a handheld system the Bond game is seen through a first person perspective. Adding to the legacy of the Bond universe will be the use of Pierce Brosnan's image for the Bond character. NightFire will feature a variety of missions filled with action and stealth, gorgeous women, and spy-craft gadgetry that Bond fans expect.

Each of the various locations in NightFire will contain challenging missions and objectives. The game will feature new and familiar characters from the Bond universe, including Zoe Nightshade (from EA's previous Bond game, James Bond 007 in... Agent Under FireTM). Players can blast through each level using weaponry or rely on tricks and gadgets to accomplish objectives and maximize scores.

Key Features: Go higher and deeper than any previous Bond game both in locales and gameplay. Original single-player storyline with new and familiar characters from the Bond universe. Features Pierce Brosnan's likeness as Bond. First person perspective. Various exotic locations worldwide filled with challenging missions and objectives. Nine levels of single-player action. New upgradeable Q-lab gadgets, some exclusive to console versions, advanced camera system, and original missions including zero-gravity assignments.

Well when it comes to this game you've got to hand it to EA.





Elton Says Madonna Will 'Kill Him' For Slamming Her Bond Theme

January 23, 2003 - by Darryl Morden for Launch

Elton John thinks Madonna will "kill him" for slamming her James Bond theme song from 2002, "Die Another Day."

As we previously reported, last year the music legend called the 007 theme "the worst Bond tune ever," telling the U.K.'s Sky News, "It hasn't got a tune. I don't think it's the best Madonna record and I'm a big fan."

"She's probably going to kill me after that," Sir Elton told the TV program Access Hollywood. "Like a dagger through the heart. But you know what, she's an amazing talent and great writer, so you know, I love her to death."

Madonna was scheduled to appear at Sunday's (January 19) Golden Globe Awards and would have sat at the same table as Elton John, but cancelled her appearance at the last minute.

Don't worry Elton. I don't consider that a total loss. But the real winner nowadays is Lulu who can say that her song from "THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN" is no longer the worst in the series.





The Name Is Law, Jude Law

January 27, 2003 - BBC News

Film star Jude Law has been narrowly picked as British film fans' choice to replace Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. The star took 28% of the votes in a poll by magazine Total Film.

His biggest rival was Scottish Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor, who got 26%. Christian Bale, star of Empire Of The Sun and American Psycho, took third place with 24% support.

Law, 30, is best known for his roles in The Talented Mr Ripley and Steven Spielberg's AI. Hugh Grant got only two per cent of the votes.

Pierce Brosnan has already committed himself to his fifth Bond film, the follow-up to last year's Die Another Day. But he has said he may be too old to film a sixth.

"It takes stamina to play this role. I would like to get off the stage with grace," he said last year.

The list of actors and celebrities linked with Brosnan's job is a long one. They range from Russell Crowe to singer Robbie Williams. New Zealander Crowe was reported to be the choice of former Bond director John Glen. Robbie Williams said he relished the chance to take up the role, even spoofing the character in the video for his single Millennium. But casting director Debbie McWilliams said: "Robbie Williams, bless him, I don't think is quite what we're looking for." And Comedian Richard Blackwood even offered his services as the franchise's first black James Bond.

In 2001 Scottish actor Gerard Butler, who appeared in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000, was tipped for the role by the Daily Record newspaper, while English star Clive Owen, who was recently in Gosford Park and The Bourne Identity, has also been tipped to be Brosnan's replacement. Welshman Ioan Gruffudd, however, ruled himself out of the running last year when he said he was "too young".

It will be at least another three years before a new search gets started so let's all get use to the fact that Mr. Brosnan is playing the part for now.





Is There A Psychopath In OO7's Future?

January 28, 2003 - IC Wales.co.uk

The small town of Haverford-west, known best for its Norman castle, could soon have another claim to fame - the birthplace of the next James Bond.

Pembrokeshire-born actor Christian Bale, star of American Psycho, has just been voted as one of the favourites by film fans to become the next 007 when Pierce Brosnan hands in his licence to kill.

If he wins the role, he would be the second Welsh Bond after North Wales-born actor Timothy Dalton's two-film outing in the 1980s. News that a local boy could take over the Bond mantle has left towns-folk stirred, if not shaken, but more than ready to do their bit to help him get the role.

"It would be wonderful if it happened, really great for Haverfordwest," said town councillor Barbara Shone yesterday. "It could bring in a lot more visitors to the town.

"James Bond has got such a cool image it would help bring us into the 21st Century instead of the 18th."

Pembrokeshire film buff Keith Worthing said he would be pleased to see another Welshman take on the role and hoped he would improve on the "disappointing" Timothy Dalton.

"It would be fantastic if he got the role and let's hope that he would put back the oomph that Sean Connery left behind.

"Without a doubt Sean Connery was the greatest Bond. He had that sense of menace. You knew he could give someone a good hiding and you wouldn't like to meet him after dark, although women would."

Christian Bale was born in Haverfordwest on January 30, 1974. His father who became a commercial pilot, is believed to have been serving at RAF Brawdy. The theatre was however in the young boy's blood. His mother was a circus dancer and both grandfathers were actors - one even stood in for John Wayne on two occasions - as was his great uncle, Rex Bale.

The family, however, only spent a few years in the town before moving to Bournemouth and then Portugal before returning to England. The young Christian first found fame as an actor when he won a child's role in Stephen's Spielberg's Empire of the Sun and then successfully made the transition to adult star, starring in Captain Correlli's Mandolin and the more recent dragon epic, Reign of Fire.

He was voted third choice to play Bond with 24% of the vote in a recent poll of move buffs asked by Total Film Magazine who they wanted to be the next 007 star.

Heart-throb Englishman Jude Law was first choice polling 28% of the votes, followed by Scotsman Ewan McGregor with 26%.

But although only voted third, Bale has already shown that he could take on the Bond mantle and play the required tough action scenes. He beefed up for his role as violent yuppie Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and also embarked on intense fitness training for two earlier films Newsies and Swing Kids.

While a host of adoring fan sites on the web - fans are known as Baleheads - show that he is no slouch when it comes to raising the temperature of the opposite sex either. But if he wanted a helping hand then there would be plenty on offer in his old home town. Pauline Turner, manager of the local authority-run Haverfordwest sports centre, where membership at £170 a year is probably a lot cheaper than Hollywood gyms, said he could train for the role with them.

"We could give him all that Hollywood could give him," she said. "If he wanted to pop in we have a fully-equipped gym and run a variety of activities such as pilates, aerobics and yoga. We can't guarantee he will end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger but he'd certainly be fit."

And Neil Phillips, manager of Hylton John men's outfitters, said they could fit him out with the traditional Bond evening suit.

"If he gets the role and needs to wear a suit he can always pop in," he said. "We do a lot of evening suits and have just had our busiest time of the year with the Pembrokeshire Hunt Ball. We hire or sell, so if he's got any posh dos or dances to go to, we can kit him out."

It is truly amazing how so many actors are out to get this role. Or should I say how many merchants from the actor's hometown are out to increase their sales.





Tamahori Defends His Film

January 29, 2003 - Reuters

Dozens of South Koreans who held rallies outside theatres in Seoul to demand that movie-goers boycott the latest James Bond film have prompted authorities to pull the film early from 10 out of 50 cinemas in the South Korean capital.

The 20th Bond film, "Die Another Day", opened on December 31 to inflamed passions on both sides of the Korean border because of scenes that protesters say vilify communist North Korea and offend the South's national pride.

While much of the world worried about North Korea's pullout from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a dozen young protesters at a cinema in central Seoul, chanted slogans against the film and called for the reunification of Korea. They carried banners saying "Stop Running 007," "Be Alert, Arrogant America," and "Let's not see the 007 film which stirs up a war crisis in Korea."



"America's Hollywood films chose other countries as bad guys enemies -- such as U.S.S.R. during the Cold War days, Muslims immediately after the Cold War era, and now they have selected North Koreans, our brothers, as a symbol of evil," said Min Kyeong-woo, director of the Unification Alliance Peace Committee, which organised the rally.

In the film James Bond, played by Irish actor Pierce Brosnan, saves the world from a megalomaniacal North Korean military officer. The movie starts with a spectacular hovercraft chase through a minefield in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the Koreas.

North Korea, embroiled in a nuclear standoff with Washington, has called the film a "dirty and cursed burlesque" that showcased U.S. enmity for the North, whose leader Kim Jong-il is a cinema buff and reportedly a fan of James Bond films.

North Korea's official news agency has slammed the film as proof of the hostile U.S. intentions towards a country Washington believes is building nuclear weapons. North and South Korea, bitter foes for a half-century on the Cold War's last frontier, have found a common enemy in James Bond and the latest 007 adventure.

"Die Another Day" lured 426,200 viewers on its first weekend and about 700,000 during three weeks amid criticism and the mounting boycott. "The Lord of the Rings - Two Towers" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" have attracted about four millions of South Korean film-goers each in a month.

The MGM film starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry has been given venomous reviews after Internet chat rooms spread the word about scenes deemed offensive in South Korea. A head of the 20th Century Fox Seoul Branch has a different idea.

"If anybody sees this film as a political approach, it could be a burden and the joy of seeing this film will be reduced by half," said Jesse Lee, representative director of the 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Korea.

In Japan, "Die Another Day" director Lee Tamahori and Bond girls Jinx, or Halle Berry, and Frost, Rosamund Pike, addressed reporters on Tuesday (January 28) to promote the Bond film - the 20th in the 007 series.

Tamahori defended his film saying that the script was written long before the recent tension caused by North Korea's pullout from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"It's important to remember that in this movie, the villain is a North Korean, North Korea itself is not the villain. The individual who plays our villain is a western-educated villain with a lot of money who has his own programme, but he loves fast cars, fast women and all the trappings of the west and if you look carefully at the movie, you will find the voice of reason in this movie comes from his father, who is a North Korean general, who spends most of the movie trying to tell his son that whatever he is up to is going to cause chaos," he told reporters.

Despite the criticism, however, the Bond girls have gone down exceptionally well. Talks are underway to spin-off the character Jinx in movie of her own.

"As far as the Jinx spin-off we are in talks about that right now, that could really possibly be a reality. I know I'm really excited about that prospect happening. my only concern is that I would have to have Lee direct it," said Halle Berry, the academy award winning actress who plays the part of Jinx.

The film has caused controversy in South Korea at a time when emotions have been stirred up over the U.S. military presence after two teenage girls were killed by a U.S. military vehicle in a June road accident. South Korea is the 10th biggest foreign box office territory for U.S. pictures.

Obviously this person, Min Kyeong-woo, director of the Unification Alliance Peace Committee, has not seen too many OO7 films if he thinks that some Bond villains, after the end of the Cold War, were Muslims. On the other hand, Mr. Kyeong-woo knows how to get his agenda on the front pages of newspapers. By staging rallies on the fears and emotions of other people. Not by the truth.





"Of Coursh I Really Am Sean Connery, Honesht"

January 29, 2003 - Edinburgh Evening News

When you have one of the most famous voices and best known faces in the world, you have to face a problem that no-one else ever even thinks about. So many people do impressions of you that when you do make a call it is possible to find no-one believes it’s really you. That’s exactly what happened when Lynsey Mackay picked up the receiver and heard the burr of one of the world’s most famous actors on the other end - she was convinced she was the victim of just another prankster.

"This is Sean, Sean Connery," the caller drawled, to Ms Mackay’s disbelief. Little did the college student know, it really was the superstar on the other end of the line.

There was a stunned silence as thoughts about falling victim to a wind-up (or prank) merchant flashed through the 23-year-old’s brain. Unperturbed, Sir Sean proceeded to explain that he wouldn’t be able to open St Thomas of Aquins High School’s new building because of filming commitments.

Ms Mackay, a social work student at Stevenson College, who was filling in as receptionist at the school , managed to regain her composure in time to take a message for the head teacher. But it was only when the movie superstar carried on talking so calmly that she realised it was no joke.

She said: "He sounded exactly like James Bond. That’s when I thought this has to be a wind-up. I’d been listening to Real Radio all morning and they’re always doing wind-ups."

But as the conversation continued and the punchline never came, Mackay realised that it must be true.

"He asked to speak to the headteacher. I said she wasn’t in and that the school was closed for the Easter holidays. It was only as the conversation continued I realised that it must be true. It was him." Ms Mackay added: " I think [my disbelief] was partly because he took the time and phoned in. You’d expect someone to phone for him or a letter to be written. I think that really says something about him."

Headteacher Marian Docherty had invited the celebrity by letter to attend the official opening of their new £14 million building this autumn because of his links with the Tollcross community.

But school officials were certainly not prepared for the actor’s personal response. Mrs Docherty said: "I was really pleased he had taken the time and explained why he couldn’t do it. It was because he was filming in the Czech Republic. I’m just disappointed I wasn’t there to take the call. It should have been me."

Sir Sean may have the most distinctive Scottish brogue in the world, but he still has a hard time convincing people of his identity. The children of Sir Sean’s brother Neil were once students at St Thomas of Aquins. Neil confirmed: "It happens all the time. It’s either him or it’s not."

Real Radio Breakfast Show presenter Robin Galloway tried out his best Connery impression on an unsuspecting Englishman a few months ago.

Mr Galloway said: "We phoned a guy who was selling an Aston Martin and he actually thought he was selling the car to Sean. We were asking questions like does it have machine guns on the front and a cocktail bar in the back. The guy was really taken in by it. Mind you, if you phone somebody south of the Border, they think that anyone with a Scottish accent is Sean Connery."

Next time try flashing your American Express Card.





Roger Moore Presents And Receives Awards

February 3, 2003 - Sky News

Roger Moore presented producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson with the Evening Standard Film Special Achievement Award for 40 years of OO7. Actress Rosamund Pike was also there for the festivities.

Heidi Klum and Rosamund Pike arriving.



Meanwhile, Roger Moore will be honored by the German government for his work with the U.N. Children's Fund. President Johannes Rau will present the Federal Service Cross, 1st Class to Moore at a Feb. 10 ceremony in Berlin's Bellevue Palace, the president's office said Friday. Moore, 75, serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF's efforts to help children living in poverty in developing countries, including campaigns against the sexual exploitation of minors.

Congratulations to all.





Thunderball CD Reissue Track Listings

February 4, 2003 - DSBG

CapitolMusic.ca has listed the THUNDERBALL reissued CD and here are the tracks as well as the added ones. You will note that there seems to be some music still missing. This listing may be incomplete since THUNDERBALL is the only reissued CD, as of this writing, that has a track listing posted at Capitol so far and no where else.

1. Thunderball (Main Title)
2. Chateau Flight
3. The Spa
4. Switching The Body
5. The Bomb
6. Cafe Martinique
7. Thunderball
8. Death Of Fiona
9. Bond Below Disco Volante
10. Search For The Vulcan
11. 007
12. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
13. Gunbarrel / Traction Table / Gassing The Plane
14. Bond Meets Domino
15. Street Chase
16. Finding The Plane
17. Underwater Mayhem
18. Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Looking forward to it.





Ex-Bond Star Roger Moore Takes on Real Criminals

February 10, 2003 - Reuters

British actor Roger Moore said on Monday his real-life fight against child traffickers as a UNICEF ambassador was far more rewarding than battling fictitious villains in his signature role as spy James Bond.

The British actor, who starred as agent 007 in seven of the Bond films, was awarded the German Federal Service Cross from President Johannes Rau for his work as special representative to the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"This award is much more important than receiving an Academy Award," Moore, 75, said after the ceremony at Rau's office in Berlin, where an international film festival is taking place this week.

"As James Bond, the villains were easily recognizable. Now the villains are not so visible and the fight is uphill," said Moore, who first played Bond in the 1973 film "Live and Let Die." His final Bond outing was "A View to a Kill" in 1985.

Moore, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador since 1999, announced details of a campaign against child trafficking. During his trips around the world to film the James Bond films during the 1970s and 1980s, Moore said he was aware of poverty but had done nothing about it.

"I was more concerned about what I had for lunch or that my shirts were ironed," he said.

I have said this before and I'll most likely say it again. This man will most likely be remembered as a Saint.





Razzies For Madonna

February 10, 2003 - Backstage.com

Nominees for the 23rd annual Razzies, organized by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, were to be announced Monday, a day before Oscar nominations. Razzie "winners" will be announced March 22, the eve of the Oscar ceremony.

Madonna personally had four nominations: Worst actress for "Swept Away," directed by her husband, Guy Ritchie (a nominee for worst director and worst screenplay); worst screen couple, paired with Adriano Giannini in "Swept Away"; worst supporting actress for the James Bond adventure "Die Another Day"; and worst song for the "Die Another Day" title tune, which she co-wrote.

No surprise here.





'Bond Girl' Formula Revealed

February 15, 2003 - Ananova

Mathematicians have worked out the scientific formula for the perfect Bond girl. Experts at the Science Museum say she is brunette, brown-eyed, British, 5ft 7ins and boasts the vital statistics 35-23-34. Researchers looked at 20 spy films for the Bond, James Bond exhibition at the Science Museum in London. Over the years 007 has fallen for 21 brunettes and just 12 blondes, five women with dark hair and three red-heads.

No girl has fitted all the demanding categories but a shortlist of six came closest and among them was Diana Rigg in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Others include Sylvia Trench, played by Eunice Gayson in Dr No and Solitaire played by Jane Seymour in Live and Let Die. Caroline Munro's Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me and Serena Scott-Thomas's Dr Molly Warmflash in The World is not Enough also featured.

Were there any mathematicians whose specialty was geometry?





Missing 007 Film Adviser: Body Found

February 26, 2003 - By Antony Stone for PA News

Rescuers have called off a major search operation for a man missing on a mountain summit for two days after discovering a body, police said today.

Richard Marsh, 33, of Romsey, Hampshire, sent out an emergency call on his mobile phone from the summit of Mount Snowdon, in north Wales, on Sunday. His distress call launched a major operation involving up to 60 rescuers which was halted after the discovery of a body early this afternoon. A North Wales Police spokesman said rescue crews had found a body at the Fan Tail Gully, in Swondonia, at 1.22pm today.

Earlier it had been revealed Mr Marsh worked as a movie industry safety adviser on films such as the latest James Bond, Die Another Day. He is a diver by trade who gave water safety advice during potentially dangerous film scenes, working most recently on the 007 blockbuster.

Mountain rescue crews and a police helicopter restarted a major search operation at first light this morning. Yesterday they had been forced to abandon their search at nightfall and had failed to re-establish contact with Mr Marsh on his mobile phone. Constable Rob Owen, of North Wales Police, said Mr Marsh is seen as a methodical, well-prepared man who would not take unnecessary risks.

"His family describe him as an old head on a young pair of shoulders," he said today. Every time he did something he would always be well prepared and methodical. He is a diver by profession who also worked as a safety adviser on films such as Die Another Day. Basically, whenever there were any instances in a film connected with water safety he would be called in."

Before losing contact with the emergency services Mr Marsh had said that he planned to make his way down the mountain. But he had told rescuers that he was engulfed in thick cloud and was unsure of his exact location.

Sincere condolence to his family.





Region 2 Highlights For DIE ANOTHER DAY DVD

February 27, 2003 - DSBG and Playserver2.com

Look up, look down, look out, here comes the BIGGEST Bond DVD of all. Actually two DVD disc version of DIE ANOTHER DAY is scheduled to hit the Region 2 stores in early May 2003. The discs contains the following:

Disc 1:

Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic feature film
Audio Commentary with stars Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike
Audio Commentary with director Lee Tamahori and producer Michael G. Wilson
'MI6 Datastream': an on screen trivia track with seamless integration to 19 behind the scenes featurettes

Disc 2:

'Inside Die Another Day' featurette (77 mins)
'Shaken Not Stirred On Ice': a car chase documentary (23 mins)
'From Script To Screen': a Region 2 exclusive documentary (53 mins)
Mission Briefings: Intro and surfing / Hovercraft chase / Cube / Quatermaster / Ice palace / Car battle
'Evolution Of A Scene': storyboard to finished film comparison including the hovercraft chase, car battle, blades and Antonov fight
'Inter-Action Sequences': a multi-angle exploration of action sequences including the hovercraft chase and car battle
'Equipment Briefing': a series of 5 vignettes about gadgets and weapons from the film
Image database of over 250 stills including: Poster campaign / Cast portrait / Special shoot / Sets and locations / Stunts and special effects / Vehicles and gadgets
'Title Design': an inside look at the visual elements of the opening credits
'Digital Grading': before and after comparisons of digitally altered footage
2 teaser trailers
Theatrical trailer
James Bond Special Edition DVD trailer
TV spots
Madonna 'Die Another Die' music video
Trailer for the '007: Nightfire' PS2 game
'The Making Of 007: Nightfire PS2 Game' featurette

The only thing that is missing is the DELETED SCENES segment. Perhaps that will be covered in the INSIDE DIE ANOTHER DAY featurette. Otherwise, it looks to be a great DVD when it is released.





Actor Sean Connery Bankrolled Scottish Freedom Movement For Six Years

March 7, 2003 - By Annika Breidthardt for Reuters

The original Hollywood James Bond, Sir Sean Connery, was so keen on independence for his native Scotland that he bankrolled the radical Scottish National Party (SNP) for six years. The star said he deposited $1.20 million in a Bank of Scotland offshore account in 1995 and donated the monthly interest -- about 5,000 pounds -- to the party.

``I have never told anyone before about the 750,000 deposit,'' the 72-year-old actor told Glasgow's Herald newspaper.

Connery, who is domiciled in the Bahamas, continued to transfer the interest to the SNP until legislation in 2001 stopped parties accepting money from people not on Britain's electoral register. Connery has a London address but the Herald said he was omitted from the register because of an oversight -- the registration form dropped through his letter box when he was away. It said that according to the SNP this had now been rectified and the actor planned to make another donation.

``I haven't made the donation yet because I have to clarify how much you can make,'' Connery was quoted as saying. The SNP was not immediately available for comment.

Connery's relations have been strained with the mainstream Scottish press, which have scathingly queried how someone who lives in the Bahamas can be such an ardent nationalist. He himself asked for the Herald interview to head off criticism before Scottish elections due in May in which Connery plans actively to support the SNP, the leading advocate of Scottish independence and the main opposition party in the devolved Scottish parliament. He would not appear at their rallies in person, Connery said but he planned to support the SNP with audio and video tapes he had already recorded.

``In the recordings, I say that for me the big picture of Scotland is nothing less than equality with England: a Scotland that makes her own decisions, a sovereign state that will be a voice in Europe and around the world,'' he said.

On Thursday, the first of three days of interviews in the newspaper, Connery hit back at claims his tax haven status undermined his support for the SNP and revealed he had paid 3.7 million pounds in British tax since 1997. He also claimed Britain's governing Labour party initially denied him a knighthood back in 1997 because of his SNP links. Connery played secret agent 007 in seven films, including the first three: Dr No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. He was eventually knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2001.

The press and anyone else involved or affected are forgetting one important fact. The money is Sean's and he can do with it what he wants providing it is legal.





Kansas Dealership With The Golden Car

March 11, 2003 - By Darrin Stineman for The Salina Journal

For just $43,995, you can own the 007 Edition of the 2003 Ford Thunderbird, a replica of the one Halle Berry drove in the latest James Bond film, "Die Another Day." Ejector seat, pop-up machine guns and smoke-screen-maker are extra.

The gleaming, copper-colored convertible (the color's actual name is coral metallic) graces the showroom at Long McArthur, 3450 S. Ninth Street, Salina, Kansas. At least it did Monday morning. Derek Lee, business development manager at Long McArthur, said he doubts it will still be there by week's end. Ford made just 700 of the cars, making it a collector's item, and it costs only about $3,000 more than the standard 2003 Thunderbird.

"Someone will figure out what it is pretty quick," Lee said after pulling a protective plastic coating off the car's white leather seats Monday morning. "I think it'll be gone by the end of the week. I would bet money on it."

Long McArthur probably could've inflated the 007's price and still made a fairly quick sale, Lee said, but the dealership decided to stick with the sticker price.

"A lot of dealerships are listing it well over the sticker price," Lee said. "We decided to sell it at this price because you will offend more people by selling it over the sticker price. We're still a hometown dealership."

With Long McArthur competing against other Ford dealerships -- including 4,214 in the United States alone -- Lee was taken aback that Long McArthur received one of the 700 coveted cars in the company's lottery.

"We went in and requested one, not thinking Ford would give us one," Lee said. "Just by luck, we got one. There are dealerships much larger than us that will never see one of these. It's really kind of a coup that we got one."

The car's buyer might feel the same way. The 007s are likely to be valuable for a long time.

"We knew collectors worldwide would want one," Lee said. "It's the rarest of all T-Birds. If a guy had 44 grand and wanted to set aside a car for 20 years, this would be the car. Some people have estimated this might be a million-dollar car in the future."

The 007s also are the only cars in the world painted Ford's coral metallic.

"If you ever see one this color," Lee said, "you'll know what it is."

The 007 has a 3.9-liter V8 engine, a five-speed automatic, chrome-spoke aluminum wheels and heated seats. The wheels, which have a Thunderbird logo in the middle, are unique to the Bond edition, as is the white interior and the "007" insignia on the dashboard. Would love to buy it

Terry Case of Phillipsburg figures to get an eyeful of those features today when he receives pictures of the 007 sent to him by Long McArthur. He plans to come to Salina later in the week to see it in person. Case, 59, loves his red 2002 Thunderbird, but he might trade it in for the Bond car.

"I always wanted one of those kinds of Thunderbirds when I was a kid back in the '50s," Case said. "They were about $3,500, $3,700, and you could've bought a house with that."

Case found out about the 007s through a Ford magazine he has received since buying his T-Bird. He checked several dealerships in the area before finding out Long McArthur had one. Case said there's a good chance he'll buy the Bond -- if nobody beats him to it. And although he sees the purchase as an investment, he won't toss a cover over it and stick it in storage. He'll have fun, fun, fun with his T-Bird -- unless someone takes it away.

"I think I'd drive it," he said. "Someone told me if you put miles on it you'd just kill the value, but I think a person ought to enjoy that kind of stuff. You only live once."

Having a Halle of a time in it.





Sean Connery Against War In Iraq

March 12, 2003 - Associated Press

Actor Sean Connery added his name to the many stars who are criticising possible military action against Iraq. During a four-day visit to Panama, the former James Bond said he did not support a possible war, joining such well-known names as Martin Sheen and Sean Penn.

"I don't know who could be in favour of it," he said. "But it can't be stopped. It is inevitable."

Hours later, President Mireya Moscoso presented the Scottish actor with a Manuel Amador Guerrero award, named after the country's first president.

She said Connery was given the award for his "talent and versatility."

Connery travelled throughout Panama, visiting the canal, one of Moscoso's private coffee plantations, and the isolated Darien province along Panama's border with Colombia. The star of "Finding Forrester" and "Entrapment" said he was fascinated with the country's natural beauty.

It sure is a crazy world when the names of Martin Sheen and Sean Penn are mentioned in the same sentence with Sean Connery.





In Face of Threats, America and Britain are Neither Shaken Nor Stirred

March 12, 2003 - By Dexter Ingram for The Heritage Foundation

It sounds like -- and could be -- a plot from a James Bond movie.

The dictator of a hermetic kingdom amasses a weapons stockpile that makes his otherwise desperately poor country the scourge of its region. The dictator finances his extravagant lifestyle and relentless weapons research and development by selling previous generations of weapons to many of the world’s most unstable countries. The freedom-loving peoples -- the United States and Great Britain -- must stop him to save the world.

Unfortunately, this plot is all too real, and it’s one battle not even the resourceful Mr. Bond can win. North Korea, the hermetic kingdom, secretly has shipped ballistic missiles and material to make nuclear bombs to rogue states, such as Syria, Yemen, Iran and Iraq. There, the weapons become part of the arsenal of terrorists who threaten western interests around the globe. It’s blackmail in front of the entire world.

Of course, if this were a Bond adventure, we’d know from the familiar music that it’s only a matter of time before the sleek, suave, secret agent who foils all international criminals without wrinkling his suit or spilling his martini (shaken -- not stirred, mind you), prevailed. Success is carefully scripted and takes long enough only for Bond to employ all his new gadgets, cars and powers of seduction.

In the real world, though, things rarely go so smoothly. The villains, such as North Korea’s Kim Il-Jong and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, may be just as detestable as the Soviet-era foils in many Bond movies. But they are less predictable, more volatile and far more threatening. They command states. They can marshal -- in the case of North Korea -- more than a million active soldiers to their cause. They control weapons of mass destruction that threaten their neighbors for hundreds of miles in each direction.

That’s the bad news. The good news is, though we have no super agents to match the exploits of 007, America and Britain are blessed with a leadership teams that won’t take the decisions on war and peace -- with their life-and-death consequences -- lightly.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has witnessed combat first-hand and felt the loss of men and women under his command. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has ordered soldiers onto the field of battle before. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, now a veteran hand on security matters, functions as the eyes and ears of President Bush. Vice-president Richard Cheney, who has served as secretary of defense and White House chief of staff, is a voracious reader of intelligence reports and valued adviser to the president. Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have constantly gone against the grain of traditional European allies when it comes to protecting our world’s security.

What these individuals lack in Bond charm and flash, they more than make up for in skill, experience and intellect. They understand the gravity of their decisions, particularly those decisions that could mean the lives of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who would be placed in harm’s way.

Those of us who have donned a military uniform appreciate the care and expertise these people bring to their jobs. They understand the importance of doing what needs to be done today instead of paying a larger price for freedom and security tomorrow.

Sometimes it’s tough to do the right thing. It’s even tougher when people on the sidelines, whose concept of war is limited to what they’ve seen on television, call you a hawk or charge that you want to make war to appease special interests.

At the end of the day, what draws us to Bond are not his gadgets, his martinis or his beautiful women; it’s that we realize the sacrifice he makes when he has to drop all this to put his life on the line in defense of the free world. We should remember that Bond is the fantasy character, that few soldiers enjoy a life anything like his and that those in charge -- President Bush, Prime Minister Blair and their extremely qualified advisors -- realize the gravity of the situation and the decisions they are called upon to make.

We must trust these leaders have pursued all options before opting for war. Most importantly, once this decision is made, we must support the men and women in uniform who make our freedom possible. Bond is a fictional character, but the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters on the front lines are all too real. They give their time, their honor, their intellect, their skill and, sometimes, their lives in the name of freedom.

They’re the real James Bonds. They’re the heroes. Politics aside, whatever happens, they deserve our support.

************************************

Dexter Ingram, a former U.S. Navy Flight Officer, is a threat assessment specialist & database editor in the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Media and Public Policy. This article originally appeared in Townhall.com and The Boston Herald, January 17, 2003.

I could not have said it better.





Whatever Happened To Kabir (Gobinda) Bedi?

March 12, 2003 - Rediff.com

I cannot stick in one place for too long," says Kabir Bedi. "I did films like Sandokan and Octopussy, the James Bond film, abroad. It was great to be there at the time. Over the last five years, I took a break, went to Italy and other places. I am happy to be back for my third innings here. I feel more connected to Bollywood now."

Asked how he feels about these long breaks, he says, "I feel good because, whenever I come back, people are willing to sign me on for their films. Bollywood has been very good to me. But let me make it clear, I will stay for a longer period this time."

Bedi is hoping that The Hero, his film with Sunny Deol that is scheduled for an April 10 release, will change the face of the industry. "Every crisis turns into an opportunity and I am sure this crisis [faced by the industry] will turn into an opportunity for everyone. Soon, we will see something good come up," he promises.

Bedi plays a non-resident Kashmiri businessman who believes in Kashmir's freedom struggle. He also has a weakness -- his daughter. "I like my role. I am hopeful and confident about this film. I don't want to reveal more because the thrill of the film will be lost," he explains.

He is full of praise for Sunny Deol's extraordinary stunts: "We were shooting at Jungfrau Heights, Switzerland, and I was stunned to see Sunny do his own stunts despite the fact that there were doubles ready. The temperature was –15 degree Celsius. Sunny has done a commendable job."

Bedi also has Sanjay Khan's Taj Mahal, where he plays Shahjahan, coming up. Then there is Rudraksh, where he plays a role of a tantrik, besides, "one more film in which I play a peacenik; the experimental film Tanman.com and, of course, Marigold with Salman Khan."

This actor had the honor of having the best double take in the series when Louis Jourdan, as Kamal Khan, orders Gobinda to go outside their airbourne aircraft and kill Bond.





Halle 'Heads For Catwoman Role'

March 14, 2003 - BBC Online

Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is in talks about playing the lead role in the new movie Catwoman, according to reports. Berry has had preliminary meetings with the producers, although no deal has yet been reached, according to Daily Variety.

The movie will be directed later this year by French filmmaker Pitof, best known for his work on visual effects in 1997's Alien: Resurrection film. It will follow the character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the Tim Burton-directed Batman Returns.

The role has been considered a dream project for actresses since Batman Returns and Ashley Judd was, at one point, rumoured to be lined up for the part. Berry has proved herself in action roles in several films, most notably as female spy Jinx in the latest James Bond, Die Another Day. She has also reprised the superhero character Storm in X2, the X-Men sequel, which is due out in the US in May.

A preliminary meeting was held on Thursday between Warner Bros and Berry's agents and manager, Variety said. If a deal was made, Berry would follow in the footsteps of Eartha Kitt, who took on the role in the 1960s Batman TV series.

Purr-fect!





Meet The New OO7

March 26, 2003 - DSBG

Dubya O Bush.





TNN, CBS Acquire Right to Air 'Die Another Day'

March 26, 2003 - Reuters

Cable TV network TNN and broadcaster CBS have jointly acquired the rights to air the newest James Bond film, "Die Another Day" with TNN winning the world television premiere planned for 2005.

In a statement issued late on Monday, TNN said as part of a package, it acquired the rights to broadcast three other films about the fictional British agent code-named 007, "The World is Not Enough," "License to Kill" and "A View To a Kill." One source who knew of the deal between TNN, CBS and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc studio that distributes the Bond movies put the package's value between $25 million and $30 million.

"Die Another Day," which stars Pierce Brosnan (news) as Bond and Halle Berry (news) as U.S. agent Jinx, is the highest grossing movie in the history of the Bond franchise with over $400 million in global ticket sales. TNN, which promotes itself as a network aimed at men, can begin broadcasting "The World is Not Enough" in the fourth quarter of 2003 with "License to Kill" and "A View To a Kill" to follow in 2004. TNN and CBS are owned by Viacom Inc . Together with sister network UPN in April last year, they acquired the rights to air 15 other classic Bond titles. TNN's "Bond 007 Days of Christmas Marathon" was its highest rated week in 2002.

Correction, it was TNN's 'All Time High'.





Forget The Movies, Real OO7 Is Fighting Saddam

March 30, 2003 - Sky News

Operation James, named after James Bond, involved a major force of Royal Marines, backed up with two tank squadrons and Commando-trained Royal Engineers. The Marines moved into an area to the east of Abu al Khasib, leaving what is believed to be a brigade-sized Iraqi force trapped in the middle. The operation to take the suburb of Abu al Khasib began in the early hours of Saturday. Up to 1,000 troops were involved in the attack while heavy artillery pounded the surrounding area in a huge bombardment. Around 30 Iraqis died in the assault and hundreds captured, military sources said.

Now this is what I call 'keeping the British end up'.





At 50, 'Casino Royale' Shows Bond Staying Power

April 13, 2003 - By Roger K. Miller, Special to The Denver Post

How time flies when we're having fun: James Bond is 50. He first saw the light of day April 13, 1953, when "Casino Royale," the first "Bond book," was published in England.

Bond's prenatal history is intriguing. He was conceived, apparently, around the middle of January 1952 at Goldeneye, the Jamaican retreat of his creator, Ian Fleming. The gestation was amazingly short - Fleming completed the manuscript in eight weeks, or maybe as few as four - though the delivery was long, more than a year later and thousands of miles away. Fittingly heroic obstetrics for one of the most durable heroes of our time.

Like all proud papas, Fleming had high hopes for his offspring and helped it make its way in the world by getting involved in all aspects of its publication and promotion, including lining up potentially helpful reviewers. But he never foresaw the immense worldwide phenomenon it would become - especially after 1961, when President Kennedy said he liked the books - and remain for more than 40 years.

Many Bond fans consider "Casino Royale" to be the best Bond novel, just as others consider "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (published in 1963, the 11th in the series of 14) to be the best film version.

Interestingly, "Casino Royale" is the only Bond novel that has never been "properly" filmed, if such a term can be attached to the usual process by which Hollywood makes hash of literary properties. It was filmed in 1967 as a comedy spoof starring David Niven, Peter Sellers and a host of others, and bears even less resemblance to the printed original than do the other Bond movies.

Actually, "Casino Royale" provided the first nonprint appearance of Bond 13 years before that, on Oct. 21, 1954, in a live, hourlong TV adaptation on CBS's "Climax," starring Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre. Naturally, liberties were taken here, too: Bond was transformed into an American agent, and Felix Leiter, his American CIA comrade in the book, became British.

On one thing all fans would agree: The Bond that sprang from Fleming's typewriter in the early 1950s was not the one that leaped onto the silver screen in the early 1960s.

Here Bond is not the charming, witty sophisticate that Sean Connery, Roger Moore and other actors have made him. "Casino Royale" is noticeably lacking in humor, and Bond is equally noticeably cold and ruthless, yet at the same time a romantic susceptible to love's pangs. In fact, the novel is as much a love story - with a sad ending - as an espionage thriller.

Fleming said he saw Bond as being in the tradition of "romantic tough guys" like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. Fleming particularly admired Raymond Chandler, and Chandler returned the favor.

This is not your stereotypical spy tale of furtive meetings in dark alleys and intrigue in high places, though there is some of that. Basically, the novel revolves around a high-stakes, high-tension baccarat game in a French casino between Bond and an enemy agent known only as Le Chiffre (The Cipher), who works for SMERSH, the Soviet anti-spy agency.

Le Chiffre is gambling in a desperate attempt to make money to repay debts he owes SMERSH. The British secret service, using its best gambler, Bond, hopes to out-gamble Le Chiffre and thus destroy him in the eyes of his employer.

Bond wins and along the way takes up with a beautiful woman named Vesper Lynd. He is then captured and tortured - beaten around the genitals - by Le Chiffre, but eventually gets free, albeit severely injured.

Bond fears that the torture may have left him impotent, "and a scar had been left on his mind that could only be healed by experience." He need not have feared; Vesper was happy to provide that healing experience.

The rest should remain unexplained, so as not to spoil the ending for those who haven't read the book. Suffice it to say that all of this peaks early, and the remaining 50 pages in which Bond has a torrid affair with Vesper begin to seem anticlimactic, until there is a shocking final twist.

"Casino Royale" is a quite well-made book, though its English is not always the king's. "As a woman, he wanted to sleep with her," Fleming writes, dangling his modifier. And, "'Shtop,' had said the voice, quietly," which a backward manner of writing is.

Like the others, the book reflects the time in which it was written, just as the movies did that were made from them in a different time. There is, of course, the sexist attitude toward women, a complaint that has been made against what we might call the whole "Bond industry."

"Women were for recreation," Bond thinks, when he is told he must work with Vesper. "On a job, they got in the way and fogged things up with sex and hurt feelings and all the emotional baggage they carried around."

Similar complaints have been made about representations of violence and snobbery, the first of which is in considerable evidence here, the second less so than in later books.

It also reflects the moral ambiguity of the postwar world, exemplified by such traitors as Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean. In the concluding section, beset by his own moral confusion, Bond questions his job and the nature of evil, and decides to resign.

At the end, though, he realizes how sophistic his reasoning has been. He determines to "take on SMERSH and hunt it down." Which he has done, to SMERSH and its successors, in 13 further Fleming books, in several by other writers who joined the franchise, and in 22 movies. And counting.

Now I know why I am a BIG Bond fan. My birthday (April 14) is just one day after the first publication. Of course I am OO7 years younger.





At 50, A Look At The Character Of James Bond

April 14, 2003 - Pokermag.com

Who is James Bond? He’s seemingly the main character as the novel opens, but what do we know let alone learn about him in this first adventure? The story opens and we are quickly, yet vaguely, brought up to speed on this man Bond who is gambling for high stakes in a casino in the south of France and it is very late.

We learn, through the narrative, that Bond works in London yet has established himself as a representative for a Jamaican newspaper and that he receives cables and monies from there, yet his true superior in London is a man with the monogram “M”.

Bond is clearly an operative of some sort but on which side of the law is unclear. He’s also suspicious and experienced enough to know that elevators can be dangerous late at night or in the wee hours of the morning and, presently, he would not be surprised to discover his room has been searched.

In fact, he has set small “tells” throughout his room to detect just that – a random strand of hair, talcum powder on handles and locks and then it is established: “He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession.”

So, we know his profession and that it is in the service of the United Kingdom and that it has the potential to be dangerous. He is using his name but under the guise of a high stakes gambler from Jamaica... and he sleeps with a gun under his pillow.

Aside from the job, number 007 is Bond’s apparent rank in the service and “double-0’s” are very highly regarded, he (like anyone) does have some particular likes and sense of both style and taste. The first of these (which will continue to be a staple of the character’s personality in subsequent adventures) is that he enjoys a good breakfast and that he smokes custom made cigarettes.

It is the details of such things that make the man real and intriguing. Bond takes his work seriously. His conversation with Mathis establishes this as they go through the motions of putting on a show for the benefit of the transmitter in Bond’s room. Bond expresses no apparent anger at the situation but takes it in stride.

However, when Mathis reveals that London is sending a woman to work with him, Bond reveals his chauvinism. It’s not that he dislikes the company of ladies (far from it) but within his profession, they are best and only suited for office work or as a distraction, either for himself or his opponents in the “secret world”.

We then discover Bond’s other personal passion: His car. A 1933 4.5 litre Bentley convertible which he has had since before the War and it soon appears to be one his favorite personal possessions and he truly seems to enjoy driving it. His first meeting with Vesper Lynd finally reveals how he viewed by others.

Mathis mentions the fact after Bond leaves that Bond is serious and does not have a habit or reputation of being easily “melted” by a woman but seems to sense that Vesper has the potential to do so. Vesper, in turn, finds Bond to be “very good looking” but notices something cruel about him.

Before she can continue, the attempt on Bond’s life occurs with a devastating blast from an explosive charge which he survives but only through luck. Later, after a few solid drinks and lunch, he seems hardly phased by the attempt, once again taking it in stride as a part of the job. It is however important to note that Bond’s first reaction is to vomit after the blast, not from shock, but rather from the stench of roasted flesh.

He is human and that again lends itself to the reality of the character. Details such as these are what Fleming created for just this effect. The next detail of Bond is destined to be his trademark. The martini of his “own invention”. Bond explains to another new character, Felix Leiter, why he prefers it made to the exact specifications.

“I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made.” And hence, another personal detail is revealed and later to become perhaps the first element of Bond to make it’s way into popular culture throughout the world and the world’s bartenders.

During his dinner with Vesper, Bond’s rank as a Double-O is very flatly laid out as basically being an assassin and that in the world they both operate in, one simply follows orders. He is not proud but conveys a sense of duty in his fulfilling his assignment by taking the required actions. Vesper herself recalls her briefing on Bond, which warns her of becoming involved in anything but the job at hand.

He’s an expert and there are not many in the field as dedicated as himself. The Head of S. even admits that Bond’s “good looking” but probably doesn’t have much heart for emotion. Bond’s understanding of gambling is first class, yet is unclear as to how he became such an expert. It is established through the events at “High Table”, that he does take risks and even failure as part of the task.

Such dedication does establish again that he is a professional with his life on the line. Literally. So when he finds a barrel in his back and countdown to ten unless he removes his bet. He does manage to escape this through a highly risky move by toppling himself and his chair thus wrenching the “deadly tube” from the hands of his assailant. Upon regaining his composure, he is soaked with “the sweat of fear” again being quite human.

He is by no means anything but an experienced operative who is willing to take a chance in a given situation. Part luck, part skill but all human. The game plays out and ultimately (although not naturally as we later come to expect of Bond) he manages to clean out Le Chiffre in an incredibly suspenseful sequence which is engrossing to the end.

The stakes are then “upped” by Vesper’s kidnapping and Bond’s pursuit ending with his beloved Bentley wrecked and himself at the mercy of Le Chiffre. We now have Bond in a most vulnerable situation of being tortured in perhaps the cruelest manner a man can be. The villain wants information (the location of the cashier’s check for the winnings) and Bond will not give it.

Bond knows how torture works, but this by no means promises survival. He actually knows he won’t reveal anything and likely will be killed. He will win by sacrifice and that this is once again, a part of his job. Once again though, fate (with simple luck) saves Bond from death and he does survive although certainly injured and having not had the requisite satisfaction of dispatching Le Chiffre himself and through luck, not being killed by the SMERSH assassin sent to kill Le Chiffre.

It seems that spies the world over do (at this point in time) have a code of only following the specific orders given them. Bond awakes in the hospital and we then get a glimpse into his outlook at his chosen path during his debriefing with Mathis. Bond has concluded that he is not certain if he is in the service of good or evil and therefore will resign upon his return to London.

We finally learn the specifics of how Bond earned his Double-O in an almost confessional manner yet with no trace of particular emotion. He and Mathis debate the issue of good and evil in their work but it does again prove that Bond is a human and has his doubts as any of us do from time to time.

We then see the “secret agent” truly humanized by the strongest emotion of all. Love. His recovery and holiday with Vesper shows us a very different side to Bond. He is romantic, doting and looking to a future with this girl. A far cry from the man who does not “melt easily”. Given the extreme events and torture that he has survived he becomes grateful and respectful of life and the ability to live it.

He’s even ready to both love and commit (he plans to propose to Vesper after their first night at the inn) which are hardly qualities that he would have expressed in his initial introduction to us and based on his reputation within the service and among those he has worked with.

It is with Vesper’s suicide that Bond seems to suddenly abandon his vulnerable side and realize that he is a professional and in being one, he can never truly live a normal existence but he does now understand the evil in his profession and that he must strive to do battle against it.

So to go back and restate my original question “Who is this guy?” it’s almost simple to answer but with a certain degree of understanding now that we have seen him go almost a full emotional circle. He’s what he started out as. A secret agent but only in title. He is a man that can love, hate and is capable of living his life by his own standards yet is accepting of the world around him and that he chooses to be a part of in his profession.

And all this time I thought he was just a moneymaking franchise.





Halle Berry Finds Herself Ugly

April 16, 2003 - Ananova

Halle Berry has revealed that she finds herself ugly. She was voted one of the world's sexiest women after her role in Bond film Die Another Day. But the Oscar-winning actress says she still doesn't see herself as a big star.

"To be totally honest, most of the time I think I'm ugly," she told German magazine Journal fur die Frau.

"I see myself without make-up every morning and that's why I don't have illusions any more. I certainly don't feel like a big star."

Berry, who won her Oscar for Monster's Ball, added that her skin colour still hindered her progress in Hollywood.

She said: "For many film studios and directors skin colour remains a problem. They don't believe that the audience will accept a black actor in the main role. These narrow-minded people underestimate the public and prevent advancement in the industry."

Berry will soon be seen in the sequel to X-Men, released in cinemas across the UK from May 1.

Seems like Hollywood is still suffering from an acute case of color blindness.





Aishes to Aishes, Dust to Dust

April 16, 2003 - Rediff.com

Recent reports of Aishwarya Rai being cast opposite Pierce Brosnan in the next James Bond flick appear to be unfounded.

Indian actress Aishwarya Rai.



Catherine McCormack of Eon Productions, which looks after the Bond franchise, said there never was talk of Rai or any other Indian actress being in the reckoning for the role. Sources in Los Angeles confirm, "The next Bond film is far from production. Besides Pierce Brosnan, nothing else has been decided. Not even the script. How would they know if they require an Indian girl?"

A prominent Mumbai filmmaker reasons, "Why is so much fuss being made about Aishwarya Rai being in a James Bond film? What do Bond heroines have to do except show skin and get into Bond's bed with a gasp of gratitude? Would a Bond film do more for her than [Sanjay Leela Bhansali's] Devdas? Why are our stars so Hollywood fixated?"

Rai's first assignment outside India is Bride And Prejudice, the British film which will be directed by Gurinder Chadha The Bend It Like Beckham director has reportedly signed Kiwi actor Martin Henderson (The Ring, Windtalkers) to play opposite Rai. She has Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali Chokher Bali. In Mumbai, she has leading roles in Rajkumar Santoshi's Khakee, opposite Akshay Kumar, and in debutant Samir Karnik's Kyun? Ho Gaya Na Pyaar, with Vivek Oberoi. She also has a cameo in Ketan Mehta's Aamir Khan-centric historical, The Uprising, which has Rani Mukerji as the heroine. Roland Joffe's The Invaders, in which she stars with Oberoi, has not gone beyond the announcement stage. The filmmaker is looking at Mumbai producers like Pahlaj Nihalani for finance.

Well, there goes Bond #21 - rumour #1 out the window. Any day now we should be hearing what kind of automobile Brosnan will be driving and whether George Lazenby will be playing his Dad. Stay tuned.





Bond Goes Bollywood

May 1, 2003 - Sky News

Three Bollywood beauties are being courted as possible Bond girls in the next 007 film. But will they allow their traditional Indian family values to be shaken and stirred for the role?

Bollywood has been hitting mainstream cinemas across Britain big time since last year. Three-hour epic movies, filled with song, dance and colour, filmed against spectacular sets in India and around the world, have been capturing the public's imagination.

Bollywood's PR machinery has been in full gear, spending money on marketing and promotions to generate mass appeal.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical Bombay Dreams, based on the Indian movie industry, has helped spark interest in all things Bollywood, winning plaudits and enjoying an extended run in London before moving to Broadway. And Bollywood star Dilip Tahil is taking time off the big screen as head of the Ferreira's, an Asian family soon to join the cast of EastEnders.

Such is the attention on the Bollywood scene, that producers of the next James Bond adventure have reportedly turned to the Indian film industry to find a leading lady to feature opposite 007. Bond's production team EON is keeping things close to their chest, denying every reported fact thrown at them. But it appears three former beauty queens from India have been relishing the thought of being the next Bond girl.

Each has said they have been approached by casting agents on behalf of the Bond production team. So who's in contention? The three in question are Priyanka Chopra, crowned Miss World in 2000, the 1994 winner Aishwarya Rai and Miss Universe 2000, Lara Dutta.

In true Indian tradition, those who have made it big in the world of glamour, and there are several from India over the years, turn their attention to the movie business. Aishwarya Rai is the most talked about star in Bollywood right now. She is the first Indian actress to be on the judging panel for the coveted Palme d'Or best movie award at the Cannes Film Festival next month, where she will be joined by Meg Ryan. One of Aishwarya's recent films, Devdas, was shown at last year's festival and just missed out on being nominated as Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars. This summer she is to start filming a Bollywood version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but called Bride and Prejudice an all singing, dancing movie by the director of Bend it Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha.

But while Aishwarya has begun knocking on Hollywood's doors for work in the US, she has reportedly said bed scenes are totally out of the question for her. Will this scupper her chances to be the next Bond girl?

There are certain ingredients of a Bond movie that 007 cannot dispense with. Bed scenes are mandatory, kissing obligatory and beauty paramount. In Indian films, bed scenes are out, nudity is a no go area and kissing is only just becoming acceptable. Bond will have a problem here.

Priyanka, 20, and 25-year-old Lara have both embarked on a Bollywood film career having just made their debut movies together in a love triangle set in Cape Town. And both have no illusions of doing a Bond film.

Priyanka, who turned her back on a career in engineering for modelling when she won Miss India and then Miss World, says she would not mind bed scenes or kissing for the sake of the film but is adamant that nudity, semi or full, is not going to happen.

"I was offered a role opposite Steven Seagal in Hollywood last year, but flatly turned it down because it required a lot of full nudity," she says. "I am just not comfortable with nudity. If I were to do a Bond movie, I know from the start what I am getting into. I would think about doing the bed scenes but particular about the shots even though I wouldn't be fully comfortable. I wouldn't do a bed scene in an Indian film at all because the public mindset is different to the west. When people watch a Bond movie, their mindset is totally different. They know what to expect. There are elements, however, I will do and others not at all and nudity is certainly a no no. In Indian films, kissing is becoming more acceptable and I wouldn't give it a second thought."

On who will get the coveted Bond role, she says she is just happy to even be considered. "I feel flattered to even be thought of as a possible Bond girl working opposite Pierce Brosnan. Who wouldn't be? The thought of an Indian girl getting the key Bond part really excites me."

Currently working on six Bollywood projects in between a correspondence course in psychology in Mumbai, she says whoever the producers choose and discussions are at an early stage she would be proud if it were an Indian girl.

"Even if it were not me, and Aishwarya or Lara get the part, I'd go and watch the film over and over again. It'll just make me proud that an Indian girl has won the part, Bond is just a phenomenon around the world."

But maybe Priyanka has a slight edge with insider knowledge in the work of a secret agent. Her debut film, The Hero, India's most expensive movie to date cast her opposite an Indian spy who dices with death on his global travels.

Personally I feel this is just a bunch of Bollywood propaganda. It is too early for the producers to be considering any actress when a script has not been submitted yet.





Open Wide Here Comes JAWS!

May 7, 2003 - Sideshow Toys

Jaws, the indestructible steel-toothed assassin, was one of Bond's most memorable nemeses. He was hired to provide lethal services, on two separate occasions, by billionaires with plans of world domination and a general dislike for 007. Jaws presented a huge challenge for Bond until, realizing the error of his ways, he joined forces with him to defeat the billionaire Hugo Drax.

The 7' 2" tall Richard Kiel is best known for his portrayal of this steel-toothed assassin that plagued Bond in Moonraker' and 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' A little known fact notes that Mr. Kiel was also the original choice for The Incredible Hulk in the TV series of the same name.

Sideshow Collectibles is proud to introduce this limited edition 14 inch Jaws figure. It is a U.S. domestic exclusive and can be purchased through SideshowCollectibles.com. He comes with over 30 points of articulation allowing for full human movement. He is outfitted in his tie, dress shirt, trousers, shoes, a hand-altimeter, parachute pack and goggles.

Don't miss your opportunity to own one of the most menacing figures we have ever produced!

You can 'drop in for a quick bite' by clicking on the Sideshow Toys banner found near the bottom of the Main Menu page.





Roger Moore Collapses

May 8, 2003 - Sky News

Roger Moore is recovering in hospital after collapsing on stage in New York. The 75-year-old was playing a cameo role in the Morecambe and Wise tribute The Play What I Wrote on Broadway.

The James Bond star fell to the floor during a song and dance number halfway through the second act of the show yesterday. The curtain came down for a short time but the performance resumed and Moore battled on through the last 10 minutes of the show. Immediately afterwards Moore was taken to a Manhattan hospital surrounded by paramedics with an oxygen mask over his mouth. He is currently being treated for respiratory problems.

Moore's assistant said the Live And Let Die star had been working too hard. "He had breathing difficulties but he carried on with the show," Gareth Owen said. "Then he was taken to hospital. They kept him in overnight. They took him in to be sure he was going to be fine. He is very comfortable and doing well. I've spoken to his agent and he's fine. It's just one of those things."

The London-born actor was a celebrity guest in the show directed by fellow Brit Kenneth Branagh.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.





Moore Released From Hospital

May 9, 2003 - by Tara Burghart for Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Roger Moore, the suave star of seven James Bond movies, was released from a hospital Friday after being fitted for a pacemaker, according to a spokeswoman. Moore, 75, collapsed during a Wednesday matinee performance of the Broadway comedy "The Play What I Wrote" but finished the show after a 10-minute break.

Moore was fitted for a pacemaker Thursday, according to Mary Cahill, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency for which Moore has served as a goodwill ambassador for 12 years. Jerry Pam, Moore's agent in the U.S., also said Moore received a pacemaker.

"He's feeling absolutely fine," said Cahill, who spoke to Moore after he was discharged from the hospital.

Moore plans to keep a previously scheduled engagement Friday night, accepting an award on behalf of UNICEF from the French-American Aid for Children organization at a benefit dinner in Manhattan.

"He's very gallant. He's a real trooper," she said. "He does so much good work for us. The fact that he's making an effort to go there for us tonight is indicative of Roger's efforts for children."

Moore was playing the part of the mystery guest star, a rotating cameo role filled by celebrities, when he fainted toward the end of the second act of "The Play What I Wrote." He was taken to the hospital after the show. Moore's agents originally said he had breathing problems on stage and was diagnosed with dehydration and exhaustion. But Moore had been told in the past that he would eventually have to get a pacemaker, Cahill said.

Pacemakers help maintain a normal heart rhythm, and Cahill said Moore's was inserted at Beth Israel Medical Center. Hospital officials did not immediately return a call for comment on Moore's surgery.

Moore is best known for his movie roles as the British agent 007. His first James Bond film was "Live and Let Die" in 1973, and he went on to star in six other Bond movies: "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977), "Moonraker" (1979), "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Octopussy" (1983) and "A View to a Kill" (1985). He also played the hero Simon Templar in the TV series "The Saint."

Nice to see that Roger still can out pace death defying moments.





Museum Owner Snaps Up Bond Car

May 10, 2003 - Ananova

A car used in the Bond film Die Another Day has sold for nearly a quarter of a million pounds at auction. The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish was snapped up by motor-museum owner Peter Nelson for £210,500. It was sold at the annual Bonham's sale, at Aston Martin's Newport Pagnell Works Service, Buckinghamshire. Mr Nelson's Cars Of The Stars museum in Keswick, Cumbria, houses 25 Bond vehicles - the largest collection in the world.

He said: "I have a number of James Bond vehicles, but this really is the most fabulous thing I've ever been in. I sat in it and it fit me perfectly.

"I can't wait to take it for a drive and my children are desperate for me to pick them up from school in it. But I'm a bit shaken and stirred because it's not a cheap car."

The vehicle is just one of three 'hero cars' driven by 007 Pierce Brosnan on the Icelandic set, and featured extensively in close-up shots of Bond in pursuit of villain Gustav Graves. Bond fans will be able to see the car for themselves at the Edinburgh Cars Of The Stars museum from May 17, before it is whisked back to Keswick. The auction also saw registered number plate 007 01 bought by property developer Mark Evans, from north Wales, for £16,675.

Do they take American Express?





More Video Games Of OO7 Coming Your Way

May 14, 2003 - Ferrago.co.uk

EA today announced a brand new agreement with MGM Interactive and Danjaq LLC, that will see more James Bond games coming from the world's largest games publisher in the future. The new deal covers the rights to all future Bond films until 2010, and also opens up the back catalogue of 007 movies, which total twenty.

The latest game using the licence, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing will be out on all console formats in the autumn, and will see her majesty's top spy combating terrorism across the globe with adventures in such exotic locales as Peru, Moscow, New Orleans and Egypt.

"EA produces some of the most popular and exciting video game titles on the market today," said MGM’s Travis Rutherford. "There's no better partner to carry on the Bond legacy in the interactive space."

The name's Bond, CGI Bond.





Double O Birthdays for May 15th

May 15, 2003 - DSBG

Actor Joseph Wiseman is 85. (Born 1918) He starred as James Bond's first nemesis Dr. No. His other credits include the films Detective Story and The Valachi Papers.

Director and former film editor John Glen is 71. (Born 1932) he is the only director to do five consecutive Bond films - For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill. He also was the editor for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

Happy birthday!





Condom Ad Posters That Urge 'Roger More' Banned

May 21, 2003 - Reuters

Advertising posters for a brand of condoms urging the public to "roger more" were banned on Wednesday after they were deemed offensive.

"Rogering" is British slang for copulating, and the phrase in the advert plays on the name of actor Roger Moore, best known for playing ladykiller secret agent James Bond.

Britain's advertising watchdog judged the phrase to be unacceptable for such public display. Condom maker Durex said the poster, which featured inflated condoms that spelled out "roger more" was intended to be humorous.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled the advert should be used in a more targeted medium or that a different approach be taken on posters in the future. The watchdog refused to uphold a complaint that the poster advert was sexist or encouraged people to have casual sex.

He always did have an inflatable opinion about himself.





Miss Moneypenny Speaks

May 26, 2003 - Ian Fleming Publications Ltd

Miss Moneypenny of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd recently sent out an email to all newsletter recipients. Here is what she had to say:

As many of you will know from our news service (www.ianflemingcentre.com), Special Agent Raymond Benson is going to be concentrating on new activities in the future. We have been conducting a top-secret review of the way in which the missions of 007 will be reported from now on. Results of that review are, at the present time, classified in order to protect 007 who is currently working undercover. Miss Moneypenny will not, therefore, be responding to any further enquiries on this subject, but we will inform you of new developments as soon as it becomes appropriate to do so.

A number of field operatives have contacted us recently wishing to put themselves forward as candidates for the role of recounting the missions of James Bond in print. Miss Moneypenny would like to thank those operatives for their enquiries, but we will not be accepting any such offers and our policy on unsolicited manuscript material remains unchanged: we always return it unread.

Unless you enjoy writing for a living and don't mind having a committee looking over your shoulder, it would be easier to come up with an original character and story than to tackle an established icon.





Rosamund Pike Speaks Out About Bond Girl Image

June 2, 2003 - The Age

Former Bond girl Rosamund Pike today spoke of her terror at taking on the spy film's swashbuckling role. The actress played spiky fencing champion, Miranda Frost, in the last James Bond film, Die Another Day.

She told the Independent on Sunday's Sunday Review magazine that the prospect of getting "seriously fit" was terrifying. Pike said: "People don't give you credit for nerves when you're done up to look completely sophisticated and cool."

She is now performing in a play, Hitchcock Blonde, in which there is a 10-minute nude scene. Of that role, Pike said: "I don't know what kind of emotions it conjures up in the audience. Whether it's titillating or disturbing or embarrassing ... or shamemaking."

Quite revealing.





'WHAT IS YOUR SPY NAME' Contest

June 4, 2003 - SideShow Collectibles

You have just entered the most dangerous and elite profession ever known: espionage. The world will soon learn of you, and your name will become legend. But what name will that be? Are you a good agent, a master villain, a femme fatale or a henchmen?

Send Sideshow your best secret agent name that would rival the characters in the world of James Bond. Sideshow will choose three of the most creative names and reward the winners with a set of our 'The Man with the Golden Gun' figures (James Bond and Scaramanga). Are you up to the challenge? Then click on the banner below.

Who knows? Maybe your suggestion might end up as a potential character in a future Bond movie or novel.





'Die Another Day' Captures Record As MGM Home Entertaiment's Best-Selling Title Of All Time

June 4, 2003 - Biz Ink

Marking yet another explosive entry by the celebrated James Bond franchise, MGM Home Entertainment expects a record-breaking shipment of more than 16 million units of the "Die Another Day" Special Edition DVD worldwide. "Die Another Day" enters the record books as MGM's best-selling title of all time, further reinforcing the Bond series' position as the most successful franchise in motion picture history. The 20th installment in the James Bond film series, "Die Another Day" is also the Studio's top-grossing theatrical film ever, garnering nearly $430 million at the worldwide box office.

"Sell-off of 'Die Another Day' product released in numerous European markets has been extraordinarily strong and we expect the same results domestically and in other foreign territories," said David Bishop, president and COO of MGM Home Entertainment. "The Bond films have always been a tremendous hit with consumers and given the highly anticipated arrival of this Special Edition DVD, we are confident the title will fly off shelves at retail."

Recently celebrating the 40th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise, the movies have spawned legions of fans across the globe. Based on characters created in the famed Ian Fleming novels, "Die Another Day" stars Pierce Brosnan, in his fourth outing as Agent 007, Academy Award(R)-winners Halle Berry, Judi Dench and John Cleese. The Bond series is cumulatively the most profitable franchise on video and DVD, boasting sales of well over $1 billion worldwide.

Once again living up to it's title.





Two OO7 Characters Appear On AFI List

June 4, 2003 - Associated Press

Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird” beat out an army of swashbuckling idols for the top spot on the American Film Institute's list of top screen heroes. Hannibal Lecter from “The Silence of the Lambs” chewed up the competition to lead the list of film villains.

The institute unveiled its ranking Tuesday night of the top good and bad guys in American film on the CBS special “AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains.”

Finch, played by Gregory Peck in the 1962 classic, was a faultlessly noble widower raising a daughter and son amid Southern racial unrest as he defended a black man accused of raping a white woman.

“I think Atticus Finch just represents the goodness all of us want to see in others and feel in ourselves,” said Jean Picker Firstenburg, the institute's director. “This is a hard time in human history, and we look for the bright spots that show us the way.”

Indiana Jones from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was No. 2 on the heroes list, and James Bond from “Dr. No" through "Die Another Day” came in third. At No. 49 was the villain Auric Goldfinger from "Goldfinger".

The top 100 heroes and villains were chosen from 400 character nominees on ballots sent to 1,500 actors, directors, critics and others in the movie industry. Host Arnold Schwarzenegger was the only actor to make both lists. He was No 22 on the villains list for his portrayal of the T-800 in the original Terminator movie and No 48 on the heroes list for playing a reprogrammed T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Arnie said: "I am absolutely ecstatic about it. To say you are one of the 50 favourite villains and one of the 50 favourite heroes is unbelievable, and I feel very honoured."

The Top 10 heroes are:

1: Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
2: Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
3: James Bond (Dr No - Die Another Day)
4: Rick Blaine (Casablanca)
5: Will Kane (High Noon)
6: Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs)
7: Rocky Balboa (Rocky)
8: Ellen Ripley (Aliens)
9: George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life)
10: Colonel TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)

The Top 10 villains are:
1: Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
2: Norman Bates (Psycho)
3: Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back)
4: The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
5: Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
6: Mr Potter (It's a Wonderful Life)
7: Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction)
8: Phyllis Dietrichson (Double Indemnity)
9: Reagan MacNeil (The Exorcist)
10: The Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

Personally I feel James Bond should had received 2nd place since he has 40 years and 20 films to Indy's 3 films.





Former Bond Stuntman Performs High Wire Act

June 10, 2003 - Reuters

Suspended 160 metres (525 feet) above the Rhine, two German tightrope artists have made a spectacular record-breaking motorcycle crossing of the river near the western town of St Goar.

Johann Traber, 50, and his son Johann junior, 19, spun like a giant propeller 14 times around the 581-metre long highwire while crossing the river in about five minutes before a crowd of some 15,000 late on Sunday, breaking their previous record of 12 revolutions.

The pair were held together by a contraption linking the motorcycle, which had its front tyre replaced with a grooved wheel, to a trapeze dangling beneath the 16-mm thick highwire. Traber sat on the trapeze while his son rode the motorbike and they spun around the axis of the wire using movements in their weight to keep them revolving.

"I'm simply delighted," Johann Traber senior told Reuters Television. "It was a lot of work to prepare this. I'm a bit exhausted right now, but totally happy."

Shipping on the Rhine, one of the world's busiest waterways, was temporarily halted as a precaution for the stunt. Multiple-record breaker Traber senior has collaborated with U.S. stunt legend Evel Knievel and worked on such films as the 1979 James Bond hit "Moonraker".

Traber, from Breisach, hails from a family steeped in the highwire tradition -- his forebears were dicing with death as early as 1512. Yet despite having tightropes in his blood, Traber admits he can still get nervous.

"Obviously I know what I'm doing, but if I think about it too much, I start to worry it might go wrong," he said.

Giving their 'all time high'.





Roger Moore: Double-O Heaven

June 13, 2003 - by Bob Chaundy for BBC News

Roger Moore's career has gone a long way since he first appeared on television as a knight called Ivanhoe. Last month he appeared on stage in West End hit The Play What I What I Wrote, but it was not his acting that hit headlines.

"I seem to have fainted, old boy," he said, as he came round after collapsing on stage.

Within hours, he had been fitted with a heart pace-maker. It was the kind of English understatement, doubtless delivered with his trademark raised eyebrow, that typified his portrayal of the secret-agent, James Bond.




But the cut-glass accent belies modest beginnings. Roger Moore was born in 1927 in the London suburb of Stockwell. The son of a policeman, he left school at 15 in the hope of becoming an artist. But a chance opportunity to become a film extra began his love-affair with the silver screen. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in London, but, initially, found acting roles hard to come by.

He had a short-lived marriage to a fellow Rada student, Doorn van Steyn, whom he left for the singer, Dorothy Squires, popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Squires took him to the United States where he made his film debut with Elizabeth Taylor in The Last Time I Saw Paris. He was also Lana Turner's leading man in Diane.

But it was in television back home in England that Roger Moore got his real break. After Ivanhoe came The Saint. As its hero, Simon Templar, Roger Moore developed the debonair character, with a propensity towards violence if necessary, that was a blueprint for his subsequent Bond character.

Indeed, Moore was considered for the first James Bond film, Dr No, in 1962, but was judged too pretty. But when Sean Connery tired of the role, Moore picked up the reins, and gave the character a more humorous side.

Roger Moore confounded the critics and was readily accepted by audiences everywhere, breaking all box-office records. Moore made his Bond debut with Gloria Hendry in Live and Let Die. In all, he starred in seven Bond films, from Live and Let Die in 1973, to A View To a Kill in 1985.

After an acrimonious split with Dorothy Squires, Moore lived with Italian, Luisa Mattioli. They were unable to marry until 1969 when Dorothy Squires finally agreed to a divorce. The couple had three children but, after 38 years, they too split up and, last year, Moore married his fourth wife, Kiki Tholstrup.

In the meantime, Roger Moore became a tireless campaigner against cruelty to children in his role as a special ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef. Roger Moore believes his Unicef experience has brought new meaning and purpose to his life.

On learning of his impending knighthood, he said: "I accept this title on behalf of the many thousands of volunteers and workers at Unicef who dedicate their lives to helping the millions of children in need around the world today."

Well, that leaves George, Timothy and Pierce who have yet to be knighted too.





'Q' Coming Next Week

June 26, 2003 - Sideshow Toys

Is that a watch? No! It's a high-powered industrial magnet! Everyone's favorite gadget super-genius 'Q' is coming to Sideshow Collectibles as an exclusive 12 inch James Bond collectible figure. Our figure captures the likeness of the original 'Q' played by actor Desmond Llewlyn and will have a limited edition run to be determined at a later date.

Grow up, 007!





It's Everything Or Nothing For Brosnan

July 1, 2003 - Gamefaction

Electronic Arts announced today the cast for the upcoming videogame James Bond 007TM: Everything or NothingTM under the EA GAMES brand. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond 007 leads a stellar cast of talent that includes both actors reprising their Bond film roles and actors creating new roles specifically created for the game.

Returning along with Pierce Brosnan in their film roles are John Cleese as "Q", Dame Judi Dench as "M", and Richard Kiel as legendary henchman Jaws. In the role of Bond's new nemesis Nikolai Diavolo is Willem Dafoe, joined by Shannon Elizabeth as new cyber Bond girl Serena St. Germaine and Heidi Klum as the malevolent Katya Nadanova. All cast members will contribute voiceover for their roles as well as accurate likenesses provided through EA's electronic "cyberscanning" process.

"I look forward to returning as James Bond in Everything or Nothing," said Mr. Brosnan. "Playing the role in the interactive realm lets me bring my interpretation of the character to a new generation of Bond fans."

In James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, players will answer the question: "What would James Bond do?" as they encounter classic villains, exotic locations, beautiful women, fast cars, and high-tech gadgetry. The original script from veteran Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein immerses the player in the world of James Bond with missions that span exotic locales in four continents, all set in a third person view that showcases the Hollywood cast playing out a real-time cinematic action adventure.

Let the mayhem begin.





Connery's Accent Untouchable

July 1, 2003 - News.com.au

SCOTTISH actor Sean Connery created the worst accent in the history of cinema in the 1987 movie The Untouchables, according to a poll conducted by British film magazine Empire.

His attempt at pulling off an Irish twang in his Oscar-winning performance as a cop was voted worse than US actor Dick Van Dyke's bid at playing a cockney chimneysweep in Disney's classic family film Mary Poppins (1964).

US actor Brad Pitt came third in the poll, for his role as an Austrian mountaineer in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet.

Although James Bond star Connery won a supporting actor Oscar for his role as Jim Malone in Brian de Palma's film The Untouchables, a jury of industry professionals crowned him top of their bad accent list, which appears in the magazine's July issue.

"Whether he's a Russian sub captain (The Hunt For Red October) or even an English King (First Knight and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves), always that baritone Highland burr remains," the verdict read.

In seventh position, Hollywood icon Julia Roberts was singled out for her linguistic performance in the 1996 movie Mary Reilly.

Meryl Streep came 10th for her work in Out of Africa in 1985, where she played the role of South African author Karen Blixen, alongside Robert Redford.

Certainly Connery's accent was accurate when he played an Arab in THE NEXT MAN.





From Bond Girl To God's Girl

July 7, 2003 - Associated Press

Six years ago, she was clad in a sexy black outfit, playing a Bond girl. Today she wears a curate's robe.

Shannon Ledbetter, 39, who appeared in the 1997 hit film Tomorrow Never Dies starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, has been ordained a curate in the Church of England. The German-born cleric, who lectures in theology and religious studies at Liverpool Hope University College, will be the new curate at St Mark's Church in the city's Knowsley district.

"I really don't see myself as some stuffy vicar type ... stuck in a quiet rural village," Ledbetter said. "It's important that the church has representatives from all different backgrounds so it can appeal to as wide an audience as possible."

Ledbetter said she had enjoyed her career, which also included modelling, but tried to persuade some of her fellow performers against doing drugs.

"They knew I didn't approve and that I had religious beliefs because on Sundays I didn't work as I went to church," she said.

I would assume that her sermons probably have a large male turnout.





Brosnan Gets OBE

July 15, 2003 - Sky News

James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is to receive an honorary OBE in recognition of his contribution to drama and the British film industry. The 50-year-old Irish star, most famous for his role as British spy 007, will be given the accolade at a ceremony on Saturday, July 19th. The award will be presented by the British Ambassador in Dublin, Stewart Eldon.

Brosnan, whose other films include The Thomas Crown Affair and Dante's Peak, said: "I feel privileged to have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen with this award. I am touched by this unexpected honour. In my life, I am fortunate to be surrounded by passionate and courageous individuals whose tireless efforts are an inspiration to me both personally and professionally. I hope I will continue to fulfil their expectations for many years to come."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: " Pierce Brosnan has captivated audiences at home in Ireland, here in the UK and across the world. In his portrayal of 007 in the last four Bond films, he has added style and glamour to the image of Britain overseas. But he has also worked very hard behind the scenes in supporting an array of charitable causes. This award celebrates a truly remarkable achievement".

Mr Brosnan also serves as Ambassador for Women's Health Issues for Permanent Charities of the Entertainment Industry. In December, 2001 he was made a Special Patron of Unicef Ireland.

Definitely keeping the British end up.





Early James Bond Artwork Goes Onto Chopping Block

July 15, 2003 - by Penny Parkin for 24 Hour Museum

Rare artwork by Richard Chopping, whose book covers defined the image of Ian Fleming’s super spy James Bond, is to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s on Thursday July 10.

The sale also includes sought-after first edition copies signed by Ian Fleming of ‘Thunderball’ (set to raise between £400 and £600) and ‘From Russia With Love’. A copy of ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, the only limited edition Bond novel, is also up for grabs.

Sotheby’s expert Peter Selley describes the first edition proofs as ‘an important part of British literary history and dust jacket design.’

Found at the bottom of the drawer after almost 50 years in storage the artwork was immediately put on the market after 86-year-old Chopping stumbled across it recently at his home in Wivenhoe, Essex.

Chopping was reported as describing Fleming as ‘charming, but horrid’. Consequently he is happy to get rid of his remaining link with the books, for which he believes his artwork was underpaid.

The designer also claims that he has found it difficult to find work following the success of the 007 films due to his distinctive Bond style. He also takes issue with the gun-toting plotlines of some of the novels!

“I was quite fond of doing the early work, but it became a bore and I hate the books. I don’t like the violence. There is enough violence in the world without needing to make it glamorous,” he said, speaking to The Scotsman.

In fact Chopping felt such resentment towards Fleming that he sold several autographed Bond first editions for only £1000 despite their later sale at a New York auction for a massive £40,000!

Bitterfinger?





Bond, James Bond, Stars In New Exhibit At Ford, Henry Ford

July 15, 2003 - by Clint O'Connor for The Plain Dealer

Dearborn, Mich.- Shooting, sleuthing, seducing sinfully beautiful women, saving the world and looking really good doing it takes a certain amount of training. For James Bond, immaculately tailored in a tux, sipping a martini, it all seems so easy.

But what about us average schlubs? How can we become dashing secret agents?

You'll have to leave the dashing part to plastic surgeons, but for spy school check out the newly opened James Bond exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. It celebrates 40 years of Bond films - from "Dr. No" in 1962 to "Die Another Day" in 2002 - with gadgets, guns and loads of behind-the-scenes information.

"Bond. James Bond" originated last year at England's Museum of Photography, Film & Television. Its U.S. premiere kicked off last weekend and runs through December. If you're headed for the Henry Ford, as it's called (about a three-hour car ride from Cleveland), you'll get a kick out of the exhibit's tongue-in-cheek approach to Bond lore and the spy game.

Among the essential artifacts: Oddjob's lethal bowler from "Goldfinger"; Rosa Klebb's poison-tipped spiked shoe from "From Russia With Love"; and every dentist's dream - Jaws' razor-sharp steel teeth from "The Spy Who Loved Me."

Bonding with James is fun because each visitor is given a secret-agent card. Swipe the card at the beginning to register and choose your level of difficulty: easy, moderate or hard. Then use it to access computer touch screens throughout the 9,000 square feet of exhibit space and test your mettle with trivia questions. The touch screen near the exit will give you your final score and spy rating.

You can trace the evolution of 007s, from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan. You can also check out the villains and femmes fatales, and track the character's Cold War origins in Ian Fleming's novels.

Much like the films, the exhibit begins with a visit to M's office at MI6 (Britain's spy agency). Then comes a jaunt to Q's workshop where you can see a rocket-launching leg cast, ski-pole gun or crocodile submarine.

Bondphiles especially will appreciate the volumes of information on the touch screens - interviews with directors, writers, set designers, stunt masters and actors. One interactive display puts you in a mock scene from "A View to a Kill" (dangling from a cable on the Golden Gate Bridge); another challenges you to save mankind before a power-station meltdown.

I would have preferred more elaborate, hands-on toys: an Aston Martin to sit in, perhaps, or an ejector seat to eject me. There is an Aston Martin on hand - the V12 Vanquish from "Die Another Day," but for viewing only.

"Most of the items are from the more recent films," said Marc Greuther, the Henry Ford's curator of industry and historical resources. "They didn't know to save things the first few years."

For Bond maniacs, the exhibit is a must-see, and there is a spy store nearby if you want to drop some cash on hats, T-shirts, attaches and expensive watches. For casual fans, the exhibit is something to catch if you're touring the complex.

If you've never seen a Bond film, get out there and rent "Goldfinger" (1964) or "GoldenEye" (1995) and catch up.

Very moving.





Brosnan Bowled Over To Become 'Sir James Bond'

July 19, 2003 - Reuters

Irish actor Pierce Brosnan said he was bowled over on Saturday to be honored by Britain's Queen Elizabeth for portraying her most famous and unflappable spy, James Bond.



"I'm sure I'm very humbled by an honor like this," the 50-year-old Brosnan said as he was made an honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) -- honorary because he is not a British subject.

On screen Brosnan has saved the world from annihilation several times over, but he said receiving the honor in his native Ireland, with his mother, stepfather, three children and granddaughter by his side, had touched him deeply.

"I'm completely bowled over by it, really," he said after the medal, entitling him to use the honorific "Sir," was presented by Britain's ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon.

Brosnan has made his fortune portraying the debonair and indestructible 007 in the most recent four of the 20 Bond films. He declined to be drawn on who he saw succeeding him in a role that virtually guarantees an actor will become one of the 10 sexiest men alive.

"I have no idea who's going to play the next Bond but I'm sure he's waiting in the wings there, unknown but ready."

As for how many more Bond films he would do, he ruled out going for the lucky record of seven set by Roger Moore.

"Just one more for now," he said, delivering the line coolly but authoritatively, just like Bond, James Bond.

Arise, Sir Pierce.





Bob Hope And The Bond Connection

July 28, 2003 - DSBG

By now most of the world has learned about the death of comedian Bob Hope. But few here know of the connection he had with the Bond films. First, he was good friends with producer Cubby Broccoli. He acted in the spy spoof CALL ME BWANA in 1963 which was produced by Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. The film crew included editor Peter Hunt, set designer Syd Cain, title designer Maurice Binder, special effects engineer John Stears, cinematographer Ted Moore, composer Monty Norman, sound engineer John Mitchell, and writer Johanna Harwood. All of whom have contributed to the Bond films. Actress Mai Ling who played characters in both Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice also starred.

But it was the 1963 film FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE that had a clever way of advertising the Hope film by having Bond and his friend Kerim Bey shoot their nemesis, Krilencu, as he tried to escape from the mouth of Anita Ekberg. The picture of Miss Ekberg's face was on a giant movie poster, on the side of a building, displaying the Hope film.

In 1985, Bob Hope had a TV special honoring his years in entertainment. It was produced in England and hosted by Michael Caine. One of the acts performing that evening was the band Duran Duran playing their new hit song A VIEW TO A KILL.

Bob Hope died Sunday evening July 27. He was 100.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Hope





All 20 Bond Films On MGM Gift List

July 28, 2003 - By Kurt Indvik for The Hollywood Reporter

Here's a holiday gift idea for the spy who has everything, including a license to kill. MGM Home Entertainment is releasing all 20 of the James Bond films together in three special-edition gift sets Nov. 18.

Volume 1, which includes seven titles, was released in October and will be repromoted and released together with Volumes 2 and 3 in November.

The gift sets are priced at $124.96 each (preorder Oct. 21), and each title gets the full features treatment, including commentaries, documentaries and various featurettes, music videos, theatrical trailers, storyboards and other material.

MGM said all Bond titles, except "Die Another Day," are scheduled to go into moratorium Jan. 19 for an indefinite period.

Originally, MGM had planned to come out with only Volume 2 this year, but the response to Volume 1 prompted the creation of a major Bond package for this holiday season, according to the company.

"Volume 1 was timed around the release of 'Die Another Day,' and it had huge awareness and was a tremendous success," said Amy Zwagerman, director of library marketing at MGM Home Entertainment, so MGM decided to go with all three volumes "and capitalize on the holiday shopping season."

The three sets will be supported by a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign that includes national TV advertising across prime-time programming and major sporting events as well as a national print campaign in general-interest and lifestyle publications and radio promotion in the top 20 markets, MGM said.

MGM will be working closely with Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter, when EA introduces the Bond-themed "Everything or Nothing" video game, so that the two companies can effectively coordinate their marketing campaigns to generate maximum buzz, Zwagerman said. Also in the works is a Bond movie marathon on cable timed around the retail window of the gift sets.

Included in Volume 1 are "Dr. No," "GoldenEye," "Goldfinger," "License to Kill," "The Man With the Golden Gun," "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Tomorrow Never Dies."

Volume 2 includes "From Russia With Love," "You Only Live Twice," "Diamonds Are Forever," "Moonraker," "For Your Eyes Only," "The Living Daylights" and "The World Is Not Enough."

Volume 3 includes "Thunderball," "Octopussy," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "Die Another Day," "Live and Let Die" and "A View to a Kill."

Now of course there is in the works a plan to remaster the earlier Bond movies to the 5.1 surround sound format. These DVDs will be ready in late 2005 or prior to the release of Bond 21.





Mini Camera Inventor Walter Zapp Dies

July 28, 2003 - by Nicole Richiger for Associated Press

Walter Zapp, inventor of the Minox mini camera featured in spy movies, has died, the manufacturer confirmed Monday. He was 97. He died July 17 at home in Binningen, in northern Switzerland, said Thorsten Korteneier, spokesman for Minox GmbH in Wetzlar, Germany.

Zapp's invention, which fits in the palm of a hand and weighs less than a cigarette lighter, has been used in James Bond movies and other films although he didn't devise the camera with espionage in mind. More than 1 million have been sold, Korteneier said. But Zapp realized no great riches from his work, having sold the patent after World War II for a lump sum and a life annuity.

Zapp was born in 1905 in Riga, Latvia. Describing himself as a weakling, he said he began wondering about making cameras smaller while lugging around heavy wooden cameras as a 17-year-old apprentice art photographer in Tallinn, Estonia. Fourteen years later, in 1936, Zapp succeeded in producing a prototype that could be hidden in a closed hand. He began manufacturing them in Riga, but fled to Germany in 1941 when the Baltic states got caught in the conflict between the Soviet Union and Germany during World War II. He brought along one of his cameras and the design, and after the war he founded Minox in Wetzlar with a friend.

Two of the company's main investors were cigar factories, which took over and dismissed Zapp after two years. He moved to Switzerland. After the optics company Leitz acquired Minox in 1989, Zapp - in his 80s - was brought back as a development engineer. Zapp is survived by a son and a daughter. A private funeral was held July 22 in Binningen.

If memory serves me correctly George Lazenby is seen with one as he takes photos of Blofeld's map at the climax of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE.





James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing - New Gadgets Galore!

August 5, 2003 - by Adam Pavlacka for GameSpy.com

There may not be a James Bond movie this year, but EA is doing its best to ensure that the latest Bond video game keeps players just as enthralled as any movie would. To this end the company has secured the work of the primary actors in the series -- including Pierce Brosnan as 007 and Dame Judi Dench as M. The character models have been upgraded, making 007 look even more like a virtual Brosnan, and you now play in a third-person view in order to give the game a more cinematic appeal.

Because of the switch in perspective, the gameplay elements have changed a bit. Instead of playing out like a traditional first-person shooter, Everything or Nothing feels a bit more like stealth action games such as Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell. While some may complain about their favorite series switching gears, most will agree that the evolution in gameplay style is a perfect fit for Bond. It seems as though the slight stealth experiments in NightFire paid off.

EA has kept vehicular elements in the game, but it has made a great improvement by integrating them into the main game. Prior Bond games used two completely separate engines to power the FPS modes and the driving modes, so it was almost like playing two separate games -- complete with the requisite load times as players moved from one section to another. In Everything or Nothing, there are still separate dev teams working on the two styles of gameplay, but they have been focused on merging the engines so that transitions between running and driving sequences will be seamless.

While the core plot is still unknown, EA has revealed some of the locations that our globe trotting hero will visit over the course of the game such as the Valley of Kings in Egypt, the French Quarter in New Orleans, a mountain in Peru, and Red Square in Moscow. Bond's classic enemy, Jaws, will make an appearance (guess he managed to get off that Space Station), and there will be plenty of Q section gadgets for the player to experiment with. GameCube owners actually get a slight bonus here because that version of the game will link to the Game Boy Advance version of Everything or Nothing and allow you to use the Advance as an extra Q gadget. This is very similar to the way the GameCube version of Splinter Cell interacted with the Advance.

A real Bonding time with the game controller.





Sean Film Get's New Lease Of Life

August 12, 2003 - by Sam Halstead for Edinburgh Evening News

FORGOTTEN footage of 1950s life in Rose Street which is claimed to show the first screen appearance of a young Sean Connery has been rescued from obscurity.

The silent footage by acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait gathered dust in an outhouse in Orkney for decades, but has now been restored to its former glory by experts. The director and producer always insisted up until her death four years ago that the man delivering coal was in fact Sir Sean - less than a decade before he landed the coveted role of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. The reel has sparked great excitement among movie enthusiasts, with film chiefs hoping to show the footage at the Edinburgh International Film Festival next year.

The black and white footage from 1953 shows the seedier side of Rose Street, which is now renowned for its line of popular pubs. A child dances to an accordion player as she waits for her father in the pub, while a man shuffles into a shop to buy contraceptives.

But it is the prospect of a young Sean Connery making his undistinguished cameo in the movie which has caused the most anticipation for film buffs. Experts at Scottish Screen, who have restored the film, remain uncertain about the young man’s identity, but the filmmaker herself was always adamant it was Sir Sean.

Janet McBain, curator at Scottish Screen, who has just completed a restoration of Mrs Tait’s earliest films in Rose Street, said: "At the time, Rose Street did not have the most savoury reputation and was known for its pubs, chip shops and seedy side.

"This is a fascinating snapshot of life from her observational camera. People buying chips, a child dancing to an accordion player as she waits for her father who is in the pub, people walking back and forth.

"It is important historically and as one of the first pieces by a filmmaker who was critically acclaimed around the world."

The 40 discarded film reels were unearthed by Mrs Tait’s husband, writer Alex Pirie, in an outhouse the filmmaker used as a studio in Finstown in Orkney. Now, Scottish Screen has launched a campaign to raise £50,000 to complete the clean-up in preparation for a possible viewing at the Film Festival.

Mrs Tait died four years ago aged 81, but produced more than 30 films between 1952 and 1996.

Double-O-Coal.





Bond 21 In Pre-Production

August 18, 2003 - Sun-Sentinel

Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who wrote 2002's Die Another Day, are already working on a script for Bond No. 21, tentatively scheduled for a November 2005 release. This will be Brosnan's fifth outing as Bond, the last under his current contract. However, there is talk of him doing a sixth and even a seventh in the series, putting him in the same bracket as Sean Connery and Roger Moore, each of whom appeared in seven 007 movies. The final decision rests with Brosnan, who seems to be growing weary of the role. "I turned 50 in May," he says. "Playing Bond is getting a bit repetitive." Money talks, however, and the Irish actor's salary has increased fourfold since he received $4 million for his first Bond movie, 1995's Goldeneye.

Offscreen, Brosnan's life has settled into a comfortable routine since he married longtime girlfriend, TV journalist Keely Shay Smith, two years ago. The couple have two sons, Dylan, 6, and Paris, 2½, plus an extended family that includes Sean, Brosnan's son by first wife Cassandra Harris, who died of ovarian cancer in 1991, and Charlotte and Christopher, Cassandra's two children by first husband Dermot Harris, whom Brosnan adopted in 1986.

Don't be surprised if Brosnan ends up doing 7 Bonds. The idea of having 3 DVD Bond sets of 8 OO7 films each, most likely intrigues MGM's accountants.





Bye-Bye For OO7?

August 20, 2003 - Extra

Pierce has been in New York City working on a new movie. But while shooting scenes in Europe, he gave "Extra" some big Bond news and a personal preview of his latest role.

Pierce is in Dublin on the set of his new movie, "Laws of Attraction," which he stars in with Julianne Moore. Sparks fly as two divorced attorneys face off in the courtroom and then fall in love, as 007 tries a different kind of mission: a romantic comedy

Pierce says, "Its really sweet. It's about fighting for love."

And Pierce told "Extra" that Julianne is at the top of her game. He says, "She keeps me on my toes. I have to act. I have to think. She's so good."

Pierce says although the film is set in Manhattan, most of it was actually shot in Ireland due to budget constraints.

After this, Pierce is back to fast cars and fast women as James Bond. But "Extra" uncovered a surprising secret from 007 - it may be bye-bye to Bond. Pierce says, "I'll continue for the next one. Thereafter it might be anyone's guess. I mean there comes a time when you need to walk away from it."

But first Pierce is working double duty. He's not just the star of "Laws of Attraction" -- he's also a producer. He says, "I just get up and go to work in the morning, get in costume and make a good cup of coffee and wait for my cue."

Whoa! Does this mean James Bond may be back in 2004?





Film To Tell Story Of Real Spy Who Inspired The James Bond Books

August 25, 2003 - by Clare O' Connor for The Royal Gazette

Next month, a Canadian film crew will arrive on the island of Bermuda to shoot scenes for a highly anticipated upcoming documentary on the life and career of Sir William Stephenson, millionaire industrialist, brilliant inventor, celebrated World War II spymaster – and resident of Bermuda from 1968 until his death in 1989.

According to Bill MacDonald, Canadian author of The True Intrepid (the recent bestseller chronicling Stephenson's life), the documentary will highlight both Bermuda's involvement in wartime espionage activities and Stephenson's post-war life here.

"Bermuda was a communications station, and was involved in the interception and examination of mail that was going to and from North America," Mr. MacDonald explained.

In addition to his wartime contributions, Sir William Stephenson left an indelible mark on pop culture, providing inspiration for the world's most famous fictitious spy: Bond, James Bond.

"He was certainly an inspiration for Ian Fleming's Bond stories," Mr. MacDonald contended. "They had houses near each other in Jamaica, where Fleming's 'Goldeneye' compound was located, and where Stephenson went after the war. Fleming knew Stephenson in the war, when he was with Naval Intelligence." Fleming himself is quoted as saying, "James Bond is the highly romanticised version of a true spy. The real thing was Sir William Stephenson."

Bond parallels Stephenson not only in his spying prowess but also in his fondness for luxury. "Stephenson was famous for huge martinis and a love of fancy gadgetry," Mr. MacDonald laughed.

"One of his agents showed me a pen that could explode in your face. He had miniature cameras and stuff like that. That's where Fleming got a lot of his ideas."

Stephenson can also be credited for one of the entertainment industry's most enduring feminine institutions: the Bond girl.

"Since most men were in the Armed Services, most of Stephenson's employees were women," Mr. MacDonald explained. "Some of them were very attractive; I'm sure that's where Bond girls came from!"

Grace Gurner, Stephenson's secretary in his New York office, was the inspiration for the long-suffering Miss Moneypenny, perhaps the most famous Bond girl of all.

The documentary crew, led by Director Terry McEvoy, is currently looking to locate any Bermudians who knew Sir William Stephenson socially, but the task is proving rather challenging: if alive, Stephenson would be 103 today.

New title for a Bond novel - The Spy Who Inspired Me.





Happy 73rd Birthday - Sean Connery

August 25, 2003 - DSBG

Yes it is true. Our most famous Bond star has turned 73 and is still going strong at the box office. Happy Birthday - Sir Sean.

Nuff said.





Keira Knightley Sets Her Sights On Bond 21

August 27, 2003 - LDJW Films

Although there was reports that singers Mariah Carey and Pink were being looked into for playing the next female role in the upcoming new James Bond film. LDJW Films can exclusively reveal Brit star Keira Knightley (18) is being looked at for the major female role in the upcoming 21st Bond film which is due for release in 2005.



Apparently Knightley became talk after Bond producers ended talks with Clive Owen who she co-stars with in the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer produced `King Arthur`. Owen is the first contender to the Bond role after Pierce (Brosnan) leaves the series after the making of Bond 21. Knightley is in high demand after appearing in two blockbusters `Pirates Of The Caribbean` and `Bend It Like Beckham`. She can next be seen in the romantic comedy `Love Actually` where she co-stars with Hugh Grant and many more. Then she moves onto her next blockbuster `Jurassic Park 4`.

Do the words 'robbing the cradle' mean anything?





Sir Sean's Gift For Veterans

August 27, 2003 - by Dan Lerner and John Gibson for The Edinburgh News

SIR SEAN CONNERY has stepped in to help Second World War veterans who claim they were snubbed by the National Lottery. The 50 former soldiers hope to make an emotional return to Holland to visit the graves of hundreds of old comrades who died fighting the Nazis.

The veterans, from across Edinburgh and the east of Scotland, hope to make their poignant trip in the autumn to join in special events to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Holland. But their hopes suffered a setback when they were told they were wasting their time applying for Lottery cash.

That blow has been eased by the Edinburgh-born James Bond star pledging £1000 to help the veterans make the trip. The ex-soldiers, all now in their 70s, 80s and 90s, need to raise £20,000 to make the trip possible. Sir Sean’s donation, which follows a similar contribution by motor racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart, has brought them within £5000 of their target.

The veterans’ representative, George Simmonds, said the group had been thrilled by Sir Sean’s support, in contrast to the disappointment at the hands of the Lottery.

He said: "We were delighted when he rang us at the weekend from his Edinburgh hotel, saying he’d be happy to accept our invitation to the Royal Scots Club in Abercromby Place to present his cheque."

Sir Sean will be presented with two volumes on the history of the Royal Scots as a thanks for his donation.

Shhh...plendid!





Aston Martin Voted Number 1

September 1, 2003 - Ananova

The James Bond car, the Aston Martin DB5, has been voted the coolest car of all time. The model got the accolade in a list of 100 most cool cars compiled by Top Gear magazine.

Second behind the DB5 was off-road vehicle the Land Rover Defender, with the Smart Roadster third and the Audi RS6 fourth. British-built cars which finished well up the list included the Mini, which was 10th, the Range Rover (12th) and the Jaguar E-Type (36th).

The DB5 featured in the 1960s' Bond film Goldfinger. Top Gear said today: "Goldfinger made Bond and it probably made Aston Martin too."

Just goes to show they don't make them, like they use to.





Who Says James Bond Movies Are Fictional?

September 4, 2003 - Associated Press

Britain's newest sports car took a test drive Wednesday, zooming back and forth across the waters of the Thames River in pure James Bond style. The Aquada can hit speeds of 100 miles an hour on land -- and once it hits water, the wheels retract into the wheel arch, jets kick in, and the car is suddenly a boat.



Once waterborne it can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour, according to Gibbs Technologies, the British firm that designed it. With a sticker price of about $235,000, the convertible has no doors in order to avoid leaks. Drivers and passengers must jump over the side to get into the car -- just like a boat. Bond's ride? New sports car doubles as boat

"With this you can have a really good car on the road, and an exciting toy that can tow a water skier, that you can commute to work with, that you can go to St. Tropez with and take two girlfriends," the firm's chairman Alan Gibbs told reporters at the car's test drive on London's Thames on Wednesday.

The car is part of the Aquada Bond series, but the company couldn't say whether that is a veiled reference to James Bond and the sports-car-cum-submarine that the superspy operated in the movie "The Spy Who Loved Me." The vehicle can switch to cruising on water within seconds, and the drive mechanism switches to power a jet that propels the vehicle, according to the company.

"The design requirements for the Aquada were daunting, but the technology has delivered and demonstrates the quality of British engineering," said Gibbs, a New Zealand entrepreneur who built his first fast amphibian vehicle in 1995, before moving his company to Britain in 1999. He said the Aquada was the product of a seven-year development program and 60 newly patented technologies. One hundred of the cars are being built and will sell at the end of this year.

Can you swim?





Brosnan Wins Domain Name

September 5, 2003 - Demys

Pierce Brosnan has won a domain dispute under the UDRP against "notorious domain squatter" Jeff Burgar, who has previously preyed on other celebrities such as Kevin Spacey, Dr. Michael Crichton, Pamela Anderson and Albert Einstein.

The actor Pierce Brosnan has appeared in over 50 motion pictures, television series and television programs, but is perhaps best known for playing the role of James Bond in the long-running franchise and for his part in the television series Remington Steele. Brosnan is clearly big business - according to the complaint, films in which he has appeared have generated box office sales of over $1 billion in the US alone and therefore the domain piercebrosnan.com is evidently a valuable piece of web real-estate.

The domain name was originally registered by an entity known by several pseudonyms including "Alberta Hot Rods" and the "Stefanie Seymour Club" and was pointed to a commercial website at "www.celebrity1000.com" which contains commercial advertising but little other useful content.

As the Respondent did not reply to the complaint, the Panelist came to a relatively brief conclusion, noting:

It does appear that the Complainant's famous mark is being used to attract traffic to the Respondent's site which has no connection with the Complainant, in circumstances where the Respondent has put forward no good reason for use of the Complainant's mark and is simply taking advantage of the reputation and goodwill in the PIERCE BROSNAN name.

...the Panel is satisfied that in registering the Domain Name the Respondent has engaged in a pattern of conduct of registering celebrity names as domain names and must have intended that this would prevent the owner of trademark rights in those names... from registering a domain name corresponding to the trademark.

Deciding that the Respondent did not have any legitimate interest in the domain and that it had been registered in bad faith the Panelist directed the domain to be transferred to Brosnan.

So Bond follows in the footsteps of other celebrities including Kevin Spacey and Michael Crichton in recovering a domain from Alberta Hot Rods - though victory was not guaranteed, after all the estate of Albert Einstein lost their high-profile dispute against Burgar.

Perhaps that was due to the theory of relativity and a lack of a license to kill.





Birthday Celebration For Bond #2

September 5, 2003 - CNSNews.com

Happy Birthday to George Lazenby. He turned 64 (Born 1939). He played James Bond in the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." He also starred in the movie "Universal Soldier."

This never happened to the other fella.





Warren Zevon Dies After Fight With Cancer

September 8, 2003 - Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, best known for the rock classic "Werewolves of London," has died after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 56. Zevon's manager told the Los Angeles Times that the singer-songwriter died Sunday at his Los Angeles-area home.

A lifelong smoker until quitting several years ago, Zevon announced in September 2002 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had been given only three months to live. Zevon spent much of his time since then visiting with his two grown children and working on a final album. "The Wind" was released to critical acclaim just last month.

The performer put his morbid sense of humor to work for the album by covering Bob Dylan's hit "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Several rock luminaries will appear on the album, including Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles' Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt, Tom Petty, Styx's Tommy Shaw and frequent Zevon collaborator Jackson Browne.

Zevon also faced his illness with a sense of humor. He said, "really, the thing I want is to last through the winter so I don't miss the new James Bond movie."

I guess he got his wish.





The Latest On Timothy Dalton

September 9, 2003 - Playbill

The London National Theatre has confirmed casting details for "His Dark Materials". Artistic Director Hytner will direct the world premiere based on the novels by Philip Pullman, adapted by Nicholas (Vincent in Brixton) Wright into two plays. They will preview in the Olivier beginning Dec. 4, officially open Dec. 20 and run through March 2004.

The cast will be headed by Dominic Cooper as Will, Niamh Cusack as Serafina Pekkala and Timothy Dalton as Lord Asriel.

"His Dark Materials" takes the audience on a journey through worlds familiar and unknown. It's a coming of age and a transforming spiritual experience. The great quest demands a savage struggle against the most dangerous of enemies. They encounter fantastical creatures in parallel worlds — rebellious angels, soul-eating specters, child-catching Gobblers and the armored bears and witch-clans of the Arctic. Finally, before reaching, perhaps, the republic of heaven, they must visit the land of the dead.

Timothy Dalton, who sprang to international fame as James Bond after a long theatre career, makes his debut at the National Theatre. His stage work includes Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Henry IV, Love's Labour's Lost and most recently in the West End Anthony and Cleopatra and Taming of the Shrew.

Also he will be seen in LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION.





British Spy Chief Defends Prewar Report on Iraqi Weapons

September 15, 2003 - by Warren Hoge for The New York Times

In a rare instance of a head of Britain's MI6 Secret Intelligence Service going public, Sir Richard Dearlove told a judicial inquiry today that his agency had been fully involved in preparing a controversial dossier on Iraqi weapons and considered "reliable" its claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy unconventional weapons in 45 minutes.

Testifying in the Royal Courts of Justice by audio link to avoid being seen, Sir Richard said he and his team had had "full visibility of the process of preparing the dossier and that the whole process had gone extremely well." The document was published last September at a time when the government was contesting public doubts about the need for military action.

Sir Richard's identity is so guarded that even within the secret service he signs official documents in distinct green ink and not with his name but with the letter "c" — the inspiration for the fictional spy chief "m" in Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.

Sir Richard emerged from his customary secrecy today to be a witness at the resumption of hearings led by a senior judge, Lord Hutton, into the suicide of weapons expert David Kelly.

Dr. Kelly was found dead with a slit wrist in July, three days after facing a parliamentary interrogations for his presumed role in a BBC report asserting that the government had falsified intelligence by inserting the 45-minute claim into its dossier over security service objections and with knowledge that it was wrong.

The BBC report and its focus on suspicions that the government had manipulated intelligence information to reinforce the case for war steepened a falloff in trust for Prime Minister Tony Blair this summer occasioned by the failure to discover the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, whose threat he had put forth as the rationale for military action.

After a 15-day first phase, the inquiry today began an anticipated eight-day second phase, which could become more argumentative since it will include cross-examination and the summons of previous witnesses to return to the courtroom.

Among those announced today as return witnesses were Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon; the BBC correspondent who aired the disputed report in May, Andrew Gilligan; and Mr. Blair's director of communications and strategy, Alastair Campbell, who resigned last month.

At the outset of his testimony today, Sir Richard was asked about the 45-minute claim by the counsel to Lord Hutton, James Dingemans, and responded, "Can I just say you used the word `claim', I would prefer to refer to it as a piece of well-sourced intelligence."

The spy chief said he was "rather amused" at complaints that it was flawed because it had come from only one source. "Much high-quality intelligence which is factual or proved to be factual is single-source material," he said.

Asked if he didn't think the 45-minute assertion was given undue prominence in the report, in which it appeared four separate times, Sir Richard said that "with benefit of hindsight," he thought there had been a "misinterpretation" in the way it was presented. Previous evidence has shown that the claim applied only to short-range battlefield munitions, a crucial distinction lost in its repeated mention in a document about long-range weapons of mass destruction.

He may mimic Fleming's code name "M", but he also has a classic Fleming name. That being Sir Richard Dearlove.





Model Jordan Gives Brosnan The Coldfinger

September 15, 2003 - www.people.co.uk

Top heavy model Jordan blew cold and hot when Chris Brosnan ogled her at a Playboy party. It was only when a pal told her he was 007 star Pierce's son that she gave him a second glance. After giving Chris the Cold Finger, Jordan decided to treat him to her version of Octopussy at London's Embassy Club.

"The change in her was amazing," said a clubber. "One minute she was blanking him, the next she was showing him her knickers."

Nepotism. Sheer nepotism.





Connery Gives A 'Lift' With His Voice

September 15, 2003 - Reuters

Scotland's most famous voice -- that of the original screen 007 Sean Connery -- could become part of the country's new parliament building. One idea arising from the actor's visit to the site last month is for his distinctive drawl to be used in the elevators.

"Since Sir Sean visited, there have been talks outlining one or two ideas for his future involvement in the building ...," a parliamentary spokesman said Monday.

"His voice in the lifts is a fun idea. It might just happen," he added. "Who knows? Never say never..."

The Holyrood palace site for Scotland's parliament has cost a budget-busting $600 million so far. It is due to open in Edinburgh next year. Connery, who lives in the Bahamas, was so eager to see his native Scotland gain independence from Britain that he bankrolled the Scottish National Party for six years. The 72-year-old actor said earlier this year that he donated about $8,000 a month to the party.

I guess it beats Muzak.





Is EVERYTHING OR NOTHING Game Living Up To It's Name?

September 17, 2003 - by Alyce Lomax for The Motley Fool

James Bond has to be elusive, otherwise he wouldn't make a very good spy. However, elusive isn't very good news when it comes to a game release. Reuters reported late Tuesday that Electronic Arts' (Nasdaq: ERTS) 007: Everything or Nothing game won't be showing up for the holidays.

According to the article, an Electronic Arts spokesperson said that 007: Everything or Nothing will be hitting stores in early 2004 instead, so that its developers can spend more time perfecting the product. Though a better game should be a bigger draw -- and this surely means some terrific 007-worthy bells and whistles -- missing the key holiday season seems a serious misstep. Traditionally, such software and the holiday gift season go hand in hand.

After all, the holiday wish list has changed. These days, the popularity of gaming crosses gender and age lines. And the James Bond franchise, with its decades of fans matched with current movie releases, gives it a universal appeal across those lines as well.

There's no denying that Electronic Arts has been a gaming superstar over recent months, with a stock price that has just about doubled from its low for the year, fired on by lots of winning titles. Its recent release of the newest version of Madden NFL scored a touchdown by selling upwards of 2 million copies in its first few weeks on the shelves, becoming one of the hottest titles ever to obsess gaming fanatics.

However, there are a few reasons why this latest news might push investors to feel a little shaken, and stirred. If concerns about skyrocketing valuation weren't enough, some buzz about recent insider selling is also in the air, making this seem a rather uncomfortable time to delay an important holiday launch.

Major competitors such as Activision (Nasdaq: ATVI), Take-Two (Nasdaq: TTWO), and THQ (Nasdaq: THQI) could very well be rubbing their hands, hoping that the holiday dollars that would have been spent on the Bond game will end up in their stockings instead.

What a cliffhanger: Will the charms of the James Bond-inspired title be enough to take on post-holiday buyers' remorse? For now, while Electronic Arts hit a new 52-week high of $93.14 yesterday, it was down 1.13% to $92.09 in Tuesday's after-hours trading.

I guess for now its 'Nothing'.





Mya to Perform Original Theme Song For EVERYTHING OR NOTHING

September 18, 2003 - Business Wire

Electronic Arts announced today the music lineup for the upcoming videogame James Bond 007(TM): Everything or Nothing(TM). Recording star Mya will perform the original theme song for the latest videogame in the Bond franchise. The multi-talented Grammy-winning artist, Mya, will also appear in the game as the sultry Bond girl "Mya Starling".

Mya co-wrote and co-produced the song with Randy Bugnitz and A&M president Ron Fair, and three variations of the theme will appear in the game. Officially licensed by MGM Interactive, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is shipping under the EA GAMES(TM) brand for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube(TM), and Nintendo Game Boy(R) Advance.

"It was a thrill being part of such a legendary franchise," said Mya. "I've never screamed so much in my life. Maybe someday they'll make an Everything or Nothing movie that I'd love to be in."

Additionally, Emmy nominated composer Sean Callery will provide the cinematic score for James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Mr. Callery has lent his talent to such television projects as La Femme Nikita and he is currently the composer for the hit television series 24, for which he recently received an Emmy nomination.

In James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, players encounter evil villains, exotic locations, beautiful girls, fast cars, and high-tech gadgetry. Visit the official James Bond videogame home page at www.007.ea.com.

As of this writing, game fans may be waiting another six months before they'll be able to hear Mya's song.





Shirley Bassey Offers Gowns For Charity

September 18, 2003 - Sky News

Britain's Big Spenders are being asked to splash out on a collection of Dame Shirley Bassey's dazzling stage gowns. The Cardiff-born songbird is auctioning 50 of her dresses - one for each year of her showbusiness career - for charity in London.

Among the lots at Christie's auction house are the gold and silver sequinned and beaded gown associated with her first hit, the 1964 James Bond theme tune Goldfinger. The entire collection is expected to fetch more than £50,000 for the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship at the Royal Welsh College of Music, and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Appeal.

"I feel proud knowing I wore these gowns - I've had great success from them and I love them all," the 66-year-old recently said of her collection.

"I am thrilled my collection of gowns, so lovingly made and designed by Douglas Darnell, will help raise money for two deserving causes close to my heart."

However, Dame Shirley, the only artist to have recorded three Bond theme tunes - Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker - admitted that bidding farewell to the outfits would be a sad moment.

"Parting with these beautiful gowns will be an emotional experience as they have brought me great success in my career and have been loved and admired by so many," she said.

Diamonds are forever but these gowns won't be.





George Lazenby Appearence

September 22, 2003 - Chattanoogan.com

James Bond #2 is to make an appearence at the Gatlinburg Toy Show in Tennessee, Saturday, Oct. 4, and Sunday, Oct. 5. Admission is $6 per day, children six and under free with a paying adult. For information, call 423-984-4476.

So spare the rod and spoil the child.





Bond Girl Hits Catwalk For The Clergy

September 24, 2003 - Stuff

A former Bond girl will be among a dozen church ministers taking part in a catwalk show to highlight the latest fashions in ecclesiastical clothing.

Model Shannon Ledbetter, who sported a £250,000 designer PVC dress in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, will sashay down the runway at Clergy on the Catwalk in Manchester today.

"I hope Clergy on the Catwalk will direct attention away from the superficial to the spiritual," she said in a statement.

Organisers said the show would feature "colourful, contemporary vestments from leading ecclesiastical designers".

Ledbetter, 39, lectures in Theology and Religious Studies in Liverpool and was ordained as a Church of England deacon last year.

The show will mark the start of the Christian Resources Exhibition - a three-day event at which exhibitors market everything from communion wine to wooden pews and church organs.

They'll do anything these days to fill those pews.





Woman Accidentally Shot With James Bond-Style Secret Gun

September 24, 2003 - Ananova

An Australian woman has been accidentally shot by a friend with a James Bond-style gun designed to look like a pen. Police said a woman picked up what she believed was a normal pen from the floor of the Canberra nightclub and unintentionally fired a projectile at her friend, hitting her in the chest.

Federal Police Detective Constable Naomi Binstead said the victim required surgery to remove the projectile, believed to be made of metal, fired from the pen gun. Police are still analysing the projectile from the pen gun, which had similarities to the gadget featured in the 1983 Bond movie Never Say Never Again.

"This is a serious incident and the community needs to be aware of the dangers associated with these items," Detective Binstead said in a statement.

"Pen guns are illegal and anyone found with one in their possession would face prosecution."

Detective Constable Binstead said pen guns could also resemble tubular cigar holders, reports the Herald Sun newspaper.

Still mightier than the sword.





Fleming's Magical Car Still Flying

September 25, 2003 - Financial Times

A year and a half in, and the magical car shows no signs of running out of gas. It's often (perhaps even usually) the case that long-running musicals gradually misplace their spirit of fun and become either stony-faced drill sessions or knowing, winking circuses. In the hands of a new cast it remains deliciously clever without growing cloying.

Ian Fleming's story falls somewhere between the snobbish side of his James Bond work (the villainous foreigner here is, after all, Baron Bomburst of Vulgaria) and the wry late-Victorian magic tales of E. Nesbit. When the Sherman brothers wrote the songs for the 1968 film, the strains of sentiment and jollity alike had an especially English feel, with more than one number plainly redolent of music-hall. The additional songs do their best to fit into this mould, and largely succeed, except when they concentrate instead on enabling gratuitous big-production sequences.



At every step, something seems to encourage enjoyment without patronisation. Gary Wilmot is friendly and unshowy as eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, Russ Abbott firmly in the Lionel Jeffries grizzled-but-cuddly camp as his father. Victor Spinetti is every inch (even including that padding) the old pro as the Baron, and Wayne Sleep knows exactly how to slink menacingly as the Childcatcher (although his reliance on Sprechgesang in his musical number is a little obvious).

Sandra Dickinson overplays several of her gags as the Baroness, but has the unusual and endearing knack of managing somehow to squeak like a battleaxe; similarly, Caroline Sheen puts audible effort into Truly Scrumptious's crisp accent, but transcends this to live fully up to her character's name. Anthony Ward's design remains a treat, and even having seen it before, it is hard not to gasp in wonder when the full-size car sails out over the front stalls. Like Potts's invented confection Toot Sweets, this remains a musical morsel supreme, and thankfully more Bang than Chitty.

All Time Fly.





And The Bond Rumor Weed Grows

September 27, 2003 - By Rick Fulton for The Daily Record

CHANCER star Clive Owen will be revealed the new James Bond to the world at the end of next year.

At a Press conference at Pinewood Studios in January or February 2004, Pierce Brosnan will reveal his last outing as 007 will be Bond 21, to be made next year and released in 2005. And for the first time, the new James Bond will be unveiled at the same time.

We can reveal that Clive will take on the mantle in the Bond 22 which will be filmed in 2006 and shown in 2007. Pierce recommended 6 ft 2 in Clive, who turns 39 next week, to producer Linda Broccoli, widow of the late Cubby, who had him screen-tested.

A source said: ``Clive's the one. There have been rumours about Clive, but these rumours are getting louder and louder now.

``No one at the top will come out and admit it, but the claims it's Clive are coming from different sources within Eon who make the Bond films.

``And as you know, especially in Bond movies, there's no smoke without fire.''

PIERCE, who turned 50 in May, will hang up his Walther PPK and hand over the keys to 007's well-stocked cabinet of goodies to Clive, best known for Nineties TV show Chancer, BMW commercials and films such as Croupier, Gosford Park and The Bourne Identity.

The coveted role of Bond has been linked to almost every hunk in Britain, including Scots Gerald Butler, Ewan McGregor and Dougray Scott, as well as Bend It Like Beckham star Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Bond fans' favourite Ralph Fiennes.

There were claims earlier this year that Clive didn't think Bond was a ``challenge'', but the quote wasn't his but attributed to a friend. When he's been asked directly, he's always sounded positive. And Clive, a married dad-of-two, fits the bill as Bond in a number of ways.

The source revealed: "Seeing Clive in Croupier brought him to the Bond makers' attention. He looks good in a tuxedo and has that edge which makes him attractive to the ladies, but liked by the guys. He's not hugely known, but has done some good films and is at least a name people recognise. Most of the other names mooted are already known actors so could never be Bond."

"Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan were both known actors, but not hugely famous when they took on 007 and they are the best. The producers keep screen testing possible replacements forBrosnan. Most recently, it was Jack Davenport and Orlando Bloom. It seems as soon as someone is hot, they get called in. But Jack and Orlando are possible Bonds of the future. Remember, Robbie Williams was even linked with Bond, but Clive's name keeps cropping up."

Clive was born in Coventry and went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the Eighties. His role as Stephen Crane in Chancer in 1990 made him a household name, alongside Sean Pertwee, but his films always showed a darker side, especially Close My Eyes, which saw his character seduced by his sister.

So what of Pierce's last outing? The name of the film seems to be The Man With The Red Tattoo. It's based on a book by Raymond Benson, the official author who took over from Ian Fleming and takes Bond to Japan to stop a killer virus outbreak. The book, published last year, is topical because of this year's SARS outbreak.

Another name is Everything Or Nothing, but that's the name of a new Bond computer game, so would seem unlikely.

Michael Kitchen will return as MI6 man Tanner, as will Michael Madsen as Falco. Names for the new Bond villain include Willem Defoe and Jon Voight. Mariah Carey will do a Madonna and get to sing the title track of the film for a cameo role.

Bond girls include Shannon Elizabeth, Tiffany Amber Thiessen and Heidi Klum.

Last night a spokesperson for Eon denied it was Clive and poured cold water on the name of Pierce's last film as Bond. She said: "There is no truth in any of these rumours." But then she's in the same department that claimed Die Another Day WASN'T the name of the last Bond a few weeks before it was announced it was.

And to think it takes a tabloid newspaper to bring you this much information. If their sources are correct, how come they don't know the real name of Mrs. Albert (Cubby) Broccoli, which so happens to be Dana. My suggestion is to take this with a grain of salt and rub it into their wounds.





Licence To Paint

September 29, 2003 - By Jo Walker for Express And Star

A fomer Black Country foundry worker has been given a licence to paint James Bond star Sir Roger Moore. It is the first major commission for Gary Morgan who only turned professional as an artist 18 months ago after taking voluntary redundancy from West Bromwich-based Copal Castings. Sir Roger asked for his portrait to be painted after Gary sent a letter and portfolio of his work to the former 007 star earlier this year. Gary said he was delighted to be asked to paint the recently knighted actor, who he admires most for his role as Simon Templar in the TV series The Saint.

He said: "I'm very pleased with the finished version and with any luck he will be too. I don't know which of his houses he will put it, or even his boat."

The 75-year-old star, who is a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, and will be knighted by the Queen on October 9th, didn't have time to sit for the portrait so Gary was sent three photographs to work from instead.

Gary, aged 41, said: "I took his hands off one, his facial features off another and changed the colour of his suit and the background to show his face off better."

The oil painting will remain with Gary for another six months to allow time for a protective varnish to be applied. Roger Moore originally wanted to be an artist himself but got into acting after working as a film extra in the 1940s.

Do you think he paints by numbers, 0-0-7?





From London With Love

September 30, 2003 - Empire Online

It's hard to believe but it's been nearly sixteen years since Sean Connery attended one of his premieres in London. But, last night he once more walked the red carpet in Leicester Square as he rolled up for the premiere of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Appearing for his first London premiere since The Name of the Rose, Connery was rather taken aback by the almighty caterwauling that welcomed him, with hundreds turned out to see the screen legend in person.

Connery, 73, was surprised by the size of the 2,000-strong crowd which cheered him outside the Odeon Cinema as he arrived.

"I was overwhelmed with the response, they were fantastic out there," he told Empire Online after retreating inside the cinema. "I must say I was not prepared for such an onslaught, they were really wonderful."

He brushed off comments that he was too old for action films, telling one reporter: "Let's see how far you'd go in a fight scene with me."



While calls of "Shir Shean!" echoed from numerous would-be impersonators, it is to Connery's co-stars that Empire Online turned to find out who does the best Sean Connery. "Everyone did it, I think," confessed Shane West "but no one really got caught. I can't do one for you now, we decided not to do the impressions anymore because he might actually get mad."

"Everyone heard that you weren't allowed to do the impersonation except me," recalled Stuart Townsend, "so one day I did it in front of him and he laughed, he didn't mind."

Asked which he thought was the best, Connery called his co-stars out for fibbing, "no they never did any impressions in front of me, no matter what they say." And would the man himself do a Sean Connery impression for us? "The name's Moore," he said. "Roger Moore."

He then made plaster casts of his hands which will be set in bronze and placed as a permanent fixture in London's Leicester Square. They will sit alongside those of stars such as Tom Cruise, Charlton Heston, Bruce Willis and Pierce Brosnan. In the film he plays Allan Quatermain, who along with a number of other literary heroes such as Dorian Gray, Dr Jekyll, Captain Nemo and Tom Sawyer take on foes in the action movie.

I will be curious as to how well this film will do in England since it was poorly received here in the States.





Cops Bust James Bond

September 30, 2003 - NBC-San Diego

The California Highway Patrol reported Monday that they chased James Bond all the way from Carlsbad to San Diego before getting him to stop his vehicle.

Bond, 55, is currently living in Westminster, said authorities, who reported that they tried to pull him over at Avenida Encinas and Interstate 5 in La Costa because of a broken tail light. Carlsbad police spokesman Don Rawson said Bond refused to pull over and led law-enforcement officials on a hair-raising chase down Interstate 5 south at speeds of up to 100 mph.

"The California Highway Patrol took over, and we discontinued the chase," Rawson said.

Bond was finally stopped by CHP officers near Washington Street, said a CHP officer.

"They spike-stripped him and he had a blowout," said Larry Landeros.

A clerk at San Diego Central Jail said Bond was booked on suspicion of DUI (Driving Under the Influence) with drugs and evading police officers.

This sounds like an evil plot conjured up by SPECTRE.





Halle Berry's Purr-formance

September 30, 2003 - Time

The cat is finally out of the bag. HALLE BERRY slinks into a strapping new ensemble this week when filming starts in Vancouver for Catwoman. The Oscar-winning actress plays the Felonious Feline (see also: Princess of Plunder, Mistress of Malevolence) from the Batman series, a role made famous by Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt in the '60s TV show and reinvented by a neoprene-clad Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992.



Berry's leather cat suit for the 2004 film is "very bare, very urban, very downtown," she says. Her character, Patience Price, is a scientist at a cosmetics company who transforms into Catwoman — or should we say Sex Kitten?--to take on her nefarious boss, played by Sharon Stone. Benjamin Bratt as a detective is the love interest for Berry's Catwoman, who is both villainess and heroine. "She's not Superman," Berry says. "She's not trying to save the world." Instead, like a pampered house pet, Berry says, "Catwoman is out to save herself." Could be quite a purr-formance. Halle Berry will also be hosting Saturday Night Live on October 18th.

This film is not taking too long to 'whip out'.







Digital OO7 Lighter Camera

October 2, 2003 - By Dave Conabree for MobileMag

Are you into the latest gadgets, the small James Bond style devices? Then you will love this, the JB1 is a zippo-shaped lighter with a hidden digital camera inside. It has 7 different functions: a still camera; a video clip recorder; a web camera; a voice recorder; a data storage device; a quick-shot feature (just flip the lid to shoot, no turning on necessary), and of course, vital for every spy, a Surveillance mode. In Surveillance mode you can set the camera up to shoot at pre-set intervals, so this inconspicuous little gadget can keep it's digital eye out for dodgy agents, even when you're not there.



One thing they forgot to include was an actual lighter, if a suspecting double agent catches you with this, shouldn't you be able to provide them with an actual light? Your cover will be blown.

A genuine Felix Leiter - - illuminating!





Moore From UNICEF

October 2, 2003 - By Melissa Ridgen for The Calgary Sun

Miss Moneypenny's favourite spy is coming to Calgary, where he'll ask people to give $2 million worth of money and pennies to UNICEF.

Former James Bond actor Roger Moore, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, will be the keynote speaker Nov. 8 at the 11th annual Chefs for UNICEF gala at the Hyatt, which has raised $1.5 million to date for the United Nations Children's Fund.

Two million dollars is the lofty goal for this year's Halloween collection campaign and UNICEF officials believe it's attainable, given that Albertans donated $1.9 million last October. The orange collection boxes will be available at any Calgary fire hall starting Oct. 25.

Still performing like a Saint.





Halle Berry's Jinxed Lifestyle

October 2, 2003 - BBC News & ITV

Hollywood actress Halle Berry has announced she has separated from her husband, R&B singer Eric Benet, after less than three years of marriage.

"Eric and I have had marital problems for some time now and have tried to work things out together," she said in a statement. "However, at this point, I feel we need time apart to re-evaluate our union."

The couple met in 1999 and tied the knot in 2001. This is the second marriage for the Oscar-winning actress. There had been continuing speculation over the pair's relationship, with allegations that Benet was unfaithful to his wife.

Berry and Benet married in a secret ceremony, which was only revealed two weeks after they had wed. Since then Berry's profile has risen enormously, through roles in the X-Men films and as a Bond girl in Die Another Day.

In 1999, Berry won a Golden Globe and an Emmy award for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge, the first black woman to be nominated for an Oscar. Berry herself went on to become the first black woman to win a best actress Academy Award for her role in Monster's Ball. During her emotional acceptance speech she thanked Benet for his support, calling him "the joy of her life". Berry was previously married to now-retired baseball player David Justice, divorcing in 1996. Benet has a young daughter from a previous relationship with a girlfriend who died 15 months after the birth of their child. Berry has asked for her privacy to be respected "during this emotional time".

Meanwhile, Berry is suing a couple who sold her a $2m mansion in Beverly Hills because she claims it needed repairs costing half as much again. The movie star alleges that when it was sold to her the ex-owners didn't warn her about "major undisclosed defects" in the ground under the property. Halle claims she only found out about the defects after the purchase was completed in 2001. She says she wanted to build a new home on the site but could only do so if she spent $1m to make it safe.

Jonathan and Alison Roth, the previous owners, have launched a counter-action, insisting that the Berry knew about the condition of the site and bought it "as is". They are also alleging that they have been "subjected to a campaign of intimidation and threats" since they sold their home to the star.

But on a lighter note, Berry, Anthony Hopkins and Britney Spears are among the celebrities to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Kevin Costner, Glenn Close and film director John Singleton will be also be honoured next year.

Johnny Grant, chairman of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said the inductees had been chosen from among hundreds of nominations.

He added: "There is a favourite on this list for everybody. We have both young and veteran performers and local, national and international stars.

Except for the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I would say she is living up to her character's name in Die Another Day.





Bond 21 Heading To An IMAX Theater?

October 6, 2003 - New York Daily News

Apparently the folks at IMAX are eyeing Spider-Man 2 for another one of their giant screen releases. So far fans have been willing to pay up for the big screen experience. Theatergoers who saw the Imax version of "Matrix Reloaded" at the Imax theater in the popular Sony multiplex at Broadway and W. 68th Street paid $13 a ticket, vs. $10 a ticket at a regular screen.

"Our strategy is to offer the consumer a premium product at a premium price," said Imax co-CEO Brad Wechsler. But Imax has to get more studios to sign on. It hasn't announced a big Hollywood deal in some time.

Last week, MGM chief Alex Yemenidjian, was asked at a big media conference whether he'd consider an Imax version of MGM's next James Bond flick. Yemenidjian said he's talking to Imax, but MGM has yet to commit to anything. Also on Imax's wish list: the next "Harry Potter" and "Spider Man 2."

"I would like to have more visibility," Wechsler said. "We want to show theater owners we have a continuous flow of product."

Now that's what I call BIG news!





The Honor of Ms. Blackman

October 8, 2003 - by Peter Elson for The Daily Post

THE fault, I confess, was entirely mine. In a lamentable lapse I asked Honor Blackman if she had won the role of Pussy Galore in the 1964 film Goldfinger at an open casting audition.

"An open casting audition?" she gasps, not so much crouching tigress as one about to pounce.

Coming over all Lady Bracknell she adds, "I don't know what they are," but suddenly sniggers, "how grand am I?!"

Then gets serious again: "All I know is that I was asked to do it. It's true that I was the hottest thing at that point with The Avengers and so the fact that I did judo meant that I was dead-ringer right, says she so modestly."

Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale in the famed 1960s television series THE AVENGERS.

 

Before dissolving into more chuckles. Formidably feline is the phrase that unavoidably springs to mind when bantering with Ms. Blackman, but just when you think you've overstepped the mark she goes all coquettish on you. Or bursts into throaty laughter, after all there is an engaging air of self-parody.

As the most enduring Bond girl of all, Honor Blackman officially renewed her acquaintance with the James Bond industry by hosting a hugely successful concert of music from the films conducted by Carl Davis and performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Liverpool Summer Pops. Finally, four years later, she is back with the concert on Thursday evening, this time at the Philharmonic Hall.

In typically forthright manner she says: "If somebody had said you'd still be talking about this bloody film 40 years later I would have said don't be daft. It's astonishing that they're even still making the Bond series.

"The snowball started with Goldfinger. I didn't realise how big it was going to be. I had seen From Russia with Love and thought it was an awfully good film. It was exactly like going into The Avengers, you don't have any idea what its future is."

There was nearly a riot in Leicester Square at the premier when the crowd pushed the cinema's plate glass window in. The film was hyped with gimmicks like a solid gold finger especially moulded for Blackman to wear.

"I remember being in my gear with that ridiculous gold finger being applauded down the staircase. Ha ha! It was great fun. During the promotional tour with that gold finger I was even followed to the lavatory by two security guards.



"There's no question that Sean Connery was the best Bond. Gert Frobe, who played Goldfinger, was lovely. The problem was that it was his first picture in English and he learned the language as we went along. My first scene with Gert at Goldfinger's ranch, the director Guy Hamilton told us to rehearse. Gert had the first line and I thought, 'I've no idea what he's saying'. So I waited for his mouth to stop and then I said my line and so on. I mean, I was sitting next to him and couldn't understand a word, so heaven help the audience. I said to Guy, 'Nobody will understand him,' and he said, 'Don't worry darling, he'll be dubbed'.

"Back then, the producers chose the Ian Fleming Bond stories well. They stuck close to the books, except that in the book of Goldfinger, Pussy was a 'lesbian' to start with and they wouldn't allow me to do any of that. The nearest we got to that was me calling my girls Jo (for Josephine) and Harry (for Harriet), things they could get away with."

"Initially the Americans would not let it in because of the character name of Pussy Galore. It wasn't until they saw a newspaper with the headline 'The Prince and the Pussy', showing me talking to Prince Philip that they thought if the Prince can take it, we can do it. And that's how it got in."

This sends her into more peals of laughter. "All the names are metaphors for the characters, although it's a bit naughty to say that, including Goldfinger and Oddjob.

"Nobody considered it risqué here, but it upset an awful lot of TV presenters in America, some of them would not say it all when interviewing me. The fact that they can take it all so damn seriously is hilarious."

The great thing about a Bond movie for the cast is the exotic locations, isn't it? "Oh pur-leeese! Northolt Airport just west of London was the furthest I ever got."

She has never seen Goldfinger since that West End premier, adding: "Everyone keeps telling me it was a very good movie and they go on showing it forever. I only wish to God I got a penny or two every time it was shown. Wouldn't that be lovely? I would be lying here in mink or some-thing."

Neither of her parents were involved in the theatre. "My family were quite startled and not necessarily very pleased as this is the second oldest profession. The only reason that I am an actress is because I was born in the East End, so my vowels were far from perfect. When I was 15, my father, who was a civil servant, asked if I wanted a bicycle or elocution lessons. I knew what answer he wanted, so I said elocution lessons and I had the most marvellous teacher and I learnt poems and scenes from plays.

"Incredibly, the word Shakespeare was never mentioned when I was at school and at home my father was keener on backing horses than reading. My father wrote stories privately, but I don't know if he dreamt of being published. He was a stickler for good grammar. However, through this elocution teacher I was introduced to a totally new world and she thought I should go to a drama school, but I might have been a hairdresser. I love the way I demean hair-dressers!" (pause for really big throaty laugh), "who are not half a vital part of my profession."

After rapid West End theatre success, she was groomed as a Rank Studios starlet (appearing in the first big Titanic film A Night to Remember). Not comfortably fitting the '50s English rose mould, she was rescued by the swinging '60s and the leather-clad Avengers' role of Cathy Gale.

"I can't imagine that I would have ever settled down. My first boyfriend, who was in the merchant navy, and I met when I was 16. While sitting on a bus going to meet his family he said 'When we are married you have to give up all this drama stuff'. I said, 'I have to go now.' I got off the bus and left him with tears in his eyes and he was the loveliest fella. I knew directly that though I loved him, I loved something more. People get quite shocked when I tell them. I am shocked myself whenever I drive past that bus stop in Neasden and remember getting off that bus."

She is a stalwart of the advertising voice-over industry, but her great love is the one-woman shows she tours to highly obscure theatres probably only previously visited by Ken Dodd. Her latest show is Wayward Women, about pioneering females from all walks of life.

Honor Blackman as she looks today.

 

"My manager and accompanist are both lovely and we have such fun, laughing so much. I have worked in London's West End, but it's like going to the office with eight performances a week. In some of these places you don't know how they can cough up the money. One place we drove into was so dark and terrible that I thought I'd shoot myself if I lived there. Yet it was the warmest and most wonderful audience and I thought 'thank God I came'. The country is so beautiful in so many places. The further North you go, the friendlier the people. The idea of putting my feet up is so appalling. I just go on and on. I admit it, nobody goes on like I do," she says and dissolves into laughter once more.

Honor Blackman presents the James Bond Concert, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Carl Davis, Thursday, October 9th, at 7.30pm.





Tarantino's Bond Ambition

October 8, 2003 - Sky News

Quentin Tarantino has said he wants to make a James Bond film and believes he could 'do it the right way'. The Kill Bill director said he was trying to acquire the rights to make a new version of Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel.

"I wanted it to be the follow-up to Pulp Fiction and do it with Pierce Brosnan," he said.

Tarantino said he wanted the action to take place after On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in which Bond's wife Tracy is killed.

Casino Royale is the only Bond book not to have been made into a film under the Broccoli franchise. However a spoof movie starring David Niven was made in 1967.

"From what I know of Brosnan, I think he'd want to go in the direction I'd want to take Bond," said Tarantino. "However I'm not sure the producers of the series would agree."

Just how do you do Casino Royale (the first novel in the series) the 'right way' and have it come after the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service? I think Tarantino should go and redo the Matt Helm series before he is allowed within a mile of this series.





Roger Moore To Receive Knighthood

October 8, 2003 - Reuters

James Bond Actor Roger Moore to Receive Knighthood Former James Bond actor, Roger Moore, is being knighted by Queen Elizabeth on Thursday in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Moore, who turns 76 on October 14th, has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children Fund since 1991, was awarded the knighthood in the monarch's birthday honors list in June.

Moore took over the role of agent 007 in the 1973 film "Live and Let Die" after shooting to fame in the 1960s television series "The Saint." He went on to star in another six Bond films. His last was 1985's "A View to a Kill."

Sure beats the Order of Lenin.





Roger Moore Knighted

October 9, 2003 - Fox New Channel

He's Sir Roger Moore now but the actor, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, says he doesn't mind if fans still refer to him as 007. Rock star Sting also was honored by the queen.

Moore, 75, was knighted not for his portrayal of the unflappable British secret agent James Bond but for his charity work, including 12 years as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

"Her Majesty said I'd been involved with charities for a long time but she supposed that people will always call me 007," Moore said. "I said that I didn't mind because I was paid money for it!"

Earlier this year, Moore had a pacemaker fitted after collapsing on stage during a performance on Broadway. He is the second James Bond actor to be knighted — Sir Sean Connery (search) was honored three years ago.

"I had the worst attack of stage fright in my life. When you realize the gravitas of the situation, it's slightly nerve-racking," he said. "It was like a costume drama and I was Sir Ivanhoe — a part I have played, incidentally."

Moore made seven Bond movies between 1973 and 1985, the same number as Connery, and previously starred in hit TV shows "The Saint" and "The Persuaders."

Congratulations from this website.





Bond 21 Slated To Begin

October 10, 2003 - Variety

Pierce Brosnan is scheduled to reprise his 007 role when the 21st James Bond film begins production in January 2005. Before that, the star will reteam with MGM on Mexicali, an action thriller that will mark the directorial debut of film editor Pietro Scalia.

MGM just picked up the project, which Screen Gems developed and put in turnaround. The studio quickly began negotiations with Brosnan and Scalia, with an eye toward starting production in 2004.

Brosnan will play a successful businessman who witnesses a murder while on a sailboat with his wife off the coast of Baja. After she goes missing, he must save her and make his way back across the border before the killers catch up with him.

The film was written by Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring, the duo who wrote Vin Diesel starrer A Man Apart. Patrick Kelly, who scripted the MGM film Man on the Ledge, has been brought in for a rewrite.

Brosnan is about to begin work with Salma Hayek and director Brett Ratner on After the Sunset, MGM, meanwhile, is mobilizing the next Bond movie. No director has been named, but a holiday 2005 release date has already been carved out, and a treatment and outline have been worked up by Die Another Day writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

The Bondwagon news is just heating up.





Roger Moore Is OO76

October 14, 2003 - DSBG

Actor Roger Moore is 76. (Born 1927) He played the starring role in several James Bond films from Live and Let Die through A View to a Kill. His other film credits include Gold, The Cannonball Run, Ffolkes, The Sea Wolves, The Wild Geese, and Shout at the Devil. His career in television include The Saint, Ivanhoe, Maverick and The Pursuaders. On October 9th, he was knighted by the Queen of England in recognition of the charity work he's done.

Roger is going to need his flame-throwing cologne can from Live and Let Die to ignite those candles on his cake.





Inspiration for James Bond Dies

October 15, 2003 - Reuters

A British war hero, said to have been the inspiration behind secret agent James Bond, has died aged 90, newspapers have reported.

Former Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Patrick Dalzel-Job carried out a series of daring exploits behind enemy lines during the Second World War including some while serving under author Ian Fleming, who created the 007 character. Although he never claimed to be the real James Bond, Fleming had told him he was the model for the heroic spy, the Guardian newspaper said on Wednesday.

Dalzel-Job's real life adventures certainly read like a James Bond novel. In one of most daring exploits in 1940, he disobeyed orders to rescue all the women, children and elderly residents from the Norwegian town of Narvik in local boats just before it was destroyed in a German bombing raid.

He only avoided a court martial after the King of Norway sent his personal thanks and awarded him the Knight's Cross of St Olav. Later in the war he commanded a team in one Fleming's undercover units which worked far ahead of allied lines in France and Germany.

He recounted tales of his wartime achievements in his memoir "From Arctic Snow to Dust of Normandy". However unlike the woman-chasing 007, Dalzel-Job returned to Norway after the war to marry a schoolgirl he had met there as a child. He even shunned the Bond films.

"I prefer the quiet life now. When you have led such an exciting life you don't need to see a fictional account of it," the Guardian quoted him as saying.

Rest in peace, old friend.





Anti-Gun Advocate Sean Connery Makes NRA List

October 16, 2003 - The Daily Record

SEAN Connery has been named on a gun group's list of enemies. The former James Bond actor featured on a 19-page list on the USA's National Rifle Association's website.

Connery supported the anti-gun cause after the Dunblane massacre in 1997, in which 16 children and their teacher were killed. The star even made an anti-gun commercial shown in cinemas across Britain.

The NRA named left-wing celebrities such as documentary maker Michael Moore and Barbra Streisand as ``unfriendly''. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer, Oprah Winfrey and Richard Gere are also mentioned. TV news giants NBC and ABC and even an American football team also make it on to the list.

But one source said some stars considered being on the list a badge of courage. And an anti-NRA group has created a website inviting people to join the list. A spokesman said that more than a thousand people signed up in one day. He added: ``It's a list everyone should be proud to be on.

The association, whose past president is Hollywood star Charlton Heston, backs Americans' right to bear arms.

So much for Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.





Clive Owen Has To Wait - According To Brosnan

October 21, 2003 - Channel 4

PIERCE BROSNAN has announced he'll happily hand over his JAMES BOND role to CLIVE OWEN - but he insists the actor has a long wait before he can call himself 007.

Reports recently emerged that British CROUPIER star Owen, 38, was poised to be unveiled as the latest actor to portray the slick super-spy next year (04), after 50-year-old Brosnan recommended him to movie bosses.

And in response to the speculation, Brosnan says, "Sure, he could do it standing on his head if he wants to, but he's just gonna have to wait!"

Funny! Didn't Brosnan have to wait a long time too and his first appearence in GoldenEye was hanging upside down.





Sir Roger Moore To Visit Vietnam

October 21, 2003 - Hindustantimes.com

The recently ennobled British actor and former James Bond star Sir Roger Moore will visit Vietnam later this week as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Moore, who began working with UNICEF in 1991, is due to arrive in the southeast Asian country on Sunday. During a six-day visit, the 75-year-old will visit UNICEF-supported projects in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri, the UN agency said on Tuesday.

Moore, who starred as 007 in seven films beginning with "Live and Let Die" in 1973 and ending with "A View To A Kill" in 1985, was awarded a knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II earlier this month for his work with UNICEF.

While you're there Rog! Could you please pick up the wet suit Pierce left behind in Tomorrow Never Dies?





Reality Bites On Upcoming Bond Game "EVERYTHING OR NOTHING"

October 22, 2003 - Boston.com News

There's nothing like hiring well-known actors to give a computer game some extra realism. After all, successful actors earn their bread by coaxing us into their realm of fantasy and making it real to us. When the actor is someone we think we know, because we've seen him dozens of times on screen, the illusion seems that much more real.

Which is why so many video games these days feature the voices, and sometimes the faces, of big-time actors. To be sure, TV and movie stars have been popping up in computer games for years. But now that Americans spend more on digital games than on first-run movie tickets, it's getting easier for game producers to bring in top-notch talent.

Pierce Brosnan, the current Agent 007, will be at the gamer's side throughout the upcoming James Bond game, Everything or Nothing, due later this year from Electronic Arts. So will Dame Judi Dench as his boss, M, and John Cleese as gadgetmaster Q, with another veteran bad guy, Willem Dafoe, as the villain. "We went to great lengths to make sure that this was going to be the best Bond game ever," says producer Joel Wade.

But it's a game, not a movie, and that imposes some crucial limitations. In a game, the player -- not some invisible screenwriter -- controls what happens. When Bond faces a deadly trap or a brutal thug, the player may respond in dozens of ways, and the result of his choice could be success or an early death for 007.

So Wade can't just display moving pictures of Brosnan and the rest of the cast. Instead, the game must draw the characters on the screen in real time, showing the outcome of every decision Bond might make. Alas, home computers are nowhere near powerful enough to render human faces with photographic accuracy. Still, Wade says Everything or Nothing will get as close as possible, with the help of "cyberscanning," a technique that uses laser light to draw a digital representation of the actors faces.

"A laser spins around their heads," Wade says. "It's scanning one vertical line at a time. . . . It maps the entire surface of their heads." The result, he says, will be unusually accurate representations of the actors.

Still, the limits on graphical accuracy mean that movie stars do most of their gaming work in a sound booth, recording lines of dialogue that play at crucial points in the game. Often the words will be accompanied by a short computer-rendered video, known in the gaming trade as a "cinematic cutscene." The Bond game will feature dialogue written by Bruce Feirstein, scriptwriter for three Bond films, backed by music from Sean Callery, whose score for the TV series "24" won him an Emmy.

Eventually they will probably figure out how to scan your face and place it on the digital body of the character you're controlling.





Hugh Jackman Tipped For Bond Role

October 27, 2003 - Channel 4

Australian actor HUGH JACKMAN is the new favourite to take over from PIERCE BROSNAN as the next JAMES BOND. Brosnan plans to hang up the superspy's famous tuxedo when filming concludes on the next installment in the series - and X-MEN star Jackman is thought to be top of the list of potential replacements.

A source at 007 movie makers EON says, "A list of possible successors has been drawn up, and Hugh is at the top. He's got everything the producers are looking for - dark good looks, an athletic build, a sense of humour and box-office clout. At 35, he is also the right age."

British actors CLIVE OWEN, IOAN GRUFFUDD, JEREMY NORTHAM and PAUL BETTANY have all been put in the frame - but they have now reportedly been eliminated. The source explains, "Owen lacks the necessary lightness of touch to make Bond a box-office success."

Bond director LEWIS GILBERT adds, "You can't have someone too young playing Bond because they would never be believable in the part.

"And the chances of getting a superstar like RUSSELL CROWE are slim because he'll be too expensive, he'll have all sorts of projects lined up and is unlikely to want to commit to making a series of films. Hugh Jackman clearly fits the bill."

There may be a new name added to that short list soon. Actor Bruce Payne who is in his early forties and looks cruel enough to play the part. He has played heroes, but many remember him as the ultra-terrorist in PASSENGER 57.





New Bond Site Draws Positive Attention

October 28, 2003 - bruceasbond.com

A unique new web site touting British actor Bruce Payne for the role of James Bond, www.bruceasbond.com, is beginning to draw attention. A growing number of people think he should be on the short list for Eon Productions. One of these people is Ron Byran, CEO of Overlode Productions, Inc and producer of the spy spoof, “Never Say Never Mind,” who writes to the Bruce as Bond website:

“I just came across your website via Google. Bruce is a lucky man to have such devoted Angels and your beautiful website is a stunning use of the medium. Best of luck! I wrote and produced a film entitled ‘Never Say Never Mind,’ an action adventure comedy, in 2001. I shot it in London and Bruce Payne was my star. I had to do a lot of wrangling to get him to commit to the project. But after seeing Bruce’s earlier work as the really ‘bad’ bad guy, I was convinced that he could do comedy/satire. Once he committed, he was terrific. The movie was no ‘Gone With the Wind,’ but Bruce was the best thing about it. He surprised me with how easily he learned his lines and how quickly he captured the spirit of his character. I have rarely worked with anyone who fit in so well, was so easy to work with and contributed so much in such a short time span. He is at the top of my list for my next feature. In my opinion, there is not a better choice than Bruce Payne for the role of James Bond.”

The webmaster of long established Bond web site, Dr. Shatterhand’s Botanical Garden, concurs that Payne should be considered for the role of Bond, commenting, “I do feel he deserves to be seen by the producers.” Others discovering the Bruce as Bond site for the first time agree, with comments such as a “refreshingly original contender to throw into the mix,” “Bruce would make a brill Bond,” and “I think he would make an excellent Bond. He has all the sex appeal needed, that's for sure! Heaven help us regarding his blue eyes! Yep, I believe he would, will, make one heck of a Bond.”

The uniqueness of the campaign is also drawing comment. “Fans have rallied to save TV shows like ‘Star Trek,’ ‘La Femme Nikita,’ and most recently ‘Keen Eddie,’” says Bruce as Bond webmaster Jennifer Richardson, “but we don’t know of any campaign on the Internet that has promoted a particular actor for a particular role.” Dr. Shatterhand agrees with this, writing “At the moment, I am not aware of any campaign (Internet or not) of fans offering a forum to promote an actor for a role… your idea is intriguing and perhaps original. There are other Bond sites that have posted a list of potential actors who are in the running for the role of Bond. But none have tried to promote them except by saying, "John Doe would make a nice Bond."

The dedication and drive of the fans (who bill themselves Bruce's Angels) behind this unique web site is one indication of how strongly Payne’s fans believe in him and his abilities. Payne has a large and devoted fan base, with five fan sites in English and one in French, plus a Bruce Payne discussion group on Yahoo. The most popular and well-done fan site, www.agirlwholovesbrucepayne.com, has doubled in popularity during the last year alone.

Bruce Payne as a Bond candidate may be coming out of left field but he is clearly one who deserves to have his turn at screen test bat.

An original website devoted to Mr. Payne with the hopes of seeing him play OO7 or perhaps one of his villains. Welcome to the 'net'.





Jinx Is Dead

October 28, 2003 - by Josh Grossberg for E-Online

James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson had been planning to spinoff Berry's sexy spy character from last year's 007 adventure, Die Another Day, but now the project has reportedly been scrapped by MGM, the studio that distributes all the Bond films.

Jinx would have been the first Bond-based spinoff in the franchise's 40-year history. It was slated to be the next project on the schedule for Broccoli and Wilson's London-based Eon Productions before they started work on the still-untitled 21st 007 flick, with Pierce Brosnan returning as Bond.

The pair had tapped the writing team of Neal Purvis and Rob Wade to flesh out a plot for the martial arts-trained vixen who was introduced to moviegoers slinking sexily out of the sea in an orange bikini in a nod to Ursula Andress's famous scene in Dr. No. Director Stephen Frears was also said to be in talks to helm the picture. Initial reports even envisioned the film as a launching pad for a new film franchise.

Eon says the decision to nix Jinx was due to the usual "creative differences," but, according to Daily Variety, MGM was fearful Jinx might put a hex on future Bond profits.

The studio reportedly wanted Eon to focus on getting Bond 21 in the works and not to be distracted by a side project. Bond films are one of MGM's most dependable cash cows--Die Another Day raked in $413 million in worldwide ticket sales and is one of the top-grossing Bond flicks of all time.

While Eon could've given MGM the (gold)finger and tried to develop Jinx with a rival studio, Broccoli and Wilson--though reportedly none too happy--decided to cool their heels.

Officially, MGM says the Variety report is inaccurate and Jinx had never moved beyond the drawing-board stage.

Even though Jinx is off her calendar, Berry won't exactly be hurting for gigs. The 37-year-old Oscar winner is currently in Toronto shooting another famous franchise spinoff, Catwoman opposite Benjamin Bratt. The two are slated to reunite for director Sydney Lumet's drama The Setup, which starts shooting next year. She also has an option to appear in the third X-Men movie.

Berry next appears on the big screen as a pyschologist who mysteriously winds up as a patient in a spooky mental institution in the horror-thriller Gothika, which hits theaters November 21.

Does this mean Bond 21 may be out earlier?





Martin Campbell: Reviving Listless Movie Scripts

October 29, 2003 - by Gary Arnold for The Washington Times

Martin Campbell directed three very lucrative adventure spectacles during the 1990s: "GoldenEye," which restarted the James Bond franchise with Pierce Brosnan as its leading man; "The Mask of Zorro," a serendipitous swashbuckler that provided Catherine Zeta-Jones with a fetching showcase; and "Vertical Limit," which lowered the standards of credibility for mountain-climbing cliffhangers by a precipitous margin.

A New Zealander who emigrated to England in the 1970s to pursue a show-business career, Mr. Campbell also has acquired a troubleshooting reputation in middle age. He reluctantly agreed to get Bond rolling again. He reluctantly agreed to salvage "The Mask of Zorro" for Steven Spielberg's production company after two directors had dropped out. Last year, he also agreed to play fireman for "Beyond Borders," an Oliver Stone project that threatened to collapse after five years of development and Mr. Stone's decision to call it a day.

"I came in so late," Mr. Campbell reflects during a conversation at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. "Oliver had done all this preparation with the writer, Caspian Tredwell-Owen. As far as I could ascertain, it was a budget dispute with Paramount. As simple as that. I think he also wanted to go to the real places in the story: Ethiopia, Cambodia, Chechnya. As a practical matter, we substituted Namibia, Thailand and Quebec. We were given a figure by the studio, in the low $60 millions. I think Oliver was holding out for about $10 million more, to facilitate a longer story and more extensive location work. The gap wasn't that huge. It was my job to get the script down to size because it was too long and there were reams of dialogue."

It was Mr. Campbell's hope that the pages of political argumentation could be subordinated to a love story about globe-trotting relief workers, played by Clive Owen and Angelina Jolie, who sustain a fitful romance during a decade of pursuing good works and each other. Curiously, Mr. Stone ended up with Miss Jolie as his leading lady in another large-scale production, a biographical epic about Alexander the Great.

A hard-knocks apprenticeship seems to have conditioned Martin Campbell for resourcefulness and modesty. Slim and bald, he resembles Patrick Stewart and Ben Kingsley. Initially a camera assistant and then a video cameraman in the London television industry, he was part of Sir Lew Grade's apparatus at ITV before seeking an escape route through soft-core features with titles such as "The Sex Thief" and "Eskimo Nell."

Waxing nostalgic, Mr. Campbell admits, "I was around for all of Lew's rubbish: 'Raise the Titanic,' 'Capricorn One,' 'Escape From Athena.' The joke going around during 'Titanic' was that it would be cheaper to drain the Atlantic. I ended up producing a couple of films for an American based in London, Elliott Kastner, then caught on as a TV director at the BBC finally. 'Reilly: Ace of Spies' was my first big credit, and then a miniseries called 'Edge of Darkness,' which might not have made it to the States, had a very strong reception. I did a couple of episodes of 'Homicide' for Barry Levinson in Baltimore when I was between features after moving here. I hadn't really worked in England between 'GoldenEye' and 'Beyond Borders.' It made more sense a few years ago to transplant myself from London to Los Angeles. I'm divorced, and my kids live in the South of France with my ex-wife."

When talked into "GoldenEye," Mr. Campbell began by doubting that the series could be rejuvenated. "I wasn't at all confident about reinventing it," he says. "Old Bond seemed to be past his sell-by date. So I agonized for a while until I said, 'Hold on a minute, this is a series that's been going for over 30 years. They must have got something right.' So, I made only little changes, and it worked. People were ready to embrace Pierce as the new Bond, and they accepted Judi Dench as a new M. The novelty aspects were mostly in the casting. We didn't try to fix anything that wasn't broken."

According to Mr. Campbell, his rescue mission on behalf of "Beyond Borders" was anticipated by the experience of "Zorro" There was a slight difference: He'd turned down requests to direct the latter on three occasions. In effect, Steven Spielberg, one of the executive producers, wouldn't take no for an answer.

"It was the same situation," Mr. Campbell says. "Earlier directors had come and gone. I had declined, more than once ... I had started a meeting saying, 'Absolutely not' and ended agreeing to think about it. As I got back to my office, Steven was on the phone. When he flatters you, you start to melt.

"Later that night, I met with my lawyer and agent and said I'd do it. In the end, I loved the movie, and I'm looking forward to the second one, 'The Legend of Zorro,' which is probably the next thing I'll do. We've got a very strong script from the writers of the 'Alias' TV series that involves such things as statehood for California. We're negotiating with Catherine [Zeta-Jones] now.

"It's funny: She was the least paid of the principal cast members in the first movie. Now, of course ... there you go. A real success story. I'm pretty confident we'll have the old cast back. We're not rushing into anything. We'll shoot next year for release the following year."

Although I'm looking forward to the next Zorro film, I would love to see Campbell direct another Bond.





Fleming Manuscript On The Auction Block

October 30, 2003 - New York Post

Christie's is selling more than 300 items from the renowned Playboy archives, including yellowing original manuscripts from such literary lions as Ian Fleming, James Baldwin, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Ray Bradbury and Jack Kerouac.

The manuscript for Ian Fleming's classic James Bond book, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," which appeared first as a series in Playboy, is expected to fetch up to $24,000.

One might say, "we have all the 'money' in the world".





Roger Moore's Son Slams Hugh Jackman

October 30, 2003 - Channel 4

Former JAMES BOND star ROGER MOORE's son GEOFFREY has hit out at reports Australian actor HUGH JACKMAN will become the next 007 - claiming the role should go to a British actor. Moore - who has previously been tipped to take on the role himself - was horrified when he heard the X-MEN star is favourite to take over when current Bond PIERCE BROSNAN steps down.

He fumes, "It couldn't be him. Even if Jackman could do a perfect English accent, it just wouldn't be the same. You might as well have BRAD PITT and go the whole Hollywood route." The 37-year-old is equally dismissive of British choice CLIVE OWEN. He snipes, "He'd be a Bond in the TIMOTHY DALTON mould."

I would call this 'nepotism'.







'Farmer Face' Ruled Fiennes Out Of Bond Role

November 4, 2003 - Irish Examiner

Marathon man Ranulph Fiennes said today he was a whisker away from becoming movie hero James Bond – but looked too much like a “farmer”. The explorer auditioned for the role in his 20s to replace short-lived 007 George Lazenby who starred as the agent just once, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Fiennes – who has just completed seven marathons in as many days at the age of 59 – told Five’s Terry And Gaby Show that movie bosses wanted an unknown for the role. He made it to the final six but was rejected by Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli because his face did not fit. Lazenby fell out with film-makers and they were keen to replace him with someone else.



Sean Connery returned to the role once more, but eventually Roger Moore - well-known for TV roles such as The Persuaders and The Saint – became the permanent replacement. He debuted in Live And Let Die and went on to star in a further six Bond films.

Fiennes said today: “This was in 1970 just before Roger Moore got chosen because the previous Bond, called Lazenby, had been asking for too much money.

“So they wanted to go for someone who wasn’t an actor and therefore, presumably, wouldn’t ask for too much. So the agency asked me to come down from Scotland and when I got there, I got into the last six – God knows how – and then Cubby Broccoli came on. He was lying on a big couch and had a large cigar – and he said I had a face like a farmer. And that was it.”

I find it hard to believe that Broccoli was looking for someone who was not an actor.





John "Q" Cleese Offers Jack Davenport

November 6, 2003 - Channel 4

BOND regular JOHN CLEESE has cast his vote for who should replace PIERCE BROSNAN as the world's favourite super spy - British TALENTED MR RIPLEY actor JACK DAVENPORT. Cleese - who plays gadget man Q in the legendary franchise - is good friends with Davenport's father and is convinced that he, and not hot favourite CLIVE OWEN, should take on the coveted part.



He says, " I wouldn't mind seeing Jack Davenport playing Bond. He's a kid I worked with in the past and the son of a good friend of mine. Good little actor. He co-starred in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN last summer. He's got my vote."

And now for something completely different.





Stars Team Up To Mentor Foster Children

November 6, 2003 - Fox News

Pierce Brosnan, Wyclef Jean, Jane Seymour, Courteney Cox and David Arquette are among a host of celebrities who have agreed to serve as mentors for children in foster care this year. As a part of their duties, the stars are expected to attend Sunday's The Day of the Child carnival at Los Angeles' Pierce College. The organization's 5,000 participants have agreed to mentor some 5,000 children by spending two days a month with them. Organizer Daphna Ziman says, "Steven Dorff is involved, Bruce Davison has been mentoring now for two years, JC Chasez is involved.

"Catherine Dent, who is bringing the whole cast of The Shield, just completed an entire year with her child Tiffany. When she started, Tiffany wasn't reading, but now she is, and they've even been writing a journal together."

Great. Perhaps they can grow up and write better scripts for film and television.





UNICEF A Far Cry From Globetrotting As 007

November 6, 2003 - By Steve Tilley for The Edmonton Sun

Sir Roger Moore is a man not easily shaken, but he certainly can be stirred. The actor who starred as Bond, James Bond, in seven of the super-spy's cinematic escapades still travels the globe today like his 007 alter ego once did. Not for Her Majesty's Secret Service, but as the goodwill ambassador for international aid organization UNICEF.

Moore is in Toronto for the Chefs for UNICEF Gala Fundraiser at the Sutton Place Hotel downtown, a $250-per-plate gourmet feast to benefit UNICEF's Go Girls! campaign for young women's education. Far from a figurehead spokesman for the group, Moore criss-crosses the globe every year to see first-hand the horrors wrought by famine, disease and war.

"Once you put your toe in the water, you have to immerse your whole body," the gracious and genial 76-year-old actor said yesterday in an interview at the hotel. "It makes you angry, that we, human beings, can be so rotten. It makes me angry when I think of the countries that sell anti-personnel mines and make a profit out of it. There are so many issues, you can't put them all right yourself. You can only work with an organization that is serious in its endeavours to make life better for the children of the world."

Moore's 13 years with UNICEF led to his being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II this past June, a solemn ceremony which he recalls with his trademark self-deprecating wit. And yes, you really do get tapped on the shoulder with a sword. "I've got photographs to prove it," he said. "I didn't actually see it myself, because I shut my eyes. I'm always very nervous when people wave swords around my face."

So busy has Moore's schedule been that he and his wife, Lady Christina Moore, haven't even been home yet to drop off the declarations of his knighthood. "And you thought my trousers were too tight! No, I just haven't been home to dump them yet. Dump them! You don't dump them ... we haven't been home to put them in the safe."

Although he starred in dozens of movies and TV series, including playing Simon Templar in the '60s spy series The Saint, Moore is best known as the man who stepped into Bond's wingtips after Sean Connery left the franchise. One of his fondest memories of his Bond days was playing practical jokes on the late Desmond Llewelyn - who played gadget master Q in nearly every Bond flick made - by fooling around with the poor man's script. "He always had this awful gobbledygook to say, and he had a problem remembering it," Moore said. "I would rewrite it the day we were shooting and get the script lady to type it up and get the director to hand it to him, and this wonderful panic would come over his face."

The only Bond films he's seen since his own tenure as the character are GoldenEye, the first film starring Pierce Brosnan as 007, and Brosnan's latest Bond flick, Die Another Day. "I thought it was very good. Very good," said Moore. Yes, but is Brosnan's Bond up to snuff? "I hated him," deadpanned Moore. "He's better looking than I am."

Better looking right now. But will Brosnan retain his good looks well into his fifties?





OHMSS - The 1976 ABC-TV Narrated Version On DVD

November 6, 2003 - Drummond Grieve

The first broadcast on US television in 1976, and not widely seen since it's second and final screening in 1980, the ABC version of 'On Her Majestys Secret Service' has gained legendary status in 007 fandom. Featuring re-ordered scenes and narration, this skillful re-edit is a controversial alternate version of the similarly controversial 1969 James Bond film - the "different" 007 film with the "different" 007.

Drummond Grieve, webmaster of 'Far Up! Far Out! Far More!', the premiere OHMSS website, has produced a full-featured DVD of the complete ABC broadcast which has been, up until now, generally unavailable to 007 fans. The DVD includes all ABC idents, teaser's and re-caps; and the disc itself has all the interactive navigation features expected of a professional commercial DVD including chapter selection & information pages and navigation menu's.

For copyright reasons, the DVD cannot be purchased outright. But by making a fixed donation to Drummond's website, via secure PayPal payment, you will be sent the DVD as a "thank you" gift. For more information, follow this link to 'Far Up! Far Out! Far More!' (http://www.blofeldscat.com/ohmss/ohmss.html) and scroll down to the "make a donation" box."

I just received my copy and it is wonderful. A true collectible for any Bond fan. It shows the ABC blunder which until now has only been available at Dr. Shatterhand's Botanical Garden in audio form. It is definitely worth the donation.





Sir Roger Moore Praises Capture Of Rogue Trader

November 7, 2003 - Ananova

Sir Roger Moore has praised trading standards officials who caught a rogue autograph trader. The 007 actor was among many British actors, including Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, whose autograph on a photo was faked and sold by 47-year-old Larry Bore.

Bore, of Bury, Lancashire, was given a two-year suspended sentence at Coventry Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to 14 offences under the Trade Descriptions Act. He was also ordered to pay £10,000 costs within the next 12 months.

Some of the signed photos included a "certificate of authenticity" sticker falsely stating they were genuine articles, the court heard. Trading standards officers from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council swooped on the stallholder as he traded his counterfeit products at the Memorabilia Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. They had received a tip-off from two friends who had spent more than £700 on signed photos, including ones of Winslet and Alan Rickman, from his stall in 1998. Independent experts and the celebrities themselves verified the autographs - which included one of Helena Bonham Carter - as fake before Bore, of Walshaw, who trades as the Bury-based Hollywood Store, was charged.

In a statement issued after the sentencing, Sir Roger said: "It seems autograph forgeries are growing more rapidly than ever. It is a deplorable practice and one that leaves the real fans losing out. I'm grateful and pleased that Solihull Council is so vigorous in pursuing such perpetrators."

As an additional punishment, the authorities had Bore write 1000 times "I will not fake another signature" in Moore's handwriting.





Rockin With The Royals

November 7, 2003 - St. Louis Today

The Windsors may have a new royal headache on their hands: Bryan Adams' ex-girlfriend claims that the yesteryear rocker had an affair with Princess Diana.

Cecilie Thomsen, 29, a Danish actress best known for bedding Pierce Brosnan's James Bond in "Tomorrow Never Dies," tells the Brit tab Daily Mail that Adams and Diana became lovers in '96, after Diana separated from Prince Charles.

Adams, who penned the ode "Diana" in '85 (with such sophisticated lines as "Diana whatcha doin' with a guy like him"), has issued a nondenial denial: "Miss Thomsen doesn't know anything about my friendship with Diana. ... These reports (are) pure conjecture and supposition."

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.





Roger Moore To Appear In British TV Commercial

November 10, 2003 - Ananova

Nagging pensioner Dotty, the face of British company Tesco, has teamed up with Sir Roger Moore for the supermarket's Christmas advertising campaign. The advert shows Dotty, played by Prunella Scales, seducing the former James Bond on a ski slope and inviting him back to her chalet for a "Christmas surprise".



The pair exchange gifts, enjoy a lavish meal and engage in saucy banter before Dotty moves in to kiss Moore. But as she leans closer, the film dissolves to show it was just a dream. Scales confessed she was excited at the prospect of kissing Sir Roger. She said: "I read the script and thought 'I am going to get kissed by Roger Moore'. And then, like any actress's worst nightmare, I discovered it was only a dream." Sir Roger described the advert as "charming and humorous".

Tesco UK marketing director Simon Uwins said: "Dotty and her family have been the face of Tesco for nearly a decade and are today more popular than ever. "Our customers love the comedy behind the ads and we're confident Sir Roger Moore will raise a smile with viewers over Christmas."

It is a shame that we in the States cannot see this. It looks very funny.





Connery Has Eye Surgery

November 10, 2003 - by Lynn McPherson for The Sunday Mail

SIR Sean Connery was yesterday feeling fit after a successful operation to remove cataracts from both eyes. The screen legend had been struggling with blurred vision which affected his ability to read scripts and his golf game. Sir Sean, 73, had private surgery in California and was in and out of the private hospital on the same day.

His publicist, Nancy Seltzer said yesterday: "He had very simple outpatient minor surgery for cataracts. He was better the next day. He is healthy, relaxed, reading scripts and having meetings."

Cataracts are mostly age-related and affect many people over the age of 65, although not all require surgery. The term ``cataract'' is used when the lens of the eye becomes less transparent, leading to blurring of vision. Sufferers compare the effect to looking through a misty glass.

Dr Jeffrey Jay, a Consultant Opthamologist at the Tennent Institute at Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, is responsible for around 12 cataract operations a week. He said it wasn't surprising that someone of Connery's age and lifestyle had undergone the procedure, which generally takes around 30 minutes and doesn't require any stitches.

"In Sir Sean's case, he is a man with a very active lifestyle, and it is very likely he has been playing golf, trying to see a ball flying through the air in a cloudy sky, and realised his vision could be better."

It is unlikely Edinburgh-born Sir Sean will be taking things easy. He recently agreed to an out-of-court settlement after suing the makers of a spy thriller for £10 million. The star is still determined to make the film, entitled End Game.

For Blurred Eyes Only?





Roger Moore: Saint Or Sinner?

November 13, 2003 - By Lucy Cavendish for Evening Standard

The girl at the reception of the Sheraton Park Hilton hotel in Knightsbridge has no idea who Roger Moore is. "You are looking for a Mr Moore," she says, "who used to be Mr Bond. Is that correct?"

After the 10th time of me explaining the difference between Mr Moore and his fictitious alter-ego, the first of whom is supposed to be meeting me at this hotel, I give up. Maybe Roger Moore isn't going to do an interview. He rarely does. Then I hear a low, discreet cough and I turn round to see Roger Moore standing behind me grinning and sweating and waving all at the same time. He is so unmistakable, stylish in his grey suit and pink tie. He's James Bond, The Saint, The Persuader, just with many more years heaped on him.

It turns out that life as 76-year-old Roger Moore is all a bit chaotic. He has just come off an aeroplane from Vancouver. "I've been everywhere," he says, running his hands through his thinning but carefully dyed hair. "I've been in Vietnam and Cambodia. Shall I tell you why?" But, just as he is about to answer, his tall, darkhaired actress daughter Deborah appears, wanting to talk to her father about the charity she's involved with.

There is going to be a celebrity banquet and Moore will be guest of honour. "It's called The Passage, Dad," she says.

"I know it's called The Passage, Deborah dear," says Moore, barely moving anything but his mouth like a ventriloquist's dummy, he's that stretched and taught.

"It helps the homeless get off the streets," she says.

"Good thing, too," says Moore. "In my day there were barely any homeless. I shall read out the Streets of London at the charity do."

"You're not going to sing it, are you, Dad?" asks Deborah.

Roger Moore looks pretendaffronted. "No, darling. I shall just speak it. Although I have to say I made my stage debut at the same venue [Central Hall, Westminster] and I was really rather good ..."

"Dad!" says Deborah again, sharply. Roger Moore pretends to look hurt again but, inside, he's probably delighted. He's got to that age when everyone will humour him. Then again, he's hardly in his dotage. "That's because I'm fortunate," he says. "I'm well looked after." He means by his fourth wife, Kristina Tholstrup. He's obviously very happy with her.

When we'd first sat down, the beautifully preserved, 63-year-old Kristina came down from their bedroom to check if everything was okay. She fussed over him as if he were a small child. "I heard you were late," she said. "You're never late, Roger, and I was worried."

Later, he tells me that Tholstrup is his lifeline. "We spend six weeks a year in Monaco and six weeks in Switzerland and the rest of the time we are travelling because of my work for Unicef." This is why they have been in Hanoi, to help the lives of children there. "When I was playing James Bond it was the best job in the world. I mean it was hard work, all that filming and travelling and tedium on set, but I earned a lot of money and it was not a taxing job. I just had to say, 'Shaken, not stirred'.

"I had a great time and some great friends because I was living in the UK at the time, until the taxes got raised so high I had to leave. Anyway, once it was impossible to find any Bond villains older than myself, I retired. I then met Audrey Hepburn who got me involved with Unicef and I realised I wanted to do something with my celebrity and privilege."

I ask Deborah if that's why she has got involved with The Passage, because of her father's charitable works and her own privileged childhood? "No," she says. "I did it off my own bat, thanks, and I wasn't overtly privileged."

"That was because of your mother," says Moore. "She was very careful how she brought you up. She controlled you lot and you all controlled me."

Moore has three children from his third marriage to Italian former actress Luisa Mattioli. They met on set in Italy when Moore was married to Dorothy Squires, who was 20 years his senior. When Moore left Squires she was heartbroken and angry. She famously refused him a divorce for many years and went round to his and Luisa's house in the South of France and smashed their windows.

Eventually, though, she relented and Moore married Luisa. They were together for more than 30 years and had Deborah, 40, Geoffrey, 36, a restaurateur and Christian, 30, who now lives in Hollywood and is a bit of a wheelerdealer. Ten years ago, however, everything got a bit more complicated. "I had prostate cancer," says Moore. "It was rather painful and, in many ways, life-changing."

In what way? "I suppose I thought about life and what was going on in mine, and I took some pretty hefty decisions." The most major one was to leave his wife for their friend Kristina who was, at the time, recuperating at Moore's Los Angeles home having had a double mastectomy.

The fallout from this was, for a while, monstrous. His wife, Luisa, who went on to receive a £10 million divorce settlement, was devastated and went public, bitterly saying she had been betrayed by her friend (Tholstrup) and discarded by her husband. Moore kept silent on the matter. "Well, she is the mother of my wonderful children and I did not wish them to be any more hurt than they were by engaging in a war of words."

But his children obviously were very hurt. They refused to speak to their father for "a period of time" and did not go to his Monaco wedding to Tholstrup last year. "Actually, I didn't invite them," says Moore, "because I didn't want to put them in a difficult position. They have great loyalty to their mother. But, in the end, I trusted we would all be reconciled, and we are. They now get on with Kristina and accept her importance in my life."

But why did he leave in the first place? At the time there were rumours that he had been having a long affair with Tholstrup anyway, that his wife was too fiery for him. However, in her book Nothing Lasts Forever (rapidly changed from its original title, Living With a Saint), Luisa Moore claims she did everything in her power to make her husband's life as easy as possible. "I always made sure I had an aisle seat on an aeroplane so Roger was always protected," she once told journalist Lynda Lee-Potter.

Things with Tholstrup don't seem that different. Moore says he loves her because she is "organised", "serene", "loving" and "calm". "I have a difficult life. I rely on Kristina totally. When we are travelling for my job she is the one who packs. Kristina takes care of all that."

It all sounds very pre-women's lib. Not that Moore questions this type of devotion. "It has never occurred to me," he says. "I was an only child. My parents adored me and I had a very happy childhood, so maybe I just sort of expect to be loved." Then again, I suppose his wife and exwife get great benefits by being with Moore. The son of a Streatham policeman, he has gone on to amass a £20 million-plus fortune.

"I never expected to do so well," he says. "I was fortunately always offered jobs because I was so pretty. Women used to complain about it!" However, financial security alone doesn't explain the desolation both his second and third wives have obviously felt (his first short marriage was to skater Doorn Van Steyn). The depth of Tholstrup's devotion to him is very obvious.

"She was there when I collapsed on stage in New York in May," he says. "I was in The Play What I Wrote. It was my 34th appearance - Kristina went to every one - and I was having a marvellous time and then, clunk, I collapsed backwards. I remember thinking, 'What is that clunking noise? Why am I horizontal on the stage?' I thought maybe I had tripped. Then I saw the curtain come down and Kristina looking very pale. I said, 'I'm fine. Let's keep going,' but Kristina insisted that I was taken to hospital. It was very ER."

It turns out that Moore needed a pacemaker to regulate the electrical impulses to his heart but he was out within 24 hours. Now he says he feels fine. "They change the battery every five to six years and it's all very simple," he says. But if he's had cancer and a heart scare, why doesn't he slow down and stop travelling so much?

"That's what Kristina says," he says. "That's what I say!" says Deborah. "He overworks. He cannot bear to sit still and yet he's a total hypochondriac. He takes hundreds of vitamins a day. He says, 'Oh God, I've got a wicklow!' and runs off to the doctor."

"But there's longevity in my family," says Moore. "My father didn't die until he was 93!" Unfortunately, both his parents died before they could see their son honoured first with a CBE and now a knighthood. Moore is very proud of his honours. "My parents would have been so delighted," he says. "Deborah says she thinks they know."

"Of course they do," says Deborah. "I can't believe some people turn it down," says Moore. "I never turn anything down." With that in mind, he's about to appear alongside Prunella Scales and Jane Horrocks in the Christmas Tesco advert. Why did he do it? "I'd do anything with Prunella Scales," he says.

So is there anything he wouldn't do? "I turned down This Is Your Life!" he says smiling. Why? "Couldn't bear to think of all those cross ex-wives!"

"Oh Dad," says Deborah.

As he raised his eyebrow.





Birthday Celebrations For First Bond Girl

November 13, 2003 - DSBG

Actress Linda Christian is 79. (Born 1924) She was the first "Bond Girl," appearing in the 1954 TV movie adaptation of Ian Fleming's James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" on the CBS drama series CLIMAX.

Happy birthday. 79 years young.





Bond Girls Live On - - On DVD

November 18, 2003 - Associated Press

One was a fashion model, one a professional ice skater and another an actress living in the shadow of her famous sister. But Maud Adams, Lynn-Holly Johnson and Lana Wood are now forever known as “Bond women.” As MGM releases three DVD packages November 18th, with all 20 of its James Bond movies — from “Dr. No” to “Die Another Day — the actresses spoke about their screen romances with 007.

MAUD ADAMS

Adams is renowned as the only woman to appear in three Bond movies — although she quarrels with that distinction. In 1974 the Swedish-born model played Andrea Anders, the mistress of “The Man With the Golden Gun” who lures Roger Moore’s Bond into danger. And in 1983, she appeared opposite Moore again as a sexy smuggler with the suggestive name “Octopussy.” She then visited Moore on the set of his last Bond movie, 1985’s “A View to a Kill,” where director John Glen asked her to be a background extra. But Adams doubts she’s actually visible in that movie.

“It has become a big joke to find Maud in ‘A View to a Kill,”’ she said. “Some people say, ‘She’s in this crowd’ or ‘That’s her in the streetcar.’ I never managed to do it.”

At 28, Adams was already an established fashion and magazine model when producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli offered her the chance to co-star in “The Man with the Golden Gun.” After appearing in such movies as “Rollerball” (1975) and “Tattoo” (1981), she returned as a new Bond love interest in “Octopussy.” At first she had doubts about the name. “I thought, ‘Surely they’re kidding,”’ she said. “But it was a little bit of a spoof, and part of the fun was being coy with the name.”

Her last movie was the little-seen 1996 thriller “Ringer.” In recent years Adams, now 58, has focused on running her self-titled clothing line in Sweden and working as president of the skin-care products company Scandinavian Biocosmetics.

In 1999, she married Charles Rubin, a Beverly Hills municipal judge. What does his honor think of her spy-lover image? “I think he secretly likes it,” Adams said. “When he gave our wedding speech, he ended the toast by saying, ’Eat your heart out, Bond.”

LYNN-HOLLY JOHNSON

The amorous Bond isn’t known for turning down a romp in the sack — but Johnson was one temptress whose charms didn’t work for him. She co-starred as the baby-doll Bibi Dahl in 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only,” playing an Olympic hopeful ice skater sponsored by Kristatos, a Russian agent trying to take possession of a fleet of nuclear submarines.

“I was 21,” Johnson said, “but I played it younger ... I was this little nymphette with a very innocent exterior.” Bibi Dahl betrays her villainous sugar daddy by developing a crush on Moore’s Bond — who thinks she’s stunning, but a bit too young. “Put your clothes on and I’ll buy you ice cream,” he tells her.

“I have the dubious distinction of being the only Bond girl to be turned down by James Bond,” Johnson, now 44, says with a laugh. “It’s a riot to have that title.”

Johnson was a professional ice skater whose first acting role was in the 1978 romance “Ice Castles,” opposite Robby Benson. She also appeared in “The Watcher in the Woods” and “Where the Boys Are ’84,” but her career waned in the 1990s and she gave up acting and skating to raise a family. Now married to a real-estate developer, Johnson lives in Orange County with her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, who are big fans of her old work.

“They watch ’Ice Castles,’ but they call it ’The Mom Movie,”’ Johnson said. “For Your Eyes Only will have to wait until the tikes get older. It’s hard enough for them to watch me kissing Robby Benson,” she said.

LANA WOOD

Lana Wood, once known as the sister of actress Natalie Wood, became immortalized in 1971 as Plenty O’Toole. “But of course you are,” Sean Connery’s James Bond says in “Diamonds Are Forever” when he hears the name, glancing at her cleavage as she leans on a Las Vegas craps table.

There are two kinds of Bond women — the seductress who leads the spy into danger, and the sweetheart who usually ends up dead. Wood played the latter. After meeting Bond in the casino, they retire to a hotel room where she strips down to her underwear. Then goons interrupt the romance and toss her naked out a window. She lands safely in a pool — only to turn up dead later.

At one point while filming the window-dropping scene, she was perched atop a stuntman’s shoulders on a high-dive at the International Hotel, where the cameras capture her plunging into the water. “I was just in these little panties — which certainly weren’t transparent,” she said sarcastically. “I was worried that people would see me, but the filmmakers said ‘No, don’t be silly. It’s three in the morning.’ So I got up on the guy’s shoulders and looked around the hotel to see nothing but staring faces from every window.”

Now 57, Wood lives in Thousand Oaks, Calif., with her daughter and two grandchildren, ages 5 and 3. She hasn’t acted in a movie since the 1981 horror film “Satan’s Mistress,” but she hopes to return to acting this year in the upcoming independent thriller “The Monkey’s Paw.”

Since the 1980s, she has worked mainly as a producer and is currently creating a TV movie for ABC about her sister’s life, set for broadcast next spring. “Hopefully it will bring to light more of who Natalie was and how she attained her dream of stardom, and will offer another slant on a very dysfunctional family,” Wood said.

These DVDs will be available until March 2004. They will then go on moratorium until Bond 21 is released. So grab them while you can.





Composer For Licence To Kill Dies

November 19, 2003 - Associated Press

Michael Kamen, the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer who composed and conducted the score for Timothy Dalton's second and final Bond film LICENCE TO KILL has died at age 55.

He also fused hard-rock riffs with classical styling in albums for Pink Floyd and provided music for the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard movies.

Kamen collapsed in his London home Tuesday from an apparent heart attack, said his Los Angeles-based publicist Jeff Sanderson.

Kamen collaborated with a wide range of artists, from the London Philharmonic to Aerosmith, Metallica and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. Although Kamen was classically trained and studied oboe at New York City's Julliard School, the composer's distinctive long, curly hair and beard made him look more like a heavy-metal guitarist than a classical conductor. He was known for combining those two sensibilities. Among his most famous collaborations was on the orchestral arrangements in Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall. He also worked with the band on the albums The Final Cut and The Division Bell.

Kamen's most recent Grammy win came in 2001, when he shared the award for best rock instrumental performance with Metallica for conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the metal-rock band's song The Call of Ktulu. He also won a Grammy in 1996 for best instrumental arrangement with An American Symphony, which he derived from his work on the Richard Dreyfuss musical drama Mr. Holland's Opus. His first Grammy was in 1992 for best pop instrumental performance for the theme music to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

In Mr. Holland's Opus, Dreyfuss portrayed a passionate teacher who sacrificed his own ambitions to engage the imagination of his students through music. Inspired by the movie, Kamen established the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1997 to raise money to make musical instruments available to children.

Kamen worked with singer Bryan Adams to help craft the movie theme songs (Everything I Do) I Do It For You from Robin Hood and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman from Don Juan DeMarco. He received Oscar nominations for co-writing those songs. Kamen also collaborated with such pop, jazz and rock stars as Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Eric Clapton.

Kamen was born in New York in 1948. He started learning to play the piano at age two and later added the guitar, clarinet and oboe. Among his parents' friends were the musicians Huddie Ledbetter and Pete Seeger and he grew up listening to recordings of music by Bach and Gilbert and Sullivan. Kamen played folk-blues in a jug band while simultaneously studying oboe at Julliard and later experimented with techno, disco and rock while writing pure classical music for ballet performances.

He also wrote a very hard-to-find soundtrack to Sean Connery's 1976 thriller THE NEXT MAN. Rest in peace, dear friend.





Character Actor Best Known As 'M' In James Bond Films Dies

November 21, 2003 - by Tom Vallance for The Independent

The stocky character actor Robert Brown (born in Swanage, Dorset November 12, 1918) appeared in over 60 films and many television shows, but found his greatest fame late in life when in 1983 he took over the role of the enigmatic "M" in the James Bond movies, starting with Octopussy.

It was not his first appearance in a Bond film - he played Admiral Hargreaves in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The role of M (Sir Miles Meservey, head of MI6) had been created on screen by Bernard Lee, who played the part in 11 Bond films until his death in 1981; his last Bond adventure was Moonraker (1979). As a mark of respect to Lee, M was given a leave of absence in the next Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1982), but he returned to the series in Octopussy (1983) in the person of Brown, who invested the role with his own taciturn brand of authority and complacency.

He displayed a lack of both humour and tolerance similar to that depicted by Lee, but M's relationship with Bond became even more confrontational when Brown took over. "This is not a country club, 007," he informed the flamboyant secret agent. Brown played M in four Bond films, until his character was retired after Licence to Kill (1989).

Born in Swanage in 1918, Brown was the son of the coxswain of the town's lifeboat. (In 1992 a Mersey-class lifeboat was named Robert Charles Brown after his father.) He enlisted with the Admiralty as soon as war broke out in 1939. Posted to Gibraltar, he took part in local dramatics and found he had a taste for acting.

After the war he abandoned his naval plans and gained experience at the Oxford Playhouse and with the Birmingham Repertory Company prior to becoming a stalwart of early televised plays. He remained proud of those days of live television drama when he appeared regularly in a variety of roles and formed part of the unofficial BBC repertory company.

He first worked with Roger Moore in 1958 in the rousing television series Ivanhoe, in which Moore was the energetic and gallant hero and Brown had the regular role of Ivanhoe's sidekick, the squire Gurth. He later appeared in two episodes of Moore's long-running series The Saint. The two men became close friends, and it was Moore who recommended him to the producers of the Bond films when they wanted a replacement for Bernard Lee.

His big-screen début, coincidentally, had been in a film that featured Lee, Carol Reed's masterly Vienna-set thriller The Third Man (1949), in which Brown played an unbilled role as one of the British military policemen who chase Harry Lime through the sewers. The brawny actor, who often found himself cast in proletariat roles, played a guard at Torquilstone Castle in the MGM production of Ivanhoe (1952), Polydorus in Helen of Troy (1956), the Chief of Rowers in Ben-Hur (1959) and a guard in The Masque of the Red Death (1964). In 1961 he played Talbot the maintopman in Peter Ustinov's screen version of Billy Budd. The following year Ustinov cast him as Sam at 40 in his play Photo Finish at the Saville Theatre, London - Ustinov himself played Sam Old. Brown appeared regularly in the theatre, and in 1973 he spent a year in the leading role in Agatha Christie's marathon hit The Mousetrap.

Brown was in his mid-sixties and balding when he took over the role of M in Octopussy. He played the role again in A View to a Kill (1985), which was the last film in which Roger Moore played 007, The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989), after which his character was retired and replaced by a female M, played by Judi Dench. Brown's last professional appearance was in the television movie Merlin of the Crystal Cave (1992). Robert Brown died November 11, 2003.

That makes two people from the film LICENCE TO KILL who have passed away this month.





Dame Shirley Bassey Honored

November 22, 2003 - BBC News

Welsh diva Dame Shirley Bassey has been honoured at the Welsh Woman of the Year Awards. The singer, known for recording three James Bond themes (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker), was given the lifetime achievement award at the ceremony in Cardiff. She is the first person to ever receive the prize.

She said she was thinking of "packing it all in" but had now been made to change her mind.

"This year has been the most exciting of my career and to have this award to come at the end of the year is the icing on the cake," she said. "There won't be another award that will top this," she added.

The Western Mail Welsh Woman of the Year Awards were launched in 1994. Their aim is to reflect and reinforce the changing roles of women by celebrating their achievements and the value of their contributions to the stability of Wales. Dame Shirley said she was so proud to return to Wales for the award.

She said: "I'm Welsh and to be nominated speaks for itself. I'm being honoured by my country, my home, Cardiff."

She was born on 8 January 1937 in Cardiff's Tiger Bay. She said that becoming a well-known singer had been tough.

"I think it's easier for girl singers now because of all the pop shows on television. They don't have the chance to learn the art that I had to develop. They are instantly famous but it's taken me 50 years and I don't know if they'd last 50 days."

Congratulations from this website.





A Fully Loaded 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'

November 23, 2003 - by Martie Zad for The Washington Post

The delightful family classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," celebrating its 35th anniversary, comes out Tuesday in a special edition two-disc DVD. It's crammed with extras about the stars and movie that featured Dick Van Dyke as the imaginative inventor of a magical car that had the power to make dreams come true.

Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries and Benny Hill co-star in the adaptation of an Ian Fleming children's book. It all centers around Van Dyke's extraordinary car that drives, flies and floats. The car leads him, his two children and his lady friend into a magical world of pirates, castles and adventure. They meet characters including Bomburst of Vulgaria, a lovable village toymaker and an evil child catcher.

A long list of extras includes new high-definition digital transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound, the documentary with Van Dyke "Remembering Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "A Fantasmagorical Motorcar" about the designing of the car, "The Ditchling Tinkerer," "The Potts Children" and the "Dick Van Dyke Archival Press Featurette." There also are a sing-along option, a read-along feature, two interactive games, coloring pages, three original trailers, six television spots, poster concepts and a 32-page story booklet.

It's about time they released this classic with all the bells and whistles.





Toby 'Gustav Graves' Stephens Bonds With India

November 25, 2003 - The Times of India

From Hollywood , with love. Toby Stephens, who attracted attention through his portrayal of the cold-blooded Gustav Graves in the James Bond movie Die Another Day, has crossed both the Atlantic and the great divide between the bad guys and the good guys to team up with Aamir Khan in 1857: The Rising.

"The Bond assignment was a test for me," reveals Toby, "A few candidates were shortlisted and I was called for a fill-fledged screen test with lights, costumes and sword fights. Being a theatre person, I felt I wouldn’t make it. Also, there was a tussle between MGM, which didn’t want me, and producer Barbara Brocolli, who wanted me in the film. Finally, I was in!"

Moving on to Toby’s passage to India , he maintains that shooting for a movie is more or less similar everywhere. "For me, there is no difference between working here and in the West. After all, one faces the same cameras, lights and microphones. But I must say that it’s great to work in different places with different professionals."

The son of Dame Maggie Smith, who features in Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, and the late Sir Robert Stephens, 34-year-old Toby graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and is a trained actor from the Royal Shakespeare Company. "But I wouldn’t say that my mom being an actress made acting a natural progression for me as well," says Toby, "During my childhood days, I moved around with my mom watching plays based on Shakespeare’s work. The interest in acting was inculcated in me from those days. The only hitch is that one has to be a cut above the rest to make it as an actor in London. Acting is like any other profession for me."

Toby is inching his way up the popularity charts and has starred in Cousin Bette with Jessica Lang, Possession with Gwyneth Paltrow and Onegin with Ralph Fiennes. In The Rising, Toby plays British commanding officer William Gordon. With shooting for The Rising is slated to keep Toby in India till March next year, Toby is making the most of his time in the country. "I am travelling across the country and trying to imbibe the culture of India and its people. I must say that I am thoroughly enjoying my time!" With due respect to James, Toby Stephens has a new bond in his life — a bond with India .

Having a Bolly good time at that too.





EA Ships James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

November 26, 2003 - BusinessWire

Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) announced today that James Bond 007(TM): Everything or Nothing(TM) for the Nintendo Game Boy(R) Advance is now available in stores under the EA GAMES(TM) brand. From cutting-edge gadgets to exotic locations, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing will add a new level of drama and excitement to the James Bond experience.

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing once again finds the world's greatest secret agent fighting to save the world from a diabolical madman; former KGB agent Nikolai Diavolo. Armed with metal-eating nanotech, Diavolo's private army will steamroll the forces of the free world, unless Bond and CIA agent Mya Starling can stop Diavolo's forces in Egypt, Peru and New Orleans, culminating in a deadly battle beneath Moscow's Red Square!

Officially licensed by MGM Interactive, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing for the Nintendo Game Boy(R) Advance is rated "T" (Teen) by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $29.95. James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing will be available for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft, and the Nintendo GameCube(TM) in early 2004.

Just in time for the Christmas rush.





Turkey, Gravy and Bond

November 26, 2003 - by Ken Beck for The Tennessean

The name's Bond . . .

The name's also Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton and Brosnan, as in the five most famous names to portray the world's most famous secret agent. And the name's also Niven and Nelson.

Who? What?

Right, mate, two other blokes wore the Bond brand, which makes it a perfect seven to have played 007.

It was American actor Barry Nelson who first played the role onscreen, the small screen, when he appeared as James ''Jimmy'' Bond, an Americanized version of Ian Fleming's dashing spy, in Casino Royale on Climax! Oct. 21, 1954, on CBS. A pilot for a proposed TV series, this Bond didn't bedazzle enough to stick around, but, nevertheless, Nelson was the first to the punch.

It was eight years later when Sean Connery asked not for punch but a vodka martini ''shaken, not stirred'' in 1962's Dr. No, the first Bond film. Very Brit David Niven was 007 in an unofficial film, the 1967 satire Casino Royale. And George Lazenby only hung around for one movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Roger Moore came aboard in 1973's Live and Let Die, followed by Timothy Dalton in 1987's The Living Daylights, and the current J.B., Pierce Brosnan, began his spy gig in GoldenEye in 1995. Thus, the debates over the best Bond range from Sean to Rog to Tim and Pierce with most fans arguing over Connery and Moore.

Here are a few more items from the Bond files.

• Barry Nelson, 83, born Robert Nielsen in San Francisco; played Bond in the TV show. Other famous role: Capt. Harris in Airport (1970).

• David Niven, died in 1983 at age 74, born James David Graham Niven in London; played Bond in movie parody. Other famous role: at microphone of 1973 Oscar ceremonies when streaker ran past.

• Sean Connery, 73, born Thomas Sean Connery in Edinburgh, Scotland; played Bond in seven films. Other famous role: sings Pretty Irish Girl in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959).

• George Lazenby, 64, born in Queanbeyan City, New South Wales, Australia; played Bond once. Other famous role: the Big Fry Guy in a series of famous chocolate candy commercials in England.

• Roger Moore, 76, born Roger George Moore in London; played Bond in seven films. Other famous role: Simon Templar in 1960s TV series The Saint.

• Timothy Dalton, 59, born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, United Kingdom; played Bond in two films. Other famous role: Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1970).

• Pierce Brosnan, 50, born Pierce Brendan Brosnan in Navan, County Meath, Ireland; played Bond in three films with a fourth being planned. Other famous role: Remington Steele in 1980s TV series.

Tuning in to Gobble 007, Spike TV presents 55 hours and five different actors as Agent 007 over the next five days via the following films:

Wednesday - November 26, 2003

• 7 p.m.: The World Is Not Enough (1999), Pierce Brosnan
• 10 p.m.: Dr. No (1962), Sean Connery

Thursday - November 27, 2003

• 8 a.m.: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), George Lazenby
• 11:30 a.m.: From Russia With Love (1963), Connery
• 2 p.m.: The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), Roger Moore
• 4 p.m.: The World Is Not Enough
• 8 p.m.: The Living Daylights (1987), Timothy Dalton

Friday - November 28, 2003

• 8 a.m.: Goldfinger (1964), Connery
• 10:30 a.m.: Thunderball (1965), Connery
• 1:30 p.m.: You Only Live Twice, Connery
• 4 p.m.: Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Connery
• 7 p.m.: Never Say Never Again (1983), Connery

Saturday - November 29, 2003

• Noon: Live and Let Die (1973), Moore
• 3 p.m.: The Man With the Golden Gun
• 6 p.m. : The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moore

Sunday - November 30, 2003

• Noon: Moonraker (1979), Moore
• 3 p.m.: For Your Eyes Only (1981), Moore
• 7 p.m.: Octopussy (1983), Moore
• 10 p.m.: Moonraker

Missing from this marathon are A View to a Kill, Licence to Kill, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day.





Ursula Andress Scene Voted "Most Sexy"

November 28, 2003 - Channel 4

A 67-year-old actress has topped a Channel 4 poll which set out to find the sexiest moment in screen history. Ursula Andress was only 26 when she emerged from the sea as Honey Rider, in the James Bond film Doctor No. The character of Honey Rider was remembered for the sight of Ms Andress emerging from the water in a white bikini, holding seashells and with a knife at her waist.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "It's nice to see an iconic figure can stand the test of time and still be the sexiest screen siren against much younger competition."

I'm sure the voters intentions were purely honorable.





Clive Owen: I'm Not The Next Bond

November 28, 2003 - Channel 4

CROUPIER star CLIVE OWEN has blasted media stories he will replace PIERCE BROSNAN as JAMES BOND, dismissing them as "rumours". The 39-year-old British actor says he ignores false stories because they take up too much of his energy.

Clive says, "That's what they are - rumours. You read what I read. I won't even think about it unless it becomes real. I deal in facts. I had a phone call from the States two weeks ago saying, 'So you've signed to do two Bond movies. Congratulations.' It's all rumour. It's nothing to do with me. There's a lot of bull in this game, and if you spend your time worrying about stuff that isn't true, you'll waste a lot of energy. It first happened a long time ago, and I think it was something to do with wearing a tux in Croupier and driving fast cars in BMW short films. That combination - inspired casting."

Okay...Okay, so you're not the next James Bond. We'll go and talk to Bruce Payne or Hugh Jackman instead.





James Bond Hotel Celebrates 75 Years

November 28, 2003 - by Stan James for The Advertiser

Across the Pacific Ocean in Hong Kong, the grand dame of hotels, the Peninsula, is celebrating its 75th anniversary year and its long heritage with movies and, most of all, great movie stars and movie makers. Anyone who is anyone in the movie world has checked into the luxurious Peninsula, whether while filming in the colourful city, attending festivals or simply passing through. The Peninsula, which will turn 75 on December 11, is celebrating its long love affair with movies and the stars with an extensive photographic, historical display.

Gracing the photo selection are such greats as Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Tom Hanks, Gregory Peck, Jeremy Irons, Paul Anka, Kenneth Branagh, Nicolas Cage, Denzel Washington, Roger Moore, Jackie Chan and music supremos Celine Dion, James Galway, Diana Krall and Joan Sutherland, golf champion Nick Faldo and computer billionaire Bill Gates.

Part of The Man With the Golden Gun was filmed in the Peninsula. All the green Rolls-Royces belong to the Peninsula Hotel.

"You see what a two-year posting to staff intelligence does for a girl?" says Britt Ekland as she and Bond take Maud Adams to the Peninsula.

In the history display is a hand-written note from Moore: "I am sure if James Bond were to stay here he could not have enjoyed it as much as I have. Thank you, Roger Moore."

It must have been a surprise to Maud Adams too.





Catherine Zeta-Jones To Be Bond Girl?

November 30, 2003 - TeenHollywood.com

Gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones is reconsidering an offer to become the next James Bond girl, thanks to some sage advice from former 007 star Sir Sean Connery.

The Welsh wife of Michael Douglas recently denied claims she had inked a deal to play the female lead opposite Bond hunk Pierce Brosnan, but after she sought the advice of Connery - who she starred with in thriller Entrapment - she reportedly changed her mind.

A movie source says, "Catherine is seriously considering whether this would be a good move for her but she won't say yes unless the script is dead right.

"She's spoken to Sean about it and he's told her to go for it but only if she isn't just going to be another notch on the Bond bedpost. Catherine wants to sing the theme and play a strong character who's an equal to 007 and not a bitchy villain - maybe even a kind of female Bond."

I think the producers want a gorgeous Bond girl, not a primadonna. Or, in this case, a post-madonna.





Michelle Yeoh Win Actress of Year Honors

November 30, 2003 - The Associated Press

Michelle Yeoh, co-star of the 2001 film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," took home actress of the year honors at the MTV Style Awards in Shanghai. Awards were given out in 37 categories Saturday, ranging from fashion design to best female rocker, and nominees included entertainers and artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Yeoh wowed Saturday's audience with her hair dyed violet and glittering jewelry. "I know it's pretty funny, but I think it looks nice," said Yeoh, dressed in a pink fur coat and metallic mini skirt.

Yeoh promised "a breakthrough" in the coming year, but gave no details. She made a name for herself in Hong Kong kung fu action films, then gained attention elsewhere when she appeared with Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies."

In her case, tomorrow did not die.





James Bond's Russian Bride

December 8, 2003 - Pravda

A story of a Russian girl, who did an impossible thing: married a principal bachelor, James Bond Timothy Dalton, and gave him baby. After Oksana Chernuha had married Timothy Dalton, envy people of criminal Saransk, Mordovia, her native city, her parents' flat was broken into a few times, their shop was set on fire. Nobody knows that nothing much changed in the Chernuhas life since the "star" marriage of their daughter. They still teach music, still have the same small flat in an ordinary building of 1950s, same soviet furniture - and no fairy riches.

But her mother remembers the troubles, and refuses to give interviews. She nearly screamed on the phone: "If you would write something, you will deal with a millionaire. He"s a Hollywood star! A famous man! He will crush you, sue you, and you will be closed. He can do all. He loves her. She is the beauty. They have a wonderful baby. And you intrude a personal life of a Hollywood star. Only troubles you cause."

We asked her whether she probably wants to dissolve all the wrong rumors associated with her daughter, but received the same answer: "You can not imagine whom you are dealing with."

The talk with James Bond"s mother-in-law couldn't go on. So we had to get information from Oksana"s friends.

Oksana was born in 1970. Since she was four, she'd been studying fortepiano. She was not favored in the school: studied well, didn't hang out, learned music and read Chekhov. Tall, skinny and pimpled face. But by the final year in school she turned into a real beauty. Then commenced conservatory in Kazan, and in three years went to capture England.

Oksana came to England in 1991, as a volunteer, and looked after an old woman for sometime. She charmed the hostess' son, and then he played a great role in her destiny. She gave free concerts in chapels, private piano lessons and worked as a waitress. She was lucky to be accepted into a prestigious concert hall not too far from the Royal palace. Sometimes members of the family visited the place, and it is there Prince Charles' cousin and at the same time the family photographer Patric Ansen who spotted her. The Russian waitress got a few contracts from fashion magazines straight away. Her face was at the first cover of Royal calendar. She was shot in an evening dress of lady Diana (the Princess was alive then), in queen Elizabeth's furs. Changed a bad-sounding family name to the mother's Grigorieva and tried herself in British cinema. First roles for the screen were not give successful, but did provide her money.

Then the ex-hostess' son presented her to one of a sportswear company owners. This new boyfriend took her to elite society. At one cinema festival, she met Nikita Mikhalkov, who brought his infamous "Burnt by the Sun" to England. He asked her to be a translator and this is how she met Timothy Dalton.

In a family photo album of Oksana's parents there is a photo where she and Dalton together with President and Hillary Clinton stand on the White House lawn. American ex-president and ex-James Bond are still friends.

Oksana"s friends comment: "Many went abroad, but she did an impossible thing: married a principal bachelor Dalton and born a baby for him!"

The only thing Oksana couldn't do is change Dalton"s personality in regards to money: he never squandered money. However, when her parents' shop was burnt, James Bond's heart moved after her long prayers.

Three years ago her parents have been to Hollywood to celebrate the couple"s son, Alexander Peter Dalton, 3rd birthday (Dalton paid for the trip). Right after the visit her mother"s interview was on TV late at night. She couldn"t hide her joy: "Oksana"s got a lot of friends there. Vanessa Redgrave for example. Despite she used to be in love with Dalton and lived 14 years together with him, she has since put aside personal feelings. She communicates with Oksana and enjoys playing with Alexander. What relationships! And Dalton is such a cute young man!" (Dalton is two years older than Oksana's mother). She spoke little of the grandson: "She looks pretty much like his father, already elegant and prudish. So I called him officially, Alexander Peter"

The grandfather was more emotional about him: "Speaks in two languages, English and Russian. If only I could do that!"

They did not bring any valuables from that trip. "Dalton doesn't give us money. He's got a principle: everyone should earn their own life", confessed Oksana's mother.

Everyone knows Dalton had a passionate affair with Brooke Shields and Elizabeth Taylor, and a relationship that lasted 14 years, before he met Oksana, with an actress Vanessa Redgrave. At first he did not want to believe he was the kid's father. But then he even gave an interview, where for the first time spoke more about himself and not his creative work: "I felt what it means to be a father. A child can help to alter the vision of the world. Suddenly you realize that life is the most wonderful miracle on Earth"

Oksana"s mom has never denied her daughter lives with Dalton in a civil marriage with a contract. This contract states Dalton does only provide Oksana with current spendings, but should they part, she would not receive anything. The child is much luckier: he is the successor of Dalton's savings. However, American and British press claim there is no warning to their family life. Dalton still works in TV series and sometimes in theatre. Oksana looks after the 6 years old son.

Reporters, regardless, wait for sensations from this family. It is known that two years ago Oksana"s sister came to England too. Media answers its own "why?": "To find another James Bond for herself"

From Russia, with Love. - - Literally.





Duran Duran To Kick Off World Tour With UK Gigs

December 11, 2003 - by Matthew Jones for Reuters

The pixie boots, eye-liner and teased hair may have gone, but fans of Duran Duran -- who announced a world tour on Thursday -- will be pleased their icons are not pipes and slippers, yet. "The frilly shirts have been put away...but we take ourselves and how we look seriously," band member Roger Taylor told Reuters. "We're not into check shirts."

The 2004 World tour will kick off next April with their first British tour in 18 years, boasting the original line-up. The band may be older but some things have stayed the same. "The girls who followed us back in the 80s are now women in their 30s now, but they are just as enthusiastic," said Taylor. "The screams have just got deeper."

After four gigs in Britain the tour will head to the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe. "The shows will span our entire catalog. It will not just be stuff from the 80s," he said.

Duran Duran, who hit the big time with "New Romantic" anthems like "Rio" and "The Reflex," are currently touring in Australia with Robbie Williams. When Taylor and Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Andy Taylor played a one-off show in London in October it sparked a rush by fans to secure tickets which changed hands on the Internet for 200 pounds. "Seeing the five of us back together seems to do something special to people," said Taylor. "It has been great to see macho blokes dancing away to 'Girls on Film."'

A view to a reunion.





Robert Davi Praises The Late Frank Sinatra

December 15, 2003 - By Louis B. Hobson for Calgary Sun

Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez in Licence To Kill) credits Frank Sinatra as being one of his mentors. "I was 23 years old when I was cast in my first movie Contract on Cherry Street, which starred Frank Sinatra. "He remained a friend until he died. Frank was that kind of guy. He'd catch your movies and let people know he was happy with the way your career was going," says Davi, who would star two years later in the TV remake of From Here to Eternity, the film that gave Sinatra his Oscar in 1953.

It was Sinatra who introduced Davi to Albert R. Broccoli, the producer who created the James Bond movies and who would eventually tailor the villain in Licence to Kill for Davi. "I was on Broccoli's radar for a while, but it was when he caught my performance in (the TV movie) Terrorist on Trial that he told his people he found a new James Bond villain. "Those are moments in your career that you can never forget," admits Davi, who's starred in more than 65 TV and feature films.

You might say that Sinatra expected 'loyalty' from his friends.





Kelly Osbourne Slams Brosnan's Kids

December 15, 2003 - Teen Music

Pop rocker Kelly Osbourne has slated Pierce Brosnan's children and the Hilton sisters for using their famous names to become celebrities. The daughter of Ozzy Osbourne is the first to admit she owes her burgeoning music career to her former Black Sabbath star father, but points out she has had to work for her solo success - unlike Paris and Nicky Hilton.

She says, "The Hilton sisters and Pierce Brosnan's sons - the 'do nothing but party and get photographed' set. I couldn't imagine life without getting up in the morning and having a job to do. It would be so shallow. I'm not one of those 'don't you know who my father is?' people. The thing is, anyone who has more than they need is spoilt - if you own even one unnecessary item, you're spoilt. Even so, that doesn't make me a brat. People like Christina Aguilera are brats."

I guess she won't be getting any Christmas cards from these people anytime soon.





Sean Connery To Help Raise Awareness Of Global Hunger

December 15, 2003 - United Nations

Actor Sean Connery, probably best known for his roles as James Bond "licensed to kill," hopes to save lives in the Christmas season with an appeal for support for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its goal of feeding 800 million chronically hungry people.

He will appear in a 30-second public service announcement (PSA), with music donated by the Blue Man Group, illustrating how WFP uses every means of transport, from ships and planes to trucks and helicopters, to cross some of the world's most hostile terrain and deliver food aid to people in need.

International broadcasters will air the videotape throughout the holiday season, at a time of giving, WFP says, adding that this year alone its food aid will reach 110 million people in 82 countries, the highest annual number in its 40-year history. Global hunger is on the rise again, having increased by 18 million persons in the second half of the 1990s, it says.

According to a UN World Health Organization (WHO) survey, conducted earlier this year, hunger and malnutrition are the world's biggest single killers, claiming more lives than cancer, or heart disease.

Obviously 'bonding' with Roger Moore on this contribution.





'007 Days of Christmas'

December 15, 2003 - Yahoo

Spike TV gets into the holiday spirit with '007 Days of Christmas'. 16 classic Bond films featuring cutting edge gadgets, exotic locations and Bond girls. Telecasts will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 24 - thru Tuesday, Dec. 30.

If you tuned into the Thanksgiving marathon you would have discovered a new Bond title - - "The Commercials Were Enough!"





007 Watch Fetches £22,000 At Christie's Auction

December 16, 2003 - Ananova

Film fans flocked to Christie's in London for the auction house's annual sale of film and entertainment memorabilia. The force has been with a Star Wars stormtrooper's helmet as it sold at auction for around five times more than expected. Made for the 1977 film, it was valued at between £3,000 and £5,000 but fetched £19,387 amid frenzied bidding.

One of the auction's star lots, a Superman suit, remained firmly grounded and failed to sell. The red and blue outfit worn by actor Christopher Reeve in the 1978 blockbuster had been estimated to make between £8,000-£12,000, but bidding never reached the undisclosed reserve on the costume.

The highest bid was for a Rolex watch worn by George Lazenby as James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It went for £22,912 but had been valued between £5,000-£7,000. There were pieces from the late director/editor Peter Hunt's collection, including his working scripts for all of the 1960s James Bond films.

Would love to know what the scripts went for.





Casino Royale Comedian Makes TV Comeback

December 17, 2003 - Ananova

Ronnie Corbett is set to make a TV comeback in a new sitcom as the only resident of an old people's home. The 73-year-old, who played robotic assassin Polo in the 1967 film Casino Royale, is top choice to star in Home, by David Walliams and Rob Brydon.



David said: "We play brothers who run an old people's home and the only occupant is Ronnie. He's one of my big-time heroes."

Little Britain star David was named Best Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards this week. He teamed up with Brydon after they worked on the BBC1 comedy drama Cruise Of The Gods. Ronnie is best known for The Two Ronnies, and the sitcom Sorry. His spokeswoman said: "Ronnie and David have spoken and Ronnie is very excited about seeing the scripts. It sounds very funny." The new sitcom is likely to appear on BBC3 before moving to BBC2, says The Sun.

Positive or negative I never know which is which!





Q May Run For Mayor Of Santa Barbara

December 17, 2003 - Knight Ridder

Actor John Cleese might follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gary Coleman by making a run for California public office, reports the New York Post. Cleese's Monty Python co-star Michael Palin told London's Daily Telegraph that Cleese is "very involved with his local community" in Santa Barbara, Calif., and is thinking of running for mayor. Palin added that Cleese would "do a great job." As for his acting career, Palin said, "He doesn't really want to do comedy anymore. He has a very active and inquiring mind." Cleese's appearances in the Harry Potter movies will "fund the rest of his life," says Palin.

Hmm, I wonder if Pierce would vote for him?





Time Warner said in talks with MGM

December 19, 2003 - CNN

The Hollywood industry publication Variety is reporting that Time Warner Inc. is in active merger talks with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the largest movie studio that is not part of a larger media conglomerate. Time Warner already owns two major studios -- Warner Bros., home of the successful Harry Potter series of films, and New Line Cinema, home of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which opened its third movie this week to strong reviews. MGM's strongest franchise is the long-running James Bond series.

Calls to MGM were referred to the studio's West Coast office, and a spokesman there was not immediately available for comment. A spokeswoman for Time Warner also had no comment on the report. But one person at one of the companies said that while there are discussions going on, nothing is imminent. The move would be somewhat out of character for Time Warner, which has concentrated on selling assets in recent years, not acquiring them, as it tries to cut its debt.

It recently agreed to sell its Warner Music unit for $2.6 billion, and it sat out the bidding for the Vivendi Universal's U.S. entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures, assets for which MGM acknowledged making an unsuccessful bid. General Electric's NBC is merging its operations with Vivendi Universal Entertainment in the United States. But Time Warner top executives said recently that efforts to reduce debt are ahead of schedule and that a strong cash flow had lessened the need for asset sales.

A sale of MGM, controlled by financier Kirk Kerkorian, is less of a surprise. It had been widely assumed that the company needed a combination with a larger media operation, and when its bid for Universal Pictures fell short, a sale became more likely. Variety reported that MGM Chairman and CEO Alex Yemenidjian told reporters at an investors conference last week that MGM would only consider a full-blown merger rather than a sale of individual assets. He said he was not suggesting any specific negotiations were ongoing at that time, however. The trade publication said MGM's chief asset is its 4,000-plus movie library, especially when DVD sales are becoming the most important revenue stream for studios as past movie hits are scoring new sales in the DVD format. Warner Bros. distributed MGM home video titles for several years until 1999, Variety noted, and it already owns rights to pre-1985 MGM titles.

In its report, Variety quoted bankers as saying the film library alone is worth $18 a share, or about $4.4 billion. Shares of MGM (MGM: up $0.85 to $17.10, Research, Estimates) jumped about 5 percent in active New York Stock Exchange trading Thursday. Kerkorian owns about two-thirds of MGM shares outstanding. Variety said he bought most of his shares for about $15 apiece when he reacquired control of the studio in 1996. Time Warner (TWX: up $0.16 to $17.70, Research, Estimates) stock rose about 1 percent, also on the NYSE.

Does this mean we may not be seeing Leo the Lion growling at the beginning of each new OO7 film in the future?





A Thunderball Of a Time With Drummer King Errisson

December 22, 2003 - By Jimenita Swain for The Nassau Guardian

In the Bahamas today, the phrase "Bahamians have lost their culture" has rolled off many wagging lips, especially during times when foreign musicians like Beres Hammond are brought in on work permits, to entertain scores of young people at almost astronomical prices. Sometimes one has to step back a bit into history, to realize the rich culture Bahamians have, but they tend to imitate, so many other cultures that true Bahaminisation is slowly slipping away... soon to be lost, if not embraced.

In an attempt to educate and enlighten young minds this roving reporter has searched out a world renowned musical entertainer and Bahamian living legend to feature for a true taste of culture. King Errisson Pallman Johnson, is known by most of his fans and peers in the musical arena as 'King.' On a recent trip to the Nassau Guardian, King, who is presently touring with Neil Diamond, sat down with this reporter and allowed a glimpse into his life from birth onto continuing stardom.

"I might not have been born around the time when King Errisson, 63, graced the big screen or played big gigs, but one thing is true today, he has never lost his confident strides. As for me, when I was born my grandmother, Petrona Johnson, named me. I became her King from birth. I've had that King name to live up to all my life," King explained. On the road, in search of stardom, Mr. Errisson said he just abbreviated his name to King Errisson. He said, "it was just too much name; too long for people to remember."

King said his big break came with the shooting of the movie Thunderball which starred Sean Connery. "He use to come down to the Conch Shell Club every evening after he got through, when they were scouting places to shoot. The Conch Shell was the place where they (all the actors) hung out. I think Roy Bowe was a very good friend of a man named Kevin McClory, who was one of the first big movie producers to come from The Bahamas. He brought Thunderball here to shoot. Kevin and I were always pretty close," he said.

After his talents with the drums were heard the deal was sealed and King got his big gig with Connery. Initially he said "everybody thought it was favoritism, but I had to out play every drummer in the world to get the part," he said noting "they did not just throw it in my lap." The percussionist said he felt "wonderful" when he heard that he had received the role, even going as far as being careful about driving and other activities, "because I wanted to do that bad .... and I wanted to do it good. I became like a saint those few weeks doing it and while preparing to do it. And it worked out fine."

King said that his biggest regret with the movie was that "we did not have the proper union; people to look after young people in The Bahamas at that time to help guide us and secure a future for us." In particular, Mr. Errisson said he was paid handsomely when he performed in the film, but no arrangements with respect to royalties have been paid, as opposed to other films which he has been a part of and is continually paid royalties for.

"That picture has been shown a million and ten times and I have not gotten a dime, because we did not know about contracts... we had nobody representing us," he said.

At the time when Thunderball was shot, King said that he was 23-years-old. "I was one of the key figures in the film, because James Bond was supposed to be dancing with this girl, after being chased by these guys who were trying to kill him. He went into this bar called the 'Kiss Kiss Club,' where I was playing. When he sees the girl who is the villain, he grabs her up and starts dancing with her and while he is dancing with her this guys points a gun out through the curtain; that comes next to me. When I saw the gun, the music was playing nice and soft and beautiful, but when I saw that gun pointing out of the curtain, I broke away from dance music into a drum solo," he said alerting Bond to the plot on his life. "As the crescendo got going it covers the sound of the gun, so when I reached to my climax he turned the girl and she got shot. That's when he sat her down at the table and says, would you mind if she sits here a moment, she is just dead," he says laughingly, stating that it was a beautiful line.

With the arrival of the King came calls from all over the world, he said. "Every time I got an offer I took it. My next big gig after that was a place called the Caravan Club on Queen Street in Toronto, Canada," he said. After being there for a year, Mr. Errisson said he jetted off to New York, where his career blossomed as a jazz musician.

"My agents put me together with some of the finest jazz musicians in the world to teach me jazz, because I was a calypsonian. And these guys would take my calypso and turn them into jazz," King said.

Moreover he said because of the musical combinations many of his shows were sold-out. "That's where I met my mentor in music. The one guy I give all the credit to for teaching me jazz and how to be a total star. He was a guy by the name of Canabol Adderley, who was born and raised in Long Island," dubbed by Errisson, as one of the greatest musicians that ever lived, but unknown by most Bahamians.

He reiterated that his career span has been good, highlighting that for the past 28 years he has performed with Neil Diamond. An experience that has allowed him to tour the world he said some 12 times. He expressed pleasure with the job, as it allowed him to work for five or six months or a year straight. "After that, we take a year off and that is when I turn into King Errisson and do things for myself; make my own records or writing screen plays to sell," he said. For Mr. Diamond, he said that he plays all of the percussion instruments.

"Right now I am working on a new album and I don't have a title for it. I have been working on this album for four years, because I have been doing it in the middle of working with Neil," he said, adding that he was repackaging a lot of his old albums to compact disc. King Errisson said that he has 13 albums under his belt.

"When I was a youngster I was sitting on my aunt's porch in the Grove and I was practising my drums and a tourist passed by and heard me playing. He stopped his car in front of the porch, got out and he came up to me and said, 'who are you?' I said I'm the King. He said, 'Well I've been around the world and I have heard all sorts of drummers, but I have never heard anyone as good as you," he recalled. The man explained that he owned a club in Boston, Massachusetts and offered King a job. "So, I said no, I am not good enough yet. I said, when I am good enough, I will give you a call. Give me your card," he said.

A year later, a confident King called him up, told him "I am the best in the world now, you still got that job." At age 19, Mr. Errisson said he flew to Boston and played in the club for about six months, returned home and teamed up with 'Sweet Richard'.

"He was the greatest limbo dancer in the world... he was beautiful," describing him as a light skinned fella from Long Island, who was proud of his heritage. With a physique of a god, King said "he walked around bare foot and in a loin cloth... he was quite a character."

Sweet Richard was another person who educated King on the art of entertainment and how to do things, he said. Moreover he said, Princess Kitty, Sweet Richard's wife, was another character, who he thought was the most beautiful woman ever.

"We did a film called 'World By Night' and he was fantastic in it, doing what he does. I knew if he didn't die, he was going to be a movie star," Errisson stated. "I was one of those eager young kids. You could offer me a job I would have the job, but I'm leaving the job for the new one to check something else out.

He worked with Sweet Richard for a year in Florida at a place called the Play Spaghelli, before a better offer came along. That upset Richard who told King "crazy baby, crazy. I'm gonna miss you, but I know you've gotta do what you got to do." This new job allowed him to work in Japan along with the second greatest limbo dancer, 'The Deacon (Percy Whylly).' "I stayed in Japan a whole year with The Deacon," where he did movies, commercials and learned how to speak Japanese.

On his return back home he said, about three months later he ended up playing in Thunderball, where he had worked at the Conch Shell with Lord Swain for about two months before he quit and King took over the band.

Mr. Errisson deemed his career highlight a time "when I co-wrote a piece with Sammy Davis Jr., for a television series called 'The Hollywood Palace'. I wrote this piece where me and all the drummers would have a battle. And Sammy Davis Jr. would do the tap dancing," which resulted in a fight between he and three other drummers on the drums. "We are fighting by the drums, and my most beautiful moment was when I finished up the last riff, and Sammy Davis Jr. looked at me and looked at everybody else and said 'we can't touch that'."

King Errisson on reflection said "those were good moments."

"Nothing is going to fall in your lap," he said to other aspiring musicians and entertainers. "You have to get up and go get it. We have no help here at all in trying to make stars out of our youngsters. We have no encouragement, as a matter of fact we don't have any culture in The Bahamas at all. I don't know who we are. When I was growing up we had a culture. At least we had Sweet Richard, Richard Alamore, Paul Mayers, The Deacon and Pat Rolle," he said.

He encouraged entertainers and musicians to go back to their culture of playing cowbells, or playing Junkanoo drums like John Chipman and Peanuts Taylor.

Additionally, he said there was a need for more music and drama schools, for people to get creative. "We don't want Sidney Poitier going around thinking that he is going to be the only great Bahamian ever," he said.

King Errisson - a living legend proud of his roots and heritage... proud to be Bahamian.

Certainly a man who goes by the beat of a different drummer.





Hospice Bonds Stolen

December 26, 2003 - Wakefield Today

SIGNED photos of two James Bond stars were stolen from the Wakefield Hospice fund-raising offices during a break-in. Burglars smashed through the front window of the offices and snatched the signed photos of Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore off the wall in reception.

The pictures, donated to Wakefield Hospice six years ago for a special 007 fund-raiser, were taken, along with a signed photo of the Coronation Street cast. Police were alerted to the burglary in Thornes Moor Business Park at 7.45pm on Monday after the security alarm activated.

Hospice fund-raiser Helen Knowles said: "The pictures were of great sentimental value to us. Pierce Brosnan sent his because he has been a passionate supporter of the hospice movement since his wife died of breast cancer. "If anyone sees them on sale on the internet or anywhere else, please think before buying them. They belong to a charity."

It's a sad world when someone has to steal from a charity.





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