EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE

“Bond and Beyond”
Albert Romolo Broccoli (1909-1996) known affectionately as ‘Cubby’ was the driving force behind bringing James Bond to the big screen. Born into an Italian-American family, Broccoli’s early career in Hollywood started as an assistant director on a Howard Hughes picture, The Outlaw, directed by Howard Hawks. In 1952 Broccoli started his producing career when he came to England and launched Warwick Films with partner Irving Allen (1905-1987). Broccoli’s interest in Ian Fleming's James Bond stories led him to Canadian producer Harry Saltzman (1915-1994), who held an option on the screen rights. Together they formed EON Productions and in 1962 produced the first James Bond film, Dr. No. When Harry Saltzman sold his share to United Artists in 1975, Broccoli continued as the “man behind Bond” producing a further seven films before passing the torch on to his stepson Michael G. Wilson and daughter Barbara Broccoli.

In April 2009 BFI Southbank joined with BFI IMAX to mark the centenary of Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli with a comprehensive retrospective of his work including all the James Bond films up to and including Quantum of Solace. The season was launched on Wednesday April 8, 2009 with a presentation of a new digital restoration of the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962) which was introduced by ‘Cubby’ Broccoli's stepson and current 007 co-producer Michael G. Wilson. Among the other celebrities also attending the gala screening and launch of the ‘Bond and Beyond’ season were ‘Cubby’ Broccoli's daughter and current 007 co-producer Barbara Broccoli, former James Bond Sir Roger Moore, three-time Bond director Lewis Gilbert, Lucy Fleming (niece of James Bond creator Ian Fleming), Maryam d'Abo (Kara Milovy in The Living Daylights), Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson in Goldfinger), Samantha Bond (Moneypenny in the four Pierce Brosnan James Bond films), Toby Stephens (Gustav Graves in Die Another Day), Production Designers Sir Ken Adam and Peter Lamont, composer David Arnold, and Donald Zec (1913-2021), the Daily Mirror journalist and long-time friend & biographer of Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli.

The season included an extended run of the new digital restoration of From Russia With Love (1963) which played exclusively at least twice each day in the 130-seat NFT3 from Friday April 24 – Thursday May 7, 2009, with one screening in NFT1 at 9.00pm on Wednesday May 6th. On Tuesday May 5, 2009 From Russia With Love was also re-released for one day only in selected Cineworld cinemas outside London accompanied by a quad-crown poster utilising key elements of the original Renato Fratini artwork. 

The first ten James Bond films were screened in new digital restorations (Quantum of Solace was also screened digitally) and the BFI IMAX at Waterloo also presented, for the first time ever anywhere in the world, a James Bond All-Nighter on Saturday April 25, 2009. Starting at 11.30pm the four films shown were Dr. No (1962), Goldfinger (1964), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The films were shown as Digital Cinema Presentations (not in IMAX format) and presented on the biggest screen in Britain. One week later the cinema then showed a different James Bond film at 9.00pm on six consecutive nights from Friday 1st – Wednesday 6th May, 2009.

The BFI Southbank ‘Bond and Beyond’ season continued into May 2009 and also featured a weekend of ‘Masterclasses’ in James Bond led by key film talent. These included composer David Arnold, Directors Lewis Gilbert and John Glen, Stunt Arranger Vic Armstrong, and Costume Designer Lindy Hemming. The screening of Moonraker on Sunday May 10th was followed by a Q&A with actor Richard Kiel. Famed Production Designer Sir Ken Adam was in conversation with Sir Christopher Frayling on Wednesday May 20th, followed by a screening of You Only Live Twice in NFT1, with actress Maryam d'Abo answering questions after the Saturday May 23rd screening of The Living Daylights. An exhibition of film posters and props from the EON and BFI archives complemented the special events, which included Sir Roger Moore in conversation before the 8.30pm screening of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) in NFT1 on Thursday May 28th (the 101st anniversary of the birth of James Bond author Ian Fleming). The ten-week retrospective also included rare screenings of ‘Cubby’ Broccoli's non-Bond films made before his partnership with Harry Saltzman; including The Red Beret (1953) Directed by Terence Young, Hell Below Zero (1953) Directed by Mark Robson, The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) Directed by Jose Ferrer, Fire Down Below (1955) Directed by Robert Parrish, How To Murder A Rich Uncle (1957) Directed by Nigel Patrick, and The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) Directed by Ken Hughes who also reunited with the producer for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), also screened as part of the season.

“Spend Sundays With James Bond”
Fans outside London then got a chance to see four classic James Bond films back on the big screen in 60 selected cinemas across the UK. The films were screened over consecutive Sundays in June 2009 starting with Sean Connery's first three 007 adventures Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964). The season concluded with the much-anticipated 1969 classic On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby. Although new quad-crown posters had been created for earlier digital re-releases, distributor Park Circus issued a generic poster for the ‘Spend Sundays With James Bond’ season. The double-sided 2009 version was produced in very small quantities and similar in design to the ‘A Season of James Bond 007’ poster which supported the provincial screenings of double-bills and standalone performances of the first eight James Bond films in 1975.

On Monday August 2, 2010 Goldfinger (1964) was shown as part of the Somerset House Summer Screen event in association with Film4. Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London, sitting between the Strand and the River Thames. Director Guy Hamilton and golden girl Shirley Eaton were on hand for a question and answer session on stage after the screening. The screening at the UK's largest outdoor cinema was a sell-out, with five-time James Bond film composer David Arnold also in attendance to spin a few tunes prior to the film.  The celluloid print screened was from the original 1964 release and still had the last few frames proclaiming, “James Bond Will Return in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

“Everything Or Nothing”
To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the premiere of Dr. No in London it was announced that Friday October 5th, 2012 would be designated ‘Global James Bond Day’. Special events celebrating Bond’s golden anniversary included a global online and live charity auction event organised by Christie’s in London, a survey to discover the favourite Bond film country by country, a film retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, a ‘Music of Bond’ night in Los Angeles hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Designing 007: 50 Years of James Bond Style which opened at TIFF in Toronto. Although there had been many excellent anniversary retrospectives and film-by-film ‘making of’ documentaries directed by John Cork featured on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the James Bond films over the years, in 2012 EON Productions gave director Stevan Riley unprecedented access to their archives, and the resulting feature-length documentary Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 was released exclusively in selected ODEON cinemas in the UK on Friday October 5th. The ODEON Covent Garden was chosen for the West End engagement. Everything Or Nothing also played for one week at the Prince Charles Cinema in London's West End from Friday October 12, 2012. The 95-minute documentary focussed on James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman and author Ian Fleming, and was a refreshingly candid account of the history of the world's greatest film franchise. Although Sean Connery was conspicuous by his absence (appearing only in archive interview footage), a wide range of significant Bond personnel were interviewed for Everything Or Nothing; from former 007s George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan to current Bond Daniel Craig, as well as significant behind-the-scenes figures including co-producers Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson, Production Designer Sir Ken Adam, former United Artists executive David Picker, former EON Productions publicist Charles ‘Jerry’ Juroe, Associate Producer William Cartlidge and Director Lewis Gilbert.

Everything Or Nothing had its premiere at the ODEON West End in Leicester Square on the evening of Monday October 1, 2012 followed by a Q&A with Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Hilary Saltzman (1962-2019) [who was accompanied at the event by her brother Steven] and director Stevan Riley. The event was also attended by many other Bond alumni from both in front of and behind the camera including Charles Dance (For Your Eyes Only) [and also played Ian Fleming in the 1989 TV-Movie Goldeneye], Maryam d’Abo (The Living Daylights), Fiona Fullerton (A View To A Kill), Shirley Eaton (Goldfinger), Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny in the four Pierce Brosnan James Bond films), Sue Vanner (The Spy Who Loved Me), Valerie Leon (The Spy Who Loved Me), Eunice Gayson (Dr. No & From Russia With Love), Madeline Smith (Live And Let Die), Martine Beswicke (From Russia With Love & Thunderball), Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me), Carole Ashby (Octopussy & A View To A Kill), Shane Rimmer (You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever & The Spy Who Loved Me), five-time James Bond Director John Glen, Photographer Terry O'Neill, Special Effects Co-ordinator Chris Corbould, former EON publicist Jerry Juroe, Screenwriters Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Stunt Arranger Vic Armstrong, Kate Fleming (niece of the James Bond author) and seven-time James Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam.

The stylish quad-crown poster which accompanied the limited theatrical release of Everything Or Nothing (2012) was painted by London-based artist James Hart Dyke, who in 2009 had been given unparalleled access to produce a series of behind-the-scenes paintings for an exhibition called ‘A Year With MI6’ to mark the centenary of the Secret Intelligence Service. It was an exhibition of this work in 2011 that brought him to the attention of James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson & Barbara Broccoli who commissioned him to reinterpret the Bond posters of the 1960s and 1970s, and to capture all six James Bonds for a special painting to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. An exhibition of James Hart Dyke's James Bond artwork at the Mount Street Gallery in London's Mayfair was presented in collaboration with EON Productions and ran from late October to early November 2012.

The new artwork went on display alongside many original James Bond posters at the exhibition. Special alternate coloured limited edition silkscreen prints of James Hart Dyke's artwork were available to purchase and now command very high prices at auction. Prints of the original yellow edition was limited to 200 copies; the red and blue versions were each limited to 75 copies, and a deluxe white with gold leaf edition had just 50 copies produced.

James Hart Dyke's painting of the MI6 Headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, which was part of the 2009 ‘A Year With MI6’ commission, can be seen behind Ralph Fiennes as he makes his first appearance as M in his new office at the end of Skyfall (2012). Although Everything Or Nothing had marked a return to the traditional painted style of film poster, the teaser campaign and final artwork for Skyfall by Empire Design was based around Maurice Binder's iconic gun barrel devised for Dr. No in 1962.

Everything Or Nothing had its US premiere at the Museum of Modern art in New York on Wednesday October 3, 2012, and then debuted on the EPIX television channel as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations.

The first teaser posters for Skyfall began to appear in cinemas in May 2012; six-months ahead of release, with photographic character posters displayed on advertising hoardings and in the London underground. The designs were also adapted for use on the side of buses seen up and down the country in the weeks leading up to the October 26th general release.

 FACT FILES