JAMES BOND
NEWS 2018

5 December 2018
One of the last living links to Ian Fleming’s close circle that saw the entire rise of the Bond phenomenon has passed away. Marion “Oatsie” Leiter Charles has died at the age of 99.

Born Marion Saffold Oates on September 19, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama, her grandfather William Oates went on to become a Confederate Civil War hero, having led a charge up Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Raised to be a society hostess, Oatsie (as she was known) married Thomas Leiter in 1942. Tommy was the grandson of one of Chicago’s great real estate barons and two of Tommy’s aunts married British nobility. After the war, Oatsie and Tommy met Ian Fleming in Jamaica and became fast friends. In his first James Bond novel, CASINO ROYALE, Fleming borrowed Tommy Leiter’s last name for Bond’s CIA accomplice, Felix. It was Oatsie who introduced President Kennedy to Ian Fleming's novels, resulting in JFK naming FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE as one of his 10 favourite books in a 1961 LIFE Magazine article.

Further reading: http://www.ianfleming.com/presidents-bond-girl/

20 October 2018
The iconic adult magazine PLAYBOY will once again have comics inside - along with James Bond in the November/December 2018 issue.

James Bond Origin writer Jeff Parker, artist Bob Q, colourist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Simon Bowland have completed a new, standalone six-page story for the issue. Like the series it spins off from, this story features a 17-year-old James Bond and his exploits during World War II.

“In our story, James is dropped off the coast of Belgium to help a Resistance cell take out a supply train that’s important to the Nazis,” says Jeff Parker. “This turned out great and I hope readers enjoy it as much as we did making it.”

FULL STORY AND IMAGES

21 August 2018

Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig today announced that due to creative differences Danny Boyle has decided to no longer direct BOND 25.

Today, the LEGO Creator Expert James Bond Aston Martin DB5 was unveiled at its Global launch in London.

Naomie Harris (Moneypenny in Skyfall & Spectre) exclusively revealed the new 1:8 scale LEGO DB5 model at LEGO’s UK flagship store in Leicester Square alongside a real silver birch Aston Martin DB5.

FULL STORY AND MORE IMAGES

New images have been released of the interior of 007 ELEMENTS, the new James Bond cinematic installation built inside the summit of the Gaislachkogl Mountain in Sölden, Austria. Housed in a striking new architectural structure, designed and created by Obermoser Architects, 007 ELEMENTS is an interactive, immersive and educational experience that places visitors inside the world of 007 while revealing how that world is made. It opens to the public on 12 July 2018.

FULL STORY AND IMAGES

Eunice Gayson who appeared as Sylvia Trench in Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963) has died at the age of 90. Although her voice was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl in both films, Gayson is officially the first James Bond girl and famously appeared opposite Sean Connery when he first uttered the immortal line "Bond. James Bond". Eunice Gayson began her acting career in the late 1940s and first worked with Dr. No director Terence Young on Zarak (1956), which was co-produced by Albert R. Broccoli and written by Richard Maibaum. When casting the first Bond film Young remembered Gayson and offered her the role of Sylvia Trench - a new character not created by Ian Fleming. Sylvia Trench was due to be a recurring character, but the idea was dropped when Guy Hamilton took over the direction of Goldfinger in 1964.

In 1958 Gayson played the female lead in the Hammer Horror film The Revenge of Frankenstein opposite Peter Cushing, who reprised his role as the baron in the sequel to the 1957 hit The Curse of Frankenstein. Gayson also appeared in many classic British TV series during the 1960s including Danger Man, The Avengers and The Saint.

Production on BOND 25 will begin in December with Danny Boyle directing Daniel Craig’s 5th outing as Bond. EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM) have reached an agreement with Universal Pictures to partner on the worldwide release of the 25th James Bond film.

Daniel Craig returns as 007 and Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Steve Jobs) will direct from an original screenplay by Academy Award nominee John Hodge.

FULL STORY

The Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale - Collector's Motor Cars and Automobilia, 13 July 2018,  Chichester, Goodwood.

On 13 July at its Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale, Bonhams will offer the ultimate Bond car – the 1965 Aston Martin DB5 driven by James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in the 1995 motion picture GoldenEye. The estimate is £1,200,000-1,600,000.

The DB5 has become synonymous with James Bond, and this example featured in the famous opening chase scene of GoldenEye where Bond dices with arch villainess Xenia Onatopp in her Ferrari through the hills above Monaco.

When purchased by the current owner in 2001, the car became the most valuable piece of Bond memorabilia ever sold. It has been on display at both The National Motor Museum and the Bond in Motion exhibition at Covent Garden.

Sholto Gilbertson, Bonhams Motor Cars Department Director, commented: 'The DB5 is one of the most recognisable and desirable British classic cars in the world - it is also the ultimate Bond car. Every fan remembers Pierce Brosnan tearing through the hills in this car, and it must be up there as one of the most thrilling Bond car chases in history. This Aston Martin is something very special indeed.'

The car will be on display at Bonhams Aston Martin Sale on 2 June at Englefield House, Reading and sold at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 13 July.  UPDATE - Sold for £2m

14 May 2018

007 MAGAZINE has been informed of the passing of editor and sound editor Peter Musgrave. In a long and distinguished career, Peter worked on four James Bond films between 1983 and 1995: Never Say Never Again (additional editing), The Living Daylights (sound editor), Licence To Kill (sound editor) and GoldenEye (dialogue editor).

He began his career in the late 1940s working as assistant sound editor (uncredited) on the classic Ealing comedies Passport To Pimlico and Kind Hearts and Coronets (both 1949).

In 1961 Peter was the dubbing editor on The Innocents directed by Jack Clayton. He worked for Clayton again in the same capacity on The Pumpkin Eater (1964). Other notable films included sound editor on The Hill (1965) starring Sean Connery, and dubbing editor on Alfie (1966), which starred Michael Caine and was directed by Lewis Gilbert who died earlier this year.

In 1972 Peter edited the Hammer Horror film Vampire Circus. His final film was The Saint (1997) on which he worked as ADR editor.

Art exhibition celebrating James Bond
Friday, 25 May 2018 — Sunday, 14 October 2018
From 09:30 to 17:00 Free with admission

This summer James Bond comes to Bletchley Park. On display in Hut 12, a temporary art exhibition celebrates Ian Fleming’s original James Bond series, as well as the most recent 007 novels written by Anthony Horowitz.

It also includes a special section presenting new research into Fleming’s connection to Bletchley Park and explores how his work in naval intelligence helped inspire the creation of the James Bond books.
 

Royal Festival Hall, The Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX - 1st June 2018 (approx run time 150 minutes)

Join Anthony Horowitz in conversation as he discusses his new 007 novel and the explosive prequel to CASINO ROYALE, FOREVER AND A DAY.

Anthony Horowitz is one of the most prolific and successful writers in the UK today. He has written over 40 books, including the bestselling Alex Rider series, about a teen spy, which is estimated to have sold 19 million copies worldwide.

Horowitz is also an acclaimed writer for adults, and worked with the Conan Doyle Estate to write two new Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk (2011) and Moriarty (2014).

His stand-alone novel, Magpie Murders (2016), won critical acclaim and was followed by The Word is Murder (2017), the first in a series of detective novels.

In 2015, Ian Fleming Publications and The Ian Fleming Estate asked him to write a continuation James Bond novel, TRIGGER MORTIS. His second Bond novel, FOREVER AND A DAY is published on 31 May 2018.

LISTEN ONLINE

MOONRAKER - BBC Radio 4 Saturday 31 March 2018

Martin Jarvis directs this surprisingly up-to-date, all-star guided missile drama.

It's 1954 and British patriot Sir Hugo Drax (Samuel West) has built an atomic rocket, Moonraker, vital to Britain's defences. It's ready for a trial launch. But after a double-murder, James Bond (Toby Stephens) goes undercover at Moonraker's secret base. He and agent Gala Brand (Katherine Kingsley) discover possible treachery. Can they prevent a catastrophe?

Archie Scottney's compelling dramatization of Ian Fleming's novel is Jarvis and Ayres' seventh Bond on Radio 4. Janie Dee, John Standing and Julian Sands return as Moneypenny, M and Q. Jared Harris is Head of Special Branch, Patricia Hodge a hearty missile expert, Ian Ogilvy a BBC man, and Nigel Anthony is a Peter Lorre-inspired Krebs.

3 March 2018

The Royal Mint produces Bond 10p piece

The Royal Mint has revealed a brand-new collection of 10p coins which map out the A-Z of what makes Britain great with B standing for Bond. The James Bond coin features the iconic gun barrel and 007 logo. The entire collection will be rolling out into circulation across the country from today, and will be available at selected Post Offices from this week. A collectors’ folder, and silver proof and uncirculated versions of the 10p coins, will be available to purchase from The Royal Mint website. The coins will also be available to purchase at Bond in Motion, London Film Museum.


 

2 March 2018
The UK hardback cover for FOREVER AND A DAY was revealed today. The cover design for Anthony Horowitz’s second Bond novel cleverly ties the French Riviera setting to the deadly world of espionage with a luxury yacht doubling as a bullet shooting from a gun.

To celebrate that FOREVER AND A DAY is a prequel to CASINO ROYALE, Vintage UK will be releasing a new paperback edition of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond adventure with a special introduction by Anthony Horowitz. The cover design compliments the style of the FOREVER AND A DAY hardback and draws on the themes of violence, card play and shattered romance.  
FULL STORY

23 February 2018

Three-time James Bond film director Lewis Gilbert has died at the age of 97. In a varied career spanning six decades, Gilbert directed many classic and iconic British films including Reach For The Sky (1956), The Admirable Crichton (1957), Carve Her Name With Pride (1958) and Sink The Bismark! (1960).

Following his great success with Alfie (1966), Gilbert was invited to become the third James Bond director with the epic You Only Live Twice in 1967.

A decade later when Albert R. Broccoli became the sole producer of the Bond series, Lewis Gilbert was invited back to direct The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), which became a huge international success. He returned to direct Moonraker in 1979, which again surpassed the box-office of its predecessor, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series until GoldenEye in 1995.

Following his three Bond films, Gilbert returned to directing low-budget British films with the acclaimed Educating Rita (1983) and Shirley Valentine (1989), both adapted from plays by Willy Russell.

17 February 2018

The bespoke, midnight-blue 2014 Centenary Edition Vanquish - numbered 007 - will be offered on 20 April in New York. Sale proceeds will benefit The Opportunity Network, which helps young people with career development.

The limited-edition car was further customised by Craig in partnership with Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer. Estimated at $400,000-600,000, the car is left-hand drive and street-ready.

‘This Aston Martin Vanquish is a tour de force of automobile engineering and a distinct pleasure to drive,’ says Craig. ‘While I will miss it, I am keen to further the very important work of The Opportunity Network with its sale.’

FULL STORY

UPDATE: The car sold for $468,500

9 February 2018
John Gavin the American actor and former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico has died at the age of 86.

Gavin's two most famous screen roles were in 1960 when he starred as Sam Loomis in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and then as Julius Caesar in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. Following the departure of George Lazenby after On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), James Bond producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli were looking for a new 007, and considered a number of American actors including Adam West, Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. In early 1971 John Gavin was signed to play James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever which would start shooting in April of that year.

Distributors United Artists were not convinced and eventually persuaded Sean Connery to return for a record-breaking $1.25 million and a 10% cut of the gross profits. Luckily, John Gavin had made a pay-or-play deal and was reportedly compensated with $50,000. To date John Gavin is the only actor ever to be signed as James Bond but never actually play the part. He was briefly considered again for Live And Let Die (1973) before the role was offered to Roger Moore.

Gavin was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in June 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and served until June 12, 1986. He was also president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1971-1973.
See also: The Search For Bond An exclusive three-part article

8 February 2018

Anthony Horowitz’s second James Bond novel using original material by Ian Fleming will be published in the UK on Thursday 31 May 2018 and in the autumn in the US. FOREVER AND A DAY is a prequel to CASINO ROYALE, Fleming’s first 007 novel, and will explore the origins of the world’s most famous secret agent.

The sea keeps its secrets. But not this time.

One body. Three bullets. 007 floats in the waters of Marseille, killed by an unknown hand.

It’s time for a new agent to step up. Time for a new weapon in the war against organised crime.

It’s time for James Bond to earn his licence to kill.

This is the story of the birth of a legend, in the brutal underworld of the French Riviera.

FULL STORY