James Bond News: 🍸November 2017
Published: Tue, 11/07/17
I don't know about you, but in the last few days the temperature plunged. We've been enjoying a long warm stretch after the summer, which makes the cold snap a real shock!
Anyway, on to Bond, and there are a few items related to Bond 25 to report. There is also a new issue of MI6 Confidential AND a special edition of the magazine too!
Let's take a look what has been happening since last month's email newsletter:
Dennis Gassner confirmed as Bond 25 production designer. In an article on the look of Blade Runner 2049, International Cinematographers Guild Magazine spoke to cinematographer Roger Deakin and production designer Dennis Gassner.
In 2017, after ten years of service, MI6 Confidential has introduced a new special format: a limited-run 100-page perfect bound issue of the magazine taking a deep dive into one particular facet of the franchise.
New cars on show at Covent Garden’s Bond in Motion exhibition. Bond in Motion at the London Film Museum has installed a new display of original film cars driven by female characters starring alongside 007 in the James Bond franchise. Also included are previously unseen costumes, props and storyboards.
Spanish fan site claims Ben Cooke will take over role previously held by Gary Powell. Spanish website Archivo 007 has today claimed that Ben Cooke will return to the Bond series for a fourth time. Previously doubling Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, Cooke will take on the role of stunt coordinator.
The actor who played Blofeld in SPECTRE says he won’t return in the role. Speaking on the red carpet at the Rome Film Festival just a few days ago, Christoph Waltz was asked by Talky Movie whether he would be returning in Bond 25.
A unique typescript of The Man With The Golden Gun corrected by Ian Fleming is available from Jonkers Rare Books. According to the listing on Jonkers’ website: 182 numbered pages of typed foolscap, five further preliminary pages and a single sheet of suggested (later adopted) corrections by Kingsley Amis, all bound in a cloth folder.
MGM and Annapurna Pictures announced a joint venture to release films theatrically in the United States. However, worldwide distribution plans for Bond 25 are to be announced at a later date.
New hardback editions of three Bond titles now available from Vintage Classics. Back in the summer, Vintage Classics announced they would be releasing new hardback editions of three Bond titles. The books are Casino Royale, Live And Let Die and Goldfinger and include artwork by Levente Szabó and by John Cork.
The forty-second issue of MI6 Confidential focuses on George Lazenby’s time in the 007 spotlight. George Lazenby is nothing if not an independent spirit. He charmed the producers into testing him for Bond, and he shocked everyone when he declined to reappear as the world’s most famous spy.
OK, that's all for now. We're still awaiting details of a deal between MGM/Eon and a studio capable of worldwide distribution. But things do appear to be happening in the background, so maybe that will be revealed shortly.
As always watch this space!
David Leigh