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Hi - You'll have to forgive me for being a couple of days late again with this newsletter but in the last six weeks the real world has intervened big time. Hopefully all ok now, but we'll see...

Naturally I'll cover No Time to Die below, including MGM removing videos from Twitter showing filming in  Matera. You can also read about  that here.
 

MI6 t-shirt

I'd like to thank everyone who bought a t-shirt last month. To say I was surprised by its popularity is a bit of an understatement. Everyone who got in contact after receiving it has loved it!!! 
 
I've added a number of different styles including t-shirts designed for women, toddlers and kids so if you didn't pick up one in August you still can.  
 

Being James Bond

One fun thing I did recently was speak to Joe Darlington for his Being James Bond podcast. We covered things like my introduction to James Bond as a kid and many other things.

You can listen to my conversation with Joe here.

I'll also be on The Bond Experience soon after chatting with David Zaritsky.
 

No Time to Die

Yes, Bond 25 finally got a name in August!

Eon Productions and MGM revealed the title of the next James Bond film will be No Time to Die. By coincidence I jokingly mentioned it as a possible title in one of the recent James Bond & Friends podcasts. 

As Matera geared up to host the Bond 25 ahead of mid-August shoot a video emerged showing work on a set being prepared for Bond 25 in the Sassi district. It shows clearly the spectacular backdrop we can expect to see in the new Bond film.

Italian media reported No Time to Die will shoot in 32 locations in southern Italy, where a total of a 400 crew members are currently working prior to cameras rolling. Photos of a new set emerged at the same time. Local media also reported that filming in Matera was to be delayed by a week, which turned out to be inaccurate, as a number of Aston Martins arrived in Italy.

Days later one of the replica Aston Martin DB5s was on display  in Matera’s Piazza San Pietro Caveoso. 

When filming did start the first scenes were of a car chase involving an Aston Martin DB5 (at least a replica with a BMW engine and carbon fibre body). However, many of the videos shared on twitter, which were filmed in a public place, were removed at the insistence of MGM.

Most Bond commentators I've spoken to consider MGM's actions to be heavy handed and out of line. The Hollywood Reported published an article about it here.

Also related to No Time to Die was the report that Annapurna hired a law firm to explore bankruptcy protection. Ultimately though the company solved their financial woes by wiping $200 million debt off their books and repaying creditors $0.82 for ever $1 owed. That's a nice trick if you can get away with it.

Finally, Javier Trujillo considers the title of No Time to Die in his article 007 & Death: What’s in A Name?
 

Book news

The Bond of the Millenium takes an in-depth look at Pierce Brosnan’s time as James Bond. The first time Pierce Brosnan went to the cinema, aged 11, he watched a James Bond film. At the age of 27, he married a James Bond girl.

He had the chance of playing James Bond himself at the age of 33 but lost the role due to contractual obligations. He was 41 when he was formally announced as the fifth actor to play James Bond

 

James Bond & Friends

The latest episodes of James Bond & Friends is now available on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere. These are fun to record and the response has by and large been massively popular. You can listen to the latest episodes below:

• Episode 0020: Lounging Around With Goldfinger
• Episode 0021: Richard Burton’s Bar Tab
  Episode 0022: Mr White’s Banana
• Episode 0023: Stop Apologizing 

OK, that's all for this month. Hopefully things will be back to normal for next month's newsletter.

See you then!

David Leigh
The James Bond Dossier

PS If you want an MI6 logo t-shirt they are still available. Click here for details.

PPS Don't miss the special offer pricing on MI6 Confidential magazine. You can sign up for the complete 2019 season of five issues and pay for just four plus delivery.

 

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The James Bond Dossier