James Bond News - May 2013

Published: Tue, 05/07/13

 

7th May 2013

Hi

Following "Skyfall" we're now in the slow news ahead of any announcement about Bond 24.

However, that doesn't mean there is nothing going on in the world of 007 - there is a new continuation novel coming out later in the year and you'll still find regular updates on The James Bond Dossier about that and more.

Also remember that the website and newsletter are not the only place to keep updated - you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

And if you use aN iOS or Android device you can check out our updates using the free Flipboard app where we maintain a virtual magazine. Click here to find out more!
 
Until next time,

David Leigh
The James Bond Dossier

PS Here are those social media links again: TwitterFacebook and Flipboard. Follow us there and take part in the conversation.


The Avro Vulcan bomber from Thunderball:

Most readers should be familiar with the plotline of the fourth James Bond movie, Thunderball (1965), which centres around the theft of two atomic bombs following the hijacking of an RAF Vulcan bomber on a training exercise. Of course, in the book the aircraft was a Villiers Vindicator, a fictional experimental plane and later, when [...] Read more...

James Bond exhibition opens in Shanghai:

“Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style”, which was originally at The Barbican and later moved to Toronto, has just opened in Shanghai’s Minsheng Art Museum. The exhibition includes 600 items from Eon Productions’ 23 James Bond films including the hugely successful Skyfall. Source: Wall Street Journal Read more...

M’s name in the books and films:

Being James Bond have published an interesting article about M’s name, following the revelation of the name of Judi Dench’s M at the end of Skyfall. The article notes that M’s full name was not revealed by Ian Fleming until The Man With The Golden Gun, his last novel, but takes us through each incarnation [...] Read more...

Impact of the Thunderball plagiarism case:

Just a few days prior to the publication of Thunderball Ian Fleming received the shock news that Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham sought an injunction preventing publication. McClory had read an advance copy of the novel in March 1961 and was infuriated to see that Fleming had based the story on a screenplay written by [...] Read more...

60 years of Bond celebrated by Fine Books & Collections magazine:

To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Casino Royale, which is marked on April 13th, “Fine Books and Collections” magazine features an article titled “The Birth of Bond” and has a photograph of Ian Fleming on the cover. You can buy a copy from the magazine’s website, which you can find here. Source: [...] Read more...

James Bond Drinks book reviewed by MI6:

MI6 has today published a review of the second edition of my book “The Complete Guide to the Drinks of James Bond”, which is available from Amazon as a paperback or for Kindle. Read MI6's review here or you can read more about it here, which includes links to Lulu and various locaised Amazon stores. Read more...

Casino Royale published 60 years ago today:

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, on April 13th 1953. Ian Fleming had written the book in 1952 while spending the winter at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica, and just 4,728 copies were printed. The initial printing quickly sold out and today copies complete with original [...] Read more...

60 years of 007:

The Express takes a look at the phenomenon that started by Ian Fleming with the publication of Casino Royale in 1953 and which continues even today thanks to Eon Productions. The article adds nothing new to anyone with more than a casual interest in James Bond and is let down by a number of factual [...] Read more...

Goldeneye screenwriter Michael France dies:

It has been announced that screenwriter Michael France, who was involved with Goldeneye as well as a number of other blockbusters, died over the weekend at the age of 51. He had been battling diabetes for a number of years and it appears that it was this that resulted in his death; just nine months [...] Read more...

William Boyd’s James Bond novel revealed to be “Solo”:

The title of William Boyd’s James Bond continuation novel, due to be released in the UK in September, was revealed today at the London Book Fair by the author and later confirmed in a press release from Ian Fleming Publications. The book is to be titled Solo, which Boyd commented on, saying: “Sometimes less is [...] Read more...

Solo: the Ian Fleming connection:

On Monday it was announced that the next James Bond novel, written by William Boyd, was to be called Solo. Boyd explained the title: saying “events conspire to make Bond go off on a self-appointed mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorization” and “as soon as I wrote down Solo on a sheet [...] Read more...

Three James Bond soundtracks to be reissued on vinyl:

Three James Bond soundtracks will be re-released on vinyl this month in sporting the original sleeve design. The three soundtracks are Dr No, Goldfinger and Live And Let Die, with the latter also available in a high definition digital audio. While Goldfinger seems an obvious choice, as it has what many consider to be the [...] Read more...

London concert to celebrate John Barry’s music in October:

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is to celebrate the works of John Barry at a concert in October at the Royal Albert Hall. The concert will include music from a number of James Bond films, plus other works ranging from Dances With Wolves to The Black Hole. The concert will take place on Friday 4th October [...] Read more...

Signed Skyfall whisky raises £9,600 for charity:

A bottle of a whisky that appeared in Skyfall and signed by Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Bérénice Marlohe sold at auction for £9,635 at Sotheby’s. The bottle of The Macallan 1962 was donated to the charity auction by the owners of the Scotch distillery and is similar to the bottle seen on screen in [...] Read more...

007 Kindle ebooks no fan should be without:

Depending on your point of view the Kindle is either a miracle device, or the work of the Devil. While some people like their device – or love the ability to read Amazon’s Kindle ebooks on an iPad or other device – many see the move towards putting books into an electronic format as destroying [...] Read more...

Richard Kiel to visit Beaulieu in May:

American actor Richard Kiel , best known for his portrayal of Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker is to appear at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum on Sunday 26th May, according to 007.com. The museum is home to the Bond In Motion exhibition, the largest official collection of original James Bond vehicles and The actor will [...] Read more...

Bond girls on MasterChef:

Last night on the BBC’s long running MasterChef series, in which amateur chefs must up their game to professional standards to stand a chance of the MasterChef title, the semi-finalists were asked to serve dinner to 12 former Bond girls from across the 50 years of James Bond films. The episode sees Eunice Gayson, Shirley [...] Read more...

‘An Evening With Richard Kiel’ scheduled for May 27th in London:

Richard Kiel, best known for his role as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker alongside Roger Moore, is to appear at The Misty Moon Gallery in London on May 27th. “An Evening With Richard Kiel” includes a Q & A with the actor, autograph signings and a screening of The Spy Who [...] Read more...

James Bond and Coffee:

There is just one occasion in the entire James Bond film series in which I can remember 007 drinking coffee; after arriving in Istanbul in From Russia With Love Kerim offers coffee, which Bond then asks to be served “medium sweet”. On another occasion we catch a rare glimpse of his home life when M [...] Read more...

Skyfall leads explosive growth in download rentals from Sky Movies:

Figures released by British satellite broadcaster Sky, which is part-owned by Rupert Murdock’s Newscorp, reveal Skyfall led a 37 percent increase in the number of rentals from Sky Movies in the first three months of 2013 compared with the same period last year. The company says 400,000 customers have rented Skyfall from Sky Movies so far, with [...] Read more...