NOBODY DOES IT BETTER
James Bond, the world famous super spy. Complete with the gadgets, cars, style and women. Everyone woman wants him. Every man wants to be him. Perhaps the best-known movie hero, more than half the world knows of James Bond. Couple that with the longest running movies series of all time and you have an unmatched superhero.
ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
To be James Bond, you got to be convince us you’re British. George Clooney and Brad Pitt don’t have a chance in Hades of pulling that one off, no matter how good their accents are. Pierce Brosnan nails it, cause he at the very least, already had an accent, granted it was Irish. Plus he’s tall, at 6′ 2” he’s the same height as the quintessential Bond, Sean Connery.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Seems Brosnan has at least one more, if not two more, Bond films to go before hanging up the tux, so who might take on the role after his departure? Could be Hugh Jackman. He wouldn’t be the first Australian to play Bond, George Lazenby was also from the land down under.
JAMES BOND, JR.
Back in the early 90’s a cartoon spin-off emerged. This go around was with James Bond’s teenage nephew taking on super villains the world over. The younger Bond, took on some his uncle’s more famous foes, including Dr. No and Jaws.
GOLDENEYE
After returning from serving with British Naval Intelligence during World War 2, Ina Fleming retired to Jamica and built a house he dubbed, “Goldeneye”. In this house is where he first took up writing full-time and created the character that would make him famous. He wrote most of his novels in wearing shorts and flip flops.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Fleming got the name “James Bond” from a real-life ornithologist in Philadelphia who was named “James Bond”. He had a copy of his book: “The Birds of the West Indies” and took a liking to the name. In “Die Another Day”, Bond poses as an ornithologist while undercover.
THE REAL JAMES BOND
Ian Fleming supposedly modeled the character of James Bond after a real life person named, Merlin Minshall. Minshall had worked for Fleming during World War 2, as a spy. Some believe he took up writing the Bond stories as a clever way of divulging classified information.
JAWS VS. JAWS
Riding his gargantuan success with Jaws, Spielberg wanted to make a Bond film in the late seventies. His buddy, George Lucas said he had something better for him to do and thus Indiana Jones was created. The original draft of Raiders of the Lost Ark script had Indy in tuxedo doing his lady’s man routine, but it was removed and later appeared to some extent in Temple of Doom.
SCOTLAND FOREVER
Sean Connery has worn a toupee in every Bond film he has ever been in on account of the fact that he started losing his hair at the age of 21. In the majority of his other films and off-screen he goes all out natural. He also has two small tattoos on his right arm, one reading, “Scotland Forever” and the other, “Mum and Dad”. He acquired the tats at the age of 16, while in the British Navy.
SECRET SERVICE
Once worked as a coffin polisher and milk delivery man. He even modeled naked for an art class at Edinburgh Art College, rumor has it that some of those paintings still survive today. If you prefer not to go topless, there is no better way to deliver the milk, than by wearing a 007 t-shirt.
ABOVE THE LAW
Connery was injured during martial arts training for his role in Never Say Never Again. He made his instructor made, who in return broke his wrist. However, Connery didn’t know it had been broken and lived with the injury for some years. The instructor was Steven Seagal.
THUNDERBALL REDUX
“Never Say Never Again” was essentially a remake of “Thunderball” Connery starred as Bond in both of them, however the second go around was during the Roger Moore days. So why did this happen? Apparently, Kevin McClory who was the producer and co-writer of “Thunderball” won a legal battle with Ian Fleming that allowed him to make his own Bond film. The only stipulation was that it had to be a remake of “Thunderball”.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
Connery couldn’t refuse once again donning the tux and the remake title for “Thunderball” came from Connery’s wife. After doing, “Diamonds are Forever” he told her he’d never play Bond again. Of course, that wasn’t true now and her response was for him to “never say never again”. There are some differences from this and other traditional Bond films, the theme song, the gun barrel sequence, the 007 gun logo and the trademark opening sequence are all missing. James Bond also doesn’t drink a martini – shaken not stirred. Instead he orders, Vodka on the rocks.
MOVIE TRIVIA
Just as every actor to play Bond had a natural accent, so have all the film directors, including Irvin Kershner , who directed “Never Say Never Again” right after directing “The Empire Strikes Back”.
WARHEAD 2001
In 2001, McClory was attempting to make another Bond film, this time in conjunction with Sony Pictures. However, after he was forced to make public the details of his controversial Bond film, his efforts were blocked and all Bond rights fell solely to MGM. Unfortunately, we will never get to see what McClory’s vision of Bond could have been.
LICENSE TO KILL BILL
Quentin Tarantino has stated he’d like to one day make a Bond film.
“Someday I’m going to get the rights to do ‘Casino Royale,’ the first James Bond novel, and do it the right way. I really wanted it to be my followup to ‘Pulp Fiction’ and do it with Pierce Brosnan, but have it take place after the events of ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ – after Bond’s wife, Tracy, has been killed.” I want Bond to be in mourning when he falls in love with Vesper Lynd, the woman in the novel. From what I know of Brosnan and read in interviews, I think he’d want to go in the direction I’d want to take Bond, though I’m not certain producers of the series would agree.” If he does it, he’d be the first American director to helm a Bond film.
