Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, you will have seen many headlines that the Bond producers do not expect to start filming the next adventure for at least another two years. Broccoli and Wilson gave the update at a BFI awards dinner. Reaction was mixed. Some speculated optimistically this meant a 2025 release date for Bond 26 and the seventh 007, whilst others pointedly asked what they had been doing for the past two years since production on ‘No Time To Die’ wrapped in early 2020. Either way, the wildest ideas of having an announcement in time for the 60th anniversary this October are now dust.
Less reported from the BFI event was a separate interview they gave to the press association about what the franchise means to them and the fans. Bond is “a classic hero,” Broccoli said. “He is out not for his own personal benefit. He is out for Queen and country. He tries to do the best thing. He is very heroic, and I think people admire that and look up to that. He has some fun along the way, which people enjoy as well.”
“We have been very, very lucky. We have had the most wonderful actors portraying Bond over the years and we have had a wonderful cast and crew and technicians. So I think the audiences have just appreciated all the craftsmanship that goes into the films. We have been together working on these films for 40 years and I have grown up with them my entire life, so it is really everything. It is a family, it is a family business, and we consider all the people we have worked with over the years family and extended family.”
Who will be the newest addition to that family? They don’t know, and neither do the odds-makers, so best keep your money in your pocket!
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Jack White appeared on Conan O’Brien’s podcast recently and talked very candidly about his time with Bond on penning the title song for ‘Quantum of Solace.’ Confirming that he was parachuted in late after Amy Winehouse wasn’t well enough for the task, he joked that he used the time crunch to his advantage to slip things into ‘Another Way To Die’ that wouldn’t normally be allowed to pass.
“I thought this was great, and now I'm going to get away with murder, and you know, put things in this song they'd never approve of. And that happened. The music director was not down with anything. He was trying to convince me to turn it into a ballad or something like that. It got interesting. 'We're going on tour, I don't have time.' Knowing full well that I totally have time."
We asked David Arnold for comment via Twitter and he diplomatically replied: “There were some small changes and it wasn’t ever a problem as far as I could tell. It was all good and under difficult circumstances, as Amy had become too unwell to continue so we were very grateful Jack and Alicia were able to join."
Kim Sherwood’s debut novel in the ‘Double O’ trilogy - ‘Double Or Nothing’ - got some very glitzy cover artwork confirmed this week. The gold and circles motif will be sure to pop on bookshelves this September. Waterstones in the UK will have a special edition that will include an essay on the legacy of women in Bond by the author.
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Director John Glen was promoted from editor to director to “bring Bond back down to earth” after ‘Moonraker.’ This week’s James Bond & Friends panel welcomes Tom Butler, Dr. Llewella Chapman, and Sean Longmore to discuss ‘For Your Eyes Only,’ an under-appreciated entry in the canon that may have more ties to ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ than you think. The film was re-released in UK cinemas this week.
Watch
Adele took to the stage at the British Summer Time Festival 2022 at Hyde Park in London on Friday and performed her Oscar-winning title song ‘Skyfall.’
MI6 Archives
For years it remained a bit of a mystery, but it was eventually revealed that 22-year-old New York model Joyce Bartle’s legs were the famous ones that appeared on the ‘For Your Eyes Only’ poster. Here is the concept art by Brian Bysouth and then the original photo used for the poster. The design would go
Exit Through The Gift Shop
‘No Time To Die’ used VFX on almost every frame. What was real and what was CGI? In 20 years, we’ve come a long way from para-surfing icebergs to the point where you’ll be challenged to spot the difference.
Issue #65 of MI6 Confidential magazine exclusively interviews several of the post-production teams on ‘No Time To Die’ to answer this question. It is shipping to subscribers this week. If you are not already signed up, you can get this and the other 3 issues this year shipped to you anywhere in the world.
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Clearly the crop of producers/directors, writers that wrote "No Time To Die" should not be involved with any Bond movie in the future........and Craig should only come back as a villain mercilessly killed by OO7.......wood chipper perhaps.....no longer a fan of Craig......