2009 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award winner announced

The Crime Writers Association and Cactus Television last night hosted the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards, at which the 2009 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger was presented. John Hart was named the winner for his third book, The Last Child.

The awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, boasted an array of famous faces from the worlds of screen and books, and was hosted by comedian Alan Davies. The culmination of a six-week season of ITV3 crime and drama programming, the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2009 will be televised on ITV3 on Tuesday, 27th October at 9pm.

The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing, and are the longest established literary awards in the UK. These premier awards in crime fiction are recognised internationally as a mark of excellence.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

Joseph Wiseman (1918-2009)

Canadian stage and screen actor Joseph Wiseman has died at the age of 91.

The New York Times reports that Wiseman, known best for his memorable role as the villainous Dr. No in the very first James Bond film, passed away on Monday at his home in Manhattan, New York.

His daughter, Martha Graham Wiseman, confirmed the death, saying her father had recently been in declining health.

Born in Montreal on 15 May 1918, Wiseman and his family moved to the United States when he was a boy. He made his Broadway debut in 1938 with Abe Lincoln in Illinois. This was followed by several other stage performances in the 1940’s and 50’s, including Journey to Jerusalem (1940), Candle in the Wind (1941), Joan of Lorraine (1946), Antony and Cleopatra (1947), Detective Story (1949) and The Lark (1955).

In 1969, he took the title role in In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which earned him a Drama Desk Award. His later performances included Zalman or The Madness of God in 1976, The Tenth Man in 1989 and Judgment at Nuremberg in 2001. Off-Broadway work included the premiere of Tony Kushner’s Slavs in 1994.

Prolific for his talent in projecting villainy, critic Robert Brustein called him ‘the spookiest actor in the American theatre. He would be ideally cast as Dracula.’

Wiseman put this talent to use in his film work, which is clearly evident in his restrained, but memorable portrayal of Dr. Julius No opposite Sean Connery’s 007 in the 1962 debut of James Bond. The performance made him an iconic Bond baddie.

His other film credits included Detective Story (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), The Garment Jungle (1957), The Unforgiven (1960), The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968) and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974).

Wiseman’s wife, choreographer Pearl Lang, died in February of this year. He is survived by his daughter, Martha, and sister, Ruth Wiseman.

CommanderBond.net wishes the best to the family and friends of Joseph Wiseman.

George Lazenby to attend New Jersey's Chiller Theatre Expo 2009

George Lazenby

Former James Bond star George Lazenby is set to make an appearance at the 2009 Chiller Theatre Expo in New Jersey at the end of the month.

The On Her Majesty’s Secret Service star is just one of many guests scheduled to attend the event, which runs from Friday, 30 October to Sunday, 1 November. Serena Scott Thomas, who is best known by 007 fans for her role as Dr. Molly Warmflash in The World is not Enough, is also on the guest list.

There are a variety of advance ticket sale options to choose from, but hurry as these must be placed by 16 October. Visit this page for full information.

This horror, sci-fi and fantasy convention will be taking place at the Hilton Parsippany, One Hilton Court, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054.

For further details about attending, phone 1-973-267-7373 or visit the official website.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

Ian Fleming 2009 Steel Dagger shortlist announced

Ian Fleming

As earlier reported on CommanderBond.net, the winner of the 2009 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award is set to be announced next month at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, which will be broadcast on ITV3.

The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing, and are the longest established literary awards in the UK. These premier awards in crime fiction are recognised internationally as a mark of excellence.

The shortlist for the Steel Dagger award—for best thriller—has just been announced. The winner will be announced and awarded the £2,000 prize on Wednesday, 21 October 2009.

• Michael Connelly: The Brass Verdict (Orion)
• Gillian Flynn: Dark Places (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• John Hart: The Last Child (John Murray)
• Charlie Newton: Calumet City (Bantam Press)
• Daniel Silva: Moscow Rules (Michael Joseph)
• Olen Steinhauer: The Tourist (HarperCollins)
• Andrew Williams: The Interrogator (John Murray)

For further details regarding the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and other awards, click here.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

2009 CWA Dagger Award winners announced

According to the official IanFleming.com website, the CWA Dagger Awards were handed out last night in London at the Tiger Tiger nightspot.

The CWA Dagger Awards celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing, and are the longest established literary awards in the UK. These premier awards in crime fiction are recognised internationally as a mark of excellence.

The shortlist for the 2009 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award is yet to be announced, however. This particular award and the £2,000 prize will be handed out on 21 October 2009.

The broadest definition of the thriller novel is used for eligible books; these can be set in any period and include, but are not limited to, spy fiction and/or action/adventure stories. Fleming said there was one essential criterion for a good thriller – that ‘one simply has to turn the page’; this is one of the main characteristics that the judges will be looking for. A book is eligible if it was first published in the UK in English between 1 June 2008 and 31 May 2009.

The judging panel for the 2009 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award will consist of The Moneypenny Diaries author Samantha Weinberg, Sarah Fairbairn, Philip Gooden, Rob Williams and David Wilson. The panel is chaired by Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.

For additional details, visit the official website.

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page. Be sure to check out our new Twitter feed as well.

James Bond autograph schedule for Comic-Con 2009

This year’s upcoming Comic-Con will feature many notable James Bond film stars (including George Lazenby) in attendance and CommanderBond.net has gotten a look at the autograph schedule so you can know when to show up to meet your favourite.

Comic-Con 2009 will be taking place from Thursday, 23 July – Sunday, 26 July, with a preview night on Wednesday the 22nd, at the San Diego Convention Center in California.

The autographs area is located upstairs in the Sails Pavilion. For specific details regarding autograph signing as well as memberships to attend Comic-Con, visit the official website.

The James Bond autograph schedule follows below:

• George Lazenby (James Bond, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)
• Trina Parks (Thumper, Diamonds Are Forever)
• Lana Wood (Plenty O’Toole, Diamonds Are Forever)
• Gloria Hendry (Rosie Carver, Live and Let Die)
• Yaphet Kotto (Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big, Live and Let Die)
• Maud Adams (Andrea Anders, The Man with the Golden Gun & Octopussy, Octopussy)
• Lynn-Holly Johnson (Bibi Dahl, For Your Eyes Only)

• Tanya Roberts (Stacey Sutton, A View to a Kill)

• Virginia Hey (Rubavitch, The Living Daylights)

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for complete coverage of all the latest 007-related news.

Zena Marshall (1927 – 2009)

007 Magazine reports the sad news that Bond girl Zena Marshall has died at the age of 82.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1927, she is best known by James Bond fans for her role as Miss Taro in 1962’s Dr. No, effectively making her the first femme fatale of the series.

Besides her 007 association, Marshall also starred in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and on the popular television series Danger Man.

CommanderBond.net wishes the best to her family and friends.

Bond girl Honor Blackman has a licence to thrill at Llangollen 2009

Goldfinger‘s Honor Blackman truly had a licence to thrill this past weekend as she hosted a very special concert dedicated to 007.

The event took place as part of the 2009 Llangollen International Musical Festival in Wales on Sunday, 12 July. As earlier reported on CommanderBond.net, Blackman acted as host for the concert while conductor/composer Carl Davis led the Welsh National Orchestra and soloists Mary Carewe and Simon Bowman through a string of popular James Bond theme songs, including Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and, of course, Goldfinger.

To add to the the Bond atmosphere, there were two Aston Martin cars on show on the festival field throughout Sunday afternoon and evening, and guest of honour at the concert was David Pender Richards, chairman of Aston Martin.

Speaking earlier about the neverending popularity of Bond music, Davis said: ‘The music is terrific. It’s very dramatic and very sensual with compelling tunes. You hear one and that’s fine. But when you hear the series and you see how it’s spot on the style of the time. They always wanted to be cutting edge.’

To view photograghs of Honor Blackman, Carl Davis and others from the event, visit the Evening Leader.

Keep your browsers locked on the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

'Quantum of Solace' Is Top-Selling Blu-ray Of 2009

Quantum of Solace

Halfway into 2009 and Quantum of Solace has been named the top-selling Blu-ray title of the year so far.

Blu-ray.com reports that Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film was listed as the number one title after sales figures were published today by Home Media Magazine.

Quantum of Solace was followed by The Dark Knight , Twilight, Eagle Eye and Taken.

In the overall sales category, Christopher Nolan’s phenomenally successful The Dark Knight (a 2008 release) took the top spot.

Quantum of Solace Blu-ray/DVD Overview
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Sir Sean Connery To Attend 2009 Edinburgh Film Festival

Sir Sean Connery will be attending this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival to help celebrate Scotland’s Year of Homecoming.

Sir Sean Connery

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that the former James Bond star and film festival patron is just one of many celebrities who’ll be attending the event.

Kate Winslet, Sam Mendes, Carlos Cuarón, Diego Luna, Guy Pearce, Joe Dante, Kathryn Bigelow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Meera Syal, Michael Fassbender and William H. Macy are all also scheduled to attend.

In addition, the red carpet events at the festival are expected to attract stars such as Claire Danes, Emily Blunt, Peter Saarsgard and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Furthermore, those returning to the film festival include Alan Cumming, Alfonso Cuarón, Bill Forsyth, Brenda Blethyn, Darren Aronofsky, Ewen Bremner, Ian Hart, Jaime Winstone, Paddy Considine, Robin Wright-Penn, Roger Corman, Sam Mendes and Shane Meadows.

The programme for the free Film Festival Under the Stars was also revealed. Outdoor screenings will show Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Chronicles of Narnia, Stone of Destiny and Charlotte’s Web. Each of these three films were selected to recognize the work of the festivals patrons: Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Seamus McGarvey and Sir Sean.

Ginnie Atkinson, Managing Director, said: ‘Film Festival Under the Stars is a free annual event that aims to introduce the EIFF to new audiences.’

‘A fun event for cinema fans of all ages, and in celebration of Homecoming Scotland, the Festival is proud to present a selection of work from its four Patrons. We are also delighted to have so many international filmmakers and actors attending the Festival this year.’

This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival will run from 17 – 28 June.

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.