CommanderBond.net
  1. BOND IN MOTION exhibition extended – SPECTRE vehicles will be added

    By Stefan Rogall on 2015-02-27

    If you haven´t had the chance to see this – you will get another one!

    Due to popular demand the London Film Museum will remain dedicated to Bond in Motion until further notice. It will see new exhibits added in 2015, including vehicles from the latest Bond adventure, SPECTRE.

    To mark the first anniversary of BOND IN MOTION at the London Film Museum, the museum will be hosting a weekend of Bond-themed celebration on 21st and 22nd March 2015. Distinguished Bond film crew and contributors will be holding talks, tours and open Q&A sessions in the museum throughout the weekend. Speakers will include stunt supervisor and action director Vic Armstrong, a veteran of seven Bond films and production designer Peter Lamont who worked on 18 Bond adventures. The official Aston Martin owners club will be descending on the Covent Garden Piazza outside the exhibition for the weekend with over 30 vehicles from the past to the present. All anniversary activities within the museum will be free to BOND IN MOTION ticket holders.
    Special guests may change without notice.

    Tickets are available at the venue box office daily. To avoid the queue please purchase your tickets in advance. *Check website for special event announcements as these may result in the Museum being closed. Museum closure notices: Closed all day on 28th May 2015

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    http://londonfilmmuseum.com/home/

  2. BOND IN MOTION – EXHIBITION IN LONDON

    By Stefan Rogall on 2014-08-18

    After the wonderful exhibition “Designing 007” two years ago, London is once again offering a brilliant chance to see James Bond artifacts up close This time, the exhibition “BOND IN MOTION” concentrates on every Bondian transportation device: the cars, the motorcycles, the planes, the boats, the submarines.  They are all there: the Aston Martin in its many forms, the Lotus Esprit and the Wet Bike (from “The Spy Who Loved Me”), Little Nellie (from “You Only Live Twice”), the Acrostar (from “Octopussy”), heck – everything is here, even the cello case (from “The Living Daylights”), the Burial Bed (from “You Only Live Twice”) and the Honda all-terrain motorcycle (from “Diamonds Are Forever”)!  (Also, you can see some chosen storyboards and Bond´s many passports.)

    To see all those legendary vehicles right in front of you will certainly give any fan goosebumps.  It´s one thing to admire them on the big screen – but to actually have them on display in your reach… well, you obviously cannot touch them.  But you can go around them, marvel at the detailed design (or in the case of the “Quantum of Solace”-Aston Martin DBS feel shocked at the level of damage it has suffered during the PTS).  Also, you wonder how uncomfortable it must be for the actor to actually sit in these cars and mini-planes.  Especially the Acrostar must have given Sir Roger some claustrophobic moments. Housed in the LONDON FILM MUSEUM in Covent Garden, “BOND IN MOTION” is an absolute must-see for any fan or film buff.  It is splendidly presented and absolutely worth the price of admission.

    See details here: http://londonfilmmuseum.com/visit/

    BIM

  3. Happy 86th Birthday Sir Roger!

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-10-14

    Sir Roger Moore, KBE

    Team and members of CommanderBond.net wish Sir Roger Moore a very happy birthday and many happy returns in the best of health.

    Here’s to you, Sir Roger!

    Incidentally it seems a certain Simon Templar also celebrates his birthday on this very date, as well as the 15th Earl of Marnock, His Lordship Brett Rupert George Robert Mark Anthony Andrew Sinclair.

    We raise our glasses to these gentlemen.

     

  4. 00 Sailin’ Two – sailing close to the action

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-10-12

    The perfect 007-themed cruise? Locations aplenty, excitement, class and action on the tracks of James Bond’s most memorable assignments? A generous week filled with fine dining and guided tours to the places where 007 saved the world? Enormous fun in the company of Bond fans from around the globe?

    Impossible to find, you say?

     

    Search no more, Matt Sherman’s OO Sailin’ Two is just what you are looking for. This is the deal:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    James Sailing With His Pals

    (2436)“Unlimited entertainment and food on Royal Caribbean and experts in port touring Bond locations? This will be the can’t miss week of the year!” said Matt Sherman, organizer of OO Sailin’ Two. Sherman, who has led dozens of Bond and spy fan events, promises great fun on tap for the agents descending on the Caribbean from around the world.

     

     

    Fans will receive a guided locations tour in New Orleans, Louisiana from Live and Let Die on Saturday, March 8, 2014 before sailing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas to Key West to celebrate on location for Licence to Kill’s 25th Anniversary.

     

     

    (2300)The cruise continues to Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay, and to Nassau in The Bahamas where Sherman and other experts will lead two more guided tours to locations from more Bond books and films, 15 in all during the week, including fan favorites Casino Royale, Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me.

     

     

     

    “Fans will have their photos taken in the exact steps of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, five Bonds in all,” said Sherman. Must do locations like The One & Only Ocean Club and The British Colonial Hotel will be visited plus dozens more unique OO7 book and film locations, along with ample free time in Key West, New Orleans and The Bahamas.

     

     

    (2089)At sea, fans will play unique and fun trivia challenges from “Worst Agent?” to “Subtext That Film!” to “The World’s Biggest Bond Bash”, and dine (and dine, and dine!) and do shows including the high-flying Royal Caribbean Aerial Acrobatics. Daily themed fun includes sipping potables at the 1960s-themed R Bar and the Serenade’s British pub at CBN meet ups, free lessons on a unique gyroscopic table in the Bombay Billiards Club and playing the night away with the gang at the Serenade’s Casino Royale. First time cruisers are welcomed and will be in the party atmosphere straight away.

     

     

    Sherman has hosted previous Bond locales tours and fan meets in New Orleans, Key West and The Bahamas, and in Chicago, Jamaica, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco, which have featured on TV and in print internationally. His Bond collectibles have appeared in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and on HGTV and VH-1. His contributions have appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Parade Magazine, Time and Time Europe.

     

     

    For more information on OOSailin’ Two sailing in March 2014 and previous fan events, please visit the OOSailin’ website or contact:

    Matt Sherman
    BCW Productions
    (352) 871-0967
    [email protected]

     

     

  5. From Russia With Love – 50 Years

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-10-10
    image (c) Mark O'Connell, used with kind permission

    image (c) Mark O’Connell, used with kind permission

     

    Celebrating a film’s ‘birthday’ is a bit of a silly idea, isn’t it? After all it’s not as if a film could actually ‘die’. So making it, say, 50 years down the road isn’t so much a feat as a simple sign that time moves in one direction, and one direction only.

     

    But today we do not just celebrate an ordinary film. This evening it’s 50 years since a true classic found its way onto the silver screen of London’s Odeon theatre. And from there right into the hearts of an army of Bond fans. The Bond phenomenon shaped modern pop-culture’s surface like few other trends and ‘From Russia With Love’ can justifiably be regarded as part of its cutting edge. It went deeper into early sixties sensibilities and the mindset of the Cold War than any other Bond film. And it was more serious about its business, influencing the entire spectrum of the spy genre. Terence Young’s landmark did not just teach audiences to tell the true Englishman by his choice of wine to go with fish. It also moved the action into dark corners where telling friend from foe wasn’t always easy. Where fights were tough, deadly serious business, bloody in the truest sense. Where Bond’s enemy’s enemy was decidedly not his friend, regardless how many times 007 profited from the silent killer in his wake. And where the beautiful woman is indeed an enemy agent, out to lure the hero – though unwittingly – to his doom.

     

    ‘From Russia With Love’ today is regarded as one of the great classics of both British cinema and of Eon’s Bond series. It is a favourite with many fans and critics and keeps coming up on top places with many rankings. It was indeed a marvellous cast of fortune that combined Ian Fleming’s original novel – a treasure in its own right – with the talents of Maibaum, Harwood, Barry, Hunt, Moore and countless others in the production team and in front of the camera. On top of this it was Pedro Armendáriz’s last role, enriching Eon’s Bond world with a character unsurpassed to this very day. Kerim Bey IS the epitome of Bond’s ally: shrewd, resourceful, charismatic. Many came after him, only few came close.

     

    So it is with a sense of deep gratitude for this gem that I raise CommanderBond.net’s imaginary glass and toast to 50 years of ‘From Russia With Love’. I have no doubts this film will still be celebrated many more years from now.

    Here’s to you, old friend!

     

    Grateful thanks to Mark O’Connell for the kind permission to use marvellous above image. Mark O’Connell is the author of CATCHING BULLETS – MEMOIRS OF A BOND FAN “co-starring” Barbara Broccoli, Mark Gatiss and Maud Adams. Available now; for more details see www.markoconnell.co.uk

  6. Intercepted: James Bond’s ‘Solo’ car

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-09-21

    image provided by wikipedia

    As the publicity machine for William Boyd’s upcoming James Bond continuation ‘Solo’ slowly gets into gear with an interview and part of the first chapter in today’s copy (21. September) of The Times John Cox/The Book Bond draws our attention to one other detail that emerged in the Mail Online coverage of ‘Solo’:  James Bond’s car in this adventure will be a Jensen.

    While Jensen Motors Ltd. isn’t exactly a household name with the average Bond fan Jensen models have surely had their impact on the spy/thriller genre of the era ‘Solo’ depicts. The Jensen Interceptor featured prominently in the TV series THE PROTECTORS with Robert Vaughn and later during Simon Dutton’s incarnation of The Saint. Connoisseurs of the literary spy adventure genre will of course be aware that a Jensen Interceptor is also one of Willie Garvin’s cars, both in Peter O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise books and newspaper comic strips.

    Jensen FF image by wikipedia

    Jensen models  were famous for their unique combination of restrained British elegance with ruthless horsepower, exceptional performance on the road and highly innovative technology. Their model FF for example was the first non-all-terrain vehicle to use a four-wheel drive, preceding Audi’s Quattro and Subaru’s use by several years.

    It would seem  William Boyd’s version of James Bond is in very good company when driving a Jensen.

     

     

    Grateful thanks to Jacques Stewart and John Cox/The Book Bond for providing valuable background information.

  7. Happy Birthday Sir Sean!

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-08-26

    Today 83 years ago Sir Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh. CommanderBond.net’s team and all CBners hereby congratulate and wish a very happy 83rd Birthday. May there be many happy returns and all of them finding you in the best of health and spirits!

  8. Ben Whishaw ties the knot with partner!

    By Matthew Harkin on 2013-08-05

    Screen Shot 2013-08-05 at 23.22.55CommanderBond.net would like to offer our congratulations to current Quartermaster Ben Whishaw, who secretly tied the knot with his boyfriend Mark Bradshaw last August. Whishaw is said to be happy and proud to have wed his partner, who he met in 2009, whist filming ‘Bright Star’. Bradshaw, an australian film composer, scored the film. The top secret ceremony itself took place in Sydney, Australia, the home town of Whishaw’s new husband.

    “Ben has never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to discuss his family or life outside of his work,” said a source close to the couple. “Due to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very happy.

  9. Happy Birthday Dame Diana Rigg!

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-07-20

    image (c) wikipedia

    Until today there have been an unspecified (and somewhat controversial) number of Bonds busy at making this world a more exciting place for fans of 007. Undisputed however is the fact there has been only one Mrs Bond. And only one actress to own this part: Dame Diana Rigg. Today is her birthday and CommanderBond.net wishes

    A Very Happy Birthday & Many Happy Returns, Dame Diana!

    We’d also like to use this opportunity to congratulate Mrs Emma Peel, who incidentally shares her birthday with Dame Diana.

    Mrs Peel, you’re needed. Badly…

  10. 007’s tunes hit Budapest – tonight!

    By Helmut Schierer on 2013-07-19

    Fans of 007’s iconic music on the Continent may consider to take a quick dash into Budapest. And they will have to be fast, as only tonight you can enjoy this concert on the wildly romantic Margaret Island.

     

    From the press release:

     

    The symphonic adaptation of the James Bond films’ soundtracks finally
    make their debut in Hungary! As a celebration of the Bond character’s
    60th birthday and the film series’ (belated) 50th anniversary, the
    Budapest Symphony Orchestra performs a special concert recalling the
    greatest hits of the Bond films. The concert’s conductor is Nic Raine,
    who worked as the orchestrator for John Barry during the recording of
    A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights, and has worked on several
    Bond-themed albums with the Prague Philharmonics. The 70-piece
    orchestra will be headlined by singers Mónika Veres and Bálint Gájer,
    finalists of the Hungarian edition of The Voice.

     

    The concert will be performed on the picturesque Margaret Island on
    the River Danube. Check out the Super Ticket offer if you want to
    connect your concert experience with a night time boat ride to and
    from the island before and after the concert! These special ships are
    time to the concert date, so you’re guaranteed to arrive and leave on
    time. Reserve your ticket now:

    http://www.tickethungary.com/budapest/james-bond-60-filmtrack-concert-show-ticket

    You can also like us on Facebook if you feel like:

    https://www.facebook.com/events/457935144272485/?fref=ts

     

    Thanks to the organisers of this event for the heads-up.

    Please excuse the short notice.