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Please take a look at my report from this great event, I can't believe it was a decade ago.

GoldenEye Convention and World Premiere
A Report by Charles Helfenstein

I was just thinking of starting a GoldenEye 10th anniversary thread. Thankfully, you had a better angle, Charles. I remember getting a flyer for that Bond event at that time. I really wanted to go, but had no way of scrapping together any kind of plan to get to it.

Regardless of GE not being one of my favorite Bonds, I think most fans can look back with good memories of FINALLY getting another Bond film after 6 long years. Suddenly, there were all types of news articles, magazines TV shows and reports and other media attention focused on 007 again.

I remember going to a book store and spending $30-40 on out-of-town Sunday newspapers with Bond stories as well as the Empire Magazine Bond special a few days before the film came out. Christmas was also fun that year with a lot of Bond stuff under the tree.

As much fun as that time was, I'm hoping for deja vu all over again a year from now.

Great article Charles, and happy 10th GoldenEye! Must have been a blast to attend this.

And just so CBn readers know, this is the first of a few planned articles we've put together celebrating 10 years of a great 007 film.

Another excellent report-of course, I might be biased since some of my photos were used in the article.

God, the lobby of the Hudson Theatre(next door to the Millenium Hotel), where the con was held, was way too small an area to hold a convention. What was Creation thinking, especially when you consider the space they booked in L.A. for their 1st Bond con? Still, a good time was had by all, and it was very cool to be able to hand to Pierce the original art to the centerspread of the Brosnan comic bio Charles & I did, and to hear him say how good the likeness was.

With the possible exception of the BCW's, it's a shame that there hasn't been an actual Bond convention since this one. I wonder what the chances of something like a combined world premiere and convention occuring in November 2006.

Good recollections. I remember Desmond was in character as Q when he got on stage. He addressed the audience by saying, "now I want you to pay *particular* attention: we've had a Scottish Bond, an Australian Bond, an English Bond, and a Welsh Bond..." (he didn't forget Lazenby). When Pierce got up on stage, he introduced the cast and Martin Campbell, whom he described as the loudest director he's ever worked for, and the entire cast all smiled and nodded. When Campbell spoke, he joked that looking at this packed house he hoped there would still be people out there left who want to see the film.

During the convention itself Pierce was very gracious, and funny, in answering questions from the audience. I sat behind John Cork, who was shaking his head in embarrasment at some of the goofier ones like this one guy who asked Brosnan about Saturday Night Live and if he thought that show would survive. Another guy who I used to know from alt.fan.james-bond, Kees Boer, had this pamphlet that he was handing out to everyone comparing Bond with religion, specifically Christ. He asked Pierce if he could hand him one, calling it a poem or something. "Sure, let's see it." Brosnan starts reading it, and says, "This isn't a poem, man, it's a mini-series!" On the stage there was a cardboard standee of Brosnan as Bond. Someone asked him about shooting the gunbarrel, and he explained that they tried it once, but it wasn't working. He needed his director (Campbell) and they reshot it. In explaining this he backed into that cardboard display and jumped, saying, "I just got goosed by my campaign!" He described his long road to Bond ("It was in my life, then it was out of my life, then it was back in") and getting the call from his agent ("Congratulations, Mr. Bond!").

"GoldenEye" is the only Bond film I actually got to see three times before it was out (local film critic's screening, world premiere, and a screening sponsored by BMW---this all helped make up for the lost time of six years without a Bond film). By the time of the premiere, I had seen it once. I told Campbell, Wilson, and Broccoli how much I liked it. Campbell was the most interested, it was like I was complimenting one of his kids. Barbara Broccoli seemed surprised anyone recognized her. I congratulated her on becoming a full producer and told her this one would take in more than $100 mil. in the US.

During the film, people applauded during the gunbarrel and when Albert R. Broccoli's credit came up. I remember seeing someone in the audience petting a stuffed white cat. Occasionally, some fool would try to take a flash picture of the film as it was playing. After the film, I too was at Sardi's. I talked with Raymond Benson about the movie for a bit and others who I had met earlier at the convention. But it was all a very good time. This and the '94 convention a year earlier were certainly a lot of fun for Bond fans.

I heard Creation lost a lot of money on both conventions. Probably why we haven't seen any lately.

http://home.comcast.net/~secretgeneral/convention.jpg

What great memories. I probably met many of you who attended the convention in 1995. Charles, I certainly remember some conversations with you (I published a small fanzine at that time called HMSS). Now I will have to go and pull out all the old pictures. The best part was meeting so many people who I knew on alt. fan.james-bond before it became nothing more than a stomping ground for trolls. Lets hope someone does something similar for Casino Royale next year.

-Fred Armstrong

Great article. It is hard for me to believe GE was ten whole years ago. To me it was easily the best Brosnan Bond film, though if asked at the time, I'd have ranked it somewhere in the series' middle.
I still have my issue of Empire Magazine, GoldenEye film mag, and other related magazines.

Great article, Charles. Very cool.

What a wonderful article, DoubleNoughtSpy!

Fascinating stuff. I have heard a lot about that time but this was the best thing I've read about it.

Good timing too! This date next year...

Wonderful stuff, Charles.

ACE

Great piece

Expected nothing less of you

GREAT aritcle, Chucky.

And a happy Tenth to GoldenEye.

Great article, doublenoughtspy. What a terrific event and memories and how great that's all connected with a film that I now view as one of the "classics." I regret more than ever not attending this, but I was a penniless struggling screenwriter in those days.

Happy 10th Anniversary, GoldenEye. This is a milestone really worth celebrating.

Thanks everyone. This one was a real pleasure to write, it just came out even better than I had hoped.

I thought it was pretty wild that I helped the two main writers of Goldeneye track down Bond parodies they were looking for.

Donovan, I remember the Kees pamphlet incident too. That was quite painful. The fan asking about the next film title was so typical of Bond fandom - GoldenEye hadn't even been released yet and we were already wondering about the next one.

Yes, Creation really did not understand the Bond license. A friend was in a consulting meeting with them and warned them that this was not Star Trek. They couldn't just slap a 007 logo on things and expect them to sell.

And what did Creation do? They slapped a 007 logo on mugs, t-shirts, hats, leather jackets, etc., and ended up with a warehouse full of it because it didn't sell.

I had a great time at both their LA Convention in 94, and the NY one in 95 - but they didn't really have a good marketing plan in either case.

The fiasco with Roger Moore for LA was the worst: promoting his name before he ever said yes - even up til the end after he said no.

And even if they had gotten him - "Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of Goldfinger...with Roger Moore" Huh?