The CBn Dossier, January '06
Welcome to the January 2006 CBn Dossier, a wrap-up of all the James Bond 007 news and rumours for the month. In this month’s column, we’ll be examining the constant news and rumours coming in on 2006’s Casino Royale, the many literary James Bond releases including Charlie Higson’s Blood Fever and the upcoming Casino Royale books, the upcoming PSP release of From Russia With Love and much, much more.
This month’s CBn Dossier will be delivered by Devin Zydel.
Enjoy.
‘Royale’ Revelations & Rumours
*** WARNING: SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS ***
Casino Royale is truly on the run now, with new revelations and rumours coming in every day. Starting with casting: German newspaper “Westfälische Rundschau” reports that Ludger Pistor has been cast in a role as a Swiss banker in the upcoming Casino Royale; and apparently, he couldn’t be happier, saying “It’s no joke, I never missed a James Bond movie in the cinema.” Michaël Youn was also reportedly screentested for a villain role in the film that is comparable to the Joker in Batman. “The person … is a little crazy,” says Youn of the character. Additionally, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson told Icelandic newspaper, Visir, that he travelled to London to audition for a henchmen role and meet with the casting agents of the production. Three others have been confirmed by the French press to star in Casino Royale as well: Simon Abkarian, Caterina Murino, and Seydina Balde starring as villain Demetrius, Solonge, and Solari, respectively. The character of Solonge is said to be the girlfriend of the reckless Demetrius, and the character of Solari (matched here with Seydina Baldi) was earlier associated with pop star Seal.
If the big question before was who would play James Bond, then its replacement now is: who will land the role of Bond girl Vesper Lynd? Several names have now been linked to the part, one of the leading ones being Rose Byrne. Initially reported to have landed the role by the Mail On Sunday, the 26-year old Australian actress took part in an bedroom scene audition with Daniel Craig. But the confirmations do not end there… The Sun reported that Thandie Newton of Mission Impossible II and Crash was the “new Bond babe” to “star opposite Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.” Rachael Stirling (daughter of OHMSS‘s Bond girl, Diana Rigg) was also reported to be the favourite for the role of Vesper Lynd. The official announcement has to come soon…
Recently, Sebastien Foucan was hired for a “chase scene … which will unveil the new Bond in the form of actor Daniel Craig. The sequence in question is currently being shot in the Bahamas.” An interesting thing to note is that a CBn forum member mentioned back in May 2005 that a rooftop chase was to be apart of the upcoming Casino Royale. Looks like we finally had a rumour that turned out to be true.
Other news includes a report on the filming in the Bahamas as well as James Bond star Daniel Craig letting it slip that his 007 will not be sporting a tuxedo in Casino Royale, saying: “actually, he doesn’t wear one in this version. I’m not sure if I should tell you that, so there’s a scoop for you.” The other big news is that 007 will be driving an Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale, a brand new model from the long-time 007 associated car company.
And last, but not least (WARNING: SPOILERS):
IGN’s Exclusive First Look at ‘Casino Royale’
Young Bonding with ‘Blood Fever’
The never-ending release of literary 007 gems that started several months ago continues on. The big release of January was undoubtedly Charlie Higson’s second Young Bond novel, Blood Fever. With author appearances, a Young Bond pin, and the extremely collectible Young Bond trading cards accenting the release, the novel is guarenteed to be successful… and indeed, it is. CBn team members John Cox and Devin Zydel both reviewed Blood Fever and all members are invited to add their own reviews on the CBn Forums. International editions of both SilverFin and Blood Fever are also on the way.
The Ian Fleming classic, Live And Let Die was released in a Large Print edition this month as part of the Thorndike Large Print Famous Authors Series. Additionally, CBn reported that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was next on the list for the Large Print treatment from Thorndike, and will be released on 1 April.
The hard-to-find continuation novel, James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 by author John Pearson will also be making a return this year. Originally published in 1973, this novel has always been one of the more difficult novels to track down, but will be available to order from Amazon UK come September 2006. It will be reprinted by Century. Additionally, the release of Casino Royale On November 17th, 2006 will bring with it at least two new books for Bond fans: Bond On Set: Filming Casino Royale on 16 October 2006 and an “English Language Teaching” edition of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale in 2007.
Last, but not least: continuation author Raymond Benson’s new original novel, Sweetie’s Diamonds will be released on 2 February of ’06.
From Russia With Love
Even though the console versions have been out for some time now for the newest James Bond video game, From Russia With Love, the Sony PSP adaption is still available to pre-order and will be released on 14 March.
Pre-order ‘From Russia With Love’
Aston Martin and Vue Sur Bond 007
January saw the auction of an Aston Martin DB5 which had featured in both Goldfinger and Thunderball. The final sale price was over an incredible £1m. The other big event to look out for in February is Vue Sur Bond 007 – an “unprecedented event that will feature Sir Roger Moore and a host of celebrities and artists who were involved in the filmography of the famous British secret agent… designed and produced to spotlight the contribution of Harry Saltzman,” producer of many of the early James Bond 007 films.
With over 500,000 posts and endless discussion topics, there has never been a better time to join the CBn Forums to discuss Casino Royale and all other Bond topics. Registration is free and only takes a minute. It’s safe to say that as Bond fans, we have alot to look forward to. As always, stay tuned to CBn for daily coverage of all things James Bond.
Related Links
- The CBn Dossier, December ’05
- The CBn Dossier, November ’05
- The CBn Dossier, October ’05
- The CBn Dossier, Special Edition covering ‘Casino Royale’
- The CBn Dossier, September ’05
- The CBn Dossier, August ’05
- The CBn Dossier, July ’05
- The CBn Dossier, June ’05
- The CBn Dossier, May ’05
- The CBn Dossier, April ’05
- The CBn Dossier, March ’05
- The CBn Dossier, February ’05