'OO7' Magazine #37

What no doubt began as a celebratory issue of the release of the 19th James Bond film The World Is Not Enough sadly became a heart felt issue dedicated to the life of Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q in the James Bond series for a record amount of films.

There’s something saddening about picking up this issue, most likely an attribute of the glowing face of Desmond in a picture taken for the promotion of The World Is Not Enough. However, this issue is not only dedicated to Desmond, it is also dedicated to Amanda Schofield. Amanda worked in the publicity department of Eon Productions since the 1980’s. Graham Rye’s heartfelt introduction to this issue is a glowing tribute to both Amanda and Desmond. The tribute to Desmond, however, moves on past this point with a further nine pages dedicated to his life.

However, this issue isn’t filled solely with gloom.

Included in the opening pages are articles dealing with the making of The World Is Not Enough. These articles look at filming the feature film, Tim LeBlac’s involvement with the parahawk sequence and the digital effects used to create the saw-carrying helicopters. Also included is a special report on the Los Angeles Premiere of The World Is Not Enough.

However, it is possibly the interviews conducted in the Los Angeles press junket which will be of most interest to fans. The interviews are conducted with Robbie Coltrane, Denise Richards, Pierce Brosnan, Michael G Wilson, Michael Apted and Desmond Llewelyn. While readers must look out for some mundane questions (the general press were invited to the press junket, so you can’t always expect indepth Bond at these events) by the grace of God OO7 correspondant Greg Bechtloff was present at the interviews. Some of his comments (especially his comment about George Lazenby to Michael G Wilson) provide an interesting insight into The World Is Not Enough. Look out especially for Michael Apted’s interview which includes some interesting information on the process of the script development.

If you’re not a devout OO7 Magazine subscriber issue 37 is still one to look out for, even if it is just for it’s concentration of Desmond Llewelyn and The World Is Not Enough related material. It’s available from the The James Bond International Fan Club’s website and retails for £8.00 / $11.04.