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  1. Licenced To Thrill: BBC Radio Dramatisation Of Ian Fleming's 'Dr. No'

    By Devin Zydel on 2007-12-02

    According to a press release posted on The Independent, Ian Fleming’s James Bond will be licenced to thrill in a brand new BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the author’s sixth book and first film of the cinematic series, Dr. No, planned for April 2008.

    As one of the many events celebrating the centenary of 007’s creator, this Dr. No dramatisation will star Die Another Day villain Toby Stephens as James Bond, David Suchet as Dr. No, Janie Dee as Miss Moneypenny, Jordanna Tin as Miss Taro and many more actors.

    According to the report below, Eon Productions, the owner of the James Bond rights, gave permission to do this one-off, once-and-once-only dramatisation to mark the Fleming centenary provided they were given casting approval of the role of Bond–luckily, Stephens was the number one choice for all involved.

    This Dr. No dramatisation will also feature distinguished playwright and screenwriter Hugh Whitmore as the scriptwriter and the award-winning Martin Jarvis as the director. Full details follow:

    Ian Fleming's 'Dr. No'

    Ian Fleming’s Dr. No

    Licenced To Thrill: BBC Radio Dramatisation Of Ian Fleming’s ‘Dr. No’

    The first radio dramatisation of Ian Fleming’s Dr No will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April. Producer Rosalind Ayres tells Ian Burrell how the Bond classic will come to life without visual aid…

    STUDIO

    This is Air-Edel Studios, a former theatre near Baker Street in London, but for our purposes it is the office of M, the head of the British secret service. Later it will serve as various locations in Jamaica. Radio drama is about making movies in the mind. The actors imagine themselves in a situation and behave accordingly. Although people are used to the spectacular visuals of the James Bond movies, the dramatisation allows the listener to hear Bond’s inner thoughts, his vulnerability and his strength, which is what you read in the original book too.

    LUCY FLEMING

    The niece of Ian Fleming and a successful actress in her own right, Lucy is best known for her role in the Seventies BBC drama Survivors, and plays a librarian in this play. Lucy is part of the Fleming estate’s organisation of the celebrations to mark the centenary of her uncle’s birth.

    HUGH WHITEMORE

    The scriptwriter. Hugh is a distinguished playwright and screenwriter who won Emmys for The Gathering Storm about Winston Churchill’s marriage to Clementine, and for Concealed Enemies about the Alger Hiss case. His films include All Creatures Great and Small and 84 Charing Cross Road. He is an expert on the writing of Ian Fleming and it’s very helpful to have him on set – if he hears something he wants to express slightly differently he can do last-minute changes.

    MARTIN JARVIS

    Director of the play – and an award-winning actor himself. Together, he and I run the Jarvis & Ayres independent production company, which has made numerous radio plays for the BBC, including Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind and Michael Frayn’s Towards the End of the Morning. As well as working with the actors, the director is thinking about the soundscape that will need to be put in later to help create the effect for the listener. This is the moment when Bond is given the assignment to go to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a British agent. So you will hear outside the pouring rain of a cold, wet London before James jets off to the sunny Caribbean.

    JOHN STANDING

    A consummate actor, John has this wonderful Old Etonian quality. This play is set in 1957 and the men in these secret service roles were ex-military officers. So the voice should sound military and old school, and John’s does. He is currently appearing in the West End play Shadowlands.

    JANIE DEE

    Miss Moneypenny. She is a brilliant actress with a wonderful voice. You just know that Miss Moneypenny is cool, gorgeous and frightfully efficient – the sort of woman who can run an office where nothing should go beyond the four walls. Janie’s voice is low and elegant and you just sense the glamour. She’s also in the stage play Shadowlands.

    TOBY STEPHENS

    James Bond. Our 007 appeared in the feature film Die Another Day, where he played the villain Gustav Graves, opposite Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Toby is also well-known for the part of Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre. Eon Productions own the rights to James Bond, and they said they would give us permission to do this one-off, once-and-once-only dramatisation to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth. They wanted casting approval of whoever played Bond and Toby was their No 1 choice – and ours too. Fortunately for us, he was in London and he said yes. I can imagine that as an actor it would be rather appealing to say “My name is Bond, James Bond”.

    PETER CAPALDI

    The Armourer. Peter is known for his role as a megalomaniac spin doctor in the BBC2 political satire The Thick of It. I think Ian Fleming based the armourer on a real secret service expert. Peter is very good at suggesting a man who knows a great deal about guns and has everything at his fingertips: the range of a particular type of gun, even the type of holster that’s not going to inhibit the drawing of that weapon. For the secret service it’s a practical conversation that happens daily, and Peter captures that perfectly.

    THE SCRIPTS

    The sound of rustling paper can ruin a take. So holding the script is quite a skill. Actors have different approaches to the problem – you can see that John uses a file, while Peter, Jane and Nicky tear out the single pages they need. Toby is different again, using a chunk of pages as a firm base so that he can silently turn them over.

    THE MICROPHONES

    The two mics give stereo spread, so that you can sense movement from left to right. The actors will move around within six or seven feet of the microphone to give the effect of leaving or entering the scene. The circular thing in front of the microphone is a “pop shield” to stop the explosive pop sound that you sometimes get from a “P” or an “F”.

    LOUD HAILER

    This prop is used by one of Dr No’s henchman to shout from a motorboat. Listeners recognise a difference between a loud voice and a megaphone, just as they notice the difference between the unwrapping of a parcel made from newspaper and one made from tissue.

    THE BOOK

    If the actor needs additional information on a scene beyond that which is contained in the script, then the original book is the ultimate source.

    THE TELEPHONE

    An original 1957 telephone so that we can hear the authentic sound of the heavy receiver and the revolving dial.

    GREEN LIGHT

    This lights up when the engineer, Nick Taylor, signals that he is ready to record a take. There is a red light above the booth to show that recording is in process, and another red light outside the studio to warn people to stay outside or risk ruining a take.

    WHITE DOOR

    This leads into the booth and also to a table stocked with drinks and nibbles. It is important to avoid rumbling stomachs because, amazingly enough, the microphones pick them up.

    THE BOOTH

    Jordanna Tin plays one of Dr No’s henchwomen, Miss Taro. Dr No himself is half Chinese, half German and raised in New York, so we thought the best actor to play him would be David Suchet, who does not appear in this scene. Next in line is Inika Leigh Wright, who plays several roles, including the receptionist at the Blue Hills Hotel in Jamaica. At the back is myself, Rosalind Ayres, the producer. Schedule juggling is part of the producer’s art: John and Janie are both in Shadowlands with Charles Dance at the Wyndham’s Theatre; Toby Stephens is appearing in The Country Wife at the Haymarket. We have to work around their matinees and so on but at least we know they are going to be in London. To my left are Kosha Engler, who plays Dr No’s henchwoman Miss Chung, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who plays the Jamaican club-owner Pus-Feller, and Tom Bullen, the assistant engineer. At the front, in his headphones, is Nick Taylor, the engineer, who can tell you very quickly when something sounds wrong.

    NICKY HENSON

    Chief of Staff, Secret Service. The son of comedian Leslie Henson, his TV credits include Fawlty Towers and EastEnders, and he has appeared in feature films including Vera Drake and Syriana.

    CommanderBond.net will keep you updated on this future Dr. No dramatisation and all the latest literary James Bond news and coverage.

    To keep track of all the upcoming 007 releases, events, television shows, and more–just keep your eyes on the CBn Calendar, located on the right panel of our main page.

  2. Ian Fleming's 'Live And Let Die' Reprinted By The Folio Society

    By Devin Zydel on 2007-08-04

    Literary 007 collectors take notice. Ian Fleming’s second James Bond novel, 1954’s Live And Let Die has been reprinted this year by the Folio Society.

    The new hardback edition includes decorative red boards and an accompanying slipcase. Also featured are seven interior illustrations by Lyndon Hayes including a frontispiece. In addition, Ken Follett provides an introduction for this new edition. Click here to view a full set of pictures of the cover artwork and interior illustrations for this edition of Live And Let Die.

    First published in 2007 by the Folio Society in arrangement with Penguin Books, this reprint of the Bond novel ‘follows the text of the first edition [Jonathan Cape] with minor emendations.’

    While not listed on amazon, a few copies have been spotted on eBay and Biblio.com.

    Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest literary James Bond news.

  3. The Origin Of Solange In '007 In New York'?

    By Devin Zydel on 2007-05-10

    While Daniel Craig’s debut in Casino Royale was based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade naturally added in some of their own characters in updating the story. One was Solange Dimitrios, the ill-fated wife of Alex Dimitrios, who is killed after her brief involvement with James Bond.

    As nearly all of the Fleming novels and short stories have made their way in some shape or form into the films, the screenwriters are left with the unused sequences, ideas and characters. As Purvis and Wade most recently commented when discussing the upcoming Bond 22, ‘there’s a few morsels but you’d have to say the carcass has been pretty stripped. There are still a few details from the short stories that it would be nice to use.’

    Looking back at the 1960 short story From A View To A Kill and 1963’s 007 In New York, one can see where the name Solange could have possibly come from.

    In From A View To A Kill, the name is only mentioned once very early on in the story. As Bond sits in the French cafè thinking about his recent failed assignment on the Austro-Hungarian border, he decides to give Paris one more chance in the hopes of finding a girl and taking her to dinner…

    To clean the money-look out of her eyes–for it would certainly be there–he would as soon as possible give her fifty thousand francs. He would say to her: ‘I propose to call you Donatienne, or possibly Solange, because these are names that suit my mood and the evening. We knew each other before and you lent me this money because I was in a jam. Here it is, and now we will tell each other what we have been doing since we last met in St Tropez just a year ago. In the meantime, here is the menu and the wine list and you must choose what will make you happy and fat.’

    Ian Fleming’s From A View To A Kill

    In the very brief short story 007 In New York, the name is mentioned several times as Bond awaits his rendezvous with the female Secret Service agent. Bond first decides to stop by at Abercrombie’s (where Solange is employed in the indoor games department) to make a date with her for later in the evening…

    Then there was the question of lunch. Dinner with Solange would be easy–Lutèce in the sixties, one of the great restaurants of the world. But for lunch by himself?

    …..

    Were the Americans becoming too hygienic in general–too bug-conscious? Every time Bond had made love to Solange, at a time when they should be relaxing in each other’s arms, she would retire to the bathroom for a long quarter of an hour and there was a lengthy period after that when he couldn’t kiss her because she had gargled with TCP. And the pills she took if she had a cold! Enough to combat double pneumonia.

    Ian Fleming’s 007 In New York

    While such elements as the name of Solange having appeared once before on this page or that page are indeed minor, it is nonetheless interesting to see the connections between the current films and Fleming’s original adventures.

    From A View To A Kill is the first short story included in the 1960 short story collection, For Your Eyes Only. 007 In New York can be found in the recent Penguin editions of the Octopussy And The Living Daylights collection.

  4. First Edition Of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale Fails To Sell

    By Devin Zydel on 2007-02-15

    CBn previously reported that a UK first edition Jonathan Cape hardback of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale was exected to sell for up to $20,000 at an auction that took place this week. However, BBC News reports that the bidding for the James Bond novel did not reach its undisclosed reserve price.

    Casino Royale First Edition

    ‘It’s very disappointing. But the fact that it’s an auction means you never know what’s going to happen, said Bloomsbury Auctions spokesman Richard Caton. In February 2005, another copy sold for over $40,000 at a Bloomsbury Auctions sale.

    Fleming expert Roddy Newlands said interest in buying first editions of the original Bond novels has shot up as a result of Daniel Craig’s debut 007 film. ‘Casino Royale is an exceptionally important book because it is the first.’

    A copy of The Spy Who Loved Me did sell for £1,200 and a copy of Octopussy & The Living Daylights (signed by Maud Adams and Maryam d’Abo) went for roughly £500.

    Other Fleming Bond novels featured at the sale included Moonraker, From Russia With Love and The Man With The Golden Gun. Additionally, a copy of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service signed by George Lazenby was also included.

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest James Bond news.

  5. First Edition Of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale Expected To Sell For $20,000

    By Devin Zydel on 2007-02-09

    According to a report from The Washington Post, a UK first edition Jonathan Cape hardback of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale is expected to sell for $20,000 at an auction next week.

    Casino Royale First Edition

    Casino Royale First Edition

    The sale will take place at the London-based Bloomsbury Auctions next week. Fleming expert Roddy Newlands said interest in buying first editions of the original James Bond novels has shot up as a result of Daniel Craig’s debut 007 film. ‘Casino Royale is an exceptionally important book because it is the first.’

    This particular 1953 copy could reach up to $30,000 if it were not for the previous owner’s name and the bookseller’s stamp inside the front cover. In February 2005, another copy sold for over $40,000 at a Bloomsbury Auctions sale.

    Other Fleming Bond novels to feature at the sale include Moonraker, From Russia With Love, The Spy Who Loved Me and The Man With The Golden Gun. Additionally, a copy of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service signed by George Lazenby will also be included.

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest James Bond news.

  6. Casino Royale Reprint Hits Charts; Audiobook Is #1

    By Devin Zydel on 2006-12-04

    The release of the 21st official James Bond film, Casino Royale, has lead to a spark of interest for Ian Fleming’s original novel of the same name.

    The Young Bond Dossier reports that the audiobook version of Casino Royale, read by Simon Vance, is currently #1 on the download chart at the Apple iTunes store.

    Additionally, the official IFP website reported that the UK Penguin reprint of Casino Royale entered the fiction paperback bestseller chart at #43. The Hebrew reprint peaked at #3–the first time a Bond novel has been in print in that language in many years.

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest Casino Royale news.

  7. German Casino Royale Tie-In Edition Coming In December

    By Heiko Baumann on 2006-10-02
    IMAGE: German Casino Royale Tie-In Edition

    German Casino Royale Tie-In Edition

    While fans in the US will have to settle with the same 2002 Penguin cover for the movie tie-in edition of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, CBn reports today that the German edition will feature poster artwork for the cover.

    Set to be released in December 2006, the German edition of Casino Royale features the striking shot of Daniel Craig outside the casino, along with the Aston Martin and a silhouette of Vesper Lynd. This image was previously revealed to be the French edition of the poster.

    Publisher: Heyne (Random House)
    Paperback, 224 pages, 12,0 x 18,7 cm
    € 6,95 [D] / € 7,20 [A] / SFr 12,90
    ISBN: 3-453-50037-7
    December 2006

    Pre-order the German edition of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale from amazon.de.

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest Casino Royale news.

  8. Casino Royale US Tie-In Will Not Feature Poster Artwork

    By Devin Zydel on 2006-09-13

    In early April, CBn reported that a US tie-in edition of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale would be released in October.

    The Young Bond Dossier reports today with some rather disappointing news that this upcoming edition will not feature any poster artwork on the cover. Rather, the same US Penguin cover designed by Richie Fahey and Roseanne Serra will be used with a ‘Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture’ line added in.

    According to Penguin Books US, the final poster artwork for the film was not going to be ready in time for the release of the tie-in novel, so they opted for the already available 2002 cover artwork.

    In any event, it will be released on 31 October and can be ordered for a price of $7.99.

    Pre-order Casino Royale by Ian Fleming from Amazon.com (31 October 2006)

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest news on Casino Royale and all things James Bond 007.

  9. Casino Royale On Audio CD, Cassette, & MP3 In July

    By Devin Zydel on 2006-07-10

    In an effort perhaps to capitalize on the upcoming release of the newest James Bond film, Casino Royale, in November 2006, unabridged editions of the audiobook version of Ian Fleming’s first novel will be available in July 2006.

    Previously released (abridged) in late 2003 by Blackstone Audiobooks, Casino Royale is read by Robert Whitfield. This 007 audiobook will be released on 15 July 2006 in CD, MP3 CD, and cassette versions.

    The CD and cassette versions are both currently discounted to $11.67, while the MP3 CD version costs $24.95.

    Order The ‘Casino Royale’ Audiobook

    Amazon US: Casino Royale Audio CD

    Amazon US: Casino Royale Audio Cassette

    Amazon US: Casino Royale MP3 CD

    Keep watching CBn for all the latest news on Casino Royale and all things James Bond 007.

  10. The Blades Library Book Club: Octopussy & The Living Daylights

    By Devin Zydel on 2006-04-16

    Welcome back to The Blades Library Book Club – the place for quality discussions of the books of James Bond!

    Every two months a James Bond 007 novel is chosen for the club members to read. A thread is posted in the club forums listing locations on where you can find the novel. Discussions about the book will go on as the book is read and when it is finished. Another thread will be created so that club members can post their review and give a rating on the current book.

    All fans of the Literary Bond are eligible for membership. All you need to do to sign up is register for the CBn Forums and then post your name in the sign up thread.

    The Book Club’s Fourteenth Book

    Currently we are progressing though the James Bond 007 novels in chronological order, since quite a number of members are using the club as an opportunity to read the books for the very first time. Therefore, Octopussy & The Living Daylights will be the book in the hands of readers for April 2006. Octopussy & The Living Daylights, published in 1966, is Ian Fleming’s fourteenth (and final) James Bond adventure.

    Obtaining The Book

    Ordering online should be quite easy. Octopussy & The Living Daylights can be ordered online from the following sources:

    Online sources for other older versions of Octopussy & The Living Daylights:

    Discuss other places to buy Octopussy & The Living Daylights or where you got your copy in this thread.

    Discuss The Book While Reading

    Want to talk about the book while reading it? Post a new thread in The Blades Library. Be sure to title the thread with Octopussy & The Living Daylights and the chapter number you have read through.

    Review And Rate The Book

    After you have finished reading Octopussy & The Living Daylights, you can dicuss it with other club members in The Blades Library, and give the book your personal rating out of five in this thread.

    If you have any questions or suggestions just post them in a new thread. Happy reading.

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