James Bond Suits Hit The Auction Block At Bonhams

Numerous items from the James Bond series will be featured at the upcoming Entertainment Memorabilia sale at Bonhams, Knightsbridge on Tuesday, 16 June.

A vast array of items from eight different 007 films throughout the years will be going under the hammer in this impressive sale. The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octopussy, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day are all represented, and with estimates starting at just £100, there are pieces on offer to suit every budget.

Highlights include two leather jackets worn by Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies (estimates: £4,000-6,000 and £2,000-3,000); a Naval Commander’s battledress jacket worn by Roger Moore as Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (estimate: £3,000-4,000); and even Halle Berry’s wetsuit from Die Another Day (estimate: £800-1,200).

To view all James Bond-related lots available at this upcoming sale, visit the official Bonhams website here.

The Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale, Including Items from the Angels Collection of Television & Film Costumes, begins at 11:00am.

Bonhams is located at Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1HH. For further details, phone 020 7468 8340.

Keep your browsers locked on the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

Win Tickets To Upcoming James Bond Screenings In June

Last month, CommanderBond.net reported that four classic James Bond films would be screened at more than 60 venues throughout the UK in June to mark the centenary of producer Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli.

The four selected 007 films are: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

A new report from the Norwich Evening News alerts us that fans can now enter to win a pair of tickets to all four of the Bond screenings at Cinema City in Norwich.

To enter, one must answer this rather simple trivia question: Which famous Scottish actor plays Bond in Dr. No? Send in your answer along with your name and contact details to [email protected].

Entries must arrive by 5:00pm on 6 June. Usual Archant competition rules apply.

The Bond films in the Broccoli centenary season have been digitally restored frame by frame by Lowry Digital Images, the world’s leader in digital restoration and image enhancement.

Click here to view the full ‘Spend Sundays With James Bond 007’ press release on CBn.

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed —for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

Sir Roger Moore Reflects On His James Bond Days

A conversation with Sir Roger Moore this past Thursday brought the Albert R. Broccoli centenary season to a close on a high note.

As earlier reported on CommanderBond.net, Sir Roger was scehduled to appear on the BFI Southbank stage to discuss his days as 007 as well as working with the longtime producer of the James Bond series.

Reuters carries a report from the event and features some select quotes from the interview between the former Bond star and Little Britain‘s David Walliams.

‘Where else is a potential Bond going to meet the producers, except over a gaming table?’ said Moore in regards to his 1962 introduction to 007 producers Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in a London gaming club, the White Elephant.

He added that he wasn’t swept up in the Bond fever until later in his life. ‘I knew nothing really about Bond,’ he stated.

I came back to England and started making the Saint series, there was a competition in the Daily Express over who should play James Bond—I really had no idea who James Bond was. Then I started reading some of the books.’

He also mentioned that if given a choice to star in one of Sean Connery’s Bond films, he would have chosen 1971’s Diamonds are Forever (the sole Connery film that fans often say fits in well with the somewhat lighthearted Moore entries).

‘Looking at Sean, I realize how damn good he was,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe I had the ego, when I took over, to think I could replace him. I couldn’t be the tough Bond that Sean was.’

‘Sean felt he was getting a bit long in the tooth for the [Bond] role. I was actually older than Sean when I started. But I did look younger.’

Wrapping the interview up, Sir Roger did mention (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) that he was looking to return to acting on the small screen—specifically, a role on Little Britain.

‘Only if you drag up,’ Walliams replied.

For further details on the numerous James Bond-themed events that took place at the BFI, check out this CBn article.

'The Man Who Would Be Bond'

James Bond fans in Ireland will definitely want to tune in to the following 007 documentary, which will be airing tomorrow.

Scheduled to run at 19:30 on 25 May on RTE One is ‘The Man Who Would Be Bond’—an examination of the controversial events involving Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory and Thunderball. Pat Butler will present.

Who owns James Bond? or to be specific who owns Thunderball – the 007 Story? Allegations of plagiarism gave rise to an enthralling case in London’s High Court in November 1963 which gripped the Irish public imagination because at the centre of the row was a swashbuckling maverick Irishman up against an Old Etonian of the British Establishment. This week Scannal recounts the dramatic tale of the fight for Bond.

James Bond was the greatest fictional spy in cinema history. He liked his martini vodkas “shaken, not stirred” and he was licenced to kill. Special Agent 007 was the brainchild of Englishman Ian Fleming who wrote his 12 Bond novels in his home in Jamaica. But in 1963, an Irish producer called Kevin McClory took Fleming to court for plagiarism. The case caused a sensation in London, especially when the Irishman was seen to have won.

The case turned on a screenplay for a putative first ever James Bond movie called Thunderball. Irish film producer Kevin McClory held the rights to this screenplay, but the movie wasn’t made as originally planned. In the meantime, Ian Fleming wrote a James Bond novel called Thunderball which led McClory to take him to court for plagiarism and infringement of copyright.

Nine days of court hearings were headline news. The ownership of Thunderball, its plot, characters and scenarios, the arguments on both sides were played blow by blow to a waiting public. In the end, a settlement was reached whereby McClory was awarded substantial compensation and acquired the film rights to Thunderball worth millions. Now only McClory could produce Thunderball. “I consider it a total victory”, McClory said,”and I am very happy.”

McClory was born in Dun Laoghaire in 1926. He was related to the English novelists, the Brontë sisters and his own life reads like an adventure story. He joined the Merchant Navy during the war and went to Shepperton studios in 1946 where he worked his way up the ladder. He worked with John Huston on African Queen, Moulin Rouge and Beat the Devil. Huston was so impressed with the young McClory that he made him Assistant Producer on his new film Moby Dick in 1956.

Ian Fleming was a member of the British establishment. Born in 1908, his father was an MP. Fleming was educated in Eton College where he mingled with the aristocracy and made money writing adventure stories for the school magazine. He was also a successful athlete and was Eton’s champion athlete for two years in succession, a feat accomplished only once before in the school’s history.

Fleming worked for Reuters News Agency in the 1930s, including a spell in Moscow, and with British Naval Intelligence during the War. The seeds of his spy novels were sown in this period and they bore fruit in 1953 with the publication of Casino Royale, the first of 12 James Bond novels. Despite the success of the books, Ian Fleming harboured a further burning ambition – he wanted to see his creation James Bond on the movie screen.

Producer Kevin McClory thought James Bond would light up the silver screen, provided the original stories were properly adapted for cinema. For Fleming, this was a dream come true. Unfortunately, the project involving McClory was abandoned and the movies were made without him.

It was then McClory saw Fleming’s novel Thunderball and took him to court for infringement of copyright. Many twists and turns followed which involved the making and the re-making of Thunderball. McClory became obsessed with Bond and his role in the creation of the film version of the character.

The Court Case between Fleming and McClory was the first act in a drama of conflict, greed, snobbery, madness and death. And it raised the question: who really owned the cinematic version of the James Bond character?

Keep your browsers locked on the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

The Cultures Of James Bond Conference

This upcoming June will see 007 going under the microscope at a one-of-a-kind international conference entitled ‘The Cultures of James Bond’ in Saarbrücken/Germany.

Since his earliest appearances in print and on the screen, James Bond has become a popular icon and has developed nothing short of his own cultural mythology. His iconic status today may well hide the fact that through the years, James Bond has acquired very different meanings in a variety of contexts. He has provided a screen onto which the heterogeneous desires of nationally, culturally and socially diverse readers, viewers and users have been projected.

In addition, Bond has long become an academic topic as well, not just in film studies, but also in literary and cultural studies. As a cultural phenomenon entangled in the histories not only of Western cultures since World War II, Bond more than merits a conference as a forum to discuss new approaches and recent revisions.

The ‘The Cultures of James Bond’ International Conference will be taking place on the weekend of 5-7 June 2009 at Saarland University. CommanderBond.net presents the complete programme of events:

Friday, 5 June 2009

09.00am – Welcome Addresses

09.30am Keynote Lecture: James Chapman
“The evolution of Bond; or five takes on Casino Royale”

10.15am – Coffee Break

10.45am – Panel 1: Bond and Change

1.1 Korte, Barbara,
“Tough or Tongue-In-Cheek? Performing Bond under Changing Notions of Heroism”

1.2 Lemke, Cordula,
“Shaken, and not stirred”: James Bond’s Emotions”

Panel 2: Bond in Context

2.1 Taylor, Antony,
“‘And I am the God of Destruction!’: The Genealogy of James Bond’s Adversaries in the Novels of Ian Fleming”

2.2 Fielitz, Sonja,
“Something is out of Joint: Tracing the Ghosts of Fleming’s ‘Blofeld Trilogy'”

12.15pm – Lunch

01.45pm – Panel 3: Formula Fiction

3.1 Christinidis, Georgia,
“Of Human Bondage? Identity, Continuity and Verisimilitude in James Bond and Doctor Who”

3.2 Metivier, Anthony,
“Is James Bond a Serial Killer?”

3.3 Laqué, Stephan,
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service? Bond’s Integrity”

Panel 4: Nationality and Class

4.1 Shankland, Luc,
“James Bond’s National Identity: A Matter of Class”

4.2 Ben Khelifa, Nadja & Jörg Sternagel,
“Britishness and Scottish Identity in Early Bond Films: A Postcolonial Reflection”

4.3 Berberich, Christine,
“In Her Majesty’s Special Service: Bond, Englishness and the Subversion of the Gentleman Ideal”

03.45pm – Coffee Break

04.15pm – Panel 5: Sonic Bond

5.1 Nimtz, André,
“All Bonds Unleashed: Musical Bondness and its Functions Within and Beyond the Films”

5.2 Keazor, Henry,
“The Bond Between”: Music and Image in the 007-Movies”

Panel 6: Transgressive Bond

6.1 Bach, Susanne,
“Transgressive Bond”

6.2 Viol, Claus-Ulrich,
“Quantum of Smoothness. Bond and Spatial Desire”

05.45pm – All leave for reception

06.15pm – Reception

08.00pm – Dinner (Casino)

---

Saturday, 6 June 2009

09.00am – Keynote Lecture: Christoph Lindner
“The Future of James Bond Scholarship: 007’s Nasty Habit of Surviving”

09.45am – Coffee Break

10.15am – Panel 7: Gender

7.1 Ward, Dan,
“‘I Sized You Up The Moment I Saw You’: Masculinity and Male Body Objectification in Casino Royale”

7.2 Brusberg-Kiermeier, Stefani,
“Bond Girls or Bond Women? The Construction of Evil Femininity for the Female Villains in the James Bond Films”

Panel 8: Popular Culture

8.1 Seidl, Monika,
“One Silhouette is not enough: The World of Key Art and James Bond”

8.2 Steveker, Lena,
“007 meets Van Helsing: James Bond and Neo-Gothic Popular Culture”

12.00pm – Lunch

01.15pm – Panel 9: New Bond (I)

9.1 Hochscherf, Tobias,
“From Gentleman Spy to Hardboiled Detective: The Reinvention of James Bond after 9/11”

9.2 Griem, Julika & Fotis Jannidis,
“Undressing To Kill: On the Aesthetics of Bodily Harm in the New Bond Films”

9.3 Lattek, Michael,
“Trickling Down: Water Metaphors and Global Economy in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace”

Panel 10: Reproduction and Representation

10.1 Billone, Amy C.,
“Live and Let Die: James Bond, Peter Pan, Dorian Gray and the Tragedy of Eternal Youth”

10.2 Omry, Keren,
“An Authentic Body in Flux: Technology of Reproduction in the New Bond”

10.3 Goggin, Joyce,
“The Diamond Standard and the Experience Economy”

03.30pm – Coffee Break

04.00pm – Panel 11: New Bond (II)

11.1 Catania, Alessandro,
“Bond Just Bond: Daniel Craig 007’s (Un)Popular Narratives”

11.2 De Kosnik, Abigail,
“M Stands for Mother: James Bond and Freudian Family Romance in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace”

Panel 12: Tourism

12.1 Schmid, Susanne,
“From the Costa del Sol to the Moon: James Bond’s Tourist Locations”

12.2 Sandrock, Kirsten A.,
“Bond’s Alter-Ego: Ian Fleming as 007 in Thrilling Cities”

05.30pm – All leave for dinner

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Sunday, 7 June 2009

10.00am – Keynote Lecture: Andrew Lycett
“Making a painful splits of one’s life: a biographer’s reflections on Ian Fleming in fiction and reality”

10.45am – Coffee Break

11.15am – Panel 13: Adaptations

13.1 Pankratz, Anette,
“The Spies Who Spoofed Him: Bond Parodies”

13.2 Backe, Hans-Joachim,
“Narrative Feedback: The Interplay of the James Bond Franchise and its Successors”

01.00pm – Lunch

02.00pm – Workshop I:

“Teaching James Bond: Dr No”
(Paul Lumsden)

03.30pm – Coffee Break

04.00pm – Workshop II

05.45pm – End of Conference

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For complete information on ‘The Cultures of James Bond’ International Conference, visit the official Saarland University website.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.

Sir Sean Connery To Attend 2009 Edinburgh Film Festival

Sir Sean Connery will be attending this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival to help celebrate Scotland’s Year of Homecoming.

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that the former James Bond star and film festival patron is just one of many celebrities who’ll be attending the event.

Kate Winslet, Sam Mendes, Carlos Cuarón, Diego Luna, Guy Pearce, Joe Dante, Kathryn Bigelow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Meera Syal, Michael Fassbender and William H. Macy are all also scheduled to attend.

In addition, the red carpet events at the festival are expected to attract stars such as Claire Danes, Emily Blunt, Peter Saarsgard and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Furthermore, those returning to the film festival include Alan Cumming, Alfonso Cuarón, Bill Forsyth, Brenda Blethyn, Darren Aronofsky, Ewen Bremner, Ian Hart, Jaime Winstone, Paddy Considine, Robin Wright-Penn, Roger Corman, Sam Mendes and Shane Meadows.

The programme for the free Film Festival Under the Stars was also revealed. Outdoor screenings will show Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Chronicles of Narnia, Stone of Destiny and Charlotte’s Web. Each of these three films were selected to recognize the work of the festivals patrons: Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Seamus McGarvey and Sir Sean.

Ginnie Atkinson, Managing Director, said: ‘Film Festival Under the Stars is a free annual event that aims to introduce the EIFF to new audiences.’

‘A fun event for cinema fans of all ages, and in celebration of Homecoming Scotland, the Festival is proud to present a selection of work from its four Patrons. We are also delighted to have so many international filmmakers and actors attending the Festival this year.’

This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival will run from 17 – 28 June.

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

'Quantum Of Solace' Sunseeker Yacht To Be Featured At Bulgaria Boat Show

This upcoming Wednesday, 27 May, will mark the opening of the 2009 HYPO Bulgaria Boat Show in Bulgaria.

According to the Sofia News Agency, the event will be taking place at the port of Bulgaria’s Black Sea capital, the city of Varna. More than 50 new yachts—including one from the latest James Bond film—will be featured.

The yachts will be displayed on an area of 4 000 square meters with 25 boats on water and the others on land. Exhibitors include the Yachting BG company, ACS Yachting, LZ Yachting, Sail Marine, Marina Systems, Cadence and others.

For 007 fans, the limited edition Sunseeker Superhawk 43 yacht, as featured in Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace, will be on display and is expected to be one of the major attractions of the boat show. The Bond yacht is imported by LZ Yachting.

Besides boats, luxury automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, diving equipment and sporting goods will also be on display.

As always, keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.

Bob Peak – World Premiere Exhibition

Bob Peak is best known by James Bond fans as the man responsible for designing the movie posters for The Spy Who Loved Me as well as the unused Licence Revoked concept artwork for what would ultimately be Timothy Dalton’s second 007 film.

Beginning this June, a world premiere exhibition celebrating Bob Peak—father of the modern hollywood poster—will be taking place in California. The show will include over 40 of Peak’s original illustrations, Fine Arts Paintings, and a new line of Limited Editions.

The full press release and details follow below:

One of the most imaginative and prolific illustrators of the 20th century, Bob Peak revolutionized advertising in the film industry and is considered the “father of the modern movie poster.” Peak transformed the approach to movie advertising from basic collages of film stills or head shots to flamboyant artistic illustrations. United Artists hired Peak in 1961 to help promote West Side Story. His innovative solution-painting characters and scenes into a single montage-became the first of over 100 such posters, among them My Fair Lady, Camelot, Rollerball, Star Trek, Superman and Apocalypse Now. Peak was not short on editorial assignments with 45 covers of Time Magazine featuring his illustrations-most notably the portrait of Mother Teresa.

In 1961 Peak was named Artist of the Year by the Artists Guild of New York, and in 1977 the Society of Illustrators elected him to its Hall of Fame. For his 30 years of outstanding contribution to the film industry, the Hollywood Reporter presented him the 1992 Key Art Lifetime Achievement Award.

Peak’s work is included in many permanent collections, and three of these paintings hang in the Smithsonian Institution, Anwar Sadat, Mother Teresa and Marlon Brando.

Bob Peak was an alumni of the Art Center College of Design.

World Premiere Limited EDITIONS

A new line of Limited Editions featuring a wide range of imagery and time periods. This includes a special edition of the “ACADEMY PLAYERS” Hollywood film legends originally painted for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

My Fair Lady Benefit Auction

A one of a kind edition of one 40″ x 60″ print of the final My Fair Lady movie poster key art will be auctioned off with the proceeds donated to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.

Reception and Show

RECEPTION: Saturday night, 7 to 11pm, June 6th, 2009

SHOW: June 6th through June 23rd, 2009

Gallery Nucleus
210 East Main St.
Alhambra CA 91801
ph 626.458.7477
gallery website: www.GalleryNuclues.com

For further information, visit the official website.

As always, keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.

J.W. 'Corkey' Fornof To Attend Mid-Atlantic Fly-In and Sport Aviation Convention

J.W. ‘Corkey’ Fornof, whose aerial James Bond credits include Moonraker, Octopussy and Licence to Kill, will be making an appearance at the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention in North Carolina.

The event is scheduled to run from 22 – 24 May at the Lumberton Municipal Airport. Full details follow in the press release below:

James Bond Flies LoPrestiFury in Mid-Atlantic Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention May 22 – 24th

James Bond’s stand-in pilot, J.W. “Corkey” Fornof, will be sporting his latest airplane at the Mid-Atlantic Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention held at the Lumberton Municipal Airport.

“Corkey” is an Alumni of University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Corkey flew with his father, J.W. “Bill” Fornof, in a world famous two ship air show with matching bronze Bearcats. Their air show business was based in Houma flying the T6, Mustang and his favorite war bird the Bearcat.

May 22nd – 24th, J.W. “Corkey” Fornof will be flying the LoPrestiFury in an acrobatic air show. Flying the Fury, he will perform his famous Mustang routine plus the Peggy’s Tango.

“The LoPrestiFury flys like a little fighter. It does everything my Mustang would do except 500 kts,” says Corkey. “This is one sweet ride. Roy LoPresti was right on when he designed this plane. The Fury is perfect for aerobatics or cross country flying”.

If you remember the classic movie scene where James Bond (aka Roger Moore) flys a BD5 jet through a hanger sideways in Octopussy, then you are already familiar with the work of “Corkey” Fornof, talented stunt pilot, aerial coordinator and director. “Corkey” Fornof is the master of aviation movie action.

“Corkey’s” list of feature movie stunts includes Harrison Ford’s 6 Days/7 Night’s, John Travolta’s Face Off, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible II, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and Robert Redford and Demi Moore’s Indecent Proposal. “Corkey” is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the Motion Picture Pilots Association, and holds a current Motion Picture/Television Flight Operations Manual for the FAA. He’s been spotted in over 100 commercials and MTV.

For the past year, “Corkey” has been touring the country with the LoPresti Fury. “Corkey” is the perfect pilot/ambassador for this winged Ferrari-like sportster. If you’re going to show off a fast, sexy, high performance aircraft, it helps to have a secret agent as your pilot. The Fury possesses the thrilling excitement of air combat or an aerobatic WWII fighter. It’s precision and perfection allows smooth rolls and figure 8s. One can glide cross-country in this leather-seated beauty listening to tunes of your choice through the Bluetooth Headset and Intuition Ipod system.

About LoPresti Aviation

With certifications on 228 different models, providing for over 72,000 aircraft, LoPresti is the industry leader in HID lighting for aviation and has installed thousands of aftermarket kits. Roy LoPresti was responsible for the design and manufacture of more successful airplanes than any designer in aviation history. Mooney, Grumman, Beech, Piper, each company laid claim for a time to producing the works of his creative mind. In 1991, the legendary engineer formed LoPresti Speed Merchants, located in Vero Beach, Florida. With more than 40 Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) and Parts Manufacturing Authorizations (PMAs), plus patents and copyrights, LoPresti Aviation leads the way in performance and innovation time and again.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest James Bond event news.

Brisbane Bonds With 007 At Black Tie Event

UPDATE: Event moved to Tuesday, 2 June.

James Bond fans are encouraged to come dressed in their best this Wednesday at a special black tie event in Brisbane, Australia.

The Brisbane Times reports that a 007 tribute will be taking place on 20 May at the Limes Hotel Rooftop Cinema.

Several screenings of Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace will take place throughout the night. There will also be complementary canapés and the search for Brisbane’s best 007 and Bond girl.

Furthermore, bar manager and mixologist Jason Mathews will also be featuring a James Bond menu of cocktails such as the Vesper Martini, Scotch and Soda, Mojito and the Vodka Martini for the guests to learn.

‘Everyone should know how to make a good, classic Bond cocktail, and know which quality ingredients to use,’ Matthews says.

The first screening of Quantum of Solace commences at 6:30pm.

The Limes Hotel Rooftop Cinema is located at 142 Constance St in Fortitude Valley. Tickets are $12.00 per person. For further information, visit www.limeshotel.com.au.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.