Connery Sues Over End Game

BBC News reports that Sir Sean Connery has filed a lawsuit against Mandalay Entertainment Group and Peter Guber over a failed film deal for Connery’s film project End Game. In End Game, Connery was to return to the spy world as a CIA agent, but as the film began to develope Connery says that Mandalay and Guber “cut off communications” despite early promises for help producing the film.

The BBC says that Connery is asking for $11 million (£7 million) in damages but other reports have the amount as high as $17 million.

Read the entire BBC story at this link.

Thanks to ‘Double-Oh-Zero’ for the tip off.

Bond Films Inspire Anti-Terror Truck

This new, £700,000 car is no ordinary looking one. You wouldn’t expect just a bog-standard car for that price…would you? But you would really like to fork out the money and drive one of these for the following little extra’s it has installed:

• Laser Guided Grenade Launcher & Machine Gun on the roof of the vehicle
• Electrified Door Handles – as seen in Tomorrow Never Dies
• Smoke Screen, Oil Slick and Tack Dispensers
• Bulletproof Armour
• Blinding Head Lights – 300 Watt Halogen Bulbs
• A Computer Defence System, including Bomb Detection, GPS Tracking System, night-vision and a FingerPrint ID entry system

Still drooling over your keyboard? So you should be! Unfortunately, if you have the money to fork out on it – you won’t actually be able to get your hands on it.

The SmarTruck will be used to protect US Embassy staff from Terrorist attacks and kidnap.

The Engineers who developed it at the US Army’s National Automotive Centre were told to watch the Bond films for ideas on what defences to use.

Fan’s can see features from both Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger and his BMW from Tomorrow Never Dies.

I wonder if it will remain in pristine condition…

Source: The Mirror

Ask Bond Legacy Authors

The official MGM James Bond site has updated with a new feature where visitors can ask ‘The James Bond Legacy’ authors questions about the Bond series.

Authors John Cork and Bruce Scivally will reportedly answer questions dealing with anything from the world of James Bond. No further details have been released, though one could assume that answers to questions will be posted on the site either weekly or fortnightly.

Thanks to [dark] for alerting us to the update.

Official Site Returns

The Eon Productions-run James Bond site http://www.007.com has recently updated with an all new design after almost two years without an update.

The site includes quite a good dossier on Bond’s past missions, a merchandise store and a Comms Room (which does nothing but thank you for some reason). Also included is a link to MGM’s Die Another Day site.

Despite the update the site isn’t quite complete with parts of the merchandise section missing and it still utilising parts of the old 007.com that don’t include any information on Die Another Day.

MGM To Produce Fashion Line

And before you ask, no, ‘fashion line’ is not a movie it’s a range of clothing.

E Online have reported that MGM are going to get ‘funky’ in 2003 after announcing “plans to launch an urban fashion line inspired by its 1970s blaxploitation flicks, including Foxy Brown and Hell Up in Harlem.

After a devastating year at the box office MGM have recorded a $121 million loss, and it seems they’re attempting to move beyond James Bond in their hopes to refill the coffers.

“According to the Associated Press, the line includes denim jackets, jeans, gym clothes and athletic gear. All items will display the famous MGM lion logo on their tags.

The studio plans to hype its foray into the fashion world with a college tour next spring. Look for the campus caravan to feature performances by urban Atlantic Records artists (sorry, no names yet), screenings of Cooley High (the comedy that spawned the high school sitcom What’s Happening!!) and a fashion show.

According to Industry analysts, MGM’s designing plans aren’t the answer to the studio’s woes, but they’re a start.

“It certainly helps cover some of the interest expenses and some of the rent, so it’s a reasonable strategy,” Harold Vogel of Vogel Capital Management tells the Associated Press. “But you have to sell a lot of sneakers to make up for Windtalkers.”

New 007 Motor Revealed?

When Aston Martin signed to have the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in Die Another Day they signed a three-film contract, so you can expect to see an Aston Martin in Bond 21 and Bond 22.

Well it seems we may have just gotten our first glimpse of Bond 21’s Aston Martin thanks to three Spy photos.

The above photo is of Aston Martin’s latest car (still in development), currently codenamed AM305. It is the car tipped as being the next Aston Martin DB5.

The DB5 is a smaller car than any of the cars Aston Martin are currently producing, and in modern terms is best compared to the Porsche Carrera. And that’s the market that this new car will directly take on, it’s Aston Martin’s competition for the Porsche GT3. Any how better to promote the new car than in a James Bond film?

However, if you’re not to keen on the cars current don’t worry. What you see above is only a prototype known as an “engineering mule”. The actual car will carry the signature Aston Martin horizontal grille opening and side cooling vents not featured on the above model. Furthermore, the final design is expected to draw heavily on the Aston Martin DB4 and DB5, whereas, the above model draws heavily on the DB7.

Production of the new car awaits construction of a new factory on the grounds of the Land Rover technical center in Gaydon, England. The new factory will be dedicated to producing the new car, which is expected on the market for 2004 or 2005.

Such a release date just happens to perfectly co-incide with the release of Bond 21.

UPDATE: British Intelligence Equipped With Bond Style 00-Agents…

Previously, CommanderBond.net reported to you details on a new unit to be assigned to the British intelligence communities. The unit was rumoured to be called the "Special Operations Department" and said to carry a license to kill.

Since then we have been carrying out more research into the subject and received word from Jon Davis, who tells us that in reality there is already a division set up like this at SIS. It is known as "The Increment" and has been around for quite a while. The new division is infact an expansion of this current unit. He went on to tell us that extra funding for the expansion came after SIS (Special Intelligence Service) bosses asked for more money in their efforts to fight global terrorism.

The work of the Increment is kept very secretive – as you'd expect for work of its nature, and it is very rarely mentioned to the public. It has always been denied to the public but now for the first time, SIS officers have confirmed its existence, claiming; "It is made up of special forces personnel under the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence. We have a call on their time when we need it."

Yet again, this goes to show that a 00-section's like the Increment DO exist, and the world of James Bond may not be so far fetch'd as we have always believed. Bond's creator; Ian Fleming once worked in Naval intelligence, its possible that if the Increment has always existed, he could have caught word of this, and based his 00-section on the Increment itself.

Jethro Tull Pocket Essentials – Raymond Benson

Raymond Benson's, "Jethro Tull Pocket Essentials" is now available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk

Released to coincide with Jethro Tull's 35th Anniversary (2003), this pocket-sized reference book looks at this legendary rock band and analyses its place in pop music history. Looking at each and every Jethro Tull album from a comprehensive perspective, plus concert trivia and biographical information and a look at the solo careers of band members past and present, this book for both the casual and hard-core fan offers insights that will enhance one's listening pleasure.

You can pre-order the book here.

British Intelligence Equipped With Bond Style 00-Agents…

The British foreign intelligence agency; SIS (also known as MI6), is to receive a crack squad of James Bond style special agents to help in their efforts to fight global terrorism. This force is be sculpted after the American CIA (central intelligence agency), and is to be built up of agents from both MI5, and SIS, aswell as specialists from the army, SAS (special air service), and various other intelligence units.

These units will be given a license to kill, to help them undertake the most difficult of missions around the world. In the past MI5, and SIS have left armed operations to the police and SAS, this new force will give extra muscle to both agencies.

Sources suggest that the new group is to be called; "The Special Operations Department", and follows announcements earlier this year by Chancellor Gordon Brown that intelligence ageencies were to be given an extra £1.1 billion to help them in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Treasury sources have told "The News Of The World" that this money will be used for the "start up" costs of this new group.

A former SIS agent revealed; "You may be able to bug Slobodan Milosevic's mobile and watch him with a sattelite but that is not enough." Their source went on to say "The SAS have the military skills but what is needed is a department that can combine that ability with intelligence gathering."

The Special Operations Department are thought to work alongside the CIA in Iraq as one of their first major roles. This new unit shows that the world of James Bond is not so much fantasy as it could one day be factual.

Sir Sean To Play Spy One More Time

Actor Sir Sean Connery is to play a spy at least one more time Ananova has reported. However, this time Connery won't be working for Her Majesty's Secret Service, rather, the CIA.

The new film titled End Game will be filmed at Pinewood Studio's in the UK and also in America and the Middle East.

The films co-producers Mandalay Pictures have revealed that Connery won't be "a James Bond clone" in End Game. "Sir Sean will be playing a CIA agent much closer to his own age. He is up against the odds, resourceful and witty but he has to rely on others to help him out. And when it comes to the action, Sir Sean uses his intelligence first."

The movie begins filming this October.