Young Bond 5's Working Title Steps From The Shadows

Our friends at The Young Bond Dossier have dug up a secret source to give them the working title of Young Bond book number 5.

The working title is:

The Shadow War

As most fans know working titles can possibly and may likely change—such as the title Double M becoming Blood Fever—but even if the title is changed a working title can give insight and spur imaginations of the upcoming book. Certainly more than a working title like Young Bond 5.

James Bond Marathon During Thanksgiving Week On Spike TV

As in the past, Spike TV will once again be kicking off their Thanksgiving week James Bond 007 marathon, starting the week of 18 November. In addition, four 007 films will be aired on Saturday mornings throughout the month as part of the ‘Breakfast with Bond’ marathon. The full schedule (all times are EST):

Diamonds Are Forever kicks off the Thanksgiving week marathon on 19 November.

Breakfast With Bond

• Saturday, 3 November:
• 9 AM – Goldfinger: Investigating a gold magnate’s gold smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Honor Blackman as Bond Girl Pussy Galore.

• Saturday, 10 November:
• 9 AM – For Your Eyes Only: Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Starring Roger Moore as Bond and Carole Bouquet as Bond Girl Melina Havelock.

• Saturday, 17 November:
• 9 AM – Diamonds Are Forever: Agent 007 goes to Las Vegas to investigate the disappearance of diamonds in transit and discovers the involvement of his archenemy, Blofeld. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Jill St. John as Bond Girl Tiffany Case.

• Saturday, 24 November:
• 9 AM – You Only Live Twice: Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space-jackings before nuclear war is provoked. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Mie Hama as Bond Girl Kissy Suzuki.

Thanksgiving Week James Bond Marathon

• Monday, 19 November
• 10 AM – Diamonds Are Forever: Agent 007 goes to Las Vegas to investigate the disappearance of diamonds in transit and discovers the involvement of his archenemy, Blofeld. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Jill St. John as Bond Girl Tiffany Case.
• 1 PM – Never Say Never Again: SPECTRE agents under the command of Ernst Blofeld hold NATO ransom, forcing James Bond to recover the warheads and kill his arch-enemy. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Kim Basinger as Bond Girl Domino Petachi.
• 4 PM – Goldfinger: Investigating a gold magnate’s gold smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. Starring Sean Connery as Bond and Honor Blackman as Bond Girl Pussy Galore.
• 6:30 PM – Tomorrow Never Dies: James Bond heads to stop a media mogul’s plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce and Michelle Yeoh.
• 9 PM – The World Is Not Enough: James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can’t feel pain. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle.

• Tuesday, 20 November
• 1 AM – The Spy Who Loved Me: Agent 007 must work with his female Soviet counterpart to find the answer to the disappearance of nuclear missile-carrying submarines. Starring Roger Moore as Bond and Barbara Bach as Bond Girl Major Anya Amasova.
• 10 AM – For Your Eyes Only: Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Starring Roger Moore as Bond and Carole Bouquet as Bond Girl Melina Havelock.
• 1 PM – Octopussy: A Faberge Egg found with a murdered British agent puts Bond on the trail that leads to a plot to kill thousands to weaken NATO defenses in Europe. Starring Roger Moore as Bond and Maud Adams as Bond Girl Octopussy.
• 4 PM – The World Is Not Enough: James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can’t feel pain. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle.

• Wednesday, 21 November
• 1 AM – Live And Let Die: Agent 007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroine magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader. Starring Roger Moore as Bond and Jane Seymour as Bond Girl Solitaire.

• Thursday, 22 November
• 10 AM – GoldenEye: James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent believed to be dead. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Izabella Scorupco.
• 1 PM – Tomorrow Never Dies: James Bond heads to stop a media mogul’s plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce and Michelle Yeoh.
• 3:30 PM – The World Is Not Enough: James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can’t feel pain. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest James Bond news.

Discuss this 007-related news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum on the internet. Thanks to CBn Forum member ‘Joe Bond.’

The Persuaders and James Bond

Written by Paul Rowlands

For the whole of the ’60s, Roger Moore was unavailable to play James Bond due to his commitment to “The Saint” TV series, which ran from 1962 to 1969.

Despite his reluctance to return to TV, by the time he was considered for Diamonds are Forever, he was yet again out of the frame due to his commitment to another British, Lew Grade-financed TV series.

“The Persuaders” was an idea of producer Robert S. Baker, and “The Saint” episode The Ex-King of Diamonds (6.18)—with the British Simon Templar teaming up with a Texas oilman—was made as a sort of pilot to see if the idea could work. Moore agreed to do “The Persuaders” because Lew Grade had sold the show with Roger as a part of it.^† In “The Persuaders”, Moore would be the effete, wealthy, upper-class Lord Brett Sinclair who reluctantly teams up with millionaire American playboy Danny Wilder, played by Tony Curtis. (Rock Hudson and Glenn Ford also had been considered for the role of Danny). Grade was hoping the show would appeal to US audiences and accorded a huge budget for the series (the highest at the time for a British show).

Unfortunately, the US TV network pitted the show against “Mission: Impossible” and it flopped. Despite its great European success (especially in Germany where the show was extensively redubbed to the extent that it was pretty much a different show), Grade cancelled the show after only one season, finally freeing up Moore to take on 007.

“The Persuaders” premiered in the UK on Granada and Anglia with the episode Overture on 16th September 1971 and ended on 25th February 1972 with Someone Waiting. The show is very different from “The Saint” despite the characters again spending each episode doing detective work. It’s much lighter, superficial and less plot-driven.

The show is undoubtedly a product of its time and has dated, most notably in its fashion (Moore designed his own clothes for the show), its attitude towards women (we’re not a million miles away from Connery slapping Margaret Nolan’s bottom in Goldfinger) and its extensive use of backscreen projection. Roger Moore has put on quite a bit of weight since “The Saint” and has a thick head of hair, both of which he had to lose when taking on the mantle of 007.

Most of the episodes, though, are fun, and some are a lot of fun indeed. Moore and Curtis are both consummate pros and despite rumours that they didn’t get along, they have great onscreen chemistry. For Bond fans, the most interesting will probably be, like “The Saint”, the chance to spot quite a few Bond references and links throughout the series.

For example… In one story, Moore is programmed to kill Bernard Lee a la the novel of The Man with the Golden Gun. Lee would of course play ‘M’ opposite Moore a few years later in Live And Let Die (they had actually already acted with each other in 1969’s Crossplot). Lois Maxwell appears in one episode, although she doesn’t share any scenes with Moore. Geoffrey Keen, aka The Minister of Defence, also turns up in one episode. Sean Connery’s ex-wife Diane Cilento appears in one episode, mentioning that her car has an ejector seat (Goldfinger). Laurence Naismith from Diamonds are Forever appears in a whopping eleven episodes as the Judge who blackmails the pair into a life of crimefighting. And John Barry supplies the fantastic theme tune.

The one episode with the most Bond references and links is 1.10 Chain of Events. The episode was edited and directed by Peter Hunt, who directed On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and edited the first five Bond films, handling the second-unit on You Only Live Twice as well. George Baker, who acted in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me appears, and in one scene there is a briefcase containing Ian Fleming 007 paperbacks of Live And Let Die, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only; Octopussy and most prominently, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (with the movie tie-in cover).

The series was also filmed at Pinewood Studios, and Moore directed two episodes: 1.17 The Time and Place and 1.18 The Long Goodbye, the latter featuring a cameo from his young daughter Deborah (who later would have a cameo in Die Another Day). ‘The Persuaders’ also allowed Moore to do something he never did as 007: drive an Aston Martin, here a Bahama Yellow DBS V8 (which was actually a V6 made up to look like a V8 as the latter was not ready in time). (Trivia: Moore actually drives the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger and Thunderball in the comedy The Cannonball Run, released the same summer as 1981’s For Your Eyes Only.)

If the lists of actors and technical crew common to “The Saint”, “The Persuaders” and 007 teaches us anything it is that the world of British film in the ’60s and early ’70s was a small place. And I, for one, found it interesting to learn that Roger Moore had already worked with most of the major supporting players of his Bond films on the two shows. Watching the two shows has been akin to being in some kind of a parallel universe where ‘M’, Moneypenny, the Minister of Defence and General Gogol have all met Roger Moore’s James Bond before!

James Bond Stamps Coming In January 2008

Casino Royale, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only

11 October Update: The two first day covers are currently available to pre-order online. The first will be postmarked at Mayfair (where Ian Fleming was born) and features a diamonds and dice design. Dame Judi Dench will personally sign a limited number of this cover. The second will be postmarked at St Margaret’s-at-Cliff, Kent, where Fleming lived for a time. Featuring an underwater action motif, limited numbers of this cover will be signed by Richard Kiel and a very limited number by Sir Roger Moore. Pre-order: Cover 1 | Cover 2

One of the covers of the four prestige booklets has also been posted online at 007 Magazine. Arrangements are being made to have four different Bond girls personally sign a limited number of the prestige booklets (a different Bond girl for each of the four booklets). Pre-order: Prestige Booklets (set of 4)

Royal Mail will pay tribute to James Bond as part of the Ian Fleming Centenary celebrations next year when it releases a series of stamps commemorating the famous secret agent.

Dr. No, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love

According to Philately Club, a series of six stamps will be released on 8 January 2008, each featuring four different covers of one of Ian Fleming’s novels. The six books to feature on the 60 x 21mm stamps are:

• 1st – Casino Royale
• 1st – Dr. No
• 54p – Goldfinger
• 54p – Diamonds Are Forever
• 78p – For Your Eyes Only
• 78p – From Russia With Love

The site reports that six stamps, a miniature sheet, prestige stamp book, presentation pack and first day covers will all be issued to celebrate the centenary of Fleming’s birth.

The 007 series is currently the only new line of stamps planned for release in January.

Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest news on the Ian Fleming Centenary.

Discuss these exciting new stamps in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum on the internet. With thanks to Charlie Higson – who dropped word of the stamps in a live web chat on Blue Peter. Additional thanks to The James Bond Dossier.

Amy Goodenough May Be Back For Young Bond 5

This past weekend, a particularly major piece of news regarding next year’s Young Bond 5 was released, namely that Charlie Higson is planning for James Bond to fall in love.

While Higson noted that the love interest will be someone new to the Young Bond series, he also mentioned that a girl from Bond’s past would also be returning.

The Young Bond Dossier reports that odds are likely that Blood Fever‘s Amy Goodenough will be this girl from the past.

Charlie Higson didn’t confirm her appearance, but said: ‘She might appear in the fifth book, I’m thinking about it. I want to bring back some characters, and some I know are definitely coming back… but, yes, I think I probably will bring back Amy Goodenough.’

For further exclusive details on Young Bond 5, which is due for release in the UK on 4 September 2008, read the CBn Interview with Charlie Higson.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest Young Bond and literary 007 coverage.

Discuss this news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world. With thanks to ‘zencat.’

David Arnold Back For 'Bond 22'

Grammy Award-winner David Arnold will return to the James Bond franchise for Bond 22, the composer revealed on his website last week.

The announcement reads as follows.

David will be scoring the next Bond film, working alongside Marc Forster and everyone at Eon Productions.Release date is November 2008.

The official David Arnold website

Bond 22 will mark the composer’s fifth 007 score, following his work on Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Casino Royale.

With Bond 22 set to feature a considerable amount of new blood among its crew (director Marc Forster, production designer Dennis Gassner, second unit director Dan Bradley, costume designer Louise Frogley and cinematographer Roberto Schaefer are all newcomers to the 007 franchise, many replacing series veterans), Bond fans had begun to speculate whether Arnold would also be dropped for Bond 22. However, with this announcement straight from the composer himself, that conjecture can now be laid to rest.

Arnold also announced he recently scored a comedy pilot for Channel 4 called Bitter And Twisted and will compose the music for the upcoming Simon Pegg comedy, How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, before commencing work on Bond 22. He will also be composing the music for The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (the third film in the series), which will be helmed by The World Is Not Enough director, Michael Apted.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest Bond 22 news.

40th Anniversary Edition DVD Of 1967's 'Casino Royale' Delayed

Casino Royale: 40th Anniversary Edition

The “Casino Royale: 40th Anniversary Edition” DVD has been postponed for release until 3 June 2008, according to Amazon.com.

MGM had previously announced the disc would hit shelves in Region 1 on 6 November 2007. Curiously, the delay now renders the “40th Anniversary Edition” tag incorrect.

In addition to a 2.35 anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 and Mono audio tracks, this re-release of the 1967 James Bond spoof will include a whole host of new special features:

• Audio commentary with 007 historians Steven Jay Reuben and John Cork
“The Making Of Casino Royale” featurette
• “Bond James Bond” featurette
• “A 3 Ring Circus” featurette
• “More Directors, More Stars” featurette
• “The Big Climax” featurette
• “It’s a Wrap!” featurette

There is still no word on whether the release will also contain the extras available on the current DVD – namely, an interview with co-director Val Guest, the theatrical trailer and the original 1954 CBS television production starring Barry Nelson.

It is also unknown when – or if – the disc will be released elsewhere in the world.

The disc will retail for $19.98. However, you can pre-order it now for $17.99 at Amazon.com.

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

Discuss this DVD release in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum on the Internet.

Related articles

• Cover Art For 40th Anniversary DVD Of 1967’s ‘Casino Royale’
• MGM Announces 40th Anniversary DVD Of 1967’s ‘Casino Royale’
• CBn Reviews Casino Royale (1967)

Not Quite Young Bond, Not Quite 007

WARNING: Minor plot spoilers

Charlie Higson’s newest Young Bond novel, Hurricane Gold, is a bit of an oddity. One aspect that always shined through as the winning formula of the previous three novels in the series, especially evident in both Blood Fever and Double or Die, was the delicate and interesting mixture between the young James Bond character and the adult 007 he will eventually become. The main character is most undoubtedly a boy and one could argue that is the prime audience these novels should be attempting to please, but Higson always managed to perfectly fit together the puzzle pieces such as new and intriguing locations, the outlandish villains and their sinister plans so that they worked on both the Young Bond and 007 levels. With Hurricane Gold, it seems like the focus was much more in creating a young boy’s adventure story and it results in somewhat throwing off that compelling combination.

In the most recent novel in the series, Double or Die, the story’s events were always on a tight timescale as James and his friends frantically rushed around London trying to solve several cryptic clues in search of the missing professor. Hurricane Gold‘s plot is slightly less defined, but the pace still moves at breakneck speed. One of the first things the reader will immediately notice upon starting Hurricane Gold is the absence of any scenes at Eton. With this location out of the way, the action can promptly begin in Mexico. This is an interesting departure for the series in terms of the basic setup for the storyline, but Higson makes it work by interspersing three letters from Bond’s friends at Eton (Pritpal Nandra, Perry Mandeville and Mr. Merriot), thus keeping the reader in tune with the general events going on at the school.

Charlie Higson’s ‘Hurricane Gold’

The boy’s adventure story aspect is most clearly evident in the setup and execution of the many action sequences throughout the majority of the novel. With Blood Fever and Double or Die, the action seemed to alternate with breaks evenly throughout (particularly in Double or Die because of the mystery elements), but in Hurricane Gold, the key word is action from the very beginning. Sequences such as the hurricane and resulting flood are effective, but combined altogether it just doesn’t completely feel like the Young James Bond stories we’ve had in the past.

One of the highlights of Hurricane Gold is the Bond girl of the story, Precious Stone. In a particularly inspired introduction, Bond first meets the initially pretentious and conceited girl as she sits in front of a large make-up mirror, painting her nails: “‘You must be James,’ she said without looking round.” The sequence is faintly reminiscent of Bond’s first encounter with the cool and carefree Tiffany Case in Ian Fleming’s Diamonds are Forever. Her exhaustive complaining during much of the first half of the novel balances well with the common sense approach Bond uses throughout and it makes for a believable relationship between the two.

Slightly less successful (for the first time in the series) are the villains of Hurricane Gold. El Huracán is certainly one of the more outlandish characters featured so far and he makes a strong impression as he introduces the avenida de la muerte–the avenue of death–at the very beginning of the novel. The main problem is that his appearances throughout the story are limited and even with the addition of details on his past life, he just doesn’t make the same kind of impression that earlier villains such as Count Ugo Carnifex and Sir John Charnage did. More effective is the mysterious Theda Glass who leads the gang of thieves and interacts with Bond throughout the first half of the novel. Unfortunately, due to the storyline, the character’s importance ultimately pales in comparison to El Huracán.

Young Bond

As with the previous novels in the series, Hurricane Gold has its own unique torture sequence, this time with an assortment of unfriendly creatures. La Avenida de la Muerte has a little bit of everything, whether it be snakes, scorpions, or crocodiles. The surprise of not knowing what is in store in each new room as Bond and Precious proceed through the avenue of death makes for an effective climax.

Do I recommend Hurricane Gold for interested Bond fans? Yes; definitely. It features several intriguing locations that are new to the literary 007 canon and has a pace that never tires. In turn, the aspect that makes the novel disappointing compared to the previous entries in the series is that isn’t as enjoyable as a James Bond novel. Hurricane Gold works extremely well as a young boy’s adventure novel, but it just feels like the mixture of Young Bond and 007 isn’t quite complete.

Purchase Hurricane Gold from Amazon.co.uk.

Discuss this Hurricane Gold review in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world.

Charlie Higson Reveals Major Young Bond 5 Details

WARNING: Minor spoilers

With the release date of 4 September 2008 now revealed for Charlie Higson’s Young Bond 5, the fifth and final novel in his hugely popular Young James Bond series, expect details and spoilers to start coming in more and more.

The Young Bond Dossier reports that Higson dropped a particularly interesting piece of news about the role of the Bond girl in Young Bond 5, noting that this will be the first time that James falls in love.

‘At the risk of all the boys running squeamish throughout the room,’ Higson announced to his audience at the Hurricane Gold launch party last month, ‘James Bond is going to fall in love…[click here to view the discussion with Higson]

As CBn has previously reported, Young Bond 5 will focus on the events that lead to Bond’s expulsion from Eton. Windsor Castle is planned as a location and the Royal Family also may be featured. Read the most recent CBn interview with Charlie Higson for even more details.

Even though there were numerous new Bond books released in 2006 and a fair share so far this year, 2008 is shaping up to be the year for the literary 007. In addition to the release of Young Bond 5, Penguin Books has planned a celebration of 007, Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care will mark Ian Fleming’s centenary in May, Samantha Weinberg will conclude her Moneypenny Diaries trilogy with Final Fling and the SilverFin graphic novel will finally hit bookshelves. Not to mention the Titan release of Shark Bait, Double or Die‘s US debut, and much, much more.

To keep up will all of the latest releases, just keep your eyes on the CBn Calendar, which is located on the lower right panel on our main page.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest Young Bond and literary 007 coverage.

Discuss this news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world. With thanks to ‘zencat.’

Corgi Aston Martin Fetches $2,100 At Bonhams Auction

As CBn reported two days ago, several die-cast model James Bond vehicles were set to be auctioned off as part of Corgi’s ‘Number Ones’–the first item off the production line–sale at Bonhams which took place on 3 October in Solihull, West Midlands.

According to a press release after the event, a prototype model of the Goldfinger‘s Aston Martin DB5 sold for an impressive £1,050 (roughly $2,100), making it the highest selling 007 item at the sale.

Other notable Bond die-cast models included the Production Line Number Seven James Bond Casino Briefcase, which fetched £900 ($1,800) and an Aston Martin DBS from Casino Royale, which sold for £680 ($1,360).

Click here to visit the official Bonhams website for a listing of all the featured James Bond models at the auction.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest news from the world of 007.