James Bond Charity Ball

The Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersield, England will be hosting a James Bond Ball. The black tie event will be held November 29 at Bowers Mill, Barkisland and all money raised will be used to aide the Kirkwood Hospice. Guests of the James Bond Ball will be treated to live music and gambling.

Event organizers are expecting 200 guests and tickets are still available for £40. Anyone wanting more information should contact Joanne Gledhill at 01484 557911.

The Kirkwood Hospice offers voluntary medical care to those with life threatening illnesses.

Michael Kamen: A CBn Tribute

Michael Kamen was one of the world’s most prolific composers, having worked in all aspects of media. In his life he has achieved much, having won three Grammys, two Golden Globes, two Ivor Novello awards, two Oscar nominations an Annie, an Emmy and countless millions of fans who respected him and admired his work.

Kamen was born on April 15th 1948 in New York City. He studied at The New York High School of Music & Art, having shown interest in music from around the age of 10 after listening to the soundtracks from films such as The Vikings and The Wizard of Oz. He was already deeply involved in the music of Brahms and Leonard Bernstein who was performing ‘Young Peoples Concerts’ at the time.

“At school I played the Clarinet and I learned a new step of the scale every week, I improvised fingers on the instrument because I had not been taught. When I auditioned for the music teachers at Junior High School I was very proud of my playing, but was a bit dismayed when the teachers said, ‘Well, we have a choice; we can either break your fingers and start all over again or we can start a new instrument.’ When they suggested the oboe, I leapt at the chance.”

Michael Kamen

He later went on to study the oboe at Juilliard’s School for Music Dance and Drama in New York, and while he was there, Kamen helped set up a rock-classical fusion band called the New York Rock And Roll Ensemble. Enigmatic composer, pianist, conductor and teacher Leonard Bernstein featured this band in one of his many Young People’s Concerts, the first with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on the 8th of February 1968. Bernstein himself introduced Kamen to symphonic arranging and composing and ignited a passion that would burn for over 30 years.

Kamen started composing ballets in the early 1970s, and has written ten of them. Kamen contributed some music to the off-beat rock Western movie Zachariah in 1971 and later that decade, he wrote the complete scores for The Next Man in 1976, Between The Lines, Rodin mis en vie (1976), Stunts (1977) and Boardwalk (1979). He also worked with Pink Floyd as an arranger for their album The Wall in 1979, expanding his experience from Symphonic arranging to Rock and Pop.

The 1980s saw him work with illustrious names in Jazz, Rock and Pop, notably Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock and George Harrison. Subsequently, Kamen scored some of the period’s most entertaining and diverting movies, which included Venom, The Dead Zone, Brazil, Mona Lisa, Rita Sue And Bob, Too, Die Hard, Crusoe, For Queen And Country, The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen and of course, his rousing score for 1989 Bond film Licence To Kill. A piece of work that highly interests all Bond music fans is his Bond Theme collaboration with Vic Flick (original Bond Theme guitarist for John Barry) and Eric Clapton that to this day has never been heard by the fans.

In the early 90s Kamen markedly composed the music for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (for which he was awarded two Grammys), The Krays and Let Him Have It– the latter written by current Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. Recent years have seen Kamen continue composing for Hollywood films, as well as arranging some of Bob Dylan’s songs for the orchestra in a 1994 concert to benefit UNESCO and 1996 saw him compose music for the closing of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

In 1999 Kamen famously worked alongside Metallica, combining his orchestral finesse with their rock sound for the humorously titled S & M concert. The recording with the San Francisco symphony orchestra went multi-platinum, serving as an underlining to Kamen’s already illustrious career. January 2000 saw the release of his Millenium Symphony, which drew inspiration from myriad cultures and peoples around the world, something he sought to portray in every facet of his work.

Kamen also founded the Mr Holland’s Opus Foundation—after the Oscar Nominated film of the same name starring Richard Dreyfuss—which dedicates itself to giving musical instruments to under-privileged students who want to learn the craft.

“My eternal debt is to Bach and his meaningful music, which always inspires me to tears.”

Michael Kamen

Mr Kamen’s mark on both the world of music and the world of Bond is indelible and permanent, this biography only serves to highlight his most prominent achievements. He had been suffering from multiple sclerosis for six years before announcing it this year, he died of a heart attack yesterday at only 55 years of age, and he leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

The staff of CommanderBond.net offer their condolences to Mr Kamen’s family at this difficult time.

Composer Michael Kamen Dies

Composer Michael Kamen has died at the age of 55 after suffering from multiple sclerosis. Bond fans knew Kamen best for his score to Licence To Kill. He also scored many of other films including Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Mr. Holland’s Opus.

SpikeTV's Thanksgiving Marathon

SpikeTV is getting set to air the He Spies/She Spies Bond Movie Marathon this Thanksgiving. Beginning Wednesday,
November 26, the four day marathon will be hosted by the stars of “She Spies” and will include two new SpikeTV premiers;
“The World Is Not Enough” and “The Living Daylights.”

The marathon will also include trivia, contests, and insight on the Bond films by “She Spies” stars, Natasha Henstridge, Kristen
Miller, and Natashia Williams.

Each day of the marathon will feature a different theme. Thursday is “The Bond Sampler” which will feature one film from each
actor to portray James Bond.; Friday is “Connery Friday” which will feature only the Bond films made by Sean Connery; and
Saturday and Sunday will be “Moore Weekend” which will feature the Bond films starring Roger Moore.

Here’s a look at SpikeTV’s Bond Marathon schedule:

Wednesday, November 26

8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

11:00 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT – DR. NO

Thursday, November 27

9:00 AM-12:30 PM, ET/PT – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE

12:30-3:00 PM, ET/PT – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

3:00-6:00 PM, ET/PT – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

6:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

9:00 PM-Midnight, ET/PT – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

Midnight-3:00 AM, ET/PT – OCTOPUSSY

Friday, November 28

9:00-11:30AM, ET/PT – DR. NO

11:30 AM-2:00 PM, ET/PT – GOLDFINGER

2:00-5:00 PM, ET/PT – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

5:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVE

8:00-11:00PM, ET/PT – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN

11:00 PM-2:00 AM, ET/PT – THUNDERBALL

Saturday, November 29

1:00-4:00 PM, ET/PT – LIVE AND LET DIE

4:00-7:00 PM, ET/PT – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

7:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

Midnight-3:00 AM, ET/PT – LIVE AND LET DIE

Sunday, November 30

1:00-4:00 PM, ET/PT – MOONRAKER

4:00-7:00 PM, ET/PT – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT – OCTOPUSSY

11:00 PM-2:00 AM, ET/PT – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

Publicity Falsely Declares Reality TV Winner Female Villain

There’s nothing like an association with the James Bond series to guarantee you some publicity, even if that association is merely a rumour. Such is the case of Alex Parks, winner of Britain’s ‘reality’ TV Show ‘Fame Academy’.

British tabloid The Sunday Mirror has reported that Parks has been offered “a cameo role as a baddie in the” next James Bond film.

With Bond 21 a year from lensing the news should be considered a simple publicity stunt given that casting for the film would only be in its infancy, if at all, and certainly not focusing on ‘cameo roles’ for reality TV show winners.

Unfortunately, the false news is likely to move through media sources in the UK.

To discuss the rumour please visit this thread of the Bond 21 Forums.

Dr. No Tops in Film Style List

The Sun in the UK recently compiled a list of the best fashion outfits in films. The Bond film series and in particular, Dr. No, received two mentions in the top ten.

The famous bikini worn by Ursula Andress came in at number two, while Sean Connery’s dinner attire from his introductory scene placed eighth.

To read the article in full, please check out The Sun.

You can discuss this news in this thread in the CBn Forums.