Fleming to be portrayed by James D'Arcy in Age of Heroes

Age of Heroes poster

Over the past couple of years there’s been numerous rumors and reports about multiple film projects that will bring Ian Fleming to the big screen. The biggest of these is one simply titled “Fleming” which is being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, Appian Way. In that film, which at one point was set to include scenes from the famed Thunderball legal case, Fleming may be portrayed by DiCaprio himself. Another production titled “Ian Fleming” is currently being developed by Palmstar Entertainment and Animus Films, based on Andrew Lycett’s extensive 1995 biography Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond. Last year it was rumored that James McAvoy would star as Ian Fleming, though that turned out to be false.

Sean Bean in Age of Heroes

A third film has quietly been in the works too, but the good news about this one is that it filmed over the summer and is slated to hit theaters this year as early as 1 October in the UK according to sites such as IMDb (this may prove to be unlikely as there hasn’t been any marketing for the film yet, e.g., a trailer at the very least). Called Age of Heroes, it tells the story of Ian Fleming’s Red Indians, 30 Assault Unit or 30 AU, he formed while working for Naval Intelligence during World War II.

Age of Heroes is the first in a trilogy which will be followed by Age of Glory and Age of Honour. James D’Arcy (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Flashbacks of a Fool starring Daniel Craig) will portray Ian Fleming. Also starring in Age of Heroes is Sean Bean best known to James Bond fans as 006 Alec Trevelyan in 1995’s GoldenEye.

Age of Heroes was written and directed by Adrian Vitoria.

Scene from Age of Heroes - D'Arcy (Ian Fleming) on the right?

CommanderBond.net first reported on Age of Heroes in March of this year.

Mendes' On Chesil Beach postponed – Updated

As MGM and Spyglass Entertainment continue hashing out a deal and prepare for a prepackaged bankruptcy soon, potential Bond 23 scheduling conflicts have opened up a little with news that director Sam Mendes’ next film, an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel On Chesil Beach has been postponed due to wary investors who fear the film may post lackluster box office results. Specifically, Mendes’ last three films have not performed well despite good reviews and critical acclaim. A spokesperson for Mendes’ company Neal Street Productions said, “It has been postponed. It all happened very quickly. Pre-production work over-ran. There need to be leaves on the trees.”

Sam Mendes Worldwide Box Office Performance

• 1999: American Beauty – Winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Director – $356,296,601
• 2002: Road to Perdition – Won 1 Academy Award, starred Daniel Craig – $181,001,478
• 2005: Jarhead – $96,889,998
• 2008: Revolutionary Road – Nominated for 3 Academy Awards – $75,226,021
• 2009: Away We Go – $13,563,832

On Chesil Beach was set to star An Education’s Academy Award nominated Carey Mulligan.

James Bond fans shouldn’t view this as a good thing however because Mendes is still quite busy. He is still set to direct William Shakespeare’s Richard III for stage starring Kevin Spacey. The production will open at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater in early 2012. He’s also supposedly in the running to direct Suzanne Collins’ widely acclaimed science fiction novel The Hunger Games potentially starring Chloe Moretz of Kick-Ass fame (Hit-Girl). However all that said, it’s still unknown whether Mendes will direct the inevitable Bond 23 even once MGM clears it’s financial hurdles, and more important than Mendes is Daniel Craig’s schedule. Craig is currently filming Cowboys & Aliens for which he has an option for a sequel and will soon star in the English adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which will begin filming later this year.

September 14th – Update

According to Deadline Mendes last Friday took himself out of the running to direct The Hunger Games because of MGM’s recent progress. They further speculate that Bond 23 could potentially start shooting in late summer or fall 2011.

Spyglass signs letter of intent to run MGM

Back in early August we reported that Spyglass Entertainment’s co-heads Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum were close to a deal to run MGM studios. A deal has apparently been struck now as Barber and Birnbaum have both signed a nonbinding letter of intent to take over management of the studio. To finalize the deal MGM’s debt holders and board of directors will have to approve it. Looking ahead it’s been reported that the co-heads of Spyglass have already had talks with Hollywood executive Ken Schapiro about becoming MGM’s chief operating officier.

Once the deal is approved MGM will enter into a prepackaged bankruptcy sometime around the 15th of September when their latest debt waiver expires. This process should last approximately two months. Under the deal reported in August MGM’s creditors will forgive the studio’s $4 billion debt in exchange for the bulk of the restructured studio’s new equity.

It is still unknown how soon any deal will effect the James Bond franchise. There has been numerous amounts of speculation as to whether MGM will continue to distribute films including future James Bond films. According to Deadline the franchise is hotly contested with Warner Bros, Sony Pictures Entertainment and 20th Century Fox all in the running as well as Paramount Pictures which is said to be making an “aggressive push” to capture Bond.

Assuming financing becomes available Bond 23 could be back on track and start shooting in time for a 2012 release. Director Sam Mendes is currently prepping a screen adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel On Chesil Beach while Daniel Craig was recently signed to star in the anticipated adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which will begin filming later this year. Craig is currently shooting Cowboys & Aliens, for which he has an option for a sequel.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest Bond 23 developments.

'A View to a Kill' 25th Anniversary event

The Chateau de Chantilly

Our friends from the French James Bond fan club Club James Bond France inform us about one of their forthcoming events, a 25th Anniversary celebration of the 14th James Bond movie A View to A Kill. The press release came in somewhat late, as the event will already take place on 18th September 2010 at the Chateau de Chantilly (France), the very place where the movie’s villain, Max Zorin, had his headquarters. Those of you who are always prepared to travel at a spur of the moment decision can make a reservation by emailing [email protected]

For further details on the event, read the full press release below:

A View To A Kill celebrates it’s
25th anniversary at the Chateau de Chantilly

In 1985, Albert R. Broccoli and Eon Production filmed A View To A Kill in Paris and in Chantilly (Oise). In order to commemorate this film and its contribution to the industry of the 7th Art, the City of Chantilly, the Musée Condé, and the foundation of Chantilly have decided to organize, with the active partnership of the Club James Bond France, a great anniversary event on Saturday, September 18th during the “European Heritage Days”.

A unique program was designed for all lovers of movies and art history, which will go to the heart of the estate:

• a guided tour coupled with the discovery of the locations and anecdotes from the shooting (Castle, Great Stables, racecourse …)

• delivery of the quarterly magazine of the Club James Bond France Le Bond Collector’s Special “A View To A Kill – Chantilly” – 36 pages of interviews, exclusive photos and documents on the film and panoramas of the castle.

• Screening of the movie at night, outdoors, on the racetrack, with a presentation by John Glen, director.

As a bonus, the presence of guests, architects of the fourteenth installment in the saga, seventh and last film of Roger Moore in the tuxedo of 007:

• John Glen, director of the film and five other Bond movies between 1981 and 1989

• Remy Julienne, stunt coordinator of the movie and others Bond films.

• Serge Touboul, location manager on A View To A Kill.

Where pop culture meets history. Not to be missed.

Ticket price is 40€ for adults and 20€ for children under 12.

Event organized with the support of Fox Pathe, Allociné and Michelin.

About the Club James Bond France:
Placed under the patronage of Sir Roger Moore and Maryam d’Abo, chaired by Luc Le Clech, the Club James Bond France gathers 250 members around the world (France, Switzerland, Belgium, USA and Canada). Due to it’s publishing activities – 4 issues of the magazine Le Bond and Archives 007 (80 pages) per year – the CJBF is one of the world’s leading Bond clubs. With 2,500 daily visitors (unique clicks) and up to 200,000 visitors at a new movie out, its website, which features the largest global database of James Bond, is also one of the most visited of the planet.
Website: www.jamesbond007.net
News or photos on 007 from our database? Contact us:
[email protected]

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo with 4 Bond Girls and Jaws

Come out this weekend to Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo in place in Carol Steam, IL! A handful of James Bond stars will be in attenece.

• Martine Bestwicke (Zora, From Russia With Love & Paula Caplan, Thunderball)
• Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson, (Goldfinger)
• Caroline Munro (Naomi, The Spy Who Loved Me)
• Richard Kiel (Jaws, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker)
• Tanya Roberts (Stacey Sutton, A View To A Kill)

Location:
Holiday Inn
150 South Gary Avenue
Carol Stream, IL
630 665 3000

Hours:
Friday, September 10th from 2:00pm to 7:30pm
Saturday, September 11th from 10:00am to 7:00pm
Sunday, September 12th from 10:00am to 3:00pm

Visit nonsportcardexpo.com for further details.

To discuss this news visit this thread in CBn’s Bond 21 forums. Thank you to Richard Kiel from bringing this event to our attention. Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring worldwide.

Review: James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough

James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough

For some time now, the multi-verse of 007 has been acceptable fodder for academic conferences, scholarly critiques, and in-depth discussions on every aspect of film making and literature imaginable on the net and in print. Judging from the citations in the new James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films Are Not Enough (hereafter JBWPC), some sources have become seminal milestones in Bond studies. Tony Bennett and Janet Woollacott’s Bond and Beyond: The Political Career of a Popular Hero (1987), Jeremy Black’s The Politics of Bond: from Fleming’s Novels to the Big Screen (2001), and the various essays in The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader (2003) seem to command widespread respect. Again, judging from how often he’s invoked in JBWPC, the predominant authority on James Bond’s role in popular culture must be James Chapman, author of the 1999 Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films.

JBWPC seeks to join this august catalogue with forty new essays by a diverse cast of authors—including Chapman who gets the literal last word in the final piece, “Reflections in a Double Bourbon”. Naturally, such a wide net of writers drawing from an interdisciplinary well of approaches results in a mixed bag of perspectives. Some offer fresh insights, some update and revise previous studies, some deal with the ephemera and distantly related media cousins to Ian Fleming and his main character. On one hand, we get excellent literary reviews as in Finn Pollard’s exploration of how John Gardner and Raymond Benson tried to keep a Cold Warrior topical and relevant; on the other, we get plot synopses of James Bond Jr. comic books and a simple directory of Bond books available in audio formats. As a result, JBWPC should appeal to an equally diverse readership—those looking for high-brow critical analyses, readers looking for information not widely available elsewhere, but mostly Bond fans wanting to match their own perspectives against this cast of critics. After all, there are as many James Bonds as there are movie goers who’ve watched a 007 film, readers who’ve enjoyed the books, or players who know Bond best from video games named after him.

The anthology is organized into six sections. “Part I: Experiencing the World of Bond” doesn’t deal with Bond essentials, but rather posters, dances in the title sequences, architecture, designer clothes, and two overviews of Bond videogames. Part Two (which includes this reviewer’s own essay) covers Bond music from four perspectives. Then, seven essays look at gender, feminism, and the Bond girls. (Note: Why is it Judi Dench as M is frequently worth discussion as a significant female authority figure but never Lotte Lenya as Col. Klebb or Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt?)

The original novels don’t take center stage until “Part IV: The World of Ian Fleming” where various writers discuss Fleming’s connections to Allen Dulles and debunk myths regarding Aleister Crowley, Sidney Reilly, and Basil Zaharoff. Two writers look at Fleming’s fictional role in books using him as a character including the very odd “The Fleming Chronicles: The Amazing (Fictional) Exploits of James Bond’s Creator” in which Brad Frank traces, year by year, what different novelists had Fleming do in a variety of unrelated books.

Matters get more serious, briefly, in “Part V: Colonialism, ‘Britishness’ and the Bond Identity” which includes the role of an English secret agent in a changing socio-political environment. Then, Peter Sellers parodying Bond in Casino Royale is examined before the aforementioned overview of James Bond Jr. comic books. The final essays, “Part VI: Rounding Out the World of Bond” were apparently gathered together to finish off the collection, but why wouldn’t “The Gay Bond” or ‘Bond Goes Camping’” by Rob Faunce and “The James Bond/Woody Allen Dialectic” by Andrea Siegel fit better in the section on sexuality and gender? Well, most of the essays in this section could easily have qualified for earlier areas of the book—perhaps it was a matter of balancing things out proportionally.

Readers who explore the volume as a whole and not just select portions will discover how much all these essays mirror, supplement, augment, and occasionally contradict each other. When these critics look at the world in which 007 operates, three novels get in-depth treatment—Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and From Russia With Love. When they focus on Bond as a character, Casino Royale and Moonraker earn considerable discussion. Goldfinger, OHMSS, and You Only Live Twice get their due, but there’s scant mention of the novels Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me, or The Man With the Golden Gun. The short stories receive only passing mentions, as do the continuation novels of Kingsley Amis and even Sebastian Faulks. One essay spends pages positing that Ian Fleming was inspired to create 007 due to his disgust over the Cambridge Spy Ring and the treachery of Edward VIII; a later study points out these notions have been made and elaborated on before. The essays on John Barry each provide observations that are stronger when put together as information from one author is often not presented by the other three. Likewise, the essays on gender are best served as a group as they explore sexuality from a wide spectrum of perspectives making for an interesting “round-table” discussion.

One matter likely to distract some readers is the proofreading. The blame for this clearly rests with the publisher and not the editors or authors—this writer can attest that his submission, at least, did not contain the errors now memorialized in print. Considering the scope of this endeavor, the labor to seek out these pieces and assemble them, should give this volume credibility enough to override such quibbles becoming more common in today’s publishing climate.

So how does JBWPC fit into the continuum of James Bond studies? Because of the range of the contributions, it’s difficult to see how it won’t be considered indispensible reading from 2010 on. No library shelf on Bond, or film or espionage studies for that matter, will be complete without it. For serious Bond fans, it’s a book that’s a must have despite it’s rather hefty price tag. More importantly, as with The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader, this new anthology should serve as a milestone of what place James Bond holds in international popular culture in the Twenty-First Century. When A Critical Reader came out in 2003, Daniel Craig had not yet debuted in Casino Royale, so the changes to the 007 mythos to come could not have been synthesized into critical overviews of the films. With no new movies planned for the immediate future, now seems a perfect time to take stock of where 007 fits into our collective consciousness. James Bond in World and Popular Culture now serves as the most recent yardstick by which future collections will be measured.

James Bond in World and Popular Culture:
The Films are Not Enough

Editor: Robert G. Weiner, B. Lynn Whitfield and Jack Becker
Date Of Publication: Sep 2010
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-2289-3
Isbn: 1-4438-2289-2

Price Uk Gbp: 54.99
Price Us Usd: 82.99

The book can be ordered from Amazon.com:
James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough
or directly from CSP
James Bond in World and Popular Culture: The Films are Not Enough

Lyricist Don Black honoured with BMI Icon award

Don Black at the 2007 Songwriters Hall Of Fame Ceremony

Lyricist Don Black, who has written the title themes for several James Bond films over the years, will be honoured as a Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Icon at the BMI London awards.

For Bond fans, Black is best known for his work on “Thunderball”, “Diamonds Are Forever”, “The Man with the Golden Gun”, “Surrender” (from Tomorrow Never Dies), “The World Is Not Enough” and “Only Myself To Blame” (from The World Is Not Enough). He’s on record saying his favourite is “Diamonds Are Forever”, however he once noted that “Surrender” was to him one of the best things he’d ever written. “I hate to say this really, but why not, you get to a certain stage in your life where you say what you feel, but I do think one of the best things I’ve written is “Surrender” from Tomorrow Never Dies that I wrote with David Arnold. It became the end-title and k.d. Lang sang it and it’s such a good piece. A lot of people have emailed me and said it should have been the title [song]. That sort of thing aggravates you because it was written for the front-title and then Sheryl Crow was brought in to write it. I mean… no hard feelings about it, but that is life.”

Following “Thunderball”, Black teamed up with John Barry again on the 1966 film Born Free for which he won an Academy Award for Best Song. It was later nominated for Song of the Year at the 1967 Grammy Awards where he ultimately lost to The Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He also worked with Lulu on “To Sir, with Love” (1967) and on “Ben” (1972) for Michael Jackson, both of which were number 1 hits in the US.

In 2007 Black was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He will be honoured yet again with the BMI Icon award in London on October 5.

Exclusive GoldenEye 007 pre-order offers

GoldenEye 007 isn’t due out till November 2nd of this year, but details about exclusive pre-order deals are beginning to surface at various US retailers.

GameStop

Starting today gamers can pre-order GoldenEye 007 for Wii at GameStop to receive an exclusive code to unlock “Invisibility Mode” for split screen multiplayer. The exclusive code will only be exclusive till December 31st. Invisibility Mode allows each player to become invisible for a set period of time. Check out the video below. – Pre-order from GameStop

Best Buy

Gamers who purchase a copy of GoldenEye 007 at Best Buy will receive an exclusive code to unlock “Tag Mode” for splitscreen multiplayer. Like the GameStop deal, this exclusive code will only be exclusive till December 31st. Tag Mode takes the classic playground game and gives it a twist on the Wii. The player who is “tagged” cannot eliminate an opponent until they tag someone else – creating fast, frenetic multiplayer action where players are sprinting at each other from all angles. Check out the video below. – Pre-order from Best Buy

Walmart

If you pre-order or purchase the game at launch at Walmart.com or at a local Walmart store, you’ll receive an exclusive Oddjob “Cheater” T-shirt. The shirt clearly pays homage to the original Nintendo 64 game where Oddjob (depending on your friends) was seen as a cheat given his small size. On the Wii he also throws his hat. – Pre-order from Walmart.com

GoldenEye Walmart T-Shirt Bonus

'007 Magazine' #53 out now

'007 Magazine' #53

A bit late for this announcement, but better late than never: 007 Magazine #53 is out since August 2010. And as if this weren’t enough, Bond fans are in for a special treat, as Graham Rye once again opens his archives for 007 Magazine Archive Files – Sean Connery as James Bond 007 – File #1.

007 Magazine Archive Files – Sean Connery
as James Bond 007 – File #1

As the official website states:

“Bond, James Bond.” For many cinemagoers worldwide there has only ever been one ‘real’ James Bond – Sean Connery. And to celebrate Sir Sean’s 80th birthday on August 25th 2010, 007 Magazine Archive Files presents a unique look back at his 7-film career as James Bond with a 36-page special featuring some of the best, most unusual and rarest images from the 007 Magazine Archive. Nobody did it better!

007 Magazine #53 will -a as usual – showcase exclusive new articles, features and many never-before-published images. The contents of this isssue includes:

• FEATURE – 100 Years Not Out!
  GRAHAM RYE looks back at the 2008 celebration events surrounding the centenary of James Bond author Ian Fleming.
  Exclusive photographs by Graham Rye & Mark Mawston
• PICTORIAL – Going Going Gone Soon!
  The Most Famous Car In The World
  James Bond’s gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5 goes up for auction in October 2010 – 007 MAGAZINE has the lowdown!
• FEATURE – James Bond 007: Blood Stone
  Activision’s latest explosive third-person action videogame boasts the vocal and visual talented triumvirate of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Joss Stone.
• FEATURE – Roger Moore’s Finest Hour as James Bond in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only
  STEVE CASSIDY takes an affectionate look back at Roger Moore’s fifth outing as secret agent 007.

Bond fans can purchase both 007 Magazine #53 and 007 Magazine Archive Files – Sean Connery as James Bond 007 – File #1at the official 007 Magazine website for the following prices (per item): £9.99 (UK) | $15.99 (US) | €11.99 (EU) | £9.99 (Worldwide). Please be aware that prices do not include shipping.

Click here for further details and inquiries.

Visit this CommanderBond.net article to read more about the return of 007 Magazine in print for 2009. To view the detailed 1979 – 2005 bibliography of 007 Magazine on CBn, click here.

As always, keep your browsers pointed to the CommanderBond.net main page and our always active Discussion Forums for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.

Two new trailers for Blood Stone and GoldenEye

Activision has sent along two new trailers for Blood Stone and GoldenEye 007.

The first is more of a developer diary discussing the “Re-imagining” of GoldenEye 007, but it features all-new footage including a look inside Valentin Zukovsky’s nightclub.

The second trailer is for Blood Stone called Istanbul Re-Cut. If you haven’t seen the Blood Stone Istanbul trailer you can check that out here.