“I think he got the point.” Today’s clip of the day has Bond (Sean Connery) killing Vargas (Phillip Locke) with a harpoon gun in Thunderball (1965).
Simon Waterson Competition
1. The competition is only open to people aged 18 years or over excluding employees of the Promoter or anyone else professionally connected with this promotion. This competition is open globally. Anyone attending who is under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
2. One winner and nine runners up will be chosen at random during the Promotion Period to win the prize and will be contacted directly. The competition ends on May 12.
3. The winner will need to get in touch with the 007 Facebook page or Instagram account via a direct message by 6pm (BST) the next day to claim their prize otherwise the right to the prize will be lost and the Promoter reserves the right to re-award the prize.
4. No entries from agents, third parties, organised groups or applications automatically generated by computers will be accepted for the Prize Competition.
5. Anyone found to use multiple accounts to enter will be ineligible.
6. Multiple entries in a single day will not be accepted.
7. Proof of submitting your entry is not proof of receipt of any entry by the Promoter. The Promoter is not responsible for any entries that fail to be submitted for any technical reason whatsoever. Entries submitted by any other means will be rejected. The Promoter can accept no responsibility for, and reserves the right to refuse entries which are corruptor incomplete. Any entries containing offensive or inappropriate content will be rejected.
8. No cash or alternative in part or full will be offered in lieu of the specified prizes. Prizes are not transferable.
9. By entering participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the rules. All entry instructions form part of these Terms and Conditions.
10. The Promoter reserves the right to amend, alter or terminate this promotion at any time due to circumstances beyond its control.
11. The Promoter’s decision is binding in all matters.
12. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is not a sponsor of this contest and bears no responsibility or liability for the administration, operation, judging, or conduct of the contest, or the fulfilment of the Prizes associated with this Promotion. Promoter and Data Controller: AI, 10-11 Archer Street, Greater London, W1D 7AZ. By participating you hereby release and hold harmless Meta (Facebook and Instagram) from any and all liability associated with this promotion.
13. The prize will consist of a one hour training session with trainer Simon Waterson plus a signed copy of his book Intelligent Fitness. Nine runners-up also win a signed book. Winners of the training session and books will be picked at random from the correct answers. The training session will be in person or via a video link (such as Zoom) depending on winner’s location. Winners must provide their own transport to the training session location. Winners must provide their own equipment to attend video link sessions.
14. These rules are governed by the laws of England and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Helen McCrory 1968-2021
“We are devastated to hear of the passing of the extraordinarily talented and gracious Helen McCrory. We were honoured to have worked with her on Skyfall and send our heartfelt condolences to Damian, Manon and Gulliver.” Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
The Perth Mint James Bond 25 Coin Collection
The Perth Mint gives us a first look at its latest celebration of James Bond. The limited edition series features twenty-five coins embossed with iconic poster art, one for each film. From April 2021 to March 2022, The Perth Mint will issue two new coins per month in film release order, from Dr. No to No Time To Die. The coins are made from 1/2oz 99.99% silver in a maximum mintage of 12,700.
The first two coins, marking Dr. No and From Russia With Love, are now available to order at 007Store. The Dr. No coin features illustrations by Mitchell Hooks, well-known at the time as a paperback book cover artist, in the colouring as seen on the USA poster. The From Russia With Love coin draws on the UK poster by Renato Fratini. Bond’s pose was a composite of two photos and has become one of his iconic stances, repeated by subsequent 007s.
As the official mint of Australia, The Perth Mint is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia and makes platinum, silver and gold coins for collectors and customers worldwide. To create the James Bond 25 Coin Collection, the mint’s design team have reimagined elements of the original movie posters to work within a 32mm diameter. The blank coins are made from huge rolls of pure silver and each is then struck three times to create the design before being transferred to the printing area where the colour is applied.
Bond collectors can take advantage of the 007Store Coin Collectors Subscription Service. The unique service gives a special reduced price, presentation folders, and first access to a special release gold Bond coin.
The Dr. No and From Russia With Love coins, as well as the Bond Coin Collectors Subscription Service, are all available now.
Classic Bond Cars On Top Gear
The UK’s number one motoring TV programme, Top Gear, is to feature a selection of classic James Bond vehicles this Sunday on BBC One. The Top Gear Guide To Buying A Bond Car On Any Budget (Including A Really Quite Enormous Budget) will feature the Aston Martin DB5, Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me, Toyota 2000 GT from You Only Live Twice and the Alfa GTV6 from Octopussy among many others.
Top Gear presenter Chris Harris said, “I’m a total Bond obsessive. I love the cars and I watch the films religiously with my kids because they’re one of the ultimate viewing experiences. So, to get access to the back catalogue of Bond cars was amazing and I love the fact that we feature some of the cars you’d forgotten about.”
Catch Top Gear on Sunday, BBC One at 8pm and on BBC iPlayer.
James Bond And Catherine Tate Comic Relief Sketch
James Bond and Catherine Tate’s Nan are appearing together in a special sketch for Comic Relief’s big night of TV in the UK. In the sketch, Britain’s best loved OAP Nan has spurned retirement and taken up a part time job as a cleaner. Whilst cleaning the office of the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, aka M, she finds herself face to face with 007 as he suddenly appears on screen for his security briefing.
Catherine Tate says: “Nan had a right old time meeting Bond. What a smashing fella! As ever, it was great fun filming this Comic Relief sketch, huge thanks to Daniel and all the Bond team for being such great sports. I hope it raises lots of money on the night.”
The special sketch is part of a three-hour comedy special to be broadcast on BBC One on Friday from 7pm. The money raised by Red Nose Day will support people in the UK and around the world, and help tackle hunger, homelessness, domestic abuse and mental health stigma. For more information and to donate go to: bbc.co.uk/rednoseday
Yaphet Kotto Has Passed Away
We are very sorry to learn that Yaphet Kotto, who played Dr. Kananga in Live And Let Die, has passed away at the age of 81. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Billie Eilish Wins A GRAMMY Award
Billie Eilish and her brother FINNEAS won the award for Best Song Written For Visual Media for No Time To Die at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards held on Sunday evening.
For Your Eyes Only Blofeld Drop
For Your Eyes Only’s pre-title sequence sees Bond (Roger Moore) attempting to control a remotely-hijacked helicopter. Filming took place at Beckton gas works in East London while it was in the process of being demolished. To film the helicopter flying through the warehouse, the chopper was attached to rails and pulled along a track.
William P. Cartlidge (1942-2021)
“We are very sad to learn of the death of William P. Cartlidge at the age of 78 (pictured right with Ken Adam and Lewis Gilbert). Bill worked on three James Bond films all directed by Lewis Gilbert. He was First Assistant Director for Lewis on You Only Live Twice. A few years later, became Associate Producer on two additional Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. He and Lewis formed a directing and producing team that spanned 30 years. Bill had a wicked sense of humour which made him a brilliant raconteur. After 40 years as a producer, he retired with his wife to the Portsmouth area where the two become avid sailors. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.” Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Writing Casino Royale’s Theme Song
The composer who scored five Bond films on writing the theme song and score for Daniel Craig’s first outing as 007.
I got the script for Casino Royale before anyone was cast as James Bond, so for the first time reading it, I was seeing the character without envisaging a face. It was just my own imagination, which was fascinating as that hadn’t happened before, maybe on Dr. No before they cast Sean, but for me I was seeing a Bond script which is in production, without the face of the actor playing James Bond in my mind. Then the casting process began. Director Martin Campbell did four screen tests: I think they did two or three scenes – a talking one, an action-y one and a romantic scene – and I got sent the footage to put music to them. Daniel had this sort of cold brutal streak but also a Connery panther-esque way about him. He just was James Bond. So then we knew it was going to be Daniel, but it raised the question: where do you start with the score? We can’t have the Bond theme because he’s not James Bond yet. That was a big thing to remove the James Bond theme from the James Bond film, but I thought, ‘How about we sort of sow the seeds of it as we go through’ so whenever he does something which we know becomes an iconic thing for 007 to do, like the first time he rides in the Aston Martin DB5, first time he flies to an exotic location, the first time he puts on a tuxedo, we drop little bits of the Bond theme like he’s earning it.
Once that was established we needed to turn to the title song. Even if I don’t know who’s going to be singing it, or if I’m going to be writing it, I like to do my take on it. I started thinking about the character, that he’s this blunt instrument and not very sophisticated. He makes rookie mistakes, he’s learning all the time but we also see him doing things that maybe Bond shouldn’t do, like being too careless and risky. I thought ‘Well, what voice is that?’. Who’s our contemporary, powerful, alpha male singer? We were spoilt for choice with gentle, poetic singer-songwriter types, but in terms of someone who could be brutal and hard and yet also be able to turn on a sixpence and be open, emotional and honest? Chris Cornell was suggested to me which was such a left field call but then when you start listening to Chris Cornell it’s obvious. He is the sound of James Bond running through the wall at the beginning of the film but he’s also the guy who’s cleaning the blood from Vesper’s fingers in the shower. It was a no brainer. Chris and I both flew out to Prague where they were filming and we sat on the set watching some scenes in the editing room and we saw them shooting the casino scenes. We actually had a game of cards in the corridor with Mads Mikkelsen while they were setting up the next shot. And we talked about all these things that I wanted for the song. I had the title ‘You Know My Name’ in my head. And I got that from when he says his iconic line, ‘The name’s Bond. James Bond.’ There’s a formality to that which I really like but I also enjoyed the way that Daniel’s Bond in this film is arrogant and he’s angry and I wanted the song to be a warning from Bond – I don’t think there had been a Bond song from Bond’s perspective before. 007 could be singing this and it’s a warning to his enemies to get out of his way. I love the energy of that. We spent the next week just knocking ideas about. I went to Chris’s apartment and I’d play him what I’d written and he’d play me what he’d written. And the two things just sat next to each other perfectly like they were the same song. We had kind of written half of the same song independently of each other and they slotted together. He had a rough draft of the lyrics which I loved and we just tweaked them over the next day. Then I went back and demoed the song as it was and sent it off to the producers and we got the thumbs up. This theme song and score was important because of the change of character, it had to be the start of something completely different and I think we did that.
The Valentine’s James Bond Quiz
Discover Bond’s romantic side with our special edition Valentine’s 007 Quiz. Featuring a range of themed rounds, you just need to download the questions here. Oh, and don’t forget the martinis.
