Nick Finlayson

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We are very sad to learn that Nick Finlayson has passed away. The Special Effects Technician worked on 10 Bond films – A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Th World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace and Skyfall. Special Effects Supervisor John Richardson said, “He first worked with me on A View To A Kill and together we completed two more Bond films and at least seven other films, including Aliens and the last two of the Harry Potter series. A very clever and talented technician he was an important and valued member of my team. He deservedly earned himself the title of ‘The Real Q’ building many of the iconic Bond gadgets. He had a great sense of humour and he would often devote his time helping and mentoring younger members of the Effects department. He will be sorely missed by all those who knew him and worked with him.”
While Chris Corbould, who worked with Finlayson on all of his 10 Bond films, said: “The film industry has lost one of the true gentlemen in Nick Finlayson. His infectious laugh and beaming smile brightened everybody’s day no matter what else was going on. I worked alongside Nick over many, many years where his ingenuity and expertise created many of the greatest moments in Special Effects history whether it be James Bond, Batman or Lara Croft. I feel privileged to have known and worked with Nick but his legacy will live on through the many technicians he has mentored over the years.”
Our thoughts are with Nick’s friends and family. 

Focus Of The Week: Mr. White

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Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) is a key, influential figure in Quantum, a shadowy organisation connected to the highest centres of political, business and financial power around the world. Also a high-ranking member in crime syndicate Spectre, White is intelligent but quick to betray, undergoing a transformation from Bond’s antagonist to anti-hero.

In Casino Royale (2006), Mr. White brokers a deal between warlord Steven Obanno (Isaach De Bankolé) and Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), private banker to the world’s terrorists. Le Chiffre loses Obanno’s money and enters a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale in an attempt to regain the missing funds.

Although Le Chiffre loses the poker game to Bond, Quantum weave an elaborate plan involving Financial Task Force liaison officer Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to guarantee the winnings end up in their hands. Kidnapped and tortured by Le Chiffre, Bond’s life is saved by White who shoots Le Chiffre just as he is about to execute 007. This is seemingly part of a deal with Lynd to save Bond’s life to secure the casino winnings: White appears to be Lynd’s key contact for Quantum, leading her to believe that her French-Algerian lover Yusef Kabira will be killed should she fail to co-operate.

In Venice, Bond thwarts the plan for Lynd to hand the money to another Quantum operative. Lynd drowns in a sinking Venetian house but not before she has left White’s mobile/cell phone number for Bond to find. 007 tracks White down to an idyllic Italian lakeside villa, calls his mobile and then shoots him in the leg — his introduction (“The name’s Bond. James Bond”) is a calling card to the entire Quantum organisation.

In Quantum Of Solace (2008) Bond drives Mr. White to an MI6 safe house in Siena. White threatens Bond and M that his organisation has people everywhere, including M’s bodyguard Mitchell (Glenn Foster). He escapes and later reappears at a secret Quantum meeting during a performance of Tosca at the opera house in Bregenz, Austria. When Bond makes his presence known, White’s fellow members leave the opera letting 007 take photographs to identify them. White stays in his seat and remains incognito.

Years later (Spectre, 2015), Bond discovers an older, frailer Mr. White during an investigation of SPECTRE — White is dying of thallium poisoning, with only a few weeks to live. On the hunt for a SPECTRE target known only as ‘The Pale King’, Bond identifies White as the designated victim. He tracks him down to Altaussee in the Austrian Alps, provocatively putting down a ring baring the SPECTRE insignia belonging to deceased assassin Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona) who was due to kill White.

White reveals how he increasingly became disillusioned by SPECTRE’s methods and dropped out of the organisation. In retaliation, SPECTRE planted thalium poisoning on his phone, which White grew resistant to so Sciarra was dispatched to murder him. He admits to Bond that he has a daughter, Madeleine (Léa Seydoux), and agrees to give Bond crucial information in return for her safety. Understanding the dangers of going up against SPECTRE, he tells 007, “you’re a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond” before shooting himself with 007’s Walther PPK.

Focus Of The Week: Natalya Simonova

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Resourceful and loyal, GoldenEye’s Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco) is a tier 2 computer programmer for the Russian military in Siberia. Working at the Severnaya Space Weapons Research Centre — which the rest of the world believes is an abandoned radar station — her key role is programming the guidance system for satellites. She has an older sister-younger brother relationship with her colleague Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming), whose childish behaviour consistently irritates her.

When the villainous General Ourumov (Gottfried John) and Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) attack the Severnaya station in a stolen helicopter, Natalya manages to escape through a mixture of good luck and thriving on her wits. The only other survivor is Boris who slips away with Ourumov and Onatopp, all three in league with Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) who is plotting to set off the electromagnetic pulse space weapon GoldenEye to erase any record of a transfer of billions of pounds from the Bank of England.

Natalya travels to St. Petersburg determined to find out who is behind the massacre. As the last known survivor she is on the radar of both Russian Intelligence and Trevelyan’s crime syndicate Janus. Natalya meets Boris in a cathedral, believing him to be innocent but he turns her over to Ourumov.

MI6 dispatch James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) to find her. He saves her life on numerous occasions, first from being trapped in a stolen helicopter thenfrom an exploding armoured train. Using her considerable computer skills, Natalya traces Boris to Cuba, on the journey there the pair become lovers, Natalya pressing on Bond about his cold demeanour. “It’s what keeps me alive,” he says. “No it’s what keeps you alone,” she retorts.

Natalya infiltrates Janus’ secret command centre alongside Bond and reprograms the guidance of Mischa, the second GoldenEye satellite. Boris discovers her hacking and tries to crack the code of her password but to no avail. Mischa burns up the atmosphere, foiling Trevelyan’s plan. Not resting on her laurels, Natalya hijacks a helicopter and rescues Bond, who has killed Trevelyan. The couple land in a field, where they are picked up by marines.

Focus of the Week: Gobinda

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Commanding, extremely loyal and well versed in deadly antique weapons, Gobinda (Kabir Bedi) is a fearsome opponent for James Bond (Roger Moore) in Octopussy (1983). He is in the employment of amoral exiled prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), addressing his boss as “Your excellency”. Saying very little but with an intimidating presence, Gobinda is completely dedicated to eliminating any problem in Kamal Khan’s way.

Gobinda makes his mark on his first meeting with Bond by crushing the dice 007 uses to defeat Khan at backgammon with his bare hands. He subsequently tries to kill Bond on numerous occasions; by firing a blunderbuss at him from a tuk-tuk taxi, by shooting at him during a tiger hunt and attempting to cut him in half with a sword on top of Octopussy (Maud Adams)’s train.

Not to be deterred, Khan and Gobinda hire thugs, led by the nefarious Mufti (Tony Arjuna) to assassinate Bond. Under Gobinda’s directive, the hired hands kill Bond’s Indian contact Vijay (Vijay Amritraj) using a yo-yo saw. Later they employ snorkels disguised as lily pads to cross the lake surrounding Octopussy’s floating palace. Sneaking inside, they try to kill Bond in bed until he notices water dripping from the saw’s blade and evades the attack just in time. In the ensuing fist fight, Bond pulls the assassin over the balcony using the weapon’s cord. The brawl continues in the lake outside the palace until the killer is mauled by a crocodile.

In the final showdown with Kamal Khan on board a Beech 18 aircraft in mid-air, the prince sends Gobinda out of the plane to tackle Bond who is hanging onto the fuselage. During the struggle, 007 pulls back the antenna and whips it into Gobinda’s face. The sting forces the usually implacable henchman to lose his grip and plummet to his death.

Focus Of The Week: Jill Masterson

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Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) makes a brief but memorable appearance in Goldfinger (1964). Bored, adventurous and fun-loving, she begins as an employee of Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) but switches allegiances to 007 — much to her cost.

Bond meets Jill at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami. He is instructed by M (Bernard Lee), via Felix Leiter (Cec Linder), to investigate Goldfinger. Bond notices the crooked bullion dealer is having an incredible streak of luck during a game of gin rummy against Mr. Simmons (Austin Willis) and suspects cheating.

007 sneaks into Goldfinger’s suite to find Jill, lying on a sunbed, spying on Simmons’ hand with high-powered binoculars, relaying useful information about his cards to her boss through a radio and earpiece. Bond commandeers the radio and tells Goldfinger he will inform the Miami Beach police about his foul play unless he starts losing his ill-gotten winnings.

Impressed by Bond, Jill accepts 007’s invitation to dinner in his hotel suite, perhaps seeing a way out of her life with Goldfinger. Yet her feelings of optimism are tragically short lived. When Bond moves to the refrigerator to replenish the champagne (“(My dear girl, there are some things that are just not done, like drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above a temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit”), he is knocked unconscious by Goldfinger’s manservant Oddjob (Harold Sakata).

When he awakes he finds Jill dead in his bed, painted from head to toe in gold. Bond later learns that she has died from skin asphyxiation.

Focus Of The Week: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) was initially going to follow Goldfinger in the run of James Bond films until the team turned their attention to Thunderball (1965). At the start of filming You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery announced his retirement from the role, leaving the filmmakers the challenge of finding a new Bond. One idea considered was to have Bond undergo plastic surgery to fool his enemies but the notion was later discarded. Ultimately, the choice was narrowed down to a shortlist of five actors, who were presented to the public in Life magazine; Hans de Vries, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, John Richardson and George Lazenby. After a lengthy screen testing process, Lazenby won the most coveted role in movies.

“I was actually being Bond in my own life, or trying to be in a similar sense,” recalled Lazenby. “I wasn’t a secret agent or anything but I was trying to be suave and smooth and cool and all that.”

The plot of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service sees Bond’s hunt for Blofeld interrupted by a relationship with Tracy di Vicenzo whom Bond saves from drowning. With the help of Tracy’s father Draco, head of the Unione Corse crime syndicate, Bond tracks down Blofeld to his mountain retreat in Piz Gloria in the Alps. Disguised as Hilary Bray of the College of Arms, Bond discovers Blofeld is brainwashing a group of women to act as his secret agents in biological warfare in order to blackmail world powers. When his secret identity is revealed, Bond escapes and meets Tracy who is later captured by Blofeld after being caught in an avalanche. Bond teams up with Draco and leads a rescue/attack on Piz Gloria. Bond battles Blofeld in a bobsleigh chase, seemingly killing him in the fight. Later, Bond and Tracy marry but Blofeld takes his revenge by killing Tracy in a hail of gunfire meant for Bond.

To play the crucial role of Tracy, the woman who becomes Bond’s wife, the filmmakers chose Diana Rigg, who could switch effortlessly between Shakespeare and action roles such as The Avengers. For Blofeld, director Peter Hunt wanted a more physically imposing actor than before. Telly Savalas, was cast.  Gabriele Ferzetti, an Italian actor who producer Harry Saltzman wanted to play Bond, became Draco. Rounding out the main cast, Ilse Steppat was brought into play Blofeld’s right-hand woman Irma Bunt. Production started in October 1968 but the complicated shoot — complex action sequences, difficult to reach locations and bad weather — saw the shooting schedule become the longest in Bond history. The overruns led to a foot chase across London rooftops being scrapped to save time.

Although the film was a success and time has been kind to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The stunning action sequences and emotional sucker-punch have seen the film become of the most loved 007 films with fans and critics alike.

Focus Of The Week: Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas)

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Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), is a more physically robust presence. Adding to his brilliant criminal mind, he confidently fights, skis and chases 007 down a bobsled track. This mixture of intellect and aggression makes him one of toughest tests Bond (George Lazenby) has ever faced.

Posing as foppish genealogist Sir Hilary Bray, Bond infiltrates Blofeld’s clinical institute at Piz Gloria, an Alp in Switzerland, under the guise of verifying Blofeld’s claim to the title ‘Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp’ – de Bleuchamp being the French form of the Blofeld surname. On arrival, Bond is greeted by 12 beautiful young women from all over the world. They are patients of the institute’s clinic, superficially undergoing unorthodox psychological treatments for food allergies and phobias. In fact, Blofeld is brainwashing the women to unwittingly spread a biological agent to globally render livestock and crops infertile if his demands are not met— collectively they are Blofeld’s Angels Of Death.

Blofeld’s henchwoman Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) captures him on a visit to the bedroom of one of the ‘Angels’. Bond escapes imprisonment and is chased by Blofeld and his enforcers on skis. Bond, meeting up with his lover Tracy (Diana Rigg), evades his captors until the following morning when Blofeld creates an avalanche, sacrificing some of his own men and capturing Tracy. Bond is buried under the snow, but manages to escape.

Blofeld holds the world to ransom with the threat of destroying its agriculture via his deadly Virus Omega. His price is amnesty for all past crimes and recognition of his ‘Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp’ title. While the Prime Minister deems an assault on Piz Gloria too dangerous, Bond realises a smaller scale attack on Piz Gloria’s radio complex will foil Blofeld’s plot. Bond contacts crime boss and future father-in-law Draco (Gabrielle Ferzetti) to arrange a raid by helicopter to destroy the facility and rescue Tracy.

As Piz Gloria is destroyed by Draco’s attack team, Blofeld escapes in a bobsled with Bond giving chase. Bond leaps onto Blofeld’s bobsled after his own vehicle is destroyed by a hand grenade. In the ensuing fist fight, Blofeld is snared by the neck in overhanging tree branches, ripping him out of the bobsled and seemingly killing him.

Yet it is not the last of Blofeld. Following Bond’s marriage to Tracy in Portugal, the happy couple stop to remove wedding decorations from their car. A silver Mercedes sedan driven by Blofeld, now in a neck brace, drives past; Irma Bunt leans out of a rear window with a machine gun and shoots Tracy, killing her instantly. Blofeld speeds off to fight another day.

 

 

Focus Of The Week: Quarrel

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In the first 007 adventure, Dr. No (1962), Quarrel (John Kitzmiller) is the most expensive fisherman in Kingston Jamaica who provides Bond (Sean Connery) with vital help during his investigation of murdered secret service representative John Strangways (Timothy Moxon). Quarrel is an excellent seaman and good navigator, with an in-depth — if gullible — knowledge of local customs and myths.

Before Bond arrives in Jamaica, Quarrel helped Strangways collect rock samples from Crab Key — Quarrel believes the local legend suggesting the island is inhabited by a fire-breathing dragon after friends visited and never returned. Providing the agent with a link to Strangways, 007 visits him on his boat and recognises him as the man who followed him on his arrival in Jamaica. Quarrel evades Bond’s questions so 007 tails him to a restaurant. In a back room. Quarrel pulls a knife on the secret agent. Bond gets the upper hand in a tussle until CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) steps in and explains they are all on the same side.

Quarrel shows Bond where he had put the rock samples he has collected with Strangways in his boat. The boat emits a high Geiger radiation reading and confirms Bond’s suspicions about Crab Key, the home of Dr. No. Bond asks Quarrel to take him to Crab Key. Quarrel is initially reluctant due to the folklore surrounding the dragon but ultimately agrees.

The following morning after a night time arrival, the pair meet Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) who is diving for rare shells. Quarrel hears a boat approaching so the trio hide as the patrol starts firing at Honey’s canoe announcing they will be back with dogs. Honey shows Bond and Quarrel a hiding place in the river. Quarrel cuts some hollow bamboo sticks so that they can breathe underwater and remain undetected by the dogs. After the boat has passed, they continue up river in a swamp until Quarrel comes face to face with his greatest fear; the dragon or in reality a swamp vehicle equipped with a flame-thrower which sends him to a grisly end.

 

 

 

Focus Of The Week: Paris Carver

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An old flame of James Bond (Pierce Brosnan), Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997) Paris Carver (Teri Hatcher) is the sophisticated, cosmopolitan yet unhappy trophy wife of British media baron Elliott Carver (Jonathan Pryce). MI6 believes Carver is orchestrating a war between England and China to boost the ratings of his news outlets. M sends 007 to investigate, instructing him to play on Paris’ feelings for him to discover more about Elliott’s plans.

Bond and Paris re-meet at a party in Hamburg celebrating the launch of her husband’s new global satellite network. She slaps Bond hard across the face when she sees him again, to the shock of the guests. “Was it something I said?” he asks. “How about the words, ‘I’ll be right back,’” she retorts.

Paris has changed over the years but she remembers Bond very well, pointedly asking him if he still sleeps with a gun under his pillow. A jealous Carver asks his wife how she knows Bond. Thinking quickly on her feet, she lies, telling him Bond dated her room mate during her days in Zurich and she barely knew him. Through video footage at the party, Carver sees Paris deep in conversation with Bond from earlier in the evening and decides to keep tabs on his wife.

Later, Paris turns up at Bond’s hotel room, admitting she used to check the newspapers for his obituary. In turn, Bond reveals the reason he left the relationship was because it was becoming “too close for comfort”. The two spend a passionate evening together. Crucially, Paris helps Bond discover the location of her husband’s secret laboratory.

When he learns of this betrayal, Carver dispatches sadistic hitman Dr. Kaufmann (Vincent Schiavelli) to assassinate her. Bond returns to the hotel room to find Paris still in his bed — dead. Dr. Kaufmann then confronts Bond who turns the tables and uses his mobile phone to stun Kaufmann with 20,000 volts before shooting him with his own gun. 007 finally avenges Paris’ murder and completes his mission by killing Elliott Carver with a powerful sea drill.

 

Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale

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Secret Cinema are creating a spectacular experience, around the critically-acclaimed film Casino Royale (2006) directed by Martin Campbell and starring Daniel Craig as James Bond. Opening on 15th May 2019 and running into the summer, a secret London location will be transformed into the glamorous and action-packed world of the iconic British spy. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, the experience will bring-to-life awe-inspiring scenes and locations.

Tickets will go on sale at 12:00 (GMT) on 6th December 2018. The experience will run between Wednesday – Sunday each week, with tickets priced between £40 – £175 plus booking fees.

Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale will see audience members recruited as part of ‘Operation Wild Card’. New recruits will join either Q Branch or M Branch. Prior to their mission, they will receive an alias, dress code and training suggestions to help them prepare for a night of high stakes, sophistication and deception. Do you have what it takes?

For over a decade, Secret Cinema has thrilled audiences with its ground-breaking event format that combines film, music, art, and theatre through the prism of iconic and beloved films. This production will be the largest and most ambitious indoor event that Secret Cinema has ever produced, with an audience of 1,500 taking part in the show each night.

Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale will celebrate two British cultural institutions collaborating for the very first time, delivering a completely unique, immersive film experience that promises to be one of the highlights of the arts calendar during 2019.

Angus Jackson, Creative Director of Secret Cinema presents Casino Royale said:“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring-to-life such an iconic film franchise and character. Casino Royale is a rich territory for us to explore from the characters to the plot and locations. Our audience will be given the opportunity to understand what it takes to embody modern espionage – bringing them closer to the Bond experience than ever before.”

Martin Campbell, Director of Casino Royale said: “I’m excited that Casino Royale is going to be brought to life by Secret Cinema. I hear it’s a wonderful immersive experience, and judging by its past reactions, it’s going to present the film in a way that it’s never been seen before. I can’t wait!”

Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale tickets will go on sale at 12:00 (GMT) on 6th December 2018. Prices start at £40 + booking fee with VIP packages from £125+ booking fee also available.

Full details and tickets can be found at tickets.secretcinema.org.Follow the story across social media using the hashtags #TrustNoOne

Focus Of The Week: You Only Live Twice Volcano Finale

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You Only Live Twice (1967) was the most epic 007 adventure to date, reflecting the increased global success of the franchise. With James Bond (Sean Connery) trying to foil Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence)’s plot to orchestrate nuclear war between Russia and America, the climax sees Bond, Japanese secret service agents Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba) and Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama) plus a crack team of ninjas infiltrate Blofeld’s base hidden inside a dormant volcano. What follows is one of the most spectacular and influential action set-pieces in the series built around an iconic set by legendary Production Designer Ken Adam.

The filmmakers searched Japan for a coastal castle, inspired by the one in Fleming’s novel, to be the location for Blofeld’s lair. After considerable searching, a guide told the production team that there are no castles by the sea in Japan. Instead, they found a volcanic area on Kyushu, the Southern Island of Japan that contained the unusual dramatic feature of eight volcanoes all next to each other. A dinner that night among key crew decided that Blofeld’s base would be relocated inside an extinct volcano.

“The challenge appealed to me,” said Adam. “When I had done two or three sketches, Cubby said, ‘Looks interesting. How much is it going to cost?’ I knew it was going to be a gigantic set but I had no idea. I quoted about a million dollars. That was an enormous amount of money. Cubby didn’t blink an eye. ‘If you can do it for a million go ahead.’ And then my worries started…” When executives from United Artists came to visit they pointed out that this one set cost as much as DR. NO.

The statistics behind the set were impressive: 200ft across, 55 feet high on the side (rising on a slope to 125ft), 70ft in diameter. It comprised of 700 tons of steelwork and took 50 plasterers and 60 riggers working day and night. Ken Adam remembered they were working “under very dangerous conditions. It was wintry. They were working 120 feet in the air on the sloping lake, trying to fibreglass the whole structure. They had safety belts on but they were sliding all over the place. One night my wife and I climbed up with two bottles of brandy to keep them warm.”

The sheer size of the set provided other challenges beyond construction. Academy Award-winning cinematographer Freddie Young had to use practically every light at Pinewood studios to illuminate such a huge area for the wide shots. The space also created uncomfortable working conditions for the actors. “The volcano was absolutely freezing cold,” said Director Lewis Gilbert. “I thought ‘My God, we’re going to have a blue leading lady!’”

As the main unit shot in the control room, the stunt team would line up shots in the volcano. The script called for Tanaka’s ninjas to abseil from the top of the set, a 12-storey drop. 10 Japanese ninjas and 100 stuntmen made the descent. Future Bond second unit director Vic Armstrong became the first to make the drop.

“The roof was about four feet above the beams so you had to crawl along the beams bent over double with your backside sticking out over 125ft of nothing, get to your rope which you grasped very strongly, then wrap your hose pipe around it, and just launch yourself into space,” recalled Armstrong. “As you got near the bottom, you turned on the hose pipe like a brake shoe using both hands.”

The sequence also marked an important moment in 007 history. On December 2 1966, Sean Connery finished principal photography on You Only Live Twice shooting a fight with Blofeld’s henchman (Ronald Rich). It marked the end of his five-film run. Connery said goodbye to James Bond, if only briefly — as he returned for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971.

Ricky Jay (1946-2018)

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American actor and magician Ricky Jay has passed away. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: “We are sad to hear of the passing of the very talented and lovely Ricky Jay, who appeared as Henry Gupta in Tomorrow Never Dies. We send our condolences to his family friends and fans.”