Focus Of The Week: Jinx

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NSA agent Giacinta Johnson (Halle Berry), nicknamed Jinx because she was born on Friday 13th, teams up with James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in Die Another Day (2002) to prevent Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) from using his Icarus satellite superweapon to turn North Korea into a new superpower.

In Los Organos, Cuba, Jinx discovers that escaped North Korean terrorist Zao (Rick Yune) is secretly being treated at a clinic run by Dr. Alvarez (Simón Andreu), a DNA replacement therapy specialist. Emerging from the sea, Jinx catches Bond’s eye in a bright bikini and knife belt. Costume Designer Lindy Hemming on the design of the bikini: “We wanted to pay homage to the Ursula Andress bikini and we came up with this electric orange, very revealing and sexy bikini and a very beautifully crafted diving belt.”

After spending the night with Bond, Jinx assassinates Dr. Alvarez and makes a back-up disk of the files on his computer. She then programmes a cell phone bomb to destroy the clinic. After a failed attempt to assassinate Zao, she escapes by back diving 200ft into the sea and climbing onto a waiting powerboat.

Under the alias Miss Swift, Jinx travels to Iceland to investigate Gustav Graves, attending the unveiling of his Icarus satellite. Bond later rescues her from being burned to death by a diamond-cutting laser and saves her from drowning inside Grave’s melting Ice Palace.

Jinx and 007 join forces to disable the Icarus satellite weapon. The pair enter North Korea on switch blades and then parachute near an airfield where they sneak aboard an Antonov transport plane, from which Graves and three North Korean generals plan to oversee Icarus’s destruction of South Korea’s defences. After the plane depressurises, Jinx flies the plane into the beam of the Icarus satellite, destroying the satellite’s control mechanism. In a battle with Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike), Jinx manages to overcome the double agent by stabbing her in the heart with her throwing knife, which is ironically stuck in the Art of War book.

Focus Of The Week: Ian Fleming On 007 Films

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In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, while staying at his Jamaican home, Goldeneye. It was a project inspired by his time as personal assistant to Admiral John Godfrey, director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty during the Second World War.  Fleming’s imagination, forthrightness, and eye for detail helped shape many important intelligence missions during the war. Prevented from talking about his time in intelligence by the Official Secrets Act, Fleming turned to fiction to relive the excitement of that secret life.

The exotic lifestyle in the Bond novels made them a success with Britons who, having just come through a world war were living in a time of great austerity. The charismatic character of James Bond was an obvious candidate to be adapted to other media like TV, comic scripts and film. After a previously failed attempt at creating a Bond film, Fleming let Producer Harry Saltzman option the Bond film and television rights. If Saltzman could bring some of the serious minded, psychological complexities seen in his previous films, a film adaptation of Bond could be a success. Saltzman now needed to find a studio and secure financing.

Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli had been attempting to secure the rights to the Bond novels for some years without success. Meeting through a mutual friend, Saltzman and Broccoli agreed to go into business together and produce the Bond films as EON Productions. With an agreement in place with United Artists, they made the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962).

Passing away just weeks before the premiere of Goldfinger (1964), Fleming lived to see two of the 24 Bond films that were inspired by his novels, Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963) become an enormous success.

Focus Of The Week: René Mathis

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In Casino Royale, René Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) is 007’s (Daniel Craig) contact in Montenegro. Unable to outbid international criminal Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) for the Chief of Police’s services, Mathis arranges for the Chief’s arrest.

Mathis gives Bond a bugging device that Bond slips into Le Chiffre’s inhaler. Mathis also knows the rules of Texas Hold ‘Em poker well enough to explain the game to Treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).

When Bond tries to rescue the kidnapped Vesper, Le Chiffre captures him and remarks, “your friend Mathis is really my friend Mathis.” This is a lie told to conceal that Vesper is the real traitor. After Bond survives Le Chiffre’s torture, his suspicions intensify when Mathis tries to extract information from him as he recovers. Two MI6 agents taser Mathis and drag him away. After Vesper’s betrayal, M suggests to Bond that Vesper’s actions cleared Mathis of suspicion. Bond tells M to keep “sweating him.”

After much interrogation, MI6 clears Mathis, purchasing him a villa in Talamone, Italy, which he shares with a lady friend named Gemma. When Bond arrives and inquires about Bolivia, Mathis reveals he was stationed in South America for seven years.

In La Paz, Mathis contacts an old friend, Carlos (Fernando Guillén Cuervo), Bolivian National Police Force Colonel. Mathis is unaware, however, that Carlos is in league with Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) and General Medrano’s (Joaquín Cosío) plot to take over the Bolivian government. Two of Carlos’s officers shoot Mathis, intending to pin the murder on Bond, but Bond dispatches the officers. As he dies, Mathis tells Bond to forgive Vesper – “She gave everything for you” – and also to forgive himself. Determined to suppress his grief at Mathis’s death so as not to compromise his mission, Bond leaves his friend’s body in a dumpster and takes money from his wallet. “He wouldn’t care,” Bond explains to Camille (Olga Kurylenko).

New Bond Cinematic Installation Announced

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A unique James Bond cinematic installation will open this winter at the top of the Gaislachkogl Mountain next to the ICE Q Restaurant in Sölden, Austria. The iconic location was used in Spectre as the Hoffler Klinik and formed part of the snow chase sequence in the film.

Cable Car Companies Sölden is creating a bespoke new building to house the 007 installation, embedded into the top of the mountain, designed and built by award-winning architect Johann Obermoser. The innovative, dynamic space is inspired by the work of visionary James Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam.

The concept for the installation has been designed and developed by Creative Director and James Bond Art Director Neal Callow (Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre) together with Optimist Inc. Head of Design Tino Schaedler and his team.

The name of the cinematic installation and further details about the visitor experience will be released later this year.

Focus Of The Week: The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage

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With a budget higher than any Bond film before it, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) featured some of the most impressive sets seen in the franchise. Renowned Production Designer Ken Adam broke new ground in design with the sets he created. However, no stage or location could be found big enough for the interior of the Liparus, Stromberg’s supertanker, so Adam designed a permanent stage at Pinewood Studios in the UK.

Built in just 13 weeks including the tanker interior, the 007 Stage became the largest film stage in the world. It opened with great fanfare in 1976, attended by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

In June 1984, disaster struck when the 007 Stage burned down during filming of Legend (1985). With production due to start on A View To A Kill (1985) and a key set build scheduled for the 007 Stage, EON Productions set about rebuilding the stage. Its reopening on January 7th 1985 was celebrated with a special ceremony. Pinewood renamed it the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage in honour of the Producer’s contribution to the British film industry.

In 2006, at the end of production for Casino Royale, there was another fire on the Albert R. Broccoli Stage. It was rebuilt once again and remains, to this day, one of the world’s largest stages. Since it was first built, it has been the home to many of the most impressive sets seen in the Bond films including, the Monsoon Palace courtyard in Octopussy (1983), Die Another Day’s (2002) Ice Palace, the interior of the collapsing Venetian villa in Casino Royale (2006), the interior of the Perla De las Dunas Hotel in Quantum Of Solace (2008), the underground tunnels and train crash in Skyfall (2012) and Spectre’s (2015) Westminster Bridge set.

 

Focus Of The Week: Tracy Di Vicenzo

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In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Bond (George Lazenby) first meets Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) when she is at her very lowest point, attempting suicide walking into the sea in Portugal. Bond saves her but she soon flees. In the casino at Estoril, she recklessly gambles with money she does not have, and Bond volunteers to cover her losses. They later meet in 007’s suite.

The next morning Tracy’s father, the head of the biggest European crime syndicate Union Corse, Marc Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti) kidnapped Bond. It is here that Tracy’s father reveals her troubled past to Bond and offers him information on Blofeld in return for Bond spending time with Tracy.

Tracy and Bond meet again at her father’s birthday celebrations. There, she discovers her father’s arrangement. Angry, Tracy nearly leaves, but Bond confirms his feelings for her are genuine. They remain together until Bond disappears on assignment to Switzerland to find Blofeld.

Tracy pries his location out of her father and rescues James from Irma Bunt and a host of SPECTRE killers. During a blizzard, Bond and Tracy take refuge in a barn, where Bond proposes marriage. The next morning, Blofeld captures Tracy and holds her prisoner at his clinic, Piz Gloria, until her father and 007 arrive, rescue her, and destroy Blofeld’s labs.

Bond returns to Portugal and buys Tracy an engagement ring. At their wedding, Draco offers Bond a dowry of £1 million, but 007 refuses. Leaving on their honeymoon, Tracy expresses her desire to have three boys and three girls. Bond tells Tracy, “We have all the time in the world.” A Mercedes approaches with Blofeld at the wheel. From the rear window, Irma Bunt fires nine shots from an MP40 submachine gun. One bullet hits Tracy, killing her instantly. Her death remains one of Bond’s few unhealed wounds.

OMEGA Release New Watch Inspired By Bond

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At an event last night at London’s Tate Britain gallery, Swiss watchmaker OMEGA unveiled a new timepiece that celebrates the rank and regalia of James Bond. Known as the Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” Limited Edition, OMEGA President and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann revealed the watch alongside Bond film producer Michael G. Wilson and Samantha Bond (Moneypenny).

2017 marks three noteworthy anniversaries for Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios’ (MGM) Bond franchise including: the 50th anniversary of You Only Live Twice; the 40th anniversary of The Spy Who Loved Me; and the 20th anniversary of Tomorrow Never Dies. In each of these films, James Bond can be seen wearing his official military uniform.

To celebrate these anniversaries, OMEGA have created a unique watch design inspired by the red, white and blue colours of the Royal Navy as well as the Commander’s insignia itself. Presented on a NATO strap with an additional metal bracelet, the stainless steel version is limited to 7,007 pieces and the 18K yellow gold version to just seven pieces.

OMEGA has been the choice of James Bond since 1995, when the spy first wore a Seamaster watch in the film GoldenEye. Since then, the character and OMEGA have shared every on-screen adventure together. A Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” Limited Edition will be on display at Bond In Motion in London alongside Commander Bond’s costume from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Focus Of The Week: The Spy Who Loved Me

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The Spy Who Loved Me became Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli’s first Bond film as sole producer. Its success helped define the legacy of one of the film industry’s most beloved figures.

In Spring 1975, Broccoli, Harry Saltzman and Director Guy Hamilton began preparing the tenth Bond film. For the first time, the filmmakers only had a title, as Ian Fleming did not wish this novel to be used for a film plot. Many talented writers worked at developing a story, including Richard Maibaum, author Anthony Burgess and writer/director John Landis.

Delays to pre-production, partly due to Harry Saltzman having to sell his share of EON Productions to United Artists, meant Guy Hamilton left the project. Broccoli sought out You Only Live Twice Director Lewis Gilbert. Gilbert brought in Christopher Wood to complete the screenplay. He also brought John Glen on board as an editor and additional unit director. Gilbert introduced the key script element of Bond killing Anya Amasova’s lover, helping to create a solid story underpinning the action.

German actor Curt Jurgens landed the role of antagonist Karl Stromberg. An assistant saw Richard Kiel on an American TV series and suggested him for the part of Jaws. The filmmakers searched for an appropriate actress to play Anya Amasova. When United Artists Executive Danton Rissner asked if there was a small role for his friend Barbara Bach, he was surprised to discover that Broccoli wanted her to take the lead.

A TV advert for Canadian Club featuring a skier sailing off El Capitan in California and then unfurling a parachute to land safely inspired the opening sequence. Research showed the ad was faked, but the parachutist, Rick Sylvester, said the stunt could be done on Baffin Island. Weather threatened to put an end to the stunt, but finally the winds died down and the clouds parted. Out of the three cameras rolling, fortunately one captured the shot.

In Egypt, despite filming at some of the greatest temples along the Nile, the day-to-day needs of the production were often difficult to meet. Broccoli earned great goodwill by finding the supplies to cook a homemade pasta dinner for the cast and crew.

Sardinia provided the perfect backdrop for second unit director Ernie Day to film much of the car chase with the Lotus Esprit. Special Visual Effects Supervisor Derek Meddings made a shell car to be fired into the sea from an air cannon. In the clear waters of the Bahamas, three additional cars showed the Lotus transforming into a submarine. Perry Oceanographics built a fifth effects Lotus, a true submarine in the shape of an Esprit, for the Nassau shoot. Meddings supervised a cable pulling a final Lotus body onto a Sardinian beach to end the scene. Meddings also built models of the Liparus supertanker and Stromberg’s Atlantis laboratory, both shot in the Bahamas.

At Pinewoood, Production Designer Ken Adam broke new ground with sets that deftly combined sweeping curves, burnished metal finishes and beautiful antiques. Yet no stage or location could be found for the interior of the Liparus, so Adam designed a permanent stage at Pinewood. Built in only 13 weeks, including the interior tanker set, the 007 Stage became the largest film stage in the world.

John Barry was unavailable to score the film and suggested Marvin Hamlisch. Hamlisch wanted to create a big sound in keeping with the 007 style created by Barry. The title song was named “Nobody Does It Better” by lyricist Carole Bayer Sager,  a phrase that still defines Bond. The song reached #2 in the US and #7 in the UK. Both song and score earned Academy Award nominations, as did the art direction.

With a budget higher than any Bond film before it, Roger Moore’s third outing as 007 became a tremendous box office success and a touchstone film in the Bond series.

Mallorca Pays Tribute To Guy Hamilton

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An homage to the late British director, Guy Hamilton, known for his James Bond films and other movie classics, took place on the island of Mallorca this week as part of the Atlantida Film Festival. The filmmaker filmed, fell in love with and retired on the Spanish island.

Hamilton directed four James Bond films: Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live And Let Die (1973) and The Man With The Golden Gun (1974).

The opening gala was held at the Bellver Castle overlooking Palma bay, various actors and filmmakers who worked with Hamilton attended, including Britt Ekland (The Man With The Golden Gun).

Sir Roger Moore, who starred in two of the James Bond films directed by Guy Hamilton, had sent a personal note to be read during the homage. The beloved British actor, who passed away on May 23, was remembered at the festival events and the opening gala. In his note Moore said: “He knew how to deliver the perfect balance of suspense, drama, surprise, action and humour. On top of all that, he was also a lovely man and we enjoyed many happy days, weeks and months together on and off set… Guy had a lovely sense of humour, and with me around he certainly needed it.”

Producer Michael G. Wilson speaking at the event said: “He will always remain in our hearts as a wonderful friend and collaborator. We thank his family for this opportunity to celebrate the life of a brilliant man and magnificent filmmaker.”

The gala also included a clips tribute and a live concert by the “Chamber Film Orchestra”, featuring some of the soundtracks of films directed by Hamilton.

Focus Of The Week: The Living Daylights

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The Living Daylights, the 15th Bond film, offered a slight change of direction for the series, exploring the character of 007 further and the dramatic potential in the James Bond stories.

Once the decision came from producer Cubby Broccoli to recast the role of James Bond, Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum began working on story ideas. They turned to the Ian Fleming short story The Living Daylights as a launching point for the script. As inspiration for the character of Koskov, the writers looked to the real-life story of a KGB officer who defected to the CIA for a short time in 1985, then re-defected to the Soviet Union. Leadership changes in the Soviet Union helped define the story and the war in Afghanistan provided a unique setting.

As the script took shape, Bond screen tests continued. With some shifts to the shooting schedule, top choice Timothy Dalton was able to take the role.

Second unit filming began in Gibraltar on September 17, 1986. When Dalton later joined the Gibraltar second unit, he impressed everyone by performing many of his own stunts atop a speeding Land Rover.

Production moved to Vienna where a major press conference introduced the new James Bond to the world. Director John Glen and his crew filmed in a number of famous Viennese locations before moving to Morocco, shooting in the Forbes Museum in Tangier. They also shot exteriors in the city, including the rooftop chase when Bond eludes the Moroccan police. Filming continued in Ouarzazate, the location doubling for the Soviet airbase in Afghanistan. When the crew returned to Pinewood Studios, Prince Charles and Princess Diana paid a visit to the set in December.

In Weissensee, Austria, 007’s new Aston Martin performed a chase on an ice lake. Glen suggested that, at the end of the sequence, Bond and Kara should abandon the crashed car and use Kara’s cello case as a sled to escape across the border. The case was made of fibreglass, had skis on the bottom and control handles on the sides. Special effects supervisor John Richardson; “As long as you made sure there was nothing at the bottom of the hill they were liable to crash into, it was actually quite fun to ride it down.”

Filming wrapped at Pinewood Studios on February 13, 1987. One week later, Producer Cubby Broccoli was awarded an honorary Order of the British Empire.

Composer John Barry returned to score his 11th and final film score. Barry fittingly made a cameo as a conductor at the end of the film, an appearance that served as a coda to his career with 007.

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS was a worldwide smash when released in the summer of 1987. Cubby Broccoli on Timothy Dalton; “I was impressed by the way Timothy took to the new James Bond. He was a rare sample of a vanishing breed: a gentleman actor with a highly tolerable ego. I think he was smart in having no preconceptions based on what Sean and Roger had done before him. He was his own man and played Bond that way. In the end, he received critical approval and most observers agreed he gave the role an exciting new dimension, which is what we set out to achieve.”

The hero cello sled that John Richardson refers to is on display with the Aston Martin V8 at the Bond in Motion exhibition, London Film Museum. londonfilmmuseum.com

Focus Of The Week: Rolls Royce Phantom III

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The Rolls-Royce is one of the most elegant and luxurious of all cars and a key vehicle in the world of James Bond. In Goldfinger (1964), Bond (Sean Connery) attaches a homing device to the trunk of Auric Goldfinger’s (Gert Fröbe) 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III, allowing Bond to use his Aston Martin DB5’s tracking system to follow Goldfinger from England to Switzerland. Bond soon discovers how Goldfinger smuggles his gold overseas: the bodywork of his Rolls is 24-karat gold.

The 1937 vehicle is thought to have been custom-built for the Rt. Hon Lord Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey. With custom-made coachwork and a V12 engine, the Rolls weighs in at almost 8,000lb.

You can see Goldfinger’s Rolls-Royce at Bond in Motion londonfilmmuseum.com/

Focus Of The Week: You Only Live Twice

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Producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman wanted You Only Live Twice to surpass the expectations of an audience flush with a glut of Bond competitors in movie theatres and on television. Initially, Broccoli and Saltzman hired television writer Harold Jack Bloom to adapt Fleming’s novel. They then invited famed short-story writer Roald Dahl, who had been friends with Fleming and shared story ideas with him over the years, to write the final script. By 1966, the development of the script had become a group effort. They created the most fantasy-laden Bond adventure of the 1960s, an epic film that reflected the immense global success of 007.

To direct the film, Broccoli called Lewis Gilbert, who had recently won many accolades for Alfie (1966). Gilbert’s expertise with epic films proved he could handle a production the size of a Bond adventure.

The filmmakers hired English-speaking Japanese actor Tetsuro Tamba to play Tiger Tanaka. German actress Karin Dor took the role of the leading villainess, Helga Brandt. Two leading Japanese actresses, Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama played Aki and Kissy respectively. For the important role of Blofeld, the filmmakers initially cast Czech actor Jan Werich, but shortly after filming began, Gilbert suggested replacing him with a more sinister-looking figure, and Donald Pleasence took the part. Pleasence wore a disfiguring scar on his face, with grafted skin stretched partially over one eye to complete the eerie look.

Production designer Ken Adam played a key role in the film’s development, traveling to Japan with Broccoli, Saltzman, and Gilbert for location scouting. In Tokyo, they ran into former Bond editor Peter Hunt. Seizing the moment, Broccoli talked Hunt into returning as a second unit director.

While location scouting in Japan by helicopter, the filmmakers spotted a string of volcanoes. Broccoli suggested that the villain could be hiding a rocket base inside one of them. Ken Adam soon drew up plans for the largest enclosed set ever built, Blofeld’s volcano rocket base, which would tower 120ft over Pinewood Studios in England. The set required more structural steel than the London Hilton, housed a working monorail and had a retractable roof large enough to allow a helicopter to fly in and out.

The battle in Blofeld’s volcano proved a major challenge. First, the Academy Award-winning cinematographer Freddie Young had to light an area spanning more than 450ft for the wide shots. He needed virtually every light at Pinewood Studios to do it. The script called for invading Japanese ninjas to abseil down ropes from the top of the set, a 12-story drop. Future Bond second unit director Vic Armstong, using a piece of rubber tubing around the rope to slow his descent, became the first to make the drop.

John Barry returned to score the film, penning a haunting title song performed by Nancy Sinatra with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.

The film was a triumph at the box office and represented the culmination of a period of remarkable productivity for Broccoli and Saltzman. In just over four years and half years, the Producers had premiered five 007 adventures, creating a phenomenon unequalled in film history.