Sir Roger Moore Films Return

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To celebrate the life of Sir Roger Moore, special screenings of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only will be taking place at cinemas from 31 May.

The newly restored 4K versions of both films will be screened in aid of UNICEF. As a Goodwill Ambassador, Sir Roger had been a dedicated and passionate supporter of UNICEF since 1991.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: “In honour of Sir Roger Moore, we are delighted these Bond screenings will benefit UNICEF which was the charity closest to his heart.”

Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MGM added “Sir Roger Moore left an indelible imprint on audiences worldwide. There is no better way to remember Roger’s legacy than bringing back his iconic performances as James Bond to cinemas across the world while aiding UNICEF, the charity he steadfastly supported.”

Details of the screenings can be found at www.parkcircus.com

007 Tributes To Sir Roger Moore

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The actors who have played James Bond have given their tributes to Sir Roger Moore following his passing on Tuesday.

Sir Sean Connery, said in a statement: “I was very sad to hear of Roger’s passing. We had an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards that was filled with jokes and laughter, I will miss him.”

George Lazenby, who starred in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, said: “I liked Roger, he was a genuine fellow, a really good guy.”

Timothy Dalton who took over the role of 007 from Moore said: “I knew Roger as a kind and generous man. He was a wonderfully engaging and successful actor. My thoughts are with his family.”

Pierce Brosnan, posted a message on his Facebook page: “Dear Sir Roger Moore. It is indeed with a heavy heart that I hear the news of your passing this morning. You were a big part of my life, from The Saint to James Bond… you were a magnificent James Bond and one that lead the way for me, the world will miss you and your unique sense of humor for years to come. My sincerest condolences to your family and children. RIP.”

Daniel Craig shared a photograph poignantly captioned: “Nobody Does it Better.”

Sir Roger Moore 1927-2017

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Sir Roger Moore has died at the age of 89. He played 007 in seven Bond films including Live And Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have released the following statement: “We are heartbroken at the news of Sir Roger Moore’s passing. On the screen, he reinvented the role of James Bond with tremendous skill, charisma and humour. In real life, he was a genuine hero working as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for many years dedicating his life to alleviating the suffering of children all over the world. He was a loyal and beloved friend and his legacy shall live on through his films and the millions of lives he touched. We shall miss him enormously. Our love and thoughts are with Deborah, Geoffrey, Christian his grandchildren and his wife Kristina.”

“I am deeply saddened by the news of Roger Moore’s passing. Roger was a beloved part of the MGM family for decades and leaves behind a legacy of iconic film and television performances that will be revered for generations to come. His suave sophistication in his defining role as James Bond was matched only by his generosity and kindness. He bettered the lives of countless individuals around the world through his long-standing involvement with UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador. Roger will be sorely missed but always remembered, and our thoughts are with his family,” says Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

A worldwide star before being cast as Bond, Roger Moore’s easy sense of grace and natural charisma made the cinematic 007 an unparalleled success in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Stockwell, South London, Moore took a number of small acting roles before joining the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where one of his classmates was Lois Maxwell, the future Miss Moneypenny.

After a short stint in military service, Moore starred in numerous film and television productions throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s including the memorable and successful TV series’ The Saint and The Persuaders! In 1972 he took on the role of James Bond with his first outing being Live And Let Die. He went on to star in six more Bond films, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View To A Kill.

He became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1991 and in 1999 he was awarded a CBE, and then in 2003 a knighthood for his charity work. Roger passed away after a short illness, he is survived by his wife Kristina and three children.

Focus Of The Week: Scaramanga

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Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) known as The Man With The Golden Gun, plans to auction the world’s most efficient solar energy system to the highest bidder. Already the world’s highest paid assassin, Scaramanga schemes to transform himself into an immensely powerful underworld figure.

Scaramanga grew up in the circus where he gained a reputation as a trick shot artist and after murdering a cruel elephant handler he decided to devote his life to the “art” of murder. The KGB recruited and trained Scaramanga, turning him into an overworked and underpaid assassin. He left the Soviets, offering his services to anyone who could afford his price – one million dollars a kill. No known photographs of him exist but he has one distinguishing feature – a third nipple.

Scaramanga kills his victims with gold bullets and uses a number of golden guns, including one made from seemingly innocuous objects – a lighter, a pen, a cigarette case, and a cuff link. Living on a remote island in Chinese waters with his valet Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize) and mistress Andrea Anders (Maud Adams), Scaramanga hones his assassin skills by instructing Nick Nack to bring in hitmen to engage him in shootouts. They took place in a specifically designed fun house maze which contains a lifelike mannequin of Bond, the only man Scaramanga sees as a peer. Scaramanga becomes corrupt industrialist Hai Fat’s junior partner in a scheme to monopolize a new solar energy process designed by British scientist Gibson. Unknown to Scaramanga, Anders wants him dead, and she sends the British Secret Service a golden bullet inscribed “007,” hoping Bond will be dispatched to kill him. When Gibson attempts to re-defect to the British using the Solex Agitator (the key to converting solar energy into electricity), Scaramanga assassinates him. This act launches Bond on Scaramanga’s trail. Scaramanga then kills Hai Fat to consolidate his position as lone controller of the solar technology. He murders Anders for betraying him, kidnaps Bond’s assistant, Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland), and sets up a showdown with Bond.

Bond tracks Scaramanga to his island, where a duel between the two occurs. Scaramanga leads Bond on a chase through Nick Nack’s fun house, but Bond outwits him by posing as his own mannequin and shooting him.

Chris Cornell 1964-2017

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Musician and singer Chris Cornell has died at the age of 52. Producer Barbara Broccoli says: “Chris Cornell ushered in the new era of Bond with his adrenaline fuelled song “You Know My Name” for Casino Royale. He was a gentleman and a true artist and we loved every moment of our collaboration with him. Michael and I and the entire Bond family mourn his tragic loss.”

Casino Royale Concert

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This September, at the Royal Albert Hall, Casino Royale, the 21st Bond film in the series, will be screened for the first time with the score performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra as part of the venue’s ‘Films in Concert’ series. The Orchestra will be conducted by Gavin Greenaway.

Casino Royale composer, David Arnold, who has scored five Bond films, will discuss his collaboration with the 007 franchise in a pre-concert question and answer session. The composer said: “I couldn’t be more excited to be presenting the score to Casino Royale live to picture. It was a labour of love – as were all my Bond scores – and I’m looking forward to sharing it at this iconic venue.”

Casino Royale in Concert is the first installment in a brand new James Bond Concert Series, produced by Film Concerts Live!, in association with EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM).

Tickets priced £35-80 are on sale at www.royalalberthall.com

Listings info:

Casino Royale at the Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP

Saturday 30 September, 2:30pm and 7:30pm

Plus new date, Sunday 1 October

 

Focus Of The Week: Pierce Brosnan

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Pierce Brosnan successfully brought James Bond into the 1990’s and the 21st Century. His portrayal of 007 in 1995’s GoldenEye ensured Bond’s relevance after the end of the Cold War and the success of Die Another Day in 2002 showed 007’s enduring appeal after 9/11.

Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born in Ireland in 1953. On the day Ian Fleming died, August 12 1964, eleven-year-old Pierce arrived in London to live with his mother. Brosnan recalls seeing Goldfinger on the big screen, his first film after moving to England; “I was an 11-year-old boy from the bogs of Ireland and there was this beautiful gold lady on a bed–naked. It made quite the impression on me.”

After attending Elliot School in London, Pierce worked as a commercial artist and also performed in a fire-eating act before studying at the London Drama Centre for three years. After graduating he became assistant stage manager at the Theatre Royal, York, where he was handpicked by playwright Tennessee Williams to star in the British premiere of The Red Devil Battery Sign. Brosnan received rave reviews.

During this time Brosnan married Australian actress Cassandra Harris. She had appeared as one of Bond’s leading ladies in For Your Eyes Only.  When Pierce visited Cassandra on the set in Corfu, a number of people, including Producer Cubby Broccoli, felt that Brosnan had the looks and bearing of a future 007.

When Roger Moore resigned from the role of 007, the world’s press touted numerous actors, including Pierce, as the next 007. However, Brosnan’s involvement in the Remington Steele series meant that Timothy Dalton became the fourth 007.

On April 11, 1994, Timothy Dalton announced his resignation as Bond after starring in two films. On June 1 of that year, Brosnan received a call from his agent saying “Hello Mr Bond, you’ve got the part.” Seven days later at a press event in London, Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli officially announced Brosnan as the fifth James Bond. He went on to star in four Bond films: GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).

In July 2003, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Brosnan an honorary OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his “outstanding contribution to the British film industry.”

Focus Of The Week: Tomorrow Never Dies Bike Chase

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On May 12th, 1997 the Tomorrow Never Dies first and second units travelled to Thailand to begin shooting the motorbike chase sequence.

The scene sees Bond and Wai Lin handcuffed to each other, attempting to evade Carver’s men, who follow them in two Range Rovers and a Eurocopter 350B A-Star helicopter. Wai Lin acts as Bond’s co-pilot, helping him navigate while Carver’s men fire at them with machine guns. Mounted on a BMW R1200 motorbike, they speed along streets, walkways, and rooftops, jumping from one building to another to escape a hail of bullets. When the helicopter traps Bond and Wai Lin in a courtyard, they grab a washing line and accelerate towards it then slide the motorbike on its side, just beneath the rotors. Bond slings the line into the helicopter’s tail rotor, causing it to crash and explode.

Second-unit director Vic Armstrong on choosing the BMW; “With the bike chase, I didn’t want to resort to the standard use of a motorcross bike, which is convenient for jumps and tricks. Instead, we went for the biggest, heaviest, and most unwieldy bike – the BMW R1200C Cruiser – and I built the chase around it. That’s what I wanted: to display its power and weight.”

The chase sequence has become an iconic piece of stunt driving. French stunt-rider Jean-Pierre Goy refused to use wires and cables when he made the astounding 44-foot leap between two buildings with a passenger on board.

The BMW R1200 is on display at Bond in Motion at the London Film Museum. londonfilmmuseum.com/

Focus Of The Week: Blofeld (Christoph Waltz)

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Following a lead left for him by M and a rogue mission to Mexico, Bond infiltrates a secret meeting in Rome and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. During the meeting he comes face to face with an enigmatic and chilling character, the organisation’s leading man, Oberhauser, played by two-time Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz.

After their escapade in Austria, Bond and Madeleine Swann travel together to Morocco to uncover the truth behind SPECTRE. Having travelled through the desert by train they eventually arrive at the end of the line, disembarking at a desolate station. A car appears and carries them off to Oberhauser’s lair, a sprawling complex housed inside an enormous crater.

Deep in SPECTRE territory, Bond faces his sternest test as he and Oberhauser spar verbally and mentally, a process that exposes a deep connection between the two men. It is here that Oberhauser reveals he has changed his name to Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Bond finds himself in serious trouble but with the help of an explosive watch given to him by Q, he and Madeleine are able to escape Blofeld’s clutches and watch as his lair goes up in flames.

When Blofeld arrives in London he lures Bond to the crumbling old MI6 building for a final showdown. Yet again Madeleine and Bond escape just in time, this time racing up the River Thames in a speedboat. With Madeleine at the wheel, Bond is able to take down Blofeld’s helicopter. Faced with the opportunity to finish Blofeld once and for all, Bond leaves him to be arrested by M.

Focus Of The Week: Aston Martin DB10

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The 24th James Bond movie, Spectre, marked a milestone in the 50-year relationship between the film series and the car manufacturer Aston Martin who, for the very first time, built a car specifically for the film. The likes of the iconic DB5, which debuted in 1964’s Goldfinger, the DBS from 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the V8 Volante from 1987’s The Living Daylights — to name but a few — were all cars that were available for public purchase. The DB10, however, was something else entirely.
The DB10 is a concept car. The chassis is based on a modified V8 Vantage, though with a longer wheelbase, and it boasts a 4.7-litre V8 engine. It has an estimated top speed of 190 mph and can get from 0-60mph in just 4.7 seconds. In Spectre the car was originally intended for 009 and came equipped with rear flame thrower, hidden rear mounted gun and ejector seat.
The DB10 is the sixth different Aston to appear in a James Bond movie, and only ten of these concept cars were built. Eight were employed to film key scenes in Spectre, while the other two were manufactured for promotional use. One of the promotional vehicles was auctioned off for charity in 2016 where it sold for just over £2.4m. Proceeds from the sale benefited Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The car features in a breath-taking night chase that careens through the streets of Rome, as Hinx (played by Dave Bautista) gives chase in a Jaguar C-X75, another high-tech concept car.
You can see one of the Aston Martin DB10’s at Bond In Motion londonfilmmuseum.com/

Focus Of The Week: Alec Trevelyan

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Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) launches a plot to destroy London as revenge for the betrayal of his parents by the British Army at the end of World War II. Trevelyan’s parents were Cossacks who opposed Stalin and fought with the Nazis. When the British captured many Cossacks in Austria, they were turned over to the Soviets who swiftly executed them. Trevelyan’s parents survived, but his father could not live with the shame and killed himself and his mother.

Trevelyan quickly rose through the ranks of MI6 to become 006. While MI6 knew about his parents’ fate, the service believed he was too young to have been affected by what had happened.

Trevelyan accompanies Bond on a mission to the Soviet Union to destroy the Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility, managed by Colonel Ourumov. The raid gives Trevelyan an opportunity to fake his own death. While the original plan anticipated the capture of Bond, 007 escapes and causes an explosion that scars Trevelyan.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Travelyan and Ourumov sell arms to illegal clients, such as Iraq. Trevelyan calls himself Janus after the two-faced Roman god, and makes his residence on an armoured train once used to transport nuclear missiles.

All this is a prelude to Trevelyan’s master plan: to transfer billions of pounds from the Bank of England and set off the electromagnetic pulse space weapon GoldenEye over London to erase any record of the transaction. With the aid of hacker Boris Grishenko, assassin Xenia Onatopp, and Ourumov (now a General), he organises a massacre of staff at the Russian Space Weapons Centre, Severnaya, in order to obtain the GoldenEye satellite system. A minor hitch occurs when one of the staff, Natalya Simonova, survives. This draws 007 to Russia. Trevelyan meets Bond once again after Xenia Onatopp fails to kill him. Trevelyan ends up in Severnaya’s sister control station in Cuba, where he and Bond fight to the death on a giant satellite dish transmitter. Competitive to the last, Trevelyan taunts 007: “I was always better.” Bond responds by dropping his former friend and colleague from the antenna, which falls and crushes Trevelyan to death.

Focus Of The Week: Dr. Holly Goodhead

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Fully-trained astronaut, CIA agent, and Vassar College graduate, Dr. Holly Goodhead works for the Drax Corporation, supposedly on loan from NASA. In reality, her job entails investigating billionaire Hugo Drax’s suspicious activities for the CIA. Holly’s skills as an astronaut allow her to travel into orbit with Bond and undermine Drax’s plot to annihilate the Earth’s entire population and repopulate the planet with his own squad of physically perfect humans.

Holly meets Bond after the disappearance of one of the Moonraker shuttles. She declines to share any of her concerns about Drax in California or when Bond confronts her about her CIA connection in Venice. Despite sleeping with Bond, she does not trust him until he saves her life on the Sugarloaf Mountain funicular railroad in Brazil.

Drax’s thugs kidnap Holly and bring her to his space shuttle launch complex. She remains a prisoner until Jaws throws Bond into her holding quarters. The pair escape and take over a shuttle. They travel to Drax’s secret space station where they discover the extent of Drax’s plan. Holly and Bond then work together to destroy his operation.