   #copyright

James Bond

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Films

   James Bond 007 is a fictional British agent (the Bond character is
   usually referred to as a spy, but was actually a counter-agent and a
   professional assassin) created by writer Ian Fleming in 1952. Fleming
   wrote numerous novels and short stories based upon the character and,
   after his death in 1964, further literary adventures were written by
   Kingsley Amis (pseudonym Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner,
   Raymond Benson, and Charlie Higson. In addition, Christopher Wood wrote
   two screenplay novelisations and other authors have also written
   various unofficial permutations of the character.

   Although initially made famous through the novels and books, James Bond
   is now best known from the EON Productions film series. Twenty-one
   films have been made (as of 2006) as well as two that were
   independently produced and one American television adaptation of
   Fleming's first novel under legal licence. The EON films are generally
   referred to as the 'official' films (although its origin is unclear,
   this terminology is used throughout this article). Albert R. "Cubby"
   Broccoli and Harry Saltzman produced most of these up until 1975, when
   Broccoli became the sole producer. From 1995, his daughter, Barbara
   Broccoli, and his stepson, Michael G. Wilson, jointly continued
   production duties.

   To date, six actors have portrayed James Bond in the official series.
   They are:
     * Sean Connery (1962–67; 1971)
     * George Lazenby (1969),
     * Roger Moore (1973–85),
     * Timothy Dalton (1987–89),
     * Pierce Brosnan (1995–2002),
     * Daniel Craig (2006–present).

   In addition and generally considered "unofficial", Barry Nelson
   portrayed Bond in an Americanised television episode adaptation of
   Casino Royale in 1954. Bob Holness portrayed James Bond in a South
   African radio adaptation of Moonraker in 1956. Roger Moore acted the
   role in an episode of a TV comedy show called Mainly Millicent
   (starring Millicent Martin and guest stars) in summer 1964. This
   episode is included as a special feature (named Roger Moore as James
   Bond, Circa 1964) in the newly published Live and Let Die Ultimate
   Edition DVD. David Niven played the role of James Bond in a non-EON
   production of Casino Royale in 1967, and Connery reprised the character
   in another non-EON film, Never Say Never Again in 1983, an update of
   1965's Thunderball, in which he also starred. The 1973 BBC documentary
   Omnibus: The British Hero featured Christopher Cazenove playing Bond in
   selected scenes from the original novels.

   The twenty-first official film, Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig as
   James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on
   general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day.

   Broccoli and Saltzman's family company, Danjaq, LLC, has owned the
   James Bond film series, through EON, since the start. It became
   co-owner with United Artists Corporation since the mid-1970s, when
   Saltzman sold UA his share of Danjaq. Currently, Columbia Pictures and
   MGM (United Artists' parent) co-distribute the franchise.

   In addition to novels and films, Bond is a prominent character in many
   computer and video games, comic strips and comic books, and has been
   the subject of many parodies.

Overview

Ian Fleming's creation and inspiration

   Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is an agent of the British Secret
   Intelligence Service (SIS) (more commonly known as MI6). He was created
   in February 1952 by Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate
   called Goldeneye. The hero of Fleming's tale, James Bond, was named
   after an American ornithologist of the same name who was an expert on
   Caribbean birds and had written a definitive book on the subject: Birds
   of the West Indies. Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, owned a copy of Bond's
   field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said, "I wanted the
   simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, James Bond was
   much better than something more interesting like 'Peregrine
   Maltravers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him but he would
   be a neutral figure – an anonymous blunt instrument wielded by a
   Government Department."

   Bond's parents are named as Andrew Bond, a Scotsman, and Monique
   Delacroix from Canton de Vaud in Switzerland (these nationalities had
   previously been established in On Her Majesty's Secret Service). Bond's
   Scottish heritage was partly a result of Fleming being impressed with
   Sean Connery's screen portrayal of his character, whereas Bond's mother
   was named for a Swiss girl to whom Fleming was once engaged. In his
   fictional biography of Bond, John Pearson gave his birthdate as 11
   November ( Armistice Day) 1920, although there is no evidence for this
   in Fleming's novels. Fleming was inspired by a real spy - Dušan Popov,
   a Serb double agent for both the British and Germans, who was also
   known as a bit of a "playboy".

   After completing the manuscript for what would later be titled Casino
   Royale, Fleming allowed his friend William Plomer, a poet and later
   Fleming's editor, to read it. Plomer liked it enough that he gave the
   manuscript to Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much, but published
   it anyway in 1953 due to the fact that Ian was the younger brother of
   Peter Fleming, an established travel writer who also put in a good word
   for Ian.

   Since the fictional James Bond's creation, hundreds of reports by
   various news outlets have suggested names for Ian Fleming's inspiration
   of Bond. Usually these people have a background of some kind in
   espionage or other covert operations. Although some names share
   similarities with Bond, none has ever been confirmed by Fleming, Ian
   Fleming Publications or any of Ian Fleming's biographers such as
   Fleming's assistant and friend, John Pearson. James Bond may have had
   its origin in Toronto, Ontario. British Naval Intelligence Commander
   Ian Fleming was invited by Sir William Stephenson, codename Intrepid,
   to observe and participate in the SOE subversive warfare training
   Syllabus at STS-103. Fleming had a private residence located on Avenue
   Road in Toronto, Canada because the camp was full. On Avenue Road,
   there was the St. James Bond United Church and the address of the
   military building (the church was at 1066 Avenue Road) was 1107 Avenue
   Road (Double ones 0 and 7 thus the number 007). The building no longer
   exists, but where it once stood is Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary
   School. Marshall McLuhan CSS was built by Bondfield Construction and
   completed in 2001.

   Most researchers agree that James Bond is a highly romanticised version
   of Fleming himself; the author was known for his jet-setting lifestyle
   and reputation as a womaniser. Both, for the most part, went to the
   same schools, like the same foods (e.g., scrambled eggs), have the same
   habits (e.g., drinking and smoking), share the same view on women
   (e.g., how they should look and how they should dress), and have
   similar education and military careers both rising to the rank of
   Commander. Although the character of Bond is not known to be based on
   anyone but Fleming himself, the look of James Bond, famed for being
   "suave and sophisticated", is based on a young Hoagy Carmichael. In
   Casino Royale the character Vesper Lynd says of Bond, "He reminds me
   rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless."
   Other characteristics of Bond's look are said to be based on Fleming,
   such as his height, his hairstyle and his eye colour.

   Fleming has, however, admitted to being inspired by true or
   partially-true events that took place during his career at the Naval
   Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. Most notably, and the basis for
   Casino Royale, was a trip to Lisbon that Fleming and the Director of
   Naval Intelligence, Admiral Godfrey, took during World War II en route
   to the United States. While there they went to the Estoril Casino in
   Estoril, which, due to the neutral status of Portugal had a number of
   spies of warring regimes present. Fleming claimed that while there he
   was cleaned out by a "chief German agent" at a table playing Chemin de
   Fer; however, Admiral Godfrey tells a different story, that Fleming
   only played Portuguese businessmen and that afterwards Ian had
   fantasised about them being German agents and the excitement of
   cleaning them out.

The franchise

   The James Bond franchise, now with cumulative worldwide ticket sales of
   over $4 billion, is currently the second all-time highest grossing film
   franchise in history, after Star Wars, and one of the longest running
   film series in history, spanning 21 official films, 2 unofficial films,
   1 TV episode based on Casino Royale, and a cartoon television series
   spin-off. Casino Royale, the twenty-first film, was released on 15
   November 2006 with a follow-up film currently using the working title
   Bond 22 that will be released on 7 November 2008.

   Every Bond film has been a box office success to a lesser or greater
   extent. They continue to earn substantial profits after their
   theatrical run via videotape, DVD, and television broadcasts; in the
   UK, Bond holds three of the top five spots of the most-watched
   television movies.

   The first actor to play Bond on-screen was American Barry Nelson in the
   1954 CBS television production of Casino Royale in which the character
   became a U.S. agent named "Jimmy Bond". In 1956, Bob Holness provided
   the voice of Bond in a South African radio adaptation of Fleming's
   third novel, Moonraker.

   Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli started the official cinematic
   run of Bond in 1962, with Dr. No starring Sean Connery. The films made
   by their production company, EON Productions are regarded as the
   "official films" by all parties, although the 3 "unofficial"
   adaptations were authorised.

   The official series had set up a semi-regular schedule of releases:
   initially annually, then usually once every two years, although there
   have been a couple of times where the gap was larger, usually due to
   external events.

   Since Bond's peak of popularity in 1965, with the release of
   Thunderball, critics have often predicted that his successful run would
   come to an end, usually believing that the films were out of touch with
   the times. After the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, George
   Lazenby quit the lead role for this very reason, even though he was
   offered a seven-film contract. By the 1980s, some critics had grown
   tired of the series, commenting that the perennial sexism and glamorous
   locales had become outdated, and that Bond's smooth, unruffled exterior
   did not mesh with competing movies like Die Hard. The hard-edge of
   Timothy Dalton in the Bond films of the late 1980s met a mixed response
   from moviegoers: some welcomed the earthier style reminiscent of
   Fleming's character, while others missed the light-hearted approach
   which characterised the Roger Moore era. While Dalton's final outing,
   Licence to Kill (1989), was financially successful, it did not prove as
   popular as previous installments. Its relative failure is usually
   blamed on a poor promotional campaign in the United States, Dalton's
   darker portrayal of Bond, and its status as the first Bond film to be
   rated PG-13 in the US and " 15" in the UK. Regardless, a new Bond film
   was scheduled for release in 1991. However, legal wrangling over
   ownership of the character led to a protracted delay that would keep
   Bond off movie screens for the next six years, during which time Dalton
   had moved on.

   The 1990s saw a revival and renewal of the series beginning with
   GoldenEye in 1995. Pierce Brosnan filled 007's shoes with a mix of Sean
   Connery cool and Roger Moore wit. The combination saw Bond's success
   return to a level it hadn't enjoyed since 1979's Moonraker. In all,
   Brosnan made four films before being replaced in 2006 by Daniel Craig,
   who stars in a reboot of the series. Although Craig's Casino Royale is
   the 21st film of the series, it is Bond's first mission after obtaining
   his double-0 status from MI6.

   The James Bond novels and films have ranged from realistic spy drama to
   science fiction. The original books by Fleming are usually dark —
   lacking fantasy or gadgets. Instead, they established the formula of
   unique villains, outlandish plots, and voluptuous women who tend to
   fall in love with Bond at first sight — the feeling often being mutual.
   The films expanded on Fleming's books, adding gadgets from Q Branch,
   death-defying stunts, and often abandoning the original plotlines for
   more outlandish and cinema-friendly adventures. The cinematic Bond
   adventures were initially influenced by earlier spy thrillers such as
   North by Northwest, Saboteur, and Journey Into Fear, but later entries
   became formulaic dramas where Bond saves the world from apocalyptic
   madmen. Inevitably, Bond's nemesis tries to kill him with a death-trap,
   during which the villain reveals vital information. Bond later escapes
   and uses this intelligence to thwart the evil plot. In many cases, Bond
   then kills his opponent himself, although early films often ended with
   the enemy either escaping or dying by someone else's hand.

Novels

   In February 1952, Ian Fleming began work on his first James Bond novel.
   At the time, Fleming was the Foreign Manager for Kemsley Newspapers, an
   organisation owned by the London Sunday Times. Upon accepting the job,
   Fleming asked that he be allowed two months vacation per year. Between
   1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published 12 full-length novels and
   one short story collection (a second collection appeared after his
   death). Later, continuation novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as
   Robert Markham), John Gardner and Raymond Benson; the last of these
   books was published in 2002. In 2005 Young Bond, a new series of novels
   featuring the adventures of Bond as a teenager began, written by
   Charlie Higson.

Films

Eon Films

   The James Bond film series from EON Productions has a number of its own
   traditions, many of which date back to the very first movie in 1962.

   Since Dr. No, each film begins with what is known as the James Bond gun
   barrel sequence, which introduces Agent 007. Appearing to be filmed
   through a rifled gun barrel, as if from a bullet's perspective, the
   scene is a side-on view of Bond walking, then quickly turning and
   shooting. The scene then reddens (signifying the spilling of the
   would-be assassin's blood); the gun barrel dissolves to a white circle.

   After this introduction, every film (with the exception of Dr. No)
   would start with a pre-credits teaser, also popularly known as the
   "opening gambit". Usually the scene features 007 finishing up a
   previous mission before taking on the case from the film, and does not
   always relate to his main objective. Some of the teasers tie in with
   the plot (as in Live and Let Die). Since The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977,
   they have often involved attention-grabbing action sequences, which
   have tended to become larger and more elaborate with each film. The
   World Is Not Enough (1999) holds the record for the longest, running
   more than 15 minutes, whereas most run about seven to ten minutes.

   After the teaser sequence, the opening credits begin, during which an
   arty display of scantily clad and even (discreetly) naked females can
   be seen doing a variety of activities from dancing, jumping on
   off-screen trampolines, to shooting weapons. This title sequence is a
   trademark and a staple of the series. The best known of the Bond title
   designers is Maurice Binder, who created them for fourteen films from
   1962 to 1989. Since Binder's death in 1991, Daniel Kleinman has
   designed the credits and has introduced CG elements not present during
   his predecessor's era. While the credits run, the main theme of the
   film is usually sung by a popular artist of the time. Until GoldenEye,
   which featured motifs such as a two headed 'Janus' figure, the backdrop
   was unrelated to the plot of the film, although the design may reflect
   an overall theme (e.g., You Only Live Twice uses a Japanese motif as
   well as images of a volcano, both of which are elements of the movie
   itself). Goldfinger uses short glimpses of the film projected onto
   women's bodies, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service uses clips from all
   of the five preceding films shown running through an hourglass. For
   Your Eyes Only begins with Sheena Easton singing the title song
   on-screen. Die Another Day's titles are unusual in that the images
   advance the storyline by depicting Bond's torture following his capture
   by the North Koreans. Casino Royale's credits are also atypical in
   that, instead of presenting the traditional display of silhouetted and
   scantily clad females, the sequence is a very colorful and animated
   display, using many symbols from playing cards such as the four suits
   and the face cards, and depicting violent fighting between colored
   silhouettes of men. The credits for GoldenEye depict the fall of the
   Soviet Union and thus provide a transition from the pre-fall era of the
   opening sequence to the post-fall setting of the rest of the narrative,
   which is set nine years later. The Bond films are unusual in retaining
   full opening and closing credits: since the late 1990s it has become
   common for most blockbuster films to save detailed credits for the end,
   with only the title shown at the beginning.
   Countries James Bond visited in the films
   Enlarge
   Countries James Bond visited in the films

   Agent 007's famous introduction, "Bond, James Bond", became a
   catchphrase after it was first uttered (with a cigarette in the corner
   of his mouth) by Sean Connery in Dr. No. Since then, the phrase has
   entered the lexicon of Western popular culture as the epitome of
   polished, understated machismo. On June 21, 2005 it was honoured as the
   22nd greatest quotation in cinema history by the American Film
   Institute as part of their 100 Years Series. To promote the release of
   Tomorrow Never Dies, trailers were released featuring the character as
   protrayed by Pierce Brosnan saying, "Bond. You know the rest."

   Bond's customary beverage order, " Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred",
   which was first uttered by him in Goldfinger (although it is actually
   first said on screen by the villain in Dr. No, and referenced even
   earlier in the same film), was also honoured as #90 on the same list.
   However, in "Casino Royale", Craig portrayed the incomplete development
   of the younger Bond by retorting to a bartender "Do I look like I give
   a damn?" after being asked if he wanted his martini shaken or stirred.
   Casino Royale also featured the martini recipe from the Ian Fleming
   book: 6 parts gin, 2 parts vodka, 1 part Lillet Blanc.

   Every film, except Dr. No (1962) and Thunderball (1965), has the line:
   "James Bond will return..." or "James Bond will be back" during or
   after the final credits. Up until Octopussy (1983), the end-credit line
   would also name the next title to be produced ("James Bond will return
   in..."). Over the years, the sequel has been incorrectly named three
   times. The first, 1964's Goldfinger, announced in early prints that
   Bond would return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, the
   producers changed their mind shortly after release and subsequently
   corrected future editions of the film. In 1977, The Spy Who Loved Me
   stated that 007 would be back in For Your Eyes Only, but EON
   Productions decided to instead take advantage of the Star Wars craze
   and release Moonraker, whose plot was changed to involve outer space
   (unlike Goldfinger, however, EON chose not to correct the credits of
   The Spy Who Loved Me, so the error remains). Thirdly, Octopussy
   incorrectly states the next film as being From a View to a Kill, the
   original literary title of A View to a Kill. In the most recent Bond
   films, the title of the next film has been omitted, saying simply
   'James Bond will return'. The liner-notes of a 'Best of Bond' music
   compilation CD stated that this was because the early films all used
   titles from Fleming's novels; having outpaced the novels with the
   current Bond films, the abbreviated form is used instead.

   Every actor who auditions for the Bond role must always perform a scene
   from From Russia With Love, where he hears a noise and investigates,
   only to discover a beautiful stranger on his bed.

   There is also lively debate on the best Bond movie, with most major
   film critics giving the top mark to either From Russia with Love
   (Connery's favourite, as he re-asserted in a 2002 ABC interview with
   Sam Donaldson) or its brassy follow-up, Goldfinger. Despite George
   Lazenby's short tenure in the tuxedo, some reviewers have also warmed
   to On Her Majesty's Secret Service – Leonard Maltin's TV Movies (a.k.a.
   Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide) review book states it might have
   been the best Bond film ever had Connery appeared in it; Raymond Benson
   concurs in The James Bond Bedside Companion. Casino Royale, the latest
   Bond, is at present the highest-rated on the IMDb, with 8.1 out of 10.

                    Sean Connery

                                George Lazenby

                                              Roger Moore

                  Timothy Dalton

                                Pierce Brosnan

                                              Daniel Craig

   No. Title Year James Bond Director North American Box Office Total Box
   Office Total Admissions Budget
   1 Dr. No 1962 Sean Connery Terence Young $16,100,000 $59,600,000 72.1
   million $1,000,000
   2 From Russia with Love 1963 Sean Connery Terence Young $24,800,000
   $78,900,000 95.3 million $2,500,000
   3 Goldfinger 1964 Sean Connery Guy Hamilton $51,100,000 $124,900,000
   130.1 million $3,500,000
   4 Thunderball 1965 Sean Connery Terence Young $63,600,000 $141,200,000
   166 million $11,000,000
   5 You Only Live Twice 1967 Sean Connery Lewis Gilbert $43,100,000
   $111,600,000 81.7 million $9,500,000
   6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969 George Lazenby Peter R. Hunt
   $22,800,000 $87,400,000 62.4 million $7,000,000
   7 Diamonds Are Forever 1971 Sean Connery Guy Hamilton $43,800,000
   $116,000,000 70.3 million $7,200,000
   8 Live and Let Die 1973 Roger Moore Guy Hamilton $35,400,000
   $161,800,000 91.6 million $7,000,000
   9 The Man with the Golden Gun 1974 Roger Moore Guy Hamilton $21,000,000
   $97,600,000 51.6 million $7,000,000
   10 The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Roger Moore Lewis Gilbert $46,800,000
   $187,300,000 84.0 million $14,000,000
   11 Moonraker 1979 Roger Moore Lewis Gilbert $70,300,000 $210,300,000
   85.1 million $34,000,000
   12 For Your Eyes Only 1981 Roger Moore John Glen $54,800,000
   $202,800,000 72.9 million $28,000,000
   13 Octopussy 1983 Roger Moore John Glen $67,900,000 $187,500,000 59.5
   million $27,500,000
   14 A View to a Kill 1985 Roger Moore John Glen $50,700,000 $157,800,000
   44.5 million $30,000,000
   15 The Living Daylights 1987 Timothy Dalton John Glen $51,200,000
   $191,200,000 48.9 million $40,000,000
   16 Licence to Kill 1989 Timothy Dalton John Glen $34,700,000
   $156,200,000 39.1 million $42,000,000
   17 GoldenEye 1995 Pierce Brosnan Martin Campbell $106,400,000
   $353,400,000 81.2 million $60,000,000
   18 Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 Pierce Brosnan Roger Spottiswoode
   $125,300,000 $346,600,000 75.5 million $110,000,000
   19 The World Is Not Enough 1999 Pierce Brosnan Michael Apted
   $126,900,000 $390,000,000 77.1 million $135,000,000
   20 Die Another Day 2002 Pierce Brosnan Lee Tamahori $160,900,000
   $456,000,000 78.6 million $142,000,000
   21 Casino Royale 2006 Daniel Craig Martin Campbell $94,223,000
   $222,423,000* $130,000,000
   22 Bond 22 2008 Daniel Craig
   TOTALS Films 1-21 $1,311,823,000 $4,040,523,000 1,567,500,000
   $796,200,000

   * Still on general release in some countries; this figure may increase
   substantially as it is released in 24 more countries over the next two
   months.

Non-Eon Films, Radio and Television Programmes

   In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming $1,000 USD for the rights to adapt Casino
   Royale into a one hour television adventure as part of their Climax!
   series. The episode featured American Barry Nelson in the role of
   "Jimmy Bond", an agent for the fictional "Combined Intelligence"
   agency. The rights to Casino Royale were subsequently sold to producer
   Charles K. Feldman who turned Fleming's first novel into a spoof in
   1967 featuring David Niven as Sir James Bond and five other actors
   (like Peter Sellers) as faked "James Bond"s. The instrumental theme
   music was a hit for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. For more
   information, see the history of Casino Royale.

   Bob Holness portrayed James Bond in a South African radio adaptation of
   Moonraker in 1956, which is the only radio Bond programme known as of
   today.

   Before his first appearance in the EON Bond film Live and Let Die in
   1973, Roger Moore played the role in an episode of a TV comedy show
   called Mainly Millicent (starring Millicent Martin and guest stars) in
   summer 1964. This episode is included as a special feature (named Roger
   Moore as James Bond, Circa 1964) in the newly published Live and Let
   Die Ultimate Edition DVD.

   When plans for a James Bond film were scrapped in the late 1950s, a
   story treatment entitled Thunderball, written by Ian Fleming, Kevin
   McClory and Jack Whittingham, was adapted as Fleming's ninth Bond
   novel. Initially the book was only credited to Fleming. McClory filed a
   lawsuit that would eventually award him the film rights to the title in
   1963. Afterwards, he made a deal with EON Productions to produce a film
   adaptation starring Sean Connery. The deal specifically stated that
   McClory couldn't produce another adaptation until a set period of time
   had elapsed, and he did so in 1983 with Never Say Never Again, which
   featured Sean Connery for a seventh time as 007. Since it was not made
   by Broccoli's production company, EON Productions, it is therefore not
   considered a part of the official film series. A second attempt by
   McClory to remake Thunderball in the 1990s with Sony Pictures was
   halted by legal action which resulted in the studio abandoning its
   aspirations for a rival James Bond series. To this day, McClory claims
   to own the film rights to Thunderball, though MGM and EON assert they
   have expired. For more in-depth information, see the controversy over
   Thunderball.

   The 1973 BBC documentary Omnibus: The British Hero featured Christopher
   Cazenove playing a number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay
   and Bulldog Drummond), including James Bond in dramatised scenes from
   Goldfinger - notably featuring the hero being threatened with the
   novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam - and Diamonds
   Are Forever.

                     Barry Nelson

                                 Bob Holness

                                            Roger Moore

                 David Niven

                            Christopher Cazenove

                                                Sean Connery

   Title Year James Bond US Box Office Total Box Office Total Admissions
   Budget
   Casino Royale — TV episode 1954 Barry Nelson not applicable not
   applicable not applicable unknown
   Moonraker — Radio programme 1956 Bob Holness not applicable not
   applicable not applicable unknown
   Mainly Millicent — TV comedy show 1964 Roger Moore not applicable not
   applicable not applicable unknown
   Casino Royale — Film spoof 1967 David Niven $25,000,000 $44,400,000
   36.4 million $12,000,000
   Omnibus: The British Hero — TV documentary/dramatised scenes 1973
   Christopher Cazenove not applicable not applicable not applicable
   unknown
   Never Say Never Again 1983 Sean Connery $55,400,000 $160,000,000 50.8
   million $36,000,000

Dealing with the changing actor

   The Bond films rarely explicitly acknowledge the changes in cast
   members which have affected several of the recurring characters
   including Blofeld, Bond, Felix Leiter, M, Miss Moneypenny, and Q.
   However, there are a few instances where the films hint at
   self-awareness, including:
     * In the early scenes of the 1967 Casino Royale, David Niven's
       retired Bond berates M for giving his number and his name to a
       brash new agent; the description he gives fits Sean Connery's Bond.
     * In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, when Tracy leaves George
       Lazenby's Bond alone on the beach, he complains, "This never
       happened to the other fella.".
     * In GoldenEye, Bond comments on how "the new M" is a woman (played
       by Judi Dench).
     * In The World Is Not Enough (1999) Major Boothroyd's Q (played by
       Desmond Llewelyn) is preparing to retire, introducing his
       assistant, "R" (played by John Cleese). Boothroyd has clearly
       retired by the time of Die Another Day (2002), when Cleese's
       character is presented as Q.
     * In the 2006 Casino Royale, where M promotes Bond to double-0
       status, Dench's character is the same M we have seen with existing
       Bonds, whilst the film is set in the present day, suggesting a
       further transition of the name (and function), followed by the
       number and status. However, it's been suggested by the makers of
       Casino Royale that the movie is a "reboot" of the character.

James Bond's influence on movies and television

   James Bond has long been a household name and remains a huge influence
   within the spy genre. The Austin Powers series by writer and actor Mike
   Myers and other parodies such as Johnny English (2003), the " Flint"
   series starring James Coburn as Derek Flint, the " Matt Helm" movies
   starring Dean Martin, and Casino Royale (1967) are testaments to Bond's
   prominence in popular culture.

   1960s TV imitations of James Bond such as I Spy, Get Smart, The Wild
   Wild West, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. went on to become popular
   successes in their own right, the latter having enjoyed contributions
   by Fleming towards its creation: the show's lead character, " Napoleon
   Solo", was named after a character in Fleming's novel Goldfinger;
   Fleming also suggested the character name April Dancer, which was later
   used in the spin-off series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. A reunion
   television movie, The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983), is
   notable for featuring a cameo by George Lazenby as James Bond in
   tribute to Fleming (for legal reasons, the character was credited as
   "JB").

   In The Avengers, some time after the departure of the character Cathy
   Gale (played by actress Honour Blackman), the character of John Steed
   (played by Patrick Macnee) receives a Christmas card from her. He
   comments, "It's from Mrs Gale! I wonder what she's doing in Fort Knox?"
   – the intended destination for Honour Blackman's Pussy Galore in
   Goldfinger. In further coincidence, this comment is made to Emma Peel –
   played by Diana Rigg who would later appear as Tracy Bond in On Her
   Majesty's Secret Service. Macnee himself, a friend of Roger Moore,
   would later appear as Sir Godfrey Tibbett in A View to a Kill.

   A story line in The Beverly Hillbillies has Jethro ( Max Baer, Jr.)
   forsaking his lifelong ambition to become a brain surgeon in favour of
   "double-naught spy". He outfits the Clampetts' truck with various
   Q-inspired gadgetry, none of which work according to plan.

   In an apparent homage to the 'James Bond will return in...' credits,
   each of the season-ending episodes to date in the new (2005-present)
   series of Doctor Who has featured the ending credit, 'Doctor Who will
   return in...' followed by the title of the next episode (in each case,
   a Christmas special).

   Similarly, four episodes of the TV series Arrested Development ( For
   British Eyes Only, Forget-Me-Now, Notapusy and Mr. F) referenced the
   James Bond films. The spoofing of the Bond films is evident in the
   episode titles, vocal and instrumental music cues, and the gun barrel
   shot at the end of the episode accompanied by the subtitle "Michael
   Bluth will return in..."

   George Lucas has said on multiple occasions that Sean Connery's
   portrayal of the Bond character was one of the primary inspirations for
   the Indiana Jones character, a reason Connery was chosen for the role
   of Indiana's father in the third film of that series.

Music

   " The James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first
   orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's Dr. No, although
   the actual authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for
   many years. However, in 2001, Norman won £30,000 in libel damages from
   the British paper The Sunday Times which suggested that Barry was
   entirely responsible for the composition.

   Barry did go on to compose the scores for eleven Bond films in addition
   to his uncredited contribution to Dr. No, and is credited with the
   creation of " 007", which was used as an alternate Bond theme in
   several films, and the popular orchestrated theme " On Her Majesty's
   Secret Service". Both "The James Bond Theme" and "On Her Majesty's
   Secret Service" have been remixed a number of times by popular artists,
   including Art of Noise, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and the Propellerheads.
   The British/Australian string quartet also named bond (name purposely
   in lower case) recorded their own version of the theme, entitled "Bond
   on Bond".

   Barry's legacy was followed by David Arnold, in addition to other
   well-known composers and record producers such as George Martin, Bill
   Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch, and Eric Serra. Arnold is the
   series' current composer of choice, and was recently signed to compose
   the score for his fourth consecutive Bond film, Casino Royale.

   The Bond films are known for their theme songs heard during the title
   credits, sung by well-known popular singers (which have included Tina
   Turner, Paul McCartney and Wings, Tom Jones, Carly Simon, Madonna, and
   Duran Duran, among many others.) Shirley Bassey performed three themes
   in total, and is the only singer to have been associated with more than
   one film. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the only Bond film with a
   solely instrumental theme, though Louis Armstrong's ballad " We Have
   All the Time in the World", which serves as Bond and his wife Tracy's
   love song and whose title is Bond's last line in the film, is
   considered the unofficial theme. The main theme for Dr. No is the
   "James Bond Theme", although the opening credits also include an
   untitled bongo interlude, and concludes with a vocal Calypso-flavoured
   rendition of " Three Blind Mice" entitled "Kingston Calypso" that sets
   the scene. From Russia with Love also opens with an instrumental
   version over the title credits (which then segues into the "James Bond
   Theme"), but Matt Monro's vocal version also appears twice in the film,
   including the closing credits; the Monro version is generally
   considered the film's main theme, even though it doesn't appear during
   the opening credits. The only singer, to date, to appear within the
   titles is Sheena Easton, who sang the theme for For Your Eyes Only. The
   only singer of a title song to appear within the film itself as a
   character, to date, is Madonna, who appeared (uncredited) as a fencing
   instructor, Verity, as well as contributing the theme for Die Another
   Day. Chris Cornell performs "You Know My Name" in Casino Royale. He is
   the first male lead vocalist to perform a 007 song since a-ha in 1987
   for "The Living Daylights". This is also the first Bond theme song
   since 1983's Octopussy to use a different title than the film. Although
   many of the theme songs were successful hits, the only theme song to
   hit #1 in the U.S. was Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill" which hit the
   top of the Billboard HOT 100 chart in 1985.

Video games

   In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker
   Brothers, was released for the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, the Atari
   800, the Commodore 64, and the Colecovision. Since then, there have
   been numerous video games either based on the films or using original
   storylines.

   Bond video games, however, didn't reach their popular stride until
   1997's GoldenEye 007 by Rare for the Nintendo 64. Subsequently,
   virtually every Bond video game has attempted to copy GoldenEye 007's
   accomplishment and features to varying degrees of success – even going
   so far as to have a game entitled GoldenEye: Rogue Agent that had
   little to do with either the video game GoldenEye or the film of the
   same name. Bond himself plays only a minor role in which he is "killed"
   in the beginning during a ' virtual reality' mission, which served as a
   tutorial for the game.

   Since acquiring the licence in 1999, Electronic Arts has released 8
   games, 5 of which have original stories (i.e., not based on a film)
   including the popular Everything or Nothing, which broke away from the
   first-person shooter trend that started with GoldenEye 007 and went to
   a third-person perspective. It was also the first game to feature well
   known actors including Willem Dafoe, Heidi Klum and Pierce Brosnan as
   James Bond, although several previous games have used Brosnan's
   likeness as Bond. In 2005, Electronic Arts released another game in the
   same vein as Everything or Nothing, this time a video game adaptation
   of From Russia with Love, which allowed the player to play as Bond with
   the likeness of Sean Connery. This was the second game based on a
   Connery Bond film (the first was a 1980s text adventure adaptation of
   Goldfinger) and the first to use the actor's likeness as agent 007.
   Connery himself recorded new voiceovers for the game, the first time
   the actor played Bond in 22 years.

   In 2006 Activision secured the licence to make Bond-related games,
   currently shared with EA. The deal will become exclusive in September
   2007.

Comic strips and comic books

   In 1957 the Daily Express, a newspaper owned by Lord Beaverbrook,
   approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips. After
   initial reluctance by Fleming who felt the strips would lack the
   quality of his writing, agreed and the first strip Casino Royale was
   published in 1958. Since then many illustrated adventures of James Bond
   have been published, including every Ian Fleming novel as well as
   Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun, and most of Fleming's short stories.
   Later, the comic strip produced original stories, continuing until
   1983.

   Titan Books is presently reprinting these comic strips in an ongoing
   series of graphic novel-style collections; by the end of 2005 it had
   completed reprinting all Fleming-based adaptations as well as Colonel
   Sun and had moved on to reprinting original stories.

   Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been
   published through the years, as well as numerous original stories.

Bond characters

   The James Bond series of novels and films have a plethora of
   interesting allies and villains. Bond's superiors and other officers of
   the British Secret Service are generally known by letters, such as M
   and Q. In the novels (but not in the films), Bond has had two
   secretaries, Loelia Ponsonby and Mary Goodnight, who in the films
   typically have their roles and lines transferred to M's secretary, Miss
   Moneypenny. Occasionally Bond is assigned to work a case with his good
   friend, Felix Leiter of the CIA. In the films, Leiter appeared
   regularly during the Connery era, only once during Moore's tenure, and
   in both Dalton films; however, he was only played by the same actor
   twice. Absent from the Brosnan era of films, Felix returned in Craig's
   first James Bond film Casino Royale in 2006.

   Bond's women, particularly in the films, often have double entendre
   names, leading to coy jokes, for example, " Pussy Galore" in Goldfinger
   (a name invented by Fleming), " Plenty O'Toole" in Diamonds Are
   Forever, and " Xenia Onatopp" (a villainess sexually excited by
   strangling men with her thighs) in GoldenEye.

   Throughout both the novels and the films there have only been a handful
   of recurring characters. Some of the more memorable ones include Bill
   Tanner, Rene Mathis, Felix Leiter, Jack Wade, Jaws and recently Charles
   Robinson.

Vehicles and gadgets

   The Aston Martin DB5 is probably the most famous and recognised Bond
   car
   Enlarge
   The Aston Martin DB5 is probably the most famous and recognised Bond
   car

   Exotic espionage equipment and vehicles are very popular elements of
   James Bond's literary and cinematic missions; these items often prove
   critically important to Bond removing obstacles to the success of his
   missions.

   Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal
   equipment such as From Russia with Love's booby-trapped attaché case;
   in Dr. No, Bond's sole gadgets were a Geiger counter and a wristwatch
   with a luminous (and radioactive) face. The gadgets, however, assumed a
   higher, spectacular profile in the 1964 film Goldfinger; its success
   encouraged further espionage equipment from Q Branch to be supplied to
   007. Some films, in the opinion of many critics and fans, have had
   excessive amounts of gadgets or extremely outlandish gadgets and
   vehicles; specifically, 1979's science fiction-oriented Moonraker and
   2002's Die Another Day -- in which Bond's Aston Martin could actually
   become invisible, due to a technology Q refers to as adaptive
   camouflage. Since Moonraker, subsequent productions struggled with
   balancing gadget content against the story's capacities, without
   implying a technology-dependent man, to mixed results.

   Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5 seen in
   Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino
   Royale. The films have used a number of different Aston Martin DB5s on
   film and for publicity; one of them was sold in January 2006 at an
   auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 (USD) to an unnamed European
   collector. That specific car was originally sold for £5,000 in 1970.

   In Fleming's books, Bond had a penchant for "battleship grey" Bentleys,
   while Gardner awarded the agent a modified Saab 900 Turbo nicknamed the
   Silver Beast and later a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.

   Bond's weapon of choice in the beginning of Dr. No is a Beretta 0.25
   calibre, also called "Lilliput", which was then replaced by the German
   made Walther PPK. The PPK was used until the ending of Tomorrow Never
   Dies, when Bond required extra fire power and upgraded to the Walther
   P99. He used the pistol in The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day,
   and continued to use it in Casino Royale.

Trivia

Ian Fleming's opinions

     * While initially sceptical about Connery being chosen to play Bond
       (at one point dismissing him as an "overgrown stuntman"), Fleming
       liked his portrayal so much that he eventually added background to
       the character in the novels so that Bond's father was Scottish.
     * Accounts vary wildly in regards to which actor was Fleming's
       initial choice for the film version of his creation. Sources have
       suggested that the author favoured Roger Moore, James Mason, and
       Cary Grant, among others.

The Bond actor

     * U.S. actors have been engaged to play Bond on two occasions, and
       approached several other times. Adam West was offered the chance to
       appear in On Her Majesty's Secret Service when Connery chose not to
       return, but turned it down. John Gavin was hired in 1970 to replace
       Lazenby, but Connery was lured back and he appeared in Diamonds Are
       Forever instead. Burt Reynolds was also asked in the early 1970s to
       replace Connery after Diamonds Are Forever, but turned it down.
       James Brolin was contracted in 1983 to replace Moore, and was
       preparing to shoot Octopussy when the producers convinced Moore to
       return. Several other American actors, including Robert Wagner,
       have been offered the role only to decline it. To date, the only
       American to play the role is Barry Nelson, unofficially with the
       Americanised version of the character in the 1954 TV adaptation of
       Casino Royale. American born, Irish actor Patrick McGoohan was also
       offered the role of James Bond.
     * Dalton was originally contracted for three films, with the third
       film planned for release in 1991. Legal wrangling over ownership of
       the Bond franchise, however, led to a delay until 1994. Rumours
       persist that Dalton's third film was to have been titled The
       Property of a Lady; however, the story treatment and draft
       screenplays were titled simply as Bond 17 .

Other actors

     * Joe Don Baker played Brad Whitaker, the villain in The Living
       Daylights. Baker shows up in later James Bond films, portraying
       Jack Wade, one of the spy's allies in both Goldeneye and Tomorrow
       Never Dies.
     * Like Joe Don Baker, Charles Gray, has appeared in a Bond film as
       both a villain and a Bond ally. Gray portrayed Bond's contact Dikko
       Henderson in You Only Live Twice and four years later he played
       Blofeld in Diamonds are Forever.
     * Walter Gotell appeared as henchman Morzeny in From Russia with Love
       and later as competitor, and arguably collaborator, General Gogol
       in The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy,
       A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights.
     * Desmond Llewelyn holds a record for having appeared in the greatest
       number of Bond films, having appeared in 17 of the films as Q,
       a.k.a. Major Boothroyd, and head of Q branch.
     * Actress Eunice Gayson played Bond Girl Sylvia Trench in Dr. No, and
       returned briefly in From Russia with Love, making her the only Bond
       girl to appear as the same character in more than one film.
     * Maud Adams plays Scaramanga's (and then Bond's) love interest
       Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun and then returned to
       play the title role in Octopussy, making her the third actress to
       appear twice as a "Bond woman", and the second to play more than
       one "Bond woman". She also appears as an uncredited extra during a
       scene in A View To A Kill where Bond and a secret service contact
       meet at the San Francisco harbour.

Film titles and opening credits

     * Five Ian Fleming titles have thus far never been used as film
       titles: The Property of a Lady, Quantum of Solace, Risico, The
       Hildebrand Rarity, and 007 in New York.
     * Five Bond films have opening themes that do not mention the name of
       the film in the lyrics: the musical medley that opens Dr. No, the
       instrumental themes to From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty's
       Secret Service, and "All Time High" and "You Know My Name," the
       opening songs from Octopussy and the 2006 version of Casino Royale,
       respectively.

Locations

     * Both Thunderball (1965) and Casino Royale (2006) were filmed at the
       casino resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

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