1981: Albert R. Broccoli discusses the 007 films

Albert R. Broccoli

A 1981 Los Angeles radio interview of long-time 007 producer Albert R. Broccoli has surfaced on YouTube. It’s an interesting time capsule about the film series, which was about to come out with its 12th entry, For Your Eyes Only. What follows is a sampling.

The rising costs of making 007 movies: “I’ve learned not to worry because it doesn’t help matters. Costs have risen tremendously in the years. It’s not only Bond that costs money, other pictures have cost a lot of money….The inflation is tremendous….It’s not possible to make a Bond picture for less than 20-, 25-, 30-million dollars.”

Where the series drew its inspiration: “We were preceded by, I think, the master of all suspense and that was Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. He taught us all we know….He inspired us a lot in making a Bond film with his technology and his know-how of getting characters and putting them in these suspenseful situations.”

On his backgammon games with Roger Moore: “There was a stupid rumor that he and I had played…and I had lost $250,000 to Roger Moore. First, number one, I would not play for a lot of money in backgammon. Mere pennies, that’s all we play for. Number two, it offended me that to think Roger Moore could win $250,000 from me.” With the latter remark, Broccoli and the interviewer laugh.

It should be noted that IN 2011 that Moore said he and the producer play for more than “mere pennies.”

On Moore and Sean Connery: Moore “is a very amusing man, he’s a lovely guy. I’m very fond of Roger and I was very fond of Sean too. Sean was very amusing and a good guy to work with. Roger is as well. He keeps the crew all laughing and that helps….Roger keeps things going.”

On the shift in tone with For Your Eyes Only compared with Moonraker: “There isn’t terribly much gadgetry in this picture…We’ve gone back more or less to the more adventurous, more dramatic picture like (From) Russia With Love was….The reason is we felt it was time we reverted back to more of a story and more of an adventure picture. Not through criticism or anything but through intuition.”

On his work habits: “I guess I am a workaholic….I go to this cinema every time…I sit and listen to the reaction from the audience, and know where we might have goofed or where we have done a really good job by their reactions. I listen to what they say, good or bad. That’s my pleasure, to analyze my own operation, analyze the picture….Very gratifying thing, to me.”

His reaction to being described as “the man” behind the films: “No, there’s more than one man behind 007. I’m one of many. We started this picture with my partner Harry Saltzman, he was one of the men behind Bond. He’s doing other things now. It’s a team. It’s not just one man.”

A 007 discussion on an Illinois public radio station

Casino Royale’s original cover

WILL, a public radio station in Illinois, had a James Bond discussion on April 11, in connection with the University of Illinois’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of Casino Royale’s publication.

On hand were Michael VanBlaricum, president of the Ian Fleming Foundation, and John Cork, who has directed many of documentaries that accompany James Bond movie DVDs.

Near the start of the program, called Focus, Cork said that Bond was “significantly different” from other characters who had come before because he was part of a “post World War II universe” who could be the “knife that cut the Gordian Knot” of complicated post-war problems. “He can be portrayed as a hero,” Cork said. “He still does that.”

VanBlaricum said newer movies, including the 2006 Casino Royale, “really did follow the James bond style created by Ian Fleming” and there’s “a lot of Fleming in Daniel Craig’s performance.”

Cork, who formerly was involved with the foundation, observes that the various actors have brought things to the 007 role. Regarding original film 007 star Sean Connery, he says: “They wouldn’t have had a job if Connery wasn’t so good at what he did.”

To listen to the entire program, CLICK HERE. When that page comes up, go to the left. There are icons to either listen to the program or to download it.

You Only Live Twice not forgotten in Japan

You Only Live Twice marker in western Japan. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

You Only Live Twice is still remembered in Japan.

In the western part of the country, used as a location in the 1967 James Bond film for the Ama fishing village, there is a stone marker in honor of the movie.

Masatoshi Masuda took a photograph of it and a friend of his let us know. It’s reproduced here with Mr. Masuda’s permission.

“Our James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, was filmed on location here at Akime,” the marker reads. It bears the signatures of producer Albert R. Broccoli, star Sean Connery and co-star Tetsuro Tamba, who played Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese Secret Service.

You can look up other You Only Live Twice filming locations BY CLICKING HERE.

TCM includes From Russia With Love in LA film festival

TCM is including From Russia With Love, the second James Bond film, for the opening day of its DESTINATION HOLLYWOOD classic film festival on April 25-28.

TCM promotes the event as a way for “movie lovers from around the world can gather to experience classic movies as they were meant to be experienced: on the big screen, in some of the world’s most iconic venues, with the people who made them.”

With much of the cast and crew of Terence Young-directed From Russia With Love no longer with us, there won’t be a veteran of the Bond movie on hand for the April 25 showing at the Chinese Multiplex 1 in Hollywood at 9 p.m. local time. However, screenwriter Bruce Feirstein, who labored on three 1990s 007 films, will be part of the program, according to TCM.

Here’s part of the TCM DESCRIPTION OF THE MOVIE:

The second James Bond film contained a series of impressive firsts. It was the first of the series to feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q, the first scored entirely by John Barry, the first with a title song and the first to become a huge international success. With a tautly constructed plot, a witty script and two unforgettable villains (Lotte Lenya’s Rosa Klebb and Robert Shaw’s Red Grant), it’s little wonder it’s often hailed as among the best of the Bonds.

Festival passes RANGE FROM $249 TO $1,599 EACH. Individual movies can be seen FOR $20 EACH but tickets won’t be sold until just before show time (pass holders get seated first). According to TCM, “individual ticket seekers should be able to attend many of their desired screenings. We advise that you arrive a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the start time of your desired events to get in the stand-by line.”

You can view the festival schedule BY CLICKING HERE. You’ll first see the Thursday, April 25 schedule. Use the tabs at the top to check each day. You can CLICK HERE to see the list of films being show.

Thanks to Mark Henderson for pointing this out to us.

Comparing 1982 and 2013 Oscars from a 007 view

The Oscars on Oct. 24 had the biggest 007 presence since 1982. So how did the two nights compare?

For 007 fans, this year’s Oscars were a mixed bag. Skyfall won two Oscars, breaking a 47-year Oscar drought. But a promised Bond tribute seemed rushed and some fans grumbled that Skyfall should have come away with more awards.

Skyfall came away with the Oscar for Best Song after three previous 007 tries (Live And Let Die, Nobody Does it Better from The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only) as well as best sound editing in a tie with Zero Dark Thirty. But neither director of photography Roger Deakins or composer Thomas Newman scored an award, continuing their personal Oscar losing streaks.

Anyway, the 1982 and 2013 Oscars shows had one thing in common: Each had a montage of James Bond clips. In ’82, it was presented just before Eon Productions co-founder Albert R. Broccoli received the Irving R. Thalberg Award, given to a producer for his or her body of work. That montage included dialogue, including different actors getting to say, “My name is Bond, James Bond.”

Thirty-one years later, there was another montage, a little snappier but clips still familiar to most 007 fans. The clips were accompanied by The James Bond Theme and an instrumental version of Live And Let Die.

The 1982 show had a big production, with Sheena Easton performing For Your Eyes Only (nominated for Best Song, but which lost) along with a Moonraker-themed dance number that included appearances by Richard Kiel as Jaws and Harold Sakata as Oddjob. In 2013, the clip montage led to Shirley Bassey singing Goldfinger and drawing a standing ovation. And then….well, the 007 tribute was over. Adele performed Skyfall separately as one of the Best Song nominees.

In 1982, Roger Moore introduced Cubby Broccoli. In 2013, no Bonds appeared. Supposedly, that wasn’t the original plan, according to Nikki Finke, editor-in-chief of the Deadline entertainment news Web site. In a “LIVE SNARK” FROM THE OSCARS, she wrote:

The Academy and the show’s producers hoped to gather together all the living 007 actors. But Sean Connery refused to come because he hates the Broccoli family. Something about how he thinks they cheated him out of money he was owed. Then Pierce Brosnan refused to come because he hates the Broccoli family as well. Something about how he thinks they pulled him from the role too early. Roger Moore was dying to come because, well, he’s a sweetheart. And Daniel Craig would have come because he does what he’s told by the Broccoli family’s Eon Productions whose Bond #23 Skyfall just went through the box office global roof. So there you have it.

Finkke didn’t say how she came by this information. In mid-February, her site ran an interview with the producers of the Oscars show and that story said the six Bond film actors wouldn’t appear at the show and referred to “rampant media speculation” concerning such a joint appearance. Still, her Web site was the first to report that Sam Mendes was likely to direct Skyfall, so it can’t be disregarded completely.

In any case, the 1982 show had something not available to the producers of the Oscars show this year: Cubby Broccoli. He gave a particularly gracious speech when accepting his Thalberg award. He acknowledged both of his former partners, Irving Allen and Harry Saltzman, despite substantial differences of opinion he had with them in the past.

In the end, that speech sets the 1982 show apart from a 007 perspective despite the record two 007 wins for Skyfall. We’ve embedded it before, but here it is once more:

Oscars producer says show won’t have 6 Bond actors

One of the producers of the Feb. 24 Oscars telecast told THE DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD WEB SITE the show’s James Bond tribute won’t include the six film 007s together.

The Web site interviewed Craig Zadan and Neil Meron about their plans for the broadcast, which will be seen on ABC in the U.S. There was this excerpt:

“We certainly are going to be celebrating the nominees and winners like a regular Oscar show, but they are fitting into the design of the show that we’ve created, so there’s going to be an enormous amount of entertainment”, Zadan says, pointing to the 50 years of James Bond tribute they have announced, which won’t be a reunion of the actors who played 007 despite rampant media speculation. “It’s something else, something very unique and very exciting but no, we’re not getting the Bonds together”.

Zadan isn’t quoted about what the something else is. To view the entire story, which details planned changes in the telecast, CLICK HERE. Meanwhile, you can CLICK HERE for a sampling of some stories that presented less-than-convincing evidence that a joint appearance of the six actors was going to happen.

How British are 007 films?

BAFTA winner for Outstanding British Film

Of course James Bond films are British. They concern a British icon and are filmed in the U.K. What could be more obvious? That’s like asking if Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley are British.

Well, that might not be the best comparison given that Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd. and Bentley is owned by Volkswagen AG. Still, 007 films have always been considered British.

Still, the answer isn’t as easy as it might appear.

In the early days, the series made by Eon Productions Ltd. was U.K.-based. While producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were born elsewhere, they were operated out of the U.K. and the movies were full of British film talent such as director of photography Ted Moore, (naturalized citizen) production designer Ken Adam and editor Peter Hunt. Of course, the U.S.-based studio United Artists financed the movies.

It pretty much remained that way until Diamonds Are Forever. The Inside Diamonds Are Forever documentary directed by John Cork notes that the producers initially intended to Americanize Bond, even hiring an American (John Gavin) for the role. It was going to be based out of Universal Studios.

Things changed. Sean Connery returned as Bond (at the insistence of United Artists) and U.K.’s Pinewood Studios was again the home base. Yet, some key jobs were split between British and American crew members, including stunt arranger, assistant director, art director, set decorator, production manager and visual effects.

Also, as the years passed, Eon for a variety of reasons (financial among them) based some films primarily outside of the U.K. They included Moonraker (the first unit was based out of France, Derek Meddings’s special effects unit still labored at Pinewood), Licence to Kill (Mexico) and Casino Royale (Czech Republic, with some sequences shot at Pinewood).

What’s more, movies not thought of as British, such as Star Wars (1977), Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) were based out of the U.K. Each had key British crew members, including: Star Wars with production designer John Barry (not to be confused with the 007 film composer), whose group won the art direction Oscar over Ken Adam & Co. (The Spy Who Loved Me); Superman with Barry again, director of photography Geoffrey Unsworth, and second unit director John Glen; Batman with art director Terry Ackland-Snow, assistant director Derek Cracknell and special visual effects man Derek Meddings. Batman was filming at Pinewood at around the same time Licence to Kill’s crew was working in Mexico.

Still, Superman and Batman (which both debuted during the Great Depression) are American icons and Star Wars, while set in a galaxy far, far away, is too.

At the same time, Skyfall, which came out on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 12, is very British. Much of the story takes place there and many of Shanghai and Macao scenes were really filmed at Pinewood, with the second unit getting exterior shots.

On Feb. 10, Skyfall picked up the Oustanding British Film award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It was a first and a lot of 007 fans are still taking it all in.

In truth, movies generally are an international business these days, Bond films included. But 007 isn’t likely to lose his identification as being a British product anytime soon, much the way Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley have a British identity regardless of ownership.

Daily Show does a (sort of) double 007

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show did a (sort of) double 007 on its Jan. 24 edition.

First up: a clip from 1964′s Goldfinger, where James Bond (Sean Connery) was at the mercy of Auric Goldfinger, used as a joke during a segment concerning severe air pollution in China.

Host Jon Stewart made the point that Americans ought not be afraid of a nation of people who have become “instant smokers” because of China’s air pollution problems.

“We’ve got to stop being afraid of China and just think of them as another wheezing smoker,” Stewart said. “Very hard to be an evil arch villain with a heavy smoker’s cough.” That’s when the Goldfinger clip (Bond about to be dissected by Goldfinger’s laser beam) pops up. Stewart then talks about what it would have been like if Goldfinger kept hacking and couldn’t say, “No, I expect you to die.”

The second: Stewart’s featured guest was actor Christopher Walken, who played villain Max Zorin in 1985′s A View to a Kill, the final Roger Moore 007 film. No mention of Bond came up. But Walken is an interesting guy (among other things he mentioned how he still doesn’t use computers and doesn’t have his own cell phone) and the segment went by quickly.

You can CLICK HERE to see the entire Jan. 24 show. The Goldfinger gag comes up around the 11:24 mark. The Walken interview comes up at the 14:55 mark.

Some less-than-convincing 007 journalism

“What’s the matter, James? You sound skeptical!”

There has been some less-than-convincing journalism recently concerning Agent 007. A few examples caught our eye:

We Got This Covered, Jan. 12: The entertainment Web site had A STORY with this headline: “All Six James Bonds May Be On Stage At Oscars.”

The evidence?

Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton have reportedly agreed, making Sean Connery the lone hold-out. An Oscars source said he is hopeful that Connery will join the other five. Check out that comment below. (emphasis added)

“Sir Sean has been invited to take to the stage along with Daniel and the other 007s. As yet, we’ve not had a no from him. Normally he is quick to turn things down…

First “reportedly” translates roughly to “we don’t know this ourselves and we don’t want to credit those who have reported it.” Also, Connery hasn’t said no? Wake us up when he actually says yes.

Vanity Fair, Jan. 24: The magazine’s Web site had THIS STORY about the prospect of all six film 007s appearing at the Oscars. An excerpt:

A day after it was announced that Adele would perform her Oscar-nominated James Bond theme song, “Skyfall,” for the first time live at next month’s Academy Awards, a rumor is circulating the Interweb that the Academy will further pad the James Bond portion of the February 24 program. Producers have already revealed that the show, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, will feature a 50th-anniversary tribute to the iconic British spy, most likely a montage celebrating the franchise’s 23 films. A new report, however, speculates that all six of the actors who have played Bond over the years—Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig—will unite for the first time ever at the Oscars as further tribute to the Ian Fleming character.

A rumor? On the Internet? Vanity Fair presents a link to THIS STORY from the Independent that says, well, there’s a rumor.

Geek Tyrant, Jan. 24: The Web site had THIS STORY that proclaimed it had been CONFIRMED the six Bond film actors would appear. Its evidence? A link to the same story in the Independent that Vanity Fair linked that said, well, there’s a rumor it will happen.

NewsRadio95.com, Jan. 24: The radio station’s Web site has THIS STORY with this excerpt:

Yesterday we brought you the news that Adele will be appearing at the 2013 Oscars to perform the Best Original Song nominated “Skyfall.” But now there’s even bigger James Bond news to share: it’s looking like every actor who has portrayed the classic character are set to appear on stage together for the first time ever to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of James Bond. This calls for a martini!

Now before we get too excited, we must remember that this is not confirmed as of yet, but it’s a rumor that has been floating and the Adele news supports it. Can’t you just picture the singer’s luscious voice ushering the Bonds on stage as the crowd loses its collective mind? (emphasis added)

Before we get too excited, let us know when you have actual information you’re willing to stand behind.

Forbes.com, Jan. 22: The financial magazine’s Web site had THIS STORY that proclaimed, “`Skyfall’ Becomes Tenth Highest-Grossing Film of All Time.” One problem: there are no actual figures to back this up.

The exact box office totals are not yet officially tabulated, but they will place Bond’s current receipts at somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.045 billion. Yesterday, Skyfall opened in China to enormous numbers, and it should finish its run as the seventh highest-grossing movie in history, bumping The Dark Knight Rises down to number eight on the all-time list.

At the time this was posted, there was exactly one day of Skyfall box office sales data in China available ($5.1 million). The author didn’t know he was estimating. Maybe he was right, but he had no actual hard data to back it up. The movie has had better-than-expected ticket sales and, as of the start of the week, was knocking on the top 10 in ticket sales unadjusted for inflation. But this reads more like an exercise in getting people to click than actual journalism.

During Skyfall’s production there were a number of stories from various sources (including U.K. tabloid newspapers) that TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE. These stories varied in how transparent the outlets obtained their information. Some had solid records in reporting scoops ahead of official press releases.

The examples cited above didn’t appear to even check things out. Instead, they were content to repeat rumors or guess.

45th anniversary of the end of U.N.C.L.E. (and ’60s spymania)

The symbolism of a 1965 TV Guide ad for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. came true little more than two years later. (Picture from the For Your Eyes Only Web site)

Jan. 15 marks the 45th anniversary of the end of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It was also the beginning of the end for 1960s spymania.

Ratings for U.N.C.L.E. faltered badly in the fall of 1967, where it aired on Monday nights. It was up against Gunsmoke on CBS — a show that itself had been canceled briefly during the spring of ’67 but got a reprieve thanks to CBS chief William Paley. Instead of oblivion, Gunsmoke was moved from Saturday to Monday.

Earlier, Norman Felton, U.N.C.L.E.’s executive producer, decided some retooling was in order for the show’s fourth season. He brought in Anthony Spinner, who often wrote for Quinn Martin-produced shows, as producer.

Spinner had also written a first-season U.N.C.L.E. episode and summoned a couple of first-season writers, Jack Turley and Robert E. Thompson, to do some scripts. Also in the fold was Dean Hargrove, who supplied two first-season scripts but had his biggest impact in the second, when U.N.C.L.E. had its best ratings. Hargrove was off doing other things during the third season, although he did one of the best scripts for The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. during 1966-67.

Hargrove, however, quickly learned the Spinner-produced U.N.C.L.E. was different. In a 2007 interview on the U.N.C.L.E. DVD set, Hargrove said Spinner was of “the Quinn Martin school of melodrama.” Spinner wanted a more serious take on the show compared with the previous season, which included a dancing ape. Hargrove, adept at weaving (relatively subtle) humor into his stories, chafed under Spinner. The producer instructed his writers that U.N.C.L.E. should be closer to James Bond than Get Smart.

The more serious take also extended to the show’s music, as documented in liner notes by journalist Jon Burlingame for U.N.C.L.E. soundstracks released between 2004 and 2007 and the FOR YOUR EYES ONLY U.N.C.L.E. TIMELINE.

Matt Dillon (James Arness), right, and sidekick Festus (Ken Curtis) got new life at U.N.C.L.E.’s expense.

Gerald Fried, the show’s most frequent composer, had a score rejected. Also jettisoned was a new Fried arrangement of Jerry Goldsmith’s theme music. A more serious-sounding one was arranged by Robert Armbruster, the music director of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Most of the fourth season’s scores would be composed by Richard Shores. Fried did one fourth-season score, which sounded similar to the more serious style of Shores.

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, however, weren’t a match for a resurgent Matt Dillon on CBS. NBC canceled U.N.C.L.E. A final two-part story, The Seven Wonders of the World Affair, aired Jan. 8 and 15, 1968..

U.N.C.L.E. wouldn’t be the first spy casualty. NBC canceled I Spy, with its last new episode appearing April 15, 1968. Within 18 months of U.N.C.L.E.’s demise, The Wild, Wild West was canceled by CBS (its final new episode aired aired April 4, 1969 although CBS did show fourth-season reruns in the summer of 1970) and the last episode of The Avengers was produced, appearing in the U.S. on April 21, 1969. NBC also canceled Get Smart after the 1968-69 season but CBS picked up the spy comedy for 1969-70. Mission: Impossible managed to stay on CBS until 1973 but abandoned spy storylines its last two seasons as the IMF opposed “the Syndicate.”

Nor were spy movies exempt. Dean Martin’s last Matt Helm movie, The Wrecking Crew, debuted in U.S. theaters in late 1968. Despite a promise in the end titles that Helm would be back in The Ravagers, the film series was done. Even the James Bond series, the engine of the ’60s spy craze, was having a crisis in early 1968. Star Sean Connery was gone and producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman pondered their next move. James Bond would return but things weren’t quite the same.