MI6 Confidential interviews Purvis & Wade

Robert Wade, left, and Neal Purvis.

MI6 Confidential, the James Bond fan magazine, is out with a new issue that includes an interview with five-time 007 screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

In issue 24, the duo “talk candidly about their years with Bond,” according to an MI6 Confidential promo. The writing team’s work on Bond spanned more than a decade, from 1999’s The World Is Not Enough, through 2012’s Skyfall.

Purvis and Wade have now departed the series. Bond 24 is being written by John Logan, who rewrote Purvis and Wade on Skyfall. Logan is also slated to write Bond 25.

As we discussed IN A JAN. 11 POST, four of the five Purvis/Wade movies involved a theme where either Bond isn’t “fully” Bond yet, or he’s lost his mojo and needs to get it back.

Also in issue 24 of MI6 Confidential is a feature on John Glen, director of the five 1980s 007 films, about his career; a story about the casting of the female leads in 1989’s Licence to Kill; a story about Denise Richards; and a story about highlights of John Barry’s scores of Bond movies.

The price is 7 British pounds, $11 or 8.50 euros, plus postage and handling. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Elon Musk identified as buyer of 007 submarine car

“Wet Nellie” from The Spy Who Loved Me

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., the maker of luxury electric cars, has been identified as the buyer of the submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me, by the JALOPNIK Web site.

As we POSTED BEFORE, Wet Nellie, the one car that actually operated underway in the 1977 007 film, was purchased for 550,000 British pounds in early September, or about $863,000 at that time. The purchaser, though, wasn’t disclosed.

Jalopnik, in a FOLLOW-UP POST tonight said Musk revealed his plans for the car. An excerpt of what Jalopnik says is a Musk statement “via Tesla’s PR”:

“I was disappointed to learn that it can’t actually transform. What I’m going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real.”

Musk has said nothing on his Twitter account where he sometimes makes public statements.

For the uninitiated, the car that Musk bought was the one Lotus that operated underwater but its operators had to wear scuba equipment to do so. It remains to be seen what Musk — who has been compared to Tony Stark, the hero of Iron Man — will do.

(UPDATE Oct. 18): The comments to the follow-up Jalopnik post are mixed.

“Come on dude, just no. Not to the original,” one respondent wrote. “The Esprit is a pretty simple two-piece fiberglass shell, and I’m sure you can make a mould based on the real thing with no problem. Use that for your submarine, and leave the real thing alone. I say this as a Lotus Esprit owner, a Bond fan, and an all-around car guy.”

Another commenter expressed skepticism. “Next up, Musk buys the original DeLorean to build a time machine.”

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Wet Nellie auctioned for less than projected

“Wet Nellie” from The Spy Who Loved Me

“Wet Nellie,” the submarine car from 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, was auctioned on Sept. 9 but for less than some estimates before the sale.

The car fetched 550,000 British pounds (about $863,000), according to 007 fan sites such as BOND LIFESTYLE and THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER that monitored the auction online.

While not cheap, there had been projections Wet Nellie would go for 650,000 and 950,000 pounds. Not everyone was that bullish. There were low estimates that the vehicle bring a selling price of 500,000 pounds.

The result reinforces the only rule: an object, whether it’s an old comic book or something as elaborate as Wet Nellie, is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

The car that was auctioned was the one that function underwater, with frogmen in wet suits piloting the craft.

UPDATE: Robert Frank of CNBC TOOK A GUESS IN A POST ON NBC.COM why the auction price came up short. Here’s an excerpt

It’s unclear why the price was soft, given the boom in collectible cars and its status as an especially famous car from the silver screen. But auction experts said that because the Lotus was not a functional car, it may not have been as attractive to buyers. Although equipped with fins and propellers, it did not have wheels.

MI6 Confidential examines Octopussy’s 30th anniversary

MI6 Confidential, for its 21st issue, takes a look at Octopussy on its 30th anniversary.

Included in the issue is a forward by Roger Moore; an examination of how the screenplay evolved; interviews with director John Glen and cast members Maud Adams, who played the title character, Kristina Wayborn and Kabir Bedi; and a story about the television movie The Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., which featured a cameo by ex-007 George Lazenby as “JB,” and debuted on U.S. television two months before Octopussy arrived in theaters.

The magazine costs seven British pounds, $11 or 8.50 Euros. For more information about the issue and ordering information, CLICK HERE

EARLIER POSTS:
OCTOPUSSY’S 30TH: BATTLE OF THE BONDS ROUND 1

RETURN OF THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Wet Nellie (well, one of them) goes up for auction

“Wet Nellie” from The Spy Who Loved Me

“Wet Nellie,” the submarine car from 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, is coming up for auction, according to THE HEMMINGS DAILY WEB SITE.

There was no single submarine car, as noted in the documentary Inside The Spy Who Loved Me. One of the cars did function underwater, albeit with occupants with scuba equipment. Here’s an excerpt from the Hemmings Web site:

Of the eight white Lotus Esprits used in the filming of the 1977 James Bond flick The Spy Who Loved Me, none actually completely transformed from canyon-carving sports car to missile-launching submersible, as depicted in the film. One, however, was actually built as a (barely) functioning submarine, and that underwater prop will soon head to auction, potentially trading hands for the first time since it was unearthed in a storage locker in 1989.

Constructed by Perry Oceanographic, the Lotus-themed submarine was said to have cost producers over $100,000 to build. During the movie, Don Griffin, a retired Navy SEAL who served as Perry Oceanographic’s test pilot on all new underwater craft, piloted the submarine, which the filming crew affectionately dubbed “Wet Nellie.” The craft was a “wet” submarine, meaning that Griffin utilized SCUBA gear during the chase scene sequences.

The “Wet Nellie” name stemmed from 1967’s You Only Live Twice, which featured a gimmicked-up mini-helicopter dubbed “Little Nellie.”

Wet Nellie is scheduled to be auctioned in early September. For more details, you can CLICK HERE.

JULY 2012 POST: THE SPY WHO LOVED ME’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY: LICENSE RENEWED

007 Magazine offering half price on some back issues

007 Magazine is offering half-price (4.99 British pounds, 5.99 Euros and $7.99) on some of its back issues. For details and which issues are available, JUST CLICK HERE.

Doug Redenius sells his 007 collection, Daily Journal says

Doug Redenius, a vice president with the Ian Fleming Foundation, has sold his large personal James Bond collection, The Daily Journal newspaper in Kankakee, Illinois, reports. He’ll also be moving from Illinois to Florida to manage a new museum whose contents will include his former 007 collection.

The newspaper ran two stories Sept. 17. It only runs a short preview on the free portion of its Web site. Here’s a portion OF THE SECOND ARTICLE:

Soon Redenius will be starting a new career in North Miami Beach, Fla., were he will be a manager of a new 15,000-square-foot museum devoted to the life and times of the fictional character.

While many people questioned Redenius’ emotional and financial commitment to Bond during the past 30 years, he was always confident it would pay off in the end.

The lead article A PORTION OF WHICH YOU CAN VIEW BY CLICKING HERE says a proposed 007 museum in Momence, Illinois, was not going to happen.

The free portions of both articles give you a flavor of what’s happening. There are links to the paper’s e-editon as a way to get the unabridged versions of the stories.

Meanwhile, here’s a directory of previous HMSS Weblog posts about Redenius. His personal collection is separate from the 007 film vehicles owned by the Ian Fleming Foundation.

Goldinger and Thuderball DB5 sells for $4.6 million

One of the Aston Martin DB5s from Goldfinger and Thunderball has been auctioned successfully for 2.9 million British pounds, or about $4.6 million. Here’s an excerpt from a press release:

The world-famous James Bond 1964 Aston Martin DB5 movie car driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger and Thunderball, and factory-fitted with the full complement of operational ‘Q-Branch’ gadgets, was sold at auction in London today by RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, in front of a packed audience for *£2,912,000 ($4,608,500).

“RM has just established the price of fame,” said Rob Myers, Chairman and Founder, RM Auctions. ”We had a fabulous time during the promotion of the sale of 007’s DB5 and we’re really pleased to have been able to assist with finding it a great new home.”

The successful bidder, Harry Yeaggy, an American business man, is only the second ex-factory owner of the Mr. Bond’s ride. The car’s seller, Mr. Jerry Lee, an American radio broadcaster based in Philadelphia, PA, purchased it directly from the Aston Martin Lagonda factory for $12,000 in 1969.

“This is a car that I’ve always wanted, after all it is the most famous car in the world,” said Mr. Yeaggy about the purchase of the Bond DB5. “My plan is to display it in my private car museum in Ohio just as it is.”

Earlier this year, the Automotive Traveller Web site had an article detailing the car’s technical specifications.

WMAQ in Chicago profiles Ian Fleming Foundation’s Doug Redenius

WMAQ, NBC’s affiiliate in Chicago, has profiled Doug Redenius, vice president of the Ian Fleming Foundation, who supervises that group’s efforts to collect vehicles that appeared in James Bond movies.

To see the story, CLICK RIGHT HERE. The WMAQ story occurred after The Wall Street Journal ran a similar feature in August.

John Griswold’s 007 collection up for auction

Back in July, we wrote about John Griswold’s 2006 book that analyzed Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and short stories was still available. Next month, Griswold’s James Bond collection is being auctioned by Winter Associates of Plainville, Connecticut.

Among the items:
—A first edition hardback of Casino Royale, the debut Bond novel as well as other first-edition Fleming novels.
—Robert McGinnis artwork for Bond movie posters.
—A proposed McGinnis poster for Diamonds Are Forever that wasn’t used for the film’s publicity.
— Original artwork for a 1981 Marvel Comics adaptation of For Your Eyes Only.
—Mort Drucker artwork for a 1974 Mad parody of the first eight 007 movies.
–A 2002 Drucker drawing of Ian Fleming.

Why is the collection being sold now? Here’s an excerpt from a letter by Debbie Griswold, John’s wife, that’s part of the auction materials:

Thus, it is with sadness and nostalgia that I report that John’s health has declined significantly in the past two years. Early-onset Alzheimer’s has taken its toll on John, and he is no longer researching or collecting. As we move into the next chapter of our life, we must leave behind John’s collection. My hope is that John’s research materials and these items from the fascinating worlds of Ian Fleming and James Bond will bring the next owner/collector the same enjoyment and satisfaction that they brought to John – that they will forever be treasured as diamonds as they were by their loyal fan and collector John Griswold.

There’s far more than we can list and link to here so YOU CAN CLICK RIGHT HERE to see the items that are up for sale.