It’s tough being James Bond in real life

“James Bond? Never heard of him!”

It’s one thing to be James Bond in a movie. It’s something else entirely to be James Bond in real life. Ian Fleming, of course, “simply stole” the name of the real-life ornithologist (1900-1989) while writing his first novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. The world-famous name has caused problems for some men ever since.

That, at least is the premise of a new documentary, The Other Fellow. The film was directed by Matthew Boyer, who told us about what prompted the project.

Am writing to show you a preview of a documentary called “The Other Fellow” about real men around the world named James Bond and how the popularity of the films and the character has affected their lives. It was shot in the leadup to the release of Skyfall, a period that heavily effects the day to day life of these real-life James Bonds.

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The title comes from George Lazenby’s famous line in OHMSS “this never happened to the other fellow” – said in reference to his more famous predecessor Sean Connery. For the Bond’s in our film this seemed appropriate, living in the shadow of their famous alter ego.

We have ten Bonds from around the world who have had to deal with numerous Seinfeld-style problems (being banned from Facebook, dealing with the police, airport security and waiters) as a result of the name as well as more serious topics such as a James Bond in the Caribbean who was targeted and shot by the local police force – “the Guyana police still joke about it, they did what the KGB, the Russians, the Germans and everyone else was trying to do for years – shoot James Bond”.

Here’s the trailer for the documentary:

Of course, 15 years ago, when Tomorrow Never Dies was coming out, Heineken had a James Bond promotion that also featured real-life James Bonds. It’s still on YouTube:

Happy New Year, 007 style

“Sounds like a jolly good time.”

One of the more elaborate ways to ring in the new year is the JAMES BOND GALA IN WASHINGTON, D.C. at the Washington Plaza Hotel.

Here’s part of the description for this year’s edition on Monday, Dec. 31:

SHAKEN & STIRRED! Hundreds of James Bond Fans, Secret Agents and Bond Girls have already renewed their License to Thrill for the James Bond Thunderball Gala taking place on New Year’s Eve 2013 in Washington DC.

EXQUISITELY EVIL! 2013 James Bond Gala Partner, the International Spy Museum in Washington DC has a brand new EXQUISITELY EVIL – 50 Years of Bond Villains exhibition with 110+ artifacts directly on loan from the archives of EON Productions, the Bond film producers.

ALL TIME HIGH! The 11th Annual 2012/2013 New Year’s Eve James Bond Gala celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Secret Agent, “Bond, James Bond” at the Washington Plaza Hotel, on Thomas Circle in downtown Washington DC on 31st December 2012.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY! The Washington Plaza Hotel – DC’s beautiful, cozy, retro cool spot on 10 Thomas Circle, Washington DC 20008, will be transformed into exotic James Bond destinations with props, decor, food, libations and entertainment at Washington DC’s ONE & ONLY New Year’s Eve Gala with a James Bond theme.

There are three ticket levels: regular at $129-$169; VIP at $179-$210; and Presidential at $250-$450. However, the presidential tickets already appear to be sold out according to a Dec. 1 update. You can CLICK HERE if you’re interested in getting tickets.