Literary 007 Twitter completes his journey

Part of the Twitter home page for @JB_UnivEX

@JB_UnivEX has completed his 14-year journey (a little over a year in real time) showing what it might be like if the literary James Bond were on Twitter.

The literary Bond, of course, was bound by the Official Secrets Act. So he couldn’t *really* say what was going on. But for those who read Ian Fleming’s original novels and short stories could follow the unfolding events.

One of the challenges for @JB_UnivEX was how Fleming himself wasn’t consistent with his own timeline. So, the Twitter account attempted to bring order to things.

For example, it began the events of the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service novel. Then, Bond had to make a quick trip to Canada to deal with the events of The Spy Who Loved Me novel before resuming the Majesty’s tale.

The blog first did its first post about @JB_UnivEX in April 2018 as Casino Royale was wrapping up. In the back of my mind, I was curious how he’d handle the conclusion of You Only Live Twice with a Bond suffering from amnesia.

This was how:

10 Oct 62: My name is Taro Todaroki, I live on a Japanese island called Kuro with my girlfriend Kissy and will be tweeting about my life as a fisherman. #MyFirstTweet

— Taro Todaroki (@Taro__Todoroki) May 7, 2019

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Another highlight was when a brainwashed Bond arrived in London early in the events of The Man With the Golden Gun novel. Brainwashed Bond decides to take in a movie before going to MI6 headquarters.

5 Nov 63: Not sure I will bother with any other Sean Connery films. Lotte Lenya’s character is a extremely mean and one-eyed interpretation of a patriotic Soviet soldier who has clearly been brainwashed by capitalism pic.twitter.com/kdcFFo8tcV

— James Bond (1952-64) (@JB_UnivEx) May 18, 2019

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In any event, for fans of the literary Bond (and 007 in general), it has been a great ride. This was the final tweet in character. We’re told the more than 2,300 tweets will be re-edited and represented in the future. However, there are no plans to do the continuation novels.

27 Feb 64: Goodnight really is an angel. But at the same time, I know, deep down, that love from her or from any other woman, is not enough for me. It would be like taking “a room with a view”. For me, the same view will always pall.

— James Bond (1952-64) (@JB_UnivEx) June 14, 2019

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Eon seeks to regain the B25 narrative with Craig photo

Eon’s Bond 25 logo

The official 007 Twitter account of Eon Productions today posted a photograph of Daniel Craig working out at the gym of Pinewood Studios.

“#007 Daniel Craig hitting the gym hard, prepping for shooting next week!” according to the caption that accompanied the photo.

When last seen out in public, the 51-year-old actor was on crutches and his left foot in a cast while at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. He had previously underwent surgery for an ankle injury suffered during Bond 25’s shoot in Jamaica.

It’s not much of a stretch to view the tweet (and new photo of Craig in the gym) as Eon trying to regain control of the Bond 25 narrative. The only sign of the actor’s injury is the cast he’s still wearing.

Besides Craig’s injury, a June 4 explosion damaged the 007 Stage, causing one minor injury. Both incidents have generated bad publicity for the film, with British tabloids, led by the Sun, generating multiple stories.

Also, this week, director Cary Fukunaga posted a photo on Instagram of a crew member with an over-sized clapperboard. The Eon 007 Twitter account also sent that out. The message: Production continues despite the problems.

Here’s the new Tweet from Eon:

#007 Daniel Craig hitting the gym hard @pinewoodstudios, prepping for shooting next week! #Bond25 📷 @GregWInsight pic.twitter.com/PrXZDnSX0O

— James Bond (@007) June 15, 2019

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