Bill Russell’s appearance on spy television

Logo for It Takes a Thief

Bill Russell, one of the greatest players in the National Basketball Association, has died at 88, according to The New York Times.

The center for the Boston Celtics from the 1950s to the end of the 1960s, won 11 NBA championships over a 13-year career.

A footnote to Russell’s stellar basketball career was a part in the 1960s spy series It Takes a Thief where Robert Wagner was the star. The episode was titled The Thingamabob Heist in 1968.

In real life, Russell (1934-2022) was an important sports figure and an important civil rights figure. In addition to playing for the Celtics, he was the team’s first Black head coach toward the end of his career.

Here is an excerpt from the Times’ obituary for Russell:

He took part in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was seated in the front row of the crowd to hear the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech. He went to Mississippi after the civil rights activist Medgar Evers was murdered and worked with Evers’s brother, Charles, to open an integrated basketball camp in Jackson. He was among a group of prominent Black athletes who supported Muhammad Ali when Ali refused induction into the armed forces during the Vietnam War.

Bond concert scheduled for Oct. 4 in London

Logo for James Bond concert

A charity concert featuring songs from the James Bond film series has been scheduled for Oct. 4 at Royal Albert Hall in London, according to the venue’s website.

Here are the details.

Celebrate 60 years of the James Bond film franchise with a charity concert that will showcase the iconic music of Bond, headlined by the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey.

Curated by five-time Bond composer David Arnold and produced by EON Productions, the concert will feature Bond soundtrack artists including Garbage, as well as special guests including Celeste, putting their own interpretation on classic theme songs, backed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Dodd.

The date marks the anniversary of the world premiere of the first 007 film, Dr. No held on 5 October 1962.

More special guests to be announced

Bassey’s Twitter account helped announce the news.

To celebrate 60 years of Bond, I will be joining some other wonderful artistes to perform, for one night only, at the Royal Albert Hall!

The Sound of 007 In Concert is taking place on Tuesday, October 4th.https://t.co/yjbHBDWpaO

— Dame Shirley Bassey (@shirleybassey) July 28, 2022

Shirley Bassey performed the title songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker. All had music by John Barry with Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Don Black and and Hal David doing the lyrics.

David Arnold composed the scores for Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

As U.K. celebrates Bond, U.S. fans are green with envy

James Bond film gunbarrel

James Bond is a product of the U.K. The character envelops U.K. citizens from birth and is a source of national pride.

It’s understandable that the 60th anniversary of the film franchise is a big deal. The movies are being shown in U.K. theaters. And even more is planned as the anniversary date of Dr. No’s debut approaches on Oct. 5.

At one time, Bond was a big deal in the U.S. as well. The gentleman spy had a fan in a U.S. president (John F. Kennedy). A prominent publisher (Hugh Hefner of Playboy magazine) was a big promoter of the character.

As recently as a generation ago, the U.S. was the site of two official James Bond fan conventions (1994 in Los Angeles, 1995 in New York City).

Today, not so much. American fans of Bond can only marvel at the U.K. events that are unfolding.

Early next month, tickets go on sale for British Film Institute events related to the 60th anniversary.

–Sept. 30 (tickets go on sale Aug. 4): Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson of Eon Productions will discuss “their careers and the Bond films, in a richly illustrated discussion featuring clips from their films.” Price: 15 British pounds (about $18). Program is scheduled for 90 minutes.

–Oct. 1: A program titled “James Bond behind the scenes: Stunts and VFX.” Tickets go on sale Aug. 4. Participants include Chris Corbould. Price: 15 British pounds. Program is scheduled for 80 minutes.

–Oct. 1: A program titled “The Sound of 007.” A description:

This new documentary reveals the history of seven decades of Bond music, from the genesis of 1962’s Dr. No and Monty Norman’s iconic theme song, through to 2021’s No Time to Die. The film charts the ups and downs of Bond soundtracks, combining interviews with stunning Bond archive material from the franchise’s 60-year journey.

Again, the price is 15 British pounds.

There are also a series of screenings of films made by Eon Productions.

Sept. 30: A 60th-anniversary screening of Dr. No.

Oct. 1: A 45th-anniversary screening of The Spy Who Loved Me.

–A 35th-anniversary screening of The Living Daylights.

–Oct. 2: A 10th-anniversary screening of Skyfall.

–Oct. 2: A screening of SPECTRE.

–Oct. 2: A screening of No Time to Die

The Gray Man’s mishmash

Poster for The Gray Man

The Gray Man, the new spy adventure on Netfix, is a bit of a mishmash.

It’s one part Bond (especially one action sequence that seems taken from Die Another Day), one part Bourne (a cynical universe), one part Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible (over-the-top action sequences), one part John Wick (impressive casualty counts) and one part Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The latter is no surprise. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo helmed some of Marvel’s biggest films, including Avengers: Endgame.

In their Marvel movies, the Russos loved to tell you the locations in BIG LETTERS. That carried over to The Gray Man (“BANGKOK,” “VIENNA,” “LANGLEY,” etc.). The brothers also like to have frantic camera movements and that’s the case here as well.

Ryan Gosling as Six, an assassin in the employ of the CIA, is more Bourne than Bond. But the script by Joe Russo and the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, makes sure to work in a Bond reference. “007 was taken,” Six says at one point.

Six has been assigned a kill but doesn’t perform it as planned. This sets up a McGuffin that drives the plot. Six now is a hunted man. One of the hunters is mercenary Lloyd Hansen, played by Chris Evans, who worked on all four of the Marvel movies directed by the Russos.

At Marvel, Evans played the straight-laced Captain America. Since his exit from the MCU, Evans has been doing different types of parts.

Here, Evans revels as the movie’s villain. However, his performance is about as subtle as Snidely Whiplash. (Google it.) The actor achieves this effect, in part, with a weird-looking mustache. He probably had a lot of fun but the Russos might have been better served if they had Evans cool it a bit.

Ana de Armas plays a CIA operative, Dani Miranda, who’s very similar to Paloma in No Time to Die (I originally typed Die Another Day; too many “Die” titles). Dani Miranda gets beaten up more than Paloma.

The Gray Man isn’t the most impressive spy entertainment. But with Bond films in another hiatus and Cruise’s Mission: Impossible series on hold until 2023, it fills a vacuum for spy fans. GRADE: B-Minus.

Pinewood submits expansion plan

Pinewood Group logo

Pinewood Studios said it’s applying for “an expanded Screen Hub scheme” of 1.4 million square feet along with a 64-acre nature reserve to Buckinghamshire Council.

The expansion would be over two sites, according to a statement — “land to the south of the Studios referred to as ‘Pinewood South’ and ‘Alderbourne Farm’ to the north.”

The studio, part of Pinewood Group, said Pinewood South “would deliver 20 new purpose-built sound stages with workshops and offices on 82 acres of land to the south of the existing studios.”

Pinewood said its plans represent an investment of 800 British pounds ($956 million). The plans announced today represent a revision to a previous plan that received planning permission in April.

Pinewood is the traditional home for James Bond films and the studio also houses productions of Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel and Star Wars brands.

The proposed expansion is taking place as the U.K. is facing a tight supply of studio space.

‘Code Name Theory’ continues

James Bond gunbarrel logo

Nature abhors a vacuum. With the James Bond film franchise, the “code name theory” (that each James Bond actor represents a different character) continues with the ending of No Time to Die.

Here is an excerpt of a Screenrant story published July 12:

Even so, there is a strong argument that Bond 26, and whoever takes over the role, would benefit from acknowledging the death of Daniel Craig’s incarnation of James Bond. This would also potentially allow for the acceptance of the long-held theory that 007/James Bond is a codename or honorific title given to spies over the years.

Right, you mean how the Elmo Lincoln, Johnny Weissmuller, Mike Henry, Ron Ely (and a lot of other actors) versions of Tarzan had code names? Or how Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson were supposedly playing different characters who happened to named Bruce Wayne who was also Batman?

Give it a rest.

There is no strong argument for the next Bond actor to “acknowledge” the code name theory. Bond is like other long-lasting characters. Should there be a “code name theory” for Sherlock Holmes?

No. Let it go. Stop it. Stop it now.

Meanwhile, the public accepts all these different versions of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan and Batman. For some reason, the “code name theory” lingers for Bond.

Yes, the Bond film series has one production company. But Eon said in 2005 it was *starting over* with Casino Royale. People (and entertainment websites hungry for clicks) won’t let this go.

Russo brothers look to create a spy franchise

Promotional image for The Gray Man

We’re in the midst of another attempt to establish a spy franchise, this one by Anthony and Joe Russo.

The Gray Man had a limited release in U.S. theaters this weekend before being shown on Netflix on July 22.

The Russos directed some of the biggest hits for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War plus two Avengers movies).

The brothers’ new effort has a cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans (retired from playing Cap for Marvel) and Ana de Armas. Streaming service Netflix provided the Russos an estimated $200 million to play with.

The New York Times published a story today about the project. According to the Times, the Russos spent $40 million and one month on a single extensive action sequence.

The Gray Man comes as the James Bond film series has entered a hiatus as it tries to decide where to go following the end of Daniel Craig’s five-film run as Bond. The Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible series is looking to conclude following movies in 2023 and 2024.

So a vacuum does exist in spy entertainment. According to the Times:

Should (The Gray Man) work, the Russos have plans for expanding the “Gray Man” universe with additional films and television series, as Disney has done with its Marvel and Star Wars franchises.

On top of all this, the once-invincible Netflix is having problems. Subscriptions for the streaming service are down. Its stock price also is down. Netflix has cut jobs.

As a result, the stakes are large all around.

Script bible for James Bond Jr.

Logo for the James Bond Jr. cartoon series, circa early 1990s

One of the more interesting parts of the James Bond film series is the James Bond Jr. cartoon series that debuted in the early 1990s.

The cartoon was co-developed by Michael G. Wilson. The show was an attempt to interest young viewers in Bond amid a 1989-1995 hiatus in the movie series.

James Bond Jr., more than three decades after his debut in a syndicated cartoon show, generates a lot of mixed comments from hard-core Bond fans.

Thanks to Bond collector Gary J. Firuta, I received a copy of the “bible” for writers of the cartoon show. Some highlights:

Our series follows the exploits and adventures of James Bond’s teenage nephew; JAMES BOND, JR. (NOTE: For clarity, hereafter, the elder James Bond will be referred to simply as “007.”)

More details:

With the security risk posed by the nature of his uncle’s work, James is enrolled in WARFIELD ACADEMY, a special, high security boarding school on the Southeast coast of Britain.

Warfield was the name of a production company set up by Albert R. Broccoli after his partnership with Irving Allen broke up. It was through Warfield (rather than Eon Productions) that Broccoli produced Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The 1968 children’s film included a combination of veterans from James Bond movies and from the 1964 film made by Walt Disney, Mary Poppins

The James Bond Jr. bible runs more than 200 pages. It describes supporting characters such as Tracy Milbanks (“the attractive daughter of Warfield’s no-nonense headmaster”); Gordon “Gordo” Leiter, “the son of 007’s best friend, CIA agent, FELIX LEITER”; and Phoebe Farragut, “the chunky bespectacled daughter of a fabulously wealthy industrialist/ambassador.”

The bible also describes how each episode of the cartoon series should mirror Bond films. It also describes how the series will have a mix of established Bond villains (Goldfinger, Oddjob, Dr. No) as well as new creations.

Terence Young accused of sexual harassment on Dr. No

The Really 007 podcast has released an interview with Marguerite LeWars, 82, in which the actress said Dr. No director Terence Young harassed her in 1962.

“I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone ever before,” LeWars said just before the 22:00 mark.

LeWars said Young asked her to attend the wrap party in a limousine. “I’m sorry to say that Terence became aggressively making a pass at me. …He actually grabbed me in various places.”

LeWars says she slapped Young twice. The director, Lewis said, threatened to cut her out of the movie.

LeWars played a photographer in the employ of Dr. No who tries to get a photo of James Bond (Sean Connery) at the Kingston, Jamaica, airport.

“I never ever told anyone,” she repeated on the podcast. The actress said the incident explained why she was dubbed in the movie.

You can view the podcast here:

Monty Norman dies at 94

Monty Norman (1928-2022)

Monty Norman, the composer of The James Bond Theme, has died, the BBC reported.

Norman was hired to score Dr. No, the first Bond film produced by Eon Productions. There were disputes how much Norman contributed versus John Barry, who orchestrated the Bond theme for the movie.

Norman said he based the theme off something he wrote for a play titled A House For Mr. Biswas. Norman won a 2001 court case after suing The Sunday Times “over an article which said he did not write the James Bond theme,” the BBC reported at the time.

The composer only worked for Eon one other time — 1963’s Call Me Bwana, a comedy starring Bob Hope.

Starting with From Russia With Love, Barry composed six straight Bond films (From Russia With Love through Diamonds Are Forever). Barry ended up composing 11 Eon Bond movies overall.

Nevertheless, Norman’s Bond theme credit was included throughout the Eon series.

In 2013, Norman described how the Bond theme came together.