MI6 Confidential, 007 Magazine out with new issues

The World Is Not Enough poster

Two separate publications are out that may be of interest to James Bond fans.

MI6 Confidential No. 44 focuses on The World Is Not Enough, the 19th James Bond film. The 1999 movie was the final 007 production of the 20th century and the third Bond film to star Pierce Brosnan.

Articles include a look at how Brosnan felt about the Bond role the third time out; a feature about Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards and the characters they played; and a story about how Robbie Coltrane returned to the series and his character was expanded.

The issue also has stories going beyond the movie, including one about production Peter Lamont and how he became involved in the film series and another about former United Artists executive Jeff Kleeman and his involvement with Bond in the 1990s

For ordering information, CLICK HERE. The price is 7 British pounds, $9.50 or 8.50 euros.

Meanwhile, 007 Magazine is accepting pre-orders for a 007 Magazine Archives Files issue devoted to Luciana Paluzzi, who played SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in Thunderball.

Luciana Paluzzi and Sean Connery during the filming of Thunderball

According to the publication, Paluzzi “discussed in detail her varied life and career.” Other highlights for Paluzzi included a pre-Thunderball appearance on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as another femme fatale. Toward the end of her career, she was a guest star in the original Hawaii Five-O series as an Italian journalist. On that episode, she played opposite Jack Lord, the first screen Felix Leiter.

For ordering information, CLICK HERE. The price is 9.99 British pounds, $15.99 and 11.99 euros. The issue is to begin shipping on March 26.

 

TWINE’s 15th anniversary: a transition for 007

The World Is Not Enough poster

The World Is Not Enough, the 19th film in the 007 film series made by Eon Productions, marked a transition.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli hired a director, Michael Apted, with little experience in action movies. Apted was brought on because of his drama experience.

The producers also hired a new writing team, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, to develop the story. They’re still in the world of 007 15 years later.

The script development established a pattern the duo would soon be familiar with. They delivered their script, which would be reworked by other writers. In the case of The World Is Not Enough, Dana Stevens, Apted’s wife, revised the story. Another scribe, Bruce Feirstein, worked on the final drafts. Purvis, Wade and Feirstein would get a screen credit.

Meanwhile, Judi Dench’s M got expanded screen time, something that would persist through 2012’s Skyfall. The film also marked the final appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q. John Cleese came aboard as Q’s understudy.

Pierce Brosnan, in his third 007 outing, was now an established film Bond. In interviews at the time, he talked up the increased emphasis on drama. In the film, Bond falls for Elektra King, whose industrialist father is killed in MI6’s own headquarters. But in a twist, Elektra (played by Sophie Marceau) proves to be the real mastermind.

The movie tried to balance the new emphasis on drama with traditional Bond bits such as quips and gadgets, such as the “Q boat” capable of diving underwater or rocketing across land. Some fans find the character of Dr. Christmas Jones, a scientist played by Denise Richards, over the top.

Sometimes, the dual tones collided. Cleese’s initial appearance was played for laughs. In the same scene, however, Q, in effect, tells Bond good-bye in what’s intended to be a touching moment. It was indeed the final good-bye. Llewelyn died later that year as the result of a traffic accident.

The movie was a financial success, with $361.8 million in worldwide box office. Broccoli and Wilson, meanwhile, would return to the idea of increased drama in later entries after recasting Bond with Daniel Craig.

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.

Barbara Broccoli plugs Skyfall’s Oscar chances

Barbara Broccoli

Barbara Broccoli, co-boss of Eon Productions, says Daniel Craig’s and Judi Dench’s performances as M in Skyfall have Oscar potential

THE TELEGRAPH CITING RADIO TIMES quotes Broccoli thusly:

“I am surprised there haven’t been acting nominations, if not for Bond then for the support.” Broccoli said she “wouldn’t be surprised if Judi was nominated for this one”.
A nomination for Daniel Craig as Bond should not be out of the question either, according to Broccoli, who described him as “that extraordinary combination of movie star and great actor”.

Broccoli also had this quote:

(Broccoli) admitted that Bond’s treatment of women in the middle years of the franchise were “distasteful”.
Ursula Andress in Dr No and Honor Blackman in Goldfinger were capable characters, Broccoli said. “Unfortunately, later in the series they got to be window dressing. [Bond] developed some rather distasteful pastimes but those have now receded into the past.
“Now it’s about the cocktail, the cars and the beautiful countries he gets to go to, [and] resourceful, strong women who give as much as they get.”

The article doesn’t provide specifics concerning which Bond women characters were distateful.

Barbara Bach’s Soviet Agent Triple-X in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me was the first “Bond’s equal.” Lois Chiles’s Holly Goodhead character, despite the risque name (presumably inspired by Blackman’s Pussy Galore character), was supposed to be along the same lines in 1979’s Moonraker, a woman who doubled as CIA agent and astronaut.

Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson took over as producers of the Bond series starting with 1995’s GoldenEye. Their tenure included another “Bond’s equal” with Michelle Yeoh’s Wai Lin, a Chinese agent in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies. On the other hand, it also included Denise Richards portraying Dr. Christmas Jones, who some fans saw as an unlikely scientist, in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.

ZOO’s Top 10 Sexiest Bond Girls

British-based ZOO.com has a list of their picks for the top 10 sexiest of the James Bond girls.  Whether or not you agree with the list, the piece is striking in that it features some pretty rare photographs of the women in question.  The one of the perpetually underappreciated Mie Hama (Kissy Suzuki of You Only Live Twice) being a prime example.

Check out ZOO for the photos.