Interesting stuff, Ace.

BTW, does anyone know if Bond and Moneypenny have ever "done" it in any of the novels? Or is she just destined spend her life alone with her shower attachment, wishing for true love?

Ya know, like a more attractive Janeanne Garafalo.

To my knowledge, no. Perfectly chaste.

I don't read the post-Bond books, but I assume that continutes.

I mean the post-Fleming books.

I think the closest they ever got was an agreement to have date-dinner, but that was interrupted by "business."

And I'm not even sure that was in a book.

Nice post. Didn't know none of this. (and I second the mad props to Chandler)

Holy shit, and I thought this blog meant you had too much time on your hands....

Ace, I'm sure you knew that McClory tried to remake Thunderball *again* just a few years ago, with Sony backing him up?

Of all the Bond movies to remake, they keep going down *that* well.

Seriously, when do we get the gangsta rap version of Live and Let Die?

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

It's Karl Stromberg. Weakest archvillain ever.

Oh, and as a public service, in case you didn't know:

American Movie Classics (you know, the channel that used to show Citizen Kane but under new ownership now shows Predator 2) is having a month-long Bond marathon starting Monday, 8 August with Dr. No and going through (the underrated) License to Kill.

Oh, and they're going to show them twice: the first the crappy pan-and-scan, the second time a "restored" (whatever that means in this context, I'm assuming the DVD version) widescreen version.

I dunno about you, but there goes my August.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

BTW, does anyone know if Bond and Moneypenny have ever "done" it in any of the novels?

Not sure about novels, but - although I have reason to suspect it may not be part of the 'offical canon' - they finally do the deed in my VHS copy of "For Your Mouth Only." (Surprised me too!)

Speaking of replacing people - TLC conspiracy uncovered!

Man...can I ever empathize with McClory. After all those years of working with Ace to come up with the "Johnny Coldcuts" character, I haven't seen one red cent either.

If I'm lucky, though, I will eventually get permission to sell the Johnny Coldcuts script I've been working on: "Rye Another Day".

That was more interesting than any Bond movie. You should turn it into a screenplay...

Very interesting. I've never heard about any of this before.

Let's see--Thunderball and Never Say Never Again--is that the one where the bad guys acquire nuclear weapons, and Bond has to stop them? That one with the attractive woman?

And that actor that Roger Moore slammed on the set?

Yep, you guessed it.

Frank Stallone.

Am I the only guy who kept waiting for Telly Savales to say "who loves you baby" in On Her Majesty's Secret Service?

Actually, Bond and Moneypenny don't even flirt all that much in the novels - that's mostly a bit from the movies.

The novel of The Spy Who Loved Me has an interesting history too. It's an anomaly in the series, ostensibly "written by" a young woman who was rescued by Bond after running afoul of some gangsters menacing her in the empty motel she's looking after. Bond kind of comes into the picture by happenstance, and only late in the book.

It was basically an attempt by Fleming to experiment with the formula (and go in sort of a Mickey Spillane direction), one which Fleming considered a failed experiment. He didn't want it to be rereleased in paperback (and it wasn't until after his death), and for another oddity, while he *did* sell the film rights, he stipulated that the filmmakers *must* deviate from the book and only use the title.

And if you're interested in obscure Bond trivia, this book is a great source:

http://tinyurl.com/atahw

"The Bond Files," by Andy Lane and Paul Simpson

Ace,

Good info, thanks for the background. But what about Casino Royale? That's the other "non-canon" (i.e., legally complicated) Bond film, shot as a spoof featuring David Niven and Peter Sellers . . . I've never seen it (yet) but my understanding is that it is nothing like the Fleming book.

Interestingly enough, the Broccoli team is making Casino Royale as the next Bond film (jamesbond.com for more info) . . . though they've got no Bond yet (still talking with Brosnan, rumors say). The book's a pretty good read.

I'm going to be doing a "Bond beginning to end" series on the movies and books, which I have committed to seeing and reading, starting in the next few days with a review of Fleming's Casino Royale, and the Broccoli/Saltzman film Dr. No.

Not going to delve too much into the history, just going to shoot from the hip. I'll leave the serious Bond geekery to you :-)

John F. Kennedy mentioned that he was currently reading From Russia With Love

As a kid I read many of the Bond books and am not surprised that JFK read such low-brow fare. Kennedy's favorite book (whose title escapes me right now) was said to about the English aristocracy who partied heavy (as only a Regency buck like Kennedy a can do) but bravely defended their country on the battlefield. How adolecent!

Uh, not to be too critical here 72, but you also just described at least half of Hemingway's novels with that post.

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