TV News: Fleming on Sky Atlantic

Fleming, starring Dominic Cooper as James Bond creator Ian Fleming has already begun showing in the US and now it's the UK's turn. The first part (of four) is on Sky Atlantic at 9pm on 12 February 2014.

I hope it's as good as it looks on the trailer showing on Sky. I can't find the same one online but the BBC America one is similar but with an added voiceover:




From the Sky Atlantic website:

There's no questioning the iconic status of the man they call 007, and Fleming explores how some of the real-life exploits of Ian Fleming became the inspiration for one of the most enduring and successful characters ever.

Untroubled by the spectre of impending war, roguish playboy Ian Fleming chases women, collects rare books and lives off the family fortune. Forever in the shadow of his brother Peter (Rupert Evans) and an eternal disappointment to his formidable mother Eve (Lesley Manville), Ian is finally given some direction in his life when he's recruited by Admiral John Godfrey (Samuel West) to help in the effort against the Nazis. With the somewhat sceptical support of tough-cookie Second Officer Monday (Anna Chancellor), Ian's extraordinary imagination and ability to spin a yarn makes him a perfect fit for espionage.

The stakes increase as Ian's chance encounter with the captivating Lady Ann O'Neill (Sherlock's Lara Pulver) becomes a passionate affair that shapes both their lives. Directed by Mat Whitecross (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and the BAFTA®-nominated Road to Guantanamo) and written by John Brownlow and Don Macpherson, Fleming captures both the opulence of high society London and the suspense and intrigue behind enemy lines.

While Bond fans will spot many a nod to the legendary agent, the series is ultimately a gripping account of a playboy spy and the woman who won his heart.

Audiobooks are Forever...

Just look at the stellar readers assembled to read the James Bond novels for AudioGO. I'll be looking out for these in the library later this year.

From AudioGO's Facebook page:

Three years in the making, the project has seen distinguished director Enyd Williams and Lucy Fleming for Ian Fleming Publications, working closely with twelve British acting icons to create an exciting, modern ‘007 reloaded’ take on the new, unabridged recordings of these remarkable books.

Casino Royale read by Dan Stevens

Live and Let Die read by Rory Kinnear

Moonraker read by Bill Nighy

Diamonds Are Forever read by Damian Lewis

From Russia With Love read by Toby Stephens

Dr No read by Hugh Quarshie

Goldfinger read by Hugh Bonneville

Thunderball read by Jason Isaacs

The Spy Who Loved Me read by Rosamund Pike

On Her Majesty's Secret Service read by David Tennant

You Only Live Twice read by Martin Jarvis

The Man With the Golden Gun read by Kenneth Branagh

Each fantastic new Bond title will be available to pre-order on 1st August, and download or purchase on CD from 6th September

Jeffery Deaver to write James Bond

Quite a surprising announcement this I think but American author Jeffery Deaver is to write the next authorised James Bond story and it is to be set in the present day. I listened to the last one, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks and though the narration was superb by Jeremy Northam I found the story a little dull.

From The Guardian:

Best known for his quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme, the star of books including The Bone Collector and The Stone Monkey, Deaver has been commissioned to write a new Bond novel by Fleming's estate. Currently known as Project X, the book will be set in the present day, unlike Sebastian Faulks recent addition to the Bond oeuvre, Devil May Care, which took place in 1967.

Apart from its contemporary setting, Deaver was giving little else away about the plot, but revealed it would occur over a short period of time and take 007 to "three or four exotic locations around the globe". He has already started writing the book, which is out next May, and promised it would retain "the persona of James Bond as Fleming created him and the unique tone the author brought to his books", while also incorporating his own "literary trademarks: detailed research, fast pacing and surprise twists".

Fleming's estate was moved to approach Deaver after he raved about the Bond books in an acceptance speech for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award.

There is an official website James Bond Project X.

TV & Radio news (and it's all good!)

I had an email from, David B a blog visitor, about the Swedish Wallander series. He has been in touch with Yellow Bird and they have the following news:

I would like to let you know that BBC4 has acquired the second season of the Swedish Wallander series (i.e. film 14-26).

No news of when BBC4 will show them but great news nonetheless (I hope they repeat the first series again as I'm missing part of an episode...). So thank you so much to David for passing the news on.

We've had several recent announcements of casting news over the past few months:

Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks

David Morrissey is Tom Thorne

and now Rufus Sewell is to play Aurelio Zen:

From Digital Spy:

Rufus Sewell has signed up to star as Aurelio Zen in a new BBC drama.

The Eleventh Hour actor will play the fictional detective across three feature-length dramas which will transmit on BBC One.

Set in and around Rome, and based on the best-selling series of novels by the late Michael Dibdin, Zen will start shooting in Italy in Spring 2010.

And though not euro crime in anyway, the tv drama Castle, starring Nathan Fillion is coming to the Alibi Channel soon.

Here's the lowdown from Alibi:

Castle is the hit new US crime drama coming soon exclusively to Alibi. Nathan Fillion plays Richard Castle, a best-selling crime novelist who, despite fame and acclaim, has become bored with his own success. All that changes, however, when a real-life copycat murderer starts staging scenes from Castle's novels. Castle is first suspected of the crimes and then asked to team up with NYC homicide Detective Kate Beckett to help her solve the case.

Together, the pair make a formidable combination. Beckett is a first-class investigator with a rare ability to empathise with victims, having joined the force after the murder of a loved one was never solved. Castle has spent years researching crime and brings that unique knowledge, together with a creative flair and touch of irreverence, to homicide cases. Their contrasting approaches, however, often cause sparks to fly...

Finally a bit of radio news:

Sir Ian McKellen is to play the title role in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger.

The James Bond drama will also star Rosamund Pike as Pussy Galore and Toby Stephens as Bond.

Impressionist and actor Alistair McGowan will play the canny caddie, Hawker, during the famous golf scene.

Martin Jarvis, who is also directing the play, is the voice of Fleming, while John Standing appears as M, the head of MI6.

The radio dramatisation will be faithful to the novel rather than the Goldfinger film.

The plot revolves around Bond's pursuit of Auric Goldfinger, an international criminal, who is masterminding a plan to rob Fort Knox.

The play will air on Radio 4 on 3 April.

Read the whole article at the BBC website.

Daniel Craig, Cool as Ice

From The Telegraph:

An ice cream company created the purple "licence to chill" lolly after asking more than 1,000 women which male celebrity like to see on the end of a stick.

Del Monte Superfruit Smoothies said artists "worked tirelessly" to recreate a sculpture of 41-year-old Craig in the scene where he emerges from the sea in Casino Royale.

"Daniel Craig topped our poll of Britain's coolest celebrities and thanks to our Del Monte lolly replica he is officially immortalised as super smooth and licensed to chill," said spokesman Matt O'Connor.

The Daniel Craig smoothie lollies are blueberry, pomegranate and cranberry flavoured and under 100 calories each.

They are to be distributed during the first National Ice Cream Week which starts today and ends on June 7

Quantum of Solace on DVD

Quantum of Solace, James Bond's 22nd film adventure is now out on DVD. Amazon currently have it for £6.98, Tesco (bricks and mortar) for £7 for 3 days only.Details of the extras and a video can be found on the Play.com site. The official Bond website is here.

Daniel Craig/Bond in the media

The BBC website has a print interview with Daniel Craig. Apparently Quantum of Solace is the shortest Bond film so far. Read the interview, here.

There's also an audio interview, here about the stunts and the 'new' style Bond

and don't forget tonight's Film 2008 is a Daniel Craig/Quantum of Solace special:

With privileged access to the cast and crew, Jonathan Ross provides the lowdown on the return of Commander James Bond in Quantum of Solace. On set at 007's spiritual home he meets the actor who's made the role his own, Daniel Craig, plus the actor playing Bond's nemesis, Mathieu Almaric, as well as director Marc Forster. Also, a look at how the iconic Bond character is defined in the 21st century, by everything from his costume design to the film's soundtrack.

Be James Bond: Quantum of Solace - DS game

I've finally acquired a Nintendo DS and so far I've only got the Scrabble game but I intend to get Nancy Drew games and maybe the CSI game. But coming soon...is a James Bond game for the DS (and the other popular platforms). The Quantum of Solace game will cover events from both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and will have the likenesses and voices of the main stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Eva Green and so on. The release date is to coincide with the film ie 31st October.


Some key features:

• Become Bond – The Quantum of Solace game marks the first time players can become the dangerous and cunning Bond portrayed by Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

• Cinematic Appeal – The game narrative accentuates key movie events from both “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale,” as players control James Bond through in-game conversations with multiple narrative options. Choosing the right one can unlock new abilities and uncover special items.

Read more about the game on the Quantum of Solace DS fact sheet.

Bring back Shirley Bassey...

A clip from the new Bond movie theme is available on the BBC website:

Jack White and Alicia Keys' theme for the new James Bond movie has had its first airplay.

Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley debuted Another Way To Die on her morning show. The track will feature in Quantum of Solace which is out on 31 October.

The song, which is the 22nd Bond theme, is driven by White's trademark fuzzy guitar riffs and thunderous drum rolls.

The pair were announced to score the track in July despite Amy Winehouse being hotly tipped for the role.

The track sees the singer trading vocals with Keys over a horn section with White singing: "Another blinger with the slick trigger finger for Her Majesty."

Keys responds with: "Another one with the golden tongue poisoning your fantasy."

Find Bond

The new trailer for Quantum of Solace is up and running on the BBC website:

The trailer begins with Mr White, a villainous character from the previous Bond film Casino Royale, being interrogated by Bond.

This early sequence appears to initiate a globe-trotting adventure as Craig's character embarks on an revenge mission against the wishes of his superiors.

Elaborate action sequences involving cars, boats and planes are intercut with more intimate scenes involving Bond's various love interests.

There is also a brief shot of Craig's now famous bare torso, as well as snippets of dialogue from Dame Judi Dench as 007's boss M.

The trailer plus several other videos and much more can be found at the Quantum of Solace website.

Devil May Care on Audio

You can download the unabridged Devil May Care from Audible for £13.29. The added bonus is that it's narrated by the super suave Jeremy Northam.

More details and a sample of the narration can be found - here.

From Darcy to Bond and back to Darcy (via Fossum)

I like to put on the blog the cover of what I'm reading or listening to but I haven't been able to find an image of the audio book cover of my current listen: Octopussy by Ian Fleming which is narrated by David Rintoul.

I've long been a fan of David Rintoul's narration skills as he is absolutely fabulous in his interpretation of Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer series, including He Who Fears the Wolf and When the Devil Holds the Candle.

Whilst I was trying to find a cover I came across a casting coup equivalent to Colin Firth playing Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary. Mr Darcy's Diary by Maya Slater is also narrated by David Rintoul and David Rintoul played Mr Darcy in the BBC's 1980 production of Pride and Prejudice.


You can watch a fuzzy snippet of Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul in that version of Pride and Prejudice on You Tube.

This version of Pride and Prejudice is available as Region 1 (US) but the Region 2 is in German though an amazon poster says that you can play it in English.

James Bond Radio Drama

Radio 4 have lined up a fabulous cast for a radio drama to be broadcast on 24 May. James Bond is played by Toby "Mr Rochester" Stephens and Dr No by David "Poirot" Suchet.

From BBC news:

Actor Toby Stephens, who played villain Gustav Graves in Die Another Day, will play James Bond in the first full radio adaptation of Dr No.

Poirot star David Suchet will play villain Dr No in the Radio 4 adaption, being broadcast on 24 May to mark 100 years since author Ian Fleming's birth.

The station will also air a documentary following Fleming's niece's attempts to find out more about her uncle.

The two programmes are of a season honouring the Bond creator.

In James Bond, The Last Englishman, Professor David Cannadine argues that the Bond novels have played a key role in shaping England's national self-image.

Radio 4 will also re-run Amis, Amis and Bond, featuring writer Martin Amis talking about his father's obsessive interest with Bond and Fleming's writing.

Published in 1958, Dr No was Fleming's sixth Bond novel, and four years later became the first to be made into a film.

It sees Bond sent to Jamaica to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two of his colleagues.

The Radio 4 adaptation's cast also includes Samuel West, John Standing, Martin Jarvis and Peter Capaldi.

The future of 'Young Bond'

The first series of 5 books about the young James Bond by Charlie Higson is due to conclude in September, however Higson is saying that he might write some more, aimed at an older (children's) audience. From the BBC website:

Author and comedian Charlie Higson is planning to write a new series of novels about the young James Bond.

The new sequence, which has not been officially announced, will explore the previously uncharted territory of Bond's sexual awakening.

"I want to have a break and do some other stuff for a while. But I'd love to come back and write some more," Higson told BBC News.

His first Bond novel Silverfin became a hit after it was published in 2005.

Fast Show star Higson was given the licence to write the Young Bond children's books by the family of Bond creator Ian Fleming.

The fifth and final book of the sequence, By Royal Command, is due out in September.

The books - aimed at under 14s - follow the exploits of the teenage Bond, who is first encountered as a 13-year-old orphan newly arrived at Eton in the early 1930s.

"By Royal Command ends with James Bond leaving Eton an older and wiser boy," Higson said.

"One thing I've been talking about possibly doing is a second sequence of books for a slightly older readership, maybe taking him up to and into World War II.

"He's approaching the age of 15 in this latest book and I couldn't continue writing this type of book for this age group with Bond at the age he is."

Read the rest of the article and watch a video of Charlie Higson on Bond's appeal, at the BBC website.

Finally some good news.. Bond film update

Quantum of Solace is being released a week earlier than planned and is now due on the 31 October, reports the BBC.

CommanderBond.net has the YouTube video of this morning's BBC1 exclusive (but short) behind the scenes footage of filming in Panama and California.

If you want to see more of Daniel Craig watch the trailer for his next film, Flashbacks of a Fool (the quality is a bit jumpy).

Quantum of Solace on Film 2008

There were a few 'behind the scenes' shots of the filming of Quantum of Solace in last week's Film 2008 which you can watch for the next six days at BBCiplayer, it lasts for about a minute from 6.5 mins in!

James Bond book news

Interesting article in Publishing News about Penguin's new James Bond imprint, Quantum of Solace and the new book by Sebastian Faulks:

PENGUIN IS PLANNING the next steps in it successful James Bond publishing programme, following the announcement of the name of the next Bond film, named after an Ian Fleming short story. The title, Quantum of Solace, which refers to the mathematical measurement of love, comes from the collection For Your Eyes Only and is the third story from it to lend its title to a Bond film.

Originally published by Cape in 1961, and in paperback by Pan in 1962, the collection was most recently published in 2006 by Penguin as part of its Bond list. While no details are confirmed yet, Penguin will be talking to the Ian Fleming Estate about plans to tie-in a book to the new film, due for release in November.

“The film was originally going to be called Risico, which is another short story in the same collection,” said Penguin Press Executive Editor Simon Winder, who bought the rights to Fleming's books when running Penguin Modern Classics. “They wanted to keep to a Fleming title - that was important for them. It's actually a very good story - yes, it has an odd-sounding title, but it won't sound odd when the film is a huge success.”

Penguin recently announced the launch of a dedicated imprint, Penguin 007, to publish all its Bond titles, including Devil May Care, the new Bond novel, written by Sebastian Faulks and published on 28 May.

The publisher, as part of its partnership with MySpace's UK operation, has launched a competition to find a 'theme tune' to introduce the audiobook of Devil May Care, released at the same time as the print edition on 28 May. A shortlist chosen by Faulks in conjunction with Matthew Fleming, Ian's great nephew; Dom Cook, Director of Marketing at MySpace UK; Jazzie B, musician and producer, and Alex Clarke, the book's editor. Users of the site will then vote for the winning track which will later be released as a digital download. The book will have its own MySpace page with news, videos and downloadable items, while its publication will coincide with new hardback editions of Fleming's novels to tie-in with celebrations marking the centenary of his birth.

The myspace site is here, where you can submit your track for consideration. The penguin 007 site currently just has the press release for the cover of Devil May Care.

A Glimpse of Quantum of Solace

CommanderBond.net have a very short video showing a bit of filming of Quantum of Solace. Go here to watch it (needs Quicktime).

Bond and his Quantum of Solace (or not)

The new James Bond film is to be called Quantum of Solace, the title of an Ian Fleming short story.

On the BBC website, Daniel Craig has a go at explaining the title...

Craig said the cryptic title referenced how Bond's heart had been broken at the end of Casino Royale.

"Ian Fleming had written about relationships," he explained.

"When they go wrong, when there's nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire's gone out, there's no quantum of solace.

"And at the end of the last movie, Bond has the love of his life taken away from him and he never got that quantum of solace."

Craig said the new film would follow 007 as he goes out "to find the guy who's responsible".

"So he's looking for revenge, you know, to make himself happy with the world again.

"But it the title also alludes to something else in the film," he added.

The film is due for release on the 7 November and the story picks up just half an hour after the end of Casino Royale. Read more about the title, the Bond Girls and M at the BBC website.

Bond 22 - locations

Over on the MI6 website you can keep up to date with all the rumours about the next James Bond film. They've got some early details of locations being used and scouted.