Welcome back to “This Week in James Bond”! After more than a month of little to no Bond news, the release of the first SPECTRE theatrical trailer last week was accompanied by a flurry of new Bond developments. How exciting!
If you haven’t already, you can watch and listen to Tom’s reaction and analysis of the trailer – and you can read my own breakdown of the trailer here. The usual disclaimers apply; if you’re trying to stay spoiler-free, don’t watch or read any of this.
Something you may have missed amidst all the trailer-mania last week was the release of ten official character stills from SPECTRE. Included are the usual MI6 team as well as newcomers Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), and Estrella (Stephanie Sigman).
Dave Bautista’s Twitter Q&A
In other SPECTRE news, Dave Bautista (who will be portraying henchman Mr Hinx in the film) sat down with the folks at IMDb on 23 July to answer some questions about the film from Twitter users around the world. Not one to be left out of the loop, JBR was also around to submit a few questions:
Who’s your favourite Bond girl? @IMDb @DaveBautista #askBautistaSPECTRE
— James Bond Radio (@JamesBondRadio) July 23, 2015
On a scale of 1-10 how much of a badass is Mr. Hinx? @IMDb @DaveBautista #askBautistaSPECTRE
— James Bond Radio (@JamesBondRadio) July 23, 2015
Do you think Mr Hinx would be tough enough to beat up Jaws? 😉 @imdb @DaveBautista #askBautistaSPECTRE
— James Bond Radio (@JamesBondRadio) July 23, 2015
Unfortunately none of these were answered by Bautista directly. However, he answered plenty of other questions; you can read the entire summary here. Some highlights:
- Bautista found the role of Hinx less demanding than his role as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy last year, mainly due to the makeup process required for the latter
- His favourite Bond film is either Goldfinger or Skyfall
- His favourite Bond villain is Oddjob
- His favourite Bond girl is Pussy Galore
- Jokingly, Bautista claimed that the next film franchise (now that he has the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 007 as notches on his belt) he wants to be a part of is Star Wars
(Source: IMDb and Twitter)
Goldfinger: Trigger Mortis special edition and new set photos
And on the subject of “Goldfinger”, Vintage Books announced on 25 July that a special paperback edition of the novel entitled “Goldfinger: Trigger Mortis edition” would be published on 20 August, and would contain an exclusive excerpt from Anthony Horowitz’s upcoming James Bond novel entitled “Trigger Mortis” (to be published 8 September). JBR listeners may recall that your humble correspondent reported on “Trigger Mortis” awhile back when the title and first plot synopsis were revealed; the novel is a direct sequel to “Goldfinger” (occurring two weeks after the end of that novel) and marks the return of infamously named Bond girl Pussy Galore.
“Goldfinger: Trigger Mortis edition” can be pre-ordered at Amazon UK.
A selection of never-before-seen photographs from the set of Goldfinger, showing director Guy Hamilton coaching various cast members before scenes, have also been released. The full series of images will be published in the September issue of 007 Magazine, and signed copies of the photographs will be auctioned for charity later this year.
(Source: The Book Bond, the Daily Mail)
“007 Walk of Fame” to open at Piz Gloria
To celebrate the upcoming release of SPECTRE, a new James Bond-themed trail named the 007 Walk of Fame will open at Schilthorn mountain in the Swiss Alps on 1 August. Schilthorn is best known among Bond fans as being the home of Piz Gloria, the building at its summit which was featured prominently in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The 007 Walk of Fame will pay tribute to the cast and crew who worked on OHMSS, featuring many of their personal photographs and recollections about the production of the film.
(Source: TTGNordic.com)
BBC Radio 4 adapts “Diamonds Are Forever”
BBC Radio 4 has adapted yet another one of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. In this installment, Toby Stephens reprises his role as 007 in “Diamonds are Forever”, Fleming’s fourth James Bond novel; Jared Harris (whom you may remember from the television series Mad Men and from such films as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Lincoln) plays Mr Spang, the villain of the piece. This radio drama is great for those mid-week days when you have no JBR episodes to listen to.
And on that note, that’s all for “This Week in James Bond”! As always, don’t forget to tune in to the podcast and join the conversation on social media.
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2 Responses
Tip top stuff Linda, thank you. Would urge everyone who can to listen to that R4 Diamonds if they can.