Short Break for Long Beach Comic Con

Hello Everyone!

This weekend, I will be attending the Long Beach Comic Con where I will be moderating a couple of panels as well as working as a freelance writer for Bleeding Cool. If you are in the Southern California area and have some time to spare Saturday and/or Sunday, you should think about heading to Long Beach Convention Center. There are passes for the weekend or single day still available as I write this and parking is conveniently close by for about $10.00 for the day.

I have attended the past three or four years and LBCC is one my favorite cons. Although growing and expanding each year, it still has a small town, friendly family feel. This year, they have garnered some interesting media guests, but the focus is on the comic book creators while being very cosplay friendly. Because of the proximity to Los Angeles, there are panels that will likely include one of your favorite actors from small or big screen on hand. This year, the organizers have added Space Expo, which is a phenomenon gaining a presence at the cons this year. I attended one at San Diego International Comic Con and had a blast. I hope to attend a couple this weekend.

Anyway, with all this fun and work I'll be doing at LBCC, I'll be taking a short break from Bond 365. I'll be back on Monday, so catch you on the flip side!

LBCC 2013 con floor (MBrittany)

Remembering Richard Kiel One Year On…Day 253 of Bond 365

Richard Kiel

Passed away this day in 2014

Jaws in Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me

Richard Dawson Kiel was a difficult person to miss. Born in Detroit in 1939, Kiel got his start in acting as an Ugly Marine (uncredited) in the military drama The D.I. in 1957. At 7’ 2” tall, he often placed characters focused on his tall stature. He was cast in several televisions and movies that included The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Gilligan’s Island, The Monkees, and The Wild Wild West.

He got his break in 1977 as Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me, opposite Sir Roger Moore and returned in 1979’s Moonraker to reprise his role. Although he was well recognize as that character, after the Bond films, Kiel went back to guest appearing on television and in films. Apparently, Kiel declined the role of Chewbacca because he felt he more opportunities in the Jaws role.

In 1991, Kiel wrote and produced The Giant of Thunder Mountain, a family film that garnered he quite a bit of viewer praise. However, the following year, Kiel was in an auto accident that affected his balance, so thereafter he needed assistance with walking.

Kiel’s attachment to the Bond franchise as Jaws was rejuvenated through a newer medium: the video game market. In 1997, his likeness was used in GoldenEye 007. In 2004, he lent his voice in James Bond 007: Everything or Northing. In all, he was involved in six games.

I met Kiel a couple of times at Bond reunions hosted by the Hollywood Collector’s Show in Burbank and Los Angeles. On both occasions, he was exceeding kind and friendly. It was very sad to hear the news last year when he passed.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

If Game: Maniacal Villains…..Day 252 of Bond 365

I have no Bond history today, so I thought I would short list some individuals that I think would have been or could be fascinating villains if cast in a Bond film.

Klaus Kinski

He starred in a number of films directed by Werner Herzog, who solicited some of his best performances in Fitzcarraldo (1982), Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) and Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). If he had been Blofeld’s second in command who eventually became the head boss, instead of trying to take over the world, he probably would have set off the bomb that would have destroyed the world.

Jurgen Prochnow

This German actor has an intriguing face and I have enjoyed his performances in Das Boot (1981) as Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, The Keep (1983) as Woermann, The Seventh Sign (1988) as David Bannon, and In the Mouth of Madness (1994) as Sutter Cane. Even though Christopher Walken’s approach emphasized an appropriate amount of unbalance and unease, having Prochnow portray Maxillium Zorin in A View to a Kill (1985) would have lent more seriousness to the villainous role. I think it would have made the character more formidable against Sir Roger Moore’s James Bond.

Roger Rees

Englishman Roger Rees came from the same cloth as John Hurt (Alien, 1984) and Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Harry Potter series) who I think I first saw in the comedy series Cheers (1989 – 1993) as Robin Colcord. Most recently, I watched him in the Survivor (2015) in which Rees played a darker, shifty character named Emil Balan. As I write this, I think that perhaps he would have played a second-in-command, hungry for power and being the second to last man standing against Bond before Bond goes against the main villain.

Health Ledger

He nailed it as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008), but this Australian actor showed his flexibility for roles. He was here and sadly, gone much too soon. Portraying a young dot.com millionaire turned villain through an obsessive greed for a particular resource has a nice ring to it and would have fit in with the other Bond bad guys nicely.

William Fichtner

William Fichtner is one of those contemporary actors that can slip into a character and embody someone well. He’s been in a lot of roles over the years, but he unfortunately has not become a household name. Some of the roles I have enjoyed him in: Strange Days (1995), Albino Alligator (1996), The Amateurs (2005), and Crossing Lines (2013-2014). I think that any back-story given to Fichtner’s villain, he would take hold of it and make it his own. He just needs the opportunity.

Bonus Round:

James Purefoy

Purefoy is another actor who has been in the business twenty years, but usually in smaller roles. Loved him in Solomon Kane (2009), Ironclad (2011) and The Following (2013 – 2015), where he definitely proved he has the stuff to be the penultimate villain. We need more Purefoy!

There are many others that would be great villains - who's on your shortlist? 

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Sam Smith Tapped for Spectre Theme Song…Day 251 of Bond 365

History is being made today for the Bond franchise because Samuel Frederick “Sam” Smith was tapped for the theme song Spectre, due out in October and November, depending where you reside.

I watched a couple of videos, since like many of my friends, the first question that came out of my lips upon hearing the announcement was “Who is Sam Smith?” Well, he’s 23 and I believe he may be the youngest singer/songwriter to have the honor of a Bond film theme song. He’s a newcomer to the music scene; he popped onto the UK Singles Chart in late 2012 with “Latch” that he followed up with his debut album Lay Me Down in early 2013.

Smith’s song “Stay With Me” was similar enough to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” that an out-of-court settlement was reached. Petty’s, as well as Electric Light Orchestra’s Jeff Lynne (singer/songwriter), names were added to the song credit. In spite of the settlement, Smith was not slowing down though. 

At the Grammy Awards earlier this year, Smith garnered four awards: Best New Arts, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album. At the Brit Awards, he won British Breakthrough Act and Global Success awards.

Adele, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston and a number of other divas has Smith cited as influential on his style of singing. I listened to a few of his songs, including “Lay Me Down” because Smith mentioned in an interview that he was inspired to write “Writing’s on the Wall” (the Spectre theme song title) while he was recording the former song. He also said it took him 20 minutes to write the song.

With what I heard – songs and interviews – I am leary as to the soundness of selecting such a young singer with a vocal style that sounds hesitant and a little too breathless that he tends to cut and shorten the pronunciation of words during his songs. This was quite evident in his cover of Houston’s “How Will I Know.” Adele may be a muse, however, Smith may end up a pale comparison and might not find the success that Adele did with Skyfall. 

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Annual SWPACA Conference - Call for Presentations

In lieu of Bond 365 today, I have an announcement:

It is that time of year again in which I put out the call for presentations for the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association annual conference being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico February 10 - 13, 2016. Details are below.

Call for Presentations:

Espionage and Popular Culture: James Bond, Espionage, and Eurospy

Abstract Submission Deadline: November 1, 2015

37^th Annual Southwest Popular /American Culture Association (SWPACA) Conference

Conference Dates: February 10 – 13, 2016

Conference Hotel: Hyatt Regency, 330 Tijeras NW, Albuquerque, NM, (505) 842-1234

Conference Website: http://southwestpca.org/

The SWPACA James Bond, Espionage, and Eurospy Area Chair invites papers on ANY aspect of the James Bond franchise and the spy/espionage and Eurospy genre in films, literature, comics, videogames, and any other popular culture medium. Here are some topics to consider, but this is by no means an exhaustive list of theoretical and pop culture frameworks:

• Spy/espionage – historical context
• Secret agents – global representations and local identities
• Refashioning and ret-con of the spy model
• Cold War, post-modern and 21^st century spy psychology
• Gender, i.e. Bond-sploitation
• Film: James Bond, Jason Bourne, Agent Vinod, Salt, Agent 077, Kommisar X, OSS 117, Eurospy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Television: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Turn, Chuck, MI5, Burn Notice, She Spies, The Assets
• Literature: Fleming, Bruce, Gardner, Benson, Hamilton, Weinberg, Higson, Ludlum, LeCarre
• Comics: X-9 Corrigan, Super Spy, Danger Girl, The Secret Service, Velvet
• Cartoons: Archer, James Bond Jr., Totally Spies!,
• Anime: Najica Blitz Tactics, Golgo 13, Gunslinger Girl, Darker Than Black, Master Keaton
• Videogames: GoldenEye, 007 Legends, Alpha Protocol, No One Lives Forever, Splinter Cell
• Anti-Bond: The Quiller Memorandum, The Ipcress File, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Liquidator
• Music, Fashion, Advertisements, etc.

 Please note the following presentation details:

• Please send a 250 word abstract and the presentation title by November 1, 2015 via the online submission database at http://conference2016.southwestpca.org/
• Presentation time consideration: 15 min maximum. Limit of one presentation at the conference. For all areas accepting abstracts, please see: http://southwestpca.org/conference/call-for-papers/
• There are no honorariums for presenters; this is an academic conference. There are, however, a number of award opportunities: http://southwestpca.org/conference/graduate-student-awards/
• Visit http://journaldialogue.org for information about the organization's new peer-reviewed journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy.

Please help spread the word about the conference and this call. I do have a pdf version - just email me at spyfi.superspies@gmail.com and I would be happy to forward it to you. Also, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me since I have attended the conference several times. 

Hope to see many of you in Albuquerque this coming February! 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E…..Day 249 of Bond 365

I thought that since I went to see The Man From U.N.C.L.E. this morning at the local cinema house, I would make a detour from Bond 365 today. Here are some of my thoughts.

I went into the film with reservations, mostly due to the casting of Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and particularly Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin. Although I have not seen any complete episodes from the original series, I have seen snippets. I was pleasantly surprised by the casting choices.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, this comedy spy film is set in 1963 that is expertly captured through the color palette, the locales, and costumes. The locales are exotic, the cinematography beautiful and the editing is expertly handled. All the components truly come together for the film, however the film is missing the spark that makes it a great film.

First, after an action-packed opening, the pacing bogs down, as the audience has to be brought up to speed on who the characters are and an overview of the overarching story. I think the film suffered because of it.

Second, Victoria Vinciguerra may be the main villainess of the film, however she does not have enough screen time to really allow her to establish herself as a force to be reckoned with. She just isn’t a strong character to carry her presence even when she is not in front of the audience. Her henchman husband and Uncle Rudi are nothing more than two-dimensional characters that we have seen before. 

Third, I think it was a mistake to reveal Illya’s background. Something I appreciated in the original is the air of mystery that surrounded that character, so I was bummed when Solo unwrapped Illya’s baggage before the time was right. That said, finding out Solo’s back-story did not annoy me in the slightest.

The film has received mixed reviews, but has managed to earn enough money to put it in the black. I would be interested in seeing a follow film, now that the U.N.C.L.E. team has solidified. I think with the backstories out of the way, maybe the pacing can pick up and the characters can be further developed. I think with the first film I got cotton candy – looks pretty, but not very filling. Hopefully with a second film, we can get more of a meal.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

One-Time Bond Celebrates Birthday….Day 248 of Bond 365

Both Gert Frobe, as Auric Goldfinger from Goldfinger, and John McLusky, artist for the James Bond comic strip, passed away in 1988 and 2006 respectively. Both have been featured here on Spyfi & Superspies. Frobe was spotlighted on February 25 and McLusky on January 20.

Now, let’s talk about…..

George Lazenby

Born this day in 1939

James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

One time James Bond for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, George Lazenby was born in Goulburn, a city established in 1863 in New South Wales.

In 1964, Lazenby moved to London. Like all struggling actors, he held several jobs: mechanic, car salesman and model. A chance meeting with Albert Broccoli in 1966 left a lasting impression on the Bond producer as a potential Bond. Lazenby is said to have spend his last few pounds on a suit originally made for Sean Connery as well as a Rolex watch.

When Lazenby did audition for the role of Bond, he was selected based on his fighting skills displayed during fight sequence screen test. He is the one person of all the actors to play Bond that did not come to the role with any real acting experience. Lazenby had been in commercials and a very small role in a Bond spoof. However, he had a strong, masculine refine look about him that worked.

And then he quit the role before it premiered in 1969. He went on to guest appear in a television shows that were popular during their respective time periods. Lazenby had recurring roles in the Emmanuelle series, some Bond spoofs, commercials, and voice work.

He’s still an active actor and is a recurring guest at collector shows. I have met him a couple of times. The most recent time, I had the James Bond 007 Archives book with me for him to sign. He asked if he could look through it because he hadn’t seen the book yet. I asked if he would sign the photograph in the book snapped as Lazenby was tossing his hat onto the hook. He told me that he was the only Bond to successfully get his hat on the coat rack hook. He said that’s why his toss is shown on screen.

Over the years, OHMSS has gain accolades as being one of the best films in the history of the Eon Productions films. It is one of my favourites and in my humble opinion has the best soundtrack of all of the franchise’s films.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

Film Extra and Company President – HF2…Day 247 of Bond 365

Henry Ford II

Henry Ford II

Born this day in 1917

Extra at the Nassau Casino in Thunderball

Henry Ford II was born in Detroit, Michigan and was the grandson of Henry Ford and son of Edsel Ford. He was surrounded by affluence and attended Yale University. He was often known as “HF2” or “ Hank the Deuce.”

HF2 served in the Navy during World War II and it was in 1943 that his father passed away. Ford could not take over the presidency of the automobile company; hence, his grandfather returned as head of the organization. The senior Ford no longer had the mental capacity to run the company, however he so anyway, until the end of the war. In fact, his inability to lead led to a loss of $10 million per month. I cannot even fathom that amount of money be lost ever, let alone in a month and over several consecutive months!

1949 Ford

After leaving the Navy, HF2 joined the management team at his family’s company and in two years, he became president of a company that was in decline. Without his father to groom him, Ford surrounded himself with seasoned executives and took on an aggressive management style. After four year at the helm, HF2 and a team of “Whiz Kids" he selected, developed the 1949 Ford, which brought the company back. 

HF2’s management of Ford was punctuated by several successes – Mustang and Fiesta – and just as many failures – can we say Edsel? He hired and fired Lee Iacocca. HF2 retired in 1982, but continued to have authority until his death in 1987.

HF2 is one of the few Bond alums to have only one acting credit their name, a James Bond film of course.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

GoldenEye’s Psychiatrist Celebrates Birthday…Day 246 of Bond 365

Serena Gordon

Born this day in 1963

Caroline in GoldenEye

Serena Gordon was born in London and studied at RADA. In 1987, she was cast as Prunella Rumsey in the television movie Queenie. Her foray into films began when Gordon was cast as the MI6 psychiatric evaluator named Caroline, opposite Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in GoldenEye (1995). She has had a consistent acting career since she started, with the majority of her work being television. Besides her stint as Caroline, she is probably best known as Superintendent Amanda Prosser in the police drama The Bill.

Gordon retired in 2009 and devotes her time to the UK branch of The Hoffman Process (therapy oriented). In a Telegraph article last year, she was vocal about the industry and the pressure to be thin and look young.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.

James Bond Gets Sticky with Sticker Book….Day 245 of Bond 365

Last night, I attended the Indie Music Collaborative event in Glendale, California. It’s an event that brought musicians and spoken word speakers from the Los Angeles area (and beyond) together to showcase one of their current or past projects. In many cases, the individuals were performing to their peers in hopes of garnering their Grammy vote in the coming months. Others were seeking collaboration opportunities.

I was in awe of the creative talent in the room and the collaborative spirit. The mood and goodwill in the small indie theatre made me think of the East Coast theatre groups that would get together in barns or small quaint theatre houses to performed some contemporary play. The musical genres varied from jazz to classical to rock and show tunes. Some of the musicians were “showy” while others stuck to the basics, but all the performers did well, even the technology did not. In a couple of cases, singers just went ahead and sang without any music. Kudos to them! And it showed just how good they were.

The event was slated to run from 7 to 11 PM, but very quickly, the program schedule was derailed by performances that ran way over their allotted 4 minutes. While I enjoyed the event and met some real nice folks, I was pretty tired by the time the event ended, which was around 12:40 AM. I still had about an hour’s drive home, so as a result, today I have been running on about four hours of sleep.

Now to Bond 365 and sadly, I did not have a historical event for today, so I thought I would spotlight a new product that was announced on Monday. The Official James Bond 007 website posted DK’s Ultimate Sticker Collection featuring James Bond 007. Gracing the cover is Daniel Craig and inside aficionados will likely be tempted by the more than 1,000 Bond stickers. The book features all our favourite subjects: cars, villains and their lairs, gadgets, and weapons featured in the films of past and present. Amazon describes that young fans can “relive James Bond’s spectacular battles and sensational escapes” or create new adventures via the stickers.

Amazon UK is taking pre-orders for the book that will release on November 2, just in time for the release of Spectre a few days later in the US. DK Publishers is also taking pre-orders, which is helpful since Amazon US doesn’t seem to be taking pre-orders.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for the sticker book. I think it could be a fun curio to have in my collection of Bond books.

© Copyright. Michele Brittany. 2011 - 2015. All rights reserved. All text, graphics, and photos are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without written permission.