Happy birthday, cinematic Bond

Did you know that it is James Bond Cinematic birthday today? Back in 1962, Director Terence Young started shooting the first James Bond film titled  Dr No on January 16, 1962. Today in other words.

When I was in London in early December (you can read about that trip here) I spent a few minutes at The Cinema Store and added to the collection the Cinema Retro's magazine Movie Classics dedicating 148 pages to all there is to know about the making of Dr No. 

I am so happy that I bought this magazine becuase by having it in my backpack I had no problem letting the wife go inside any shop she wanted. I just sat down on a chair picked up the magazine and started reading. It is an fantastic collection of articles and photographs that I have never seen before.

I can not stop thing about what went through the minds of people like Sean Connery, Cubby Brobboli, Harry Zaltsman, Terence Young and Ian Fleming. Was Fleming there on the first day of shooting since he stayed at his house GoldenEye at the time. I know he was there later as you can see on the photo to the right. I also must mention how bold I think it was to put "The first James Bond film" on the poster. But if the fim had flopped no one would have remembered it anyway. 

As most of you know Thunderball was supposed to be the first James Bond film but due to a court case with Kevin McClory about who actually wrote the story producers decided to go with Dr No instead with a script based on the novel released in 1958 with the same title. If you wish to read more about the court case you can do so here.

So are you still not sure If you wish to own this amazing Dr No magazine? Well all I can do is to say that I love it and that it contains the following:

• Matthew Field provides exclusive interviews with Ursula Andress, screenwriter Johanna Harwood and animator Trevor Bond
• Sir Christopher Frayling interviews Sir Ken Adam
• Lee Pfeiffer and Mark Cerulli interview designer Joseph Caroff (the man who designed the 007 gun logo)
• Steve Oxenrider interviews Marguerite Le Wars (who played the sexy Jamaican photographer)
• Lee Pfeiffer interviews legendary artist Mitchell Hooks, the man who created the artwork for the film poster
• Adrian Smith interviews Bettine le Beau (who played the secretary to Prof. Dent)
• Steve Oxenrider tracks down and interviews the Jamaican cast members and entertainers seen in the film
• Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field provide an exclusive interview with Monty Norman, composer of the James Bond Theme
• Howard Hughes looks at the changes between the Ian Fleming novel and the film version
• Martijn Mulder looks at Jamaican locations then and now
• Gary Giblin provides insightful analysis of the film's production history
• Oscar-winning sound technician Norman Wanstall recalls creating the innovative sound effects for the film
• Directors Joe Dante and Brian Trenchard-Smith provide personal homages to the movie 
• The life of Ian Fleming by Michael VanBlaricum
• Production Buyer Ron Quelch recalls the challenge of obtaining props for the film
• Alan Tomkins, the last surviving crew member who worked for Ken Adam in Jamaica, recalls his experiences on the film
• Never before published interview with the late Timothy Moxon ("Strangways")
• Foreword by David V. Picker, the man who sealed the deal to bring James Bond to the silver screen
• The lives and careers of legendary producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman 
• The Unseen Dr. No: scripted scenes that never appeared in the final film
• Rare production stills
• Steve Oxenrider interviews actress Yvonne Shima ("Sister Lily")
• The Dr. No comic books
• Behind the scenes photos
• Vintage archival comments about the film from Sean Connery
• Dr. No toys and collectibles
• Rare international movie poster art
• Rare production stills
• Behind the scenes photos
• Rare international movie poster art
  
  You can order your copy of the magazine here or on Ebay for as little as £10.

Added to the collection: FIELD GUIDE OF BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES

Ever since the first time I ever heard about how Ian Fleming choose the name for his secret agent James Bond, I have always wanted to have the FIELD GUIDE OF BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES in my collection. I have been hunting this book for over 20 years, and now I have it.

Okey I have had a reprint of the book printed in 1971 in my collection for some time but it is now for sale. The reason that I was not satisfied with that version of the book is because when Ian Fleming built his Jamaica home after the second world war he had a copy of the FIELD GUIDE OF BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES in his home written by James Bond. A book he often used while looking at birds.

The book was first released in 1936 with a stunning dust jacket and the second printing came out in 1947 and that is the one I have now and most surely the edition of the book that Fleming had as well.

On the below YouTube clip you can see Fleming explain how he came to use the name but on that footage there is a 1960's copy of the book. Since Casino Royale was released in 1953 Ian Fleming must have had the 1947 edition at his home.

 
So this is not the actual book Fleming had but a really rare piece of James Bond memorabilia to have in the collection and I am very happy to have gotten it from a auction house in the UK for £230.

Note that many people wrongly says that this book was called BIRDS OF WEST INDIES but the actual title was FIELD GUIDE OF BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES.

In 1964, Fleming gave Bond a first edition copy of You Only Live Twice signed, "To the real James Bond, from the thief of his identity". In December 2008 the book was put up for auction, eventually fetching $84,000.

In the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, the fictional Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, can be seen examining Birds of the West Indies in an early scene that takes place in Havana, Cuba. The author's name (James Bond) on the front cover is obscured. In the same film, when Bond first meets Jinx (Halle Berry), he introduces himself as an ornithologist.

Anyone else out there who have this book in the collection?

The below picture is said to be a picture of Flemings copy of the book signed by no other then the real James Bond...

The new logo of Ian Fleming Publications

Back in late December 2013 Ian Fleming Publications and the Ian Fleming estate presented their new logo. The logo featured the Ian Fleming signature and a golden Jamaican Hummingbird. The hummingbird is actually the national bird of Jamaica.

Ian Fleming loved Jamaica and when he started to work for Kemsley after the second world war he made sure the he got two months paid vacation that he could spend at his newly build house called Goldeneye in Jamaica. During these eight weeks Fleming wrote his James Bond books that later was published one year later.

The new logo is produced by Webb & Webb and among the art directors of UK there new approach for Ian Fleming Publications got some negative response saying for instance "Unfortunately none of this comes together nicely in the logo. The nearly Photoshop-posterized hummingbird lacks personality and it offers no point of view nor visual relationship to the worlds and characters created by Ian Fleming, its white markings on the side of the body are distracting, and the tail breaking the signature doesn't make a lot of sense. The serif typography in applications feels forced and overly nostalgic and the gold printing of the logo isn't particularly flattering. This needs to be shaken and stirred and started all over again."

I do not agree with this feedback at all. If you know your Fleming then you know that the hummingbird can be found in Jamaica where Fleming lived. Also the house is called Goldeneye so the golden colour is great as well. Last but most important is that Fleming got the name from a ornithologist called James Bond who had written Field guides of birds of the West Indies. Therefore it is so correct to use this bird as a logo together with his signature. The only part I do agree on is that the bird should not split the signature in two. I would have done the logo as on the top of this blog post.

I also like the circle with the 007 in it. It is used frequently across the globe which link all the books together.

The task that Webb & Webb had was to "creating a brand identity that could be developed beyond the '007' mark and into licensed products as well as written and audiobooks. The new identity needed to celebrate Ian Fleming the author, his style, his wit, his 'englishness' and not just his most famous creation"

The old logo was simply the text IAN FLEMING with a silhouette of the man himself with a shadow that was James Bonds.

I do understand that Ian Fleming Publications needs to find new ways to sell their brand to make revenue. I myself would look more into the artworks of the books and see if they might be suitable to have on products instead of the Ian Fleming logo. So far I have only noticed Gillette paying to have the Fleming logo in their marketing (see video below)

But one thing is sure. If the below business cards a something they actually made and not just prototypes I want one because they are so cool.

To read other blog post where Ian Fleming Publications are mentioned click here!

Rare suggested title for Casino Royale found

Back in the fifties Ian Fleming had a hard time selling the rights for his novels abroad. Apparently USA and Sweden were the only countries who decided to release Casino Royale at an early stage. And this was after Fleming had worked hard to get a publisher in America.

In early June 1954 Ian Fleming sent the manuscript for Moonraker to his publisher. He also sent a letter to his US publisher saying that he was not sure about his latest story of James Bond but that it should make a good film.

Ian Fleming was dreaming of making a fortune of the James Bond books but at this stage he hardly made any money of them at all. Casino Royale had been released a year earlier and so far the book had been reprinted twice and sold over 8 000 copies and that had given Fleming a salary of £325 8s. 5d.

In the US the book had sold even worse with less then 4 000 copies sold of Casino Royale so far.

Now everybody know that its hard for a new writer to hit the market. But for the amount of work Fleming had but into these books his earnings was poor.

But then he was asked by the American Popular Library to have Casino Royale released as a paperback under the name  YOU ASKED FOR IT and for this Ian Fleming would be paid $2,625.

Fleming was told that the Americans would not know hot to pronounce "Royale" and that if he was not satisfied with You asked for it he was free to come up with a new title.
Fleming did so but he was not happy about it. "How about THE DOUBLE-O AGENT or THE DEADLY GAMBLE? he asked but added "But please don't worry about it either way".

And in the end the US publishers decided to go ahead with the You asked for it title and at the same time making the paperback a must have in any Ian Fleming collection.

Bellow you can see my copy of the book.

(This story can be found in the book The Life of Ian Fleming by John Pearson on page 249)

If you have not already bought Casino Royale by Ian Fleming this is the time to do so. Please use the link below if you like this blog.

The world is not enough by Raymond Benson

Added to my collection of books is the hardback version of THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH written by Raymond Benson in 1999 and based on the screenplay for the film with the same title written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.In other words this book is a movie tie in. Released to capitalize on the release of a new James Bond film. I must say that I am happy that this stooped after the movie tie in for Die Another Day in 2002.

I must confess that when I bought this book I thought it was a first edition. But when I checked the numberline inside the book it ends with a 2 indicating that this is the second printing of this book.

My numberline is 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.

The world is not enough might just be the thinnest of all the James Bond books and it only has 200 pages. I have yet to read this book so no need for me to write a review of this book.

So go now to your bookshelf and see if your Bond books are true first editions or not. learn a bit more by watching the clip below.

This never happened in other countries

I received a new book in the mail the other day. it is called LICENCE EXPIRED  - THE UNAUTHORIZED JAMES BOND and is edited by Madeline Ashby and David Nickle with an introduction by Matt Sherman.

I have been collecting James Bond books since I was 12 years old but during the last few days before Christmas I got my hands on what might just be of of the rarest James Bond books coming out this year. And to be honest I do not know which leg to stand on here (as we say in Sweden). Should I be happy or sad?

I am happy because I now have a new book in the collection. a book of 300 pages with 19 James Bond short stories to read. I am sad because this book came to life due to the fact that the James Bond novels has entered public domain in Canada.
To be honest I know to little about the public domain issue for James Bond or other characters within books and film. I confess that I thought that estates had the copyright far longer then they seem to do. In my world it would be much easier if the copyright laws where those around the world as of where the author lived and was registered. As Ian Fleming and Great Britain. In this case the rules for Great Britain should be obeyed across the globe. And when it comes to other authors should there country of origins rules should be obeyed. But what do I know?

I am surprised that Ian Fleming Publications has not acted on this book release yet. Since I work with film distribution I know that publishers wish to have a 100% secure case before they accuse someone. In this case maybe they feel that they will lose and therefore lets the book be released as quietly as possible. We will just have to wait and see what happens.

Anyhow I do like the cover design for this book. It is printed as a large paperback and is just as soft as the Proof copy of TRIGGER MORTIS from the US.

There are 20 stories inside and a few of them are written by females which is interesting since this has never been done before.
I have not read the book when I write this blog post but hope to get to it soon.

When Madeline Ashby and David Nickle asked people for submissions for this book they had a few rules that needed to be obeyed.

Submissions needed to be sent in before June 1, 2015 and was not allowed to contain more then 5 000 words. The writers that were published was then offered 6 Canadian cents per word.

This book will only be sold in Canada and therefore I believe it will be quite hard for all the collectors to get one. But if you really want one it is not that hard. The book is being offered on Ebay right here!

If you live in Canada and wish to order the book you can do so here!

If you wish to know more about how this book came about you can check out Madeline Ashbys blog that contains a lot of info on this book.

James Bond signed drawing by John McLusky up for auction

John McLusky painted his first James Bond strip in 1958 for the Daily Express in England. He continued doing so until 1966 making 13 of the James Bond novels into comic strips that are sold even today in book form.
In 1982 John McLysky came back to draw for new James Bond adventures.

It is said that the look of James Bond the way McLusky painted him later became the look Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were after which made them choose Sean Connery in the end to play James Bond.

Up for auction now is a photograph of John McLuskys most famous James Bond drawing (copy) with an original signature. The autograph is made out to Tom so here is an extra chance if you happen to be named Tom. Estimated selling price is between £50-£80. The only wired thing is that Chaucer auctions fail to mention the size of the picture. Quite crucial I would say.You can find the auction here!

I have a copy of this painting in my collection on my wall and it looks amazing. I also have copies for sale that measures 11x15 inches. My price is £20 or $30 and if you happen to be interested you can email me at stephan.backman(a)bredband.net. Frame is not included in the price.

From Norway comes a new book with love for all things 007

During the fall Norway was grazed with a James Bond book called "The great big book about James Bond". It is an unofficial compilation by Morten Cruys Magnus Sagen and Morten Andreas Steingrimsen.
The book is big and has 360 pages. It is not common for smaller countries like Norway to have this kind of books written in their native tongue. But it is nice to hear that the book has been a huge success in Norway and sold really well.

On the back of this book its says The ultimate book for all James Bond fans. An let me just say that I do not speak Norwegian but this book is actually worth having for the pictures alone. This book contains some pictures I have never seen during my 25 years of collecting. See pictures below for some rare pictures.
The book also has a lot of Ian Fleming pictures and covers for the James Bond books in Norway. These books are hard to find on their own so it was nice to see these rare beauties.

The book contains a foreword by Martine Beswick who appears in both From Russia with Love and Thunderball. Then the chapters that are richly documented with pictures are as follows.

1. The Bond phenomenon.
2. Ian Fleming
3. The books about James Bond
4. From book to film
5. The name is Bond... (bios of the James Bond actors).
6. Shaken but not stirred bios on each James Bond film including SPECTRE.
7. James Bond audition (interview with Norwegian actress Synnove Macody Lund)
8. From Norway with love - Bond in Norway
9. The mistakes of the Bond films
10. The James Bond lifestyle
11. The James Bond cars
12. The Bond destinations
13. Dress like Bond
14. Pinewood Studios
15. Illustrated James Bond
16. They almost became Bond.
17. Interviews.

I need to be clear that this book is not in English but in Norwegian. But I still will enjoy this book thanks to all the great pictures and I do believe  you will do the same.

The cheapest way to order this book would be to go to the Adlibris webpage were the book cost £22. 
Or you might be able to contact Morten Andreas Steingrimsen on facebook to buy a copy direct from one of the writers.

My Christmas present to you all

So it is Christmas time again and I am sure many of you got James Bond associated gifts for presents. I did not but took care of that my self a few days back a bought myself around 15 new James Bond books for the collection. I will get back to these later.

But I felt the need to give all my readers a little something as a Christmas gift.

So here it is. The complete 27 minute interview with Ian Fleming, The creator of James Bond himself. It was broadcast on August 16 just two days after the passing of the writer.

I thought I would never get hold of this full interview but a little Googleing found a link to CBC (Canadian TV) with a link to the interview in full.

I have emaild CBC trying to make them print Bluray copies of the interview. If this will work out I will get back to this on the blog. I would love to have this interview on a Bluray not being affrayed that it will be taken down.

So here is the link to 27 minutes of pure Ian Fleming! Happy holidays to all of you!

A Christmas card from Ian Fleming Publications no less!

I was taken by surprise today when I received a Christmas card from Ian Fleming Publications. Since we are all fans of Ian Flemings work and that is the reason that you all come over and read this blog I wish to share this information with you the blog reader. It does include a few things to really look forward to during 2016...

December 2015

It's been yet another eventful year for us, with our publishers around the world making the most of the surge in excitement for James Bond properties, prompted by the release of Eon Productions' 24^th Bond film, SPECTRE.

Our biggest event was the publication of Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz on 8^th September. This book is particularly special, because Horowitz used a previously unseen outline for a television script penned by Ian Fleming as the springboard for his story.   The book has been extremely well received both here and in the States and featured in both the UK chart and the New York Times Bestsellers' list.

The book has been published by friends new and old around the world, and everyone has had a lot of fun with the motor-racing and rocket theme.  In the UK, for example, Orion designed a cover which could be turned into a model rocket.   They also produced a special, limited edition for Waterstones which included the original TV outline, Murder on Wheels, and worked closely with Random House to ensure that the original Fleming novels, Goldfinger in particular, benefited from the attention Trigger Mortis received.   Orion recorded and published an audio version read by David Oyelowo, acclaimed star of the award winning film Selma, with US and Canadian release in the careful hands of American publishers, HarperCollins.   We thank all our publishers for their enthusiasm and ingenuity.

Our first ever continuation Bond novel, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis, received unexpected  attention this year, when Eon Productions asked to use a section from it within the script of SPECTRE.   Although it had been available in ebook form, it had not been in physical print for more than a decade.   With extremely short notice, Random House published a lovely paperback edition in time for the film's release.   Our international publishers of Colonel Sun have made the most of the opportunity, and an audio edition will be re-released by W F Howes shortly.

Last year, we announced a new partnership with Dynamite Entertainment for James Bond comic books and graphic novels.   Production of their first Bond series entitled Vargr, set in the modern day, commenced early this year.   The series is being written by the highly respected Warren Ellis, and each issue is strikingly visualised through visceral artwork by Jason Masters.   Dynamite are also developing a series of adaptations of the original Fleming novels and one exploring the origins of Bond, along with projects involving other characters from the Bond canon, next year.

Film years are always good news for the Fleming Bond novels, and this year was no exception.   Even though it is not based on a Fleming novel, there was increased interest in the origins of the criminal organisation, SPECTRE.   Random House and Amazon have both produced omnibus volumes of the Fleming titles which feature SPECTRE under the title The SPECTRE Trilogy.   Our audio partners are doing the same, and Titan, who publish the Express comic strips, have produced a SPECTRE anthology of the original Horak and McClusky comic adaptations, newly enhanced for incredible sharpness and detail.

Also to coincide with the film release, The Folio Society have produced a beautifully illustrated edition of Casino Royale and will be giving the same loving treatment to From Russia With Love next year.   Fay Dalton is the chosen artist, wonderfully evoking the period setting and luxurious, but equally glowering and dangerous, atmosphere of Bond's first outing.

The new Young Bond series continued with the paperback release of Shoot to Kill in November, and the upcoming Heads You Die is due for publication in May 2016.   Additionally, there are two further novels by Steve Cole in the pipeline which will see Bond progressing through the 1930's amidst the building tension of pre-War Europe.

Over the airwaves, Radio Four released their fourth Fleming radio play this summer, performing Diamonds Are Forever, with Toby Stephens reprising his role as James Bond.

We would like to congratulate Fergus Fleming and The Ian Fleming Estate on the publication of The Man with the Golden Typewriter; a collection of Ian Fleming's letters edited by Fergus. It is a fascinating read, particularly for those of us in the publishing industry, and they should be very proud of it.

I've just skimmed the surface of all we've done this year, as there's been a lot of activity on our older continuation authors as well.   Works by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd continue to garner new translation deals overseas, but we don't have the time to list them all here.

Looking forward, we are exploring licensing around our literary assets;  having taken tentative steps into this area in the past, we are now taking a more serious approach and have enlisted the help of Jo Edwards and her team at Random House Enterprises.

And finally, there have also been new developments in the IFPL team. Tilly has been with us as Finance Manager for just over a year, and Jonny Davidson has joined us as our Administrative Assistant after Phoebe left us in the Spring.   I am delighted to welcome them both.   The advent of a younger team has meant that we are now very active in social media, and I would like to encourage you to keep track of our activities throughout the year on our website, but also on Facebook, Twitter, and now Instagram.

Corinne B Turner

Managing Director