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The fictional character James Bond is a sophisticated British spy, invented by and appearing in books by Ian Fleming (and later Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson and Charlie Higson).
Fleming named the character after the American ornithologist James Bond and would later write to the birder's wife that her husband's "brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon, and yet very masculine name was just what I needed." Bond has the code name of 007, pronounced "double-oh seven". The 'double-oh' prefix indicates a ' licence to kill'; that is, permission to use deadly force at his discretion in the course of his duty. There is a highly successful and durable series of films made by EON ProductionsEON Productions is a film production company best known for the James Bond movie franchise. EON stands for "Everything or Nothing". It was started by the famous James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in 1961. In 1975 after nine movies,, the majority of which were produced by Albert R. BroccoliAlbert Romolo Broccoli ( April 5, 1909 June 27, 1996) known to millions of movie fans as Cubby" Broccoli (he was a chubby child), produced more than forty movies, but will be remembered by most for his contribution to one of the most successful film franc and Harry SaltzmanHarry Saltzman ( October 27 1915 September 28 1994) was a film producer best known for co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R. Broccoli until selling his share of the franchise to United Artists in 1975. He retired from the business at that. Later Broccoli's daughter and stepson, Barbara BroccoliBarbara Broccoli (born June 18, 1960) is the daughter of the famous James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli majored in motion picture and television communications at Loyola University prior to working in the casting and production departments at EON Produ and Michael G. WilsonMichael G. Wilson (born 1943) is the stepson of the late James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli and stepbrother to current James Bond producer, Barbara Broccoli. Actor Lewis Wilson is Michael G. Wilson's father. Since Moonraker Wilson has been an exective would also produce. The films were mostly released by either United ArtistsThe United Artists Corporation (aka United Artists Pictures and United Artists Films was formed on February 5, 1919 by four Hollywood greats: Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D. Their motive was to challenge the power of the major stu or MGM. There are also many notable video gamescreenshot of Tetris for the Nintendo Game BoyA video game is a game played using an electronic device with a visual display. Overview Often "video game" is taken in a narrow sense to mean those games played on consoles for television and similar handhelds based on the films and some with original scripts with the character.
"James Bond" has entered popular culture and language, with people using the phrase to describe something stealthy and/or futuristic: "right out of James Bond", "James Bond style security", and so on.
The various James Bond novels and movies have, over the years, varied wildly from realistic spy dramas to outright science fiction.
The central character of all the James Bond fiction is the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, both of whom are dead from a climbing accident by the time of the books and movies. He went to school briefly at Eton College. In cinematic versions of the character, Bond has a degree in Oriental Languages from Cambridge University, although this contradicts the information in the novels and the scene in Tomorrow Never Dies where Bond is unable to use a computer with a Chinese keyboard. Bond can also speak fluent Russian, which he claims to have studied at Oxford in The World is Not Enough, and can be seen communicating in any number of other languages in the various films. He served in the Royal Navy before joining the Secret Service and holds the rank of Commander. During his tenure writing Bond books, John Gardner promoted the literary Bond to Captain, but he was subsequently demoted without explanation. In both the book and movie versions of On Her Majesty's Secret Service Bond marries, but his wife is killed on their wedding day by his greatest enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld; this event has continued to resonate for both the film and literary version of the character.
In the novels, one of the only constants in Bond's life is his elderly, Scottish housekeeper, May, who not only appeared in numerous Fleming novels, but proved herself to be as ageless as Bond himself by also appearing in several of John Gardner's novels. May is one of a small number of recurring characters from the literary canon who has yet to appear in the movie series.
Fleming's Bond was born in 1924, lied about his age to enter the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in 1941, and had gained the rank of Commander by the end of the war.
The Bond family motto is Orbis non sufficit ( Latin for "The world is not enough").
Bond movies are known for their villains, women (most of whom end up in bed with Bond), gadgetry manufactured by Q-branch, and stunts. Most had little to do with the real activities of intelligence agencies, involving Bond in violent acts of derring-do to save the world from various apocalyptic madmen. The madmen invariably attempt to kill Bond using elaborate methods, from which Bond escapes after the gloating villain gives him the critical information necessary to thwart his plot. Despite the films' description as " thrillers", Bond's character is rarely troubled, regardless of the odds facing him. Many of the original books have a much darker tone however, with fewer fantasy elements and gadgetry.
Bond is employed by the British Secret Intelligence Service, or MI-6, which also has a non-fictional counterpart. His superiors are known by single letters such as M and Q This echoes the custom of Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming who, dropping the "Smith", used his initial "C" as a codename, a practice used by subsequent directors of the United Kingdom's real MI6.
Bond's female companions are often given names that are double entendres, leading to a succession of jokes. Examples include "Pussy Galore" in Goldfinger, "Plenty O'Toole" in Diamonds Are Forever, and "Xenia Onatopp" (a villain who gets sexually excited by strangling men between her shapely thighs) in GoldenEye. Despite Bond's attitudes towards women, most of these leading ladies end up, if not in love with him, at least subdued by him.
Bond films began to look increasingly outdated throughout the 1980s, with the main character's sexism and the fixation with glamorous locations looking anachronistic, and his unruffled exterior increasingly incongruous when compared to movies such as Die Hard. After a relatively unsuccessful attempt to turn Bond in a harder-edged direction with Timothy Dalton as the main character, the 1990s revival with Pierce Brosnan in the lead role has been successful.
At least a little of the Bond character was based on the life of its creator, who was noted for his glamorous lifestyle (including a fair number of female companions). The character is also believed to have been inspired by several of Fleming's contemporaries in British Intelligence during World War II. The famous Estoril Casino in Estoril, Portugal, is credited as the birthplace of Bond. The Casino was a home away from home for many spies operating during the war, with Portugal operating as a neutral ground during the conflict. Fleming was inspired by the atmosphere at the Casino, where much of Europe's royalty mingled openly with many of the world's covert agencies.
The first actor to play Bond was American Barry Nelson, in a 1954 CBS TV production of Casino Royale. In 1956, Bob Holness played the spy in a South African radio dramatisation of Moonraker.
James Bond is a moderate to heavy drinker, having consumed 100 alcoholic beverages in his films up to 2002, and more than 250 in Ian Fleming's novels. In the films, he has champagne 32 times, and drinks 20 vodka martinis.
James Bond is a household name (arguably the most successful fictional character ever) and has had a definitive impact on the spy genre, including some parodies like Casino Royale ( 1967), the Austin Powers movies, and Johnny English ( 2003). In the 1960s, the success of the 007 films inspired numerous television imitators, including The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (to which Ian Fleming contributed, and the name "Napoleon Solo" was originally the name of a crime boss in Fleming's Goldfinger), I Spy, Get Smart, and The Wild Wild West.
Video games have been released based on all the movies from A View to a Kill (1985) onwards. There have also been a number of James Bond video games not based on an existing story. A comic strip in Britain ran from 1958 to 1983, along the way adapting nearly all of Fleming's novels as well as producing many original stories on its own.
Reoccurring or relevant characters from the James Bond movies:
For a more detailed list see: List of James Bond allies
For a more detailed list see: List of James Bond villains
Another popular element of James Bond is the exotic equipment and vehicles he is assigned on his missions, which often prove to be critically useful.
The original books and early adaptations had only relatively minimal pieces like the modified attache case in From Russia with Love. However, the gadgets took on a more spectacular profile in the film version of Goldfinger and its tremendous success encouraged the following films to have Bond supplied still more equipment. For instance, it became an expected scene in each film where Q would present and demonstrate Bond's assigned tools for the mission and it was a near guarantee that each and every piece would be invaluable to Bond in the field.
Fans eventually complained that the use of gadgets became excessive in the Roger Moore films, particularly in Moonraker and subsequent productions struggled to find a balance in which gadgets could have a place without giving the impression that the character unduly depended on them.
See also:
Fleming himself wrote twelve Bond novels. In order of publication, they are:
He also wrote two compilations of short stories featuring the character:
All of these stories later provided some basis or characters for Bond films, with the exception of "Quantum of Solace." The title character of the Octopussy movie is said to be the daughter of the villain of the short story. One additional short piece, " 007 in New York", appeared in Fleming's collection of travel essays, Thrilling Cities (1963) and was added to new editions of Octopussy and The Living Daylights beginning in 2002.
After Fleming's death, the publishers of the Bond novels planned a series of books credited to "Robert Markham" that would in fact be written by a rotating series of authors. The first was Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis. Only one other Markham novel was completed, Per Fine Ounce by Geoffrey Jenkins , but it was rejected for publication and the Markham series was cancelled.
John Pearson's "authorized" biography of Bond was well-received by fans. The book suggests that Fleming based the adventures of 007 on the real-life exploits of James Bond, much like Arthur Conan Doyle supposedly based his stories on a real-life Sherlock Holmes. Glidrose Publications considered having Pearson continue writing a new series of Bond novels based upon this concept (with Pearson "inheriting" the job from Fleming), but nothing came of it. The canonicity of this novel is a matter of some debate by Bond fans, with some considering it apocryphal, but it was published as an official Bond novel by at least one publisher.
In 1981, the series was revived, with new novels being written by John Gardner. Between 1981 and 1996, Gardner wrote fourteen James Bond novels and two novelizations.
In 1996, John Gardner retired from writing Bond books. Raymond Benson was quickly chosen to replace him. He is the first American to write James Bond novels, a fact that was initially controversial. Benson's novels were also controvesial for ignoring much of the continuity established by Gardner.
Benson also wrote three James Bond short stories; " Blast from the Past " which appeared in the January 1997 issue of Playboy, " Midsummer Night's Doom " which appeared in the January 1999 issue of Playboy, and " Live at Five " which appeared in the American edition of TV Guide in 1999. Prior to retiring as Bond novelist (see below), Benson indicated plans to write more short pieces and publish a short story collection.
After his 2002 novelization of Die Another Day, Raymond Benson abruptly retired from writing Bond books. The series will be continued, but focusing on Bond's adolescence (see below). It is unknown whether the literary Bond's life will be continued in print from where Benson left off.
This was a bootleg Bond novel, privately published by Jim Hatfield who later wrote a controversial biography of George W. Bush. Although the fine print of the book claims that it is a Glidrose publication, no such book was ever published by that company. Hatfield claimed to have been given the rights to publish a Bond novel by Glidrose, which seems unlikely since John Gardner was the current Bond novelist at the time, and such a novel would have been published by the Bond publisher of the day had it been legitimate. The book is extremely rare as only a very few copies were produced, and it is considered a Holy Grail by Bond fans because of its shocking ending - James Bond is murdered. The text of the book is available on the Internet.
In addition to the above novels, there were seven "novelizations" which were books based on the screenplays of Bond films. These books are generally not considered official canon, despite most being written by the current Bond novelist of the time. Gardner, in particular, tries to incorporate his novelizations into both his own continuity and that of Ian Fleming, despite Licence to Kill containing major elements and events from several Fleming works.
In April 2004, Ian Fleming Publications announced a new series of James Bond books was on its way. Instead of picking up where Ray Benson left off, however, this new series of books would be about a 13 year old Bond, aiming at the " Harry Potter audience". The new novels will be written by Charlie Higson ( The Fast Show). Higler has stated his intention of keeping his novels in line with Bond's backstory as established by Ian Fleming, though it has yet to be determined if these novels will actually be accepted as part of the Bond canon by fans (particularly those who consider John Pearson's biography of Bond to be canonical).
In 1967, Glidrose authorized the publication of 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Jr. by Arthur Calder Marshall writing as R.D. Mascott. This book was aimed at young adult readers and chronicled the adventures of 007's nephew (despite the inaccuracy of the title). This book is not considered part of the official Bond canon.
The early 1990s TV series James Bond Jr. spawned a series of six episode novelizations by John Peel writing as John Vincent.
Fans of Bond films tend to have their own favorite actor who has played the part. Sean Connery played him as the tough guy, always ready with the clenched fist beneath the polished exterior. George Lazenby, though only appearing for one film, is one of the most controversial Bond actors, being simultaneously loved and despised by Bond fans. Roger Moore's Bond was much older, smoother and more sophisticated, rarely getting a hair out of place while saving the world. The films of Timothy Dalton attempted to take Bond back to the darker roots of the books, making him a more complex and troubled character. Pierce Brosnan, the current Bond actor, is widely regarded as portraying Bond with a mix of Connnery's raw masculinity and Moore's suavity.
Note: The sequence numbers, where given, are those used by the makers of the "mainstream/official" Bond films.
Recently, MGM has managed to acquire the distribution rights to the Casino Royale spoof and Never Say Never Again (due to a legal settlement with Kevin McClory, who formerly held the story rights to Thunderball and was responsible for making Never Say Never Again). MGM now owns nearly all the rights to the 'Bond Films'. It has been suggested that this purchase has made it possible for a serious adaptation of Casino Royale to be considered. Despite the fact that they are both now owned by MGM, this in no way makes Never Say Never Again or Casino Royale "official" Bond films.
Note: The following games listed below are some of the more recent Bond games.
There were several parodies of the Bond novels in the 1960s.
The James Bond movies have also been repeatedly parodied:
| James Bond movies |
| Dr. No | From Russia with Love | Goldfinger | Thunderball | You Only Live Twice | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Diamonds are Forever | Live and Let Die | The Man with the Golden Gun | The Spy Who Loved Me | Moonraker | For Your Eyes Only | Octopussy | A View to a Kill | The Living Daylights | Licence to Kill | GoldenEye | Tomorrow Never Dies | The World Is Not Enough | Die Another Day | James Bond 21 |
| Casino Royale | La Resurrection du Dragon | The Green Jade Mahjongg | Never Say Never Again | The Property of a Lady |
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