Time for some film news…

• Variety got a big Bond 22 scoop by talking to all the big players on the film including Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Paul Haggis, Marc Forster, and Amy Pascal. Bond 22 picks up right where Casino Royale left off and still won’t include Miss Moneypenny and Q (this is a good thing IMO). Lots more goodies in this article.
• According to a Danish website, Jesper Christensen who played Mr. White in Casino Royale will be back for Bond 22. You can read about it in English at CBn.
• George Lazenby, official Bond #2, turned 68 on September 5th.
• CBn ran a feature on Nabila, which posed as The Flying Saucer, Largo’s yacht from Never Say Never Again.
• AICN got word from an unknown source that Bond 22 may sorta kinda be called The Property of a Lady. I wouldn’t put a ton of stock in this. While this may end up being true, The Property of a Lady has been a fan frontrunner for years and years as always the “next Bond film’s title”. Also… from the source he says that it was hinted at from someone who lectured on the life of Ian Fleming, which seems wrong. I just don’t picture too many people “in the know” that are qualified to lecture on Ian Fleming. John Cork, maybe. Whatever, but keep in mind that Haggis didn’t know last week – he even said he suggested a title and never received any feedback so that just tells you how tight lipped the Broccolis are being on this.

The following reveals those clues and speculates on what they may mean. Read at your own risk. (Read more…)

Unfortunately, I just haven’t had time to do anything more than to thumb through it and I’ve had my copy since late June.

Things were relatively quiet around here today unless you personally attended the All-Gold Party to launch Young Bond’s latest adventure, Hurricane Gold. The Danger Society promised a web game today and I sort of figured that a redesign of the site was going to happen today as well, but this is not the case. At least not today. Maybe tomorrow?

Anyway, in London, Charlie Higson showed up with fans at Waterstones in Piccadilly to launch Hurricane Gold. The Young Bond Dossier got the scoop of the event (with pictures) which began at 6pm with a photocall for the press. Charlie himself didn’t appear till about 7. He read to the crowd, signed some books, and also had a good little Q&A session where I guess he mentioned (or did not mention – read the report) that Wilder Lawless from the first book may come back in the fifth as well as the female Russian baddie from Double or Die (after reading Double or Die, I figured this was going to happen at some point). Sounded like a fun event though.

Former James Bond author Raymond Benson has teamed up with Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire to present Dann and Raymond’s Movie Club, a series of lectures and discussions taking place on the first Thursday of each month at the Schaumburg Township District Library on various film genres. The series is subtitled “In the Library Nobody Can Hear You Scream”. Here’s the lineup:

• September 6th: “It’s Alive: The Horror Genre Begins” (the silent era and the 1930s)
• October 4th: “Don’t Reveal the Ending Because I Know What You Did” (gimmicks & schlock and the modern age of horror)
• November 1st: “Hail to the Screen” (presidents, politics, and elections at the movies)
• December 6th: “Ho, Ho Ho, Pass the Popcorn” (a stockingful of holiday movies)

The programs begin at 7:30pm CST in the AV Department. Admission is free. I’d actually consider going if I lived closer; I live in Illinois, but not Chicago. I was in Chicago last week though.

Look forward to seeing more news here on today’s festivities as well as future reports about the fourth book in the Young Bond series. Also look forward to, most likely, a long overdue revamp of the official Young Bond website today which should include a Hurricane Gold web game.

Today, The James Bond Encyclopedia was published in the UK by Dorling Kindersley Publishers. The James Bond Encyclopedia covers all current 21 official films by EON Productions and will focus on everything in front of the camera rather than the behind the scenes aspects. The book is organized by “The Role of Bond”, Bond girls, Bond villains, etc and then alphabetized.

Americans thankfully do not have much of a wait. The book goes on sale in the United States on October 15th. You can currently pre-order the American edition at Amazon.com or order the UK edition at Amazon.co.uk.

Here’s a couple scans from inside the book:

Today Charlie appeared on the BBC 6 Music program and discussed getting the gig as the author of Young Bond, Hurricane Gold, Bond in general, The Fast Show and other past and current projects/going-ons. He also requests White Light/White Heat by Velvet Underground. :) Ok. As for what the future may hold for Charlie and The Fast Show, he doesn’t say, but he does say “‘Never Say Never Again’ as Bond would say”.

You can listen here. (On the right, click Wednesday and skip ahead almost 2 hours.)

The third book in the The Moneypenny Diaries trilogy, Final Fling, will take place in Jamaica, the Outer Hebrides, Cambridge, and London according to a scoop by the Young Bond Dossier. The story will also be divided between Moneypenny and the “editor” Kate Westbrook.

Final Fling is ‘supposedly‘ set for release next May.