James Bond & Friends

How is America treated in the James Bond series? We kick off this week talking about the use of American locations in the James Bond novels and films, and quickly get detoured in to a deeper discussion about how the lense of Bond bends the relationship between the UK and the US through distortions and battles of power, culture, and sex. Along the way, we stumble upon rogue palm trees, 2 am commutes to Fort Knox, Welsh paddy fields, and banishing 007 from LA. The recording took place on August 29th, 2019 in the USA. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Lisa Funnell (@CinemaOnFire) is Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com Ben Williams writes for MI6-HQ.com and MI6 Confidential This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

Who should cover a Bond song? We draft in new artists to perform cues for an imaginary 'Shaken And Stirred' album for the 2010s. With only our regular panelists' suspect musical taste and Q The Music's Warren Ringham to guide us, we make the case for some of our favourite performers to have a crack at a Bond song. Along the way Ben and David snipe each others' picks, and we stumble on Burt Bacharach's suspect vocal stylings, Sam Smith's falsetto, title songs as marketing, Dennis Waterman and his theme tune complex, creepy Goldfinger, Ringo's lost Bond theme, getting music recommendations from a computer, a musical theatre dark past, Queen's stealth hits, live podcast research, Wolverine on vocals, and the YouTube cover artist market. The recording took place on August 16th, 2019 in the UK, USA and Spain. Paul Atkinson is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Warren Ringham is the founder and manager of Q The Music David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.co Ben Williams writes for MI6-HQ.com and MI6 Confidential This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

Why do the origins of characters have to be explained? In part two of our recording with Joseph Darlington, Head of Section at Being James Bond, we cover some recent 007 news not related to Bond 25 and answer questions from listeners using the hashtag #askbond. Along the way, we stumble across the return of a non-biodegradable nemesis, strange audiences, speedy run-times, rogue audio effects, fake-out flops, clipboard wielding girls, life's loose threads, and bouncing pearls. Thanks to @SeekOutWisdom, @MediumAtomic, and @Stingray_travel for the questions. The recording took place on August 23rd, 2019 in the USA and Spain. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Joseph Darlington is Head of Section at beingjamesbond.com David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

What's in a name?  We welcome Joseph Darlington, Head of Section at Being James Bond, to the panel as we discuss the Bond 25 title drop 'No Time To Die.' Announced without much fanfare on an otherwise quiet Tuesday, we discuss how the new title fits in with the series. We also reveal the first news about the teaser trailer and what we can expect to see soon! Along the way we stumble across old fonts, Spectre's tiramisu, uncanny valley DB5s, dodgy timelines, and Mr White's diet. The recording took place on August 23rd, 2019 in the USA and Spain. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Joseph Darlington is Head of Section at beingjamesbond.com David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

How much money does a Bond film really cost to make? With the news that one of Bond 25's distribution partners Annapurna is having some money troubles, we dive deep into the murky waters of the business of the movies, how much films really cost, and who pays for them. Ajay shares his professional expertise on film financing and Bill recounts the history of United Artists at the start of the Bond series. Along the way we stumble on Telly Savalas' hair, Cleopatra's expense account, Q-Branch pet food, Hai Fat's inspiration, Ian Fleming's animal rights, the James Bond goat, and the faded glory of a Wimpy hamburger. The recording took place on August 9th, 2019 in the USA, UK, New Zealand, and Spain. Paul Atkinson and James Page are co-founders of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Ajay Chowdhury (co-author with Matthew Field) of Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

How have Bond’s key allies translated from page to screen? Observing the passing of David Hedison - two time Felix Leiter - we note how he became the first man to return to the role some 10 years later with the long-serving ally’s pivotal role in ‘Licence to Kill’. We continue by discussing Leiter and Bond’s relationship and how the re-casting has lead to some inconsistent characterisation. Along the way, we stumble on Leiter’s drinking habits, Felix’s faux pas, his Kennedy impersonation, Jack Lord’s moisturiser, Felicia Leiter, big livers, the martini olive scam, an ill-fated fishing trip, Le Chiffre’s undead exit, rewrites whilst boozing, and the Leiterverse. The recording took place on July 26th, 2019 in the USA, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal. Paul Atkinson and James Page are co-founders of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Marcos Kontze is creator and editor of jamesbondbrasil.com David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com Ben Williams writes for MI6-HQ.com and MI6 Confidential This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

In space, can you hear the James Bond screenwriters scream? Space has been a recurring element in the James Bond film series, appearing in 7 adventures so far, and it was almost 8! As the 50th anniversary of the moon landings is celebrated, we discuss how 007 on the big screen was influenced by the real-world space race and the bets producers took on future events. We are left with just one question: how the hell do we get those diamonds down again? We round out the episode with a look at the latest 007 news including new trademarks, special screenings, Bond 25 shipping containers, and everyone takes a punt on when the title will drop. The recording took place on July 19th, 2019 in the USA, UK, and Spain. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Calvin Dyson can be found at youtube.com/calvindyson David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

How much James Bond history is left to be discovered? Bill recounts his recent trip to the Lilly Library in Indiana where he looked at one of Ian Fleming's early Casino Royale manuscripts and shares some of the changes made to the final novel. As Formula 1 celebrated its 1,007th Grand Prix we look back at Bond's motor racing connections over the years and Ben reveals the story of the Aston Martin that probably influenced Ian Fleming's gadget laden car. Rounding out, we explore the state of James Bond research and what history still lays hidden. Along the way we cover the latest news including Ajay's location visit with Bond 25, bumping in to Bojo, SEO tabloids, firestorms on social media, into the Bondverse, Fleming in the public domain, and find a song about Blofeld. The recording took place on July 14th, 2019 in the USA and UK. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Ajay Chowdhury (co-author with Matthew Field) of Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films Lisa Funnell (@CinemaOnFire) is Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com Ben Williams writes for MI6-HQ.com and MI6 Confidential Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

How has fandom changed over the years? It's so secret that we neglect to mention the name of the event! Mark and Calvin recount their amazing day at Secret Cinema's Casino Royale show (spoiler-free) and we ponder what other Bond films would make great interactive experiences. We also debate the current state of Bond fandom in 2019 and how things have changed over the past 20 years. At the end, discussion of the latest Bond 25 developments throw up some wild rumours that sound a little too familiar. The recording took place on July 4th, 2019 in the USA, UK, and Spain. James Page is a co-founder of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Calvin Dyson can be found at youtube.com/calvindyson Mark O'Connell's home base is markoconnell.co.uk David Leigh runs thejamesbonddossier.com Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man

Who can defend the indefensible? We experiment with a new format for this episode where each guest takes a turn to 'defend the indefensible' and make their case for an unpopular opinion in the James Bond universe. Will anyone have their minds changed? We tackle changing the shooting order of the early films for better continuity, under-appreciation of a much-maligned Bond girl, exploring just how smart James Bond is, future actor choices, and going with a left-field composer. At the end, we round out with discussion of the latest Bond 25 developments including the Jamaica teaser video and London shooting. The recording took place on June 30th, 2019 in the USA, UK, and New Zealand. Paul Atkinson and James Page are co-founders of MI6-HQ.com and the magazine MI6 Confidential Bill Koenig runs the Spy Command at hmssweblog.wordpress.com Ben Williams writes for MI6-HQ.com and MI6 Confidential This podcast is copyright Pretitles LLC © 2019 Music credit 'Spy & Die' by Jay Man