Goldfinger Reunion Event

On Sunday 13th April 2008, over 120 guests plus over a dozen cast and crew members came together to celebrate what is considered to be a Bond classic - Goldfinger. In previous years Bondstars.com has organised events at the studio with actors from the films (an Afternoon With Richard Kiel; A Celebration of Bond and An Evening with George Lazenby; Bond Girls Are Forever, and Behind the Scenes of Bond), but this year’s event was to pay tribute to Goldfinger.
What started as a screening with a few special guests turned eventually into an historic reunion the likes of which will never be repeated! At 10:45 the doors were opened and our attendees enjoyed refreshments and mingled with our special guests - Norman Wanstall, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallett, Margaret Nolan, Caron Gardner, Guy Hamilton and Burt Kwouk. The Cinemastore were also on hand to sell Bond goodies to eager Bond fans. A little later more special guests arrived in the guise of production designers Peter Murton, Sir Kenneth Adam with his Lady Adam, Peter Lamont, lyricist Leslie Bricusse and his wife Yvonne Romain, and Martin Benson.
On show was the one of a kind prototype Corgi DB5 which was kindly loaned to us by Corgi UK. It's value was said to be over £15,000!
Dave Worrall and our guests braved the weather to tour the studio locations used in Goldfinger, including the ornamental gardens for the location of the statue - which is the first victim of Oddjob's deadly bowler hat - then on to the paddock tank where the pre-title sequence was filmed, the covered way and the backlot which is where the exterior of the Fort Knox set was built and Goldfinger's Kentucky Ranch. The Aston Martin DB5 meanwhile awaited the tour in the covered way - scene of the famous car chase.
After the tour and the April showers, the warmth of Theatre 7 was very welcoming as our guests took their seats for what would be a very memorable afternoon, starting with the newly restored and remastered version of Goldfinger. However, there was one more surprise - to introduce the film was Pussy Galore herself, Honor Blackman, to a well deserved standing ovation.
For a film over 40 years old the quality of both sound and picture was simply stunning. We have to thank our friends at EON Productions and Park Circus who kindly loaned us this new version of the film.
After a short break, the Q & A session took place with Golden Girl Shirley Eaton and Tania Mallett reminiscing about their time on the film where Shirley was again asked to explain the procedure for covering her body in gold paint - a question she never tires of answering with great enthusiasm.
Tania chatted about how she was offered the lead in From Russia With Love, but declined as she 'was not an actress' and said she'd prefer 'a smaller role to get started with'. Her wish was granted on the next film!
Leslie Bricusse chatted about the famous title song, and his other John Barry collaborations - even revealing he had penned lyrics for a possible title song for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Put the words to that!
Next up were Burt Kwouk and Margaret Nolan. Margaret explained how the producers wanted her to model for the opening titles, but she said on the proviso they gave her a small part! Burt chatted about the ever enduring success of Bond, before our guest of the hour, director Guy Hamilton was welcomed to the stage.
Guy spoke about his four Bond films, and revealed he had been asked to helm Dr No, but could not for family reasons. He also spoke about how he is still not quite satisfied with the movie, and feels he could improve on some scenes. Is that really possible?!
There was one more surprise too. Before leaving the stage, Guy was presented with the Cinema Retro Outstanding Achievement award by Honor Blackman.
It was then back to the house for more refreshments and autographs, with each attendee being presented with a souvenir Corgi Aston Martin DB5 to take home.
At around 6.15pm, the ever enthusiastic visitors made their way back to the Pine Room to collect their goodie bags of a Pinewood book, Bond DVD, Casino Royale playing cards, magazines and discount vouchers. An absolutely packed day and one of the best ever BondStars events met with unanimous approval from everyone in attendance with everyone asking "now what about next year!"

Longlife buddies

goatboy.com.au - aussie irony

To launch their new online store, Australian T-Shirt brand Goatboy ("irony will set you free) has been creating some online buzz with an image of the Queen wearing a T-shirt of Princess Diana with the slogan - "She's Dead, so get over it". Brilliantly executed.

James Bond in Italy

Daniel Craig arrived in Italy on Sunday 6th April 2008. Filming for the upcoming James Bond film "Quantum of Solace" is now underway in and around the town of Siena. According to local press, Craig arrived during the night, escorted by two bodyguards. He has taken residence in a quiet region on the outskirts of the city.
The first scenes to be filmed were in Sant' Agata, where Craig was performing stunts on cables and harnesses. In one sequence, 007 climbs a drain pipe up the side of a building whilst his target runs across the rooftop.
The town council at Siena gave permission for filming in which James Bond chases through the steep and narrow cobbled streets, across the rooftops and through the underground medieval aqueducts, while the horses thunder round the Campo, the main square. Bond himself will not be riding any horses during the film. The first round of filming back in August focused on the race, with scenes involving actors to be inserted later.
Preparations in Siena began on February 11th, and since then four cranes have appeared towering over the Siena skyline.
Early in the adventure, roughly ten minutes of the film will be spent amongst the streets and rooftops of Siena in a thrilling chase sequence. Some buildings are having minor adjustments made to accommodate the action. Filming for these scenes is now underway (ending by April 13th) and the production is utilising a 'cable cam' to capture to action - the first time this equipment has been used on a feature film. Other location work during this period will also take in the marble quarries of Fantiscritti and Canalgrade near the city of Carrara.
Shooting will then move to Passo del Vestito and Altagnana on May 2nd for a week, with the chase culminating at the Piazza del Campe (where the Pailo horse race was featured) during the first three weeks of May. The chase on-foot will move through the buildings, rooftops and balconies in Siena.

The chase sequence was originally written to end at the Siena Duomo (cathedral), but this was later discarded as it was seen to be disrespectful to the location. Instead, 007 will emerge from the fountain in the Piazza del Campo just at the moment that the horse race ends. The network of underground tunnels ('bottini') were reconstructed in Pinewood as filming at the real location was not possible.
A small unit and four stuntmen had been preparing for the action scenes since March, especially for the stunt where Bond jumps out of a window on to a fast moving bus (a specially modified bus was built for the shot). The bus will be speeding against the flow of traffic towards a bridge.

William Goldman remembers Richard Widmark

By WILLIAM GOLDMAN

I only met Richard Widmark once, and briefly, a third of a century ago, but I'm not going to forget him.
I was in London, working with the director John Schhlesinger on a novel and screenplay of mine, "Marathon Man." Schlesinger, unquestionably brilliant, had won the best directing Oscar a few years earlier for his work on "Midnight Cowboy." He had also been nominated for "Darling" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday."
And he was, at this time, terrified he was dead in Hollywood. He had finished a movie, "The Day of the Locust," that he was convinced would destroy him. So he accepted "Marathon Man" -- a thriller -- for salvation.
We had a marvelous cast -- Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, William Devane -- and the very great Laurence Olivier.
Who was sick, and maybe dying.
I asked our producer, Robert Evans, if Olivier was set and he replied: "Is he set? Is Oliver set? He's so set you wouldn't believe it." Then he paused, finished up with this: "Of course he isn't set-set."
OK, I am staying at a hotel, working in Schlesinger's house, and I ring his doorbell on this special day, and he answers, looking very surprised indeed.
"Richard Widmark is coming over -- he wants to read for Szell," the Olivier part.
I was excited to meet Widmark. He had gone to Lake Forest College, just a couple of towns north of where I was brought up in Illinois, had taught there, then came to New York, worked on Broadway, became a radio star.
Then, at 33, he made his film debut.
He arrived at Schlesinger's on time. He was well dressed, obviously a gent, said this: "Thank you for seeing me. I know you want Larry for the part. I hope he plays it. But I just thought, as long as we were all three here, I might give it a try. I promise I won't take long."
With that we moved into the library. He had a copy of the screenplay, took it out, cleared his throat, started to read.
A few things I should remind you of:
(1) the part of Szell is the villain, a sadistic Nazi dentist, who, among other things, tortures the star, Hoffman, with dental tools, all the while asking this question over and over: "Is it safe?"
(2) Widmark's debut film, "Kiss of Death," which got him an Oscar nomination, was the one where he played the sadistic Tommy Udo, who, among other things, pushed a crippled old lady down a staircase to her death.
Now, in that London library, Tommy Udo came alive again.
I cannot tell you how thrilling that was.
I can still see Widmark turning the pages of the script, and his voice was so frightening. He was not repeating his most famous role, but you knew that evil son of a bitch was somehow still lurking, still inside him, ready and willing to kill you but, more than that, anxious to put you in agony.
He finished, got up, thanked us. We chatted briefly and pleasantly. At the time, his daughter was married to Sandy Koufax.
And at that moment, I was surrounded by heroes ...

home at last - part 1 -