December 2000

Bond Season & Seasons Greetings!

As Yuletide approaches we (in the UK) can look forward to the traditional 007 screenings over the holiday season. This year in addition to the movies, there are  a number of documentaries accompanying the  screenings on ITV. But in a year that has seen the release of the ‘Bonds’ on DVD, with all the associated extras, is ‘Bond on the box’ really worth getting steamed up about anymore? As the year draws to an end all that remains is for Daryl & myself to wish all you James Bond fans out there in cyberland a Very Merry Christmas and a Most Prosperous New Year. Congrats also to Daryl who is due to become a father for the second time in 2001!

November 2000

Exclusive! Next Broccoli Production Revealed!

Friday 25th. The ‘From Eastbourne With Love’ site can exclusively reveal Barbara Broccoli’s next production. With Bond taking a planned screen hiatus until 2002, producer Broccoli is working on a stage adaptation of the musical ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Written by Ian Fleming, the children’s story was famously filmed by Barbara’s father Cubby Broccoli back in 1968 

Burchmore & Dawson At Basildon Convention!

Tuesday 21st. From Eastbourne With Love CO-producers Daryl Burchmore & Mark Dawson have just announced that they will be attending the ‘Licence To Thrill’ 007 Convention where they will be selling signed copies of their successful video. Tickets for the convention, to be held at The Post House, Basildon, Essex on Sunday 3rd December, are limited to 400 and are selling fast. Doors open 10.30 am.

Contact: www.scifishows.com

TWINE Released On VHS!

Monday 13th. 5 months after it’s DVD counterpart was released, collectors without a DVD player can finally watch ‘The World Is Not Enough’ in the comfort of their own home! The film is released on video in either widescreen or pan & scanned versions. For a limited time, purchasers  have the choice of another Bond vid at no extra charge!

Brosnan as ‘Grey Owl’

Friday 10th. Richard Attenborough’s latest movie gets a belated cinema release after sitting on the shelf for two years. Pierce Brosnan stars as the title character, in real life Archibald Belany from Hastings, who toured the world as ‘Grey Owl’ a full blooded re Indian. His lectures earned him the title ‘one of the world’s first conservationists’.

Is Robbie the Bond For The New Millenium?

Tuesday 7th. Pop star Robbie Williams, whose hit song Millennium sampled the strings from ‘‘You Only Live Twice’, is not to provide the title song  for Bond 20, nor is he to feature in a cameo role. This is the latest rumour to be denied by the increasingly busy Eon spokesperson.

Bond Becomes A  Yank!

Sunday 5th. Pierce Brosnan announced to Sunday Express readers that he has started the process  of becoming an American citizen. “I would like to be an American. I’ve enjoyed my time here, it is a very fine country” said the 007 star.

No New 007 Adventure Until 2002!

“James Bond will be back in 2002” reports Variety, accrediting the comment to Kirk Kerkorian, who owns 87 percent of MGM. This is the first time in the Brosnan era that fans have had to wait three years between films. The reason for the delay? 2002 coincides with the 40th anniversary of the release of Dr. No!

October 2000

Return of Aston Martin Denied

Thursday 12th. Press reports that car manufactures Aston Martin are to supply James Bond with his customary sports car in the next film adventure have been rigorously denied by Eon Productions. Any such deal would have ended the agreement to supply Bond with BMWs, which he has driven in all three of Pierce Brosnan’s movies since his debut in 1995’s ‘GoldenEye’.

007 on ITV

‘GoldenEye’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ headline ITV’s action movie season on Friday nights. Both films are showing on the channel for the second time with a gap between the premier broadcasts of 18 months and 11 months respectively.

Happy 70th Birthday Tony Brothers!

Not only does Anthony Chamberlain Brothers share the distinction of playing James Bond in ‘Dr. No’ with Sean Connery (he was the Scotsman’s stand-in!), but Tony also celebrates his 70th birthday in 2000!

In honour of the occasion, Tony organized a one man show at Eastbourne’s Art Centre. Entitled ‘For Your Ears Only’, the celebrated raconteur entertained the audience with anecdotes from his many years in the entertainment industry. All proceeds went to a chartiy for the deaf.

The ‘James Bond Cars At Beaulieu’ Exhibition

Launched this month and running until April 2001 is the James Bond cars exhibition. The venue is the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, in the New Forest. Described as ‘a fascinating display of glamorous, genuine Bond cars and gadgetry’, the visitors can view the Aston Martin DB5 from ‘GoldenEye’,  the Aston Martin Volante from ‘The Living Daylights’, BMW 7 Series & Jump Bike from ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, BMW Z 8 -both halves from ‘The World Is Not Enough’, Lotus Esprit from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and back in the UK for the first time in 35 years ‘Goldfinger’s Phantom III Rolls-Royce.

Contact: www.beaulieau.co.uk

007 Product Round-Up

New books released in October include: ‘My Name’s Bond’ edited by Simon Winder & priced at £9.99 is an anthology celebrating the world of Ian Fleming’s creations, from the villain’s and the women to 007 himself. Organized by topic, such as Bond on sex! & Bond on smoking!  James Bond The Secret World of 007 is published by Dorling Kindersley at £12.99. Amongst the 144 pages are full colour layouts of Bond’s cars, the villains’ lairs and the guns and gadgets. A must for fans of the 007 movies.

A new CD, Bond Back In Action II is the follow up to last years release. Continuing the theme of recording John Barry’s most popular  music cues and arranging them into full length suites, the music is played by the City of Prague orchestra. You won’t find the famous and familiar theme tunes here, only the incidental music to the action sequences. However, anyone new to Bond film music will quickly understand the role Barry’s scores played in establishing the character as a movie icon.

Monday October 30th: ’Diamonds Are Forever’ & ‘Live And Let Die’ are released on DVD. ‘Diamonds’ is especially noteworthy for the inclusion of a number of scenes cut from the original release. Ever wondered why Plenty O’Toole winds up dead in Bond’s swimming pool? Watch the DVD to find out! 

September 2000

Daryl On Channel 4!

The new series of ‘Collector’s Lot’ airs on Channel 4, Monday 11th September. Check out Daryl & his collection!

Licence To Kill Escapes The Censors (Again!)

Saturday 2nd. Unexpectedly, ITV scheduled  an evening screening of ‘Licence To Kill’, Timothy Dalton’s second and final 007 movie. The film caused controversy when it became the first 007 not to receive a ‘PG’ certificate in the UK, with the censors originally requesting cuts to pass it as a ‘15’.  And guess what? For the second time it’s the totally uncut, banned in the UK version, previously available only as a Dutch VHS import!

Viewers were treated to such ‘gems’ as Sanchez whipping Lupe’s buttocks and the screams from her lover as he has his heart cut out, off screen. And this is before the film’s credits!

Other scenes which were restored for this rare screening included the shark attack on Felix Leiter, Milton Crest’s head exploding, Dario’s messy death in the crusher and Sanchez’s fiery demise.

DVD Roud-up

This month sees the 007 DVD catalogue swell by 3 more titles as ‘Thunderball’, ‘You Only live Twice’ and the eagerly anticipated ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ make their silver platter debuts. Of the three,  YOLT is perhaps he weakest with a disappointing amount of extras. Perhaps fans have been spoilt with the excellent Making of.. Goldfinger & Thunderball documentaries from TWINE Entertainment included on the two previous releases.

Anything in connection with the much maligned OHMSS is welcomed by the From Eastbourne With Love crew, although the rumours as to the DVD release being shorn of a few seconds due to print damage are unfortunately true.

August 2000

‘For Your Eyes Only’ Again!

Monday 28th. Another Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK, and another James Bond movie on ITV! This time out it’s another screening for Roger Moore’s 5th Bond outing.

Happy 70th Birthday, Sir Sean Connery! Friday 25th.

Hovercrafts Aren’t Forever!

Thursday 24th. Mark Dawson & Daryl Burchmore ventured across the English Channel in their latest pursuit of 007!

Learning that the Hovercraft (which briefly featured in 1971’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’)  is to be withdrawn from service in October, the intrepid duo made the journey from Dover to Calais on the craft in an effort to document a  piece of Bond ‘history’ for this website.

Watch out for a full report to follow!

A ‘Collector’s Lot’ Is A Happy One!

Tuesday 22nd. Daryl Burchmore today traveled to Brighton to film an appearance in the new series of ‘Collector’s Lot’.

The show, the UK’s long-standing showcase for people with unusual collections is now fronted by former Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene. No broadcast date has yet been scheduled.

Female ‘Q’ Cashing In On A Bond Fantasy!

Wednesday 9th. The Daily Express today features an item on a 21 year old student who acts as ‘Q’ in the Top Secret Exhibition, at Newcastle’s Hancock Museum. The paper reports:

‘Hannah Lynch is indulging in make-believe espionage to make money while waiting to start a Masters Degree in archeology. She dresses up as James Bond gadget expert ‘Q’!

“It’s great fun, the best job I have ever had,” says Hannah, who has just graduated from Newcastle University.

“I show visitors all the gadgets and everyone is very friendly, I would recommend a job like this to any student in need of cash.”

A Vodka-Martini And A Pint, Please, Barman!

Monday 7th. The newly knighted Sir Sean Connery is the man most people would like to spend an evening with at the pub, according to a new survey, the results of which were announced today.

The former 007 star topped the poll by the Campaign for Real Ale, with one third of all the votes cast.

The favourite female companion for men was Catherine Zeta Jones, Connery’s co-star in last year’s ‘Entrapment’ while the top choice in the ‘female drinking buddy for women’ category, was actress Joanna Lumley, who, in 1969, you may recall had a small role in ‘OHMSS’.

DVD update;  ‘TWINE’ Success As ‘Goldfinger’ Released

As ‘Goldfinger’ becomes the fourth title to be released on DVD in the UK, news comes of the ‘The World Is Not Enough’ breaking all previous DVD records as the fastest selling title in this country. During the first six weeks of it’s release, an impressive 76,000 units were sold! The previous record holder (‘The Mummy’) managed 74,000. Figures for ‘Dr. No’, also released on May 22nd, amount to 14,000 in only 7 days.  Proof that the Bond phenomenon is as strong as ever.

‘Goldfinger’s extra features include two documentaries ‘The Making of Goldfinger’ & ‘The Goldfinger Phenomenon’, together with a publicity featurette, theatrical trailers, plus radio and tv spots.

July 2000

 Unlikely Bond Honoured!

Monday 24th. Peter Sellers, the comic genius who played one of the many 007s in the spoof version of ‘Casino Royale,’ was recently honoured at London’s Elstree Studios.

A Blue Plaque was unveiled to commemorate the many films he made at the studio. This year commemorates  the 20th anniversary of his premature death due to heart failure.

The British Comedy Society hosted the event which was attended by Sellers’ fellow Goon, Spike Milligan. Also at the ceremony were Bond actresses Lois Maxwell (‘Miss Moneypenny’ from 1962-85) and Shirley Eaton (‘Jill Masterson’ from ‘Goldfinger’ (1964)

. ‘Arise, Sir Sean!’

Wednesday 5th. Acting legend Sir Sean Connery (the big screen’s first James Bond -as if you need reminding!) wore full dress kilt when he was today formally knighted by the Queen at the Palace of Holyrood  in Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh born star knelt while the Queen lightly touched his shoulders with a sword in the Palace’s Picture Gallery.

The 69 year old actor rose and bowed as the Queen placed a small red sash bearing his medal around the star’s neck.

Sir Sean said afterwards “It’s one of the proudest days of my life!” and “a great honour for Scotland!”

‘Miss Moneypenny’s’ Funeral Service

Monday 3rd. The funeral took place today of Vera Atkins -labeled ‘the real life Miss Moneypenny’ due to her work with the Special Operations Executive during World War Two.

The service was held at 2.30 pm at St. Thomas’ Church, Winchelsea, East Sussex. A memorial service is planned to be held in London during September. Full Story

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