I
discovered James Bond at Christmas 1971 in Paris . The film was , of
course , Les Diamants Sont Eternels ( D.A.F ) .
And to
an 8 years old kid , this was a universe quite different from the
usual Disney pictures my parents usually took me to see at the cinema
.
A
couple of days later , I managed to cajole my godfather to buy me two
Corgis models issued from the movie , the awesome Moonbuggy – which
I still have and still functionning – and the Aston Martin DB5 (
which , unfortunately , has suffered much more from being too often
played with … ) .
Anyway
, two years later Lord Brett Sinclair suddenly became James Bond .
I was
then much more aware of the ongoing saga .
And
started to read the original Fleming novels . The French movie tie-in
edition of ' Vivre et Laisser Mourir ' had the superb Robert
McGinnis film poster on its cover - which was the main reason why I
bought the book ( to be dreadfully honest , I was disgusted not to
find ANY direct relation with the movie bearing the same title ,
apart from some character's names . That was my first lesson in movie
making : never trust a film poster claiming story is inspired
by a precise book ! ) .
My
interest in Bond then took two directions . First , following all the
news appearing in magazines related to the shooting / release of a
new movie and second , discovering all the original novels written by
Ian Fleming ( and then trying to imagine what could have been done
with a completely faifhfull adaptation of any of his novellist work .
) .
As fate
would have it , I was then living in the small town of Vence , nearby
Nice , on the French Riviera .
And the
then current actor portraying 007 on the screen at that time ( the
ever amiable Sir Roger Moore ) had a villa less than 15kms from my
own home . Little did I knew then ( damnit ) .
When I
decided to publish my very first own movie Fanzine in 80', it was
then natural to have 007 on the cover of the very first issue . The
Curse of Journalism had made another victim .
I then
followed a Journalistic Course at la Sorbonne – and finally
obtained a Master in Journalism & Communication in 90' .
A
decision which was ( in all modestly ) largely inspired to try to follow Ian
Fleming footsteps .
I
figured out that his life as a Globe-trotter was one which could be
rather interesting , visiting new countries , making friends
everywhere , acting like an irresitible playboy , being his own Boss
. That sort of things .
Hell
yeah , Journalism was some kind of dream job indeed .
I had
started writing film reviews by then , attending Press screenings ,
meeting actors & directors for promo interviews , etc, etc .
But
always a Bond fan, I was still a member of several 007 Fan-Clubs
around the world – best of them being without doubt the James Bond
( British ) Fan-Club .
Under
the formidable input of its Président , members had the chance to
visit the mythical Pinewood Studios , attend conferences with cast &
crew from the movies , etc.,etc …
I even
used one of those Convention ' open day ' in october 92 to film part
of my first James Bond TV documentary there , ' Les 30 Ans de
James Bond ' ( who knows , it may be on YouTube these days ) . I
was still a trainee in the SFP ( French national TV Production
company ) then, and managed to convince them to let me film there a
30 minutes doc – which was produced by Canal + Philippe Gildas
company .
Oh and
I got to interview Terence Young himself – in one of his very last
TV appearances – for that documentary too ...
Over
the years , I met many people in the movie business , made a
few friends too and continue to closely follow each new James Bond
adventures ( be it on celluloïd or paper form ) .
I
interviewed many of the key production members too ( Cubby Broccoli ,
Michael G.Wilson ,Guy Hamilton, etc. ) , and have always been impressed by their
own modesty .
My
interest never weakened through the years .
For me
, quite simply , the Bond productions were – ARE – what Europe
can offer as Best in terms of movie production and artistic value .
Their
creative teams are truly international , their casts dazzle for each new movie .
They trust the very same persons to work with them from film to film
.
There's
definitly some kind of ' Family business ' warm feeling when you have the chance
to be introduced into the Eon house …
So I've
' grown up with James Bond ' - sort of .
And
have been lucky enough to earn my living doing a job which was
directly inspired by the very creator of agent 007 ( I often wonder
what Fleming would have thought of our current ' Media frenzy ' times
, though … )
And I'm
not the only one , far from it .
Many
current film directors have been inspired by the Bond saga .
Some
famous prolific 007 screenwriters have also started their litterary
career producing some James Bond inspired fanzine in their teens …
I was
having lunch the other day in Paris with a friend who had been lucky
enough to be picked up as Spectre Stunt arranger in the
upcoming movie .
We're
roughly about the same age .
First
unit Shooting had finished some weeks ago , but he still had that
broad grin when talking about the movie , and still did not quite
realized he is now part of the Bond family . It was a dream come true
( his words ) … Lucky guy .
Maybe
one day , they'll need a French writer to join their ranks ?
I
should send pronto boxes of Chocolate to Barbara & Michael ...
Et merci à Harry , Cubby , Barbara , Michael et Ian Lancaster Fleming of course
Et merci à Harry , Cubby , Barbara , Michael et Ian Lancaster Fleming of course
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