French siren Brigitte Bardot is the one of the latest icons to receive the treasury archive treatment. Joining John Lennon, David Bowie, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and The Who, the new book Brigitte Bardot: The Life, The Legend, The Movies serves as an illustrated biography featuring a large collection of facsimile artifacts and documents. Published by Carlton Books in October, the hardcover edition clocks in at 96 pages with treasury folders and envelopes. From Amazon: "When Brigitte Bardot appeared in Roger Vadim's And God
Created Woman in 1957, her beauty set the world alight. But Bardot was more
than just a sex symbol: she was a daring actress who worked with some of
cinema's most-revered directors, including Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle.
Film critic Ginette Vincendeau delves into Bardot's career and life, including
her four marriages, her decision to "get out elegantly" and retire at
a young age, and most notably, her unforgettable performances in Le Mépris, Les
Femmes, and Les Pétroleuses. In addition to stunning photos of Bardot in her
iconic roles, this visual biography includes 15 facsimiles of posters and other
documents." More info here.
Greetings, Spy Vibers! I've been out on a special mission recently to organize a writers festival at the school where I teach. About fifteen writers from different fields visited classes all this week to share their work and to talk to students about their careers. I headed up the special events, which featured folks like Jonathan Rinzler (Star Wars books), Fred Schodt (Japanese culture & Manga), Geeta Dayal (music journalist), Rebecca Coffey (science writer and novelist), and Trina Robbins (graphic novels and Wonder Woman writer). We had an amazing week of lively discussions and inspiration! But I do apologize to readers who have been waiting patiently for our next post here on Spy Vibe. The sad news came today that Leonard Nimoy has passed away. His work is so iconic and influential to our culture, I will post a tribute to him over the weekend. The other news on the radar is the exciting announcement that the new issue of MI6 Confidential is now available- and this one is all about Spectre and Blofeld! From the press release: "Ask anyone with a passing interest in Bond and they'll recall the terrorist organisation SPECTRE pulling the strings on some of 007’s most dangerous missions; but not because they have been a regular fixture of recent times. However, the organisation will be back (and just possibly its ubiquitous leader, Blofeld) in the 24th screen adventure. This issue pays tribute to the legacy that went before it. Packed with trivia, and historical data, we recount the rise of Blofeld from the germ of an idea from author Ian Fleming and producer Kevin McClory to his most recent filmic appearance in For Your Eyes Only. We also explore the little-told history of Roger Moore’s seventh and final outing, A View To A Kill – celebrating its 30th anniversary by catching up with several of the film’s alumni. In This Issue: Snowbound - An early look at the production of Bond 24, now known as SPECTRE, The Many Faces of Blofeld - The master villain and his organisation on screen, Kevin McClory Interviewed - When the Thunderball producer reflected on 007 in 1979, SPECTRE In Print - Charting the organisation's involvement in the Fleming and Gardner novels, Dance Into The Fire - The complete history of Roger Moore's final outing as Bond, Steamy Rendezvous - Fiona Fullerton on spending a day in the hot tub with co-star Roger Moore, The Final Cut - Editor Peter Davies remembers the global shoot for A View To A Kill, The Bond Connection - Traditional cool meets modern street grit in Kingsman."Packed with images and well-researched articles, Spy Vibers shouldn't miss an issue of MI6 Confidential. More info here. See my interview with Trina Robbins here.
Spy Vibers carry a continuing wish-list of dream projects in their virtual attache cases, like hoping to see Blu-ray editions of out-of-print classics -and rarer yet- a Hollywood remake of a 1960s spy show that stays true to the original. Readers might be surprised to hear that one of the items topping my wish-list is the dream that one day LEGO will produce a series of James Bond sets, video games, and short films. If you have ever played LEGO Batman, you know the company is putting out products that manage to be fun (and funny!) and totally cool. Agent Jeffach at Deviant Art shares my dream, and he even went the extra mile to test the old adage: "if you build it, they will come." Jeffach created mock-ups for a number of Bond-themed LEGO sets, including Dr No: The Dragon of Crab Key, From Russia With Love: Attack of the SPECTRE Helicopter, Goldfinger: The Forest Chase, Thunderball: The Golden Grotto, and You Only Live Twice: Little Nellie's Hot Reception. He even submitted the ideas to LEGO, but was told the theme was too adult. I'm not sure why the company deems The Dark Knight or Pirates of the Caribbean any less adult and fitting for children. Of course, it's how LEGO adapts material that makes it appropriate for the brand. I'm sure they could produce an amazing 007 game and market sets for kids that wouldn't dilute the film franchise or hurt interest in the novels. In fact, as seen with their success with the Star Wars franchise, the toys and games actually draw in a new audience that is poised to become the next generation of mega-fans. One of the first themes I'd make, not included in Jeffach's designs, would be based on The Spy Who Loved Me. The film would provide really fun elements like Jaws, Lotus submarine, the Pyramids, ski chase, and an undersea lair. Maybe someday! Until then, keep calm and dream Bond...Brick Bond. Thanks to Agent Jeffach for his ingenious design work!
Some exciting news today from our sister site, Double O Section: Network is releasing a Blu-ray edition of the 1967 Eurospy film, Deadlier Than the Male! Loosely based on the Bulldog Drummond series, the movie stars Elke Sommer, Sylvie Koscina, and Richard Johnson, and includes a famous set-piece with girl assassins in bikinis with spearguns(!). Are you with me now? Every fan has their favorite cult-classic and we spend years trying to champion our treasures to keep them alive in the culture. Long-time readers know The 10th Victim looms large here at the Spy Vibe lair (I even got to contribute all of the stills/posters for the Blu-ray!). Deadlier Than the Male looms just as large over at Double O Section, so I must shout out a hearty cheer for Tanner and for all fans of the movie. The Blu-ray maintains the original 1.66:1 widescreen print and includes standard-def extras like on-set featurettes, theatrical trailer, interviews, image galleries and promo materials. No word yet if Network will follow up with the sequel, Some Girls Do. Spy Vibers outside of the UK will require a multi-region player to play this Region B disc. Material produced for the PAL system sometimes experiences a subtle speed-up (as I experiences even on the PAL-to-NTSC converted Blu-ray of The Avengers Season 5 set), so hopefully there will be no issues with this release. I look forward to checking this out! Street date is April 27th. AmazonUK page here. You can find the 2003 standard NTSC DVD edition on Amazon here. Enjoy!
