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Don’t sock it up….
Ok seriously though what did we really get
A lousy port of an n64 game
Two novels
And a retrospective on music
I don’t know about anyone else but this socks!
There is probably a good story about why the UK and US Bond celebrations this year were so different.
EON would never admit to it, but there is a fair chance that you're correct. :D
The larger question is does this reflect a long-term decline of interest in Bond in the US (and of EON to really pushing thigs in the US market)? And by not having any significant Bond related events in the US, at what point does it become "the chicken or the egg" type of thing?
So, with that in mind, how did they do?
The Good
- James Bond Day largely delivered, well, if you lived in or around London, with the BFI screenings and interviews, the BFI IMAX Screenings of the last three Craig films, all culminating in two 'Sound of 007' events, the live RAH evening and the documentary, both of which were pretty good (I'm a little lukewarm on the documentary but the RAH concert delivered).
- Having all 25 films screened each week in the UK, from April through to October, has been great, and likely will never happen again. A chance to see some of the less popular films on the big screen was a great opportunity, but again, only if you were in the UK (releases around the world have been hit and miss.
- Dr No being the main focus of the celebration and providing the art style for the celebration has been nice, for that film to be the main driving factor of the 60th.
- The christies auction at least bought some good publicity to the 60th anniversary, and was fun enough to watch, even if it (kinda) ties into my main 'bad' point below.
The Bad
- I am really not keen on the mega expensive premium brands that have had 60th anniversary tie ins. Looking at the 007store it is mainly expensive N Peal sweaters, expensive Orlebar Brown clothing, expensive Penfold golf kit, expensive Pinball machines, expensive Barton Perreira sunglasses, expensive Steiff teddy bears, expensive Floris perfume, expensive Coins etc... the point is all this high end gear gives the impression the celebration and the wider franchise is more concerned with flogging high end gear to a very small pool of fans who can afford it, rather than the entry level fans the series really needs.
- I am not too fussed about it as I think the blu-rays are perfectly good enough, but it is a missed opportunity not to do 4k blu-ray releases of the films. They did a load of new steelbook releases and they were regular blu-rays.
- The Sound of 007 at the RAH concert was heavily edited for its Amazon Prime release, for no real reason. C'mon Amazon, release the whole thing...
So with that in mind, I think they deserve a 7/10. I think the 50th was better in that we had a new film that year (Skyfall, and a cracker it was too), the Everything or Nothing documentary, the debut of 'Bond in Motion' car exhibition in the UK, the 'Designing 007' exhibition at the Barbican, a new video-game (even it was mega-crap), the lead in from the Olympics and Bond being there, and from memory, more books and affordable merch.
There is also another element of this which has made the whole celebration of the 60th feel a little hollow, in my opinion.
Given the ending of NTTD, and the fact we currently dont have a James Bond, and with the supposed upcoming reinvention and relaunch of the series, with numerous behind the scenes issues that have yet to manifest themselves (such as Amazon being the new owner of MGM and what they will push for and want out of the series, and potential succession within EoN)... it all combines to make me feel like we're supposed to be celebrating a series which hasnt had such an uncertain future since the 89-95 period (and luckily I was barely alive during that period).
We're raising a glass to the 60th anniversary of a series which has a very uncertain future. And that makes me nervous and gives a feeling of, perhaps sadness. I dont know, I'm rambling and I hope it is all for nothing and we all continue forward as we want. But we dont know that, and from the sounds of it, neither do the people who should.
Here's to being 60 Mr Bond. I hope we make 70.
I have to say maybe we expected more, myself included, but getting to see Bond back on the big screen again was a treat.
Seeing Casino in the cinema again was a fantastic experience I didn't think I'd ever be lucky enough to have. So for that alone I'm grateful
Thanks. It's difficult for me to think what more they could have done. But I think I can put my finger on one particular item...
AFAIK EoN (Babs and Michael) have never actually directly addressed their fans, its only been through the trade print and media.
It would have been nice for them to have published a letter, or perhaps a small video, directly talking to fans, thanking them for their support of the series over the last 60 years, summing up the history of the series, at a least giving some reassurance over the future. Something like:
As we celebrate James Bond's 60th anniversary on the big screen, we know you are keen to know what the future holds. We need a little time to redevelop and reimagine the series going forward, as we always do when we have a new leading man in the tuxedo, but rest assured, we are working away at it, and as always, James Bond... will return.
You do get the impression they just ignore their fanbase. And I can't say I am a huge fan of that.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001d51t
Wild Bond - The Spy - Episode 1 of 5:
The name's Bond. James Bond. Everyone's favourite spy has been serving up the guns, the glamour, the girls and the gadgets on the silver screen for 60 years, and we're celebrating... In a slightly unusual way. Emily Knight is taking the iconic characters from the Bond world and re-casting them, from the animal kingdom. Which of our animal cousins would make the best 007? Who do we cast as the Bond Girl? In nature, who comes equipped with the best gadgets? Who are villains, bent on world domination, and who are the henchmen, just following orders?
In this first episode, we're starting in the obvious place: James himself. His Majesty's lapdog. The fighter. The lover. The spy.
Animal espionage is all around us in nature: from experts in disguise, camouflaging themselves to avoid detection, to masters of mimicry, pretending to be something they're not. But true, deliberate deception - what biologists call 'tactical deception' - is surprisingly rare in the animal world. It requires high intelligence, social graces, and 'theory of mind' - an ability to conceive of yourself through the eyes of another. Emily learns about some sneaky birds, and some crafty capuchins, who might just have mastered it.
With Bond expert Ian Kinane from the University of Roehampton, and Evolutionary Anthropologist Brandon Wheeler from the University of Kent.
Presented and Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight
If EON or IFP listened to their fans something’s would be better. Namely in the writing department. The closest we got to EON thanking their fans was saying that if we show up, they’ll keep making them. I guess that’s better than nothing. Meanwhile, Fast and Furious listens to their fans and they seem to be making hit after hit. EON and IFP have a lot to learn from about modern audiences.
Still better than nothing.
A bit needy. They clearly value their audience, it's where they make their money from. Eon are always doing stuff 'to the fans'; we got a new doco, updates all the way through NTTD, a live launch programme when they started shooting, lots of other social media stuff, the producers doing rounds of interviews in all sorts of places including podcasts, even live interviews in person etc. But that's not enough, we need them to talk directly to us?! Come around to our houses for a cup of tea one by one?
I've been following the production of the new Indiana Jones film, and do you know what they've been doing for that? Absolutely nothing, no fan engagement whatsoever- I tell a lie: they released one photo at the end of May. They haven't even announced the cast yet and they finished shooting at the beginning of the year- the only press release during shooting was to say that Harrison Ford had injured himself on set. Then they did a presentation at the Disney event a couple of weeks ago behind closed doors. And there isn't even a title for the film yet. Remember Eon revealing the cast list one by one for NTTD on Twitter before they started shooting, the title reveal video...? Imagine the moaning and griping if Eon followed the Indy model!
Can’t argue with you there. You would think that they were making another Crystal Skull, considering how quiet they have been. In Lucasfilm’s defense, they are always secretive, particularly when JJ Abrams was in charge. And in terms of casting, Mads and PWB have been announced.
Oh no! No no no. Please don't ever let them listen to the fans. It'd be impossible to make even something close to a cohesive Bond film if they started listening to their fans. First of all, who are these fans that they should listen to? The ones who rejected the Craigs, the ones who loved the Craigs, the ones who loved some Craigs and rejected others, the "entitled" fans who crave product every two months...? Secondly, the films are at their best if they do something new. If it were up to most of us, they'd be making FRWL over and over and over again. ;-) Also, the F&F films were pretty good between 4 and 7, IMO, but beyond those... it was on and off, and when off, F&F is very off indeed. Did the fans tell them to send two characters into space? If so, HA!, that's what you get for listening to fans.
No one has anything to learn from "modern audiences", IMO. Modern audiences get caustic in the YouTube comments section over pretty much everything, they sign petitions and they pretend like they own a film series. Modern audiences are best to stay as far away from film productions as possible.
As for Barbara (or "Babs" to some, apparently) and Michael directly addressing their fans... uhm... what? Sit down, look into the camera and then what? "Hey guys! We have an open line. You can call in and ask us some questions. We're here all day!" Come on. Let's say thank you to the people giving us good films. Must we have them over, do they have to send us postcards or give a shoutout to us at the end of every movie before we acknowledge their work? Part of what I like about EON is that they don't keep an open channel for us, fans. They deliver the goods, what and when they decide to; we pay for them, appreciate them or don't, and call ourselves fans, or not, because we love this series very, very much. Anything beyond that is too close for comfort and far exceeds a normal "relationship" between a supplier of goods and his paying customer.
As for how the anniversary went just a little tidbit: Amazon put all of the films on Prime here in Germany for the Anniversary (with a specific banner and category mentioning the anniversary) and now I just saw that they are taken off the service again on Thursday, meaning they were on there for a grand total of 16 days... (and connected to that, I really want a box set with all 25 films. 25 films. 60 years. 6 actors' full tenures. Do it already...)
I agree. I absolutely agree. 60 years of glory, of consistent quality, of films that continue to inspire generations of fans. I feel very fortunate, indeed.
But, yes, agreed - most of the threads on the forum show how we've got so many different ideas of what we want from the series that basing it on the fans' wishlists would probably lead to a pretty bizarre FrankenBond of a film. And not in a good way!