James Bond 007
Author Ian Fleming
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Subject(s) Spy fiction
Genre(s) Action/Suspense
Publisher Jonathan Cape
Publication date 1953-
Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games. He is portrayed as an SIS agent residing in London. From 1995 onwards, SIS would be officially acknowledged as MI6.
Bond holds the code number 007, except for the novel You Only Live Twice, where he temporarily becomes "7777". The "double-0" prefix indicates his discretionary licence to kill in the performance of his duties. He is famous for introducing himself as "Bond, James Bond" whenever the opportunity arises and for ordering his vodka martinis "shaken, not stirred"; his usual and characteristic formal clothing is a dinner jacket. In the films he usually wears a Rolex watch or, in later films, an Omega.
After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond Benson and Sebastian Faulks. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.
There have been 22 films in the EON Productions series to date, the most recent of which, Quantum of Solace, was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from movies and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.
The EON Productions films are generally termed as "official" films originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the late 1950s.
Novels and related works
In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel. At the time, Fleming was the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, owners of The Daily Express in London. Upon accepting the job, Fleming asked for two months' yearly vacation in his contract—time spent writing in Jamaica. Between 1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published twelve novels and one short-story collection (a second collection was published posthumously). Later, continuation novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Gardner, Charlie Higson, Raymond Benson, who was the first American author of James Bond. The Young Bond series of novels was begun in 2005, by Charlie Higson.
In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a new Bond novel to commemorate Fleming's 100th Birthday. The book - titled Devil May Care - was published on 27 May 2008.
Overview
Main article: James Bond (film series)
In the late 1950s, EON Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for Casino Royale (those rights were recovered in 1999). In 1962, the first adaptation was made with Dr. No, which starred Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in 6 more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's Never Say Never Again, which was not part of the EON series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for 1 film) before the latter's last EON film, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for 7 films), Timothy Dalton (for 2 films), Pierce Brosnan (for 4 films) and Daniel Craig (2 films to date). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the EON series. The 21st film, Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day. Notably, it is the first Bond film to be released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Daniel Craig is Quantum of Solace, which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (For Your Eyes Only, 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot. Daniel Craig is expected to return as James Bond for a third movie in the as yet unnamed "Bond 23."
The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 Billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever.[4] The 22nd and newest movie in the series, Quantum of Solace, was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for Quantum of Solace were almost $161 million (£ 103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the Harry Potter film series even when not adjusting for inflation
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