Bond goes back to basics

"Where did Ian Fleming end and Bond begin?"

by Jennie Kermode

The James Bond franchise is 50 years old this year and celebrating in style. Now Moon director Duncan Jones has announced plans to shoot a biopic of the famous secret agent's cretor, Ian Fleming.

"Where did Ian Fleming end and Bond begin?" Jones queried in a statement released today. "Fleming lived through one of the most perilous periods in world history, in a position that allowed him a unique vantage point of all the players, all the stakes. He witnesses true heroism first-hand. And he saw the evil men could do. Then, when the war ended, he went off to write fiction."

Jones is currently casting his film, with the role of Fleming likely to attract serious competition.

The author has been celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival, where Park Circus have been screening classic James Bond films including Dr No and From Russia With Love on the beach. Meanwhile, Sam Mendes, working on new Bond film Skyfall, has revealed that he thinks strong villains are the key to making the films successful. With Javier Bardem next up for that role, it looks like fans could be in for a treat.

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