Bureau of Misinformation

PoorMansJBPoorMansJB USAPosts: 1,203MI6 Agent
edited October 2007 in General James Bond Chat
Don't think I've ever seen any threads on this so here goes ...

I was thumbing through one of the more respected Bond treatises today and spotted a bit regarding DAF where it talked about Slumber Incorporated being a real mortuary. As most fans now know, while a real Vegas mortuary was used for filming, Slumber itself is fictitious.

This got me to thinking: What other "facts" about Bond are floating around out there that you know to be wrong? And what things have you gone years believing about 007 only to have some documentary or behind-the-scenes book later disprove?

Comments

  • Agent SidewinderAgent Sidewinder Posts: 223MI6 Agent
    PoorMansJB wrote:
    What other "facts" about Bond are floating around out there that you know to be wrong?

    Sean Connery being the best Bond.{:)
  • SpectreBlofeldSpectreBlofeld AroundPosts: 364MI6 Agent
    edited October 2007
    That's a great idea for a topic, PMJB.

    I rented that movie, "The Secret Life of Ian Fleming," starring Sean Connery's son Jason Connery, and was disgusted at the fictionalization of his life. Instead of being a true story about his life they tried to make it appear as if the Bond of the movies was based on actual events in Fleming's life (such as giving him a teenage buddy named Quentin, obviously an analog for Q, who was a tech wizard who souped up his car with a supercharger) 8-)

    There is plenty of the literary Bond that was influenced by Fleming's real-life attitudes and predilections, but what's really gross is how they tailored his fictional life after the movies that came out after his death and have little to do with the litery Bond whatsoever.
  • PoorMansJBPoorMansJB USAPosts: 1,203MI6 Agent
    Sean Connery being the best Bond.{:)

    I was looking for something a little less fatuous ...

    My favorite is the whole Kennedy/FRWL urban myth. Pierre Salinger admitted years later that he had no idea if Kennedy ever read FRWL; Readers' Digest had asked the press secretary for a list of Kennedy's favorite books so Salinger came-up with a bunch of titles he thought would make JFK sound well-rounded, everything from serious-minded non-fiction to pop-culture stuff like Fleming.

    We know Kennedy met Fleming and very well may have read the book, but as to it's being his favorite, thank a PR move.
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited October 2007
    PoorMansJB wrote:
    My favorite is the whole Kennedy/FRWL urban myth. Pierre Salinger admitted years later that he had no idea if Kennedy ever read FRWL; Readers' Digest had asked the press secretary for a list of Kennedy's favorite books so Salinger came-up with a bunch of titles he thought would make JFK sound well-rounded, everything from serious-minded non-fiction to pop-culture stuff like Fleming.

    We know Kennedy met Fleming and very well may have read the book, but as to it's being his favorite, thank a PR move.
    You learn something new every day. :D I had no idea that FRWL was not one of JFK's favourite books. I had long assumed that much of the success of the Bond books in the US came from FRWL being among JFK's favourite books.
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    Well that's true, DS, just that the info came from a press release.

    I also read that FRWL was one of the last films JFK saw, and that TSWLM was about the last movie Elvis saw (ie in the last week).

    The garlic incident, from OHMSS, was a joke by Rigg to Lazenby that got out of hand, though they didn't get on anyway.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • youknowmynameyouknowmyname Gainesville, FL, USAPosts: 703MI6 Agent
    PoorMansJB wrote:
    Sean Connery being the best Bond.{:)

    I was looking for something a little less fatuous ...

    My favorite is the whole Kennedy/FRWL urban myth. Pierre Salinger admitted years later that he had no idea if Kennedy ever read FRWL; Readers' Digest had asked the press secretary for a list of Kennedy's favorite books so Salinger came-up with a bunch of titles he thought would make JFK sound well-rounded, everything from serious-minded non-fiction to pop-culture stuff like Fleming.

    We know Kennedy met Fleming and very well may have read the book, but as to it's being his favorite, thank a PR move.

    That is fascinating, I love pulling that "fact" out. What a great thread choice for the site PMJB! I don't know of any off hand, but I will keep checking back to see if anyone posts any other shockers.
    "We have all the time in the world..."
  • PoorMansJBPoorMansJB USAPosts: 1,203MI6 Agent
    The garlic incident, from OHMSS, was a joke by Rigg to Lazenby that got out of hand, though they didn't get on anyway.

    Probably ten years ago I had dinner (as part of a group) with Lois Maxwell. According to her, while she was in make-up with Rigg (I'm guessing for the wedding sequence ... not sure when the two would otherwise have ever been on-set together), Rigg confessed to her of having an affair with Lazenby. So the garlic bit most definitely was just something for the press!

    On the other hand, I was also told that Lois' stories should be taken with a grain of salt so, who knows ...
  • postman patpostman pat Posts: 37MI6 Agent
    PoorMansJB wrote:
    The garlic incident, from OHMSS, was a joke by Rigg to Lazenby that got out of hand, though they didn't get on anyway.

    Probably ten years ago I had dinner (as part of a group) with Lois Maxwell. According to her, while she was in make-up with Rigg (I'm guessing for the wedding sequence ... not sure when the two would otherwise have ever been on-set together), Rigg confessed to her of having an affair with Lazenby. So the garlic bit most definitely was just something for the press!

    On the other hand, I was also told that Lois' stories should be taken with a grain of salt so, who knows ...

    Its all very interesting for sure, but I can't help but think that the dirt is well under the carpet now! Lets leave it there.

    Lazenby made the best, the very best of his time with the Bond family, but it certainly sounds like he caused more trouble than he was worth in the end!

    OHMSS turned out brilliantly but George's attitude to the series left much to be desired.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,920Chief of Staff
    PoorMansJB wrote:
    Rigg confessed to her of having an affair with Lazenby...

    That's a tale that I've heard on several occasions - I've absolutely no idea if it's true though.
    YNWA 97
  • Agent SidewinderAgent Sidewinder Posts: 223MI6 Agent
    Here's a serious one from me...Vargas in TB being mute. Isn't it him that utters the "I've got a great idea!" line when Bond is hiding in the swimming pool? I think he speaks on a couple of other occasions.
  • darenhatdarenhat The Old PuebloPosts: 2,029Quartermasters
    I suppose one of the big misconceptions by non-Bond fans is that the disappearance of Bond from ths silver screen between 89 and 95 was due to LTK's low box office haul, and that Timothy Dalton had single-handedly destroyed the franchise.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    Acc to George and how he and Rigg didn't get on... at Pinewood a good many years ago at a Bond meeting, he said "She caught me with my pants down..." ie with another woman. He said, he it was just a bit of fun... but she didn't see it that way. At the time I naively thought it was just Rigg being stuck up about promiscuity, but it makes more sense if you realise they were having a fling...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
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