Hot new book: The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
doublenoughtspy
Posts: 38MI6 Agent
I wanted to let fellow Bond collectors know about my book: The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
It's getting great reviews and is available on all the Amazons - US, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, etc.
It is a bit pricey but considering the fact that it is almost 300 pages, contains over 600 photographs, and is large trade paperback sized (8.5" x 11") you get your money's worth.
Some are saying the section on the cut rooftop chase (8 pages of photographs & storyboards!) is alone worth the price of the book.
Others single out the scripts chapter - which covers all 10 of the drafts, ranging from 1964 (when Connery was still attached to the project) up through May 1969, as absolutely mind-blowing!
Be sure to check out the promo site for the book: http://www.ohmss.info
Amazon Canada is currently the cheapest: $38. http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0984412603?tag=ohmssinfo-20&camp=8641&creative=330649&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0984412603&adid=0A13RKYS4QE57XMMN7XM&
Comments
Graham Rye published a number of photos of Lazenby on the rooftops recently in his OHMSS special so it would be interesting to see if they're the same.
I hope you do order it and if OHMSS is your most fave film I know you will enjoy it.
Re: Graham's OHMSS issue. Yes there is some overlap, but there is a ton of material that is unique to the book.
Graham did give the book a great review:
The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is quite simply the ultimate companion to Peter Hunt's cinematic masterpiece. OHMSS is undoubtedly the 'David Lean movie'of the Bond series, and Helfenstein's research and staggering picture content in this attractively designed volume is simply breathtaking, matching the movie in its scope and detail. It's difficult to imagine that any other James Bond film will ever have such a scholarly written and pictorial history, or deserve it!
Graham Rye Editor & Publisher 007 MAGAZINE
Good luck with this book -{
I do have information about the manufacturer of the wedding ring, and there is a close up of the ring, in color, at what I'd say is medium res. Also a great color shot of the manager of the shop with Bond & Tracy when they buy the ring, which is not seen in the film.
I just ordered it from amazon.ca but the exchange rate is a bit strange. It lists for CDN$ 37.98, but the conversion in my order shows USD 39.40. Shouldn't that be lower based on the current exchange rate of 1.00 USD = 1.00176 CAD? The difference is so slight but I'm curious enough to contact amazon.ca for an explanation.
Hi Superado, yes I am the same Doublenoughtspy that is a regular and administrator of CBn.
I agree the exchange rate is a bit odd - but I'm also surprised that Amazon Canada is selling the book for what is below wholesale - get that price while you can :-)
Superado, I believe we've corresponded a bit since we both collect/customize 1/6th figures. I don't go into it in the book, but a number of years before Sideshow came out with their Lazenby figure, I had a Hollywood sculptor create a likeness of Lazenby in 1/6 and put it on a GI Joe body and showed it to him at a Los Angeles Bond convention in 1994. We were going to market it - but between his fees, sculptors fees, manufacturing fees, and the Bond license, it would have been too expensive and it never got made.
I think I remember that custom Lazenby. It was highlighted either in the Collecting 007 magazine or one of the fan club magazines. I've belonged to so many over the years, it's hard to remember exactly which one. I too made a custom Lazenby I made after yours and before Sideshow. Mine used a casting of the head used in a garage kit of Lazenby in the kneeling gun barrel scene. Had him in the ski outfit with a Cotswold body. I still have both the garage kit and the one-off Lazenby.
Anyway, welcome to AJB and I look forward to purchasing your book too. I wish you much success with it!
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
I eagerly await its arrival. Nice wife.
BTW, cool cover. What's the pistol?
Too big for the Walther and there's a guide rod poking out the front.
Yes, I remember now! Would you be able to post a photo of your commissioned Lazenby? My own custom Lazenby in kilt is still in limbo after two separate customizers weren't able to complete the pieces I need, though now I think I have most of these that I've gathered myself. I also have most of what I need for my custom Bond in ski kit and Tracy in her skating outfit. I've been to your website for the book and see there will be tidbits around the Scottish ceremonial outfit, but most pertinent to me, the ski suit; I haven't succeeded in finding specifics around the ski equipment, such as the brands for the boots and skis that I assume Willy Bogner had a hand in procuring for the production.
As for my little problem with the exchange rate, here's Amazon's response: " ...the price conversion in USD for your order is listed incorrectly due to an error. Rest assured you'll charged only USD 37.93 when your order is shipped, excluding the shipping charges or USD 47.89 including the shipping charges." Mere pennies, yes, but I have mild OCD.
I really love my collection of Bond reference books, but I don't remember anticipating one as much as this after seeing the sample content on your site; in the vast micro-universe of Bond lore and minutiae and along with well-researched and written books on Fleming, anything and everything OHMSS is my sweet spot. -{
The wholesale exchange rate is approx. 1=1, but you have to add about 2% buying or 2% selling, plus 2,5% with Paypal and credit cards. Paypal and credit cards have a very bad exchange rate. Western Union, MoneyGram and Canada Post also have very very bad exchange rates, even worse. Of course, if you're only buying for a few hundreds of dollars it doesn't really matter, but if you're making big transactions, i.e. with Paypal, the fees add up really fast. 1% to receive the money if not sent via credit card, 2% + 2,5% to exchange it, 1% to transfer it to your bank account... And we're not onto eBay fees yet. But again, for what most people use it for, it's no big deal.
It's a Sig P210, single stack 9 m/m ..... a gold inlaid version of this same pistol is carried in QOS by General Medrano, Bond nearly uses it to put Camille down.
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
Thanks, fees like those entered my mind. It wasn't so long ago when the greenback was much stronger and I enjoyed how my purchases from Canada translated into a lesser US$ amount.
Looks like Canada rocks :007)
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
Very cool. I'm envious that you have the Lazenby garage kit - a friend told me about a modelling magazine that featured it, but didn't pick it up for me because "I assumed you had it." So by the time I started looking for the kit, it had long since sold out
You are correct, my prototype Lazenby custom was featured in Dave Worrall's "Collecting 007" or James Bond Collector's Club or whatever he was calling it the time, magazine.
I'll try to take some pics of it. It has the honorable distinction of having been held by both George Lazenby and Peter Hunt, and can be briefly seen in a few of my TV appearances.
And if I can segway back to the original subject, my book, I just got this wonderful review today on CBn & Amazon from David Schofield:
"This is the perfect guide to the ultimate Bond film: imagine a literary version of Peter Hunt's labour of love and here it is. Full of indepth insight from the genesis of Fleming's novel, through production and, of course, the movie's notorious aftermath. Lovingly written and imaginatively illustrated, I doubt there is an image left that has not been reproduced here, showing the progress from Fleming's creation to today, the "feel" of OHMSS wonderfully recreated."
Wow, "pretty good". That means quite a lot coming from you Supes. You're one of the gods of 1/6th customizing and bashing in my estimation. I'm still "diggin" on that custom 1/6th Bentley (the locomotive) that you had made for one of your Bond figures. Thespyboys (Ed) and gparamus (George) are pretty damn good at figure bashing and customizing too. Saw a Donald Grant/Robert Shaw figure that gparamus did recently. It was freakin top shelf. Seems like Sideshow is out of it for the time being, at least with new figures. Would love to see a Shaw Donald Grant and a Craig Bond by them.
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
Wow, small world. Yes, I was waiting for the figure to be released but it never was. Now I understand why. Would love to see pictures of it. I did not mean to hijack your thread. Please excuse me, I just got excited because I remembered your figure. To cool for school! I definitely plan on getting one of your books because OHMSS is one of my favorites in the Bond canon. Even though Connery is my favorite, OHMSS still beats out YOLT and DAF in my book. Again, I wish you great success.
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
As a follow up on this book, I ended up cancelling my order from amazon.ca, not realizing earlier that with regular shipping it would have been the first week of May at the earliest when I would have received the parcel...and it was a mere difference of about $4 to get the book by tomorrow with my free Amazon 2-day domestic shipping, which I would have gotten last week had I not been so cheap
Quite right. When I was a wee lad I wanted a Connery Bond action figure one Christmas and got a Captain Action figure instead. It was not my folks fault, as the Connery figure had been long gone by the time I wanted one. Many years later I got the Gilbert Connery figure but wanted a figure that had a more articulated body. So, I created my own Connery based on having a hand in the figure modeling world and the action figure world. Lazenby came later based on my preocupation with OHMSS from a young age. Even though it was not Connery, there was just something about OHMSS and Lazenby that resonated with me. It's still one of my all time favorite Bond movies.
I told you gparumus does nice work. Ed also did a Largo of similar quality. I plan on doing a Donald Grant custom figure when I have the time similar to the one gparamus did.
DG
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Richard Grenier after George Orwell, Washington Times 1993.
This is definitely a must have....too bad the discount is off.
I'm glad to hear that....I've been bought a copy, from Amazon in Canada...and it's been shipped to someone there as shipping to the UK is expensive...just got to wait for it now
I got mine the other day and yes, there are a ton of pics! You'd think that we've seen most of all of any available production photos from OHMSS, but no, not until you see this book. I'm really going to wear this one out, the most since I got Raymond Benson's JB Bedside Companion, complete with egg bits and coffee stains.