AJB Interview with Bond Collectors' Weekends
Barbel
ScotlandPosts: 37,854Chief of Staff
It's been a while since our last interview. I'd like to try another one now, and if there is sufficient interest I might re-start the series.
Matt Sherman, aka Bond Collectors' Weekends, has led Bond fan conventions for over 20 years, and has visited over 400 Bond locations in 14 countries. He has written or contributed to ten books on Bond and also Bond treatments, calendars, DVDs and a Vic Flick CD, short stories, a tour guide for a Moonraker river cruise and more. He hopes many of you will participate this November at his academic panels on Bond and Fleming.
Of interest, he and his wife Janine Sherman have hosted and emceed over 80 Bond special guests, including Oscar™ and Grammy™ winners, 19 actors from 15 Bond films, 26 filmmakers and the authors of 32 Bond books. He collects rare Bond books and props and is development on many events now, including Bond and spy themed events for SPYSCAPE New York and the International Spy Museum, and fan tours of America and Europe. He promises to share juicy stories at AJB if the questions are good! Matt welcomes your questions on the following and more:
Matt Sherman, aka Bond Collectors' Weekends, has led Bond fan conventions for over 20 years, and has visited over 400 Bond locations in 14 countries. He has written or contributed to ten books on Bond and also Bond treatments, calendars, DVDs and a Vic Flick CD, short stories, a tour guide for a Moonraker river cruise and more. He hopes many of you will participate this November at his academic panels on Bond and Fleming.
Of interest, he and his wife Janine Sherman have hosted and emceed over 80 Bond special guests, including Oscar™ and Grammy™ winners, 19 actors from 15 Bond films, 26 filmmakers and the authors of 32 Bond books. He collects rare Bond books and props and is development on many events now, including Bond and spy themed events for SPYSCAPE New York and the International Spy Museum, and fan tours of America and Europe. He promises to share juicy stories at AJB if the questions are good! Matt welcomes your questions on the following and more:
- Bond book and film locations
- Fan events
- Bond authors, actors and filmmakers
- Props/rare books
- Collectors and fans worldwide
- Bond music/soundtracks
- Trivia/subtext of the Bond novels and authors
- Etc.
Tagged:
Comments
7. LALD 8. TWINE 9. Skyfall 10. AVTAK 11. CR 12. TLD 13. YOLT
14. TMWTGG 15. Moonraker 16. TSWLM 17. Thunderball 18. FRWL
19. Dr. No 20. DAF 21. LTK 22. DAD 23. QoS 24. Spectre 25. NTTD
7. LALD 8. TWINE 9. Skyfall 10. AVTAK 11. CR 12. TLD 13. YOLT
14. TMWTGG 15. Moonraker 16. TSWLM 17. Thunderball 18. FRWL
19. Dr. No 20. DAF 21. LTK 22. DAD 23. QoS 24. Spectre 25. NTTD
:007) -{
7. LALD 8. TWINE 9. Skyfall 10. AVTAK 11. CR 12. TLD 13. YOLT
14. TMWTGG 15. Moonraker 16. TSWLM 17. Thunderball 18. FRWL
19. Dr. No 20. DAF 21. LTK 22. DAD 23. QoS 24. Spectre 25. NTTD
7. LALD 8. TWINE 9. Skyfall 10. AVTAK 11. CR 12. TLD 13. YOLT
14. TMWTGG 15. Moonraker 16. TSWLM 17. Thunderball 18. FRWL
19. Dr. No 20. DAF 21. LTK 22. DAD 23. QoS 24. Spectre 25. NTTD
Dont know if you'll remember me - we met way back in 2001 in the US during a Bond convention ( was staying then at Raymond Benson's home near Chicago ) .
Time has passed since ... Have organised myself numerous Bond events in France , set up various official Bond Auctions with Drouot ( french equivalent of Christie's or Sotheby's ) ...
As a matter of fact , two new Bond books which I penned will be realeased next oct/nov .
Specifically regarding to the topic of this ABJB subject , one thing always puzzled me : the lact of real, certified ' Value Guide ' for Bond memorabilia . It's really always up to the Seller's good reputation ( or not ! ) . Which I still find rather strange : books have been published on StarWars or Star Trek memorabilias , detailling precise prices according to the current state of the object , and nothing of sort has still been thought of for Bond Collector !
As a sideway , there's gonna be a new French organised 007 auction by next october ( with online option ) . I'll give you the details ASAP .
Kevin C. ( hence obvious ID ' René Mathis ! )
1) What are the top 5 Bond locations you'd recommend fans to visit?
Great question! Janine Sherman and bring hundreds of Bond fans to locations without good people like Poor Man’s JB, who stylishly helped lead four of our first five events. We’re grateful. And friends like Doug Redenius, John Cork, Paul Scrabo and George Ann Muller, and dozens more, have likewise shared time, hard work and dollars to help our fan events.
What makes a great location? Has it kept its screen-seen appearance? Was it a fun challenge to find? (Some locations took 10-20 hours to find.) Big locations help accommodate our tour groups. Top five to see:
1) “Palmyra”, The Bahamas, THUNDERBALL – Dip in the shark pool! Palmyra is the best type of Bond location, large and close to the film appearance, you feel you’re live on a Bond set!
2) “Olympatec Meditation Institute”, Mexico, LICENCE TO KILL – Like Palmyra, but with movie scenes stretching nearly half a mile across a gigantic complex. Bless your hearts! Few tourists, exotic, remote. Unbelievably cool. I can’t wait to return there. We have registrants already for another Mexico fan tour, in 2021, MEX-GO, 007!
3) “Fillet of Soul New Orleans”, USA, LIVE AND LET DIE – New Orleans is all about great food and fun. Lie in the street waiting for the coffin to pick you up! Dozens of films and commercials have used that street. I was offered the FILLET's giant lightbulb sign for $8,000, in nonworking condition, but should have bought it. Seller, if you’re reading this . . .
4) “One&Only Ocean Club”, The Bahamas, CASINO ROYALE – We first toured there while CASINO ROYALE was in production. Find Alex Dimitrios! Celebrities love this gated resort with private beach. And when Bond orders a “large Mount Gay with soda”, watch out, that huge cocktail is their standard size! Ask your barman which celebs have stayed there recently.
5) Hard to choose just five . . . could be a tie between taking a group to Ian Fleming’s home and his private beach at GoldenEye, and our October cruise, FAN CRUISE 5, sailing 100 feet above Bond locations, drink in hand, with friends. Some of my very favorite tours include pointing out movie and book locations from the Sun Deck.
2) Are you planning any UK events currently?
We have our next eight fan events scheduled now at http://bondfanevents.com/2020-22-bond-fan-events, unfortunately, without any (often-requested!) UK event.
But Italy is nearby. Janine and I will show you SPECTRE and NO TIME TO DIE in person, in 2021, on our NO TIME TO SPY Tour.
3) What are your top 3 Bond collectors items that you own or would recommend and why?
Three items that increase in price continually are British rare books, British vintage posters, and screen used props. Vintage toy prices tend to plateau. Clothes go out of style over time. Sorry, fellows!
Personally, I pursued rare Bond books with many war stories along the way, adding movie props about ten years ago. I own over 100 genuine props from 14 Bond films. The secret? Making fan connections for trades. How are three more recommendations to try:
1) Salle Priveé Casino Plaques, CASINO ROYALE — Bourgogne et Grasset of Belgium have made the world’s casino plaques for a century, with only one non-casino commission, for EON! The buy-in is ten million! The BG plaques are high quality, glossy, with more screen time then the film’s Aston Martins.
2) Pick a film fans despise, for bargains! I love ‘em all, but those Bond films some consider passé or cheesy offer low prices. Honey Ryder’s bikini? Pay! Oddjob’s bowler? Pay! Connery’s LP53 BB gun that never even appeared on screen? Fuhgeddaboudit! But a prop item from a guilty pleasure Bond? Bargains. Try to guess which 14 films I have bargains from! Just kidding. I love all the Bond films.
3) Bond novels and short stories. Have you heard the nonsense that “The films have used all the Fleming ideas already”? Not even close. The Bond books are more than a pretty shelf display of collectibles. So read them.
4) Which Bond girl is the most iconic to you?
My first thought here is Pussy Galore, as in both the GOLDFINGER book and novel, her character is a nice balance, fighting against Bond, helping Bond. She’s thus the mold for Elektra King, Melina Havelock, Vesper Lynd and other film standouts.
As I think about our event icons, Trina Parks (Thumper), Maud Adams (Octopussy) and Barbara Bouchet (Miss Moneypenny) and many others are ageless, stunning. I also really enjoy Lana Wood’s company and her many kindnesses to us. We’ve done five events with her, and look forward to DAF’s 50th anniversary.
5) How do you plan your events?
Let’s see, for a typical do . . .
1) Check locations, actors and authors, transportation, restaurants, hotels, flights
2) Check and recheck the above until the event date
3) Take 50 (?) hours to research and map locations, find new ones for repeat tours, adjust for changing conditions and edit photos and videos to tell the story, making custom storyboards for scenes with complex action and camera angles
4) Do WHATEVER it takes to get our tour groups inside locations closed to everyone else (only our tours have gotten fans to the U.S. Coast Guard Base, pilot boat and Felix Leiter’s home from LICENCE TO KILL, two of Sean Connery’s homes, behind-the-scenes in private rooms at the International Spy Museum and Dezer Collections, the Bahamas Government House from Fleming’s QUANTUM OF SOLACE, private events at an Omega store and an Aston Martin Club, Slumber, Inc. and the W.W. Techtronics plant from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER . . . )
5) Build signature gifts for the group (Bond calendars, CDs, DVDs, poker chips, stills and handouts for actors who don’t have stills to share, cosplay prizes)
6) Build new trivia and games to amuse and stump brilliant fans, who know Bond as well as anyone
7) Create informative interaction (panel discussions, actor meets, martial arts and weapons demonstrations, prop displays)
8) Add fun around the tours (mixology contests, great restaurants with themed menus, Q&A shop talk for collectibles, party games, cosplay)
9) Stay awake for days talking and sharing with fans, hire a bus or drive the group in person for up to 250 miles, with stops
10) Rinse, repeat
We're on our 25th long format tour event (long weekend to a week or more) and have done another 85 (?) Bond concerts, library seminars, museum shows, academic conferences, etc. We almost have it down now!
6) How long does it take from inception to actually taking place?
Good question—it varies. We put together the first and still largest ever spy convention, SpyFest Los Angeles, in four months only. Praise the Lord for grace there! SpyFest’s 88 VIP guests included actors, authors, filmmakers and film producers. We had 10 Bond actors and 10 Bond production team members. Attendees included countless devoted Bond fans and agents from the CIA, FBI, NSA and KGB! A huge task. Janine and I benefited from an army of volunteers, for everything from event security to T-shirt designs to emcee and videographer help.
I breathe easier when we have more time than four months. So I had the first fans registered for our October 2020 Bond Locations Cruise, FAN CRUISE 5, in May 2019, but we've lost some of these 18 months to COVID-19!
When lightning strikes, it can take minutes to outline an event, but I try to announce dates six months ahead. Why? Most registrants sign up three to four months before an event. FAN CRUISE 5 looks good, therefore, despite COVID-19, as we have 45 fans cruising already, and we’re still not quite four months from October!
Running the biggest-ever Bond cruise is serious business. We’ve planned symposiums, a cosplay night, a formal night, special events (daylong tours and free time in port, optional morning, afternoon and nighttime themed activities for each sea day). Tours take the longest to plan as you want to balance dragging people about to locations with break times and great meals or simply relaxation. So it sounds crazy, I know, but FAN CRUISE 5 features around 100 Bond locations. We take quick photos of some, linger at others, and tell stories at all of them. And it takes a lot of research to tell an AJB'er things they don't already know about a Bond location.
7) Do you plan your next event with an idea in mind or do you see who/what is available and then work backwards?
Availability drives the event in every way. I’ve done “boys own” events where a few close buds, married and single, goof off on the road, and other events where you get to spend two hours on your own or with a partner with a Bond actor. But both are based on travel schedules.
When does that catering hall open in New Orleans? When are the blackout dates for our volunteers? When does the movie premiere, now that the production dates have changed again? When might that actor stop visiting conventions to shoot a new movie? (We lost Pierce Brosnan and Christopher Lee appearances to movie productions. Through really good friends, they were both scheduled to our events, and I’m grateful I had the presence of mind to keep them as strictly surprise guests only, because they and others are serious actors. “Sorry, Matt, but Chris has to go die for George Lucas in New Zealand, during your event,” was a note in my box one day. Arrgh. I said, “Janine, two pieces of bad news today. First, Count Dooku dies in Revenge of the Sith! And second . . . )
Regarding availability, Janine loves to tell the story behind our Chicago event. I’d explained I was sad to know the small fortune it would cost to bring a Bond vehicle to Florida. She replied, “Let’s go to where the vehicles are, Chicago!” With generous help from the Ian Fleming Foundation, our BOND COLLECTORS’ WEEKEND 4 event featured a tour through a 20,000-piece Bond collection, a piano concert, book signing and Q&A from author Raymond Benson, and seeing (and climbing aboard!) no less than nine screen used Bond vehicles. All access everywhere, no museum ropes.
Listen to your spouse! IFF vehicles tour exclusively with EON now, so a vehicles event like that one can’t happen again!
8) Have you any amusing stories about fans and their escapades at any fan events?
Goodness, yes.
Forgive me if you recognize yourself below. Names have been changed to protect the guilty! (AJB’ers, you did NOT hear these stories from me!)
Fan Escapades, aka "Fancapades":
*the fan who said “No way I’m driving my Bond car all the way to your event, Matt!” than said “YES WAY!” ten seconds later, after I told him I’d put two actresses in his back seat for the day!
*the fan who warned me not to tell his wife he was buying props on a year’s installments (okay, more than one fan!)
*the fan who told our server, “Let’s not waste time, just bring me four orders of caviar now!”
*fans who snuck or bluffed their way inside strangers’ hotel rooms, for aerial locations photos or because Bond “stayed in that room number in the movie”
*the fans who met and dated, or even married, during our events (we're singing "We Have All The Time In The World" for a wedding ceremony aboard FAN CRUISE 5, our second event wedding)
*the crazy fan cosplay, from hand-sewn naval uniforms, to a “Bombe Surprise”, to a two-person human motorcycle for Wai Lin and Bond, to two young people roped together back-to-back for the evening (Bond and Marina Havelock dragged at sea!)
Fans Going for Broke/Getting Broke in the Process!
*the fan who asked me to connect them with a CIA agent friend, to smuggle a famous Bond gun out of the UK
*the two major Bond fans who were also CIA agents, each of whom warned me not to trust the other agent during our event!
*the fans who climbed over a wall, to break into a site closed to locations hunters, while other fans kept a lookout for the police!
*the fan who jumped on a Bond plane’s tail for a daring event photo, tipping and almost wrecking the plane as the tail crashed to the ground!
*the fan who stole a menu from a Bond site, gifting it to me, because I’d admired it during our tour!
*the fans whose gifts or artworks are now on display at GoldenEye Villa, The Dezer Collection and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC
*the fans who spent three hours in a room with wax figures of the Bonds, hugging them, whispering to them, falling deeply in love!
*the fans who sang Happy Birthday to Sean Connery, in person, at our event!
*the fan who not only tried on, but sniffed inside, Pierce Brosnan’s, tuxedo shoes just before we auctioned them for charity! (the Brozza’s feet smelled like Irish Spring?)
*the fan who has attended Bond premieres for some time now, since Cubby Broccoli personally invited him to watch GOLDFINGER in 1964!
*the fans who disappeared to scoop sand and dirt on tour locations, only to sell it on eBay!
*the fans who limited the number of tour visitors inside their home, we toured inside in shifts, because other fans robbed their collectibles during “friendly” collector visits!
*the fan who said “I learned to play guitar because of Vic Flick, Matt!” just before he snapped off the Bond theme on Vic Flick’s Original Bond Signature Theme Guitar as Vic enjoyed the impromptu concert! (I was panicked he’d drop a $100,000 guitar!)
*the fan who had me write a letter to bring 20 guns to the airport for our event, not long after 9/11!
*the fan who Maud Adams (Octopussy) kissed so he could feel better, after she caught him crying in a corner (the day after he saw her kissing George Lazenby)!
*the fan who wrote my name and Janine’s on a key NO TIME TO DIE prop, just before it was obliterated by explosives for the cameras! (I have time to die in November!)
*the fans who paid up to $200 per autographed still from an actor, after the actor told me he’d charge $20 per still!
*the “sincere fans” who sold replicas I'd made, online, as genuine props!
*the fans I made swear not to resell unique, copyrighted items given them by a special guest, who posted them on eBay, destroying their value!
*the fan whose LinkedIn friend, a James Bond actor, endorsed their skills, meaning 007 said they had mad skills!
*the fan who knew Ian Fleming and appeared in a Bond film, whose bar tab cost more than his hotel room!
*the fans who partied with Gloria Hendry (Rosie Carver) and Bruce Glover (Mr. Wint) until 3 AM the night I begged them to let them get some sleep before an event!
*the sad fan Richard Kiel (Jaws) honored with a private meal, to cheer him after a personal tragedy
*the fans who curtly asked Plenty O’Toole (Lana Wood) about her long-lost sister Natalie Wood, seconds before asking “What was sex like with Sean Connery?!”
*the fan who spends six hours daily on Bond social media, in the words of Maxwell Smart, “And . . . loving it.”
The Super-Collector and Super-Genius Fans:
*the fan who answered well over 90% of the Bond trivia questions we asked him, for more than an hour
*the fan who memorized the entire dialogue of eight Bond movies, only to get topped by the fan who had memorized EVERY line of dialogue from EVERY Bond movie! (when challenged, he started spouting off entire scenes from CASINO ROYALE '67!) [Edit: This wasn't me. Barbel.]
*the fan who turned our event cosplayers into collectible trading cards, including costume fabric cards (and who never heard the end of it until I owned a complete set!)
*the fan who documented 280 differences between the proof and first edition of From Russia, with Love, for “fun”, then shared the list with no one!
*the fan who redesigned a Bond book cover he hated, then got the author’s seal of approval!
*the fans who’ve bought dinner for 50 at a Bond restaurant (!) or poured us all Bollinger RD (the best!) to celebrate a successful event!
*the fan I told, “Get all these people drinking, now!” so he could say he bought James Bond a few rounds (which drinks kept that Bond actor from leaving our event early as he’d planned!)
*the fan who spent $150,000 for a PHOTOCOPY of a rare Bond item, then was shouted down when sharing it at an event!
*the fan who said a Bond creator didn’t know his guns at all, and overhearing, the creator installed him as a weapons advisor (no, not Geoffrey Boothroyd!)
*the fan who paid EON $200,000 for screen used vehicles, then had me help sell them when the chips were down
*the fan who collected nearly 100 SD Golden Guns (!), then sold them for up to $5,000 each
*the fan who sold his Bond collectibles for over a million U.S. dollars, with a handshake
*the fan who made more than two million U.S. from his collectibles, as king of the auctions
*the fans who donated thousands of dollars in collectibles to our charity auctions and fan giveaways
*the fan who reenacted the end scene of LICENCE TO KILL, bleaching his $5,000 Brioni tuxedo by jumping into the hotel swimming pool after “Pam Bouvier”, while recording his epic stunt on video!
*the fans who don't just collect every book edition, but every printing of every edition, as in 32 different printings of the Signet You Only Live Twice paperback!
*the fan with THOUSANDS of Bond books, who got Raymond Benson to sign 300 of them in a single marathon session!
The Hardest of Hardcore Bond Fans, Bonding Together:
*the fans who forced me to keep a tour going to still more locations, after I protested we’d been touring for 12 hours straight without a meal or a break!
*the high-living fan I asked to save the group money on tap and not bottled water, just before he ordered for everyone TWO different brands of bottled water!
*the fan who started by interviewing actors at our events and wound up as Pierce Brosnan's personal assistant
*the fan who sent photos to our event from her work with Pierce Brosnan and Ramy Malek, on two different films, in a single day!
*the fans who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with many actors, including two James Bonds!
*the fans who shyly purchased an actress’s nude photos, then loudly jumped on the actress for signatures as she began her autograph session!
*the drunk fans who climbed to the very top of the Queen Mary’s smokestack, taking incriminating SpyFest selfies, as they risked falling to their death!
*the fans who ducked my dinner invitation, only to present me the next day with a framed photo from their dinner with Sean Connery! (okay, I’d have ducked my invitation also!)
*the fan I told “Don’t buy Connery’s dinner, he can afford it, and for goodness sake, don’t ask him about James Bond!”, did both, and discussed the Bond films with Sean Connery for three hours!
Last and least is yours truly . . . Bond fan, crazy man, "fancapader"!
Crazy Fans Are Forever . . . We’ve had a mortician lecture me on burial methods at Slumber, Inc. and I snuck into W.W. Techtronics aboard a Ford Econoline van. We returned Lana Wood for the first time to Las Vegas, almost 30 years after she wrapped DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. I defended her there when fans said she’d imagined a deleted scene, where Sean "suavely rejects a wine offering as a Venus on the half shell sails nearby”! We’ve heard Vic Flick strum DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER on the Fender Stratocaster he used to record the song in 1971. And we’ve had lunch with Tom Mankiewicz for three hours—we thought of destroying Kansas, but who would know?
Our tour groups have been ejected from two bars, at least one casino, and a public library, but I assure you, we’d did nothing wrong. I was, however, interrogated and searched by police, while a Bond actor waited for me, 2½ hours late (I would have been a LOT later if they saw the dozen model guns and knives in my Bond bags!).
A Bond actor stole a bottle of wine from me and we’re still friends—we spoke on the phone last month. Our event hotel, one of the finest in the nation, once barred all attendees from our rented event rooms for four hours, despite my promise that our actors could sell signatures to the general public and not just our group (fixed, no one knew about it).
I vigorously refused to play “Bond Scene It?” when challenged to a “friendly game” by some of the game’s creators! I’ve seen Queen Elizabeth II in person (no knighthood was offered), then sent her my letter signed “Madam, Your Majesty’s humble and obedient servant.” I’ve been chauffeured in a Silver Birch Aston Martin DB5 and raced against a DB5 through my neighborhood. I’ve sung WITH Gloria Hendry and have sung TO Sean Connery. One of my projects for Vic Flick was personally approved by John Barry. I was a paid extra appearing in a Sean Connery film, got to talk with Connery and the film stars, and I introduced David Arnold to Vic Flick to discuss the 50th anniversary Bond theme.
I’ve attended a Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City, a Nassau Junkanoo, and helped create a Thunderball-themed Bar Mitzvah. Janine Sherman and I were married by a pastor friend who owns hundreds of Bond collectibles and who interviewed Pierce Brosnan and is friends with many of the actors.
All of this madness came from Bond locations visits with great friends, “And . . . loving it.”
9) Don't know if you'll remember me - we met way back in 2001 in the US during a Bond convention (was staying then at Raymond Benson's home near Chicago).
Time has passed since ... Have organised myself numerous Bond events in France , set up various official Bond Auctions with Drouot ( French equivalent of Christie's or Sotheby's ) ...
As a matter of fact, two new Bond books which I penned will be released next Oct/Nov.
Specifically regarding to the topic of this AJB subject, one thing always puzzled me: the lack of a real, certified 'Value Guide' for Bond memorabilia . It's really always up to the Seller's good reputation (or not!). Which I still find rather strange: books have been published on Star Wars or Star Trek memorabilia, detailing precise prices according to the current state of the object, and nothing of sort has still been thought of for Bond Collectors!
As a sideway, there's gonna be a new French organised 007 auction by next October (with online option). I'll give you the details ASAP .
Kevin C. (hence obvious ID 'René Mathis'!)
**Hi Kevin, of course I remember, with fondness, your big contributions to our Chicago event, your books, and the Drouot sales. Glad to hear from you, my friend.
The issue with a Bond Price Guide? The prices are too volatile. Other franchises are more straightforward.
For example, what do you think of Star Wars toys? Consider what is iconic there. EVERY Star Wars fan wants a screen used lightsaber, not that every fan can afford one.
There is no universal Bond “lightsaber”. The DB5? No, some like a Lotus better. The PPK? No, some prefer a P99. Collectibles come from 27 Bond films and 48 Bond novels, and we all find new items constantly!
So because this isn’t Star Wars, accurate pricing is tough, fewer collectors, more items to divert our attention. Consider a rare book, six known copies in existence, maybe ten fans both want it and can afford it. One drops on eBay, but don’t put that price in the Price Guide, because the price will LOWER as the other five copies appear and are sold, limiting the number of potential bidders.
And remember how we AJB’ers complained when Casino Royale plaques first sold for $800 U.S. each, back in 2006? I’ve seen them auctioned in the past 18 months for between $10,000 for one plaque and . . . $800!
The answer to your question? Let’s create a Bond Collectibles Guide with beautiful photos and great text but without prices. Where to start? Clothing and cosplay? Vintage toys? Rare books, magazines, 35mm film, sand from Bond’s beaches . . .
7. LALD 8. TWINE 9. Skyfall 10. AVTAK 11. CR 12. TLD 13. YOLT
14. TMWTGG 15. Moonraker 16. TSWLM 17. Thunderball 18. FRWL
19. Dr. No 20. DAF 21. LTK 22. DAD 23. QoS 24. Spectre 25. NTTD
Please know that you and all AJB'ers are ALWAYS welcome in our Florida home to see our collectibles, hang out and talk shop. I hope to see many of you soon at our events.
Also, let's not forget the below fans:
*the fan that almost ruined a Bond author's appearance at an event by spreading ugly, horrible and untrue rumors
*the fan that found a very interesting item in PB's tuxedo pocket
*the fan that ended up with egg on his face after posting a fake story planted just to smoke him out (not very invincible!)
But if anyone wants details on these stories, you must show up to one of Matt's events. -{
It has whetted my appetite to want to attend a planned Bond tour but its a pity the current pandemic has halted future travel plans.
I'm sure a planned UK event would be very popular as there are plenty of locations here that both UK based and overseas visitors would love to see.
Thanks! We have a number of events lined up when the lockdowns end, at this link. And Italy is nearby you--I'm also working on a brand new event TBA soon: https://bondfanevents.com/2020-22-bond-fan-events
We have 30 people signed up for Jamaica in October. JOIN US!