I wish Bond was popular where I live.
ghost1
Posts: 82MI6 Agent
James Bond is vastly popular in lots of places around the world. But where I live ( Canada ) it isn't really that big. If you live in a place where it isn't as popular as Great Britain post your thoughts here.
Comments
Canada needs more Bond.
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
Too true. And sadly, there are a lot of links between Bond and Canada. Fleming travelled here during the war and visited Camp X near Toronto where SOE agents were trained. Bond himself visits Canada in 'For Your Eyes Only' and there are numerous other references to the country in many of the other books. Dr No was Canadian as was Miss Moneypenny (well, Joseph Wiseman and Lois Maxwell were any way!)...and if all of that wasn't enough, until recently there was a St James-Bond church in Toronto!
Tell you what though, get a Bond film to film there - and have it featured as Canada (and not someplace in the States
oh, don't get me wrong, I think Bond is popular there, it's just not a national institution - and why would it be? But, in places where there are more ex-pat's then it's bound to be more poplular. However, don't forget, here in the UK, Christmas wasn't Christmas without a Bond movie on the TV (and that was in the days when there where only 3 channels, and movies being shown on TV were few and far between
well you did at least show 'The Sound of Music'
When QOS came out here I went to the first screening at a local cinema and there were only about 15 to 20 people present. I would have expected more. Also, music shops seem to have great difficulty shifting Bond DVDs as they are always on sale with racks and racks of them. Items such as Bond soundtracks and novels are often hard to find, even in the major music and book stores. Most of the Bond stuff that I own now was acquired during my UK stay.
Despite all this, there are some serious Bond fans. I am a film student and one of my lecturers is a major Bond fan. We've had many a Bond discussion and also tested each others trivia knowledge. He also did a lectures on genre movies focusing on Moonraker which was a lot of fun.
As in the UK, Bond screenings on TV are a regular occurrence here, although I'm not sure if they are centered around a particular time, like Christmas or not. I generally don't bother with them since I got all the DVDs.
As you well know, we Canadians are different from Americans and Brits in many subtle ways, and one of them is our appreciation of pop culture. As someone once said. Americans watch television, Canadians watch AMERICAN television.
That simple difference of interpretation, of observing something once removed, applies to Bond.
Perhaps the enthusiasm to Bond is not overt, but I have never felt that Canada did not have the same amount of fans as anywhere else.
As a sidenote, I have come up with a simple test when you encounter someone who claims to be a Bond-fan. Its very easy. Name every Bond film in order and the actor who played Bond.
To people in this forum that's laughingly simple, but its the kind of test that can determine how serious or casual a Bond-fan you are talking to.
"Its 3AM. When do you sleep, 007?"
"Never on the firm's time, sir."
Sounds to me like a reasonable test... and then if that doesn't convince you, you can ask them to list every single Bond theme song performer and composer from 1962 up to 2008!
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger