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MI6 brings you the chance to read extracts from
Bond Stars Bond Girls Are Forever souvenir programme
- now available to order online |
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Bond Girls Are Forever Souvenir Programme - Extracts (2)
15th August 2006
MI6 travels back to the making of The Spy Who Loved Me on the
Pinewood backlot with Gareth Owen and writing partner Brian Burford.
The Spy Who Loved Me
The poster for the tenth
film in the official franchise, Lewis Gilbert’s The
Spy Who Loved Me, claimed that it was the biggest Bond of
all. We have already seen how the producers changed the studio’s
skyline, albeit temporarily, but this time they left a permanent
reminder in the shape of the ‘007 Stage’. The plot
of the film – more or less a re-run of the spaceship hijacking
routine in You Only Live Twice
– involved the disappearance of nuclear submarines, swallowed
up by a gigantic supertanker belonging to the movie’s chief
villain, Stromberg (Curt
Jurgens). During early pre-production, the search for a stage
large enough to house three nuclear submarines was underway. ‘We
saw a lot of people and places,’ Broccoli
told American Cinematographer magazine. ‘They couldn’t
promise anything. We told them we had to dig a big tank to take
in the water and we’d have to have a guaranteed period.
It became an absolute farce. So it appeared to me that it was
more sane, after talking to United Artists, to explore the possibility
of putting up a new stage.’
| For Bond Stars Bond Girls Are Forever Event at
Pinewood on July 2nd, they commisioned a 16 page full
colour programme to celebrate the role of Bond's leading
ladies. The programme was only available at the event
and is sure to become a collectors item highly collectable
item, so get your copy now!
The 16 page programme contains:
- The Pinewood Tour - Take a short tour round the
studios
- Bond Girls Are Forever - An evolution of the Bond
girls
- Maurice Binder - A tribute to the man behind Bond's
ingenius opening titles
- Bond At Pinewood - 6 pages devoted to Bonds residence
at the world famous studios
- A 2 page centre spread of the girls attending
the event
The price of each programme is £10.00
including worldwide postage and packaging.
Order your copy from Bond Stars
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Above: (Page 4) A tribute to
Maurice Binder |
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United Artists took some persuading but Broccoli managed it.
Production designer Ken Adam and young architect Michael Brown
were brought together to design a stage. On the one hand, it had
to be functional for the film, but on the other it needed to be
operational as a stage in its own right, because EON and Rank
had agreed it would later be rented out to other filmmakers. This
was the carrot that finally saw United Artists give it the go-ahead,
but where could it be built within the studio? Peter Lamont recalls
that the idea was to position the new stage over the existing
reservoir on the backlot. ‘It only used to be 75 feet square,
but we made it bigger for Thunderball. When The Spy Who Loved
Me came along and we needed the large stage with a tank, we decided
to extend the reservoir again and build the stage over it.’
Happily, planning consent was swiftly granted and the stage began
to take shape throughout the scorching summer of 1976. Delta Doric,
a building firm from nearby Uxbridge, took seven months to complete
the world’s largest stage, measuring 336 ft by 160 ft with
a height of 136 ft. Inside, the tank measuring 75 ft by 350 ft
was the main feature of Stomberg’s Liparus supertanker.
‘It was surprisingly inexpensive to construct: $1,650,000,’
observes Ken Adam, ‘and I designed the stage to be part
of the set with steel gantries and all that. I don’t think
UA ever regretted it as it’s always been in use!’
The 007 Stage was officially opened on 5 December 1976. The ceremony
was attended by former Prime Minister Harold Wilson and leading
actors from the film. Several dignitaries from the Royal Navy
were also in attendance, plus some top actors including Sir John
Mills and Kenneth More. Cubby Broccoli’s wife, Dana, broke
the champagne bottle on the conning tower of the American submarine.
A brochure was produced to promote Pinewood’s new stage,
with Pinewood’s then MD, Cyril Howard, saying, ‘The
film industry has always cried out for a huge stage and now it
has got one. I sincerely hope that producers will make use of
the facility, which is unique.’stage, with Pinewood’s
then MD, Cyril Howard, saying, ‘The film industry has always
cried out for a huge stage and now it has got one. I sincerely
hope that producers will make use of the facility, which is unique.’
Above: (Pages 8 and 9) The centre
page montege featuring the attending Bond Girls |
However, dark clouds were forming at Pinewood, as John Willis
recounts. ‘I was brought in for the publicity between the
wrap of shooting and the première. It was tremendous fun.
However, the whole period was marred by the news that Cubby was
having to give up his house in Green Street and move out of the
UK because of the ridiculous tax laws that had been brought in.
Pinewood was obviously very concerned because, at that time, there
wasn’t a lot else going on and Bond was a lifeline. It looked
like Cubby was going to take it all abroad, and there wouldn’t
be another one shot at Pinewood.’
To read more about the 40 year history of Bond and Pinewood Order
your copy from Bond Stars.
