Over a dozen special guests are confirmed for the Thunderball 40th Anniversary event in London this November. Have you got your tickets yet?

Thunderball 40th Anniversary Event Guests
26th September 2005

An amazing array of special guests will be attending the Thunderball 40th Anniversary event in London this November 20th at the Cine Lumiere. Have you got your tickets yet? If not, click here for the BondStars reservation form.

Sir Ken Adam Sir Ken Adam, the Oscar-winning production designer who brought to the screen those incredible and fantastic sets that now define the ‘look’ of a Bond film, has confirmed his appearance at the 40th anniversary of Thunderball at the Cine Lumiere, London, on Sunday November 20th. The world-famous designer will be interviewed on stage by Sir Christopher Frayling, Rector of The Royal College of Art and author of a new book about Adam’s illustrious career and his memories of working on the OO7 films. All guests who attend this event will receive a 1st edition copy of this book, which will be signed by both Sir Ken and Sir Christopher!

Don Black Oscar-winning songwriter Don Black is to receive an award at the 40th anniversary of Thunderball event this November. The world-famous lyricist, who has penned over 100 songs for the movies (including Thunderball, of course!), is being presented with an award by Cinema Retro magazine for his ‘Outstanding Contributions to Song Writing in the Motion Picture Industry’. Black, who won an Oscar for Born Free, is responsible for penning five James Bond theme songs, and collaborated with John Barry on Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves. This will be a very rare chance to meet such an iconic figure from the film industry, in what is turning out to be one of the biggest Bond film reunions ever!

Sir Christopher Frayling Sir Christopher Frayling is Rector of the Royal College of Art, the only wholly postgraduate university of art and design in the world, and also Professor of Cultural History at the College. In addition, he is Chairman of Arts Council England. Christopher is well-known as an historian, critic and an award-winning broadcaster, with his work appearing regularly on network radio and television. He has published sixteen books including subjects such as Sergio Leoni and Clint Eastwood, the most recent being his conversations/biography of Ken Adam – the art of production design which arises from a lifelong fascination with the work of this still-underrated genius. All guests who attend this event will receive a 1st edition copy of this book, which will be signed by both Sir Ken and Sir Christopher!

Stephen Saltzman Born in Canada in 1915, Harry Saltzman is better known as the ‘other half’ of the Broccoli/Saltzman partnership that brought to the screen the James Bond films. Saltzman produced the first nine OO7 movies with Cubby, before selling his rights to United Artists in 1975. However, few people realise just how prolific a film producer Harry Saltzman was, with titles like Battle of Britain, Billion Dollar Brain, Play Dirty and The Ipcress File among his many screen accomplishments. We are very honoured to have his son Steven, who is flying in from Paris especially for this event, discuss what it was like being the son of a famous film producer, and talk about his father in general.

Peter Janson-Smith Peter Janson-Smith was a literary agent who numbered Eric Ambler, Gavin Maxwell and Richard Holmes among his list of clients. In 1956, on the recommendation of friend and fellow writer Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming hired Peter to handle the foreign translation rights to his James Bond novels. For the next forty-five years, Peter was literary consultant and some-time Chairman at Glidrose, guiding it and Bond through many changes. He was a judge for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for best thriller of the year, and was Executive Trustee of the Winnie-the-Pooh Trust. By the time of Peter’s retirement in 2001, the Ian Fleming Bond novels and those by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Raymond Benson, had sold close to a hundred million copies worldwide.

Euan Lloyd Euan Lloyd is often referred to as ‘the Gentleman producer’ in the film business, and it’s easy to see why. This debonair and enthusiastic man was the main driving force in the industry during the ‘60s and ‘70s, with films like Shalako, The Wild Geese, Who Dares Wins and The Sea Wolves breaking box-office records the world over. But what is his connection with James Bond? Well, Euan produced most of his films by going it alone and finding finance outside of the then-huge Hollywood system – and it’s all thanks to Albert R. Broccoli, whom he served his apprenticeship under. Euan has many fond memories of Cubby, and that is why he is one of the guests at the Thunderball event – to remember the late OO7 film producer, who is generally acknowledged as ‘the last of the great showmen’.

Mollie Peters Mollie Peters - a top model in the early 1960s - shot to international fame when director Terence Young cast her as Patricia Fearing in Thunderball - the sexy Shrublands Health Clinic nurse. Mollie will be providing a free autographed photo in your exclusive James Bond goodie bag.

George Leech Starting his film career in the mid 1950s in the Pier Angeli film Port Afrique, stunt man George Leech soon found himself in great demand, and a few years later his first 'big action film' came with The Guns Of Navarone. The following year he was engaged on a modest film called Dr No - it was to be the first of eleven James Bond films, which took him through to Roger Moore's last outing in A View To A Kill in 1985. George has doubled for George Lazenby and Roger Moore, as well as having a few fisty-cuffs with Sean Connery and his adversaries. His other credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Kelly's Heroes, The Eagle Has Landed, Revenge Of The Pink Panther, Superman and North Sea Hijack. George is the father of Wendy Leech, one of the first stunt-women in the business, and herself a veteran of four 007 adventures; as well as being the father in-law of stunt arranger and second unit director Vic Armstrong. He believes very much in keeping Bond in the family!

Martine Beswicke A former Miss Jamaica, Martine was selectedas one of the gypsy fighters, Zora, in From Russia With Love. She then returned, along with director Terence Young, two years later as Paula Caplan in Thunderball, ensuring her an enduring place in Bond fan’s hearts. Martine will be providing a free autographed photo in your exclusive James Bond goodie bag.

Norman Wanstall After a 3 year contract with the J. Arthur Rank Organisation as trainee film editor, Norman became an assistant to Britain's leading soundtrack editor, Winston Ryder, working on such major titles as John Paul Jones, Solomon & Sheba and Sink The Bismark. Eager to return to film editing, Norman approached Peter Hunt (editor of Sink The Bismark) and asked to become his assistant. Together they worked on There Was A Crooked Man, The Greengage Summer, On The Fiddle, HMS Defiant and the very first James Bond film, Dr No. The low budget for Dr No meant that the production could not afford the two dubbing editors required for dialogue and sound-effects so Norman was promoted to sound effects editor. After Dr No, Norman continued working as Peter Hunt's sound editor on Call Me Bwana, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger (for which he received an Oscar), The Ipcress File, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.

Earl Cameron In 1965, Earl Cameron was cast as Pinder, Bond’s second ally in Thunderball, who operates the Bahamas branch of the British Secret Service. Pinder first meets Bond and Leiter where he takes them to his headquarters behind a shop in the marketplace of Nassau. There, Q provides Bond with the latest gadgets, and photos taken from the Infra-Red Camera are developed. From there plans are made to infiltrate Emilio Largo’s estate Palmyra. Earl Cameron’s other film credits include Flame In The Streets, Guns At Batasi, The Sandwich Man, Cuba and The Interpreter . His numerous tv appearances include Waking The Dead, Kavanagh QC, Lovejoy, The Zoo Gang, Dixon Of Dock Green, The Prisoner, Dr Who, Danger Man and The Buccaneers. Earl will be providing a free autographed photo in your exclusive James Bond goodie bag.

Justin Llewelyn Justin Llewelyn has been in the drink trade for over thirty years and now represents Champagne Taittinger in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Channel Islands. He is also known for his informative talks and believes that his speaking skills were probably inherited from his late father, Desmond Llewelyn. Justin, has many amusing anecdotes about his ‘dad’ - the man who was Q in seventeen of the James Bond films – and one of the most loved of all OO7 film actors.

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