The April Chinese premiere of the new James Bond film "No Time to Die" has been cancelled by the studio and Eon Productions due to the severity of the coronavirus, which has taken its most devastating toll in China. The nation is scrambling to contain and control the outbreak, which has infected tens of thousands of people worldwide, though most of the affected patients are in China. To date, over 1600 deaths have been attributed to the virus. With no way of knowing when the virus will be under control, China has taken draconian measures to minimize the number of infections. As of this date, virtually all of China's movie theaters and many other places for public gatherings have been closed. The economic impact is starting to be felt worldwide. With millions of Chinese workers restricted to their homes, manufacturing has been severely reduced, thus affecting the distribution of goods internationally. The entertainment industry is also starting to feel the pain. Bond films are very popular in China and the cancelling of the premiere, along with the postponement of a high profile, all-star promotional tour by the cast, director and producers, will have an impact even if theaters reopen in April. For more, click here.
In 1967, prominent lawyer F. Lee Bailey had a short-lived 30-minute interview program, "Good Company", on ABC-TV in America in which he would interview prominent people. In this episode, he went to the London home of Sean Connery and got the 36 year-old actor to discuss the James Bond films in-depth. In fact, it's probably the most extensive interview about 007 Connery ever gave. By this point, he was eager to move on and informed Bailey that the recently-released "You Only Live Twice" would be his last Bond film. (As we all know, he did return for two more films between 1971 and 1983.) The interview takes place in Connery's billiard room but, amusingly, he obviously had purchased the billiard table from a local establishment and it requires inserting coins to play for a twenty-minute session. Connery speaks candidly about the pluses and minuses of the films, his satisfaction with making "The Hill" and "A Fine Madness" and his frustration with film producers in general. It must be pointed out that Connery and Bond producer Cubby Broccoli would later reconcile shortly before Broccoli's death in 1996, when the two engaged in a sentimental phone conversation. Broccoli had always said that the only thing he had "done" to Sean Connery was make him a very wealthy man. Nevertheless, it's clear from the interview that in 1967, Connery was not pleased with the contract he had for the Bond films.
It should be noted that the footage seen here, presented the Historic Films web site, is from a raw cut of the interview. It involves two sessions with Connery responding to essentially the same questions twice, though his answers vary quite a bit in some instances.
Once again, Heineken is among the sponsors of a James Bond movie, in this case the forthcoming "No Time to Die". The company has released a very clever extended promotional ad in which a frustrated Daniel Craig has to cope with fans who can't distinguish between his real life persona and his reel life persona.
