#felix leiter (mentioned)

[castillon02]

Fried Pie at the Flying J

Angela put her phone down and looked alive behind the counter. The suits who had just come in were different than her usual run of weathered old Texans, although they had the familiar road-stunned look of long driving in the past and long driving ahead, same as most people who came into the Flying J. People liked to stop here in this place so deep on the highway. The gas was reasonable and the food was good. If you had time to stop and eat, the attached Denny’s had the cleanest bathrooms for fifty miles, but she figured that wasn’t what these guys were after.

Sunglasses Suit---he hadn’t bothered to take off his designer shades when he came in---made a beeline for the door that wasn’t to the Denny’s, and he put his hand on the other suit’s arm when the man made to follow him. “Hang on. You won’t want to go in there.”

“Hmm? Why?” Ooh, a British accent!

Sunglasses Suit jerked his head at the sign on the door: The Original Fried Pie Shop.

“Oh.” British Suit made a face. Rude. Don’t knock ’em till you try ’em, bud. Especially if you’re from England. Even Angela had seen enough TV to know about bangers and mash. (Her opinion? Needs more barbecue sauce.)

“They’re basically empanadas,” Sunglasses Suit said, sounding defensive. 

“I dare you to tell Camille that,” British Suit replied, arching his eyebrows. The hint of playfulness lightened his old boot of a face, made him look suddenly handsome.

“No deal,” Sunglasses said, maybe ruefully. “Anyway, Mama liked them, so---” He swallowed. The past tense hung heavy in the air. Poor fella. He had a black shirt on beneath his black suit jacket, and now that looked more like funeral-wear than Johnny-Cash-wannabe.

British Suit briefly put his hand on Sunglasses’s shoulder.

Sunglasses cleared his throat. “Anyway, just stay out here and find something that will suit your picky palate.” He went in to buy some pies---which, yeah, were basically empanadas, but with fruit in them. Or meat. Or cheese and pizza sauce. The Original Fried Pie Shop didn’t discriminate when it came to fillings.

British Suit perused the aisles---something military in his walk, hard to peg what. He ignored the candy and the Hostess stuff, stopped in front of the nuts and jerky, and stared with what might have been horror at the hot food station.

Angela pursed her lips. Sure, their jumbo breakfast burritos weren’t exactly gourmet, but she had made them fresh only two hours ago! And there was always the breakfast croissant if the guy missed Europe so bad. Jeez, wait until he got a load of what they had at the Exxon. “Can I help you, sir?” she asked with her most professional cheerfulness.

British Suit turned and approached her. “Angela,” he said, his eyes glancing off her name tag, “I’m afraid I don’t know what a ‘tater tot’ is and why it should be in a burrito.”

Angela eyed him. Bless his heart. Was he serious? “Fried grated potatoes. They add crunch,” she said, and added with sweet vengeance, “Would you like a free sample?” She wanted to see his judgy British face when he found out they were good. 

Sunglasses Suit chose that moment to exit with his bag of pies. “Come on, Bond,” he said. “I got you beef and vegetable. Don’t pretend you don’t eat beef pies in the motherland.”

British Suit, Bond, smirked at her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get that sample,” he said, flashing his eyes up and down at her.

Jesus Christ. Had he somehow turned a tater tot into an innuendo? And was she really thinking that it was a shame she’d missed out?

Bond turned away from her. “Got what you needed, Felix?”

Sunglasses Suit, Felix, nodded. “Yeah. It’ll be good to---you know, the family will appreciate it,” he said. “Anyway---come on. Burnin’ daylight,” he added, his accent heavier than it had been. More familiar than it had been.

A small-town boy, Angela realized, who’d grown up and left for the big wide world like so many kids around here did. Had his mama driven him to DFW to send him off to college, and they’d stopped for pies on the way? How often had he come home after that, in between traveling the world and making friends with British folk? 

Well, Felix was here now, and he’d remembered the pie. There was probably a good son under that suit, buried deep, in the same place he kept the accent. She worked in a gas station in the middle of nowhere---she saw every day that some things buried deep were worth coming back to, even if it was an effort to get there.

Less of an effort when you had company, at least. She was glad this Felix had someone with him---even if it was that weird Bond guy.

[mi6-cafe]

It's Next Chapter November!

Our challenge is quite simple this month: write your next chapter! Finish that artwork that's been stuck in WIP hell! Whatever it is, let us be your inspiration to make progress on your current project. For bonus accountability, share your progress with the community on WIP Wednesdays, regardless of what fandom it is for.

Tag us in your posted Bond-related creations so we can reblog them. As always, all ships, gen fic, and genres are welcome! You can also add anything to our AO3 collection.

Festive Fanwork Fiesta is on the horizon

Signs ups for this year’s Festive Fanwork Fiesta will run November 16-30. During this fiesta, we send you three prompts and give you a week to create something. This will run for three weeks and it's your chance to give someone in the fandom a little gift as you fill a prompt which has been sitting on the prompt sheet for a while. For more information see here. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Saturday Cafe: Nov 2, 16, and 30

Come join us in the fandom Slack as we write, draw, sprint, plot, brainstorm, cheerlead, and generally have a good time trying to get things done together. If you’d like an invite to the Slack, go ahead and message @castillon02 or @spiritofcamelot!

Bond Book Readalong, Saturdays at 9pm ET

The longfic readalong crew is taking a break from fanfic to go back to the source material. We will be taking a couple months to read Diamonds are Forever. This is a proper detective novel full of diamond smuggling, Felix Leiter, and a really over-the-top bad guy. Not to mention our latest Bond girl: Tiffany Case.

We will provide a digital version of the text for you to follow along, but we also recommend seeing if your local library has a copy. We’d love to see you there. You are welcome to listen if you don’t or can’t read aloud!    

When: Saturdays at 9pm eastern/6pm Pacific.

Where: We’ll be reading on discord in the readalongs channel. (Invite to discord here)

Please join us to read or just hang out.

Other social events

We have loved all the movies, game nights, even TTRPGs that happened during Fest this year and we hope to see more of them throughout the year!

We will happily promote other watch party events of spy movies or whatever else you would like to organize.

Weekly events:

WIP Wednesday: You can post an excerpt of your WIP on our post or make your own post and mention the @mi6-cafe. Either way it’s a fun way to show people what you’re working on, Bond fandom or otherwise.

Weekly Bond movies: Hosted by womble every Sunday at 8am Pacific time, join us in Discord to watch one of the Bond movies. Keep an eye on the watch party calendar linked below for updates.

Want to host your own event in the Discord or elsewhere? Let us know about it so we can add it to the calendars!

Calendars

Watch Party Calendar MI6 Cafe Calendar   If you need help adding these calendars to your personal one, check out this post.

[spockvarietyhour]

Oh I forgot to mention David Hedison returned to play Felix Leiter after playing him in Live and Let Die back in '71 (Felix was last played by Bernie Casey)

[emerald-truth]

Fandom: James Bond (Moore Movies)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationship: James Bond/Felix Leiter

Characters: James Bond, Felix Leiter

Additional Tags: mentions of Tracy, Porn With Plot, although it's more like porn with a bit of chatting, sex through clothing, typical bond burying his feelings

Summary: A little chat (and fuck) with his best friend helps James forget his troubles

[howardhawkshollywoodannex]

Jeffrey Wright as attorney Charles Ogletree counselling his client Anita Hill outside the Supreme Cout in a scene from Confirmation (2016). Jeff was born in Washington DC and has 80 acting credits from Presumed Innocent (1990) to American Fiction (2023). His entries among my best 1001 are Casino Royale (as CIA operative and Bond friend Felix Leiter) and Game Night. His other honorable mentions are Presumed Innocent,

His other notable credits include Separate But Equal, Basquiat (as Basquiat), Celebrity, Shaft, Ali, six episodes of Angels in America, The Manchurian Candidate, Lackawanna Blues, Quantum of Solace, Cadillac Records, Source Code, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 20 of Boardwalk Empire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2, No Time to Die, The Batman, 6 e3pisodes of Westworld, Asteroid City, and Rustin.

[capaldiera]

obviously the real reason this happens is because it's a james bond movie and he has to get back into the scene somehow but felix showing up and telling james "you're only man for the job" is so funny. this 50-something retired british guy is the only person who can extract this hostage for the cia. sure

like was it felix's idea? he just wanted to work with bond his friend james bond again? it could have been the spectre guy's suggestion i guess but leiter was definitely convinced. all of which brings up questions for me about how james and felix's friendship and working relationship developed after quantum of solace. from memory the only time felix is mentioned in skyfall or spectre is when james says he's called felix for a favour protecting lucia sciara, so we don't know much.

at the end of qos, felix is made section chief in south america and i have to wonder how long he would have lasted in that role, considering how distasteful he found his predecessor, beam. it's definitely implied that his issue with beam is his corruption and working with greene. and... the thing is i think if greene had actually found oil it could have been felix losing his job, not beam. the americans wanted that oil and felix spoiled things for greene by helping james – the movie makes it very clear james is acting against orders and the express wishes of the british government by going against greene.

i'm sure part of why they trust and like each other is they are both willing to break the rules to stop someone they think should be stopped (interesting that there's already trust between them in qos though it doesn't seem to be based on much beyond vibes? was there something between casino royale and then?) but what's interesting to me is they (seemingly) had different reasons for wanting quantum taken down. james is in it for personal reasons – he doesn't care that much about the cia ignoring a military coup in bolivia or a billionaire manufacturing a drought, he's after the people who got to vesper and tried to kill m. greene's evil plan being that bad is very much a case of giving audience a reason to hate the villain so they'll be on board with the protagonist seeking revenge.

for that matter it's possible felix just didn't like beam personally or trust that greene would uphold his part of the implicit deal. he could have been motivated mostly by the fact he hated his boss and liked bond more. (his conversations with both beam and james indicate he is pretty cynical about the cia and america (and britain) in general, and doesn't like the way they do things, but.... he still works for them so whatever principles he pretends to have, he's not exactly living by them)

...i don't have any conclusion to this i was just thinking about it. anyway wonder how often james and felix have worked together and whether there's any real reason they would consistently have the same goals (or if they actively worked against each other at any point?)

[pollyna]

Headcanon/fix-it of sort: contains spoiler of No Time To Die.

And then death will come by water. James doesn't know, doesn't remember who wrote this words, or if he just made them up, but nothing could be more true. Water took away Vesper, water drowned him away and saved him after Istanbul eben when he's not sure who came back after he woke up, water drowned slowly all the tears he wasn't crying during M's funeral and water took away his chance to save Felix. Not long after he will learn that water, freezing water, will forever link Madeleine and Safin. Water is where Safin shoots him so many times he doesn't know how he still finds the strength to get up and to finish the mission. Q voice is a balm for his soul even when staing awake is a constant struggle.

And then death will come by water he whispers while M is talking in his ears and Moneypenny is doing the same and then Madeliene is there too, telling him he can come back now, that everything is going to be okay, that they're safe. But all James wants to do is sit down and watch the immensity of the ocean before it's going to take him away too and he hopes, he really does, that his soul will find Vesper and Felix's because water took away one people too many from him and it can pay him back talking him to them now.

Water isn't how death comes to him in the end, at least for now. Death doesn't come to him at all. He wakes up and everything is white and shiny, nothing hurts and someone is holding his hand. Death isn't going to come by water James, not until I have something to say about it that someone whispers in his ear and sleep comes to him sounding like a blessing and a promise of a future the water isn't going to touch, until they're going to be together.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

No Time To Die - A strong departure for a fantastic Bond

So there is no secret to the fact that Craig's Bond tenure has had a mixed critical response. Casino Royale and Skyfall are considered in the top 5 Bond films of all time by many. Given that there are now 25 Bond films, that is an impressive achievement for any single Bond actor. Unfortunately they are also offset by the fact that Quantum of Solace and Spectre are largely considered disappointments. I think this is partly because of the incredible reception of their respective predecessors. I don't dislike either of them and I enjoy them for the most part, while recognizing their flaws but they are noticeably inferior to Casino Royale and Skyfall. So No Time to Die comes with pressure of sending Craig's Bond, who has been brilliant through the his movies' highs and lows, off on a strong note. Having watched the movie, I will say that it is a significant improvement over Spectre and definitely a strong end to Craig's Bond era, even if it may not hit the heights of Casino Royale and Skyfall. I would say its a lot closer in quality to the CR and Skyfall than it is to Spectre and QoS.

I don't want to reveal any spoilers for the film but so can't say much about the plot, but given its the longest Bond film by almost 20 mins, it doesn't feel like it. Its actually a film where you get consistently invested in the plot and the characters. There are lots of returning characters and there are some good new characters who add a lot to the movie. The film pays tribute to Bond movies of the past, like films like OHMSS as well as previous Craig era Bond films.

The action in the film is excellent. I would say in terms of action, it is second maybe only to Casino Royale. There is a visceral nature to it. There is a sequence set in Cuba that is particularly brilliant. The pre-credits scenes are again fantastic. The film has an opening that is basically straight out of a horror movie and is really brilliant. That is followed by an exceptional sequence in Italy which has been foreshadowed in the trailers. There are strong action scenes littered throughout the film.

Lea Seydoux returns as Madeleine as the only Bond girl to every make a reappearance. I have to admit that I was a little worried because I wasn't completely sold on the chemistry between Craig and Seydoux in Spectre and that romance kind of came out of nowhere. However, I think they are much better together in this movie. I think their scenes together are much better written and the actors feel like they are more comfortable in their character's relationship with one another. Its still not as strong as the chemistry shared with Eva Green but I feel that was lightning in a bottle type stuff which is impossible to replicate. Admittedly, there is a marked reference to Vesper, which while poignant and meaningful, does remind you of that chemistry. There is that musical cue from CR that briefly reappears in a beautiful moment. Overall, Seydoux is really good in the movie. Lashanna Lynch appears as the new 007. I am sure there will be outrage over her taking Bond's moniker but she is excellent in the role and the dynamic between her and Bond is really funny and there is the slow build up of respect between the two that is really well done. Naomie Harris is back as Moneypenny and she's strong as she has always been, although the last two films haven't given her enough to do given how she was introduced in Skyfall. One of the big highlights of the film for me was Ana De Armas in a delightful cameo during the Cuba scene. She is adorable and badass and looks amazing in the gown. You immediately want to see much more of her. She and Craig manage to replicate their fun chemistry from Knives Out during that section. Her role is quite brief but she leaves a major impact. If Amazon is interested in doing spinoffs of Bond, I would suggest to start with her character.

All the other returning cast members are terrific as well. Fiennes has a substantial role in the movie as his actions are very directly linked to the plot of the movie. He's excellent as always. Ben Whishaw is also terrific again as Q. He's been one of the big highlights of the Craig era Bond films. Again, he gets a fairly sizable role with him playing a pretty active role in climax. Rory Kinnear continues to be a welcome presence as Tanner. I'm glad he hasn't been ignored as new cast members have come in. Jeffrey Wright reappears as Felix Leiter and his presence is another highlight of the movie. Despite him having been missing from the past two films, this movie does a great job re-establishing the brotherhood between Bond and Felix and there is some great fun and emotional scenes between them.

Christoph Waltz returns as Blofeld in a brief role and he is effectively used in a pretty intense scene that evokes Hannibal Lecter. Billy Magnussen appears as a side villain who Bond has a grudge against. There is a henchmen with a robotic eye who appears throughout the film. What unfortunately drags the film down below Casino Royale and Skyfall levels is Rami Malek's Safin. He is not a strong villain for such a big movie. He has a phenomenal entry scene, but he is only present in the last act. Apart from an obsession with Madeleine and a creepy look, there is nothing really that distinguishes him from a garden variety terrorist. We don't really get to know what his ideology is and why he specifically wants to do what he does. Even Greene in QoS had a clear motive for power and control. Malek also seems a bit miscast because the role seems to be for someone who is older than he is. I guess it doesn't help that Malek generally looks young for his age. Its unfortunate because a really good villain would have made this film brilliant, but because of a lack of proper motivation besides global terror, he doesn't really hold up despite Malek's best efforts.

Daniel Craig is the glue that holds the movie together. He is absolutely outstanding here. I think this is the most relaxed he has been in the role and also the most vulnerable. It might just be his best performance out of all five films. He wears his age comfortably, not unwilling to let Bond be vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, but continuing to be an absolute badass. He also just seems to be having a lot of fun in the role. There is plenty of humor in the film and he gets a good chunk of it. He's excellent in the emotional and dramatic scenes which give the movie so much more weight towards the end of the movie. He really is the beating heart of the film. I really think they should take a sizable break from Bond after this film because Craig's shadow will be long and very difficult for a new actor without some distance. He's definitely my favorite Bond, having seen all 25 films because he has given Bond nuances and vulnerability that previous version just haven't. Its a great goodbye to him because he is phenomenal here.

Cary Fukunaga does a real strong job directing this film. Like I mentioned before, the film is never boring despite its long running time. The writing for the villain is what lets the film down but technically and performance wise, this film is terrific. It may not be the perfect send off for Craig's Bond but its an absolutely worthy send off. I'm looking forward to seeing it again to see if my opinions change a bit. For now, this is like an 8-8.5/10

[agentnico]

No Time To Die (2021) Review

I swear this movie came out 2 years ago?... Okay, yes, I agree, that was a cheap gag, but look, the constant postponement of this film's release is in itself a joke! Finally though, it is here.

Plot: James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help.

“I’d rather slash my wrists.” Those were the words spoken by actor Daniel Craig in 2015 for a Time Out magazine interview prior to the release of Spectre. Seemingly it felt as if Craig was done with his signature role as famed British spy James Bond, however be as it may have been, MGM managed to sway away Craig’s suicidal thoughts and cut him a cheque with a sum he simply couldn’t refuse and have him return for a proper final outing. Hollywood business at it’s finest, ladies and gentlemen! But the question is posed, was there a need for another Craig/Bond film? For the previous instalment Spectre was such a let-down that it left a sour taste, or at least I think it did. Honestly, I don’t really remember much of what happened in Spectre, it was such a shoulder-shrugging forgettable feature. The answer however is a positive one, for No Time To Die ends up being worth the wait. All this wait. Though I would’ve found it super amusing if this film came out and turned out to be an absolute stinker, as then everyone would just be sat there in the theatre wondering why the hell we’ve been waiting for this movie this entire time. But nope, it’s a good one.

No Time To Die really feels like a culmination of Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond. And with that merit this movie doesn’t actually feel like a James Bond film. Yes, it has the one-liners and the action set pieces and the typical tropes of a Bond film, however the focus here is very much more on Daniel Craig’s interpretation of the character, and how he managed to turn a weapon into a human. For James Bond at the end of the day was always a killing machine. License to kill and all that jazz was always at the centre of what made the character, however Craig’s take brought a lot of humanity and reality to what was a stereotype. And it’s shown more than ever in No Time To Die, with Daniel Craig delivering a performance of vast emotional gamut. His Bond experiences moments of general happiness and actual love (real love, not just his typical one-night stands he’s known for) to then fury and sadness. My fiancée jokingly made a remark at the beginning of this movie about how petty James Bond is acting in this movie. And I agreeably chuckled at first, for to be fair he was getting offended easily and taking everything so personally without giving it much thought, however the more the movie progressed, the more I understood why he was this way. It made him feel more human, and actually made me care for him. Additionally, the aforementioned element of love plays a big part in this film, for romance is truly at the heart of this one. Bond turns out to be a real loving sweetheart, and this all culminated in one hell of a finale, one that really surprised me with it’s emotional gut punch. Look, I see this film’s ending really dividing audiences as it’s not something you would typically expect from a James Bond movie, however I absolutely relished it and saw it as a perfect swan song for Daniel Craig.

The movie is long. In fact, it’s very long. In fact, it’s too long. It runs at nearly 3 hours and yes, there is a lot of story crammed into this but honestly there are many chunks that could have been cut down and the film would have benefitted from it. For the movie is very good, but it has chunks that drag which does cause the experience to be slightly diminished, however that being said, this is a very well directed movie. Cary Joji Fukunaga (who’s previous work I don’t know much of though I have seen his Netflix limited series Maniac with Jonah Hill and Emma Stone which I do recommend highly) exhibits some strong directing here, balancing moments of real tension using unsettling imagery with moments of levity and good character chemistry. Yes, he brings class and the right amount of epicness to the action sequences, but it was actually the quieter moments that I feel he really excelled at. The opening sequence is especially disturbing, with the way Fukunaga displays this lonely isolated house in the middle of snowy nowhere, and we see a mysterious figure creep towards it wearing a mask so creepy it reminded me of that freaky monkey mask from the horror thriller I See You. A shot from behind a sliding glass door I found especially unnerving. 

Performances across the board are all great. Daniel Craig I’ve already sing praise for, however others are to be mentioned also. Rami Malek manages to take a fairly lacklustre villain and present him in proper vile fashion. He’s truly unpleasant and horrible in this role, and I truly despised him which is what made him perfect for the role. That being said the actual character was weak. There wasn’t much meat to him so to speak. Typical Bond bad guy who wanted to see the world burn. Lea Seydoux returns as Bond’s love interest Madeleine and her chemistry with Craig is wonderful and I really enjoyed seeing her character develop more since the last movie. Returning from Spectre too is the villainous Blofeld played by Christoph Waltz, and though he isn’t in the movie much, I weirdly enjoyed him more this time around. In Spectre is was really forgettable and the script didn’t know what to do with him, whilst here is serves a specific purpose and we also get to enjoy a great scene with him in prison having a battle of wits with Bond. Real good stuff. We also have a couple of new Bond girls, with Lashana Lynch taking on the 007 mantle, and it was nice seeing a very different kind of spy in her. Her and Bond bicker quite a bit, however natural they become buddies and they are the better for it. And Lynch can be easily added to the list of powerful badass women on-screen. Ana de Armas also appears in what is a little Knives Out reunion, and unfortunately she’s only in the movie for one sequence, but it’s actually a great sequence with her putting a new spin on the Bond girl stereotype, bringing charm, swagger and humour and riffing off good banter with Craig. Shame we only see so little of her. The likes of Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes also return, and even Jeffrey Wright takes a break from pondering What If? scenarios to make a little comeback. 

No Time To Die definitely stands next to the better Daniel Craig Bond films alongside Casino Royale and Skyfall, and it’s a true culmination of all of them, whilst still managing to ignore and forget the existence of Quantum of Solace, which is good, because Quantum of Solace sucks and I can’t believe I even managed to bring it up again!! Regardless, what a way to send off Daniel Craig on a proper high, and really refreshing to actually witness a Bond movie that features feelings and emotions. In fact, it’s pure Valentine’s Day essential viewing, so mark your calendars for next year, as you now know what film you have to rewatch on February 14th 2021! 

Overall score: 8/10

[castillon02]

Felix’s Shark Attack

Image description: a wooden shark head with a wide open mouth, angled as if coming out of the blue surface it’s resting on, silhouetted against a red background with black lettering on it that reads, “He disagreed with something that ate him.” The shark could be interpreted as making a wide-mouthed laughing or smiling face. :D 

Sidebar: the writing on this craft is a tracing of the note used in the License to Kill movie. I was a little bit entertained to note the use of all-caps while still maintaining a larger first letter at the beginning of each word. Apparently lowercase is beneath this villainous writer, but they still gotta follow the rules somehow, you know?  

Meta: Sharks and Bond Media      

Threatening ocean-going creatures are a recurring motif in Fleming’s work. Sharks, barracuda, crabs, and the infamous “Octopussy” all have their moment of villainy (or, in the case of the crabs in Doctor No, presumed villainy). However, sharks in particular have suffered from their portrayal as monstrous killing machines in popular media, a reputation which the Bond series has contributed to.

Most prominent of all shark portrayals in the series is an incident in which Felix is lowered into a shark tank and grievously injured in the novel Live and Let Die and in the second Dalton!Bond movie, License to Kill. Both canons include a taunting note from the villains to Bond, “He disagreed with something that ate him,” a pun on the classic phrase, “He ate something that disagreed with him.” It’s possibly one of Fleming’s darkest moments of humor! He uses that humor to show the terrible lack of empathy on the part of the villains, but it also serves to put even more of a cartoonish spin on the violence in the story, prompting the reader to be more entertained than horrified by it. 

The shark incident with Felix also serves to foreshadow later moments in the novel: first, Bond is dragged over a coral reef until he’s bloody in an attempt to turn him into shark and barracuda food; second, the villain, Mr. Big, dies of shark bites. (Mr. Big, having trained the sharks in the area to eat people he threw overboard, is in some ways narratively responsible for his own death.)  

In Fleming’s imagination, sea creatures seem to be ever-present menaces, but it’s important to remember that the shark used by the villains to maim Felix is also a victim, having been illegally captured and starved. In the novel, human interference with sharks has altered their behaviors. Moreover, sharks in real life unfortunately have more humans to worry about than Bond-level supervillains.  

Sharks are massively overfished, with millions killed each year, largely due to bycatch, netting practices, and demand for their fins for shark-fin soup. In addition to this, many shark species are suffering from habitat loss due to human activities. Some shark species are now classified as vulnerable or endangered. This isn’t just bad for the sharks, but bad for the oceanic ecosystem as a whole: as top predators, sharks play an important role in controlling the populations of numerous aquatic species. (World Wildlife Foundation) 

Shark encounters are extremely rare, and fatal shark encounters much more so. Even in the case of a shark biting someone, it is often not because the shark is going in for the kill or “attacking,” but because the shark is curious and its mouth contains most of its sensory organs. Once it realizes that the person it bit isn’t a tasty seal, a shark tends to spit them back out and go looking for a better target. A shark’s space should be respected, but its hunger for human flesh has been greatly exaggerated by popular media. (National Geographic)  

In closing: 

Villains, please use robotic attack-animals rather than tormenting a vulnerable or endangered species for your own entertainment! 

Q Branch, Batman had already figured out non-lethal shark repellent in the 60s, and I bet you’ve improved the formula since then, right? 

Agents, if you’re ever in Felix’s EXTREMELY RARE situation, your best hope is to go for the eyes and the gills. 

Civilians...you can now go swimming in the ocean without being terrified! Please enjoy a lemon ice lolly on the beach for us.  

[mi6-cafe]

Diamonds are Forever

What's this? Something new, or something old?

Starting next week (Aug 24th), the longfic readalong crew is taking a break from fanfic to go back to the source material. We will be taking a couple months to read Diamonds are Forever. This is a proper detective novel full of diamond smuggling, Felix Leiter, and a really over-the-top bad guy. Not to mention our latest Bond girl: Tiffany Case.

Whether you've read the book before or not, we encourage you to join us Saturday night at 9pm eastern (your local time here) in the #readalong voice/text channels of our discord (drop a reply if you need an invite). We will provide a digital version of the text for you to follow along, but we also recommend seeing if your local library has a copy.

Even if you’re not in the mood to read aloud, feel free to drop by just to listen if you want! Lurkers are welcome!

[shijiujun]

NTTD is a masterpiece!!!! Spoilers below but combing through Casino Royale to No Time to Die

Q and Bond

Like we’ve all shipped 00q since Skyfall and for good reason - as Ben Whishaw said there’s affection even though between Q and 007 there’s irritation and annoyance, exasperation. And yes Q has a potential boyfriend in NTTD and ahhh still doesn’t stop me from shipping em both as an old 00q shipper.

They’re so consistent in every movie - I love Ben Whishaw’s Q and how they went from sitting in a museum looking at the painting of a sinking ship, of Q’s sassy and exasperated ‘Bond’s, and to the very last, panicked ‘James get out of there’. Although canon-wise we don’t get a lot of 00q moments but at the very least their friendship is profound and Q cares deeply for him. We don’t get to see it, going from Skyfall to Spectre to NTTD, but he must’ve been in Bond’s ears for years, and their very last hurrah together was fitting.

Q in Bond’s ears, the very last person to standing right at his back, yelling at him to get out of there, wanting to see him off the island safely and seeing probably his favorite and least favorite agent through on his last mission - that meant more to me throughout this entire franchise than anything else. Everything was just nice.

(Now time to go find all my fix-it fics and revisit some of my fave 00q ones)

Bond and Everyone Else 

Wish we had more badass Moneypenny but glad she was there nonetheless - Mallory as always playing the in between white and black, and Tanner being the flustered, stressed out admin that needs a break. Nomi, who stood equally next to Bond and accompanied him on his very last mission. And perhaps it was also fitting that Felix Leiter went out with him, earlier than he, but since the start they stood shoulder to shoulder, a man Bond was glad to call his friend.

And these five movies gave Bond the dysfunctional family he never wanted but had to some extent - after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace he truly was, even if he thought he was, never alone. Quite an anti-thesis to the suave, solo Bond that seems to we had until Skyfall. And contrary to the belief that he would die alone without anyone to remember him, he does. He truly does. And they are the ones who count.

Bond and Madeleine + Matilde

I thought I’d hate this token wife and kid and happy ending thing but I don’t. I really don’t. I love the different side we got to see for Madeleine, and Matilde was hilariously cute in several ways. It didn’t feel forced, like Casino Royale’s kind offff did. I love that they gave her characterization and that she was always generous with her emotions - of her longing for Bond on the train, of her anger, of how tough she was, and at the end.

Bond + The Villain + Safin

The only thing that kind of gets me is that Safin kind of came out of nowhere, doesn’t actually have much beef with Bond, and I can’t really tell what his obsession with Madeleine and Matilde is. I guess the moral of the story is that it’s always the same old story with villains right and that there’s always another one of Safin, but it’s almost hilarious how Safin doesn’t really have it coming for Bond. Blofeld’s antics were... just antics, and it’s almost like there was no true villain for this entire story, which is almost poetic.

Pacing + Other Things

We’ve come full circle from Casino Royal, Quantum of Solace to Skyfall (where I feel like Daniel Craig’s Bond really flourished) and then Spectre and No Time to Die - The storytelling is consistent throughout 15 years of run time and I’m glad we went from the cacophony of betrayal and trust issues, emo sadass i’m-gonna-die-alone vibes in every movie.

To be honest I thought it was going to be drawn out and cliched and it was to some extent but in all the nice ways - Daniel Craig really sang his swan song with NTTD and we had it all - the sort of happy ending he got with the love of his life and leaving behind a child, a part of him, with a strange professional but the closest thing to a family he ever had with Mallory and Tanner and Moneypenny, Q. He had the hero’s shot in the sunset at his very last moments, and not wanting to die but realizing at the moment that it was, to some degree, the end he was waiting for if he had no other choice. 

He got to die as 007 - and it was never just a number to him, and I’m glad he got to die with it. He got to die after using up all his shiny gadgets from Q, after saying goodbye to the love of his life, after having at least one day and night as a normal, actual family with Madeleine and Matilde. 

Did I think his death was necessary? I think it was fitting. I’d loved for him to get the happy ending truly, but this was a fitting way to go and as one review said “this eliminates any possibility of him having to come back and do a role he’s been wanting to drop since forever”. It was so fitting. His death was almost a quiet, peaceful and calm one, but at the same time he literally did go out with a bang as he probably thought he always would - he had both, and he had regrets but it truly was time and he was content with that.

Humour was on point too - softened Bond around the edges, made him seem not so emo and destructive (like he was at the beginning of Skyfall) anymore. A good mellowing out. 

I also loved that they came back to the betrayal trope but didn’t go too much into it because we’ve had that for every single 007 movie so far. Loved that Ana de Armas came out as a hilariously anxious but also weirdly confident and exceptionally competent interjection to the whole movie - Bond gets to work with gorgeous women all the time and he’s almost slept with all so it’s so nice to see Paloma and Nomi like going ‘nopeeeeee gotta do ma job cool thanks’ - no standard Casino Royale situation.

(I’m still amused that he went to infiltrate the island with like a navy knit sweater and a thin white shirt damn man)

Plenty of regrets of course - if he didn’t let Madeleine go five years ago he would have gotten five more years of family time with her and Matilde but I suppose trouble would have come knocking sooner or later, and I’m glad he had some soft tender moments with the sunlight behind him - we didn’t get much or any of these in the first three movies. 

NTTD was softer in all the right ways and every single loose end was tied up. I’d have loved for some mention of Judy Dench M or that pitbull figurine thing, but every box was checked, from Vesper to Felix to everyone else.

[acocktailmoment]

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 30/31 October 2020)

'Vesper Martini'

This cocktail is, perhaps, most famously known by its on screen persona, more than its actual consumption on the menu. Almost everyone has come to know of the famous words, “Shaken not Stirred” but few know the real deal behind it.

In the year 1962, the audiences were enthralled by the suave, then young, Mr. Sean Connery, in his famous portrayal of the well-known MI6 operative, James Bond. His charm, sense of style, and dialogues created a frenzy in cinema goers of that era.

During the film, he orders for a medium dry martini, shaken, but not stirred, which set the trend for shaking the drink, rather than it’s more staid, languid way of coming to life.

A lesser known fact is that the Bond “Martini” is actually first mentioned in the 1952 novel, Casino Royale, when Bond meets CIA agent Felix Leiter. In the books, he orders for a Dry Martini, but asks for it to be prepared as follows: 

“Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it well until its ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.”

The latter was actually used in the movie Casino Royale. Incidentally, the addition of vodka and Kina Lillet, a now reformulated quinine based aperitif, is a result of the author’s own loyalty to the drink, which he christened as Vesper, after the elusive Vesper Lynd.

[aki-draws-things]

Whumptober 2021

Prompt: "do you trust me?"

Fandom: 007

Ship: 00leiter - felix/Della(/James)

Extra: happy secret agents / CIA agent family being happy. And James getting shot, again.

The problem with trust was betrayal. Bond knew what betrayal felt, that back-stabbing feeling coming when he finally had his guard down, usually from a woman. Women were exceptionally good at betraying him. So yes, it was pretty legit to state that James Bond had some problems with trust.

There were exceptions, like in everything, but it took him a long time to get there, and he could count said exception on one hand.

Felix Leiter was very obviously one of them. Oh, well, perhaps trust wasn't the only thing going on between them, but--

"hey, you with me?"

Bond nodded, dazed. He thought of the wound as a graze, he mentioned that, and Felix proceeded to smack his arm and tell him to shut up. Graze his ass, the bullet was still inside of him and Della was going to be pissed when they got back. Anniversary ruined because James got shot. He didn't know what to answer after that.

"great. Look at me, James. Hey, eyes on me agent."

He blinked, his breath short and gasping, Leiter looked down at his side, blood seeping through the suit, he pressed harder on the wound.

"you're alright, James. You'll be alright."

"I'm starting to feel it."

No wonder, Leiter thought, he was bleeding out fast, losing color even faster and slipping into unconsciousness. That was bad. Felix could hardly carry him, and he tried, toppling on him and have them both fall in the middle of the living room. They laughed that time.

"I know, but you'll make it, you always do. James, James come on..." he slapped his cheek lightly until he blinked again. "you trust me, don't you?"

Bond nodded. Yes, of course he trusted Felix, who else could he trust to save his life? Who else could he trust with his life?

"great. Then you're gonna be alright, I'll make sure of it personally." Felix smiled, stretched and pained, his hands pressing on the wound.

James trusted him. Who he didn't trust was himself. His own body.

"Felix... I think I'm going to miss your anniversary with Della."

"nonsense. How are we supposed to celebrate without you, mh? James... James? James--!"

The last thing he knew, before complete unconsciousness took him, was Felix's fingers pressed over his neck.

"No... No no no. James." his voice muttering his name, hands shaking his shoulders. He slumped on Felix and everything faded way.

The room was bright and white. Hospital. In all honesty, Bond was surprised, he didn't really expect to survive.

He noticed the dirty blond mop of hair on the mattress next to his arm. Oh, there it was, then, the wah he survived. That was less surprising actually.

He smiled, a hand brushing the hair just enough to stir the man awake.

"heeeey..." Felix mumbled sleepily. He looked worse than James remembered, pale, dark circles under his eyes

"hey." he answered back. His wound didn't hurt, probably because of all the pain drugs in his body though. "knew you'd get me back. Good investment, this trust thing."

Felix chuckled, he pressed his face down on the mattress and chuckled, a hand grasping James'.

"Della doesn't like it much, though. She's pissed."

Oh, the anniversary. James closed his eyes and groaned.

"I'm sorry. You should've gone back to her and--"

"with you." Felix pointed out, he turned his head and looked up at James before sitting up. "she's pissed at you for getting shot. Again. And so am I, this time."

"I'm sor--"

"save it. Do you even know how long you've been out?"

James looked out of the window. Early morning by the light filtering through.

"12 hours, more or less?"

He tried before considering adding a couple more of hours, just in case. 16. no more. Félix made a pained sound, something James hated so, so much.

"you got the 12, I give you that, James."

Alright, not that bad, then.

"days. 12 days. You had lost so much blood we weren't sure you'd survive."

Out of everything smart and comforting James could think of saying, he didn't think. He looked at Felix, squeezed his hand lightly enough to get the attention back on him and smiled.

"it's alright. I'm alright. - he remembered Felix saying that to him. - I trusted you, and you got me home."

[sportsworlds-blog]

No Time to Die is now available on Disney+.

Keeping down to convey the film significantly — when groups are ready to return — could wind up being a splendid move for the studio, which is evidently exploring selling itself and its huge library, which joins everything from Bond to "The Handmaid's Tale." All of Craig's Bond segments have gotten in excess of $500 million. "Skyfall," conveyed in 2012, obtained $1.11 billion worldwide on a $200 million monetary arrangement.

Film Details and Credits

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | No time to die Release Date: October 8, 2021 | PG-13

Including: Ana de Armas, Ben Whishaw, Billy Magnussen, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Craig, David Dencik, Eliot Sumner, Jeffrey Wright, José Alfredo Fernandez, Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Rae Lim, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Rory Kinnear

Rundown: Bond has left unique help and is participating in a quiet life in Jamaica. His peacefulness is brief when his old partner Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up mentioning help. The mission to defend a stole analyst winds up being verifiably more deceptive than expected, driving Bond onto the way of a puzzling deadbeat outfitted with hazardous new… Expand

Boss: Cary Fukunaga

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 163 min

See All Details and Credits

[thealmightyemprex]

So I respect fan theories.....But the one that drives me crazy cause it sjhows a fundamental misunderstanding of the franchise is the Codename Theory ,which says James Bond is a codename  cause multiple actors played the  role ......This Theory fallls apart if you have actually seen the movies which I have ,aand I have seen way too many people accept this theory as FACT 

1. The theory is after each bond dies or retired a new Bond takes his place.....Cept Connery  returned to be Bond one last time for Diamonds Are Forever after Lazenby’s sole entry  On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (This will not be the only time On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 

2.SEVERAL characters are played by multiple actors ,and while M and Q ARE codenames it is silly to think Ernst Stavro Blofeld ,Bill Tanner ,Felix Leiter and Miss Moneypenny  are just aliases .Like everyone in Bonds life having a codename,even his arch enemy   is just to contrived 

3.Several actors play multiple roles :Walter Gotell played Spectre agent  Morzeny  in From Russia With Love  AND General Gogol in several movies from The Spy Who Loved Me to The Living Daylights,Joe Don Baker played villainous arms dealer Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylight and Bonds allie Jack Wade in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies ,Maude Adams played Francisco Scaramanga’s doomed lover Andrea Anders in The Man With a Golden Gun and then as the titular Bond Girl Octopussy  ,and then we have Charles Gray  who played Henderson an ally of Bonds murdered by Blofelds henchmen......AND HE WENT ON TO PLAY BLOFELD IN DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.Are these alll codenames  ??

4.But the biggest wrench in the codename theory is ONE character :Tracy Bond  .Spoilers for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,Tracy was James Bonds wife who was murdered by Blofeld and Irma Bunt .This single moment is refrenced MULTIPLE TIMES  across MULTIPLE BONDS.Tracy’s death happened in George Lazenby’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service  It is then  mentioned in Roger Moores  the Spy Who Loved Me where it is still a sore spot for Bond ,then more directly acknowledged at the beginning of For Your Eyes Only where Moores Bond VISITS TRACY’S GRAVE  before finally killing off Blofeld for real  and then it is mentioned again in Timothy Daltons Licence To Kill ,where Felix Leiter brings it up to his wife (Heck one could argue that Licence to Kill could be a spiritual sequel to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but thats an entirely diffrent conversation ).Heck On Her Majesty’s Secret Service also intorduces the Bond Family motto “The World is not enough” which is directly discussed in Pierce Bronsons The World is Not Enough(ITS EVEN THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE )

Welll I just  proved I am a massive dork .Anyway this has been my TED Talk