Spring Break
A look at Agent 007: Past and present
Sarah Ruholl / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: The Verge
An international man of mystery, James Bond has it all: Beautiful women, fast cars, high-tech gadgets and the coolest job on the planet. Women want him; men want to be him.
Bond, James Bond, originated in a 1953 novel by British author and journalist Ian Fleming. "Casino Royale" was the first of fourteen books about the agent with a license to kill written by Fleming before his death in 1964. His last, a short story collection called "Octopussy and the Living Daylights," was released posthumously in 1966.
Fleming did live to see the release of the first two films in the EON Productions franchise, 1962's "Dr. No" and 1963's "From Russia with Love." EON's 22 films are considered the official series, but there have been a handful of others and a television special, as well as countless spoofs - notably the "Austin Powers" series.
Bond, or Agent 007, has always been British and handsome. Throughout the series the character has been portrayed by six different actors. Sean Connery was the original Bond, appearing in five EON films in the 1960s and one in the 1970s as well as the unofficial "Never Say Never Again" in 1983.
Roger Moore is another iconic Bond. He starred in seven 007 films throughout the 1970s and 80s, including "Live and Let Die" and "Moonraker."
Pierce Brosnan took on the role for four films before Daniel Craig first appeared in 2006's "Casino Royale."
Craig stars in "Quantum of Solace" which is being released in U.S. theaters on November 14.
Its UK release on Oct. 31 broke box office records for a Friday release, garnering £4.9 million its first night, easily passing the £4 million mark set by "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
The film's title comes from a short story in "For Your Eyes Only," but the plots are not connected. Instead, "Quantum of Solace" deals with the very modern issues of violence over oil and environmental concerns.
Central to all Bond films, as well as books and video games, is the Bond girl. They might be allies, enemy agents, villainesses, victims rescued by Bond or not even be directly related to the plot. One thing they all share, though, is unabashed sex appeal. Many of the girls' names are even overtly sexual. Both "Pussy Galore" and "Holly Goodhead" have provided distractions from the life of a secret agent for Bond.
From Jane Seymour to Halle Berry, Bond has never suffered from a lack of beautiful women. Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko plays Camille Rivera, the love interest in "Quantum of Solace."
She and Bond clash in the beginning before uniting to hunt down Dominic Greene, a man involved in the murder of her family and a con to obtain oil rich desert land.
Greene bribes CIA agents with the promise of oil in exchange for U.S. neutrality in a coup d'etat in Bolivia.
Bond fans can rest assured he will save the day, and then celebrate with a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.
Bond, James Bond, originated in a 1953 novel by British author and journalist Ian Fleming. "Casino Royale" was the first of fourteen books about the agent with a license to kill written by Fleming before his death in 1964. His last, a short story collection called "Octopussy and the Living Daylights," was released posthumously in 1966.
Fleming did live to see the release of the first two films in the EON Productions franchise, 1962's "Dr. No" and 1963's "From Russia with Love." EON's 22 films are considered the official series, but there have been a handful of others and a television special, as well as countless spoofs - notably the "Austin Powers" series.
Bond, or Agent 007, has always been British and handsome. Throughout the series the character has been portrayed by six different actors. Sean Connery was the original Bond, appearing in five EON films in the 1960s and one in the 1970s as well as the unofficial "Never Say Never Again" in 1983.
Roger Moore is another iconic Bond. He starred in seven 007 films throughout the 1970s and 80s, including "Live and Let Die" and "Moonraker."
Pierce Brosnan took on the role for four films before Daniel Craig first appeared in 2006's "Casino Royale."
Craig stars in "Quantum of Solace" which is being released in U.S. theaters on November 14.
Its UK release on Oct. 31 broke box office records for a Friday release, garnering £4.9 million its first night, easily passing the £4 million mark set by "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
The film's title comes from a short story in "For Your Eyes Only," but the plots are not connected. Instead, "Quantum of Solace" deals with the very modern issues of violence over oil and environmental concerns.
Central to all Bond films, as well as books and video games, is the Bond girl. They might be allies, enemy agents, villainesses, victims rescued by Bond or not even be directly related to the plot. One thing they all share, though, is unabashed sex appeal. Many of the girls' names are even overtly sexual. Both "Pussy Galore" and "Holly Goodhead" have provided distractions from the life of a secret agent for Bond.
From Jane Seymour to Halle Berry, Bond has never suffered from a lack of beautiful women. Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko plays Camille Rivera, the love interest in "Quantum of Solace."
She and Bond clash in the beginning before uniting to hunt down Dominic Greene, a man involved in the murder of her family and a con to obtain oil rich desert land.
Greene bribes CIA agents with the promise of oil in exchange for U.S. neutrality in a coup d'etat in Bolivia.
Bond fans can rest assured he will save the day, and then celebrate with a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.
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