Latest news with #IanFleming
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the secret tunnels under London where 'Ian Fleming dreamed up James Bond in WWII'
In central London, just off the bustle of High Holborn, there is a nondescript blue door. Commuters who walk past it on their way to Chancery Lane station will note the bright red and yellow signs adorned to it. The warning that 'trespassers will be prosecuted' is perhaps the giveaway that this is not your typical storeroom or building entrance. Instead, as MailOnline's exclusive pictures and video reveal, it is the gateway to a network of tunnels with a fascinating history. James Bond author Ian Fleming is believed to have worked in the sprawling complex in his role in naval intelligence during the Second World War. This labyrinth is thought to have inspired Fleming in his creation of the lair of gadget chief Q for his novels. After the war, the network - which lies around 100feet below the ground - was expanded to house a telephone exchange that routed calls between the Kremlin and the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The complex was later sold to British Telecom (BT) and had a licensed bar installed for workers to relax in. Around 30 years after the site was mothballed, MailOnline was given a tour by current owners The London Tunnels Company, who are in the process of raising around £150million to re-develop the site as a tourist attraction. The development will include the re-opening of the bar, as well as a memorial to the victims of the Blitz and various displays paying homage to Fleming and the world's most famous fictional spy. James Loxton, director of investor relations at the London Tunnels, told MailOnline: 'We are going to create an attraction that is three things in one. 'Firstly, it is a huge immersive experience. Secondly, it will be a selection of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces. 'And thirdly, it will have the world's deepest bar under a capital city.' Planning permission for the project has been granted by Camden Council. The complex - officially known as the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels - was built between 1940 and 1942 and initially intended to be a deep level shelter for Londoners seeking refuge from Nazi bombs. But by the time the network was completed, the threat from bombing raids had largely subsided as Hitler gave up his ambition of forcing Britain to surrender. The initial footprint was two 1,250ft-long tunnels that were just over 18feet in diameter. Had they been used as a shelter, the Kingsway tunnels could have housed around 8,000 people. Instead, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) - created on the orders of Winston Churchill to 'set Europe ablaze' - moved personnel in. Fleming - who closely collaborated with the SOE and other clandestine units - was among the staff who worked down there, according to Mr Loxton. He said: 'He was working in these tunnels from 1944 to 1945 and this is where he came up with the idea of James Bond. 'So you know you see Q in all the Bond movies? He's always working in an underground lair? Well, this is where he got the inspiration.' Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953. The author is known to drawn significantly on his wartime experiences when writing his books, which were first adapted for the big screen in 1962 film Dr No. After the war, the Kingsway tunnels were used until 1949 by the Public Records Office to store documents on around 15 miles worth of shelving. The complex was then handed over to what was then the state-owned General Post Office, which turned it into a telecommunications hub. The expansion was carried out from 1952 and completed in 1954. Four additional tunnels were built in a north-south direction. Much bigger than the originals, they are around 280 feet long and 24 feet wide. The update means there is space makes to accommodate what is hoped will be nearly 50,000 visitors a week in the complex's new guise as a tourist attraction. As well as the bar area, which is still fitted with tables and chairs from when it was last operational, there is an infirmary and a well that could have provided fresh water had it been needed in the event of a nuclear attack. And occupants were protected by thick metal blast doors, including one that was - according to the stamp on it - repurposed from the Royal Mint. The first transatlantic telephone cable, known as TAT-1, ran between Oban in Argyll and Bute and Clarenville in Newfoundland. The sale to BT went through in 1981. As well as the bar, a canteen, kitchen and games room were installed for workers. The site had largely been mothballed by the early 1990s but was used as part of the Government's top secret Pindar bunker facility until the middle of the decade. In the years since they have been out of use, the tunnels have been broken into by urban explorers, a fact evidenced by graffiti that has been sprayed on walls. BT put the tunnels up for sale in 2007 and they were finally bought by the hedge fund-backed London Tunnels Company for around £10million in 2023. The re-development plans were approved by Camden Council last year.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘007 First Light' Ditches Franchise Lore for a Whole New James Bond
There's a great moment in 2012's Skyfall where Daniel Craig's superspy, James Bond, is being (very sensually) interrogated by agent-turned-villain Silva (Javier Bardem). Asked what his hobby is, Bond sternly replies, 'Resurrection.' It's a dry, self-aware bit of dialogue that encapsulates the core strength of the Bond franchise that's kept the spy series going for over 70 years: James Bond always comes back, in one form or another. Whether it's being dragged out of retirement or bouncing back from a bout of amnesia in author Ian Fleming's original serial novels, or the generational reboots that allowed Bond to be acceptably recast over 25 feature films, there's always a way for 007 to start anew. In gaming, the same has been true, with multiple versions of Bond appearing across different eras and genres of titles, totaling over two dozen entries. More from Rolling Stone Woodkid Says Hideo Kojima Changed 'Death Stranding 2' Because It Wasn't 'Polarizing' 10 Years of 'Critical Role': 'We Are Never Going Away' With the Release of the Switch 2, the Original Nintendo Switch Is Marked Down Online And just like the films, Bond games have had their peaks and valleys. At their best (like 1997's Goldeneye), Bond games can perfectly embody spy fantasy action; at their worst (like 2008's 007: Quantum of Solace), they end up as run-of-the-mill copycats of other popular games wearing a 007 mask. And while most developers have opted to lean into the star power of the on-screen actors to recreate their Bond or mostly hide behind a first-person perspective to dodge the issue entirely, few studios have taken the leap to fully make their own version of the iconic agent. That's what gives IO Interactive's upcoming 007 First Light (due out in 2026) such alluring potential. Initially announced back in 2020 under the working title Project 007, First Light was fully revealed this year with a trailer during Sony's State of Play on June 4. Developed by Danish studio IO Interactive — famous for the Hitman series — it's a third person, narratively driven action game that doesn't just go back to the origins of Bond but fully creates its own version of the character and his mythos, unbound to any existing written or cinematic canon. Following a younger Bond who has yet to obtain his 00 status, First Light treads new ground for the franchise, going even farther back than the opening scene of 2006's Casino Royale where Craig's iteration earned his call sign. With a new M, Q, and entirely original supporting cast, the Hitman devs are taking a bold swing, introducing the world to the first fresh take on Bond in gaming since 2012's 007 Legends — and well before Amazon's own cinematic reboot emerges. Rolling Stone recently spoke with IO Interactive's CEO, Hakan Abrak, to understand how the studio is working to create their own vision of Bond, how it compares to their previous work on the stealth series Hitman, and why it can't all just be 'bang bang, vroom.' Those who know the work of IO Interactive are well aware of their reputation the premiere developers in stealth gameplay. The Hitman series, which began 25 years ago with Hitman: Codename 47 and continues presently with the standalone trilogy-turned-live service platform Himan: World of Assassination, is essentially the ultimate sneaking simulator. Taking on the role of the shadowy, silent assassin Agent 47, players are tasked with killing specific targets using everything from elaborate disguises to manipulating their environment like a Rube Golberg machine to create cascading emergent incidents that execute their victims in true Final Destination fashion. But while the Hitman games have closed ecosystems for each level where players are essentially solving a socially-driven murder puzzle, the world of Bond demands something very different — more theatrical and over-the-top in terms of its action and emotions. To do so, the team at IO needed to set some important ground rules and methods to follow. 'When we were thinking about how to approach this, we tried to create some pillars to be our North Star,' Abrak says. 'One of the pillars was high-octane action — you know, cinematic experience, kinetic combat, exotic vehicles.' 'There are certain things that are very strong [points] for the Hitman experience: the simulator, the open world, the freedom, right? But not vehicles, and not necessarily action,' Abrak explains. 'So, one of the pillars was [that] we really need to push more freeform, dynamic hand-to-hand combat. Seamless, going into ranged combat, aware of your environments. Everything is a weapon and opportunity. Creativity and dynamism [are] a part of this. Obviously, upping our capabilities with the cinematics and [what] we call the spectacle moments, because there's larger than life action pieces in Bond — to be able to depict that sweaty palm experience as well.' For Abrak, the second pillar was a more familiar one: globetrotting. Agent 47 may have done dirty work, but each level of a Hitman game affords a look inside a high-stakes and luxurious world. Whether it's walking the runway in a Parisian fashion show or slipping through the crowd at an F1 race in Miami, the titular Hitman is always blending into high society, but rarely ever engaging with it. But Bond? He's always going to be the center of attention, for better or worse. 'It's [coming] to the exotic places, these extreme VIP places where mere mortals like you and me maybe don't get to [go] every day and have gameplay there,' he says. 'I think this is what we do differently from many other studios. It's not only about the bang bang and the vroom, but it's also about having gameplay in social spaces and trespassing spaces where you can use your gadgets in a different way, and you can use your charm, use your wits in solving these puzzles — or solving people, really.' Delineating Bond, and differentiating him from their previous protagonist, is important. The team's final pillar of design was understanding how to approach the 'daunting' task of creating their own version of a character known around the world. 'I don't think there's a formula for it,' Abrak says. 'I don't think the movie people had a formula for it, right? It's feeling in your guts and your heart on what is the story you want to tell, [and] who is he?' When it comes to Bond, everyone has their favorite version. For some, it's Sean Connery's roguish and smarmy charmer; for others, it's Roger Moore's campy huckster. Like many who prefer a more grounded take, Abrak is partial to Daniel Craig's more recent era ('I personally think [it] was extremely strong'). But while the character itself can be malleable, there's many preconceptions on the core elements that define him. Regardless of the interpretation, he's a man of contradictions: charming but ruthless, practical yet reckless. As seen in Craig's movies, some of the polish comes with age, but the core tenets remain — and will be present in 007 First Light. 'This Bond is not a super polished diamond. He's not well-versed with his [tuxedos]; definitely not well-versed with the martinis yet,' Abrak says. 'He's a rough diamond. And it's this young man with his inner ethos. It's a young man that sometimes is maybe reckless, and it's a young man that maybe doesn't know yet when to push too much or when to stand back a bit. So, he's learning these things the hard way being introduced to the shady, dark world of espionage.' And when Abrak refers to Bond as a 'young man,' he isn't exaggerating. While Fleming's early works place Bond at being somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties, First Light's version is 26, but looks downright baby-faced. Although, as many diehard readers will notice, he also adorns the large facial scar Bond has in the novels that was mostly omitted from his MGM movie outings. Yet despite his age, the developers don't want their Bond to feel juvenile or amateur. If they're going to do justice to the character — as well as live up to power fantasy previously provided by Hitman — this 007 needs to have impact. 'I think it's a huge challenge to [be] courageous, to take on this challenge is it's not our own IP,' Abrak says. 'This is the first IP we're working on that's not our own. So, I think for us, it needed to be with a nerve. It needed to be, not doing Robin, but doing Batman.' But whether it's Bond or Batman, part of the origin story has to deal with learning the ropes, which is going to lead to missteps — especially in the harsh world of global espionage. 'There's always a twist. There's a lot of twists and surprising elements in a Bond story,' Abrak notes. 'And I think this young man having to find himself, having to find something that he can believe in, that he can be part of something that makes sense to him — it's all a part of his journey.' 'The other thing is, who can you trust? [Who] can't you trust?,' he continues. 'I think calling him naïve is completely wrong. He's not naïve, He's super smart and has his wits with him. But it is a very complex world out there. It is a very geopolitical, difficult world out there.' That world looks to be populated by a cast of both new and old characters. The first trailer for the game begins with a conversation between M, Bond's classic superior and occasional foil, and Greenway, an original character described by IO Interactive' website as a mentor figure (although no voice actors for the roles have been announced). Shortly after, there's a look at Q, Moneypenny, and more fan favorites, but one specific name is particularly exciting: 009. In the pantheon of Bond villains, turncoats from MI6 have often served as some of the best baddies. From Sean Bean's 006, Alec Trevelyan, in Goldeneye (1995) to Javier Bardem's Silva in Skyfall, former agents have a history of turning up as formidable (and deliciously played) mirror images of Bond. The trailer's narration seems to imply that, this time around, an unseen agent with the callsign 009 will play an antagonistic role, referring to them (with nongendered language!) as 'a master manipulator.' The voiceover concludes, 'Whatever the endgame is, we won't see it coming.' Although Abrak won't divulge about the nature of 009 or the game's villains ('I want to tell you so much, but I can't!'), there's plenty to glean from what he does say. In a similar way to how Craig's era as Bond dealt with the debate about the need for human field agents in a modern period of digital surveillance, First Light looks to be exploring the value of having agents the government can trust. 'I think that's interesting in itself, betrayal in the world of spies is a thing. [Also] in the real world that we hear about, double agents and all that. Without going too much into the story and revealing anything, I think 009 is a very important part of the story,' Abrak says. 'The interesting part here is that the 00 [Double O] program has been laying dormant for quite a while, and the M we meet is actually believing in the human church and believing in resurrecting the 00 program.' 'It's very exciting,' he adds. 'Why was it dormant? Why was it being restricted? What was 009's role in that?' Regardless of which Bond is your favorite, the fact that the argument persists is telling. While the books and movies always offered a feeling of escapism in exotic locations, what truly resonates with fans is the character of James Bond. There's a certain charm and heroism, sure, but the character himself is very human and vulnerable — all those traits combined have left audiences attached to who he is (sometimes literally, in terms of casting). For Abrak, that connection runs deep. The developer, who's of Turkish descent, has felt that attachment to the franchise since his childhood. 'I was born in Denmark, [but] my father came here in [1969], and there's not a lot of international movies and things that my father would watch,' he says. 'He would watch those old Turkish TV soap operas and stuff like that. But Bond was one of those things that captured so many people, and also captured my father's attention. It's one of the few things that's not Turkish [that] he would watch, and I'd watch those things growing up together with him. Some special memories there.' That personal tie is something that the creators of First Light want to instill in their players when they experience the game. While their previous experience with Hitman was more about crafting localized pockets of storytelling centering on individual missions and marks, telling a Bond story requires greater cohesion and scope. 'There is an overarching story in Hitman, but the locations themselves almost have a whole game or substory to [them] as well. So, we have this overarching [story], but really, it's the locations themselves where things are evolving and the stories are going on,' Abrak says. 'Whereas, with Bond, it's a journey. It's an evolution of a young man, and the things that happen along the way not only should be impactful, but they should have lingering effect that connect to things later in the story.' Part of that connection stems from Bond himself, who is a much more animated character than Agent 47, who's conversely a mostly emotionless fixture that's juxtaposed (to comedic effect) with the outlandish luxury and violence around him. For Bond, there needs to be more deeply explored. 'One thing that was so exciting — because Hitman doesn't speak to you, to the player — [was] that you could convey a lot of [Bond's] personality through the things he says,' Abrak explains. '[It] kind of channels that through the controller to you; that you get to feel him; that you get to understand him; that you get to laugh with him and [hopefully] get sad with him and feeling lost throughout this journey.' 007 First Light launches in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
James Bond villains were based on REAL Nazis Ian Fleming encountered in WWII, German fan group claims
Ian Fleming's experiences in the Second World War are long known to have inspired his James Bond novels. The author's role in naval intelligence saw him help plan key operations and create an elite unit of commandos tasked with seizing enemy documents. But now, a group of German fans of the Bond franchise have argued that Fleming based Moonraker villain Hugo Drax on a real military industrialist he encountered in Nazi Germany. The group, whose name translates as the 'Bond Club', say that Fleming obtained top secret papers which he used to craft fictional versions of men he came across. In the Moonraker novel Drax poses as a British army veteran working on a rocket project for Britain, before he is unmasked as Graf Hugo von der Drache - a Nazi seeking revenge for his country's defeat. The villain is depicted as having worked for Rheinmetall-Borsig, a real Dusseldorf-based firm which manufactured artillery and ammunition for the German war effort. The Bond Club believes Fleming saw filed seized from Rheinmetall and other firms, such as Krupp. Tobias Schwesig, the club's chairman, said: 'In the films you have these characters - they look like normal Englishmen or industrialists, and then it turns out they're bad guys, Nazis, who want to destroy England or America.' Ian Fleming's role in naval intelligence saw him help plan key operations and create an elite unit of commandos tasked with seizing enemy documents 'He often had a real, probably a real person back in mind, I think.' On Drax, he added to The Times: 'The villains in Bond feel so real because Fleming knew exactly how Nazi companies operated. 'This is particularly clear in the character of Hugo Drax in Moonraker.' The Bond Club's members also believe that the town in which they are based, Wattenscheid in western Germany, was the fictional Bond's birthplace. Fleming himself was always vague on the subject. While working in his clandestine role, Fleming founded what was known as 30 Assault unit (30AU). In early 1945, as Allied forces were fighting their way through Germany, the group were ordered to seize enemy documents and gathering any more information that might prove useful. Fleming also worked in another unit, T-Force, which captured German scientific and technical know-how and brought it to the Allies. They also brought Nazi rocket scientists to Britain before they were captured by the advancing Russians. The special unit was lightly armed, highly mobile and, following the D-Day landings, tasked with seizing anything of military value. The Bond Club also claim that one of the key henchman in Moonraker - Dr Walter - was based on the real scientist Dr Hellmuth Walter, who ran the Walterwerke factory in Kiel, Northern Germany, which was secured by T-Force in 1945. It was responsible for the design of the engines used in V1 and V2 rockets. The link was previously highlighted by military historian Sean Longden, who revealed many other resemblances between Fleming's work and the plot of Moonraker. He also highlighted how, in the book, 50 German scientists – described as 'more or less all the guided-missile experts the Russians didn't get' – are working on the Moonraker project. T-Force had extracted Nazi rocket scientists from the Soviet zone and Dr Walter assisted in this. The 1979 film, starring Roger Moore as 007 and Michael Lonsdale as Drax, bears little resemblance to Fleming's book. The Walter character does not feature at all.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
James Bond children's book author M. W. Craven on 'daunting' 007 responsibility
An author has described writing a James Bond series for young readers as a "daunting responsibility".Award-winning crime writer Mike Craven was approached by Ian Fleming Publications to pen a new adventure where the fictional spy trains 12 to 13-year-olds to be 00 an army veteran from Carlisle, said he had already been piled on by Bond "purists" telling him to stay true to the lore in James Bond and the Secret Agent Academy, which is expected to be published next summer."The legacy of this character is just astonishing," he said. "It's one that you can't mess with - he's part of our national identity." James Bond was created by Ian Fleming in the 1950s and led to a film franchise that made 007 instantly recognisable across the was told he had free licence with the story, but he could not contradict previous works."So any character who Ian Fleming killed off, like say Goldfinger or Blofeld, you can't resurrect," he told BBC Radio Cumbria. 'Less swearing' The writer said he was warned he could become a "target for all the Bond fanatics out there" but it had been "a lot of fun".He said one of the reasons he took on a children's book series was to help "move the dial" on literacy in young people."I think only one in three children now read for pleasure, which is pretty sad because when I was growing up that was my main form of entertainment," he asked how he was changing his writing to suit a younger age group, he said he was putting less swearing in.M.W. Craven's James Bond and the Secret Agent Academy will be published next June. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Miami Herald
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Can It Be A Blower Bentley Without A Blower?
The 4½-Liter Blower Bentley is, perhaps, the most iconic Bentley ever built. It's a car created by W.O. Bentley himself in response to the increasing power of race cars. A mere 54 were built from 1929 through 1931, with four fitted as race cars. Despite having never won an international race, they've become the stuff of legend and a favorite of many, including author Ian Fleming. Street-legal versions of the supercharged car produced 175 horsepower, while track models generated a considerable 240 horsepower. In recent years, Bentley has revisited its famous model, including in 2019, when the company commenced a continuation series of 12 Blower Bentleys, based on the 1929 Bentley 4½-Liter Number Two Team Car, shown below. Late last month, Bentley Motors announced that it is working with Hedley Studios in Oxfordshire, England, to produce the Bentley Blower Jnr, a street-legal 85% scale recreation of the 1929 Bentley Blower. Measuring 146 inches long and 59 inches wide, it features tandem seating for two and is built by hand, much like the original. "With only 349 examples of the Bentley Blower Jnr to be built, we're very excited to embark on this production process and see these pieces of handcrafted art out on the roads," said Ben Hedley, CEO and Founder of Hedley Studios, where the car is built. Calling it a Bentley Blower is a bit misleading, since the Bentley Blower Jnr lacks a blower, aka a supercharger. Instead, the Bentley Blower Jnr uses a fully-electric 48-volt powertrain with a 15-kWh (20 bhp) electric motor that has an estimated range of 65 miles and a top speed of 72 kph. That's 45 mph to us Yanks. It employs a steel frame, rather the original's ash frame. The rear body structure is made of carbon fiber covered in impregnated fabric, like the original. The hood is aluminum and finished with leather straps and a nickel-plated radiator. Underneath, it's fitted with a leaf-spring suspension, friction dampers and, in a nod to modern-day safety, front disc/rear drum Brembo brakes. Inside, an engine-turned aluminium instrument panel looks much like the original, although with the addition of a drive mode selector featuring a choice of Comfort, Bentley or Sport. A Forward, Neutral and Reverse switch takes the place of the original's fuel pressurization hand pump, while a battery charge gauge replaces the original ammeter. With a starting price of $115,000, the Bentley Blower Jnr represents a reimagining of an automotive icon for the modern age. Its small size and relatively low range and top speed ensures that it remains a novelty at best, without the visceral thrills and driving challenge characteristic of a true 4½-Liter Blower Bentley. Accepting it for what it is means you'll enjoy what few other vehicles that can provide: a modern-day link to the past. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
