Everything or Nothing (Bond documentary)

[Kristatos]

Coning to an Odeon near you. Looks quite interesting, but I'm not sure I'd pay to see it.

[Mazer Rackham]

Everything or Nothing, boy oh boy, back then they meant it. Cubby didn't mind starving as long as whoever he was up against went hungry too.

[Blowfeld]

The name is Clinton…Bill Clinton.” When he was in the White House, US President Bill Clinton spent his spare time watching James Bond movies. The man from Little Rock thought that Pierce Brosnan was the “perfect” Bond for the transition from the Cold War to a new era in geo-politics.

28 September, 2012 | By Geoffrey Macnab

Director talks how he found out Bill Clinton was a Bond fan, and how Skyfall director Sam Mendes questioned Daniel Craig as 007.

“The name is Clinton…Bill Clinton.” When he was in the White House, US President Bill Clinton spent his spare time watching James Bond movies. The man from Little Rock thought that Pierce Brosnan was the “perfect” Bond for the transition from the Cold War to a new era in geo-politics. He also credited Bond creator Ian Fleming with having the foresight, long before 9/11, to realize that “non-state agencies could destabilize the world.”
[spoil]The revelations about Clinton’s passion for James Bond are contained in Everything Or Nothing, a new documentary from director Stevan Riley to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bond series. Clinton recorded a special interview for the documentary, which was produced by Passion Pictures and Red Box Films.

Clinton is one of many politicians known to be big Bond fans, among them US Presidents John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and current UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

“I found it fascinating realizing that these premiers and heads of state are Bond fans,” Riley commented. “Clinton in particular was a massive Bond fan, and unashamed. He told me he had watched all the films.”

Riley discovered Clinton’s enthusiasm for Bond from an old university friend, the actress (and former Bond villainess) Rosamund Pike. “She had a connection with Chelsea Clinton. I had heard a rumour he (Bill Clinton) was a Bond fan and then it was a case of verifying that. We found somebody who was part of his campaign team and they confirmed it.”

The documentary features contributions from past and present Bonds with the exception of Sir Sean Connery, who turned down repeated requests for interviews.

“I was very keen to get Sean. Let’s face it, Sean is everybody’s favourite Bond, including my own,” Riley commented. “I made several petitions…really urging him to participate, saying I am trying to do something very serious here, a legacy piece. Sean still declined. That’s clearly his prerogative.”

Riley describes his film as a “survival story.” As he chronicles, there were many, many instances during the last 50 years when the Bond series came close to being derailed.

The director paid tribute to Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson for allowing him to tell the unvarnished story of Bond. The documentary chronicles in detail the rupture in relations between Connery and the series’ original producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. It also tells the story of the epic legal battles between Thunderball producer Kevin McClory and Ian Fleming, and then those between McClory and Broccoli and Saltzman.

George Lazenby speaks very candidly about why he was sacked as Bond after only one film while Pierce Brosnan reveals how an abrupt telephone call ended his four film stint as Bond.

Other interviewees include Christopher Lee, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, Skyfall director Sam Mendes (who acknowledges he initially thought Daniel Craig was totally wrong for Bond), Maud Adams, Judy Geeson and John Pearson.

The film receives its premiere in New York in early October. It is shown at the Dinard Festival and will be given a theatrical release on October 5 by Odeon as part of Global James Bond day.

Riley (whose previous credits include Blue Blood and Fire In Babylon) is planning to make the leap into dramatic features. Meanwhile, he is also working on another feature doc with Passion Pictures, about leading Spanish bullfighter, Cayetano Ordonez.[/spoil]

[Kristatos]

Den of Geek gives a very positive review here.

[Dr. No]

It should be interesting Epix is getting this I think.

[Countach]

I thought this is for tv? I hope its not a promo for DC for this 50th anniversary!

[Kristatos]

I thought this is for tv? I hope its not a promo for DC for this 50th anniversary!

Whilst I've no doubt that Skyfall and the 50th anniversary helped get it made, it doesn't sound like a puff piece.

[Dr. No]

I thought this is for tv? I hope its not a promo for DC for this 50th anniversary!

Whilst I've no doubt that Skyfall and the 50th anniversary helped get it made, it doesn't sound like a puff piece.

Bet it's not hard hitting since they got permission.

[Napoleon Solo]

Another review:

https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/2012/1 ... r-nothing/

Good: Ian Fleming and Harry Saltzman get a lot of attention (which hasn't always been true during the 50th anniversary activities). Some candor (Lazenby, UA's David Picker, Brosnan talking about how he got fired over the phone).

Less good: There's a lot of attention paid to Connery's dissatisfaction with money. BUT it's never mentioned that Dean Martin got paid more for The Silencers (because Irving Allen had to make Martin a partner), which is Exhibit A in why Connery wasn't happy about money. Also, the candor runs thin toward the end (they show clips from Quantum but don't really mention it in any detail).

[Blowfeld]

How much money are we talking about here? They were offering Sean $1 million to stay for OHMSS, I was under the impression this kind of money was almost unprecedented at that time.

[Napoleon Solo]

How much money are we talking about here? They were offering Sean $1 million to stay for OHMSS, I was under the impression this kind of money was almost unprecedented at that time.

What I've read is Dean Martin got 10 percent off the top of the gross for The Silencers, which grossed $12 million or so. Thus, he got $1.2 million for that movie.

In the Everthing or Nothing documentary, David Picker, the former UA executive, says Broccoli and Saltzman renegotiated "their deal several times. They kept themselves happy. But they didn't keep him (Connery) happy."

Other reference sources say by '67, there were considerable strains in the Broccoli-Saltzman relationship. The last thing Broccoli wanted to do was bring in yet another partner (Connery).

[BrosnanIsBond007]

Just watched it and I found it rather enjoyable. They even show this website for a moment when talking about Craig's initial negative reception as Bond!



If you care to watch it, there is a certain site where you can, ahem, obtain it for free. *cough* *cough* pirate bay *cough*

[Daltonite Toothpaste]

It's been up on youtube as well, not sure if it still is.