Bond v Bourne

[The Sweeney]

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/249 ... -the-spies

Ah, Mr Bond. A new book? We’ve been expecting one. Yes, since Ian Fleming, the creator of 007, died in 1964 there have been no fewer than 24 novels continuing the exploits of the shaken-not-stirred British spy and now American author Jeffery Deaver has penned the 25th

Carte Blanche, released this week, is said by the Fleming family to have brought Bond“scorching into the 21st century”. However the brand-new Bond has competition in the spy-books-with-an-ultra-famous-cinema-icon-hero stakes. Released on the very same day is the new Jason Bourne book, the Bourne Dominion, written by Eric Van Lustbader and furthering the trials of amnesiac assassin Bourne, who was heralded as James Bond’s successor from his first outing. They even have the same ­initials. By all accounts, however, Bond is not going quietly. So how do the two measure up?

THE HERO
Bond: Super-suave secret agent with a licence to kill and to lure the ladies into bed. Even the MI6 secretary becomes all-a-quiver when Bond utters the phrase “Ah, Miss Money­penny”. Able to pull off missions while gambling and downing martinis. Viewed by some as a Sixties cliché, his sexist demeanour has mellowed but the gadgets, if not his affections, have remained true.

Bourne: Soldier-turned-CIA ­operative who has been betrayed by his bosses, can’t remember his identity and who now wants only two things:– the truth and to survive. Matt Damon thinks Bourne’s gritty realism is a world away from 007: “Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her. He doesn’t have the ­support of gadgets and feels guilty about what he’s done.”

THE CREATORS
Bond: Eton-educated author Ian Fleming was a naval intelligence officer during the Second World War (code name 17F, slightly less catchy than 007) and was reportedly a jet-setting womaniser who could seduce girls in four languages. He was noted for his “Fleming flair” and liked his martinis shaken and not stirred. Sound familiar? Certainly Fleming had real-life experience to draw from but he would joke that Bond was braver and more handsome than him. His first Bond novel Casino Royale was published in 1953 and 11 more full-length 007 books followed as well as nine short stories, which he tended to write at Goldeneye, his Jamaican retreat. He also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.


Bourne: Writer Robert Ludlum was a former US marine, actor and theatre producer before he transformed himself into a phenomenally successful thriller writer. Responsible for the first three Bourne books – The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum – he is also author of The Holcroft Covenant and The Prometheus Deception. Ten years after his death in 2001, reportedly from a heart attack, his nephew and biographer Kenneth Kearns hired private investigators to look into the circumstances of his death which Kearns believes are suspicious.


THE NEW AUTHORS
Bond: While the likes of Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks have all furthered Bond’s adventures, Jeffery Deaver is the first non-Brit sanctioned by the Fleming estate to continue the series.

The author of 26 novels, including The Bone Collector which was turned into a Hollywood film with Angelina Jolie, Deaver has sold more than ­ 20 million books worldwide. His 21st- century Bond is reinvented as an Afghanistan veteran in a post-9/11 world where “the other side doesn’t play by the rules any more”. Ian ­Fleming’s niece Lucy has promised Deaver’s book delivers “the most ­horrible Bond villain and a fantastic plot”. The first copies of the new novel were delivered to publisher Hodder & Stoughton by a team of abseiling Royal Marine Commandos.

Bourne: Bestselling thriller and fantasy writer Eric Van Lustbader took up the reins after Ludlum’s death and The Bourne Dominion is his sixth Bourne book. In it “Bourne finds himself in a world where friend and foe go hand in hand. Bourne’s journey will lead him down a path of brutal ­murder and destruction from which there is no escape.” Sounds about right.


THE VILLAINS
Bond: Surely 007 wins the prize for most flamboyant, most megalomaniacal villains hell bent on world domination enacted from some super-secret hideaway? No quirk or physical deformity is too far-fetched. Witness Blofeld’s facial scar and penchant for stroking Persian cats while swivelling in a chair. Then there’s Scaramanga, the man with the golden gun and a third nipple and Jaws, a 7ft ­2in giant with a mouth full of steel.

Bourne: He frequently thinks the ­villain might be him. “I can see their faces – everyone I ever killed. I just don’t know their names,” he cries as his conscience gnaws away at him. Really, though, the villains of the piece are his would-be puppet masters, those CIA bosses back at US HQ who have turned him into a ­killing machine and now he’s gone AWOL are intent on hunting him down. Most of them have a hidden past and just want to destroy Bourne or continue to use him.


THE GIRLS
Bond: Known as much for their suggestive names as their sultry beauty Bond girls are generally male fantasies who either succumb to Bond’s charms with an “oooh James” or put up a feisty fight and then succumb. More ­modern Bond girls tend to fall into the latter camp. A stream of beautiful women have taken on the role from Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore in ­Goldfinger) to Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder in Dr No) and Eva Green (Vesper Lynd in Casino ­Royale) while perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek is Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, a femme fatale who crushes the life out of her victims with her thighs as part of her seduction process.

Bourne: Bourne girls don’t really exist, although Jason does hook up with the bohemian Marie (Franka Potente) in the Bourne Identity, only for her to take a bullet meant for Bourne in the opening credits for The Bourne Supremacy. Shame.


THE ACTORS
Bond: The Bond biggies are Sir Sean Connery (seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983), Sir Roger Moore (seven between 1973 to 1985), Pierce Brosnan (four between 1995 and 2002) and Daniel Craig (two so far). Craig is credited with creating the most muscular and modern 007. George Lazenby took the role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Timothy Dalton ­followed suit in The Living ­Daylights and Licence To Kill.

Bourne: Synonymous with Matt Damon who starred in the ultra-successful Bourne trilogy. Richard Chamberlain (of Thorn Birds fame) played him on TV in the Eighties.


THE BEST LINES
Bond: Where do we start? Probably with, “The name’s Bond – James Bond” but there’s also the ­celebrated exchange with Gold­finger: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.” For Bond polishing off a psychopathic villain wouldn’t be the same without delivering a witty one-liner which can equally be used to distract your nemesis from pointing a laser beam at your nether regions (see Connery in Goldfinger).

Bourne: Not one for jolly repartee Bourne is the strong, silent type but is surprisingly fluent in a number of languages. He’s generally too busy jumping off buildings to indulge in conversation, droll or otherwise.


THE GADGETS
Bond: For 007 the car is often the star – and he has been helped out over the years by a variety of underwater and invisible vehicles. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale had his ­vehicle equipped with a defibrillator, particularly helpful for those occasions when your heart ­suddenly stops. Then there’s the exploding Parker pen (GoldenEye) and the jet pack (Thunderball). Villain gadgets include Oddjob’s flying razor-­rimmed bowler hat.

Bourne: Relies on nothing but his own mettle.


HOW LUCRATIVE?
Bond: Over 100 million book sales. Gross takings for the film franchise are approximately £7billion
Bourne: Over 80 million book sales while the films’ gross takings amount to around £600million.

[Dr. No]

Hey Sweeney great to see you around!

Does it matter if the writer is an American? I mean the movies were made by Americans. Not saying bod should be an American, as long as he remains British the people behind the scenes if the do a good job if they are Americans it shouldn't matter.