|
|
|
 |
| |
MI6 caught up with Michael Di Leo, author of "The
Spy Who Thrilled Us", to discuss his choices
for the best and worst of the cinematic James Bond...
|
|
Michael Di Leo Interview
20th June 2005
The blurb on the back of the book describes you as "Bond's
ultimate fan". What makes you are the definitive James Bond
Fan?
Well, I'm certainly not arrogant enough to think that I am the
"definitive James Bond Fan." I don't know if anyone
holds that title. But I certainly am one of the definitive fans.
I have been watching these films religiously since I am four years
old (way back in 1971) and have followed every detail of the series'
development since that time.
How did you develop your grading system used to create
your lists?
Basically, once I had come up with a category, I would just
"run the video tape" of the entire series in my
brain and jot down all of the instances that a certain something
happened pertaining to that particular category. Then I
would look at that list and whittle it down to my top five.
What inspired you to write the book? How long did it
take to write?
Well I have always dabbled in writing and just got to a
point where I said "enough dabbling, just do something."
I had two choices -- a book on Bond, or a book on the New
York Yankees baseball team (my two passions). Eventually
I decided that the Bond book would be more fun and rewarding
to write.
The book took over two years to write -- not that it would
normally take that long, but I had a full time job, got
engaged, got married and everything that goes with that,
so the trouble was just finding the time to write. Due my
schedule there were times when I didn't write anything for
weeks at a time. But then I would get on a roll so to speak
and rattle off 30 pages in a couple of weeks. Also, at the
time of writing, I worked and lived right across the street
from the World Trade Center. When the towers collapsed,
the resulting debris destroyed my work and home computers
(and discs) where I had versions of the book on the hard
drive. Fortunately I had printed out a couple of hard-copies
that I was able to retrieve and it was about 5 months after
September 11th that I signed a deal with my publisher.
|
|
MI6
Price £10.49
MI6
Price $16.95 |
How did you research the book and the "did you know"
facts?
Simply from my memory and from popping in my DVDs to double check
facts. When you have seen the films as many times as I have, most
of the information is stored away in your brain (my wife thinks
I am nuts because I can instantly rattle off Bond facts and information)
and if there is something you are not sure about, you just pop
in a DVD and verify.
Will we be seeing an expanded edition of the book with "Casino
Royale" coming in 2006?
Probably not. I am busy working on another (non-Bond) book. If
I were to do an expanded edition in the future, I would probably
want to wait until a few more Bond films were released before
revisiting them.
You have composed several detailed lists, what made you choose
those subjects over others?
Honestly, I think I put in every subject that I could think of.
When I signed with my publisher I was asked to come up with as
many subjects as I liked, so I added a few more from the original
draft, but really I couldn't come up with more than that. Remember,
whatever subject I picked, it had to be something that occurred
at least 5 times in the series, otherwise I couldn't do a "top
five". But I did add in "Misc. Gems" to cover scenes
or occurrences that I loved but didn't "fit" into any
of the book's categories.
If given the chance to revisit the Bond canon, would you?
Yes. In the future I would love to do something else Bond related.
Actually, I would love to write a future Bond screenplay! (doesn't
every Bond fan?) but I am not sure if Barbara Broccoli and Michael
G. Wilson would ever read something from me.
Above: Author Michael Di Leo. |
|
What was the most challenging section of the book
to write? Which was the most rewarding when finished?
Reviewing and ranking the films from best-to-worst was most
difficult. I think picking my top five and bottom four were
easy -- it was ranking the middle 10 movies that was very
tough (because I felt they were all ranked pretty close
together). And then just writing the short reviews was another
challenge.
After years of watching these films to have write in a
few sentences why a film was good or bad was not an easy
chore. As far as the most rewarding, I think I enjoyed writing
some of the off-beat categories like "Why Don't They
Just Shoot Him" and "Helicopter Explosions."
|
| 00-Seven Questions
How were you involved in the Bond series?
I'm not involved in an official capacity, but I wrote the
book "The Spy Who Thrilled Us".
What was your first ever Bond experience?
Seeing "Diamonds are Forever" in 1971 at the age
of 4. My parents fortunately were big Bond fans and had
no problem taking a 4 year-old to see a Bond film. And that
was all it took for me. I have been hooked since. Thanks
Mom and Dad.
What did you think of the last film, "Die Another
Day"?
I liked it. I like all styles of Bond films and I enjoyed
some of the "over the top" aspects of DAD. It
had been awhile since we had seen a YOLT or TSWLM type film
and I enjoyed that. I did think however that the last third
of the film could have been better.
What is your favourite Bond film?
Goldfinger
Who is your favourite Bond?
Sean Connery
Which Bond girl should come back?
I always wondered what came of Agent XXX. With the Cold
War over, perhaps she and Bond could join forces again?
What is your favourite Bond moment from the series?
The pre-title sequence from "Goldfinger." Its
as near to perfection as anything can get.
|
Many thanks to Michael Di Leo.
|
|
|
|
|
MI6 Homepage 
