Awesome

That moment when Joanna Lumley photobombs William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks... @vintagebooks #BondSolo pic.twitter.com/sI5PxbphcK
— Four Colman Getty (@FourColmanGetty) September 27, 2013

Next Bond film is NOT based on DEVIL MAY CARE

Over the weekend The Sun ran an article by Showbiz Editor Gordon Smart claiming that the next James Bond film, Bond 24, will be based on Sebastian Faulks' 2008 continuation novel, Devil May Care.

"Bizarre can reveal the follow-up to Skyfall will be Devil May Care. Brit SEBASTIAN FAULKS penned the novel of the same name in 2008 to mark the 100th anniversary of Bond creator Fleming’s birth. The book is set in 1967 and was a sequel to The Man With The Golden Gun — which was ROGER MOORE’s second outing for MI6. The story sees Bond battling an evil chemist called Dr Julius Gorner, who plots to bring Britain to its knees."

While it isn't IFP's policy to respond to rumors, I can confirm for you that this "scoop" by The Sun is complete and utter rubbish. Bond 24 is NOT based on Devil May Care.

The good news is Sam Mendes will return to direct the next 007 adventure from a script by John Logan. That's the creative team responsible for last year's amazing Skyfall. Daniel Craig will, of course, return as James Bond.

Bond 24 will be released on October 23, 2015 in the UK and November 6th, 2015 in the U.S.

UPDATE: Happy to see my little post here has been picked up by Filmoria with a nice credit.

Happy birthday IAN FLEMING (and DMC)

Today makes the 105th birthday of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Visit the official Ian Fleming Publications website to see how the day is being celebrated with special events and offerings, as well as the official announcement of who will be reading AudioGo's final two Ian Fleming audiobooks.

Today also marks the 5th anniversary of the publication of Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care. No matter what you thought of the book, you can't say that it wasn't a spectacular day for fans of the book Bond.

May 28, 2008 - Sebastian Faulks delivers his new Bond novel to Waterstones.

WHATCULTURE.COM counts down the "10 Unadapted 007 Stories We’d Love To See Made Next"

Whatculture.com has posted a blog counting down 10 continuation novels that could make good Bond films. It's a pretty thoughtful list, although I would have swapped out #4 Scorpius in favor of Brokenclaw, which I think could make a great Craig-era Bond. Read: "Bond 24: 10 Unadapted 007 Stories We’d Love To See Made Next."

If you don't feel like clicking through, here's the list:

10. High Time To Kill (Raymond Benson)

9. Young Bond (Charlie Higson)

8. License Renewed (John Gardner)

7. For Special Services (John Gardner)

6. Icebreaker (John Gardner)

5. Devil May Care (Sebastian Faulks)

4. Scorpius (John Gardner)

3. Colonel Sun (Kingsley Amis)

2. The Man With The Red Tattoo (Raymond Benson)

1. Carte Blanche (Jeffery Deaver)

LINK: Sebastian Faulks ridicules 'distasteful' Bond film Skyfall

Well this certainly isn't going to make Devil May Care author Sebastian Faulks any more popular with Bond fans. For the record, I really enjoyed Faulks' book. But I'm not onboard with him here. Go nuts.

Unused DEVIL MAY CARE cover artwork

Thomas Nixdorf, author of the first comprehensive James Bond poster book, Licence to Thrill (1997) and who now collects original James Bond artwork, generously shares with us today these two unused cover art paintings by Mark Stutzman for the U.S. edition of Sebastian Faulk's Devil May Care (2008). I love this kind of thing!

Here is Stutzman's final artwork.

Thank you Thomas! And thanks to Illustrated 007 for the alert.

Déjá vu, Mr. Bond: The surprising similarities between the continuation novels and the James Bond films

At the recent London press conference announcing the title of the new Bond film, Skyfall, we also learned that the new Bond Girl, played by Bérénice Marlohe, will be named Severin. Sound familiar? It should. Just this year we got a Bond villain named Severan in Jeffery Deaver's continuation Bond novel, Carte Blanche.

Just a coincidence? Could be. But this certainly isn't the first time an idea has mysteriously migrated from a continuation novel into one of the James Bond films. Here's my list of surprising similarities, first published on CBn in 2005, which I've now updated.

Go get him, Charlie

UPDATE: CLICK HERE to watch a clip from Charlie's interview (not available in all areas).

Link: Faulks says James Bond is a snob not a hero

Author Sebastian Faulks' has told BBC Breakfast he thinks James Bond is a snob, not a hero, despite having himself penned recent Bond novel Devil May Care. Click on the headline to watch the video at BBC News.

New Bond game lifts Caspian Sea Monster from DEVIL MAY CARE

So it appears the new James Bond videogame from Activison, Blood Stone, has lifted one of the better ideas from Sebastian Faulks 2008 Bond novel, Devil May Care. A look at the game release trailer reveals none other than the Caspian Sea Monster.

Pretty naughty of them, I'd say. But at least they had the wisdom to put Bond onboard.

Faulks not signing 'Devil May Care' on Sept 3

Sebastian Faulks will be at Hatchards in London signing his new novel A Week in December on Thursday 3rd September from 12.30-1.30pm. However, the Hatchards website has added this to the event description:

PLEASE NOTE THAT SEBASTIAN FAULKS WILL ONLY BE SIGNING COPIES OF 'A WEEK IN DECEMBER' AT THIS EVENT.

So we know what that means.

Faulks still hopes for a DEVIL MAY CARE movie

Sebastian Faulks tells the Evening Standard that he still holds out hope for a film adaptation of his bestselling James Bond novel, Devil May Care.

"One lives in hope,” says the author. “Daniel Craig is a good Bond but I thought there was a little too much running and jumping in the last one and the romance went out of it. It’s time to bring that back.”

From his lips...

For whatever reason, Eon has resisted doing adaptations of the continuation novels, opting instead to borrow elements from the books (Colonel Sun = Colonel Moon) for their own original stories which, frankly, have not been very good in recent years (Casino Royale is the exception -- of course, that was a book).

It's a shame Eon has elected to ignore this treasure trove of Bondian plots, villains, and titles. Novels such as John Gardner's For Special Services, Raymond Benson's The Man With The Red Tattoo and, okay, Faulks' Devil May Care could be the foundations for truly excellent 007 films.

Source: The James Bond International Fan Club

K+M deliver premium Bond campaign

Check out this awesome subway poster for the UK paperback edition of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.

The ad campaign in the UK was handled by Kennedy Monk, a graphic design studio creating original design of all types specializing in advertising design for the entertainment industry. According to the K+M website:

"Kennedy Monk were delighted to be commissioned by Penguin Books to design outdoor advertising for the paperback release of the latest Bond novel, Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming's Devil May Care.

Penguin were looking for a campaign that would deliver the requisite glamour and thrills that are hallmarks of the Bond movie franchise. Devil May Care was Penguin's fastest selling hardback ever, and great things are expected of the paperback, which won the prize for popular fiction at the Galaxy British Book Awards in April 2009."

No new Bond novel the works

Here's a rather sobering article from The Bookseller about the future of the literary Bond.

While it isn't a surprise that Faulks will not be doing a second Bond novel, it is surprising (and disappointing) to learn IFP doesn't have "any firm plans" for a new Bond novel. I was hoping they had something in the works that we'd learn about this year.

Will BOND 23 include plot elements from DEVIL MAY CARE?

CommanderBond.net is reporting that the James Bond filmmakers have hired a former Foreign Office official from the British Embassy in Kabul to provide technical advice about Afghanistan's lucrative opium trade. The official has signed a confidentiality agreement that precludes him from discussing the project, but this information suggests the next James Bond film could involve 007 in the world of Middle East drug smuggling.

Sound familiar?

While it's unlikely the filmmakers are considering adapting Devil May Care (they've already ruled that out), is it possible that have been inspired by the Sebastian Faulks bestseller and could incorporate some of the elements of the novel into the next James Bond film?

If so, my number one suggestion would be the Caspian Sea Monster. This cries out to be in a Bond movie!

The elusive exclusive

When Devil May Care was released in hardcover last year, it was accompanied by no less than three exclusive editions that kept collectors scrambling all over London to get them before they sold out (I know because I was one of them).

Well, it appears there is now a Devil May Care paperback exclusive for collectors to hunt down. Waterstone's is offering a very limited number of copies that include extra content in the back; an interview with author Sebastian Faulks and an essay on writing a thriller by Ian Fleming. These Waterstone's exclusives are marked as 3rd editions, and while I don't know the exact number published, I can report that Waterstone's Piccadilly sold out of their full stock in five days.

It's also becoming clear that true first edition paperbacks are quite rare. Fans are reporting seeing 5th printings on most store shelves.

Happy hunting!

Marketing award for 'Devil May Care'

The newly relaunched IFP website reports that Jane Rose of Penguin won the Daily Mail Marketing Campaign of the Year award for Devil May Care during the British Book Industry Awards, held on June 1st.

After thanking Penguin and the MOD for all their hard work, Jane dedicated the award to a certain Ian Fleming for starting all the fun in the first place.

Congratulations!

'Devil May Care' Italian paperback

The paperback edition of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks (with a translation by Andrea Marti) is released this month in Italy.

As with the Italian hardcover (which used the U.S. cover art), this edition opts to break from the Penguin cover art and use something original.

Check out the pretty cool Italian Devil May Care publisher website.

'Devil May Care' Waterstones exclusive

Stop presses! A fan over at the CBn Forums alerts us to what appears to be a Waterstone's special edition paperback of Devil May Care with extra content. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this, but fans in the UK might want to go check out their local Waterstone's before snapping up a copy elsewhere. Here's the tip from "Loomis" at CBn:

Also, be aware that the DEVIL MAY CARE paperbacks on offer at Waterstones at the moment contain, as a "Waterstones exclusive", an interview with Faulks and an article by Fleming on writing thrillers (by this I don't, of course, mean that these pieces are exclusive to Waterstones in the sense that they're unavailable elsewhere, but that this Waterstones edition contains them whereas others, erm, don't). They're at the end of the book after the main text.

UPDATE: I contacted Penguin and got this response:

Many thanks for your email. Yes there is an edition exclusive to Waterstone's with the extra content you mention below. This is only in the first print run so you'll need to be quick to the shops to get one! The ISBN is the same across all stores, but you'll only be able to buy this edition in waterstones.

Hope this helps.

Faulks signing 'Devil May Care' at Selfridges, June 4

Sebastian Faulks will be signing the paperback edition of Devil May Care at Selfridges & Co on Oxford Street in London on Thursday June 4 from 17.00-18.00.

This is the first Faulks/Devil May Care signing I've heard of. I don't believe he did any signings or appearances for the hardcover. Only pricey pre-signed limited editions were made available.

This is one event that shouldn't be missed!