Bond, James Bond

This week sees the release of the 21  Bond film, Casino Royale and it's the
　　first film to star actor Daniel Craig as the British Secret Service spy 007.
　　James Bond was the creation of author Ian Fleming who wrote 13 Bond novels
　　as well as a number of short stories featuring Bond between 1953 and 1964, the
　　year in which he died. Fleming had worked in intelligence during the Second
　　World War and this was the background and experience he called upon in his
　　books.
　　Ian Fleming was also a keen ornithologist, an ornithologist is someone whose
　　hobby is watching birds, and he wrote most of his books in his house in the
　　West Indian island of Jamaica. He took the name of the character James Bond,
　　from the real name of a writer of a book called 'Birds of the West Indies'.
　　It's one of the many pieces of Bond trivia that in the film Die Another Day the
　　actor Pierce Brosnan, playing Bond, is seen holding a copy of the book while
　　pretending to be an ornithologist.
　　Pierce Brosnan was the fifth actor to play the role of the super spy and as the
　　actors have had to change over the years, so have the plot lines and stories.
　　The world is a very different place to what is was in 1962 when the first Bond
　　film Dr. No was released and the films have reflected that and evolved and
　　reflected contemporary events. Here's writer and critic Kim Newman. How
　　does he describe the way the Bond movies have dealt with issues from the real
　　world?
　　Kim Newman
　　Over the years Bond's dealt with whatever we've dealt with in the real world but in a slightly
　　inflated, exaggerated way. I'm going back into the books in the 50s, they start dealing with
　　communism, that's the big trouble. In the 1960s it's out of control technological maniacs and
　　we've had a few attempts to do mercenaries, drug dealers, arms dealers, sort of more realistic
　　villains and now I suppose we're going to have to look forward to Bond going up against
　　terrorists.
　　Callum:  He said that the issues of the real world have been dealt with in a slightly
　　inflated and exaggerated way. An inflated and exaggerated way which means
　　larger than life, more dramatic than reality. A few of the things mentioned are
　　communism, technological maniacs – people with advanced technology who
　　have mad plans to take over the world, technological maniacs. There have also
　　been attempts in the films to deal with more realistic issues such as drug
　　dealers, arms dealers, people who sell weapons and mercenaries. A mercenary
　　is a soldier who works not for a country but for whoever pays him, a hired
　　soldier – a mercenary. He says that now Bond will have to face the threat of
　　terrorism. He will have to 'go up against' terrorists. To 'go up against' is a
　　multi-word verb which means to confront, to challenge and fight, to go up
　　against. Listen again
　　Kim Newman
　　Over the years Bond's dealt with whatever we've dealt with in the real world but in a slightly
　　inflated, exaggerated way. I'm going back into the books in the 50s, they start dealing with
　　communism, that's the big trouble. In the 1960s it's out of control technological maniacs and
　　we've had a few attempts to do mercenaries, drug dealers, arms dealers, sort of more realistic
　　villains and now I suppose we're going to have to look forward to Bond going up against
　　terrorists.
　　Callum:  Over the years Bond has covered the cold war, the space race, nuclear threats
　　and dangers connected with the rise of information technology. The films have
　　become well-known for special effects and special gadgets – gadgets, tools and
　　devices that Bond uses like the watch with a laser built in, the invisible car and
　　exploding toothpaste.