My previous book No Time to Die - The Unofficial Companion offered a comprehensive look at the genesis, production, and seemingly endless release woes of the much anticipated 25th James Bond film. Here then is the sequel that everyone asked me to write. No Time to Die - The Unofficial Retrospective covers the final marketing campaign and actual release of No Time to Die and also offers a comprehensive analysis of the film itself, the box-office, fan reaction, the future of the Bond franchise, and much more besides.

Modern Bond retrospectives lazily tend to almost completely dismiss Roger Moore's tenure as James Bond. He is frequently called the 'worst' Bond and his movies are dismissed as Carry On style romps. Roger would even make light of this himself. The truth is though that Roger was a great Bond. Sure, he maybe made a couple of films too many and the comedic elements of his films sometimes got out of hand but the Roger Moore years constitute the most fun era of Bond. If you sit down and watch one of Roger's Bond films you are guaranteed to have a good time. Roger Moore's Bond is Christmas Day afternoon. John Barry, Ken Adam, Lewis Gilbert, Carly Simon, crazy stunts, quips, Caroline Munro in a helicopter, underwater bases, Jaws, Jane Seymour, the Lotus, parachutes, jet planes, space battles, crocodiles, ski chases, casinos, tuxedos, double-entendres. The Roger Moore era of Bond wasn't terrible or embarrassing. It was fantastic! In the book that follows we shall take a deep dive into the Roger Moore era of Bond and explore his tenure from start to finish. We'll assess the strengths and weaknesses of both Roger's Bond and his films but most of all this book is a celebration of Roger Moore's James Bond and the years he spent suavely karate chopping baddies in a selection of safari suits and cream flares. Roger's amazing contribution to the Bond franchise is far too often derided and mocked these days. This book will hopefully serve as an entertaining and robust defence of Roger Moore and his incarnation of James Bond.

The enduring success of the James Bond franchise has made the casting of a new Bond actor a very big deal in the film and entertainment industry. Tabloids and entertainment clickbait sites love nothing more than constantly speculating (wrongly of course) on who the next Bond actor might be. Taking on the part of James Bond is like playing the lead in Hamlet, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, or Batman. Others have played the part before you and others will play the part after you. Speculation about the next incumbent is therefore inevitable, unavoidable, and endless. It is a constant background hum even when someone else actually has the part. More people have walked on the moon than played James Bond. Despite the longevity of the franchise the Bond actors themselves remain a small and exclusive club. There are however dozens of actors who might potentially have played James Bond through the decades if only fate hadn't intervened. In the book which follows we will leave no stone unturned in an attempt to find out how many potential Bond actors there have been since 1962. There is a fascinating alternative cinema universe where the Bond actors are completely different from the ones we ended up with in our own familiar movie dimension. In this book we will explore what that alternative James Bond universe might plausibly have looked like.

Fifty years (and five billion dollars in ticket sales) ago, the dashing Scottish actor Sean Connery declared suavely that he was "Bond, James Bond." Thus began a cinematic series unlike any other. In November 2012, Skyfall, the 23rd movie in what is seen as the authorized line of Bond films, will be released, with Daniel Craig (the sixth Bond) again in the lead role. The world will once more stream to the theaters for another dose of Bond. LIFE was on the scene in the swinging '60s when James Bond became a cultural icon (in fact, when we put the gold-painted actress Shirley Eaton on the cover in 1964, we helped him along), and now LIFE tells the whole story in this commemorative book. Ian Fleming, a high-ranking officer in British Naval Intelligence of World War II, dreamt up his MI6 spy, code number 007, in 1953, and a decade later, with Dr. No, From Russia With Love and then the smash Goldfinger, saw his creation take on a life entirely his own. All the fun of Bond is here: The movies; the reminiscences by the stars; the LIFE photo shoots; the knockoffs and spoofs ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E.;" "Get Smart;" "I Spy;" the first Casino Royale); the artifacts (a model of Bond's Aston Martin DB5 was one of the best-selling toy of 1965); the trivia and inside information on M, Q and Moneypenny-anything a Bond fan would want, packed into one book and then shaken, not stirred. James Bond was, back in the day, one of those cultural phenomena tailor-made for LIFE: It was bright and colorful and vibrant. Today, it still is. Happy birthday, and welcome back, Commander Bond.

For over 50 years, Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions has navigated the ups and downs of the volatile British film industry, enduring both critical wrath and acclaim in equal measure for its now legendary James Bond series. Latterly, this family run business has been crowned with box office gold and recognised by motion picture academies around the world. However, it has not always been plain sailing. Changing financial regimes forced 007 to relocate to France and Mexico; changing fashions and politics led to box office disappointments; and changing studio regimes and business disputes all but killed the franchise. And the rise of competing action heroes has constantly questioned Bond's place in popular culture. But against all odds the filmmakers continue to wring new life from the series, and 2012's Skyfall saw both huge critical and commercial success, crowning 007 as the undisputed king of the action genre. Some Kind of Hero recounts this remarkable story, from its origins in the early '60s right through to the present day, and draws on hundreds of unpublished interviews with the cast and crew of this iconic series.

Back in 1994 at the game company ‘CORE Design’ in Derby, Lara Croft was born. Through eighteen months of pure hard work from the team, Tomb Raider was released in 1996 and became the success that we see today; taking part in the mid-nineties celebrations of Brit-Pop and Girl Power. This is the story of the team who were involved in creating the first two games, then leaving the series to a new team in 1998. Lara Croft brought class, comedy, and a James Bondian role to the game, dreamt up by Toby Gard and helped to become a pitch with Paul Douglas. The game was a gamble, but because everyone at the company believed in it, it led to huge success for everyone, except for Toby and Paul. ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’ goes into detail of how Lara and the games were born, alongside why Toby Gard and Paul Douglas left before the sequel was released. Throughout eleven chapters of countless interviews, this book will tell you who was responsible for creating the first two games; from its levels, its music, the many voices of Lara Croft, and much more. The team also reveals all about the star of the second game; Winston the Butler, and how he came to be by Joss Charmet. Over twenty people were interviewed for this story; from the pitch for what would be Tomb Raider, alongside the challenges along the way, up until the release of Tomb Raider 2 in 1997...