According to Express.co.uk, Felix Leiter will be returning in Jeffery Deaver’s ‘Project X’!
“Fans will be relieved to hear that it features exotic locations (part of the story is also set in London) and much-loved characters such as M, Miss Moneypenny and Bond’s friend Felix Leiter.“
This is great news for fans of James Bond’s brother from Langley because a present-day Felix Leiter has been absent from the James Bond novels since 2000′s Doubleshot by Raymond Benson, however, Leiter was last seen in Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care (2008), a period piece set in 1967.
Since Deaver will be rebooting the literary franchise and updating James Bond’s backstory, it is expected that Felix Leiter will get the same treatment therefore ‘Project X’ could potentially feature an un-maimed Leiter for the first time since Ian Fleming’s Live and Let Die (1954).
Stay tuned to FelixLeiter.com for all the latest news on Felix Leiter’s role in ‘Project X’. Thanks to ‘zencat’ for the tip.
Welcome to The X-File, the first and only compilation of every known ‘Project X’ detail to date. This article contains only information reported by respectable sources and contains absolutely no fan speculation. It will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.
Project X
Plan: ‘Project X‘ by Jeffery Deaver is the first entry in a brand new, rebooted James Bond book series penned by various authors.1 Deaver is under contract for one novel but has stated that he may pen another once his schedule opens up in 2013.2
Publication Date: Approximately May 28, 2011 (Ian Fleming’s birthday)3
Other Countries: “The first foreign language deal is with the Dutch publisher, Unieboek, and offers are coming in from Germany, France, Spain, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Korea. I’m aiming for deals in at least 30 countries before the end of this year.”4
Fleming Influence: Deaver wants a title that not only works with the novel but also one that captures the essence of Ian Fleming.5
Final Title: There are currently 45 possible titles for the final product and it will be the person, place and/or thing that Bond is investigating. All of Deaver’s titles are his own; none of them have ever been written by someone else although he doesn’t always get his first choice.5
Time Span:The story will take place over a period of 4 or 5 days.2 According to People, Deaver is “the master of ticking-bomb suspense” hence the story’s short duration.7
Locations: The story will feature 3 or 4 exotic locales7, all of which Deaver has visited.1
Deaver Trademarks: “It will have a lot of twists and turns and misdirections, and several big surprise endings.”6
James Bond
Age:29 or 30 years old; although Deaver told CBn Forums member “godwulf” that his Bond will have been born in 1982, thus making him 28 or 29 in mid-2011.2
Smoking Habit: James Bond will no longer smoke cigarettes.1
May: Bond’s Scottish housekeeper will be replaced with an Indian or Pakistani maidservant.1
Secret Intelligence Service
M: The head of the SIS will return to being a man after being a woman (Barbara Mawdsley) during Raymond Benson’s tenure.1 It is still unclear whether he will be Fleming’s Admiral Sir Miles Messervy or an entirely new character.
Miss Moneypenny:M’s personal secretary will be in her mid-30s.1
Mary Goodnight:Bond’s personal secretary will be 21 years old.1
00 Section: It will be a shadowy assassination division of the Secret Intelligence Service that disavows its agents if they are compromised during an assignment.1
New Threat: 007 will be fighting post-9/11 terrorism.1
Central Intelligence Agency
Felix Leiter: James Bond’s brother from Langley will be making an appearance.9
Fan Interaction
Fan Input:Deaver, in connection with Ian Fleming Publications, will be soliciting input from fans via the Internet. Details regarding how this will be accomplished are still unknown.8
06/12/2010: “There is some Project X news brewing, but for the moment, we are sworn to secrecy…” (Book Bond)
Videos
Courtesy of JamesBondProjectX.com (May 28, 2010)
Courtesy of Dr. Shatterhand’s Botanical Garden (June 3, 2010)
Discuss ‘Project X’ on the CommanderBond.net Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world.
1Bonding with Author Jeffery Deaver @ Dr. Shatterhand’s Botanical Garden 2Jeffery Deaver to embark on US and UK book tours @ CommanderBond.net Forums 3 JamesBondProjectX.com 4Waking up in the world of James Bond @ Jessica Craig’s Foreign Rights Blog 5Deaver on Project X title @ CommanderBond.net Forums 6Jeffery Deaver will write a James Bond novel @ NewsObserver.com 7Press Release @ SimonandSchuster.com 8Got some info tonight @ CommanderBond.net 9Jeffery Deaver: The Crime Writer Working on the Latest Bond Book @ Express.co.uk
Many Bondophiles and Felix fans know Mr. Terry from his one performance as dear Uncle Felix in EON Productions’ The Living Daylights opposite Timothy Dalton as Ian Fleming’s James Bond.
And more than a few fans agree that, frankly, we weren’t impressed.
More than 14 years since the character’s last celluloid appearance in Live And Let Die, the brief and rather trivial role of Felix in Daylights was more than a little underwhelming. And the chemistry between Dalton and Terry left something to be desired, to say the least. The typical viewer might have thought they were eavesdropping on an Entmoot with all the wooden performances in the room.
“The name’s Beard…Treebeard.”
However, Daylight’s John Terry has really hit his stride this past decade.
Some may recall Terry’s appearance during Season 2 of Fox’s 24, whichrevealed a truly skilled artist playing the part of an ex-CIA agent whose daughter has been brainwashed into terrorism. His career-defining role, however, came a few years later in 2004 when he was cast in the part of another father figure, Christian Shephard, the father of leading-man Jack Shephard (Emmy-nominee Matthew Fox) on ABC’s LOST. Like 24, LOST broke new ground in the field of storytelling. While the former became famous for its trademark “real time” narrative (and merciless Bauer-torture), the latter has been revered for skillfully weaving web upon web of logic-defying connections and mysteries among survivors of a plane crash through juxtaposition of their present survival and flashbacks that revealed how each person came to be on the fateful airliner and, eventually, “The Island.” Without revealing any significant spoilers (for those who have not yet seen the Emmy-winning series from J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, and Damon Lindelof), Terry’s role as Christian is a pivotal part of what formed the series’ main character and brought him to the island. Make no mistake, every LOST fan knows and understands the impact Terry had on the series as a whole.
The Emmy-winning worldwide phenomenon is now set to arrive in stores on August 24th (now available for pre-order). Available will be not only the final season of LOST,but also the complete series collector’s box set (picture above). For fans of Bond, Felix, and Mr. Terry, the chance is here to see some really impressive work that, in the opinion of this writer, warrants some serious respect for the one-time Felix actor. It is enough to make one question whether Leiter’s lackluster appearance had more to do with the writing than the acting. Come to think of it, of all Leiter’s cinematic appearances, it is Daylights into which the character seems the most shoehorned. This writer now firmly believes that John Terry was capable of much more chemistry with Dalton’s Bond, given some more screen time and material to play, and is elated to say that he was dead wrong in his assumptions about this former Felix.
Pictured: Justice.
Catch Terry and the award-winning ensemble cast of LOST on August 24th!
John Gardner, the second official James Bond continuation novelist, passed away three years ago today. During his tenure, Gardner penned fourteen original Bond novels and two novelizations including 1982′s For Special Services and 1994′s SeaFire, both of which feature Felix Leiter.
In 1982, Gardner created Cedar Leiter, Felix’s daughter. Like her father, Cedar worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and aided Bond in For Special Services.
Three years ago, Gardner died from suspected heart failure. He was a great novelist and will be remembered forever for his Bond work as well as his original creations, including his three Moriarty novels.
I am currently reading his eighth Bond novel, Win, Lose or Die, and I must say that I’m thoroughly enjoying it. As a little tribute to the man who kept the literary James Bond alive throughout the 1980s and early-1990s, I am currently reading all sixteen of his Bond novels in order!
Cec Linder, the second actor to play Felix Leiter, was born 89 years ago today. He was no Jack Lord but he was still a great Felix in 1964! The following dialogue is from one of my favorite Leiter scenes in Goldfinger:
Bond: Special plane, lunch at the White House… how come?
Leiter: The President wants to thank you personally.
Bond: Oh, it was nothing, really.
Leiter: I know that, but he doesn’t.
Bond: I suppose I’ll be able to get a drink there.
Oblique Reference to Felix Leiter in Moonraker (1979)
The James Bond films of the Roger Moore era (1973-1985) are not renowned for their numerous appearances of Bond’s old CIA friend Felix Leiter. In fact, the only Moore era Bond film to feature Leiter was Live and Let Die (1973), where David Hedison played him in the first of two appearances in the role. Hedison was an old friend of Roger Moore’s, and had appeared in The Saint and later appeared in the films North Sea Hijack (aka ffoulkes) (1979) and The Naked Face (1985) opposite Moore. Hedison and Moore shared genuine screen chemistry in Live and Let Die, perhaps due to the fact that the actors were also friends in real life. Perhaps one of the reasons for the lack of appearances for the Leiter character in the six Moore Bond films that followed was that Leiter only appeared in one of the novels that was filmed, The Man with the Golden Gun, although he did not appear in the film version of this novel either. Another possible explanation is that the Leiter character also did not appear in any of the Ian Fleming Bond short stories, and as Moonraker was the last Fleming Bond novel (omitting the then unavailable Casino Royale) to be filmed by Eon Productions in 1979, thereafter the producers and writers relied on the short stories instead. It could of course be submitted that the films Dr. No (1962), The Living Daylights (1987) and Quantum of Solace (2008), which all featured Leiter, were adapted from titles by Fleming where Leiter did not feature as a character. The lack of appearances for Leiter during the lengthy Moore era, after his initial appearance in 1973, therefore remains something of a mystery, especially as Leiter’s unfortunate mauling by a shark, which featured in Fleming’s Live and Let Die (1954), was not actually filmed until the Timothy Dalton era in Licence to Kill (1989), meaning there was again a lengthy absence for Leiter onscreen until Casino Royale (2006).
However, the character of Felix Leiter is also obliquely referred to in Roger Moore’s fourth James Bond film, Moonraker (1979). This film represents the only time even an oblique reference is made to Leiter in the Moore era after the character’s initial appearance in Live and Let Die. The reference occurs in the scene where James Bond surprises Dr Holly Goodhead in her Venice hotel suite after his fight to the death with Hugo Drax’s henchman Chang. In the scene, which also features in the novelisation of the film, James Bond and Moonraker (1979), by screenwriter Christopher Wood, Bond searches Holly’s hotel suite and variously reveals: a slim gold retractable ball-point pen with a hypodermic poison needle, a dart-firing pocket diary, a flame-throwing small Christian Dior scent atomizer, and a handbag concealing a telescopic aerial and radio. In the novelisation, Wood has Bond further reveal dart-firing spectacles, a powder compact concealing a blade, a lipstick holder containing a miniature detonator and explosive charge and a Zippo lighter equipped to squirt the irritant chemical Mace in the face of an attacker. In the film, when Bond is confronted with all of this conclusive evidence pointing to Holly’s background in American intelligence, the dialogue in the scene is as follows:
BOND: “Standard CIA equipment and the CIA placed you with Drax, correct?”
HOLLY: “Very astute of you, James”
BOND: “Oh, not really. I have friends in low places.”
HOLLY: “Could this possibly be the moment for us to pool our resources?”
BOND: “It could have its compensations.”1
There then follows the first kiss between Bond and Holly. From this moment on in the film, the two reluctantly work together as partners to investigate the affairs of Hugo Drax, the billionaire industrialist behind the Moonraker space shuttles. To the astute James Bond fan watching Moonraker, Bond’s line about having “friends in low places” would appear to be a reference to Bond’s old CIA friend Felix Leiter. A look at the scene as rendered in Wood’s novelisation of the film bears out such a contention:
“Bond tossed the handbag on to the bed beside its contents. ‘I’ve seen this equipment before, Holly, and it wasn’t in Macy’s.’ He paused for a moment before he crossed to a drinks trolley. ‘It was being developed by the C.I.A. An old friend of mine, Felix Leiter, gave me a sneak preview.’ Bond turned his back to throw some ice cubes into a glass and top it up with Chives Regal. ‘I think you probably know him.’ There was no reply from Holly. ‘Because it occurs to me that the C.I.A. placed you with Drax. Correct?’
He waved a hand towards the trolley in invitation. Holly shook her head. ‘Correct.’ Her face softened into a conciliatory smile. ‘Could it be that this is the moment for us to pool our resources?’
Bond studied Holly over the top of his glass. It was the first time he could remember her smiling like that. So warm. So guileless. So insincere. He put down his glass. ‘That might have its compensations.’
Holly took a step towards him so that she was close enough to be touched. Her long silk gown could have been tied tightly across her low-cut nightdress but it was not. Bond drew her to him and kissed the corner of her mouth gently. His eyes were still suspicious.”2
Bond’s reference to Felix Leiter in both the film (in an oblique manner) and novelisation of Moonraker is an attempt to show his bona fides to Holly; that they are actually working on the same assignment, albeit from different sides of the coin. It is interesting to note that the mention of Felix Leiter acts somewhat as a springboard for Holly to accept Bond as an ally, and from there on in the story they work together as a team. The Bond continuation author John Gardner used a similar technique in his third Bond novel, Icebreaker (1983), when the CIA agent Brad Tirpitz also tries to persuade Bond of his bona fides by making reference to Felix Leiter and his daughter Cedar Leiter:
“‘Look, Bond.’ Tirpitz moved his chair closer. ‘I’m glad Kolya’s not here. Wanted a word with you alone.’
‘Yes?’
‘Got a message for you. Felix Leiter sends his best. And Cedar sends her love.’
Bond felt a strange twinge of surprise, but he showed no reaction. His best friend in the U.S.A., Felix Leiter, had once been a top C.I.A. man; while Felix’s daughter, Cedar, was also Company-trained. In fact, Cedar had worked gallantly with him on a recent assignment.
‘I know you don’t trust me,’ Tirpitz continued, ‘but you’d better think again, brother. Think again, because maybe I’m the only friend you have around here.’
Bond nodded. ‘Maybe.’”3
The literary device of name-checking Felix Leiter to a potential ally therefore occurs twice in the “continuation” Bond literary canon, but Bond’s line about his having “friends in low places” is all that remains in the film version of Moonraker as a rather veiled reference to the old CIA ally and friend with whom he shared so many adventures in print and on screen. The same scene as enlarged in Wood’s novelisation provides the confirmation that Bond is referring to Leiter at this point, and it would have been pleasing to have had this more overt reference to Leiter and the CIA remain in the finished screenplay. After Leiter’s initial appearance in the Moore era in Live and Let Die the character was sadly not to reappear until Timothy Dalton took over the role in The Living Daylights. Instead, the Moore era had a succession of other Bond allies from the sublime Milos Columbo in For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Vijay in Octopussy (1983) to the ridiculous Sheriff J.W. Pepper who featured in Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). The character of Felix Leiter (especially as played by David Hedison) would have been a very welcome addition to some of the later Moore era Bond films, but sadly this was not to be. It is therefore perhaps fitting that the space-age Moonraker, a film that many critics and fans regard as one of the most outlandish entries in the entire James Bond series, should contain at least a veiled reference back to one of Bond’s best friends and so hint to the audience that although the Bond films (and novels) can at times verge into fantasy, Bond’s enduring and believable friendship with Felix Leiter shows that they can also often be grounded in reality.
SILHOUETTE MAN is a member of the CommanderBond.net Forums as well as an occasional contributor to FelixLeiter.com.
1Moonraker (Eon Productions, 1979).
2 Christopher Wood, James Bond and Moonraker, (Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1979), chapter 10.
3 John Gardner, Icebreaker, (Jonathan Cape Ltd, 1983), chapter 8.
