[zencat]

Well, I will say, this turned out to be a VERY surprising BCW indeed.

Because the price of this year had been radically reduced (what was the price of the BCW section, $100?) I wasn't expecting much. A pared down BCW, mostly just fans and old friends getting together, and that was cool by me.

Ah, but Matt had been plotting.

First off, the hotel choice this year was top notch. No motel this time, The Standard downtown is pretty damn swank, and the rooftop club, where we hung out on Friday, is incredibly Bondian. The club sits in the open with an incredible view of downtown. There are different levels, a pool, and these wild private waterbed pods you can sit in (they look like the TSWLM escape pod). Movies are screened (without sound) on the side of the skyscraper next door. I think the movie was "How to Get Ahead in Business without Really Trying." A weird choice but somehow perfect with 50 foot middle aged men in

[Athena007]

This BCW seriously did ROCK! It was more than fantastic. I can't really think of the words to praise it enough. I slept in on Saturday and didn't do the Sat events and it was still worth every penny and more. Matt (the organizer) really did a great job this year. The Saturday night charity event was... WOW. THE BEST EVER! Zencat did a great job of explaining the events so I will (of course, as always) post pictures!


ALL FRIDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY DAY PHOTOS
http://picasaweb.goo.../Athena007/BCWX

FRIDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY DAY TEASERS





ALL PHOTOS FROM THE ASTON MARTIN MIXER ON SATURDAY NIGHT
http://picasaweb.goo...stonMartinMixer

SATURDAY NIGHT CLUB ASTON TEASERS



video of GLORIA HENDRY SINGING
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bj8JbsC4_88

[mccartney007]

Sounds too rad for words.

[Marketto007]

One day I'll be there, I'm sure about it.

xxx

[Athena007]

mccartney007, on 24 September 2007 - 17:45, said:

Sounds too rad for words.

That's why there are pictures. heehee. I'm sorry you missed it, Jordon... get back to LA so you don't miss anything else!

Marketto007, on 24 September 2007 - 17:48, said:

One day I'll be there, I'm sure about it.

I'm sure about it too. I can't imagine James Bond ever going out of style.

[IndyB007]

Now that I have a decent job with a regular schedule...
Maybe next year...

[Athena007]

There is no maybe, Indy... there is only next year.

[zencat]

But in the emails about the event Matt did suggest this might be the last BCW. During the weekend he never said either way, and we didn't have our "where to next year" conversation.

Looks like I'm the only person here excited about meeting a screenwriter.

[mccartney007]

zencat, on 25 September 2007 - 11:26, said:

Looks like I'm the only person here excited about meeting a screenwriter.

No, I'd have been just as excited as you were. Like you mentioned he has been a part of some amazing things outside of Bond and he comes from a pretty amazing Hollywood family also. amazing. I'm pretty jealous.

[zencat]

mccartney007, on 25 September 2007 - 10:59, said:

I'm pretty jealous.

That's all I require.

[jaguar007]

Meeting Mr. Mankewicz was a real pleasure. It was also great to hear the real inside scoop from a man who is very close to the Broccoli family. we had a good couple of hours with him (a total of 14 people in the room - fantastic) and I only wish we could have had a couple more.

He shared with us his opinion of Casino Royale. He told us that right after the movie opened, he ran into Barbara Broccoli at the dry cleaners and she asked him what he tought of the movie. He replied, "I thought the theme song was awful, it was about 20 minutes too long but that guy you got as bond; take him, lock him up and don't let anyone else have him, he is fantastic." He also added that Cubby would have absolutely loved him because he is a tough guy, and that is what Cubby always wanted as Bond.

[ACE]

Wow, looks fantastic. Keep those stories coming, Zencat. Hopefully Matt will never say never again...

[zencat]

jaguar007, on 25 September 2007 - 11:42, said:

He replied, "I thought the theme song was awful..."

I think he used the word "dud", didn't he? "The theme song was a dud."

Also a pleasure meeting you, jaguar007. Athena got some great pics of you in our "water pod" and with the Vantage.

[Loomis]

jaguar007, on 25 September 2007 - 19:42, said:

he ran into Barbara Broccoli at the dry cleaners

!

Apart from which odd note, sounds like a great event - cheers for the report.

[zencat]

Loomis, on 25 September 2007 - 12:20, said:

jaguar007, on 25 September 2007 - 19:42, said:

he ran into Barbara Broccoli at the dry cleaners

!

Apart from which odd note, sounds like a great event - cheers for the report.

She was asking the dry cleaner if they could get vomit out of her fishnets.

(kidding!)

[Solex Agitator]

What a weekend for me to be out of town! I am literally crying in my coffee for missing out on this. Sounds like you had a grand and rarefied time. And as zencat said...Tom FREAKIN' Mankewicz! Keep the stories coming, I beg of you!

[jaguar007]

zencat, on 25 September 2007 - 11:57, said:

jaguar007, on 25 September 2007 - 11:42, said:

He replied, "I thought the theme song was awful..."

I think he used the word "dud", didn't he? "The theme song was a dud."

Also a pleasure meeting you, jaguar007. Athena got some great pics of you in our "water pod" and with the Vantage.

He probably did as I am going from memory as to what he said.

It was great to meet you as well and look forward to our next meeting.

[IndyB007]

zencat, on 25 September 2007 - 12:26, said:

But in the emails about the event Matt did suggest this might be the last BCW. During the weekend he never said either way, and we didn't have our "where to next year" conversation.

There go all my hopes, smashed to little bits once again...

But I was invited to a Star Trek convention next weekend.
Do you think I should go? Don't really know what to expect at one of those...

[Qwerty]

Sounds like a great event. Also very envious of those who got to chat with Tom Mankiewicz.

[TheMantis]

Sorry these pics are late but lots of travelling this past week for meetings...these pics are from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Fund Raiser expertly hosted by Matt Sherman. This was held at the Aston Club in LA and as you can see we WERE able to play with the toys...besides purchasing two of the cars on display (yeah, right....I'll have to live through Paul) my wife and I made additional donations to the JDF and $100 in Paul Wynn's name as well. Lots of surprise guests showed up, good drink, good fun. My wife and I were exhausted due to the time change and unfortunately were not up to par socially but we did have a blast...here are a few pics:

[Genrewriter]

Sounds like it was a blast.

[zencat]

Great pics, TheMantis. It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife. (And the YB goodies are in the mail for your daughter.)

[freemo]

I would love to meet Tom Mankewicz.

I'm very, very jealous. Damn you all.

[jaguar007]

freemo, on 4 October 2007 - 20:46, said:

I would love to meet Tom Mankewicz.

I'm very, very jealous. Damn you all.

I feel so Damned

[Matt Sherman]

Friday began much like any other in Los Angeles before 007 arrived.

James Bond fans in business casual (or Bond costume or tux) reminisced drink
in hand about the DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER house in Palm Springs or seeing
"stars" at Hollywood Wax Museum; Connery in different poses, Halle Berry and
front runners Farrell, Jude and Jackman. That morning, I'd walked the stars
fronting Grauman's with friends to find Brosnan's and Broccoli's, Tom
Jones's and others.

Now BOND COLLECTORS' WEEKEND 10 guests unwound atop The Standard Downtown's
roof, its shiny "red pod waterbeds" straight from TSWLM meeting skyscraper
views and a swimming pool, topiaries and restaurant. We lounged on retro hip
seating and watched movies simulcast from the bar, as projected onto a
neighboring skyscraper!

We turned downstairs to the chic Standard lobby including inspirations in
LCD from floor to ceiling and a pool table (on a dare, I played 8-Ball in my
tux before dinner was served). Next, the 007s hit the roof again for further
partying under the stars and skyscrapers.

Before bed, I brought the BCW 10 fans through our Memorabilia Room on Floor
11 of the posh hotel. Nearly 20 full cartons of 007 collectibles stared back
at the group's stare, entire sets of Bond films still in shrink wrap,
audiotapes and music CDs with Bond's visage on them, complete trading card
sets mint in box, Bond clothing, new Zippo lighters, posters, magazines and
books... "Take it all, for free, now!" was my snarled command. I felt like
Blofeld hissing, "Kill Bond, now!"

Awestruck, fans left with the above plus everyone had a free copy of Cubby
Broccoli's WHEN THE SNOW MELTS, ultra-rare magazines, even after-party
signed commemorative invitations from a Bond World Royal Premiere. Others
had piles of action figures and more, and thanks to friends who had helped
create this year's monster gift giveaway, it was our best yet. The admission
cost for BCW was now fully repaid, but in the words of Blofeld again, "It's
late, I'm tired, and there's so much to do." Would the Saturday tour, with
so little Bond in Los Angeles, leave everyone shaken, or even stirred?

Saturday's excursion left The Standard for the Westin Bonaventure, one of
the ten most photographed buildings in the world, with its hotel atrium,
shopping plaza and the glass elevators we rode to the top from TRUE LIES
with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Art Malik (Kamran Shah in THE LIVING
DAYLIGHTS). Plaques now commemorate the elevators as used onscreen. We also
saw the curved steel Disney Center, cousin of the Bilbao museum from the
TWINE pre-credits, then toured Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion West (A
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DOOM) and my favorite, the former Cubby and Dana Broccoli
mansion in Beverly Hills. I was thrilled to discover the locations were new
to the BCW'ers.

We had to visit world-famous Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Hotel
(Shampoo, American Gigolo, Beverly Hills Cop) and an Aston Martin or two,
before winding up Mulholland Drive for magnificent outlooks and photos taken
hundreds of feet above the Universal lot used for the DAF Mustang car chase;
Hollywood and EON's California office, Capitol Records, LAX airport
(MOONRAKER, DAF) and Culver City and the VA Hospital (THE FACTS OF DEATH).
The Hollywood sign and Madonna's former residence posed for photos, too.

The titles over now changed to "Long Beach, California, Lunch" as we boarded
the historic Queen Mary for a once-in-a-lifetime visit to The Spy-Fi
Archives, personally led by owner/curator Danny Biederman! Mind-numbing,
overwhelmingly cool spy artifacts on display include the prop spider used
for DR. NO, Blofeld's actual conference table and Connery's attach

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[scaramunga]

Awesome. I would've like to have met Tom M! His 3 Bond films that he wrote, are my favorites.

Did anyone have a chance to ask him about working with Guy Hamilton and the differences that were faced on the tone of The Man With The Golden Gun?

It would be so cool to have some more interviews with him about the films that he did.

I enjoyed his commentaries on the dvd's. Great stuff.

[Kara Milovy]

Missing this (AND the DTBB weekend as well) was heartbreaking, but I've been doing so much work- and family-related travel I just couldn't squeeze it in.