I had an extremely interesting weekend at the Casino Royale 60th Anniversary Exhibitions at the University of Illinois. Things began Friday with a lecture by Michael van Blaricum, president of the Ian Fleming Foundation. He presented an overview of Fleming's life and spoke about many of the influences on Fleming's development of the James Bond character. The lecture was followed by a reception in the Rare Book Library, where the exhibition has been set up. There's quite a nice display of the first editions of the British Bond books, along with a selection of various editions from the UK, US, and other countries. It was particularly nice to see the manuscript of Casino Royale, on loan from the Lilly Library, together with a facsimile of the first page of the original manuscript, showing Fleming's struggles with the novel's opening line. Bond continuation author Raymond Benson was also in attendance, and he's a friendly and interesting fellow to talk to.
I also visited the University's Sousa library, where there's a display of Bond music. Of particular interest here is David Arnold's personal score for the "Casino Royale" recording sessions. On Saturday, Benson was present at a book signing at the University bookstore, and he again established himseslf as a really nice guy.
On Saturday evening, I was at the Spurlock museum for a Bond music concert by the Illinois Jazz Band. Benson was also present here. He introduced the performances from three pieces from the Bond novels: "After You've Gone" (TMWTGG, Ch. 6), "Feuilles-Mortes" (DAF, ch. 5), and, of course, "La Vie En Rose" (CR, ch. 14). Benson himself took the keboard for a medley of Bond film tunes that was a highlight of an outstanding concert. The Spurlock also has a display of Bond film memorabilia, to include the Aston-Martin from "The Living Daylights" and costume items from Bond and Fatima Blush from NSNA. There's also Bond's bloody tuxedo from "Casino Royale" and various items from Vesper's purse, including a handwritten letter from her mother that was prepared by the studio art departent but never shown in the film.
Altogether, it was a very special weekend. For those who couldn't attend these events, the exhibitions are still available for viewing and still well worth a visit. Moreover, in two weeks, the Spurlock is going to host showings of the three versions of "Casino Royale", plus "Thunderball" and NSNA. Noted film historian John Cork, who worked on the commentaries for the video special editions, will lecture on the background to "Casino Royale" on the evening of April 26 and on "Thunderball" at 1:00 on August 28. i'm planning on attending the latter.