Hi, I'm Elliot Morgan. Welcome to the salon, this is Mental Floss video

1) and did you know that in the 1990s, when Pierce Brosnan played James Bond, it was in his contract that he couldn't wear a tuxedo in any other movie. That's why he's wearing a really weird suit in The Thomas Crown Affair. He couldn't wear a tux.

And that is the first of many facts about James Bond that I'm gonna share with you today.
 
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2) So as you probably know, James Bond was originally a character in a series of novels written by Ian Fleming. The first one was Casino Royale way back in 1953.

3) And Fleming named Bond after an ornithologist, AKA a bird expert. According to Fleming, "When I was casting around for a name for my protagonist, I thought My God, James Bond is the dullest name I've ever heard."

4) A man named Geoffrey Boothroyd was a firearms expert who was in touch with Ian  Fleming over the years and actually provided information about weapons for the novels. In the Dr. No film, Major Boothroyd became a character in the series as an homage to the real-life Boothroyd. He's now just called Q.

5) The famous James Bond theme music first appeared in Dr. No, but it was actually composed earlier than that for another purpose. A man named Monty Norman wrote it for a musical adaptation of a novel called A House for Mr. Biswas. The musical never made it to stage and Norman later made an arrangement of the song for Dr. No.

6) There are a couple Bond films that are considered unofficial by fans. The first one is a 1954 TV movie adaptation of Casino Royale, starring an American as Bond, Barry Nelson. You might know him as the manager of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. This CBS movie was the first ever Bond film, but many fans prefer to just forget it. There's also Never Say Never Again from 1983 which starred Sean Connery. It's not considered official canon because it was made by a different production company than most other Bond films.

7) By the way, Ian Fleming only got $1,000 for that CBS adaptation of Casino Royale. That's not a lot, ok? It's got casino in the title.

8) After Barry Nelson, Sean Connery got the role of James Bond. Fleming didn't approve that choice though. He hated Dr. No at first. Eventually, he grew to love Connery and in the future novels, he even made Bond's dad Scottish as an homage to the actor. 

9) The screenplay for the 1967 Bond film You Only Live Twice was written by none other than Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda.

10) Steven Seagal was the martial arts instructor for Sean Connery on the set of Never Say Never Again. At one point, Seagal actually broke Connery's wrist. 

11) Sean Connery has a brother, Neil Connery, and in 1967, Neil starred in a Bond satire film called Operation Kid Brother. That's adorable.

12) A German man named Gert Fröbe played the role of Goldfinger in the film of the same name. But after he was cast, the producers discovered that Fröbe didn't exactly speak the best English, so all of his lines were dubbed by another actor, Michael Collins.

13) Fröbe, by the way, was a member of the Nazi Party between 1929 and 1937. Goldfinger was released in 1964, but because of Fröbe's affiliation with Nazis, the film was banned in Israel for a time. 

14) At the premier of Goldfinger, star Honor Blackman actually wore a literal gold finger made for the occasion. It was a 22 karat piece for her pinky that was worth around £10,000.

15) So we all know that James Bond is 007, but what about 001 through 006? Movies have mentioned that 002, 003, 004, and 009 were killed at one time or another. 006 is the villain in GoldenEye, 008 has been mentioned, the movies haven't told us anything about 001 or 005, but there's a scene in Thunderball where we see all nine 00's from behind.

16) The Bond song "GoldenEye," performed by Tina Turner for the 1995 film, was written by none other than Bono and the Edge. 

17) Speaking of Bond songs, Johnny Cash wrote one for Thunderball. Tom Jones ended up getting the gig, but there's a Cash country song called "Thunderball" written for the film. Other people have performed Bond songs that didn't end up in the movies include Alice Cooper, Blondie, the Pet Shop Boys, and Muse. 

18) Thunderball has a pretty famous scene in which someone gets dropped into a pool of sharks. The stuntman that day asked for an extra £250 to be dropped into the pool.

19) Steven Spielberg once asked Bond producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli if he could direct a Bond movie. He was rejected. A few years later, Spielberg was going to ask Broccoli again, but his friend George Lucas advised him against it. Lucas said, "I've got something better than that. It's called Raiders of the Lost Ark."

20) President John F. Kennedy was a huge Bond fan. He actually once had dinner with Ian Fleming before running for president. The topic of Fidel Castro came up at the dinner and it's said that Fleming gave him some advice on the topic of humiliating and killing Castro. 

21) From Russia with Love was actually the last film JFK ever saw. He had a screening of it at the White House in 1963, just two days before he was assassinated. 

22) In Dr. No, actress Ursula Andress has a famous scene in which she wears a white bikini. It turns out that she actually helped the costume designer sew it. That way, it fit perfectly. In 2001, it sold at an auction for £35,000. 

23) There is a still unconfirmed rumor that Sean Connery filmed a cameo for Die Another Day. It was reported that he played Bond's father in the part. The producers denied it, but many Bond fans still believe the legend has some truth to it. 

24) In 2010, Aston Martin announced that they would give Daniel Craig any of their cars that he wants to drive whenever he wants for the rest of his life. That is so cool.

25) Roger Moore has a favorite Bond: Daniel Craig. He said Craig overtook Sean Connery as his favorite after watching Skyfall. That sounds about right, Skyfall was awesome.

26) In 2009, the company Del Monte Super Fruit Smoothies released James Bond popsicles in the UK. They looked like Daniel Craig and his bare torso and they were called "License to Chill" because sometimes things are just awful.

27) Finally, I return to the salon to tell you that many actors have been considered for the role of James Bond over the years, including Michael Caine, Dick Van Dyke, and Mel Gibson. A few have even turned down the iconic role like Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and Liam Neeson. 

Thank you for watching Mental Floss video, which is made with all the help of these secret agents. Leave your favorite Bond in the comments and Don't Forget To Be Awesome.

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