BFI Southbank, London, 30th September 2022

Michael G. Wilson; Neal Purvis; Robert Wade; Rory Kinnear; Debbie McWilliams; Gregg Wilson in conversation with Samira Ahmed to celebrate 60 years of 007 on the big screen.

The British Film Institute are masters of events championing all things film and television. Their reputation attracts the best in the business to discuss their life and work. They devoted an entire weekend to celebrate six decades of the world’s most famous spy: Bond, James Bond.

There were screenings of Dr. No, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Living Daylights and a world first presentation of No Time To Die in 3D at the BFI IMAX with a range of Bond cars on display outside the venue, all kicked off by a Q&A originally billed as with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The pair have steered the Bond ship for 27 years and their involvement in the series goes much further back. Daughter of the Godfather of Bond, Cubby, Barbara Broccoli first worked on The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and Wilson on the third entry in the series, 1964’s classic Goldfinger. Their Bond credentials are impeccable, making this event mouth-watering for even the most diehard 007 fan.

Sadly Barbara Broccoli had to withdraw from the event with a week to go. But the BFI are no slouches, immediately replacing her with a cast list fitting for Bond’s big bash: writers Purvis and Wade, actor Kinnear who has played Bill Tanner since 2008’s Quantum of Solace, casting director Debbie McWilliams who first worked on Octopussy, and Gregg Wilson, son of Michael and Associate Producer on recent entries, with the delightful Samira Ahmed, a true Bond fan who definitely knows her stuff, as the moderator.

Now, on paper this does indeed look impressive. But it is easy when trying to make up for a disappointment to fall into the ‘more is more’ trap. Seven guests are hard to juggle, especially when you have a big hitter like Michael G. Wilson sitting there – it’s hard not to default to him all the time.

Curating the panel depends on one crucial decision. Who are the audience? Dyed in the wool Bond fans who are looking for a deep-dive into the franchise’s history? Or the casual viewer and film fan wanting an entertaining insight into a series of films that have Christmas and Bank Holidays for most of their lives. It’s a tricky balance.

Ahmed kind of opted for both, at the same time trying to be conscious of the range of knowledge and experience on the panel, first of all asking each guest for their first Bond memory – Rory Kinnear hilariously exclaimed his complete lack of qualification to be on the stage – then starting things proper with famous clips from Dr. No. This was Wilson’s moment, able to chat about the significance of these moments – the first time we meet Bond at the casino – and their impact on the series.

Wilson is engaging and entertaining. He is clearly passionate and protective about the films. This comes across in spades and he is every bit as charming as Bond himself.

Further clips from The Spy Who Loved Me, The Living Daylights and GoldenEye brought in discussion from other panellists, but mainly focussed on Wilson, Purvis and Wade, the latter able to offer insight into the process by which one begins to write for a Bond film. The difficulty that comes from engaging a large panel was made apparent when I realised we were 50 minutes in and Rory Kinnear had said nothing since his original Bond memory. And even then he had to force his way in! When he did, he was hilarious, demonstrating a sharp wit and skill at story-telling. As Neal Purvis was talking of the entire crew learning to play poker on the set of Casino Royale so that this would lend an air of authenticity to the film, Kinnear pitched in that he and Judi Dench would spend their time on set engaged in a mean game of Scrabble.

Debbie McWilliams’ Bond pedigree is massive and Ahmed was wise enough to draw on that frequently. She gave interesting insights into the development of casting ‘Bond girls’ who were simply there to hang around swimming pools in bikinis, to a more sophisticated level of casting in the 21st century, demonstrating the manner in which the series has constantly grown and evolved.

The last half of the event was heavily skewed towards the Daniel Craig era, inevitable given the panel. To that end, it’s a shame that many crucial elements of the series were overlooked, George Lazenby for one, curious given the rehabilitation that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has had over the years. And bizarrely, Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli got one mention and nothing for Harry Saltzman. Given that they were the two men who saw the potential for Bond on the big screen, it seems odd that there was no special acknowledgement of them.

Personally I expected a series of montages to the peculiarities that have made the series unique amongst action and spy films: the songs, the cars, the villains, M, Moneypenny and Q. It felt like there were so many opportunities missed. Perhaps Michael G. Wilson didn’t want to carry the panel alone, but there was a sense that it was he the audience wanted to hear from. With a trimmed down panel, chances for Ahmed to deep dive right into the heart of the films would have been there, without scaring off the casual observer.

Michael G. Wilson graciously returned to introduce the Dr. No screening later. A class act. Long may he continue to be in charge of 007.

Verdict: An enjoyable evening, and definitely a lot of love in the room. If it ever comes up, I would heartily recommend an Evening with Rory Kinnear. 8/10

Charlie Mackenzie