More Clues on 'M'
It is becoming increasingly clear since the press conference on November 3 that 007s boss 'M' (played by Judi Dench in her seventh Bond movie) will have a pivotal role in 'Skyfall' and that we will learn more about her private life and past career than ever before.
At the start-of-production press launch held in London it was revealed that 'Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her'. New clues are emerging that add to the impression that the script will flesh out her character in even more detail than in previous stories, and it will give 'M' a more rounded and complex personality.
According to the UK's 'Mail on Sunday' newspaper (November 20), for example, a deal has been done to allow a copy of the monthly book-lover's magazine 'The Literary Review' to appear as a prop in a scene set in M's flat. A copy of the October 2011 issue of the magazine, which features the famous writer Charles Dickens on the front cover, will be on display in the scene. 'Literary Review' editor Nancy Sladek told the newspaper: 'We are thrilled. M is clearly a lady of great taste and authority'.
The magazine also hopes that its appearance in a Bond movie will help boost circulation. Interestingly, Sladek also pointed out that the Literary Review's deputy editor happens to be Tom Fleming, a great-nephew of Bond creator Ian. Moreover, the literary links do not stop there. During his lifetime, the Bond author was a great collector of rare books and built up a significant collection of classic and modern First Editions, precisely the kind of works that the 'Literary Review' gives extensive coverage to.
Dame Judi Dench has been hard at work in the last two weeks reprising her role as the head of MI6, both at Pinewood Studios and on location recently in central London. New photographs have also emerged showing Dame Judi filming some scenes for 'Skyfall' in London, during the initial stages of location shooting for the movie.
Judi's latest screen role, shot earlier this year, has also been on view to American audiences, with the UK to follow shortly. The Clint Eastwood-directed movie 'J. Edgar', starring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, the founder of the FBI, went on general release in the USA on November 11, to largely mixed reviews. But there has been praise for Dench's key role in the movie. Dame Judi plays J. Edgar Hoover's domineering mother, who was in turn placed on a pedestal by the complex FBI boss (Hoover lived with his mother for much of his career).
Dame Judi was recently presented with a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 'Harper's Bazaar' magazine Women of the Year Awards, held in London on November 8. She also told the UK's newspaper 'The People' on November 13 that she likes playing M - 'being very, very cross and keeping Bond in order is a lot of fun'. She has also been interviewed for the latest edition of the BBC's 'Radio Times' magazine, currently on sale.
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