At the end of October I had the honor and pleasure of attending the premiere of SkyFall at The Royal Albert Hall in London. For me it was an emotional dream come true, one of the best just falling short of actually being in a James Bond movie. Even boarding the plane to begin the journey I recounted my journey of Bond fandom which began when my father would let me stay up late to watch re-runs on ABC. My father was a dedicated and successful, and thus busy, executive who was not exactly the “play catch in the back of the house” type guy. But, I have indelible memories of us watching Bond together, and laughing, remarking, and cheering.
That same nostalgic happiness washed over me as I landed in the UK and began a five day adventure deep into the world of Bond.
The movie itself was a wonderful reminder of what makes Bond great and seeing it in Bond’s home of London added a wonderfully rich backdrop that could not be matched. The fact that Coke and Heineken invited us to their premieres and after parties seemed to acknowledge the power and acceptance of the social media swell that we all have created together.
Like the influence of many causing Billy Reid to re-issue the Bond pea coat, these corporations are fully aware of the virtual connectivity we can create by coming together as one. Where once corporations scoffed at the solidarity of interest like living like Bond, they now treat those spokespeople with the same respect as traditional media.
Below are a few photos of the trip but it’s what can’t be described in video and pics that made it special. The Bonding of friends, experiences, and emotions is what I will remember from my trip…forever.
Would love to hear about your own SkyFall movie going experience! Leave a comment below.
Great website David
What an amazing experience. A memory of a life time!!
Great site, happy to see that you enjoyed the movie, I been working down in South America and got to see the movie on Oct 31, one of the BEST thus far! Looks like you had a blast in London, how did you pull it off to see the premier in London?
Thanks!
Good friend of mine, Remmert, was able to bag us tickets…I was very very lucky!
Going to the midnight Skyfall IMAX in a few hours. Can’t wait. Almost glad I didn’t splurge for the NY premiere with so many guests not making it due to the storm.
Yeah, Craig sent a video…not quite the same!
Congratulations on the website!
For me it all also started when My father took me to see my very first movie ever: Moonraker, the rest is history…
See you around!
Fer, I hear ya….my father also introduced me to Bond…must be a rite of passage.
Fantastic site and of course theres always room for more Bond !
My Dad took me to see DAF and from then on I was hooked.
Keep up the good work
I remember seeing DAF on the floor of my parents bedroom, way too late for a school night….very special!
well done david……..great site,,,,,,,,,00
david well done i have shots from the premiere i had my 50th there with 7 guests and we went to the tate party , bond at the barbican , bond auction , i bought the golden eye holiday and M s desk ! Bond 50 at the beaulea and i am happy to say i have attened every premiere as a guest since 1977 – 35 years off bond and collecting ! Good website mate !
Alan, we would love to hear more about this in the YOUR BOND Experience area…and pics of course!
I was the guy that recognised you at the Coke Zero Premier. Good luck with the new site.
Matt, you made my night…was great to see you and your Bond girl there!
I remember the excitment of seeing The Spy Who Loved Me on the big screen back in the 70’s. Going to the cinema was a big event in those days – there weren’t the continual stream of “blockbusters”. Seeing the Lotus Esprit plunge into the water was an amazing site – just like watching the Millenium Falcon fly “over” the audience at the begining of Star wars – great childhood memories.
… and this weekend I’ll see Skyfall in IMAX (I’ve never seen an IMAX film before) with my eldest daughter – so the Bond baton gets passed to another generation and I’m sure it will be in good hands for the coming 50 years !
Love that you are bringing your daughter…may have to take my two daughters kicking and screaming…maybe I have OVER-Bonded them?
Hi David, I was also lucky enough to get tickets for the Premier. I’m the guy on the far right of your main ‘ London Calling ‘ photo, you can just see my right hand profile-amazing! I will also treasure that night forever and never forget the experiences of meeting a lot of icons that were in so many of the Bond films I love. From the first time I saw the title sequence of Dr No and I watched this man stroll onto the screen in front of me wearing a Hat I was hooked! Great website by the way.
Jason, I am sure that memory is seared into your head…happy we could share something like that…even in retrospect!
Hi David , really enjoy reading your articles and watching your podcast’s on jamesbondlifestyle.com so i had to follow you over to your new site (very impressed )
Can’t believe you managed to get Skyfall premier tickets , you must have better contacts than MI6.
Very impressive website David, super impressed that you made the journey to London for the Skyfall premiere…..
Keep the great podcasts coming…..
See you in London in 2014 for Bond 24.
David,
Where does Skyfall stack up for you in the Bond cannon? Better than Casino Royale? Tough call.
Got to be in the Top 5, which is high praise.
Hi very good side
i am no 1 007 fan in Iceland
love Bond and your side
thanks Gudni Thor Sigurdsson.