TWO amateur directors from Newport are preparing to screen their very own James Bond film, which they made almost 50 years ago after getting permission from Hollywood producers to use the character.
Keith Stephens-Borg and David Harnett made the film in 1972 when they were teenagers at St. Joseph’s High School - filling the gap between Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Live and Let Die (1973).
That decade also saw The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979) grace the big screen.
The Second Shot Kills - a original script by the pair - was filmed on a budget of £200 using standard 8mm film and wind-up cameras.
Mr Stephens-Borg, who starred as Bond, explained how they even got the permission of Hollywood producer Albert Romolo Broccoli, nicknamed Cubby, who co-owned the rights to the character with Harry Saltzman.
"Even at that age, we were worried about copyright," he said. "We saved our pocket money and tried to get through to the right office.
(Filming Bond on the Newport Transporter Bridge. Picture: David Harnett and Keith Stephens-Borg)
"Eventually we got through to Cubby Broccoli’s secretary. We were all crammed in to the telephone box, jostling to try and hear what he was saying.
"We could hear him in the background saying we couldn’t make the film. He then asked if it was a home video, and we said yes, then he said good luck with it. We took that to mean he had given his permission."
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Most of the scenes for both films were shot at Tredegar House, with the climatic finale of their Bond film taking place on the Transporter Bridge.
"Some of the scenes were shot in London," Mr Stephens-Borg recalled. "We all went up on the bus to go and shoot those scenes.
"We also went to the St Athan air show, where we shot planes, helicopters, and tanks.
"The people at St Athan were brilliant. When we told them what we were doing, they allowed us to go in parts of the base where the public weren’t allowed, and even took our camera up in an aircraft and took some aerial shots for us.
(Keith Stephens-Borg and Margaret Hogan as Bond and Moneypenny. Picture: Keith Stephens-Borg and David Harnett)
"There’s no way that would happen now."
Their Bond film sat dormant until 2010 after filming finished, along with an adaption of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World - made in 1970 for just £50.
After nine years of painstaking work to digitise the two films, they were screened at Cwtsh Community Arts Centre in Newport in June.
When digitising the films, they had to be re-scored and some of the dialogue needed to be re-recorded.
(Joss Ackland (L) with Keith Stephens-Borg. Picture: Keith Stephens-Borg)
Now living in Devon, Mr Stephens-Borg sent nearby actor Joss Ackland, who starred in White Mischief and Lethal Weapon 2, a copy of the script, asking if he would like to be involved.
The BAFTA nominee was so impressed that he recorded the voice for M, while late Newport musician Michael Elliott re-scored The Lost World, and Karim Bedda, formally of The Royal College of Music and Drama, scored The Second Shot Kills.
"It’s amazing how many people have taken an interest in this," said Mr Stephens-Borg. "The fact that such a distinguished actor as Joss Ackland wanted to be involved is amazing."
The filmmakers are now preparing for them to be shown at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on September 29.
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