See 007 fans edit themselves into every Bond movie
Two Bond superfans create an entertaining video in a campaign to get Shirley Bassey to sing the theme song for upcoming Bond flick "Spectre."
Hot on the heels of every geeky conversation about which actor made the best Bond comes the follow-up conundrum -- whose Bond theme was best? There's no question whose tunes these two 007 fans prefer, however, having edited themselves into every Bond film as a campaign to get Shirley Bassey to sing the theme to the next Bond movie.
The video, shot over three weeks, sees UK Bond fans Paul Joseph and Tim Benzie deploying a startling range of locations and props (including some gold body paint) to show history's various Bonds that the Welsh singer deserves to sing one more theme.
The 78-year-old Bassey last provided a tune for a Bond theme in 1979, for "Moonraker" starring Roger Moore, previously recording "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds are Forever." Many other singers have lent their vocal cords to Bond movies over the years, though it has to be said that compared with Shirley, none of them have the range.
Whoever does sing the theme song for "Spectre" has a tough act to follow, with Adele's "Skyfall" hitting No. 1 one in the UK iTunes Store less than 10 hours after its release. Singers Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran have been suggested as bettors' favourites to land the gig.
"We were on holiday in Australia and saw a photo of Dame Shirley at a big vineyard she had done a concert at," charity worker and star of the video Paul Joseph, 37, tells CNET's Crave. "I recalled seeing her on 'Strictly Come Dancing' a month or two before, totally nailing it with a performance of Goldfinger and I thought 'We need her do to do another Bond song!' She is the benchmark for glamour and drama when it comes to Bond themes.
"It was great to be able to film outside MI6 as it is an exact location in the films," Joseph said, "though we were worried all those real spies may be suspicious of two men in tuxes hanging around outside their office with a big blue sign.
"Filming us in a car was difficult -- it involved my mum driving and my sister filming in a car in front," Joseph added, also noting that preparation for the shoot took eight weeks of meticulous Bond screenings to hunt for shots that could be used. "Filming the tube train also involved a few takes to catch the train at the right speed -- moving, but not so fast you can't read the sign," Joseph said.
The pair has also set up a Facebook page to aid their campaign to get Shirley Bassey involved in "Spectre," which will be the 24th Bond film and is due to be released in October this year. Finally, we asked Joseph which Bond was his favourite.
"Having studied all the films closely over the past few months I think Pierce Brosnan is my favourite," Joseph said. "He gets the combination suave charm and tough action hero just right. Daniel Craig is great, but it's very hard to find a scene where his Bond smiles. Tim prefers the classic Connery approach to the role."
