Interesting Facts About Greenland

by Jake McMillan

In my efforts to get this blog read by people from Greenland, I have been doing some research as most people don’t know much about this large country.

Here are some quite interesting facts about Greenland:

• It is the Largest island in the world (Australia is classified as world’s smallest continent). On many World Maps (including the world map in WordPress stats), Greenland is often shown to be larger than Australia when in fact the truth is Australia is three times the size of Greenland.

World Map with Greenland being shown bigger than Australia

Australia is actually 3 times the size of Greenland

• Greenland is the least densely populated country in the world

• It is believed Greenland was named as such largely as a PR exercise by the Norwegian-born Erik the Red who was exiled from Iceland for murder in the 10th century and settled on the island and naming it Grønland (“Greenland”) in the hope that the pleasant name would attract further settlers

• Autonomous Country within the Kingdom of Denmark

• Population of 57,637 (which is smaller than the population of the English town Taunton in Somerset)

• Capital is Nuuk, in the South-West and is largest city in Greenland with a population of 15,459

• Official language is Greenlandic, with second language Danish and third English

• Ethnicity of the country is 88% Inuit (including Inuit-Danish mixed( and 12% Europeans (mostly Danes)

• Currency is Danish Krone

• Fishing and fish exporting is a major part of the Greenlandic economy, with shrimp fishing industry being by far the biggest income generator

• Transport between cities in Greenland is by air and boat as there are no connecting roads due to the many fjords

• Football (soccer) is the national sport of Greenland. However, the Football Association of Greenland is not yet a member of world governing body FIFA because it cannot grow grass for regulation grass pitches.

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Interesting James Bond Trivia

Whether you’re just discovering the world of James Bond 007 or have been a fan for years, the following trivia should be of interest to you. If you are a true Bond aficionado then you should know them already, but do you know them all?!

1) M’s Real Name
M’s real name is Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy. Revealed in Fleming’s final book ‘Man with the Golden Gun’. In the 1977 Spy Who Loved Me, General Gogol actually refers to M as  Miles when they are together, “Miles, after you“, during the scenes they explain to 007 that he and Triple X will be working together on the mission.

2) Sean Connery wore a Toupee 
Sean Connery wears a toupee in all the James Bond movies he appears in.

3) Jaws’s Real Name
In the screenplay, Jaws is revealed to be Polish and his real name is Zbigniew Krycsiwiki.

4) Roger Moore has played Bond the Most Times
Roger Moore has played Bond the most in official bond films – 7, although so has Sean Connery if you include Never Say Never Again (a remake of Thunderball).

5) The Top Rated Bond Films on IMDb
The following are the Top 12 rated Bond films on IMDb (Correct as of 14th November 2012):

Skyfall 8.1 (out of 10) – 97,000 votes
Casino Royale 7.9  - 267,000 votes
Goldfinger 7.8 – 80,000 votes
From Russia with Love 7.5 – 50,000 votes
Dr No 7.3 – 65,000 votes
Goldeneye 7.2 – 120,000 votes 
The Spy Who Loved Me 7.1 – 43,000 votes
Thunderball 7.0 – 46,000 votes
You Only Live Twice 6.9 – 42,000 votes
OHMSS 6.8 – 33,000 votes
Live and Let Die 6.8 – 42,000 votes
For Your Eyes Only 6.8 – 41,000 votes
Quantum of Solace 6.7 – 176,000 votes

The lowest ranked Bond film is Die Another Day with a score of 6.0 (105,000 votes).

Non-official James Bond film Never Say Never Again has a score of 6.1 from 31,000 votes.

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6) For Your Eyes Only Underwater Scenes Weren’t Underwater
The close-ups of Carole Bouquet and Roger Moore for the underwater scenes were actually filmed in a studio with a windfan to produce the effect of floating hair. The scenes were then played in slow motion with the bubbles added in.

7) The Gun Barrel Opening Sequence
Maurice Binder designed the gun barrel opening at the last minute, by pointing a pinhole camera through a real gun barrel. The actor in the sequence is not Sean Connery, but stuntman Bob Simmons. Connery didn’t film the sequence himself until Thunderball.
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8) Q/Major Boothroyd
“Q”/ Major Boothroyd played by Desmond Llewelyn appears for the first time in From Russia With Love. This character was played by Peter Burton in Dr. No. When Burton was unable to return for this film, the role was recast with Llewelyn in the part. Llewelyn would reprise the role of “Q” in 16 subsequent Bond films (17 performances in all, but he didn’t appear in Live and Let Die. Q is referred to by his real name, “Major Boothroyd,” only in Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and The Spy Who Loved Me.

9) Octopussy Stunt Actually Real
In Octopussy, during the scene the TukTuks are racing through the busy Indian street, a bike goes between the two vehicles. This was not a rehearsed stunt, but a local riding through not realising they were filming!
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10) Maud Adams Appeared in 3 James Bond Films
Very eagle eyed viewers can spot Maud Adams as a woman in the crowd at Fisherman’s Wharf in ‘A View to a Kill’. Adams happened to be visiting San Francisco when the film was in production there. Roger Moore got her to appear as an uncredited extra in a crowd scene, making her the only actress to appear in 3 Bond films (excluding actresses in recurring roles), after The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy. http://commanderbond.net/2410/james-bond-mystery-solved-maud-adams-found-in-a-view-to-a-kill.html

11) Dolph Lundgren’s First Role in A View to a Kill
Although only appearing very briefly, A View to a Kill is Dolph Lundgren‘s first on-screen role, playing General Gogol’s KGB bodyguard Venz. He landed the position because he was dating Grace Jones at the time of the filming, and was conveniently on set when director John Glenrealized he quickly needed someone to fill in as a simple gun wielding body guard. You can spot him 52mins in to the film.

12) Jaws Had Only One Line of Dialogue
Actor Richard Kiel has only one line of dialogue in his two Bond appearances as “Jaws” (Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me). He says, “Well, here’s to us,” near the end of Moonraker to his blonde girlfriend.

 13) Recurring Drunk Tourist Role
The guy on the beach who looks bemused as he sees Bond’s Lotus Esprit come out of the water in The Spy Who Loved Me, also appears in Moonraker & For Your Eyes Only. His real name is Victor Tourjanski and he is not an actor, he is an Assistant Director.

14) The Last Film Elvis Presley Saw
Elvis Presley saw The Spy Who Loved Me on August 10th 1977 during a special viewing at the General Cinema in Whitehaven, TN. It was the last movie he saw as he died six days later on August 16th 1977 at the age of 42.

15) American Actor James Brolin Almost Played James Bond
During casting, James Brolin was almost given the role of James Bond when at the last minute, Roger Moore agreed to play Bond again. Brolin’s screen tests can be seen on the DVD. Moore had gone out of contract after Moonraker, and had agreed to return to the role one more time in For Your Eyes Only. The production went with Moore because this film would be competing with Never Say Never Again starring original and former James Bond actor and legend Sean Connery. The uncertainty in using an American actor in the role and having to introduce a new actor in going-up against Connery were the reasons. In the meantime, Oliver Tobias, Michael Billington, Timothy Dalton and Ian Ogilvy had also been considered for James Bond.

16) The Eldest James Bond
Despite being the third actor to play James Bond in the official films, Roger Moore is 3 years older than Sean Connery. Moore was born in 1927 and Connery in 1930.

17) JFK’s Top 10 Favourite Books
When then US President John F. Kennedy listed Ian Fleming”s book From Russia With Love among his top ten favourite novels of all time, a list published in Life Magazine, March 17, 1961, the producers decided to make this the second James Bond movie.

18) MI6 Objection to Bond Filming
When the real MI6 learned that ‘The World is Not Enough’ would shoot a scene around their headquarters, they moved to prohibit it, citing a security risk. However, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, at the urging of Member of Parliament Janet Anderson, moved to overrule them and allow the shoot, stating, “After all Bond has done for Britain, it was the least we could do for Bond.”

19) Ian Fleming’s Secret Cameo in From Russia with Love
It is rumoured that Ian Fleming made a secret appearance in From Russia with Love, but it has never been confirmed or denied by the film-makers. Make up your own mind by reading the following and watching the clip of the film.

20) Octopussy Phantom Nipple
I went to see Octopussy on my friend Jonathan Owen’s birthday with his younger brother Duncan and a few others. Duncan Owen afterwards claimed you could see the nipple of  Kristina Wayborn when she is standing at her bedroom door when Bond is staying at Khan’s Palace. This isn’t true! However, at the beginning of Diamonds Are Forever you can see a nipple very briefly when Bond (Connery) rips off the bikini top of Marie (played by Denise Perrier) trying to find the location of Blofeld.

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Ian Fleming’s Secret Cameo in From Russia with Love

by Jake McMillan
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Some James Bond fans believe that 007 creator, Ian Fleming, made a secret cameo appearance in the second Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963). The suggestion is that Fleming’s one and only cameo takes place during the Orient Express sequence, after James Bond (Sean Connery) and Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) flee Istanbul with the stolen Russian Lektor decoder machine. Eagle-eyed fans believe that a man standing to the right of the train, seen shortly after Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz) has been found dead, is in fact Ian Fleming.

Bryan Krofchok submitted the following for issue #3c of the Ian Fleming Foundation’s “Shaken, Not Stirred” newsletter in March 1995:

“The curious notion of Fleming’s cameo is mentioned in Roger Ryan and Martin Sterling’s book of Bond trivia, ‘Keeping The British End Up‘, under the heading ‘Brief Encounter’. The scene in question pops up when the Orient Express must stop for a truck that has stalled across the tracks (originally, part of Grant’s escape route). Watch for an oddly placed gentleman wearing a white top and dark pants, who seems to be holding some sort of walking stick.
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“… I say that the man is oddly placed, because he seems to have no part in the plot, and cannot simply be brushed off as someone merely out for a casual stroll due to the apparent desolation of the surrounding area. I also find it quite odd that although the train is passing fairly close to him, the man has his back to it and is looking the other way. “

It is not clear to see from the photo, but have a closer look for yourself in the video below:

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At first glance, the man on the side of the rail tracks does not appear to be Ian Fleming and the shadow on his face from his cap makes him seem like a man with a darker-skinned ethnicity. However, the more you compare the man in the film with other photos of Ian Fleming, you realise you cannot rule it out. Both men have large ears and the nose and cheeks ‘seem’ to be similar.  Ian Fleming was 6ft tall and the man in the film appears to be shorter than this but it is very hard to judge as he not standing close enough to another something we are sure of the height of to gain a proper perspective.

Also consider the fact the film-makers have never disclosed this (Never say Never!) and that is hard to believe or understand why? The film-makers know that fans would love to know if it were true and surely it would help sales of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray. But no, they have not said anything which suggests that it is probably not true.

It is also odd that his cameo would be in that remote scene, presumably shot on a day when most of the main cast were not around and in the middle of the European countryside somewhere? However! There are publicity stills of Fleming on location during the filming of From Russia with Love wearing a white top(!) in front of and by the Orient Express train. See below, do these images match the man appearing in the film?

These pictures add much further weight to the notion that the man in the film was actually Ian Fleming. In the photos you can clearly see he is wearing a white top with a white shirt collar coming through. Look at the film again. The man by the side of the railway tracks is wearing a white top with a white collar.

My gut feeling is that it is not Ian Fleming as there is no evidence to confirm that it is was him and I am almost (!) certain there would be if it were true.  My heart, though, believes it would be great if it was actually him and that he got to play a tiny part in the film of his famous story. At the very least he has created a genuine Ian Fleming mystery.