SPECTRE is a fictional organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, as well as the films and video games based on those novels. Led by criminal mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the international organisation first formally appeared in the novel Thunderball (1961) and in the film Dr. No (1962). SPECTRE is not aligned with any nation or political ideology, enabling the later Bond books and Bond films to be regarded as somewhat apolitical. The presence of former Gestapo members in the organisation can be considered as a sign of Fleming's warnings about Nazi fugitives after the Second World War, as first detailed in the novel Moonraker (1954). In the novels, SPECTRE begins as a small group of criminals, but in the films it is depicted as a vast international organisation with its own SPECTRE Island training base capable of replacing the Soviet SMERSH.
The Living Daylights is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story "The Living Daylights", the plot of which also forms the basis of the first act of the film. It was the last film to use the title of an Ian Fleming story until the 2006 instalment Casino Royale. It is also the first film to have Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny, replacing Lois Maxwell. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli, his stepson Michael G. Wilson, and co-produced by his daughter, Barbara Broccoli. The Living Daylights grossed $191.2 million worldwide, and received mixed reviews from critics.
Olivia Jane d'Abo is a British actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Karen Arnold, Kevin Arnold's rebellious teenaged hippie sister in the ABC comedy-drama series The Wonder Years (1988–1993), as female serial killer Nicole Wallace in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as Marie Blake on The Single Guy (1995–1997), and Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2001–2003). Her film appearances include roles in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Bank Robber (1993).
Lois Ruth Maxwell was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced James Bond films (1962–1985), from Dr. No in 1962 to A View to a Kill in 1985. She did not appear in the 1967 adaptation of Casino Royale, nor in the 1983 remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again, as the production was not Eon's, though she did, as a similar character, appear in the spoof O.K. Connery.
The Man from Barbarossa, first published in 1991, was the eleventh novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.
Ultimate Iron Man is the name of two comic book miniseries written by Orson Scott Card and published by Marvel Comics. The stories tell the origins of the Ultimate Marvel version of Iron Man, who appears in The Ultimates.
Michael David d'Abo is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of Manfred Mann from 1966 to their dissolution in 1969, and as the composer of the songs "Handbags and Gladrags" and "Build Me Up Buttercup", the latter of which was a hit for The Foundations. With Manfred Mann, d'Abo achieved six top twenty hits on the UK Singles Chart including "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James", "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown" and the chart topper "Mighty Quinn".
Dil Se.. is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film written and directed by Mani Ratnam who produced it with Ram Gopal Varma and Shekhar Kapur. Set against the backdrop of Insurgency in Assam, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala, while Preity Zinta makes her film debut in a supporting role. An example of parallel cinema, it is noted as the final installment in Ratnam's trilogy consisting of Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995). The film's soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, sold six million units in India.
Xtro is a 1983 British science fiction horror film written and directed by Harry Bromley Davenport. The film focuses on a man who was abducted by aliens and returns back to his wife and son three years later. The film received largely negative reviews from critics, while the special effects were praised.
Helen of Troy is a 2003 British-American television miniseries based upon Homer's story of the Trojan War, as recounted in the epic poem, the Iliad. The series was entirely shot on location in Malta.
Tatiana Alexeievna "Tania" Romanova is a fictional character in the 1957 James Bond novel From Russia, with Love, its 1963 film adaptation and the 2005 video game based on both.
"Extremis" is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series Iron Man, published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. Extremis elevates the status quo for Iron Man, increasing the power of his armor significantly.
Abo is an Arabic and Hebrew male name and a variant form of Abbas. It is from Abbas that Abo takes its meaning of stern or somber father. In Arabic, Abbas is a symbolic name referring to the lion, the king of beasts.
Maryam d'Abo is a British actress, best known as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights.
Tigers is a 2014 Indian drama film directed by Danis Tanović, and produced as a joint production between Cinema Time, French production company ASAP Films and Sikhya Entertainment.
Rupture: Living With My Broken Brain is a 2012 United Kingdom documentary film created by former actress Maryam d'Abo, directed by Hugh Hudson and narrated by Nigel Havers. The film follows the experiences of d'Abo and others as they deal with the repercussions of various forms of brain damage.
The Heat of Ramadan is a novel by Steven Hartov, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1992 and rereleased in 2015. It became the first in a trilogy of espionage tales featuring Israeli Military Intelligence agents Eytan Eckstein and Benni Baum. Hartov, an American-born author who served as an Israeli paratrooper, and later, an operative with AMAN, devised the story based on historical events as well has his own experience.
Timelock is a science fiction film of 1996 directed by Robert Munic, starring Maryam d'Abo.
