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After the Amazon buyout for creative control of the James Bond franchise was initrially reported to be for $1 billion, a recent regulatory filing lists the figure at $20 million.  Frequent Bond and Banter guest "MGW"comes on to address in a funny comedy sketch to start the show. Afterwards, Spy Command editor in chief Bill Koenig joins the podcast to further discuss this bit of Bond news.

The podcast welcomes back frequent guest Bill Koenig of The Spy Command blog for a fun discussion about the latest installment in the Mission Impossible film franchise exploring some of the common themes and elements it shares with the James Bond franchise.

Rumors about Warner Bros. releasing the Connery Eon Bond films have been swirling since late last year.  With pre-orders live on Amazon yet few other details revealed thus far, we speak with the preeminent expert on physical media, James Bond aficionado Spencer Draper (aka Damn Fool Idealistic Crusader on social media and YouTube). Spencer talks about his thoughts, concerns, and hopes for this particular 4K UHD release and why this may very well rank among the most important disc reviews he's ever done on his YouTube channel. First in keeping with this podcast's tradition of sketch comedy, however, we check in with the dearly departed "Sean Connery" to see what's on his mind. Later on, I also speak to Spencer about all the latest developments in the world of Bond including the essential releases of the La-La Land discs and of course the Amazon buyout.

Bond and Banter returns with our 1st episode of 2025! With the news of the Amazon buyout of the Bond franchise announced a few months ago, host Jack Lugo brings back frequent Bond and Banter guest "MGW" to ask some more pointed questions concerning this entire shocking development .  "MGW" is of course Bill Koenig of the Spy Command blog with his excellent impression of "Michael G. Wilson." After our opening sketch, Bill and Jack engage in a lively discussion about the latest earth-shattering Bond news!  Some explicit language due to the need of having to quote the Wall Street Journal story where in Barbara Broccoli allegedly referred to Amazon executives as "f**king idots."

After a long stretch of time without doing character sketches, Bond and Banter returns with an ALL NEW intro sketch to kick off the episode. "Michael G. Wilson" (AKA Bill Koenig) returns to the podcast with some Bond franchise news guaranteed to disappoint anyone eagerly anticipating some kind of Bond 26 announcement. Instead of breaking any news about the next installment of the franchise, "MGW" uses this opportunity to gloat about the recent announcement that he and Barbara Broccoli will be receiving the Thalberg Award at a separate ceremony in November for honorary Oscars. Afterwards, the Spy Command editor-in-chief Bill Koenig rejoins the podcast for a fun conversation about the state of the Bond franchise. 

The Bond and Banter podcast welcomes Alyse Knorr, author of GoldenEye 007 published by Boss Fight Books. We dive into the history the classic N64 game that proved to be not only a successful adaptation of an important Bond film but also a major innovation in gaming, changing the playing field for the first person shooter genre while also presenting players with the immensely popular multi-player option. Alyse interviewed the game developers for her book, who were mostly inexperienced in the field and found out how they came to develop a game that is still revered across both Bond and gaming fan communities.  She also shares some of her personal experiences with the game and the research for her book as well as her love of both the Bond franchise and gaming.

Host Jack Lugo welcomes friend and musician Sean Faust to the podcast to rank and discuss the Eon James Bond theme songs.  Sean and Jack discuss some of the challenges involved in this exercise given the perameters they agreed upon beforehand, not to mention the plethora of outstanding music to sort through and rank. We also discuss Sean's music playing a clip from his song "Who Are You, Anyway?" and his upcoming performances in the tri-state area. Sean and Jack discuss James Bond, music, Howard Stern, and more in this ALL NEW episode of Bond and Banter!

Host Jack Lugo welcomes back friend and editor Michael Kirwan for a discussion on some of the latest Bond rumors along with some fascinating topics that Michael has explored on his YouTube channel including his ranking of the Bond films and the prospect of AI playing a role in the future of the franchise. Jack and Michael do a fun little exercise utilizing ChatGPT to write the next Bond film. Find out what results the came up with and enjoy some fun banter about all things Bond in this ALL NEW episode of Bond and Banter. 

In this all new episode of BOND AND BANTER, host Jack Lugo welcomes Spencer Draper (aka @DamnFoolCrusade on Twitter / X) to the podcast for an in depth discussion on the state of the James Bond films on physical media. Spencer's expertise on the technical specifications of the Bond physical media releases offers many fascinating insights into the current condition of these films, which previous releases offer the best video and audio quality, and what needs to be done to properly preserve the Bond films so that future generations can continue to enjoy them.  Spencer also put together a fun editing project utilzing his Sean Connery impression to insert a "Connery voiceover" into non-Bond characters in other films such as GoldenEye. Look for a link to his Connery VO project on Vimeo as all as Spener's YouTube Channel: Damn Fool Idealistic Crusader.

After a long hiatus, the Bond and Banter podcast has returned with a BRAND NEW episode in 2024!  Host Jack Lugo welcomes Bill Koenig to talk about where things stand with the James Bond franchise as well as the latest Bond 26 rumors. Bill and Jack also discuss The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission Impossible, Argylle, the new Dynamite Bond comics, and towards the end a Bond musical that never happened.

"Barbara & Michael" make their return to Bond And Banter to mark the end of awards season for No Time To Die and what should be the end of the Daniel Craig era in the Bond franchise even if Barbara isn't ready to say goodbye.  Afterwards Shayla Miller, Bill Koenig, and Jack Lugo have a wide-ranging discussion about the latest Bond news, The Oscars, The Slap, and some of our own suggestions as to what Amazon could do with the Bond franchise now that they're acquired MGM. All this and more!!

Bond And Banter returns for our first episode of 2022! "Dikko Henderson" turns up just as he was about to tell James Bond some vital information.  Unfortunately he's been killed, but this gives host Jack Lugo an opportunity to ask him fun questions! Afterwards, Jon Auty of Behind The Stunts joins the podcast to talk to Jack about the stunts of the James Bond franchise as well as other film industry topics. Along the way, Jon gives us his top 5 fight stunts and top 5 car stunts of the Bond franchise! You don't want to miss this fascinating discussion!

It's the Christmas / Holiday Bond And Banter special episode!  For the final episode of the year, Jack speaks with "Michael G. Wilson"(played by Bill Koenig) & "Barbara Broccoli" (played by Shayla Miller).  The 2 Eon producers are confronted with inconvenient truths about the financial performance of No Time To Die. Plus find out what kind of gifts the half-siblings get each other for the Holidays! Afterwards, Bill & Shayla join the podcast (as themselves) for some banter about Bond, an impromptu version of The Price Is Right (Bond Cameo Edition), Diana The Musical, Holiday plans, & More!

On the 29th episode of Bond And Banter, "The Havelocks" drop in on the podcast just after being tragically gunned down by Gonzalez.  They both open up about the events that led to their premature deaths as well as their hopes for their daughter Melina. Afterwards, writers Alan & Gillian Porter join host Jack Lugo for a discussion about their book The James Bond Lexicon, their thoughts on No Time To Die, Alan's new Beatles podcast Before They Were Beatles, and much more!

For the 28th episode of Bond And Banter, host Jack Lugo welcomes guests Linda Zhu (James Bond Radio) & Ben Haworth (Movie Gang Podcast) to discuss the latest film entry in the James Bond franchise, No Time To Die. The group dives into a SPOILER-filled conversation all about the film taking a look at the film's strengths and weaknesses.  They also talk about what might be next for the Bond franchise and where they would like the franchise to do moving forward.