Screenwriter Christopher Wood (1935-2015)
By: Anders Frejdh
Published:
2015-10-18
FSWL are saddened to report the passing of British novelist and screenwriter Christopher Wood (born in London 1935) passed away on 17th October 2015, at age 79. Our thoughts and prayers go to Christopher's family and friends.
When
Sir Roger Moore heard of Christopher's passing, he commented on Twitter:
"How sad to hear Bond screenwriter Christopher Wood has died. He wrote two of my best."
Obituary:
Sadly, the Bond Film family got a little smaller when novelist and screenwriter (for 1977's
The Spy Who Loved Me and the 1979 film
Moonraker (1979))
Christopher Wood passed away.
A graduate of
Cambridge University, Wood toiled in advertising as he wrote novels in his spare time. After leaving the ad game to write full time, Wood penned numerous novels including
Dead Centre,
Fire Mountain and
Seven Nights in Japan (Based on his own screenplay), however the writer is known in the Bond community for having written
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me and
James Bond and Moonraker, two “movie tie ins”.
What’s important about his The Spy Who Loved Me is that because the movie had little to do with Ian Fleming’s novel, aside from the title, Wood wrote it directly from the original screenplay (on which he shared credit with
Richard Maibaum). All previous movie editions were the Fleming novels reflagged with movie artwork. Both of his Bond novelizations became best sellers in the UK, and the now scarce hardcover versions are prized by collectors. Wood’s two Bond were among the most successful of Roger Moore’s tenure as the suave secret agent.
Wood also scripted the 1985 action film
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, directed by distinguished Bond director,
Guy Hamilton. In 2006 Wood penned his memoirs called
James Bond, The Spy I Loved (published by Twenty First Century Publishers). He leaves behind three children and a legion of fans.
FSWL founder
Anders Frejdh had the opportunity to talk with Wood in 2012,
read his interview with Christopher.
Photo above:
Portrait of Chistopher Wood from his private archives. All rights reserved.
For more information about Christopher Wood's amazing career, check out his Wikipedia profile:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wood_%28writer%29
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