THE OTHER FELLOW Explores The Phenomenal Impact Shared With The Name Of Ian Fleming’s Superspy Brainchild
It’s imaginable that there are people in the world by now who might otherwise be affected in some way shape or form by having the same name as that of an otherwise fictitious character created nearly seventy years ago. How so? Welp, leave it to Matthew Bauer to document this phenomenon in the new exploratory feature study, The Other Fellow, which will release in theaters and on-demand beginning February 17 from Gravitas Ventures.
1952. ‘Goldeneye’, Jamaica.
When British author Ian Fleming creates the character of 007, he needs to christen him with a “really flat, quiet name”. Perusing one of his favourite books BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES Fleming steals the name of a Philadelphia ornithologist by the name of James Bond…
2022. Seventy years later.
In SWEDEN we meet GUNNAR SCHÄFER. A superfan of all things 007 with his own James Bond Museum, there is more to his persona than simply fandom. The son of an escaped Nazi who vanished mysteriously after World War Two, GUNNAR now sees James Bond as a replacement father figure and immerses his life in all things 007.
In NEW YORK CITY theatre director JAMES BOND has made countless media appearances as his famous namesake and finds the name a reoccurring hindrance. As a gay man, JAMES has apparently very little in common with Commander Bond and the alternative version of himself ad agencies, concierges and casting directors always wish to exploit.
South Bend, INDIANA. JAMES BOND JR.’s life has been marred by several disbelieving police officers and the weight such a name lends a black man in Indiana. THE OTHER FELLOW finds him in Indiana State Prison where he is awaiting trial for murder. In the same town a white man also called JAMES BOND is about to be caught up in a confusing media frenzy and mistaken identity.
Somewhere in ENGLAND an unnamed mother chronicles a tough past with an abusive ex-husband. A bold identity change creates new challenges in the face of 007, and soon dramatically contradicts the other James Bonds across the world and their sometimes-shared experiences.
And in PHILADELPHIA – amid the 1960s Bond mania – ornithologist JAMES BOND and his loyal wife MARY travel to Jamaica to finally confront IAN FLEMING about an identity theft that is changing the lives of all James Bonds across the globe, including theirs.
Via Vancouver, Toronto, London, Denver, Guyana, Europe, the US and Baghdad, THE OTHER FELLOW paints a rich picture of the worldwide digital and cultural footprint of cinema’s most famous spy. And what being in that looming shadow actually means for people when it creates an identity crisis like no other.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!