The Spyfunk! Files #(00)7 – Part 1: From Russell With Love

A long delay, but glad to be back. And the great thing here is…well, look at the number! And as I’ve no more queued at this point, you know what? This one’s mine.

So. Welcome (to) Spyfunk! File #(00)7, (come on,I had to)! You’ll have to picture me doing the opening credit walkthrough yourselves because I can’t put it on here for you, unfortunately!

Anyway, seeing as we’ve had such a gap between files – and indeed posts, let’s hope you can remember what these are all about. If not, and you’ve got here, you can of course read the previous six at your leisure anyway. Also, this one’s long, so I’m going to break it up a bit and leave it on a cliffhanger.

Where did you get the idea for your story and your character?

This is a long answer! I had the name of Simone Rivers and a completely different character long before I got to Rundown in Jamdown. There was another anthology entry which hardly anyone will have seen in a completely different setting and universe despite the one common factor of it being set in the 80s and them both being MI6 agents. But when the chance to submit for Spyfunk! came up, despite it being during one of the most intensely busy patches I could have had at any time, I couldn’t resist digging up the name, travelling back in time to a point I can only remember bits of as a kid, and this iteration of Simone Rivers came to me, clear as day. It’s kind of fitting in its own way really, given that you can’t get away from the massive gravity well that is James Bond 007 in the world of spy fiction, but also that the character himself has had many distinct versions and interpretations over the decades as it is. So why not do the same myself with my own character?

With that said, this matter was quite related to the story idea too. Or at least, Simone’s place in it. I couldn’t help but think of Bond, and how his, and his creator Ian Fleming, have had such an association with Jamaica over their time in the spotlight. Fleming had his famous residence, Goldeneye, there. So I kept on thinking, particularly in the light of the many conversations which have been had about the ‘next’ James Bond at the time potentially being Idris Elba, or long before that, Colin Salmon (who played his part in the series), being discussed for the role – at least by the fandom. Because of the structure of my own questions, I’ll come back to this a bit later. The point was, I considered, by necessity of the assignment, not only a Black British spy but I had a very clear idea that if we were going to go there, to consider another major distance from the huge shadow of Bond and ensure a female lead. As mentioned, this jogged my memory slightly to an existing idea I’d committed to paper, but that Simone Rivers was not possible here. So I started thinking more about this Simone Rivers.

Colin Salmon – image found on Pinterest

That was one heck of a rabbit hole, one which I still continue to explore almost two years after the first time. How could it not be? The protagonist would have had to have been, as a Black Brit, a child of the Windrush Generation and as such very differently affected by growing up in Britain in numerous ways to just about any secret agent I’d ever really thought about. But this came with its own responsibility which I haven’t yet had time to fully get into. How could I in 5000 words? Believe me, I’ve thought about this character way, way more than will ever be clear from what I had the space to write in this first adventure. I mean, there are so many questions I didn’t answer (though I know the answer to some): how did she end up in the job in the first place? How was her upbringing? How does she get on with her colleagues and peers (no matter how solo her work hours may be, there are still necessary interactions)? How does she feel about the concept of ‘queen and country’(as of course was at the time)? And, relevant to the tale, what specifically is her relationship with her superiors like? No way could I get into this all and finish the ‘mission’ in that time, so I just didn’t!

Back to Bond – one of the first thoughts I had about what to do with this was about Fleming’s residence and his character’s visits to Jamaica in general and decided to see about doing something I knew Bond couldn’t, by having a character which could go somewhere he couldn’t in the same way. All the while I retained in the back of my mind that Simone was hardly native, still having grown up mostly around (I think) London, but it would still be a vastly different set of interactions for her regardless. And this is in the 1980s anyway, so despite having seen what I did with Nomi in No Time to Die, I’d had this idea long before I watched the film. And besides, they couldn’t be much different (though I suspect if Rivers is still around in the early 2020s, I suspect they’d get on still.

(Radio Times)

There is one last component to this, of course. Simone is officially on leave at the start of Rundown. So the concept of, ‘paid holiday gone horribly wrong’ would be the short description of the tale. There’s of course the additional component of having had a mild inspiration from an old game I used to play around that era as well, but that’s for another post I’ll hopefully have up and running not long after this one.  

2. What is it that’s making your hero and/or villain tick? Motivations, plots, decisions etc.

Some of this ties in with what I answered above. I mean, on a basic level, Simone was just looking forward to a bit of R&R. When a highly dangerous assassin is in town as well, it’s probably one you can ensure passes up the chain at some point and carry on about your break most days, if you can sleep at night having done that. But he somewhat simplifies matters by the fact that she’s his target in this case. End of break and start of adventure, right there. The mission, which she doesn’t get much say in whether or not to choose to accept it, is mainly to survive. But the more that comes out about the circumstances behind this, frankly, the worse it gets for Rivers.

I may have mentioned that there might have been a question about why she does her job. I also probably mentioned that I haven’t had enough time and space to get into that on this tale. Though to be fair, that’s had one I suppose pleasant side effect, in that I do wish to take the time to explore than sooner rather than later. And I even know how I intend to go about it. What I will say at this point is that she has complex feelings about the institution she is a key part of versus other forces she interacts and sometimes clashes with. She, like many operatives out there, is very aware of the concept of ‘The Great Game’, but is deeply resentful of the thought of masses of lives simply being pieces on a board, and is deeply wary of those who treat them as expendable aspects of such, no matter which ‘side’ they claim to be on. There’s so much more to go into there, and if I recall correctly there are certainly hints at a wider world and Simone’s exact part in it within the adventure.

3. What’s your favourite spy movie?

My goodness, that’s a ridiculously tough question. Who came up with that anyway?

My favourite movies list changes daily, even if I haven’t watched anything that given day. But there’s no getting away from the fact that Bond has been with me pretty much throughout my film watching memory, so let’s start there. I couldn’t possibly keep this list to one! As far as Bond is concerned, let’s run through this chronologically and shout as I need to. From Russia With Love set the template for Bond, and many other spies and action heroes, to have a far rougher train commute than most have any right to. O.H.M.S.S is the series entry which has grown on me significantly since I first watched it. Fun main story, the late Diana Rigg’s performance as Tracy gets better with every viewing and Louis Armstrong doing I would argue the better known song than the still-excellent theme tune, it breaks many of the series conventions including the fourth wall! The only issue I have is that I really want to visit the parallel universe in which George Lazenby stayed on for the follow-up and we perhaps got the hot action revenge movie we deserved.

Clearly Live and Let Die did the rounds more than any in my house when I was a kid, and has a lot of things I love about it, but some I like a bit less. I’d be curious to get Simone’s thoughts on the matter at some stage! Moonraker is silly, but I’m oddly fond of it.

I like both Dalton films – The Living Daylights is a nice transition from the Moore era and Licence to Kill is ahead of its time in some ways. I’ll never forget it getting the 15 certificate because it goes so hard, which really interfered with me getting to it at the cinema at the time. Pam Bouvier is one of my top 3 ‘Bond girls’ and Robert Davi has such a good balance of menace and humour…it’s just really nicely done. Look at some of the action sequences and how much they’ve been ‘borrowed’ in some form since too.

Did you know Goldeneye and Casino Royale had the same director (Martin Campbell)? Unsurprisingly, they are two of my favourite entries. Xenia Onatopp is just an excellent support villain to an equally superb Alec Trevelyan. Casino Royale set the tone really well for a very different Bond. There’s so much character in the early chase sequence too.

Okay, outside of Bond, I’ve enjoyed the Mission: Impossible series immensely. They just seem to want to up the ante every time and Ethan’s support team are the best. On a similar note, I enjoyed The Man From U.N.C.L.E lots as well and readers of Rundown may have noticed an accidental but unsubtle nod to it. No way I don’t mention The Long Kiss Goodnight too, because Samantha Caine/Charley Baltimore is one of the all-time greats, along with a young Nick Fury (kidding, kinda) – I mean, Mitch. I feel obliged to mention Captain America: The Winter Soldier too because of how well it is done and the line which has followed on from it.

To be continued!
https://www.mvmediaatl.com/product-page/spyfunk