HOW JAMES BOND SAVED MY DEGREE: A TRUE STORY

I was driving into work this week for my new job when Tina Turner’s unmistakable voice filled the car — the GoldenEye theme. It stopped me in my tracks.

Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Pierce Brosnan made his UK debut as James Bond on 21st November 1995.

Were you expecting someone else?

For me, that film wasn’t just another cinematic milestone — it literally saved my degree.

In early 1995, I was in Farnham, Surrey, nearing the completion of my BA (Hons) in Media Studies (Industry and Business).

My dissertation at the time?

A deep dive into the challenges of international movie financing. It sounded ambitious. It was ambitious.

Unfortunately, it was also — to quote my lecturer — catastrophic.

“If you hand this in, you’ll fail your dissertation. And your degree.”

That feedback hit me like a bad movie review from Barry Norman (and why not).

The structure didn’t work, the conclusions were weak, and the whole thing lacked any real originality.

So, with just two weeks left, I scrapped it all and went back to my fallback idea:

“Reading Product Placement – The Commodity of Deception in the Classic Realist Text.”

Yes, I was deep in my Cahiers du Cinéma phase. It wasn’t thrilling me — writing about product placement had been done to death — but then I realised something:

What if I examined the art of product placement?

The balance between commercialism and storytelling. The winners and the losers.

Cue Last Action Hero — a cautionary tale of marketing excess that nearly derailed Schwarzenegger’s career (but, of course, he’d be back).

And then the shining counterpoint — James Bond.

No franchise blended prestige products and cinematic identity quite like 007.

In January 1995, the 17th official James Bond film from producer Albert R Brocolli — GoldenEye — had just begun shooting. On a whim (and probably too much coffee), I picked up the phone and called the production company.

Miraculously, I was put through to Gordon Arnell, a Bond publicist and producer. He didn’t have to take the call. But he did. And he gave me 30 minutes of his time — walking me through the complexities of product partnerships, the integration of prestige brands like Aston Martin, Bollinger, and Montblanc, and even the placement of Perrier in that iconic tank chase through St Petersburg.

Sitting on the stairs at my Farnham digs, I scribbled notes furiously. That single conversation — that generous half-hour — completely transformed my dissertation. It became informed, grounded, and authentic.

When I handed it in, my lecturer Rachel smiled and said:

“You’ve saved your degree.”

And she was right.

Mr Arnell even hinted that “they were talking to Nintendo about some game.”

That game, of course, would go on to become GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 — a masterpiece that defined a generation (and countless late nights with bacon sandwiches and friends in Cardiff).

🎞️ Reflection

Looking back, GoldenEye will always hold a special place in my heart — not just as a film, but as a turning point. That moment taught me something that’s stayed with me ever since:

If you’re ever asked to support someone — do it. You never know the difference you might make.

Mr Arnell passed away in 2006, but his kindness and generosity live on in every person who’s ever been helped by someone taking five minutes they didn’t have.

So here’s to GoldenEye, to Bond, and to the people who make time when they don’t have to. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to change a life.

My thanks to Eon Productions Ltd and the entire cast and crew. I understand that the Brocolli family continued supporting new talent through to No Time To Die.

I truly hope that Amazon MGM will continue that tradition as they embark on the next mission.

.. I also had a 11th-hour series of quotes from Tim Burton, who I was fortunate to meet at the BFI on London's South Bank at an interview evening just before I handed in my final draft.. Appropriate as he was very open about the direction of Batman Forever.. that is a story for another dark night..

.. I also got to work with Samantha Bond, Ms Moneypenny no less from that film on another film A Bunch Of Amateurs.. I will tell you about that and my going toe to toe with Burt Reynolds again..

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