James Bond the subject of a (pretty convincing) hoax

James Bond aficionados are eager for any news of the next film, which is why a few of us — ahem, them — were intrigued by a semi-plausible publicity email this morning claiming the new Daniel Craig film will be called “Come and Dive” and offering a log line for said movie.

“In ‘Come and Dive,’ Bond will be swept away by a dangerous love story. As MI6 rises from its ashes, 007 must protect a mysterious stranger and unveil long forgotten secrets,” it said, even coming in the format of a press release, with the correct names of the producers and links to a fake teaser of Daniel Craig standing at a cemetery.

As it turned out, it was all a hoax, evidenced most prominently by the bogus domain name of “sony-media” behind the unrecognizable and generic-sounding name of “Antonia Garcia.”

It’s easy to understand how it could seem real, though, at least for a second.

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The log line was vague — as though someone had just used some daring-sounding adjectives and threw them together with phrases like “long-forgotten secrets” — but then, all log lines these days are kind of like that.

And “Come and Dive” isn’t the snappiest name, but then, neither was “Quantum of Solace.”

Of course, a view of “Come and Dive” outside the Bond lens makes it clear the creators had, er, other connotations in mind. Also, the Daniel Craig-starring, Sam Mendes-directed movie currently referred to as “Bond 24” doesn’t start shooting until the fall (it’s due for a fall 2015 release), which makes a teaser kind of impossible. Oh, and a call to the “senior vice president of media relations” contact listed on the email led to someone named “Edward,” who answered the phone with a “what’s up.”

Still, it does speak to how desperate some fan sites are for Bond tidbits, or at least how desperate someone with access to some nifty editing material believes some fan sites are for Bond tidbits.

In related news, Wayne Knight is reported to be negotiating for the role of the villain in the new film.

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