BIG FEED

How big was that press conference from Vienna City Hall last Sunday marking the start of production on the 15th Bond film, “The Living Daylights,” as well as the 25th anniversary of the series?

“Probably the biggest movie press conference ever held,” according to United Artists publicity, thanks in part to a satellite feed that reached the four major continents . . . and possibly beyond.

The mayor/governor of Vienna personally invited 360 persons, about half of them press folks (50 from the U.S.). The feed reached “hundreds of journalists and well over a million people.” Articles and items are planned for “all the major publications” in the U.S. At least 50 reporters are set so far for location visits during the 93-day shoot.

The electronic event was in the planning for six weeks, but interest in the picture really dates to the Aug. 6 revealing of Timothy Dalton as the new Bond. “When we made the announcement in Jacksonville, Fla. (where Dalton was shooting “Brenda Starr”), I got 200 calls in the first hour-and-a-half,” said a UA publicist. “It blew out the switchboard at the Sheraton Hotel. The calls are still coming from around the world. It’s endless.”