The Other Fellow

The Other Fellow is an upcoming documentary film about real men around the world that have the name James Bond. Bond Lifestyle's Remmert van Braam traveled to London to meet director Matthew Bauer on the set.

Director Matthew Bauer (left) and Bond Lifestyle's Remmert van Braam on the set - photo by Mark O'Connell

In early 2012 director and viral video maker Matthew Bauer embarked on a surreal journey. Interested in producing a Youtube video about a real person called James Bond experiencing the release of SkyFall he jumped on Facebook, Google and Linkedin one evening and contacted hundreds of real James Bond’s from around the world.

The next morning he awoke to find his inboxes flooded with messages from James Bond, James Bond, James Bond and so on. Bond’s who had a litany of Seinfeld-ian nightmares to share about the day-to-day life of being James Bond from airport security to nosey waiters to being banned by Facebook and impossible to find on Google. Bond’s who had enjoyed and taken advantage of the name. And most importantly men who had experienced crazy adventures more befitting of their famous alter ego from being apprehended by homeland security to being shot by the police for being James Bond.

It didn’t take long to realise that one Bond was not enough and a few months later a small crew departed from Australia to travel the globe and tell their stories. The result is The Other Fellow.

"This never happened to the the other fellow!"
The title comes from George Lazenby's famous first line in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) where after being abandoned by that film’s Bond girl he remarks to camera - "This never happened to the other fellow" - in reference to his more famous predecessor Sean Connery. For the Bond's in The Other Fellow this seemed a most appropriate reference.

The movie has taken director Matthew Bauer all over the world. From the USA (Colorado, Texas and Wyoming), Canada (Toronto) and the Caribbean to the United Kingdom, finding James Bond in Manchester and finally London. In a small studio near Battersea Park, London, the last interview is being shot by Bauer.

I'm visiting the set, together with Mark O'Connell (author of Catching Bullets... Memoirs of a Bond fan). We watch the interview being prepared and take place and have the chance to ask this Bond some questions as well. It becomes clear from the interview (and the trailer), that having the name James Bond is more difficult and less fun than it may seem. From problems at school, to the attention one gets when being called at the waiting room in the doctor's office, to people making 'funny' remarks when being introduced, living with one of the most famous names in history is not easy. The London Bond had a radical way of dealing with his name, which will be revealed in the documentary.

The documentary lets not only the owners of the name but also their close friends and family tell the stories that are a daily reality for them. Each Bond is being interviewed in a studio environment, as well as in a outdoor setting either related to the film Bond or to their work.

London James Bond in front of the MI6 building

For Matthew Bauer the creation of the documentary has been a fantastic although intense trip. Everytime he digs deeper and meets more people, he finds new people called James Bond with interesting stories. "At some point you have to stop, otherwise we could be filming forever. It's amazing that everywhere you go someone knows another real Bond, I heard about another one in Sydney this week", Matthew says. "That's how we heard about our final Bond in London, through word of mouth. But now I'm very happy with the Bond's we have been able to meet, we have some fantastic stories. Now we have to bring it all together and finish the film."

The editing of he documentary is currently taking place in London. Stay tuned on Bond Lifestyle to find out when it is released.

Follow The Other Fellow on:

facebook.com/theotherfellow
instagram.com/theotherfellow
twitter.com/theotherfellow