James Bond Exhibit Opens at International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum unveils its newest exhibition dedicated to 50 years of the James Bond film series’ most memorable villains, from 1962’s DR. NO to the latest villain, SKYFALL‘s Silva. ” Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains ” explores the power of the iconic series in shaping the public’s understanding of the world of espionage. The exhibition enables the public to make connections between fact and fiction and discover how the evildoers and their plots have changed to reflect the times. In addition to over 110 movie and historical artifacts, the exhibit features captivating videos in which members of the intelligence community comment on the Bond films and share their own “Bond Moments.” Visitors to the 5,000-square-foot exhibit will also have the unique opportunity to step into Bond’s shoes and to explore their more villainous side through interactive experiences.

“The James Bond series has had a tremendous impact on the public’s perception of intelligence agencies and their operatives,” said Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, who is a former CIA covert operations officer. “We are excited to give visitors the opportunity to hear real stories from real spies and provide them the opportunity to see what can and cannot be learned about real espionage from the Bond films.”

Anna Slafer, Director of Exhibitions and Programs notes, “For the first time ever, the notorious adversaries from 50 years of James Bond movies will be placed in historical context – from the start of the Cold War to today, the digital age. Each gallery includes ‘Notes from the Real World’ which demonstrate how the fictional world of James Bond both relates to the real world of espionage and has evolved with it.”

Exhibition galleries include:

Bond Begins: Explore the man behind Bond: Ian Fleming—and his Second World War intelligence work that inspired 007’s creation.

Cold War Power Plays: Meet Bond’s longest-lasting rival, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and uncover his nefarious schemes to set the superpowers against each other—plots which capitalized on real Cold War fears.

Earth Redesigned: Encounter villains who want to wipe out the human race in the late 1970s—a time when the public feared that nuclear weapons would end the world.

Murderous Monopolists of the Information Age: Discover two villains who plan to monopolize information age technology in order to obtain fabulous wealth and control the world.

Drugs and Thugs: Trace how the drug trade evolved on film, from 1973’s heroin dealer Dr. Kananga, to 1989’s bloodthirsty cocaine kingpin Frank Sanchez.

Cold War Castoffs: Meet villains who pursue power, money, and mad schemes of revenge amid the ideological wreckage and changing political landscape of the post-Cold War world.

New World Disorder: Witness a new generation of shadowy villains—burrowed into the highest circles of international power—who back terrorists and exploit environmental causes to mask their evil intentions.

Spies On Bond and My Bond Moment : See and hear from real spies as they make connections between the fictional world of Bond and the real world of espionage, and share their own Bond Moments—memories of their own challenging missions that could have been pulled from a 007 movie.

Weapons of Mass Disruption: See the different ways that cyberspace has become a battleground for the military, terrorists, and spies like SKYFALL’s Silva.

In development for more than a year, the Museum called on leading experts and practitioners in the intelligence community.  Project participants include, among others:

• Dr.  Alexis Albion, Intelligence Historian, former staff member of the 9/11 Commission, andExquisitely Evil Guest Curator
• Robert Grenier , former CIA station chief in Islamabad, Pakistan, and director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center
• David Major , former FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Intelligence, and Security programs & International Spy Museum Board Member
• Tony Mendez , former Chief of Disguise and Chief of the Graphics and Authentication Division in the CIA’s Office of Technical Service & International Spy Museum Board Member
• Jonna Mendez , former Chief of Disguise in the CIA’s Office of Technical Service& International Spy Museum Board Member
• Dr. Chris Moran, Assistant Professor in US National Security and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Warwick University,England, and Consultant to Exquisitely Evil
• Dame Stella Rimington, former Director General of the British Security Service MI5 and International Spy Museum Board Member
• Eric O’Neill, former Investigative Specialist with the FBI’s Special Surveillance Group

Throughout the exhibit, visitors can live their own “Bond Moment” as they attempt to beat the clock while trying to disarm a bomb in “Atomic Countdown” and test their ability to hang onto a construction beam high above a skyline.

“The Interactive experiences are inspired by the types of physical and mental challenges posed to Bond by the villains—the ones that keep you on the edge of your seat in the movies,” said Jackie Eyl, Youth Education Director at the International Spy Museum. “Museum visitors of all ages will have an opportunity to try their hand at six different interactive stations including conducting surveillance of Bond as well as competing against another “spy” in a high-stakes mission to uncover a top-secret code.”

Other interactive opportunities include:

• “Lair Command Center:” taking control of Blofeld’s missile launch center
• “Vilify Me!:” virtually transform into a composite villain and design a lair even Bond cannot infiltrate
• “Virtual Shark Tank:” come nose-to-snout with the deadly killers of the sea—the villain’s animal assassin of choice
• “Bond and Real Espionage:” explore how your perceptions of the real world of intelligence may have been influenced by the Bond films.

Artifacts featured in the exhibit – including Zao’s Jaguar XKR from DIE ANOTHER DAY, remnants of the satellite from GOLDENEYE, Jaw’s teeth from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, and the Sea Vac drill fromTOMORROW NEVER DIES– are provided by EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq LLC, the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films.

Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains is included in the general admission ticket to the International Spy Museum.