A Powys film maker has made broadcasting history with a James Bond-themed global television blockbuster.
Father-of-two Julian Jones, 51, who was brought up Newtown, is the director of the new big budget Prime Video series 007: Road to a Million that was given glittering launches in London and New York.
The show, that’s available in more than 240 countries, features an epic adventure with nine pairs of everyday people being given a shot at winning a life-changing £1 million prize by completing a series of spectacular Bond-inspired challenges.
The series sees Golden Globe winning actor Brian Cox, the star of Succession, as The Controller, a villainous mastermind who sets the tasks and watches the pairs as they hunt for the 10 questions he’s hidden at iconic Bond film locations around the world.
It is the first time ever that Eon Productions, who own the rights to the James Bond brand, have given permission for the 007 name to be linked to any other film or television show.
“To be honest when we pitched the idea to Eon Productions which is the driving force behind bringing James Bond to cinema screens we weren’t holding our breath,” said Julian.
“They are rightly very protective of the much loved 007 brand. We weren’t at all sure they would agree to our linking the iconic James Bond name to a TV game show, no matter how spectacular. But we had worked extremely hard making a quality pilot episode to fully demonstrate our idea.”
According to Julian, it’s one of the most thrilling achievements of his career to date which includes winning an Emmy for a documentary series, 9/11: One Day in America.
He and executive producer David Glover, both of 72 Films organisation, had been working on the concept for the show for a number of years before refining the script to the point that they could film an adventure-filled pilot episode in remote parts of Snowdonia.
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“We had known for some time that we wanted to make a TV challenge show that was different than any others, a combination of physical and intellectual tests with a bumper prize at stake,” said Julian.
“In our minds we wanted it to be something that had never been done before, a test of ingenuity and endurance for those who really, really want to be a millionaire.”
They took the idea to Prime Video who keenly backed it. That’s when they came up with the idea of taking it global, using some of the historic Bond film locations in which to set challenges, and even replicating the daring secret agent’s most ambitious stunts.
Julian said his interest in films emerged while he was a pupil in Newtown -“I remember watching the old BBC series Arena and being fascinated by the different stories they would tell. I began to dream of making films myself.
“At school there were one or two old video cameras knocking around and I would often try to use them to make mini films about events at school and locally.
“When I was about 16 my dad bought me a video camera of my own which was a really big and expensive gift at the time. I will be forever grateful for that. It started me on my career path.”
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