FIFTEEN years to the month after a Fife entrepreneur and 007 fan named his firm after Bond villain Scaramanga, he is now celebrating supplying two of its products to the new movie No Time to Die.
Carl Morenikeji quit his corporate job in September 2006 and started his own business designing and selling his own range of vintage-style leather bags.
Having been a fan of James Bond since he was 10, he decided to name the Cupar shop Scaramanga – after Francisco Scaramanga, the villain in the 1974 movie The Man with the Golden Gun – because it would fit well with the vintage and retro products he was planning to sell.
READ MORE: Stars back on the red carpet as Daniel Craig's last Bond outing hits screen
Now, Morenikeji is looking forward to seeing the new movie, which is released in the UK tomorrow, because his company supplied two of its products as movie props.
Scaramanga sold two of its large, brass vintage padlocks to one of the film’s prop buyers in May 2019, but didn’t know when or where they were used, until Morenikeji worked it out.
This is the 14th Hollywood or major UK movie in nine years to use the company’s wares as props – including The Hobbit, Paddington 2, Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil and Dumbo.
Earlier this month, Mark Wahlberg’s sci-fi thriller Infinite used four metal chairs supplied by Scaramanga.
Supplying No Time to Die is the third time Scaramanga has sold its products to someone connected to the Bond franchise – in 2012, Sir Christopher Lee bought a wooden chest from them.
The firm has also supplied vintage and antique props for TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders, The Crystal Maze and Celebrity Big Brother.
To celebrate its own dream movie deal, Scaramanga has created a spy movie-inspired virtual intelligence-gathering challenge on its website, with a £50 voucher for the winner.
Budding spooks will have to visit the website to walk around the Matterport 360 virtual tour of its Cupar HQ, created by 360 Virtual Studios, to hunt for physical clues to some of the films its products have appeared in.
READ MORE: No Time to Die: Where were the filming locations in Scotland?
From tomorrow until Monday they can email in what they’ve spotted – to be entered in a draw of correct entries on Tuesday.
Morenikeji, Scaramanga’s managing director, said: “When I worked out which film the order was for, I was overjoyed.
“As a lifelong James Bond fan, having the movie use two of my company’s products really is a dream come true and the perfect 15th birthday gift for everyone in the team.
“We’ve seen our products used in many film and TV productions over the years, but this is very special.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel