‘Casino Royale’ to have U.S. premiere in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - In typical James Bond fashion, surgeons at Johns Hopkins saved the life of movie producer Albert Broccoli — and gained an exclusive Hollywood connection.

Dr. Vincent Gott, director of the Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases at Johns Hopkins, says that it’s because of their connection that the last three James Bond movies have had their U.S. premieres exclusively in Baltimore.

Broccoli, who bought the rights to the James Bond novels and produced several of the films, flew to Johns Hopkins for cataract surgery in 1994. He received a chest X-ray upon admission, where doctors found a “large aneurysm of the aorta,” Gott said. Broccoli then underwent a serious operation to fix the problem.

“Then a few months later, Johns Hopkins got a check for a million dollars,” Gott said. The generous gift funded the center.

Because of the connection Hopkins has with the Broccoli family, last three James Bond U.S. movie premieres — in 1997, 1999 and 2002 — were held in Baltimore.

“Each screening we use as a fundraiser for the center,” Gott said.

The latest movie in the James Bond series is “Casino Royale,” which stars Daniel Craig, the sixth actor to portray Agent 007.

The international premiere will be held in London on Nov. 14, then comes to Baltimore for the U.S. premiere, an exclusive benefit screening at the Senator Theatre on Nov. 15. The movie opens nationwide on Nov. 17.

Tickets for the screening are $100 and include a champagne reception, auction and gift bags. Tickets can be obtained by calling 410-516-6609 or sending an e-mail to hopkinsheart@jhmi.edu. Proceeds go to the Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Center for Aortic Diseases.

ecampbell@baltimoreexaminer.com

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