James Bond in film process. Connery, however, was somewhat resigned to the project, lacking the enthusiasm he sported for "Thunderball". A press conference on his arrival had been tense, "soured by aggressive questioning of Connery's crumpled, jet-lagged appearance". Primary and secondary photography finished in December; the special effects filming for the space scenes were undertaken between January and March 1967, prior to the film's release on 12 June. The cinema posters for the film stated "Sean Connery IS James Bond", to distance the Eon-produced picture from the independent "Casino Royale", which had been released two months earlier. However, during the production, Connery announced that
David Niven (RAF officer) David Niven (RAF officer) Air Vice Marshal David Miller Niven, is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as the inaugural Commander of Joint Helicopter Command from 1999 to 2002. Educated at the University of St Andrews, Niven joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1968. He served as Commanding Officer of No. 18 Squadron and then No. 78 Squadron, before becoming Station Commander at RAF Aldergrove; he was air advisor to the Director SAS during the Falklands War in 1982 and Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans during the Gulf War in 1991. Niven was a member of