For Encore, it's about Bond, James Bond, in July.
Not only will it air 19 007 films throughout the month, but the premium network, in a move that would perhaps make Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan envious, is collaborating with DirecTV to give one of the No. 1 DBS provider's customers a trip to Richard Branson's private island in the Caribbean.
"Bond Girl" Olga Kurylenko -- she played Camille Montes in 2008's Quantam of Solace -- and a star in sister service Starz's original drama series Magic City, will grace featurettes throughout Encore's month-long Bond event,
"The Bond Collection" nightly lineup includes feature presentations of the 19 films, including Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice and Goldeneye, at 8 p.m. nightly. All 19 films will be available anytime in July to Encore subscribers via Encore on Demand and DirecTV Everywhere.
Throughout July, DirecTV subscribers have a chance to win a trip to Branson's exclusive Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. The drawing is only available to the DBS giant's subscribers, as of June 30, and entries will be collected via www.facebook.com/directv, where visitors will find the Encore "James Bond Private Island" tab on the DirecTV page. Users must "like" the page (if they have not done so previously) and then follow the instructions found in the tab to enter the sweepstakes, which will award a grand prize valued at over $36,000, including round-trip air fare and seven-night accommodation for two, wireless Internet, food and drink, and a full-day adventure on the aero-submarine, the Necker Nymph.
"Bringing the best of Bond back to Encore is another reason why the network remains so popular with subscribers and viewers of all ages," said Stephan Shelanski, executive vice president of programming at Starz Entertainment in a statement. "This is a tremendous summer event and we are thrilled to partner with DirecTV to offer this once in a lifetime experience."
