No Time To Die: Fife firm named after Bond villain provides props for new 007 movie

In September 2006, marketer Carl Morenikeji decided to quit his corporate job and start his own business designing and selling his own range of vintage-style leather bags.

But what should he call it?

A James Bond fan since he was 10, Carl decided on the surname of the villain from the 1974 movie The Man With The Golden Gun – Francisco Scaramanga (played by Sir Christopher Lee) – because it would fit well with the vintage and retro products he was planning to sell, was memorable and it’s personal to him from watching the film as a child.

Almost exactly 15 years later, Carl’s eagerly looking forward to seeing the new Bond movie, No Time To Die, released in the UK on Thursday – because his company supplied two of its products to it for use as props.

The vintage specialist, based at the Prestonhall Industrial Estate just outside Cupar, sold two of its large brass vintage padlocks to one of the film’s props buyers in May 2019.

But they don’t know where they were used.

It’s the 14th Hollywood or major UK movie in nine years to use the company’s wares as props.

Previous ones include The Hobbit, Paddington 2, Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, Dumbo, Victoria & Abdul, Pan, The Legend of Tarzan and Dark Shadows.

Earlier this month, Mark Wahlberg sci-fi thriller Infinite included four metal chairs supplied by Scaramanga.

Bizarrely, supplying the new movie is the third time it’s sold its products to someone connected to the franchise.

In 2012, Sir Christopher Lee bought a wooden chest from them, while in earlier years a nephew of the schoolmate Ian Fleming named the character after bought a satchel from the firm and called to ask why they’d chosen their name.

To celebrate its 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 need 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. From September 30 until next Monday they can email in what they’ve spotted - to be entered in a draw of correct entries on Tuesday.

Speaking about the firm’s latest big-screen success, Scaramanga founder and Managing Director Carl Morenikeji 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.”

Scaramanga, which sells its interiors, homewares, vintage furniture and bags online and in its Cupar HQ, has also been used as a supplier of vintage and antique props for TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders, The Crystal Maze, Celebrity Big Brother, and Hollyoaks.

Most recently they’ve been used in global streaming shows The Third Day and The Nevers on HBO, The Irregulars on Netflix, and War of the Worlds Series 2 on Disney+. Fifteen more film and TV projects have bought items from the firm and are yet to be released.

Would-be MI6 intelligence officers and vintage fans should visit Scaramanga’s website at scaramangashop.co.uk

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