The latest James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, has hit theatres in the U.K. but fans in North America will have to wait until Nov. 14 to catch Daniel Craig in action.

To hold you over until then, Sinclair McKay, the author of "The Man with the Golden Touch: How the Bond Films Conquered the World," reveals a few little-known facts about the series.

Here's what McKay had to say in a recent interview with CTV.ca:

• "Casino Royale" is the first time one of the Bond films doesn't feature female dancing silhouettes in the opening titles. McKay speculates its because the producers wanted to indicate that the film was going to be much tougher than others.

• American executives proposed Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood for the role of Bond in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Mel Gibson was also considered for the Bond role.

• In 1995, for "Golden Eye," Izabella Scorupco did not want to be referred to as a 'Bond girl' because it was demeaning. Instead, Scorupco asked that she be referred to as a 'Bond woman.'

• In 2002, Halle Berry, after starring in "Die Another Day," said she was happy to be called a "Bond babe."

• Sean Connery thought Ian Fleming, the author behind the James Bond novels, was a "terrific snob but very good company."

• Fleming was rumoured to have thought Connery was "too working class to be Bond." However, McKay said Fleming's agent told him that the author was all for Connery from the very beginning and that there wasn't any "class issue" involved.

• Screenwriters considered making Dr. No, the evil scientist, a monkey. Even in 1961, they could see that the villainous character of Dr. No was a little antiquated and went back to Fu Manchu, which the character was based on. The post-modern idea of making the villain a monkey was quickly squashed, said McKay.

• John Gavin, who played Julius Caesar in Spartacus, was signed up to star as Bond in "Diamonds Are Forever" but producers managed to get Sean Connery back and ended up paying off Gavin.

• Prior to his role as Bond in the 1969 film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," George Lazenby was the highest paid male model in the world. In 1968, he was to appear in a publicity campaign for roll-on deodorant but as soon as he got the role of Bond the producers had to buy up the adverts to make sure they weren't seen by the public.

• After seeing Christopher Lee in action on the set of "The Man with the Golden Gun," Muhammad Ali promised the actor that he'd dedicate his next fight to him. Lee didn't actually think it would happen but Ali kept his promise.

• Producer Harry Saltzman, who co-produced the James Bond film series with Albert Broccoli, thought Shirley Bassey's rendition of "Diamonds Are Forever" was bordering on obscene and laced with sexual innuendo.

• Saltzman was also taken aback by Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" because it was such a different style than other normal Bond songs.

• Saltzman axed Dionne Warwick's "Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" as the opening song for "Thunderball" because he thought it wasn't snappy enough. Instead, Tom Jones recorded "Thunderball" for the opening.

• Saltzman also turned down Julie Christie for the role of Domino in "Thunderball." The reason: her bust was deemed "insufficiently awesome."

• The title "Die Another Day" is believed to have been inspired by "A Shropshire Lad," which was a cycle of poems written by A.E. Houseman: "But since the man that runs away / Lives to die another day, / And cowards' funerals, when they come, / Are not wept so well at home."

• The only Fleming titles left that haven't been turned into films are: "Risico" and "The Hildebrand Rarity" -- both short stories.