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More Folks Who Almost Were 007

PLEASE NOTE: list includes numerous producers’ candidates…many of these were not considered worthy of a screen test!

1962: Richard Johnson, Patrick McGoohan, Roger Moore, William Franklyn, Patrick Allen, Ian Hendry, Richard Burton

1967: (Casino Royale) Laurence Harvey, William Holden, Peter O`Toole, Stanley Baker

1968: Robert Campbell, Anthony Rogers, Hans De Vries, John Richardson, Roy Thinnes, Adam West (finally confirmed by Dana Broccoli on the DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER Special Edition DVD)

1971: John Gavin, Simon Oates, John Ronane, Mike McStay, Michael Billington

1978: David Warbeck, Oliver Tobias, Gordon Williams, Michael Billington, Gary Myers, Michael Petrovitch

1980: Lewis Collins, David Warbeck, Michael Billington, David Robb,Michael Jayston, Ian Ogilvy, Nicholas Clay

1982: James Brolin, Dave Warbeck

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1986: Pierce Brosnan, Lewis Collins, Lambert Wilson, Sam Neill, Finlay Light, Andrew Clarke, Oliver Tobias, Simon McCorkindale, John James, Mel Gibson, Michael Praed, Mark Greenstreet, Neil Dickson, Anthony Andrews, Bryan Brown, Steve Adler, Ben Cross, Charles Dance, Tom Selleck, Michael Nader, Marcus Gilbert

1984: (McClory`s SPECTRE) Lewis Collins, Sam Neill

1989: (McClory`s Warhead 1989) Pierce Brosnan, Lewis Collins, Christian Burgess, Jason Connery

1994: Clive owen, Jeremy Northam, Greg Wise, Ralph Fiennes, Mark Frankel, Jason Isaacs, Sean Bean, James Purefoy, Nathaniel Parker, Adrian Paul,Hugh Grant,

1999: (Warhead) Liam Neeson, George Clooney.

1999: EON (Ioan Grofudd, Jonathan Cake, Linus Roache, Paul McGann).

See viable Bond candidates on our Almost Acted and Sung posts under “almost Bond”.

Movies

Patrick Mower, Michael Gambon On Bond


Patrick Mower, Michael Gambon On Bond

Sir Michael Gambon is a well respected star of stage and screen who has worked under the Artistic Directorship of Sir Laurence Olivier. and is considered to be one of the British theatre`s “leading lights”. In an interview recorded on 7/11/2000, Sir Michael Gambon revealed that he had tested for the role of 007 in 1970.

Here is his account: “I had coffee and bagels in this house in Mayfair, then I had a nice chat with Cubby. He asked me to do various scenes and after each one he said `be more romantic`, `be more assertive` or whatever.

Eventually I said: “Y`know Cubby, it would help if I knew which part I was auditioning for”. Cubby looked aghast and said “Bond of course”. (gasps of disbelief from audience) I couldn`t believe it. It was ridiculous.

“But Cubby I`m bald!” “Doesn`t matter, so was Sean. We`ll just slap a wig on you”. “But Cubby, I`ve got terrible teeth! My teeth are like a horses.” “Doesn`t matter. We`ll take you to Harley Street…you`ll have a perfect smile by Friday”. “But Cubby, I`m in terrible shape. I`ve got tits like a woman!” “Doesn`t matter. So had Sean. We used to wrap him in ice packs before every love scene.”

Anyway Cubby talked for a while and eventually I was completely convinced that I had the part. I went bounding downstairs only to find 19 other actors there to audition as well.”

Eventually Sir Michael revealed that Cubby`s first choice for the role was Patrick Mower, a young British actor. Patrick was 6`0″ with black hair and blue eyes. Unfortunately after what Sir Michael described as “the George Lazenby fiasco”, UA were opposed to hiring an unknown and went with John Gavin who was eventually replaced when Connery returned. Patrick Mower went on to huge success in Britain in the 70`s. He starred in several horror films (including the classic THE DEVIL RIDES OUT) where his suave yet sinister air was put to good use. When ITV had huge success with the tv series THE PROFESSIONALS, the BBC responded with TARGET which starred Mower as Steve Hackett of the Regional Crime Squad and his sidekick played by Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett).The series was a huge hit but was cancelled after 2 seasons when the BBC were criticised for its graphic depiction of violence.

Mower worked extensively and was recently starring as suave superspy Jason Dane in CI5:THE NEW PROFESSIONALS. He currently has a starring role in the British prime time soap EMMERDALE. I had the pleasure of seeing Patrick Mower on stage in WHO KILLED AGATHA CHRISTIE. Ironically his co-star was Lewis Collins who was also a frontrunner for Bond and is alleged to have been offered the role in AVTAK when Moore`s pay disputes appeared to have ground to a halt. Both men gave excellent performances and it is fascinating to note how the two stars reflected the direction that the Bond filmes were moving in: the dashing and urbane Mower was a sophisticated actor who would have been in the mould of The Saint and the witty 70`s movies while Collins was a tough brooding actor with a dry wit, which is surely similar to the Bond of the late 80`s.

As James Harris exclusively revealed a while ago at 007Forever….The Friday, June 22nd, 2001 edition of The Mirror reveals that he (Patrick Mower) lost out on the chance to play Bond 5 times:

Pat’s comment: “…now we live in Lincolnshire where Anya keeps her horses. I have quite a lot of land, a tennis court, a snooker room and a river. To be honest I lead a pretty idyllic life. So bugger Bond.
Movies

John Frankenheimer Flirts With Directing Bond

John Frankenheimer, the director of such films as `Reindeer Games`, `The Manchurian Candidate` and `Ronin` has his own connection to the Bond world. He spoke with Oregon-based journalist Shawn Levy on a promotional tour for `Reindeer Games` and the subject of 007 came up.

SL: Here`s a crazy thought. Back in the `60s, were you ever approached to do a Bond movie?

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Ironically, his 1976 film BLACK SUNDAY appears to have inspired Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum when writing LICENSE TO KILL. BLACK SUNDAY ends with Robert Shaw being lowered from a helicopter onto a blimp that is being piloted by terrorists. Shaw hooks the blimp to a cargo line and the blimp is pulled up and away from a stadium packed with Super Bowl attendees. In LICENSE TO KILL, Bond is lowered onto the back of a light airplane piloted by a drug czar, where he then hooks the plane to a fishing cable and the plane is pulled up and away to be reeled in like a fish.

Movies

John Gavin As James Bond?

In 1970 Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman found themselves with the daunting task of having to re-cast the role of 007 yet again. Lazenby had made it clear he wasn`t coming back and Connery`s antipathy towards the role was well known by this time. After numerous screen tests of lesser-known actors, Broccoli and Saltzman agreed upon one promising man: John Gavin.

Gavin was a former American naval intelligence officer whose film resume included work with Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho) and Stanley Kubrick (Spartacus), as well as a role in the French/Italian knockoff thriller OSS 117 DOUBLE AGENT (1967), where he co-starred alongside future Bond villain Curt Jurgens. After a successful screen test, Gavin was given a holding contract.

With one Bond waiting in the wings, United Artists executive David Picker made a personal, last-ditch effort to get Connery back by making an offer too good to resist. Connery accepted the offer and Gavin, though he never got the role, was paid $50,000.00 to compensate him for his trouble.

Movies

A View To A Kill: Tom Selleck

Tom Selleck was one star name casually thrown about for the “new 007”. How serious he was looked at is unknown. He was originally approached for the role of Indiana Jones in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK but could not take the Before knowing about the particular models, you should know the basic outlines. It is moderately low in cost as in contrast with its named version. amerikabulteni.com levitra properien This is because the online pharmacies are considered the store, and because of their low overhead, they can pass on the savings to you. Yes, there can be side effects for those who are not suffering from ED, the medicine doesn’t affect the reproductive system. hasn’t serious side effects. role because of his commitment to MAGNUM P.I.

People who would discount Selleck as a legitimate contender because he is American need to remember that James Brolin was screen tested opposite Maud Adams for Octopussy before Roger Moore finally settled his contract dispute and played the role for the sixth time.

Movies

Sting, David Bowie, Bond

Bowie was the strongest contender at the time to play the villain Max Zorin in A VIEW TO A KILL. He reportedly declined the role on the basis that he didn`t care for the script. Bowie told Rolling Stone Magazine: “I think for an actor, it`s probably an interesting thing to do, but for somebody from rock, it`s more of a clown performance. And I didn`t want to spend five months watching my double fall off mountains.” And yet he inexplicably went on to torture Jennifer Connolly and audiences as the villain in the 1986 fantasy flick LABRYINTH.

World rocker “Sting” was another shock-blonde rock star/actor who was in contention for the role of Zorin. He was one of the few people to emerge from the 1984 fiasco called DUNE relatively unscathed. It may have been upon the basis of that performance that he was approached to play Zorin, but whatever the reasons that led up to it were, he flatly turned it down. He did, however, make amends to his fans as well as Bond fans who would have loved to seem him play Zorin by playing another villain of sorts in BULLETS AREN`T CHEAP. In this 1991 Saturday Night Live spoof/sketch, which is still fondly recalled by Bond fans to this day, Sting played the villainous “Goldsting”, who dresses like Blofeld and has a pet rabitt that he dotes on. In the sketch, Bond is played by Steve Martin and is shown to be quite thrifty when it`s his own money at stake. Bond shows up at Goldsting`s casino because the “beer and pretzels are complimentary.”

Movies

Hauer, Rutger Hauer

I was able to personally speak to Rutger Hauer once about his James Bond experiences. It was fascinating to say the least (we talked about him testing for Bond, too!):

The star of LadyHawke and other assorted films confirmed to the press back in 1983 he`d been asked three times to play a Bond villain, but he didn`t specify which role(s). With his blond hair perhaps he was asked to play Erich Kriegler or Max Zorin?

Hauer said: “I heard those rumors, too (that he was in consideration to play James Bond). I don`t know about James Bond, but they asked me three times to play Bond`s bad guy. At one point, I said I think it would be interesting if you really threaten Bond and what is the way to do that? Have a bad guy who has the same spirit, the same sense of humor and the same skill and let Bond face this guy and really be endangered. But the villains are sidekicks, they aren`t really strong. They wouldn`t change it for me.” Ironically, the same type villain he describes would come along some 12 years later in the form of Alec Trevelyan in the 1995 film GoldenEye.

Movies

Priscilla Presley: Opposite Roger Moore?

When it comes down to casting, it`s often a matter of who is available that makes the difference in getting a job. For Priscilla Presley, it made all the difference. In 1984 she was starring on the hit CBS-Television show DALLAS as Jenna Wade, but she also had an avid interest in moving her career to the big screen. If a pathogen (bacteria) invades our nice little home (our body), the troops (the natural killer cells) are sent out to fight the invaders. Have a great time with your partner http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/11/09/joe-paterno-resigns-from-penn-state/ order levitra online first and then consult a good doctor for it and let them know about this problem. Try a few, and see which antioxidant drinks work best for you and your no prescription cialis bargain prices lifestyle. What can NAET do for IBS? IBS is a disease of the bowels. Then, reportedly, EON came calling.

They were looking to cast the role of Stacy Sutton and were looking at several actresses. Presley may have had the inside track, but according to one New York based journalist who spoke to 007Forever, Presley was not interested in playing the role and the search to fill the role continued elsewhere.

Movies

Lewis Collins – Run With Bond

From the Thursday, August 26th, 1982 edition of The Daily Star (reprinted with permission): Tough guy Lewis Collins is a wanted man – film fans are clamouring for him to play secret agent James Bond on the big screen. But Lewis fears he will never land the plum 007 role. He reckons the man behind the money-spinning Bond movies -Albert “Cubby” Broccoli – doesn`t like him. And that means his chances are extremely remote “unless we get together and smoke a pipe of peace.”

Lewis, who stars as an undercover SAS officer in the blockbuster movie `Who Dares Wins`, believes he fits the Bond bill. And he isn`t the only one! He was voted tops to take over as Bond in a newspaper poll, but he says: “No one from the Bond stable has approached me so they obviously don`t want me.”

Lewis certainly has the right pedigree for the job. The man who made his name as THE television toughie – Bodie of The Professionals – has already signed for a 25 million pound programme of three films with top action producer Euan Lloyd. It has been suggested that these films, which include Wild Geese 2 and Battle of the South Atlantic – based on the Falklands campaign – could net Collins a cool million pounds. But it is Bond that really captures his imagination. “It would be nice to get back to the original Bond, not the character created by Sean Connery – but the one from the books,” he says. “He is not over-handsome, overtall. He is about my age (Collins is 36) and has got my attitudes.”

The trouble with Lewis`s ideas is that big wheel Cubby doesn`t like them. Lewis revealed that he went to see Cubby two years ago. “I was in his office for five minutes, but it was really over for me in seconds. I have heard since that he doesn`t like me. That is unfair. He is expecting another Connery to walk through the door and there are few of them around. I think he has really shut the door on me. He found me too aggressive. I knew it all – that kind of attitude. Two or three years ago that would be the case, purely because I was nervous and defensive. I felt they were playing the producer bit with fat cigars. When someone walks into their office for the most popular film job in the worlds, a little actor is bound to put on a few airs. If Cubby couldn`t see I was being self-protective I don`t have faith in his judgement. Euan saw through that. You have three minutes to sell yourself but if you go on that line you fail. You have to be yourself – and you have a better chance if you are the right person.” “I didn`t have that confidence then. I am just acquiring it now. The number of people who have suggested me as a candidate amazes me – and Cubby hasn`t given me another shot. I would even screen test and all that.” 

Movies

Debra Sue Sutton?

9/29/1982 Photo Op with Miss America Debra Sue Maffett in oval office

One name you probably haven`t heard too much of in connection to the auditions for the role of Stacy Sutton is Debra Sue Maffett. Her name is one of the more obscure ones in the history of Bond casting. Her website lists her credits as: Host of The Nashville Network`s Country News The syndicated news/magazine show Hot, Hip, & Country, A singer with a CD called Die Trying. A producer of a pilot show titled Real Life Angel Stories.

She was a former Miss Beaumont University, Miss California and reigned as Miss America 1983. After her reign, Maffett continued to reside in California where she embarked on a successful television career that included an Emmy nominated stint as hostess for PM Magazine in Los Angeles and television appearances on Matlock, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Good Morning America, Bob Hope`s Specials and Hollywood Squares. In between all of this she found time to audition for the role of Stacy Sutton.

How seriously was she taken? Hard to tell. But to hear her tell it, the choice had come down to herself and Tanya Roberts. She told Cathy Dunphy, in her column for STARWEEK (the Toronto Star tv guide) “The only reason they chose Tanya over me is because Tanya has acted before and they couldn`t wait to see Prisoners.” PRISONERS OF THE SEA was a film she had just finished or was about to wrap up, but it couldn`t wrap up soon enough for Cubby Broccoli. Anxious to get the project moving along, he cast Roberts. Cathy Dunphy`s article appeared in the August 11th to August 18th, 1984 issue.

Movies

A Look Back: Live and Let Die with Robert Baum


A Look Back: Live and Let Die with Robert Baum

maxresdefaultFollowing Sean Connery’s return to British intelligence in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Roger Moore is the new Bond, James Bond in Live and Let Die. Note to trivia buffs: this is film number eight based on Ian Fleming’s second Bond novel and Moore is the third James Bond–following Connery, George Lazenby, and Connery again.

The man who once essayed the title role in the tv series based on Leslie Charteris’ The Saint books imbues agent 007 with a lighter touch than Connery. Moore brings a charm to the role and shows more ease in his first Bond outing than Lazenby displayed in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

When Moore is first seen (following the pre-credit sequence), he is at home in the company of a gorgeous woman. The tryst is interrupted by the early morning arrival of Bond’s boss M (Bernard Lee) and his secretary Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell). They send 007 on his way to New York for his mission. One which will involve voodoo, heroin, and a lovely fortune teller named Solitaire (Jane Seymour).

It has been noted that the producers were hoping Connery would return to the series–and not for his 1971 mission. One can only imagine how certain moments of the film might have turned out had that happened. Like a sequence in Harlem when Bond enters a restaurant which serves as a front for his adversary’s illicit operations. And everyone in the place is black. An approach which an undercover operative calls a “clever disguise.”

“Voyage to the bottom of the Sea” regular David Hedison becomes the fifth actor to play 007’s longtime ally CIA agent Felix Leiter. His rendering of the role is a far cry from the most recent Leiter (Norman Burton in Diamonds Are Forever, who seemed more like light comic relief) and makes for probably the best Leiter since Jack Lord played the agent in the first Bond adventure Dr. No (1962).

Yaphet Kotto makes for an OK villain but his claw-handed henchman Tee Hee (Julius Harris) makes for a delightful scene-stealer. Clifton James is amusing as a redneck sheriff though he comes off as being too much of a buffoon. Former Beatle Paul McCartney’s title tune certainly makes for the liveliest Bond theme song ever. Seymour is quite a stunning presence despite the fact that her accent makes her sound like a fairy tale princess. However, she does establish herself in a pantheon of such Bond beauties as Ursula Andress, Honor Blackman, Claudine Auger, and Diana Rigg.

While the film is a bit chatty, director Guy Hamilton–who also helmed 1964s Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever–keeps the narrative going at a slightly brisk pace. But hey, this is a new Bond; Hamilton is breaking Moore in, presumably saving the heavy stunt extravaganzas (though there is a jaw-dropping boat chase which includes a moment which made the Guiness Book of World Records) for later entries in the series–hopefully. Moore relies primarily on being witty and charming to get himself out of trouble than the fisticuffs frequently employed by Connery (when there was no available gadget or PPK around to do so). to extricate himself from sticky situations.

Movies

A Look Back: The Spy Who Loved Me with Robert Baum

v1Following a near three-year absence from the screen, James Bond returns to cinematic service for the Queen. The Spy Who Loved Me firmly establishes Roger Moore as the suave operative and pits him against a malevolent marine magnate (Curt Jurgens) with designs on destroying the world. This entry marks a first in the series as producer Albert R. Broccoli has parted ways with partner Harry Saltzman. Which accounts for the approach to Bond who, in Moore’s first two efforts seemed more like Michael Caine in Get Carter (1971)–which Saltzman produced. Caine’s Jack Carter was influenced by Sean Connery’s 007. Here Moore gets to show his knack for humor while on his new mission.

Two submarines–one British, one Russian–somehow disappear. MI6 recalls Bond from Austria to search for their country’s vessel. Shortly thereafter, the KGB contacts one of their own (Barbara Bach) to get their boat back to the USSR. They both wind up meeting, unexpectedly, in Cairo. As both the UK and the USSR are each a craft short, an Anglo/ Soviet partnership is formed by 007 and Major Anya Amasova (Bach) and their respective superiors: M (Bernard Lee) and General Gogol (Walter Gotell, who previously appeared in the second Bond film–albeit in a different role–From Russia with Love). They head to Italy by train to investigate the operations of Karl Stromberg (Jurgens) but the mission is nearly derailed due to the unwelcome visit by an assassin in Stromberg’s employ: a steel-toothed giant named Jaws (Richard Kiel, last seen making travel tough for Gene Wilder in Silver Streak).

Later the pair are received by Stromberg aboard his impressive aquatic citadel and later utilize the latest marvel created by Q (Desmond Llewelyn): a Lotus capable of traveling the roads and underwater. The car also sports an array of options which Bond employs to escape pursuit by Jaws, Stromberg’s pilot (alluring Brit genre actress Caroline Munro), along with a few unnamed henchmen. Then comes a bit of news which threatens to put a chill on the relationship between Bond and Amasova both personally and professionally.

Lewis Gilbert, director of Connery’s next-to-last Bond appearance You Only Live Twice (1967), returns with a recycling of that film. The screenplay exchanges the hijacked rockets for shanghaied submarines and a secret base inside a volcano for an underwater one. Jurgens makes for an uncharismatic nemesis for Moore. He almost seems to be like an adversary which David Hedison and Richard Basehart might have encountered on the old series “Voyage to the bottom of the Sea.”

Marvin Hamlisch, substituting for usual 007 composer John Barry, crafts a score which lacks the excitement of prior Bond film scores. “The James Bond Theme” sounds rather dull and unimpressive when heard in the pre-credit sequence. Such an amazing feat performed by Rick Sylvester certainly deserves better. It’s really a shame that Barry didn’t compose a work to complement the efforts of John Glen’s second unit work. The score and Jurgens are about the only flaws in an otherwise solid adventure that should hopefully get the series back on its feet. Hopefully the next installment–the end credits note the upcoming one will be For Your Eyes Only–will be here sooner than the nearly three year gap between Guy Hamilton’s lackluster The Man with the Golden Gun and Gilbert’s The Spy Who Loved Me.

Roger Moore’s humor helps him put his own stamp on Bond’s passport to adventure. After starting up with Hamilton putting him through his paces on his first two cinematic missions for British Intelligence (Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun), Moore and Gilbert click and the third time is the charm for the actor’s presence to completely differentiate his 007 from Connery’s hard-edged approach.

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Movies

Review: For Your Eyes Only (1981) – Robert Baum

For-Your-Eyes-Only-m02

Following his out-of-this-world adventure Moonraker (1979), James Bond is back on Earth to keep the world safe from subversives yet again. Roger Moore returns for his fifth 007 outing in the twelfth cinematic mission of Ian Fleming’s fictional agent. Based on a pair of Fleming short stories (“For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico”), For Your Eyes Only marks the directorial debut of John Glen who has worked an editor and helmed second units on prior Bond films On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Moonraker.
In the exciting opening sequence–as they almost always are–Bond (Moore) pays a visit to the grave of his wife. Getting back to the office is anything but routine; Bond boards a chopper and is taken for a ride, literally, as the helicopter is remote controlled by a madman. The flight might be his last but not before 007 manages to extricate himself from the unnamed fiend’s (though given he has a white cat, it’s more than likely to be Blofeld) diabolical deed which leaves him shaken and stirred.
     A British naval vessel disguised as a fishing trawler sinks in the Ionian Sea, thanks to a lethal mine. It turns out the vessel had a sophisticated device aboard her which can be used to launch missiles from British submarines. Whoever is in possession of the device, needless to say, will be able to neutralize Her Majesty’s Navy. Bond’s mission, of course, is to retrieve the device and keep it from falling into enemy hands.
     Bond’s first stop: Madrid, where he seeks a hitman who killed a pair of operatives looking to locate the sunken ship. Bond winds up being taken captive by the hitman’s associates. He does manage to escape in great part due to the lovely Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) whose crossbow delivers vengeful bolts into the man responsible for her parents’ demise and a few of his cronies.
     Having not gotten any info from the now-deceased killer doesn’t exactly please 007’s superiors. Thanks to gadget guru Q (Desmond Llewelyn), the MI6 operative does manage to get back on the trail, courtesy of one of his high tech toys–the only device developed by Q which the agent employs on his mission, in fact–and he heads to snowy Cortina.
     There Bond’s contact introduces him to Kristatos (Julian Glover), a charismatic Greek shipping magnate who is keeping watch on his kewpie doll cute–though probably less intelligent than one–ice skating niece Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson, last seen melting the heart of Robby Benson in Ice Castles). Bond manages to mix pleasure with business and explores the slopes with Bibi, though he rejects her advances. Bond manages to wind up facing assassins riding customized motorcycles through the streets and slopes of the resort town.
     Bond’s next stop is Greece, where he meets up again with the lovely Melina who has been continuing her father’s archaeological endeavors knowing nothing about the vessel her pa was seeking or its contents. Bond later heads to a casino where he again meets with Kristatos. The agent wins big at the tables (naturally) and gains a tryst with the girlfriend (Cassandra Harris) of Kristatos’ rival, a smuggler named Columbo (Topol, last seen like Moore, in space–last year’s remake of Flash Gordon to be exact).
     This was scheduled to be the follow-up to 1977s The Spy Who Loved Me, however, the success of George Lucas’ space opus Star Wars that year prompted producer Albert Broccoli to reach for the stars. For Your Eyes Only marks not only a return to Earth but also a return to the basics in a leaner, terrestrial thrill ride very much in the vein of Bond’s second cinematic undertaking, From Russia With Love. It could almost be considered something of a carbon copy. The gorgeous Bouquet makes for a great romantic partner for Moore as the fiery Greek beauty. She can more than handle her own with looks and brains to boot. Johnson is cute but annoying which she is supposed to be. Sonja Henie she isn’t.
     Without giving much else away, Topol is gruffly winsome as the Greek smuggler (arguably better or at least as good as the late Pedro Armendariz was as Kerim Bey in From Russia With Love). Glover is polished and impeccably mannered; though it’s bound to induce groans or laughs, perhaps both, to find that the Greek tycoon’s name is Ari. Obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke in a toned-down script courtesy of long-time 007 screen scribe Richard Maibaum and first time scenarist–and longtime Eon employee and Broccoli stepson, executive producer Michael Wilson. Here plot and locales are key and Bond too has a harder edge relying more on his fists and ingenuity rather than the marvels of Q branch to gain an advantage in sticky situations. The collection of exotic locales and amazing stunts make for a lively entry which Bond enthusiasts will no doubt savor. Surely Glen’s efforts are welcome given that Moore isn’t exactly getting any younger and his box office competition this time (Superman II and the Spielberg/ Lucas effort Raiders of the Lost Ark) looks pretty fierce.
Movies

ffolkes – Robert Baum


ffolkes11Review: ffolkes (1980)
     Taking a respite from the British Secret Service, Roger Moore commands his own counter-terrorist operatives. Sporting a beard, a fondness for felines, and extremely lacking in tact, Moore isn’t 007 but an eccentric, unorthodox man-of-action in a tongue-in-cheek Bondian thriller. Moore is Rufus Excalibur ffolkes, an adaptation of Jack Davies’ Esther, Ruth, and Jennifer. Veteran director Andrew V. McLaglen, who recently worked with Moore on another action thriller, The Wild Geese (1978), is at the helm.
     As the film opens ffolkes is putting his men through their paces on a training exercise. He runs them through a gauntlet insisting upon clockwork precision. He’s tough on his men but has a soft spot for cats as quite a number of them dwell in the castle where ffolkes and his fusiliers reside.
     In Norway, the supply ship Esther takes on a team of reporters. Upon heading out to sea, the newsmen turn out to be terrorists. As the madman Kramer, Anthony Perkins leads the subversives. He demands a virtual king’s ransom; and if his demands are not met,  Esther, the refinery Ruth, and the drilling platform named Jennifer will wind up making an unplanned voyage to the bottom of the North Sea. Kramer issues his demands to Robert King (former small screen submariner David Hedison), operations manager of Jennifer. Needless to say, King isn’t keen on finding that he might be seeing Davy Jones’s locker.
     The demands are forwarded to 10 Downing Street where the prime minister refuses to pay the ransom, as the British government is the prime shareholder in the petrol operation. British officials get a look at ffolkes’ men in action and it’s suggested he might be the ideal man for the job. Admiral Brinsden (a wonderfully cast James Mason) meets the colorful ffolkes and despite finding him to be a bit of an odd man, believes he might just have what it takes to save the day.
     Director McLaglen delightfully skewers 1970s disaster thrillers balancing camp and suspense. Perkins doesn’t get to do much but appear menacing which has served him well over the years; one might guess that Bruce Dern was elsewhere when the film needed a madman. The presence of Moore, Hedison, and George Baker might give the impression of the Bond films as the premise seems reminiscent of the early 007 adventures when Connery essayed the role of the Ian Fleming created spy. Moore’s performance at times seems more like a parody of Connery’s efforts than his own.
     Having appeared with Richard Burton and Richard Harris in McLaglen’s The Wild Geese, Moore working with acting notable Mason makes for some solid company he has been fortunate to appear with as of late. Some might dismiss ffolkes as a Bondian efforts that falls short. Despite a score that is so unimpressive it almost sounds like a rejected score for a telefilm, that doesn’t detract from an otherwise enjoyable time killer. While no one does things better than Bond, ffolkes is worth a look.
Movies

The Naked Face – Robert Baum

NakedFace2Review: The Naked Face (1984)
     Roger Moore exchanges his services as an agent for her majesty for a psychiatric practice in the Windy City. As Dr. Judd Stevens, Moore is losing his patients in an adaptation of Sidney Sheldon’s The Naked Face, written for the screen and directed by Bryan Forbes (International Velvet, The Stepford Wives), is a decent mystery-thriller from Cannon Films.
     Following the murder of a patient who happened to be clad in Stevens’ windbreaker, the doctor is met by two policemen. It’s something of a reunion as one of them, Lt. McGreavy (Rod Steiger) was the victim of a killer who the doctor testified on behalf of. The killer was spared from a death sentence thanks to Stevens and McGreavy doesn’t let him forget it. Detective Angeli (Elliot Gould), McGreavy’s partner, is a bit more even tempered than him. Shaken by the news of the death, Stevens is stirred by McGreavy’s treating him as his mortal foe.
     Stevens later meets with his brother-in-law Dr. Hadley (David Hedison, who previously appeared with Moore in Live and Let Die and ffolkes) to talk about his meeting with the police. Stevens returns home to find the police snooping around which pains him. Stevens is even more horrified to find his office ransacked and his secretary murdered. The police are nowhere near to finding the killer and Stevens is later nearly retired permanently when he has a close call with a maniacal motorcyclist.
     Thanks to Hadley, Stevens has a new–albeit temporary–place to practice. The killer is still at large with the doctor having few options. The police are all but forcing Stevens to turn over his patients’ files to them though he has no interest in doing so.
     Moore offers a credible performance which all but makes one forget about 007, more so than his recent non-Bond roles. Steiger, too, is impressive as the embittered McGreavy proving that he is still something of a formidable presence in a role which like most of his recent efforts offers little more than a paycheck, sadly.
     As for the likes of the supporting players like Hedison and Anne Archer, their roles seem whittled down by the editing. Still, given that the producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus primarily offer up movies with martial artisans and breakdancers, The Naked Face is a welcome change of pace and is worth a look.
Books, Food, Movies

A View On Bond Reviews James Bond’s Cuisine

sdfdsfA research feat second to none, The Man with the Hawk-like Culinary Eye!

2014, CreateSpace, 128 pages. (Review posted 9 August 2015.)

Perhaps not second to none, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s not too far off! Credit where credit is due: this is a truly exhaustive overview of Bond’s cuisine, which spans the Fleming novels, the official spin-off novels, and the films. ANY type of culinary reference is captured by Matt Sherman’s sharp eye – and then is often embellished by his very dry wit – and this includes food or drink-oriented product placement and/or any sort of unintended devouring that has occurred in the series (e.g. Die Another Day at 46 minutes and 8 seconds: “Bond spits out water from a fire sprinkler that douses him”).

Thus, the level of research detail is hugely impressive – and the breadth of detail is also where a great deal of humour is mined: James Bond’s Cuisine manages to traverse that seemingly contradictory line of serious scholarship delivered with the enjoyably relaxed and accessible quality of a “coffee table” book.

Furthermore, you come away from the text with a firmer-than-firm sense of the place of cuisine in the highly sumptuous Bondian atmosphere – and the book manages to genuinely surprise one in its highlighting of the sheer extent of references to food and drink, and munching and consuming, found within the series. Mr Sherman also includes some practical indexes such as “signature meal cuisines” and “real world Bond eateries”.
However, due to its generic nature, it is best that you hire the services of a sex therapist is actually a friend who helps individuals normalizing relationship and being happy with improved quality of erection. This way, you shall always have stock http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/pals/page/3/ order generic cialis just in case you need to use them under the supervision of a medical professional. The consequences of erectile dysfunction go beyond to poor sexual life. It is a condition that affects males in which a man ejaculates sooner than they desire.
Admittedly, I’m not really a “foodist”. The principal attraction in purchasing this book was based on my enjoyment of Mr Sherman’s knowledgeable and personable presence within James Bond fan communities. I can certainly see, however, that a by-product of a great interest in James Bond is that one is served a strong knowledge base in culinary pursuits. I feel well equipped to wing it through dinner party conversation.

Furthermore, I found that this book – in the process of pinpointing all the culinary references – kept reminding me of all the engrossing Bondian moments and scenarios I have enjoyed over the years. That constitutes a bonus in what is a tremendous reference work.

Last but not least, I particularly liked the capsule summaries for each and every Bond novel and film, where references to mastication have been employed to describe the central conspiracies and action. To wit, 1984’s Role of Honour (“Ending superpower supremacy will devour the economy unless James Bond crashes S.P.E.C.T.R.E.’s flight of fancy”), 1960’s The Spy who Loved Me (“James Bond sustains a woman after other men wolf down her vulnerability”), and 1974’s film version of The Man with the Golden Gun (“An assassin with a penchant for Cordon Bleu cooking creates crises for James Bond”).

To be enjoyed and admired!

Movies

Review: Octopussy (1983) – Robert Baum


Review: Octopussy (1983) – Robert Baum

asds(Remember When All This Was News? Connery’s Return? Moore’s Retirement?)

Roger Moore essays the role of Ian Fleming’s secret agent 007 for the sexth, that is sixth time, pardon the pun. James Bond’s newest cinematic mission, other than surviving some serious competition from the likes of Return of the Jedi and Superman III, finds the veteran spy taking on an exiled Afghan, a subversive Soviet soldier, and Octopussy.

John Glen, director of Moore’s last assignment, For Your Eyes Only (1981) returns. The twelfth installment of the series shows no signs of serving as a coda though Father Time is certainly catching up with Moore. At nearly 56 one can only wonder when he’ll be handing in his licence to kill.

Following a spectacular opening sequence, as they usually are in the Bond pictures, Bond is at the office. There he is chatting up Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and her young, comely assistant (Michaela Clavell, daughter of Shogun author James Clavell). He gets a briefing from his superior M (Robert Brown, filling the shoes of the late Bernard Lee) and the Minister of Defence (Geoffrey Keen) following the death of a fellow MI6 operative.

Bond’s latest undertaking whisks him from an auction at Southeby’s for a jewel-laden egg to an encounter in India with a charismatic Afghan named Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan). Shortly thereafter he has a brief tryst with Kamal’s alluring mistress (Kristina Wayborn), becomes a prisoner, and later a quarry of Khan.

Of course there is the Bond woman. Maud Adams, who played the mistress of Moore’s foe in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), returns to Bondage in the role of Octopussy. She is a wealthy woman whose business interests include a circus, jewel smuggling, and soon after meeting him, James Bond too (of course). Khan isn’t Bond’s only problem. His adversaries include a warmongering Russian (British stage veteran Steven Berkoff)) who is far more menacing than his Afghan ally–talk about strange bedfellows; Kabir Bedi as Khan’s Sikh henchman; and the usual assortment of unnamed goons whom Bond disposes of sooner or later.

Adapted from a pair of Fleming short stories (“Octopussy” and “The Property of a Lady”), Octopussy offers up an entertaining bonanza of action and humor. Though the finale, as much fun as it is, does stretch credibility a bit as several spry she warriors team up with Bond and the curmudgeonly gadget guru Q (Desmond Llewelyn). It’s nice to see him in the thick of things. One might wonder if the writers have ever thought of bringing back Felix Leiter. It’s been a number of years since the CIA agent and 007 ally was last seen onscreen in Moore’s first Bond adventure, Live and Let Die (1973). In addition to Lucas’ space saga and the Superman sequel, Bond will be facing off this year against… James Bond. Sean Connery will soon be coming to theatres as 007, nearly a dozen years since he renewed his licence to kill and thrill in Diamonds are Forever.

Movies

Review: A View to a Kill (1985)

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A look back during this 30th anniversary of AVTAK, with a winsome review by Robert Baum.
**
    Roger Moore renews his license to kill in his seventh and last–it is about time he did so–mission for British Intelligence. A View to a Kill is the latest cinematic adventure of Ian Fleming’s agent 007, better known as Bond, James Bond. Moore certainly has no need to consider a return to the role as he is simply too old to be believable engaging in antics so outrageous here they virtually dwarf the hyperbolic opus Moonraker (1979). However, Moore’s fourth outing was far more fun than this disappointment directed by John Glen.
      Bond goes up against a mysterious tycoon named Max Zorin (Christopher Walken, the first time an Oscar winner has played a Bond adversary), an equine enthusiast who plans to monopolize the microchip market. Does anyone think this sounds a bit familiar? It is a virtual repackaging of Goldfinger if you ask just about any Bond aficionado. Zorin’s mistress is an Amazon named May Day (the very flamboyant pop music diva Grace Jones).
      Of course, Bond finds a lady in the form of a pretty bland–sorry, blonde–geologist named Stacy Sutton (Tanya Roberts, formerly the last member of “Charlie’s Angels”). Sutton has had a long feud with Zorin and has refused the megalomaniac’s multimillion-dollar offer to shut her mouth. However, she does fall for the charm of a certain British agent. It is not John Steed, though that might not be bad guess as Patrick Macnee of “The Avengers” plays one of Bond’s allies who meets a premature demise. Macnee is amusing for his brief time onscreen. He joins fellow “Avengers” alumni Diana Rigg (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and Honor Blackman (Goldfinger) who have appeared in Bond films.
      With regard to Bond’s female co-star, Roberts is nice to look at but she is not a great beauty nor does she make for a believable geologist. She is rather dull and all she seems to do is wait for Bond to come to her rescue, And this Bond looks like could do with some rescuing himself as it obviously takes a bit longer for Moore to escape peril this time. No doubt the producers were enchanted by the sight of Roberts clad in but an animal pelt in last summer’s Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, which apparently reused her costume from 1982s The Beastmaster.
      As Zorin’s mistress and assassin, Jones is too outrageous and seems to be doing little more than a reprise of her role as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s she-warrior ally in last summer’s Conan the Destroyer. While certainly not lacking in presence, Jones is a bit masculine–even more so than Moore frighteningly. Jones is so aggressive she makes Lucianna Paluzzi in Thunderball (1965) look like a schoolgirl.
      As for Bond’s adversary, Walken’s portrayal is underplayed at times and appears campy in others. Walken is a good actor but he is so often upstaged by Moore which isn’t exactly a chore for the Englishman. On the plus side, Walken does make for an adequate adversary.
The casting of Walken, Jones, and Roberts is a stunt that crashes and burns (though not like the villain’s airship) but not so impressive as the par for the course action sequences devised by stuntmeisters Remy Julienne, Martin Grace, and the death-defying daredevils.
      British synth pop quintet Duran Duran’s title tune is rather silly. No doubt producer Albert Broccoli and first-time producer, co-writer (and stepson) Michael Wilson, were hoping to have a song to reach out to the younger folk. As the likes of Shirley Bassey, Matt Munro, and Nancy Sinatra would be the sort of artists most adolescents would regard as too fuddy-duddy for them to take seriously. However, it is the cheesiest song since Lulu’s title tune for Moore’s second mission The Man with The Golden Gun (1974). The title sequence is a bit tired, like the film’s leading man, and Maurice Binder’s work here almost would be more fit to serve as a music video for elevator music
      While the long-running franchise–though Bond looks winded here–might possess some of the most amazing stunts, spectacular locales, and gorgeous women, one would probably never know it in seeing this film. A View to a Kill lacks the magic and fun found in just about any previous Bond film; even the disappointing The Man with the Golden Gun and the out-of-this-world excessive extravaganza Moonraker.
Movies

Moonraker – An Original Review

moonraker-posterWith thanks to Robert Baum, reprinted by permission

Review: Moonraker (1979)

       Having proven triumphant once again both in thwarting another fiend looking to finish off the world and regaining his footing at the box office, Roger Moore returns as James Bond yet again. Stopping the sinister stratagems of Karl Stromberg was child’s play for 007. This time, however, her majesty’s best known spy faces a far more formidable challenge.
      Not only is Bond now portrayed by an actor who is now just shy of over half a century (Sean Connery was just over forty when he made his final Bond adventure: 1971s Diamonds Are Forever) but there are a new crop of cinematic pickings prompting producer Albert Broccoli to look to the stars for 007’s latest endeavor. That mission has Bond seeking a stolen space bound shuttle: Moonraker. This effort reunites most of the key players from The Spy Who Loved Me: Broccoli, director Lewis Gilbert, screenwriter Christoper Wood, and of course Roger Moore.
      Having used his time between the last adventure to be of aid to fellow UK stars Richard Burton and Richard Harris as one of The Wild Geese, Moore returns to being a solo operative; but not before having a run-in with the metal-mouthed monster of a mountain from The Spy Who Loved Me, Jaws (Richard Kiel), in search of a new employer and wanting revenge. Following a briefing by his superiors (Bernard Lee and Geoffrey Keen) and receiving the latest state-of-the art hardware from MI6 weaponsmith Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Bond is off to California. There he meets Drax (Michael Lonsdale), a megalomaniac obsessed with venturing into the final frontier.
Bond also gets an encounter with a striking siren of a scientist with a good head on her shoulders named Holly (Lois Chiles) who gives Bond a taste of astronaut training which goes awry thanks to a jerry-rigged centrifuge, courtesy of Drax’s kendo-savvy manservant Chang (Toshiro Suga). Of course wherever Bond is, there’s a woman waiting to be swept off her feet even if in doing so, the results prove fatal; as they do for one of Drax’s employees (Corinne Clery) who goes to the dogs.
      With Gilbert at the helm for another mission, there are similar elements to the last cinematic mission for 007 which was a refashioning of another Bond adventure: 1967s You Only Live Twice which Gilbert also directed. This time the showdown is not at sea but takes advantage of the science fiction frenzy ushered in by the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. One certainly doesn’t need to guess much where the film winds up.
      Virtually no expense has been spared for Moonraker, despite it being a lightweight romp bordering on camp that is light years away from past Bond adventures; particularly From Russia With Love (1963). The effects courtesy of recent Oscar-winner Derek Meddings (Superman) and his colleagues are out of this world; and the stunts, as always are impressive. Still it is a joy to watch, though aficionados more fond of the earlier efforts might think otherwise. John Barry, missing since The Man with the Golden Gun, returns with a score that brings back the magic he has given to many a motion picture. The title tune performed by chanteuse Shirley Bassey offers aural aesthetics. Nothing against Carly Simon, or Paul McCartney, but when it comes to singing 007 theme songs, nobody does them better.
Movies

The Living Daylights – A Look Back

tld bondBy Robert Baum

Timothy Dalton makes his debut as superspy James Bond in the newest cinematic mission marking 007’s cinematic silver anniversary. The Living Daylights begins a new era with a new Bond (number four) rugged enough to take on those who seek to conquer the world. Unlike Roger Moore, Dalton is not one for humor but for getting the job done. Handsome but deadly, Dalton’s 007 is something of a throwback to Sean Connery.

But has been proved as the best herbal remedies to increase male testosterone. Alcoholic rehabilitation centres should provide the best services to hard people to deal with their unwanted tendencies and problems. This volume is not sufficient to get sale of sildenafil tablets a man being less interested for lovemaking. The overriding factor which lures men into dating beautiful women has to do with: 1.

Bond’s mission: aborting a plot that might start WWIII–of course. Being a Bond film, there is a lovely lady (Maryam d’Abo) who succumbs to the charm of the British agent–who happens to be played by Welsh-born Dalton–incredible stunts, exotic locales, and an adversary (a rather blustery and not very menacing Joe Don Baker), with an army of goons.
Of course there are an incredible array of spectacular stunts, especially in the opening sequence when Bond and a few fellow agents drop in to commence a training exercise on Gibraltar. The opening offers the greatest action in the film. To his credit, Dalton does many of Bond’s stunts himself. We get to see an updated Aston Martin, the wheels Connery utilized in Goldfinger (and Thunderball). It too offers a few surprises which are employed as Bond and Kara (d’Abo) are chased by the Czech army. He explains–with deadpan delivery a la Connery–to Kara, “I’ve had a few optional extras installed,” options like a laser blowtorch that Bond uses to disable a pursuing car, missiles to blow up a road blockade, and a rocket engine to escape pursuit.
Bond’s nemesis, an arms merchant named Brad Whitaker (Baker), is something of a joke. He has a chameleonic Red Grant knockoff named Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) do his dirty work, which is often done while the brute’s Walkman plays the Pretenders’ “Where Has Everybody Gone” and notes from the song are threaded through the compositions by John Barry whenever the thug is onscreen. Whitaker is always at his villa in Tangier (supplied by tycoon Malcolm Forbes) playing with his toy soldiers. He also has a collection of mannequins that include Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon (an obvious allusion to Christopher Lee’s funhouse in The Man with the Golden Gun) which almost resemble the wily Whitaker. When first seen, Whitaker is standing with them as he no doubt fancies himself a great warrior in his own right. Or maybe just a dummy.
While making a brief appearance, Bond’s CIA chum Felix Leiter (John Terry)–the part was last played by David Hedison in Moore’s first 007 adventure Live and Let Die and recently by Bernie Casey in Connery’s return to MI6 in Never Say Never Again–turns up to help him, though the part seems little more than a cameo. The wonderful John Rhys-Davies is General Leonid Pushkin, head of the KGB, whom the British are led to believe by one of Pushkin’s subordinates (Jeroen Krabbe) is responsible for wanting to destroy the world.
While Dalton is not the charmer his predecessor Roger Moore was, he is a presence which is believable when it comes to getting the mission accomplished–with or without his PPK. Some might not be keen on Dalton’s deadpan delivery as he adopts a no-nonsense approach which might make Jack Webb’s followers thinking the former Joe Friday is eloquent. Thus making Dalton the second Jack Webb impersonator of the summer. Dan Aykroyd was first in the big screen adaptation of Dragnet. His deadpan is a virtual flatline and needs defibrilation to give it a spike. Dalton’s 007 has been described as the most deadly Bond on the teaser posters which have been displayed in theatres. Dalton clearly has what it takes to play the role: a commanding presence, looks that kill, and now a license (or licence in his case) to do so. He injects a suaveness that has been absent from the Bond films for a long while. Definitely a far cry from Moore’s swan song A View to a Kill.

Movies

25th Anniversary Look At Licence To Kill

Timothy Dalton actor as Bond July 1988 dbase MSI

By Robert Baum

Timothy Dalton makes his second time around as Ian Fleming’s James Bond in the sixteenth 007 screen adventure, Licence to Kill. This film is more influenced by the sort of mega-action blockbusters produced by Joel Silver and not prior Bond efforts by producer Albert Broccoli. Dalton’s 007 is tough-as-nails and takes on a very real adversary: a cocaine kingpin (Robert Davi, who appeared in Silver’s Action Jackson and Die Hard).

The previous Bond picture The Living Daylights–which marked Dalton’s 007 debut–seemed typical 007: nifty gadgets, lovely ladies, a slew of exotic locales, and an incredible assortment of stunts. This time we see a Bond unlike prior Bonds (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, or Roger Moore). In the course of the film’s 133 minute running time we get to glimpse but a few locales. While the primary female (Carey Lowell), formerly in the army and CIA, is attractive she doesn’t seem credible as a veteran operative accustomed to working in hostile territories.

Helmed by John Glen, who has directed the Bond films since 1981s For Your Eyes Only, this installment has no moments of laughter or levity in any way whatsoever. For the first time in his career 007 is on his own. No mission this time. This time the matter is a personal one.

En route to the wedding of longtime friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison, who makes a return to the role he first portrayed in 1973s Live and Let Die), he and Bond stop to capture drug lord Franz Sanchez (Davi) as the film opens. The opening sequence offers a chance for us to witness an amazing display of jaw-slackening stunts.

Unlike prior Bond tales, Felix Leiter plays a pivotal role in the story. Actually what happens to him is taken from the Fleming novel Live and Let Die. Though Hedison is about two decades older than Dalton, they seem to have some rapport. This hasn’t really been apparent with Leiter’s other appearances, or any other Leiter–save Jack Lord and Hedison–for that matter. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see much here. Hedison seems little more than an extended cameo, a pity.

Bond’s love interest Pam Bouvier could have been more interesting but she isn’t. While she makes for a far more better 007 ally than Tanya Roberts in A View to a Kill, Lowell is not a great beauty like Dr. No’‘s Ursula Andress or Live and Let Die‘s Jane Seymour. Lowell makes Britt Ekland, who played Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun) look like Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Lowell looks as if she’d be more at home as a comely coed in an Animal House type of film. Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto), Sanchez’s mistress, exudes a stronger presence than Pam Bouvier. Despite being only 22, Soto exudes an exotic sensuality that makes her seem more mature. Even if she is merely little more than an ornament.

As Sanchez, Davi is quite a convincing foe. His presence makes for perhaps one of the few times in the series that Bond has faced an opponent who possesses a very real threat to him. Davi brings a suave and menacing charm to the role and is likable in a perverted way. His Sanchez is a villain to be feared. We know it. Davi knows it.

While the film is far from perfect, it is far from the typical Bond films, particularly those of recent years. But in an era of Indiana Jones and high body count, testosterone-laden, jingoistic protagonists often essayed by Sylvester and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dalton shows that when it comes to action, no one does it quite like 007.

Movies

Sebastien Foucan On Bond


Sebastien Foucan On Bond

foucan

Sebastien Foucan is a trail blazer in his chosen field.

Now 40, the Frenchman has been at the forefront of the Parkour movement for nearly 30 years and helped developed its offshoot, freerunning.

But despite edging towards middle age, Foucan – best known for introducing the world to Daniel Craig as James Bond as Mollaka in Casino Royale – says he will not stop leaping between buildings, climbing up lamp posts and darting through the urban landscape.

Parkour, based on military obstacle courses, sees practitioners moving between to points in the most efficient way, whether that be leaping between platforms, crashing down stairs or jumping over things.

Developed in the late 1980s, it grew in popularity throughout the 1990s and 2000s and remains so to this day – walk through most cities in Europe and you can find people leaping between obstacles.

Freerunning, is an offshoot of the discilping.

Foucan says: “Freerunning is my own evolution of Parkou, which I started in the late 1980’s when I first met my friend, David Belle. Together, and later with others, we used the environment around us to express ourselves. It became our playground to jump, climb and run. It became a lifestyle.

“[Will you ever stop?] No! Once you start, it becomes part of you and your everyday life, there is no time when you are not doing it.”

Some see freerunning as a philosophy as well as a sport, a notion that Foucan thinks is changing.

“I believe it is becoming more of a sport and less of a philosophy but it really depends on the practitioner,” he adds.

“With the development of coaching qualifications and practice in schools and clubs there has been room for it to grow as a traditional sport for the mainstream.

“It is fantastic that it can be appreciated, and is accessible,  for many people in safe environments. For me it the core of the practice will always be the philosophy.”

The Parisian also believes the sport will one day grace the biggest stage.

“I believe this will go big like the Olympics, and there will be more schools and clubs where you can learn it.”

And what does he remember of Daniel Craig and 007?

“Being in a James Bond film was amazing and unforgettable, I was lucky to be part of this and really happy with the way I performed there. It is a legacy who will stay now with me and this is absolutely fantastic.”

Movies

Cleese On Bond and Q


Cleese On Bond and Q

SNN2503CLEE-532_1413157aThe man who was Q, John Cleese, reckons that money has ruined the James Bond series…

John Cleese has form in the James Bond movies. He ascended to the role of Q in Die Another Day, and was originally expected to return to the part. However, Pierce Brosnan departed the world of Bond, the reboot came in, Daniel Craig got the role, and things went back to the start for Bond. Only now has Ben Whishaw been introduced as the new Q.

In a new interview to promote his autobiography, Cleese was asked what he thought of Whishaw’s take on Q. But as it turns out, he’s not seen it. Cleese said that he didn’t watch Skyfall “because I have criticisms of the new Bond movies.”

He continued, telling Shortlist that “two things went wrong: the plots became so impossibly obscure that even professional writers couldn’t figure out what they were about; and the action scenes, which are supposed to make the adrenaline run, go on far too long.”

Cleese argues that “they discovered these movies were popular in places such as the Philippines and South Korea, and so they dropped the humour because no one there is going to understand jokes about the English class system…One of the great things I’ve learnt in the last few years is just how much money spoils everything”, he noted.

The last James Bond movie, Skyfall, remains the most successful 007 adventure of all time, and the same team who made it – led by star Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes – are soon to start shooting James Bond 24, for release in October next year.

Movies

Characters: Goldfinger

Subject: Auric Goldfinger
Organization: Goldfinger Industries
Height: 5`11″
Weight:235lbs.
Hair: Red
Eyes: Brown
Age: 52
Skills: Fire Combat
Weaknesses: Greed
Fields of Expertise: Chemistry; Economics/Business; Fine Arts; Local
Customs; Rare Collectibles; Golf

Background: Millionaire industrialist; was one of the richest men in England. He escaped across the Berlin Wall one Christmas and soon opened a small jewelry store in London (he was a jewler in Riga like his father and grandfather). Goldfinger expanded his empire to include factories, biological institutes, horse breeding farms and research facilities. He had the largest private gold reserve in the world, though rumors of smuggling have somewhat tarnished that record.

Goldfinger`s greed led him to conceive the ill fated Operation: Grand Slam, in which he attempted to irradiate the gold supply of Fort Knox, thus increasing the price of his own gold for the next 57 years. 007 thwarted the operation and later, inside of a private jet, dueled Goldfinger to the death, whereupon Goldfinger was sucked out of the cabin and plummetted to the Earth. Or did he? Rumors have run rampant that Goldfinger survived the impact of his fall, though he had to live in an iron lung to survive. Some intelligence reports have suggested that Auric Goldfinger, or his mysterious twin brother, may have been behind an attempt to fool the world`s leading scientists into believing that base metals could now be turned into gold.

Subject: Oddjob
Organization: Auric Goldfinger`s private bodyguard
Height: 5`11″
Weight:225lbs.
Age: Unknown
Skills: Torture; Hand To Hand Combat; Fire Combat; Explosives; Breaking and Entering; Stealth; Driving
Weaknesses: Low Intelligence
Strengths: Loyalty
Method of Killing: Deadly bowler hat; when aimed right, it can break a man`s neck

Background: Oddjob was the consummate henchman: loyal, unswerving, skillful and deadly as sin. Mute by birth, he let his actions do all the talking. Auric Goldfinger told the story that he found Oddjob during a trip to Korea uprooting tree stumps and immediately hired him as his professional bodyguard. Oddjob was never seen without his derby, which contained a reinforced alloy sharpened to a razor`s edge. Aimed right, the force of impact when thrown could kill a man or woman instantly. Ironically, Oddjob`s trusty possession also became his doom; while fighting with 007 inside of Fort Knox, his hat became wedged in between two steel bars. When he went to retrieve it, Bond grabbed a live wire, applied it to the steel bars and electrocuted Oddjob.

Pussy-Galore-in-GoldfingerSubject: Pussy Galore
Organization: Pussy Galore`s Flying Circus
Age: 30
Height: 5`6″
Weight: 127 lbs
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Brown
Skills: Seduction; Piloting; Judo; Hand to Hand Combat; Firearms; Stealth; Evasion; Charisma
Weaknesses: Greed
Fields of Expertise: None

Background: Hails from America, the only daughter in a family of five sons. She ran away at an early age and found work as a mechanic`s apprentice at a small airfield. She soon learned to fly and got a license. Galore found flying much preferable to physical labor. Disgusted with bias against female fliers, she organized a group of other female fliers and started Pussy Galore`s Flying Circus. The troupe gave her the means to start her own air freight company. The company was bought out by Auric Goldfinger and Galore became his private pilot soon after. There was no hint of intimacy between her and Goldfinger, or anyone in her past. She has displayed a marked disdain for men in general and maintains a very aloof and frigid attitude. It took all of Bond`s cunning, strength and charisma to win Pussy over to the side of right and turn against Goldfinger. Her betrayal of Goldfinger, by switching the canisters of deadly gas with non-toxic gas, doomed Operation: Grandslam and set in motion a chain of events that sent Goldfinger playing his golden harp.
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Subject: Bonita
Organization: None
Height: 5`8″
Weight: 110lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazel
Skills: Seduction; Dancing
Weaknesses: None
Location of Contact: Havana

Background: Sketchy. Another brief dalliance Bond had, this time in Havana. Bonita was an exotic club dancer whom Bond had been seeing while undercover in Cuba. After successfully completing his mission in Cuba, he dropped by her club one last time to say goodbye. Bonita was ready. After her dance, she retreated to her dressing room to take a quick bath. 007 entered the room, handed her a towel, and the two embraced. Bonita was being used to keep 007 busy so he could be knocked out and later interrogated. But Bond, using his quick wits, saw the reflection of his attacker, sneaking up from behind him, in the reflective eyes of Bonita. As his attacker came down with full force, Bond spun Bonita around to catch the brunt of the attack.

Subject: Jill Masterson
Organization: Goldfinger Industries
Height: 5`8″
Weight: 124lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Age:29
Skills: Seduction; Gambling
Weaknesses: None

Background: Jill Masterson was one of 007`s more memorable conquests. He caught her in Miami, assisting her boss Auric Goldfinger in cheating at a card game. Bond made Goldfinger lose big and then took his prized possession, Jill, to his room. Jill was no prostitute. She was paid only to be seen with Goldfinger, but Goldfinger left an impression on Jill Bond would never forget. After having Bond knocked unconscious by Oddjob, Goldfinger had Jill suffocated by having her entire body lathered in gold paint, from head to toe. Jill died a horrible, slow death from skin suffocation and was left in Bond`s bed.

Born: 1/12/1937
London, England

Subject: Tilly Masterson
Organization: None
Height: 5`8″
Weight: 119lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eyes: Hazel
Age:31
Skills: Firearms; Stealth; Evasion; Local Customs
Weaknesses: Driving

Background: Tilly Masterson was the sister of Jill Masterson, paid companion to Auric Goldfinger. For years Tilly had tried to convince her younger sister to leave Auric and his criminal world. She`d long since believed that Jill could get herself mixed up in something deadly. Sadly, Tilly`s suspicions proved true, and when she learned of Jill`s untimely demise, she headed straight for Switzerland to kill Auric and avenger her sister`s death. She almost pulled it off. By teaming with 007, albeit reluctantly, she improved her chances for success. However, Oddjob`s deadly derby proved to be too much to contend with and Tilly died instantly when the bowler made contact with her neck.

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