Would-be 007 director Mendes’s latest production opens

There’s still no real news on the Bond 23 front. However, Sam Mendes, mentioned prominently as the leading contender to direct the next 007 film, has seen his production of Shakespeare’s Prospero open in New York. The New York Times has a review of the play, which opened Feb. 25. Here are some excerpts: There [...]

Kim Yu-Na’s Olympic performance: let the 007 cliches begin

So Korean skater Kim Yu-Na did a short program at the Vancouver Olympics utilizing music from James Bond movies. What’s sure to follow from sports scibes? Well, James Bond cliches, of course. For example, there’s an Associated Press story carried on the FanHouse sports blog that began thusly: VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Like a [...]

007 music at the Olympics courtesy of Kim Yu-Na

Korean ice skater Kim Yu-Na used a medley of James Bond music for her short program at the Vancouver Olympics. NBC waited until 11 p.m. ET to show her performance. Selections included some of John Barry’s scores, including Thunderball and From Russia With Love and a Barry-esque sounding selection that David Arnold composed for Die [...]

Saab, 007′s former ride, lives to die another day

Saab, once the ride of the literary James Bond, avoided the fate of automotive brands such as Studebaker, Plymouth and Stutz. Here’s the start of a Bloomberg.com story by Ola Kinnander and Katie Merx: Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Co. sold Saab Automobile to Spyker Cars NV, the Dutch maker of supercars, for at [...]

Pierce Brosnan “devastated” losing James Bond role to Daniel Craig

I was quite surprised and disappointed when Brosnan was not signed on for a fifth James Bond film. As much as I love Daniel Craig’s interpretation as 007, I’ve always felt that Pierce Brosnan was a very good actor, an excellent James Bond, and was generally highly under-appreciated and under-estimated in the role. CLICK HERE [...]

1974: American Motors gets its one chance to be 007′s ride

In 1974, American Motors got its one and only chance to be James Bond’s primary ride. The film was The Man With The Golden Gun, Roger Moore’s second 007 film. In earlier installments of the Bond film series, Ford Motor Co. (Goldfinger, Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever), then-General Motors Corp., now [...]

Woody Allen, fresh from filming Casino Royale, goes on What’s My Line?

For those unfamiliar with it, What’s My Line? aired from 1950 until 1967 on CBS and from 1968 until 1975 in syndication. Toward the end of its CBS run, Woody Allen, having completed filming in the 1967 Casino Royale did a turn as the mystery guest. Did he stump the panel? Take a look: Now [...]

ESPN quotes (sort of) from Never Say Never Again

Woody Paige, a participant on ESPN’s Around the Horn on Feb. 18 cited Never Say Never Again in analyzing the Winter Olympics. A segment of the show devoted to “competitive banter” dealt with U.S. success this week at the Winter Olympics. “It’s like what Largo said to Bond in Never Say Never Again,” the sometimes [...]

1993: Sean Connery evokes Thunderball on Late Show With David Letterman

Whatever one thinks of Thunderball, its pre-credits sequence where James Bond escapes using a jet pack is an iconic 007 image. So, nearly 28 years after the film’s premier, Connery evoked that image during an appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman. Here’s a look. (Also we have to credit “Hotwinds” on the Commander [...]

James Bond characters on Facebook

The old tagline was “JAMES BOND DOES IT EVERYWHERE!” and that’s certainly true of Facebook, the social-networking site. It appears that even 007 characters feel compelled to set up Facebook profiles. One of the most amusing is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Under relationship status, we’re told, “It’s complicated.” And, of course, his birthdate is listed as [...]