Peter O’Toole dies; his minor 007 connection

A pair of Peters: Sellers and O’Toole in 1967’s Casino Royale

Peter O’Toole has died at 81. His stellar career included one very, very minor James Bond connection: an unbilled cameo in producer Charles K. Feldman’s 1967 Casino Royale spoof.

We’d try to explain, but it’s really not worth it. Feldman signed up a lot of famous actors for his over-the-top comedy. The producer opted to go the spoof route after being unable to cut a deal with Albert R. Broccoli (a former employee) and Harry Saltzman, who held the film rights to the bulk of the Ian Fleming 007 stories.

O’Toole in various obituaries (including THE GUARDIAN, VARIETY and THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER) understandably emphasized his role as the title character in Lawrence of Arabia.

That 1962 film, directed by David Lean, had a crew that would have a greater impact on the film world of James Bond: director of photography Freddie Young (You Only Live Twice), camera operator Ernie Day (who’d be a second unit director on The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) and special effects man Cliff Richardson, the father of John Richardson, who’d work special effects on several Bond movies.

Also, Spy’s composer, Marvin Hamlisch, included a snippet of Maurice Jarre’s main theme for Lawrence for a scene set in the Eyptian desert.

Bond 24, according to Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris with her Skyfall co-stars in November 2011

As noted before, nature abhors a vacuum. So with little actual news about Bond 24, the next 007 film, recent comments by actress Naomie Harris have drawn a lot of attention. Afterall, she’s the only one associated with the movie who’s been talking much lately.

Harris has been promoting a movie, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. In that film, she co-stars with Idris Elba, who plays Nelson Mandela. But naturally, the subject of Bond 24 keeps coming up.

One of the most recent was in THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD. In that article, she said, “I haven’t seen a script.”

She then added: “Knowing Barbara [Broccoli, the producer], she’s all for women’s lib, isn’t she? She’s extraordinary; she’s completely reinvented the brand, yet kept so true to the essence of what people love about Bond. So I’m sure I won’t be just behind a desk. Or even if I’m behind the desk, there’ll be some twist.”

Earlier this month, she opened up on the subject in a TOTAL FILM INTERVIEW.

“I feel like Skyfall is one part of a continuing story,” the 37-year-old Brit says. “It needs completing and it needs the same storyteller.”

With Sam Mendes on board to direct Bond 24, it looks like Harris should get her wish.

(snip)
“I’m so relieved [about Mendes returning]. He chose me and had a vision for my character.

“I’d feel really weird working for someone who hadn’t chosen me and didn’t have that vision. I just want him to see it through.”

It’s not clear exactly she means by Skyfall elements that need completing. Skyfall’s villain, Silva, died while succeeding in killing Judi Dench’s M. Perhaps she means Skyfall’s ending (new M, new Moneypenny) provides a new springboard for Bond 24.

Or perhaps not. We’ll see.