Saturday we
have a Dandy Party. The idea for this theme came when I saw that it is Adam
Ant's birthday and as lead singer of Adam & the Ants he released in
November 1981, the highly successful album, Prince Charming. The album featured
two United Kingdom No. 1 singles — "Stand and Deliver" and the title
track "Prince Charming" — as well as the No. 3 UK hit "Ant
Rap". This trio of singles were promoted by some of the most lavish music
videos of the period, and paved the way for Adam Ant's later acting career.
"Stand
and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the
UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on
their Prince Charming album. The lyric "stand and deliver - your money or
your life" was a phrase commonly used by highwaymen in 18th century England during robberies.
The song's
video features Adam Ant dressed as a "dandy highwayman" who is
captured and escapes being hanged from the gallows with help from his
accomplices (his band members). The video's opening sequence of Adam Ant
putting on his makeup before going out on a robbery became a defining visual
image for Adam Ant in the years that followed. The video also has an early
appearance by Amanda Donohoe who at the time was Adam's girlfriend.
Adam &
The Ants: Stand And Deliverlyrics
Stand and
deliver!
I'm the
dandy highwayman who you're too scared to mention
I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing
your attention
The devil take your stereo and your record
collection! (oh-oh)
The way you look you'll qualify for next
year's old age pension!
Stand and
deliver your money or your life!
Try to use a mirror not a bullet or a knife!
I'm the
dandy highwayman so sick of easy fashion
The clumsy boots, peek-a-boo roots that people
think so dashing
So what's the point of robbery when nothing is
worth taking? (oh oh)
It's kind of tough to tell a scruff the big
mistake he's making
Stand and
deliver your money or your life!
Try to use a mirror not a bullet or a knife!
And even
though you fool your soul
Your conscience will be mine
All mine
We're the
dandy highwaymen so tired of excuses
Of deep meaning philosophies where only
showbiz loses
We're the dandy highwaymen and here's our
invitation (oh oh)
"Throw your safety overboard and join our
insect nation"
Stand and
deliver your money or your life!
Try to use a mirror not a bullet or a knife!
And even
though you fool your soul
Your conscience will be mine
All mine
Qua qua da
diddley qua qua da diddley
Qua qua da diddley qua qua da diddley
Stand and
deliver your money or your life!
Stand and deliver your money or your life!
(repeat til end)
Prince Charming
was a UK number one single for four weeks in September 1981 for Adam and the
Ants, featured on the album of the same name. Written by Marco Pirroni and Adam
Ant, it was their second number one single.
The video was
notable for its extravagant production. It featured a swashbuckling Adam Ant,
in flamboyant Regency clothes, performing a much imitated arm-crossing dance.
The video also featured Diana Dors in one of her last on-screen performances.
Adam Ant (born
Stuart Leslie Goddard, 3 November 1954, Marylebone, London) is an English
musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group
Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits
between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s. Ant was also a star in America
where he not only scored a string of hit singles and albums, but was once voted
sexiest man in America by the viewers of MTV. He is also an actor, having
appeared in over two dozen films or television episodes between 1985 and 2003.
Since 2010, Ant
has undertaken a major reactivation of his musical career, performing live
regularly in his hometown London and beyond, recording a new album and with two
full-length UK national tours, a US national tour and a short Australian tour
all now completed and a third such UK
tour now scheduled. His present comeback continues and thrives despite concerns
about such activities being merely another symptom of the mental health issues
which were in considerable part responsible for his lengthy spell of
near-inactivity spanning the late 1990s and 2000s
Yesterday we had a lot of guns and a lot of
tuxedos in the club. Okay to stay in style; Dinner jackets. Tuxedo is American
English and dinner suit or dinner jacket is British English.
The guests did shaken there own cocktails
and shaken there bum on the James Bond set that Tim had made. Maybe that some
guests stirred, not shaken, there cocktail. Not sure what they stirred when
they dancing. The Trivia gave a lot of good answers. I almost forgot to mention that we
also had some bond girls. Two of them became winners of the contest. Here are some pictures.
▲ Tim our Deejay
▲ Alvei as
famous Bond girl; Jill Masterson. Great idea and job, Alvei .
Shirley
Eaton achieved most recognition for her performance as Jill Masterson in the
1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, gaining more recognition than actress Honor
Blackman who played leading Bond Girl Pussy Galore. She appeared on the cover
of Life Magazine in her gold-painted persona. Her character's death, being
painted head to toe in gold paint and suffering "skin suffocation"
led to an urban myth that Eaton had died during filming. She appeared in a 2003
episode of the series MythBusters to dispel the rumour.
▲ Norbie
and Ellbee
▲ Fio
▲ Christo,
yes me as Grace Jones (May Day in the Bond film "A View to a Kill") And yes, I did get a
lot of flirts
Product placement, or embedded marketing,
is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a
context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of
television shows, or news programs. Traditionally the product placement is not
disclosed at the time that the good or service is featured.
Have you ever
watched a television show or a movie and felt like you were watching a really
long commercial? If so, then you've been the victim of bad product placement.
There's certainly a line that can be crossed when presenting brand-name items
as props within the context of a movie, television show, or music video. Clever
marketing folks try never to cross that line. They want their products to be
visible within a scene, but not the focus. The product needs to fit, almost
seamlessly (almost being the key word here) into the shot and context of the
scene. When done correctly, product placement can add a sense of realism to a
movie or television show that something like a can simply marked
"soda" cannot.
Brand placement
in Bond movies isn’t new—you could even say it’s as integral to Bond as his
cherished vodka martinis. And some of the placements have been incidental.
After all, Fleming himself dropped a few brand names including Cartier in the
books, for which he presumably didn’t receive a penny.
Aston Martin and
Omega watches are the brands most associated with James Bond.
Since his first
film appearance in “Dr. No” Bond has been linked to wrist watches. He has worn
Rolex, Breitling, Hamilton, Seiko and Omega during his film career.
Over the years,
Sony and MGM have partnered on Bond films with—and this list isn’t close to
exhaustive— Mattel, 7UP, Samsonite, Kodak, Calvin Klein, Norelco, Sony
Erricsson, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Ford, Jaguar, Revlon, Rolex, and
Omega.
The sky is not falling on product
placement, as evidenced by the £28 million (about $45 million) invested in
Skyfall, the new James Bond film. It is the sixth Bond film where Heineken will
connect its name.
A handful of
characteristics define Bond as Bond and connect each new incarnation to Ian
Fleming’s legacy, primarily that he’s as promiscuous with women as he is
faithful to vodka martinis—shaken not stirred. Which is why some 007 fans felt
betrayed by the news of a major partnership between the makers of Skyfall, the
23rd Bond movie, and Dutch brewer Heineken.
The response on
Twitter is almost all outrage and cynicism and calls of “sacrilege.” Never mind
that Bond has drunk other booze in the past, and that he has on at least one
occasion had his martini stirred, not shaken. And never mind that, ever since
Sean Connery flew Pan Am and prominently displayed a Smirnoff label in Dr. No 50 years ago, the franchise
has slowly but steadily been invaded with brands. Bond’s been driving Aston Martins
since Goldfinger, with the occasional dalliance in a BMW. He crashed through a
British Airways billboard in Moonraker (1979) and through a Perrier truck in
Goldeneye (1995). And in 2002, for Die Another Day, he switched to Finlandia
Vodka.
It is the sixth time that Bond and Heineken
work together, but for the first time that the Bond-actor in the commercial.
A vodka martini, also known as a vodkatini
or kangaroo cocktail, is a cocktail made with vodka and vermouth, a variation
of a Martini.
A vodka martini is made by combining vodka,
dry vermouth, and ice in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass. The ingredients are
chilled, either by stirring or shaking, then strained and served "straight
up" (without ice) in a chilled cocktail glass. The drink may be garnished
with an olive, a "twist" (a strip of lemon peel squeezed or twisted),
capers, or cocktail onions (with the onion garnish specifically yielding a
vodka Gibson).
James Bond famously drinks a "Vodka
Martini, shaken not stirred".
Ian Flemming described in details what the
recipe is in "Casino Royale" (1953) Chapter 7 and it goes like this:
Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half
a measure of Kina Lillet (which was a vermouth but started as a wine). Shake it
very well until it's ice-cold, and then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel.
"Shaken, not stirred" is a
catchphrase of Ian Fleming's fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond,
and his preference for how he wished his martini prepared. The phrase first
appears in the novel Diamonds Are Forever (1956), though Bond does not actually
say the line until Dr. No (1958) but says it "shaken and not stirred"
instead of "shaken, not stirred." It was first uttered in the films
by Sean Connery in Goldfinger in 1964 (though the villain Dr. Julius No offers
this drink and utters those words in the first film, Dr. No, in 1962). It was
used in numerous Bond films thereafter with the notable exceptions of You Only
Live Twice, in which the drink is offered stirred, not shaken (Bond, ever the
gentleman, ignores his host's gaffe, telling him the drink is perfect), and
Casino Royale, in which Bond, after losing millions of dollars in a game of
poker, is asked if he wants his martini shaken or stirred, and snaps, "Do
I look like I give a damn?"
You can switch off the background music by
clicking the II button on the flashplayer at the bottom of this page
There will always be
the argument about who is the best Bond with Sean Connery most often winning as
the original James Bond. George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton seem to be the least
popular Bonds, whereas Daniel Craig’s reputation seems to be growing. For some Pierce Brosnan was a most excellent
and worthy 007. Some say that there favourite is Roger Moore. Not as tough as Sean,
but about how he played Bond, the charm, and the humour and that he somehow was
more refined and matured than the early Bond.
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery,
(born 25 August 1930) is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy
Award, two BAFTA Awards (one of them being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award)
and three Golden Globes (including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta
Award).
Connery is best
known for portraying the character James Bond, starring in seven Bond films
between 1962 and 1983 (six Eon Productions films and the non-canonical
Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again).
Connery was a
keen footballer, having played for Bonnyrigg Rose in his younger days. He was
offered a trial with East Fife. While on tour with South Pacific, Connery
played in a football match against a local team that Matt Busby, manager of
Manchester United, happened to be scouting. According to reports, Busby was
impressed with his physical prowess and offered Connery a contract worth £25 a
week immediately after the game. Connery admits that he was tempted to accept,
but he recalls, "I realised that a top-class footballer could be over the
hill by the age of 30, and I was already 23. I decided to become an actor and
it turned out to be one of my more intelligent moves."
Connery's
breakthrough came in the role of secret agent James Bond. He was reluctant to
commit to a film series, but understood that if the films succeeded his career
would greatly benefit.[29] He played the character in the first five Bond
films: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball
(1965), and You Only Live Twice (1967) – then appeared again as Bond in
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Never Say Never Again (1983). All seven films
were commercially successful.
Sean Connery's
selection as James Bond owed a lot to Dana Broccoli, wife of Cubby Broccoli,
who is reputed to have been instrumental in persuading Cubby that Sean Connery
was the right man. James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally
doubted Connery's casting, saying, "He's not what I envisioned of James Bond
looks" and "I'm looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown
stunt-man," adding that Connery (muscular, 6' 2", and a Scot) was
unrefined. Fleming's girlfriend told him Connery had the requisite sexual
charisma. Fleming changed his mind after the successful Dr. No première; he was
so impressed, he created a half-Scottish, half-Swiss heritage for the literary
James Bond in the later novels.
Connery's
portrayal of Bond owes much to stylistic tutelage from director Terence Young,
polishing the actor while using his physical grace and presence for the action.
Robert Cotton wrote in one Connery biography that Lois Maxwell (the first Miss
Moneypenny) noticed, "Terence took Sean under his wing. He took him to
dinner, showed him how to walk, how to talk, even how to eat." Cotton
wrote, "Some cast members remarked that Connery was simply doing a Terence
Young impression, but Young and Connery knew they were on the right
track." The tutoring was successful; Connery received thousands of fan
letters a week, and the actor became one of the great male sex symbols of
film.
In 2005, From
Russia with Love was adapted by Electronic Arts into a video game, titled James
Bond 007: From Russia with Love, which featured all-new voice work by Connery
as well as his likeness, and those of several of the film's supporting cast.
In 1988, Connery
won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The
Untouchables. His film career also includes such films as Marnie, The Name of
the Rose, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, The Hunt for Red October, Highlander, Murder on the Orient Express,
Dragonheart, and The Rock. He was knighted in July 2000. Connery has been
polled as "The Greatest Living Scot" and "Scotland's Greatest
Living National Treasure". In 1989, he was proclaimed "Sexiest Man
Alive" by People magazine and in 1999, at age 69, he was voted
"Sexiest Man of the Century".
George Lazenby
George Robert
Lazenby, (born 5 September 1939) is an Australian actor and former model, best
known for portraying James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret
Service.
In 1968, after Sean Connery quit the role
of James Bond, producer Albert R. Broccoli first met Lazenby when getting their
hair cut at the same barber. He later saw him in the Big Fry commercial and
felt he could be a possible Bond, calling him in for a screen test.
Lazenby dressed for the part by sporting
several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a
Savile Row suit (ordered, but uncollected, by Connery). Broccoli offered him an
audition. The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a
professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face,
impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression. Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test
fight scene, the strength of his interviews, fight skills and audition
footage.
In November 1969, prior to the release of
the film, Lazenby announced that he no longer wished to play the role of James
Bond. "They made me feel like I was mindless," he said about the
film's producers. "They disregarded everything I suggested simply because
I hadn't been in the film business like them for about a thousand years."
In 1988, Connery
won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The
Untouchables. His film career also includes such films as Marnie, The Name of
the Rose, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade, The Hunt for Red October, Highlander, Murder on the Orient Express,
Dragonheart, and The Rock. He was knighted in July 2000. Connery has been
polled as "The Greatest Living Scot" and "Scotland's Greatest
Living National Treasure". In 1989, he was proclaimed "Sexiest Man
Alive" by People magazine and in 1999, at age 69, he was voted
"Sexiest Man of the Century".
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore, (born 14 October
1927), is an English actor, perhaps best known for his role as British secret
agent James Bond in the official film series between 1973 and 1985, and also as
Simon Templar in The Saint, between 1962 and 1969.
In the early
1950s, Moore worked as a model, appearing in print advertisements for knitwear
(earning him the amusing nickname "The Big Knit"), and a wide range
of other products such as toothpaste – an element that many critics have used
as typifying his lightweight credentials as an actor. His earliest known
television appearance was on 27 May 1950, in Drawing Room Detective, a one-off
programme. Presented by veteran BBC announcer Leslie Mitchell, it invited
viewers at home to spot clues to a crime during a playlet, whose actors also
included Alec Ross (first husband of Sheila Hancock) and Michael Ripper.
Although Moore
won a contract with MGM in the 1950s, the films which followed were not a
success and, in his own words, "At MGM, RGM (Roger George Moore) was NBG
[no bloody good]." His starring role in The Miracle, a version of the play
Das Mirakel for Warner Bros., had been turned down by Dirk Bogarde.
Eventually, it
was television in which Moore made his name. He was the eponymous hero in the
serial Ivanhoe, a very loose adaptation of the romantic novel by Sir Walter
Scott, and he also appeared in the series The Alaskans, as well as playing Beau
Maverick, an English-accented cousin of frontier gamblers Bret Maverick (James
Garner) and Bart Maverick (Jack Kelly) in Maverick.
Worldwide fame arrived after Lew Grade cast
Moore as Simon Templar in a new adaptation of The Saint, based on the
novels by Leslie Charteris. Moore said in an interview, during 1963, that he wanted to buy the rights
of Leslie Charteris's character and the trademarks. He also joked that the role
was supposed to have been meant for Sean Connery who was unavailable. The
television series was made in the UK with
an eye on the American market, and its success there (and in other countries)
made Moore a household name – and in spring 1967 he eventually had reached the
level of an international top star. It also established his suave, quipping
style which he would carry forward to James Bond. Moore would also go
on to direct several episodes of the later series, which moved into colour in
1967.
Television lured Moore back to star,
alongside Tony Curtis, in what has become another cult series, The Persuaders!
It featured the adventures of two millionaire playboys across Europe. It was for this series
that Moore was paid the then unheard-of sum of £1 million for a single series,
making him the highest paid television actor in the world. However, Lew Grade
claimed in his autobiography Still Dancing, that Moore and Curtis "didn't
hit it off all that well". Curtis refused to spend more time on set than
was strictly necessary, while Moore was always willing to work overtime.
Because of his
successful television shows, in particular the long-lasting series The Saint,
Roger Moore was unavailable for the James Bond franchise for a considerable
time. His participation in The Saint was not only as actor, but also as a
producer and director, and he also became involved in developing the series The
Persuaders! As Roger Moore frankly explains in his autobiography My Word Is My
Bond (2008) on page 172, he had neither been approached to play James Bond in
Dr. No, nor had he felt that he had been considered. It was only after Sean
Connery had declared in 1966 that he would not play Bond any longer that Moore
became aware that he might be a contender for the role. But after George
Lazenby was cast instead and then Connery played Bond again, he didn't consider
the possibility until it seemed abundantly clear that Connery had in fact
stepped down as Bond for good. At that point he was indeed approached and
accepted the producer's offer in August 1972. Moore says in his autobiography
that he had to cut his hair and lose weight, but although he resented that, he
was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).
Moore played Bond
in Live and Let Die (1973); The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); The Spy Who
Loved Me (1977); Moonraker (1979); For Your Eyes Only (1981); Octopussy (1983);
and A View to a Kill (1985).
Moore is the
longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent twelve years in the role (from
his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985), and having made
seven official films in a row. In 1987 Moore also hosted Happy Anniversary 007:
25 Years of James Bond. It was announced in December 2011 that Daniel Craig had
signed a contract for five more films, meaning that Craig will portray Bond
eight times - once more than Moore's record of seven films. Moore is the oldest
actor to have played Bond - he was 45 in Live and Let Die (1973), and 58 when
he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.
James Bond was
different during this era because times had changed and the scripts were
different. Authors like George MacDonald Fraser provided scenarios in which 007
was a kind of seasoned, debonair playboy who would always have a trick or
gadget in stock when he needed it. This was designed to serve the contemporary
taste.
In 2004 Moore was
voted 'Best Bond' in an Academy Awards poll, and he won with 62% of votes in
2008.
During Moore's
Bond period he starred in 13 other films, including the thriller Gold (1974)
and unorthodox action film The Wild Geese, and even made a cameo as Chief
Inspector Clouseau, posing as a famous movie star, in Curse of the Pink Panther
(1983) (for which he was credited as "Turk Thrust II"). However, most
of these films were not critically acclaimed. Moore was widely criticised by
anti-apartheid campaigners for making three movies in South Africa under the
Apartheid regime during the 1970s.
Timothy Dalton
Peter Dalton
(born 21 March 1944 or 1946) is a British actor of film and television.
Dalton is known
for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989),
as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett (1994), an
original sequel to Gone with the Wind. In addition, he is known for his roles
as King Phillip II of France in the 1968 Academy-award winning The Lion In
Winter, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1970), Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre
(1983), Prince Barin in Flash Gordon (1980), Shakespearean films and plays such
as Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Henry V, Love's Labour's Lost, Henry IV, Part 1
and Henry IV, Part 2. Recently, he had a voice acting part in Toy Story 3 as
Mr. Pricklepants. He has also appeared as Skinner in the mystery comedy film
Hot Fuzz; portrayed the recurring character of Alexei Volkoff in the US TV
series Chuck; and Rassilon in the Doctor Who two-part episode "The End of
Time".
Dalton had been considered for the role of James Bond several times.
According to the documentary Inside The Living Daylights, the producers first
approached Dalton in 1968 for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Although Dalton himself in this
same documentary claims the approach occurred when he was either 24 or 25 and
had already done the film Mary, Queen of Scots (1971). Dalton told the
producers that he was too young for the role. In a 1987 interview, Dalton said,
"Originally I did not want to take over from Sean Connery. He was far too
good, he was wonderful. I was about 24 or 25, which is too young. But when
you've seen Bond from the beginning, you don't take over from Sean
Connery."[9] In either 1979 or 1980, he was approached again, but did
not favour the direction the films were taking, nor did he think the producers
were seriously looking for a new 007. As he explained, his idea of Bond was
different. In a 1979 episode of the television series Charlie's Angels,
Dalton played the role of Damien Roth, a millionaire playboy described by David
Doyle's character as "almost James Bond-ian".
In 1986, Dalton was
approached to play Bond after Roger Moore had retired, and Pierce Brosnan could
not get out of contractual commitments to the television series Remington
Steele. However, Dalton would soon begin filming Brenda Starr and could only do The Living
Daylights if the Bond producers waited six weeks.
Unlike Moore, who had played Bond as more
of a light-hearted playboy, Dalton's portrayal of Bond was darker and more serious. Dalton pushed for
renewed emphasis on the gritty realism of Fleming's novels instead of fantasy
plots and humour. Dalton stated in a 1989 interview:
"I think Roger was fine as Bond, but
the films had become too much techno-pop and had lost track of their sense of
story. I mean, every film seemed to have a villain who had to rule or destroy
the world. If you want to believe in the fantasy on screen, then you have to
believe in the characters and use them as a stepping-stone to lead you into
this fantasy world. That's a demand I made, and Albert Broccoli agreed with
me."
A fan of the literary character, often seen
re-reading and referencing the novels on set, Dalton determined
to approach the role and play truer to the original character described by
Fleming. His 007, therefore, came across as a reluctant agent who did not
always enjoy the assignments he was given, something only seen on screen
before, albeit obliquely, in George Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
In The Living Daylights, for example, Bond tells a critical colleague,
"Stuff my orders! ... Tell M what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him
for it." In Licence to Kill, he resigns from the Secret Service in order
to pursue his own agenda of revenge. Steven Jay Rubin writes in The Complete
James Bond Movie Encyclopaedia (1995):
"Unlike Moore, who always seems to be
in command, Dalton's Bond sometimes looks like a candidate for the psychiatrist's
couch – a burned-out killer who may have just enough energy left for one final
mission. That was Fleming's Bond – a man who drank to diminish the poison in
his system, the poison of a violent world with impossible demands.... [H]is is
the suffering Bond."
This approach proved to be a double-edged
sword. Film critics and fans of Fleming's original novels welcomed a more
serious interpretation after more than a decade of Moore's approach. However, Dalton's films were criticised by many for their comparative lack of
humour. Dalton's serious interpretation was not only in portraying the
character, but also in performing most of the stunts of the action scenes
himself.
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan
Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish-American actor, film producer and environmentalist.
After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration,
but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years. Following a stage
acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele
(1982–87).
After Remington
Steele, Brosnan took the lead in many films such as Dante's Peak and The Thomas
Crown Affair. In 1995, he became the fifth actor to portray secret agent James
Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in four films between 1995
and 2002. He also provided his voice and likeness to Bond in the 2004 video
game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Since playing Bond, he has starred
in such successes as The Matador (nominated for a Golden Globe, 2005), Mamma
Mia! (National Movie Award, 2008), and The Ghost Writer (2010).
Brosnan first met
James Bond films producer Albert R. Broccoli on the sets of For Your Eyes Only
because his first wife, Cassandra Harris, was in the film. Broccoli said,
"if he can act… he's my guy" to inherit the role of Bond from Roger
Moore. It was reported by both Entertainment Tonight and the National Enquirer,
that Brosnan was going to inherit another role of Moore's, that of Simon
Templar in The Saint. Brosnan denied the rumours in July 1993 but added,
"it's still languishing there on someone's desk in Hollywood."
In 1986, NBC
cancelled Remington Steele, so Brosnan was offered the role, but the publicity
revived Remington Steele and Brosnan had to decline the role, owing to his contract.
The producers instead hired Timothy Dalton for The Living Daylights (1987), and
Licence to Kill (1989). Legal squabbles between the Bond producers and the
studio over distribution rights resulted in the cancellation of a proposed
third Dalton film in 1991 and put the series on a hiatus for several years. On
7 June 1994, Brosnan was announced as the fifth actor to play Bond.
Brosnan was
signed for a three-film Bond deal with the option of a fourth. The first,
1995's GoldenEye, grossed US $350 million worldwide, the fourth highest
worldwide gross of any film in 1995, making it the most successful Bond film
since Moonraker, adjusted for inflation. It holds an 80% Rotten tomato rating,
while Metacritic holds it at 65%. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave
the film 3 stars out of 4, and said Brosnan's Bond was "somehow more
sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete" than the
previous ones, also commenting on Bond's "loss of innocence" since
previous films. James Berardinelli described Brosnan as "a decided improvement
over his immediate predecessor" with a "flair for wit to go along
with his natural charm", but added that "fully one-quarter of
Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding."
In 1996, Brosnan
formed a film production company entitled "Irish DreamTime" along
with producing partner and long time friend Beau St. Clair. Three years later
the company's first studio project, The Thomas Crown Affair, was released and
met both critical and box office success.
Brosnan returned
in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999's The World Is Not Enough, which were
also successful. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth time as Bond in Die
Another Day, receiving mixed reviews but was a success at the box office.
Brosnan himself subsequently criticised many aspects of his fourth Bond movie.
During the promotion, he mentioned that he would like to continue his role as
James Bond: "I'd like to do another, sure. Connery did six. Six would be a
number, then never come back."[34] Brosnan asked Eon Productions, when accepting
the role, to be allowed to work on other projects between Bond films. The
request was granted, and for every Bond film, Brosnan appeared in at least two
other mainstream films, including several he produced, playing a wide range
of roles, ranging from a scientist in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, to the title
role in Grey Owl which documents the life of Englishman Archibald Stansfeld
Belaney, one of Canada's first conservationists.
Shortly after the
release of Die Another Day, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan
would reprise the role for a fifth time. Brosnan kept in mind that both fans
and critics were unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role until he was 58, but
he was receiving popular support from both critics and the franchise fanbase
for a fifth instalment. For this reason, he remained enthusiastic about
reprising his role.[35] Throughout 2004, it was rumoured that negotiations had
broken down between Brosnan and the producers to make way for a new and younger
actor. This was denied by MGM and Eon Productions. In July 2004, Brosnan
announced that he was quitting the role, stating "Bond is another
lifetime, behind me". In October 2004, Brosnan said he considered
himself dismissed from the role. Although Brosnan had been rumoured
frequently as still in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times,
and in February 2005 he posted on his website that he was finished with the
role. Daniel Craig took over the role on 14 October 2005. In an
interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked what he thought of Daniel
Craig as the new James Bond. He replied, "I'm looking forward to it like
we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he's going
to do a fantastic job". He reaffirmed this support in an interview to
the International Herald Tribune, stating that "[Craig's] on his way to
becoming a memorable Bond."
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton
Craig[2] (born 2 March 1968) is an British actor best known for playing British
secret agent James Bond since 2006.
Craig is an
alumnus of the National Youth Theatre and graduated from the Guildhall School
of Music and Drama in London and began his career on stage. His early on screen
appearances were in the films Elizabeth, The Power of One and A Kid in King
Arthur's Court, and on Sharpe's Eagle and Zorro in television. His appearances
in the British films Love Is the Devil, The Trench and Some Voices attracted the
industry's attention, leading to roles in bigger productions such as Lara
Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Layer Cake and Munich.
Craig appeared as
Joe in the Royal National Theatre's production of Tony Kushner's Angels in
America in November 1993. Also in 1993, Craig appeared in an episode of
Yorkshire Television's Heartbeat, which aired on 31 October 1993. An early
starring role was as 'Geordie' in the BBC's 1996 drama Our Friends in the
North, with early film roles being as Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest
in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), before appearing in Sam Mendes's movie Road
to Perdition (2002), with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. Other leading film roles
include Sword of Honour (2001), The Mother (2003) with Anne Reid, Sylvia (2003)
with Gwyneth Paltrow, Layer Cake (2004) with Sienna Miller, Enduring Love
(2004) with Rhys Ifans, Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005) with Eric Bana,
Infamous and Casino Royale (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), Quantum of
Solace, Defiance (2008), and Cowboys & Aliens (2011).
Craig achieved
international fame when chosen as the sixth actor to play the role of James
Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan. Though initially greeted with scepticism, his
debut in Casino Royale was highly acclaimed and earned him a BAFTA award
nomination, with the film becoming the highest grossing in the series to date.
Quantum of Solace followed two years later, with the third film Skyfall,
premiered on 23rd October 2012, having been delayed due to MGM's financial
troubles.
In 2005, Craig
was contracted by Eon Productions to portray James Bond. He stated that he
"was aware of the challenges" of the James Bond franchise which he
considers "a big machine" that "makes a lot of money". He
aimed at bringing more "emotional depth" to the character.[15] Being
born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to have been born
after the Bond series already started, and Ian Fleming, the novels' writer, had
died. Significant controversy followed the decision, as it was doubted if the
producers had made the right choice. Throughout the entire production period
Internet campaigns expressed their dissatisfaction and threatened to boycott
the film in protest. The 5'10 (178cm) blond Craig, unlike previous actors,
was not considered by the protesters to fit the tall, dark, handsome image of
Bond to which viewers had been accustomed. The Daily Mirror ran a front
page news story critical of Craig, with the headline, "The Name's Bland –
James Bland." Although the choice of Craig was controversial, numerous
actors publicly voiced their support, most notably, four of the five actors who
had previously portrayed Bond – Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Sean
Connery and Roger Moore – called his casting a good decision. George Lazenby
has since voiced his approval of Craig also. Clive Owen, who had been
linked to the role, also spoke in defence of Craig.
You can switch off
the background music by clicking the II button on the flashplayer at the bottom
of this page
"Stand
and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the
UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on
their Prince Charming album. The lyric "stand and deliver - your money or
your life" was a phrase commonly used by highwaymen in 18th century 
Adam Ant (born
Stuart Leslie Goddard, 3 November 1954, Marylebone, London) is an English
musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group
Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits
between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s. Ant was also a star in America
where he not only scored a string of hit singles and albums, but was once voted
sexiest man in America by the viewers of MTV. He is also an actor, having
appeared in over two dozen films or television episodes between 1985 and 2003.
