Looking Out My Back Door

James Blonde?

Okay, I know it's been way too long since I've posted here, but I've been kinda busy. However, earthshattering news tends to make me examine my priorities, and something just happened that I MUST write about. The role of James Bond has been recast with a not very well-known actor (outside the UK, anyway) named Daniel Craig. And he's BLONDE!

I have nothing against blondes, mind you, even though I do enjoy the jokes. There are some long standing traditions that you do NOT mess with, though. Even though Roger Moore's hair sometimes seemed more light brown than not, every single Bond has been played by a dark-haired bloke.

A recast of this magnitude is dodgy enough without breaking with certain aspects of the character. For instance, one name bandied about as a new Bond was that of Rupert Everett, a guy quite right for the part in most instances. Except one. And he said it himself: "Well, you KNOW why they won't offer it to me!" Others in the running had much in common, from Clive Owen to Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor to (eww) Jude Law, Hugh Jackman to (eww, again) Colin Firth. All suave brunets with lovely accents and a physique to match (except for the "eww"s). In order, my choices would have been Clive Owen, Ewan McGregor, even Christian Bale. In the end, I was totally disappointed.

Will I go to see "Casino Royale?" Undoubtedly. There ARE a few things going for the movie. Its director, Martin Campbell, previously directed Pierce Brosnan's Bond debut, "Goldeneye." He also helmed Antonio Banderas' "Zorro" flicks. And Paul Haggis ("Million Dollar Baby," "Crush") is either writing the screenplay or consulting on it. Then something else flashed by me as I was reading an article on "gambling on celebrities" -- you know, what will Jennifer Garner have, a girl or a boy? Is Beyonce going to marry Jay-Z? There was also a list of likely Bond girls for "Casino Royale," and number one was Angelina Jolie, with odds of 11-8. Now THAT would make a lot of sense, and draw more doubting Bond fans like myself to the theater. Jolie would be fantastic. Cast a relative unknown as Bond and compensate by adding a superstar as Vesper Lynd, the female lead. Okay, EON Productions, I might even forgive you for not re-signing Pierce Brosnan...well, maybe. This tactic, however, would correct some very big sins.

posted by Hopster @ 12:50 PM