Entertainment Weekly’s Best & Worst Bond Girls

Riding the wave of Bond news, EW has put together a list of its best and worst Bond girls. (But not in time to get the name of the new movie into the article.)

There’s plenty to agree and disagree with in their choices. Way too much hate on Octopussy, in my opinion, and while I agree with them about Tiffany Case, most fans’ heads will explode at the thought of her on a “Best” list.

I’m sure that they did this same list when Eva Green was cast, but now I can’t find any record of blogging it. Anyway, it’s always fun to look at someone else’s list.

I saw Black Book last night

…and now I have to say, despite the fact that the Carice van Houten rumors were always wacky, I understand why they appealed to people. Van Houten has a dark, vulnerable beauty that seems brooding and sad, and a smile that is dazzling. She’d have been a worthy follow-up to Eva Green.

Not that I’m unhappy about the current choices. We shall see.

Eva Green #6 on Blackwell’s 10 Worst Dressed

So, if this is January, it must be time for Mr. Blackwell’s annual 10 Worst Dressed Women of the Year list.

Topping the list is Posh Spice, and frequently-rumored Amy Winehouse makes #2. Our girl Vesper makes #6, and I have to say, when Lindy Hemming isn’t dressing her, she does tend to look kind of like an alien. I mean, layers of weird makeup and strangely sprayed hair in outfits that seem to have a perfectly random relationship to her figure.

So here’s to you, Eva. You are very beautiful, a very talented actress, and very, very strange. Mr. Blackwell has done well by recognizing this.

Olga Kurylenko is the new Bond Girl, says Variety

Hat tip to CBn, who had it before I saw it. Variety is reporting that the new Bond girl (the female lead of Bond 22, that is) is Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko.

The official press release from Eon says:

Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, “We are fortunate to continue in the Bond tradition of attracting the finest international actors for our starring roles. Mathieu [Amalric] in the role of Dominic Greene, a leading member of the villainous organization introduced in CASINO ROYALE, will be a powerful counterpart to Daniel’s portrayal of Bond. Olga Kurylenko will play the dangerously alluring Camille, who challenges Bond and helps him come to terms with the emotional consequences of Vesper’s betrayal.”

The press release adds that Fields is an MI6 agent, and that Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, and Giancarlo Giannini are returning to their roles from Casino Royale.

Two quick comments. First, Amalric had previously been reported as “Maurice Green;” this is definitely a better name. Second, in regard to Gemma Arterton: Told you so!

Minor female “types”

A stray remark in comments while speculating on what role Gemma Arterton’s “Fields” might play got me thinking. What are the various minor female roles in a Bond film? Major roles would be the female lead, and the femme fatale.

Very few characters just happen to be female in a Bond film; even a hotel clerk or a lab tech seems to bristle with sexuality when 007 is around. Casino Royale was perhaps exceptional in that regard; the card dealer at the One and Only Ocean Club, and several card players in the film, weren’t filling any eye candy or innuendo roles. And that’s refreshing; I don’t want the sexuality to go away, but like men, women can be sexual and have normal characters.

But for women cast as “types,” what are those types?

Major role: “Bond girl” (female lead). Examples: Pussy Galore (GF), Vesper Lynd (CR), Kara Milovy (TLD)
Major role: Femme fatale (villainess). Examples: Fiona Volpe (TB), Miss Taro (DN), Xenia Onatopp (GE)
Major role: Sacrificial lamb. A “lamb” can be male or female; it is someone whose death (or, in LTK, injury) compels Bond to action and makes the goal personal. The major role of female sacrificial lamb involves a love scene followed by a death scene: Examples: Solange (CR), Aki (YOLT), Plenty O’Toole (DAF), Jill Masterson (GF)

Minor role: Villain’s agent. The photographer in Dr. No is an example of a female villain’s agent who just happens to be female, but most seem to be seductresses. Examples: Peaceful Fountains of Desire (DAD), Photographer (DN), Log Cabin Girl (TSWLM), Bonita (GF)
Minor role: Random romance. Bond has a love life outside of his duties. Although these women often work for MI6 or another intelligence agency, they have no bearing on the plot of the film. Examples: Dr. Warmflash (TWINE), Miss Caruso (LALD), Caroline (GE)

I’m strongly inclined to believe “Fields” is one of the latter two, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Gemma Arterton is “Fields”

CBn has the news. It has been officially confirmed by Eon that Gemma Arterton will play “Fields” in Bond 22. She is not the female lead, who will be announced in two weeks.

“Fields” sounds totally like an MI6 name, like “Villiers” or “Robinson.” So even though it seems she’s not Moneypenny, I feel like they’re messing with us; like they’re casting a kind-of-Moneypenny but avoiding the name. And I think that’s a foolish decision.

Married Bond Girls

In the novel Casino Royale, Bond thinks about his preference for dating married women, because they have similar needs to keep things simple and have a life apart from him. In the movie Casino Royale, which, of course, sought to get back to Fleming’s roots, Daniel Craig’s Bond expresses a similar sentiment:

Vesper Lynd: Am I going to have a problem with you, Mr. Bond?
James Bond: No, don’t worry, you’re not my type.
Vesper Lynd: Smart?
James Bond: Single.

True to his word, Bond seduces the married Solange. So I started thinking, have there been other married Bond girls?

Although Bond is often connected to other men’s girlfriends, he has almost always stayed away from wives. Sean Connery’s James Bond was never tied to a married woman, nor was George Lazenby’s (except his own wife, of course). It was up to Roger Moore’s randy Bond to break that ground, and it was merely a kiss. In The Spy Who Loves Me, Bond and Felicca share an embrace while waiting for her husband, Max Kalba. But their lustful kiss is interrupted by an assassination attempt.

The next married woman to find her way to Bond’s arms is Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies.

Before Solange, these are the only married women in Bond film history. So it took the film Bond forty-four years to match the three that the literary Bond was already seeing in the first book!

Let’s think about Casino Royale Bond Girls

In CR, there are two Bond girls: The primary Bond girl is British (Eva Green: a French actress playing British), and the olive-skinned “exotic” (Italian) Bond girl who is the sacrificial lamb (Caterina Murino).

We know for a fact that Eon is searching for an “exotic” (Latina) Bond girl. It would be absolutely insane, then, for them to cast Gemma Arterton as the main Bond girl, and give us the same formula as last movie. They’re trying to break away from formula!

So I remain full of doubt. I really, really think she’s got a secondary role or even smaller.

More thoughts on Gemma Arterton

Here’s the thing: There are many women in a Bond movie. A young woman like Gemma Arterton, who may or may not know Bond films particularly well, who may be excited about getting a part when she’s such an unknown, might very well text her friend to say she’s the new Bond girl (as is rumored).

Well, let’s think this over. We know they’re looking for an olive-skinned ethnic type, perhaps Israeli, perhaps Mexican or Brazilian. Gemma Arterton is British.

Daniel Craig says the new movie will hearken back to the days of Connery, so let’s look at Connery’s first film. Had there been such a thing as texting back then, Ursula Andress could certainly have texted her friends the good news. So could Eunice Gayson. So could Zena Marshall. And probably Marguerite LeWars would have sent such a text as well. All of these are important characters, but only Andress is “the” Bond girl.

All I’m saying is, I doubt that Gemma Arterton is “the” Bond girl. I’ve been wrong before.

New Bond Girl Rumor: Gemma Arterton

Hey, it’s been a month since the last Bond Girl rumor, so I guess it’s right on time. Several sites say it’s 22 year old British newcomer Gemma Arterton. It’s possible, of course, that this one is for real; eventually they have to cast someone, but the announcement is not official and I wouldn’t put real money down. Don’t forget she could be cast in the movie without being “the” Bond girl.