Oh no! I missed Pussy’s birthday!

Honor Blackman turned 80 yesterday, while I was busy blogging about Dionne Warwick. Silly me.

Goldfinger at the Lafayette Theater

First of all, let’s hear it for the Lafayette! An old-fashioned (1924) theater with a big (46 foot) screen, one thousand seats, a balcony, and a live Wurlitzer player! That’s the environment in which to see classic films.

Second, the movie itself. I’m committed to grabbing every opportunity to see Bond on the big screen. Seeing it brought back memories of the first (and only other) time I saw it in a theater; in 1970! Despite having seen Goldfinger many times since then, many of the sensations I experienced as a child have not recurred from watching it on DVD or television broadcast. The chill of fear when the soldiers of Fort Knox fall, seemingly to their deaths, the terror and fascination of Odd Job, seemingly unbeatable, both human and superhuman, and the suave sex appeal of Sean Connery; all of these flooded back like sense memories.

Humor for Bond 22?

Everyone’s talking about the Daily Express interview wherein Craig hints at a funnier Bond 22.

Craig, 39, says of his forthcoming second outing as 007: “They [the producers] just want more gags. The next one’s going to be a lot funnier. Octopussy and Pussy Galore style gags. They’re all great names – but that’s the thing, the Bond jokes will be flipped on their heads.”

Now, I can’t even begin to link to all the fansites and movie boards and articles that link to this quote. But perhaps I should throw my two cents down.

I’m in the mood to trust the producers. I was horrified by the decision to cast Craig, and I was proven wrong. Yay for being wrong. Craig was awesome, CR was awesome, and I’m not expecting much disagreement on those points. More than just making a fantastic movie, I think that MIchael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli showed us they found a direction for their hero, they are grounded, they know what they’re doing. I think they were floundering, perhaps since Cubby‘s death, but certainly since Dana‘s. To me, CR says the second generation of Bond producers has come into their own. So I’m not inclined to panic.

Further, they’ve re-hired Paul Haggis for script polish. Haggis is Not A Funny Guy. If Purvis and Wade were handing in the final script, well I think we all know how lame their one-liners can be. But Haggis is not that guy, and Haggis certainly reined in the sillies his last time out.

Perhaps Bond 22 won’t be as dark as CR. That’s okay; they shouldn’t all be the same! But I’m not worried about double-taking pigeons.