Join #Bond_age_ in wishing our favorite, fluffiest Bond a very happy 63rd birthday. To celebrate we’re live tweeting a selection of Brosnan’s greatest (or at least most entertaining) anti-Bonds: TAFFIN and THE TAILOR OF PANAMA.
Happy Birthday, 00-Fluffy!
Press play on the embed when some time before start time. The Spider video player will not play until the video is fully loaded. This prevents glitches and jitters. It’s a good thing. But you must be patient!
Today, on May 16th, Pierce Brosnan turns 63. #Bond_age_ plans to wish Fluffy a very happy birthday the only way we know how… with a double-decker live tweet extravaganza of Pierce Brosnan anti-Bond classics.
The Happy Birthday, 00-Fluffy Live Tweet of Taffin and The Tailor of Panama!
I’ve been wanting to live tweet Taffin since I first saw it three or four years ago. It’s an amazing story of a shiftless loafer who gets embroiled in minor local Irish politics. It’s a movie about such insignificant machinations that knowing the man playing Taffin went on to be the suave and sophisticated James Bond doubles the pleasure. The Tailor of Panama meanwhile takes a different anti-Bond tact. This is Brosnan as full on cad. A loathesome, offensive brute in an underrated thriller based on the Le Carre spy novel and directed by John Boorman. The two disparate ends of the same Fluffy. I hope you enjoy our offerings. Pfft. Of course you’ll enjoy these offerings. No ifs about it. Embeds for both films will appear on this website the day of the live tweet.
Join us Wednesday at 8:00pm EDT for the Taffin/Tailor of Panama Double Bill. Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag.
Note: The Spider player often does not play the video until it has been fully loaded. Press play before start time to allow the video to load. THE VIDEO WILL EVENTUALLY PLAY!
9pm: The Avengers – “The Master Minds” (#Bond_age_TV)
I might be conflicted about Guy Hamilton’s contributions to the Bond series, but he was intermittently a mighty fine director (and from what I hear a wholly standup fellow). Many might not know this, but Cubby wanted Guy Hamilton to direct Dr. No. Hamilton declined, but Cubby continued to consult with the director about the tone and look of the series throughout pre-production.
It was Hamilton that took one look at the humorous elements Cubby wanted to inject into the film (making the villain a monkey, for example) and told him to start over, to return to Ian Fleming’s text for inspiration. I give more credit to Terrence Young for creating cinematic Bond, but Guy Hamilton was an indispensable part of the whole.
Hamilton directed four Bond films overall (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun) in addition to Funeral in Berlin (one of the Harry Palmer films starring Michael Caine) and another #Bond_age_ favorite, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Guy Hamilton was also the original director of Superman (1978), but had to relinquish the post to Richard Donner because the production moved to Pinewood Studios at the 11th Hour. Since Hamilton was at the time a tax exile he could not ultimately direct the film.
He began his career as an assistant director to Carol Reed, working on films such as The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. Quite an impressive resume builder.
Guy Hamilton passed away Wednesday at the age of 93 on the Spanish island of Majorca, where he also lived.
Guy Hamilton on the set of The Man with the Golden Gun, alongside Cubby Broccoli, Britt Ekland and Roger Moore.
Greg McCambley and I have long thought about doing the Mission: Impossible films as live tweets. There’s a bunch of them and for the most part, they’re all pretty damn entertaining. With the 20th anniversary of the first appearance of Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt approaching in May, we thought what better time than the now? But but but we thought… Tom Cruise has appeared in a bunch of movies that would make some goddamn great live tweets. They’d be off the #Bond_age_ reservation, but, hey, why the hell not? That said, I’m happy to introduce…
Tom Cruising: Volume 1
The Risky Business/Cocktail Double Bill
We’ll provide embeds for each film, live and direct on the #Bond_age_ website sometime on Wednesday. We justify this Double Bill because Tom Cruise in real life is pretty much Scientologist James Bond. Also, he made some damn entertaining movies. Join us for Volume 1 of TOM CRUISING! And in case you haven’t read between the lines, we plan to come up with more Tom Cruise movies to live tweet, including each of the Mission: Impossible films beginning next month.
Follow #Bond_age_ hashtag and don’t forget your best Ray-Bans and brush up on your rendition of “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys. There will be a quiz afterward.
To whet your appetite here’s Tom Cruise stopping by The Tonight Show for a Lip Sync Battle with Jimmy Fallon. He might have busted out the Risky Business big guns.
