What If: An Interview With One-Time James Bond Actor George Lazenby

In an earlier post, I linked to a piece about Ian Fleming's desire to have director Alfred Hitchcock direct the first James Bond film. Now that would have been an interesting film.

Another what if to ponder is what would the Bond films been like in the 1970s had George Lazenby continued in the role after 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service?

I believe George Lazenby would have grown in the role and we would have done without Roger Moore's lighthearted and comedic approach to the role.

Of course my generation will always think of Sean Connery as the one and only Bond, but I believe Lazenby did fine considering he had never acted before. I'm very fond of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and I watch it every Christmas season.

Below is a video interview of George Lazenby sometime after On Her Majesty Secret Service was released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8YJ4V4xqpU

You can also visit an earlier post on Her Majesty's Secret Service via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2009/11/bringing-in-christmas-season-with-james.html

Vegas: A Look At The New CBS Crime Series

Geoff Berkshire at Hitfix.com offers a look at CBS' new crime series Vegas.   

Dennis Quaid is a cowboy sheriff who fights crime by riding a horse through 1960s Las Vegas.

Do you really need to know anything more about the new CBS drama "Vegas"? Personally, I'm already sold.

But it doesn't hurt that Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackey forever!) is also on board as a "ruthless Chicago gangster," Carrie-Anne Moss has the plum role of an "ambitious assistant district attorney" and potential love interest for Quaid, and Jason O'Mara rebounds from "Terra Nova" as Quaid's brother and deputy.

The series comes from "Goodfellas" and "Casino" writer Nicholas Pileggi and the pilot is directed by filmmaker James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma"). It looks bold and expansive and possibly a lot more serialized than the CBS standard.

You can read the rest of the story and view a trailer of the crime series via the below link:

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/weigh-in-on-dennis-quaid-and-michael-chiklis-in-cbs-vegas-teaser 

Elementary: Sherlock Holmes Is Back In A Big Way

Bruce Chadwick at the History News Network reports on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic fictional character Sherlock Holmes' past and how he is back in a big way.

English fictional detective Sherlock Holmes solved his first case in 1887. He became a literary sensation in Great Britain and then, accompanied by his inveterate sidekick, Dr. John Watson, a superstar in the United States. Now, 125 years later, the nineteenth-century detective is not only back, he's bigger than ever. He's returned to theater, film and television, the world’s greatest sleuth once again, trudging through the fog filled streets of London, deerstalker cap comfortable on his head, pipe in the corner of his mouth and his trusty violin tucked under his arm. 

He's back in different theaters in numerous plays. He's back on the silver screen in two movies starring Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). And he's back on television in another season of the BBC's Sherlock, which just began last weekend in America.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://hnn.us/articles/elementary-sherlock-holmes-back-big-way

Anthony Hopkins And Andy Garcia To Film 'Hemingway & Fuentes'

The Hollywood Reporter informs us that Cuban-American actor-writer-producer Andy Garica will finally begin work on his film about author Ernest Hemingway and his Cuban boat captain.

Andy Garcia’s passion project centering on author Ernest Hemingway is finally a go.    

Financing has been set on Hemingway & Fuentes, with filming scheduled to begin in January 2013.

Anthony Hopkins and Annette Bening are attached to star in the project with Garcia, who is directing. Garcia also co-wrote the screenplay with Hilary Hemingway, Hemingway’s
granddaughter.

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-2012-anthony-hopkins-andy-garcia-anthony-hemingway-fuentes-324704

You can also read an earlier post on film projects about Hemingway via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/06/hbo-to-make-movie-of-ernest-hemingway.html

Revealed: The Secret Telegram That Shows Ian Fleming Wanted Alfred Hitchcock To Direct The First James Bond Film

Imagine a James Bond film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with Cary Grant portraying James Bond.

Graham Smith at the British newspaper the Daily Mail reports on a telegram Ian Fleming sent his friend and fellow thriller writer Eric Ambler about the first James Bond film.

James Bond creator wanted Alfred Hitchock to direct the first 007 movie, it has emerged.

A telegram sent in 1959 has revealed one of the biggest "what ifs" in British cinema history and will James Bond fans shaken and stirred. Fleming sent the communique in which he asked Hitchcock to take the helm of the first Bond film through a mutual friend.

You can read the rest of the story via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144638/Revealed-The-secret-telegram-shows-Ian-Fleming-wanted-Alfred-Hitchcock-direct-Bond-film.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Note: Although not mentioned in the story, both Fleming and film producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli thought Hitchcock favorite Cary Grant would make a fine James Bond. Grant, who was Broccoli's best man at his wedding, agreed to portray Bond in one film only. As the producers hoped to produce a series of Bond films, they opted to hire Sean Connery to portray Bond and Terence Young to serve as the director. And the rest is cinema history.

The above photo shows the James Bond film team: From left to right is producer Cubby Broccoli, actor Sean Connery, writer Ian Fleming and producer Harry Saltzman.

The Life Of A Spy: Legendary CIA Officer Interviewed On 60 Minutes

Lara Logan interviewed former CIA officer Henry A. Crumpton (seen in the above photo) on CBS' 60 Minutes.

Crumpton has written a book called The Art of Intelligence: Lessons From A Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service (Penguin Press).

There are more foreign spies on U.S. soil now than at the peak of the Cold War, according to Hank Crumpton, former head of the CIA's National Resources Division, a highly sensitive operation charged with collecting foreign intelligence here in the U.S. Crumpton also led the covert response to 9/11 in Afghanistan, where the CIA helped topple the Taliban. Lara Logan interviews Crumpton about his 24 years as a legendary spy.

You can read a transcript of the interview and/or watch the video via the below link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57433105/hank-crumpton-life-as-a-spy/

Most Wanted: How Notorious Boston Mobster Whitey Bulger Evaded Police For 50 Years

Emily Ann Stein at the British newspaper the Daily Mail reports on how Boston mobster Whitey Bulger was able to evade arrest for 50 years.

One of  America's most notorious and ruthless gangsters escaped capture by donning disguises, living off hidden safety deposit boxes of cash and serving as a secret informant to the FBI - despite being on top of the their most wanted list. 

Massachusetts State Police officer Thomas Foley chronicled his decades long hunt for James "Whitey" Bulger in his new book 'Most Wanted,' telling untold stories of Bulger's life on the lam and how it all began in Boston's Southie neighborhood.

"Whitey Bulger has to be the most cold-blooded killer in Boston's history," Mr Foley writes/ "If he isn't, I wouldn't want to know the guy who is."

You can read the story, view photos and watch a video of police surveillence on Bulger via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140379/Revealed-How-Whitey-Bulger-evaded-police-50-years--help-Batmobile-style-car-created-smokescreen.html