To the Daniel Craig doubters in the house
Blow me already.
Honestly. Can I just vent for a moment here?
Anyone who makes the conscious decision to use their free time maintaining a website trashing an actor with a long and impressive resume, one who's unapologetically fearless when it comes to tackling meaty roles, and one who looks like this, emerging from the sea like a male version of Ursula Andress in Dr. No, is clearly not capable of being taken seriously. These CraigNotBond.com people come off sounding like Bill O'Reilly, if he were to suddenly drop everything and become a film reviewer:
In fact Craig's stock and trade has been playing the part of criminals, alcoholics, addicts, psychopaths, child murderers, thieves, perverts and gigolos. In fact, he is much more the type to play one of Bond's deranged nemeses, ala Robert Carlyle, than anyone remotely resembling the handsome, athletic and sinisterly smooth agent 007.
Oh my. It's called acting, people. And are the James Bond fans out there really that rabid and inflexible? One would think that if Daniel Craig was good enough for the Broccolis, who've only been making Bond films for over forty years now, he'd be a welcome change for the Bond fans, too, right?
Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Daniel Craig shall inherit the earth someday, despite having not seen even a tenth of the stuff on his resume. But what I have seen has made me fan myself and get all well, bless my little cotton socks, and rest assured we're working on that list. My friend and fellow Craig maniac Fiona and I have been planning a Daniel Craig Movie Night for ages now, when we'll be watching Enduring Love and The Mother. And there's so much more out there.
First thing I ever saw the man in was Love Is The Devil, the horrifyingly lurid but captivating biopic of the painter Francis Bacon, where Craig plays his doomed lover, George Dyer, a petty thief (and rent boy, if I'm not mistaken) - their first actual meeting takes place when Bacon walks in on George, robbing his studio. It took me a couple of years to put the two-and-two togther when I saw Road To Perdition, and couldn't get out of my mind how much I loathed the character of Paul Newman's son, this completely amoral piece of human garbage - and that's when it dawned on me: "Wow, that was the guy who let it all hang out in Love Is The Devil." By the way, the videocaps of that are out there somewhere, well worth the Google search.
Never saw Sylvia all the way through, as Sylvia Plath makes me laugh, but having read her Letters Home, her diaries and several biographies, and while flipping through the TV channels, I always make sure to stop if I see Daniel Craig getting all Ted Hughes on our asses. The real-life Ted Hughes just oozed sex appeal, back in his day, and this makes Craig-as-Hughes almost too hot to handle.
I couldn't help but adore his portrayal as a passionate, hot-tempered South African sharpshooter in Spielberg's Munich, and I loved him in Layer Cake, too. Nice chemistry between him and Sienna Miller, who I can't wait to see in Factory Girl. She's adorable. As silly as it sounds, that shot of her in this month's Vanity Fair gives me hopes that she might be able to pull the whole Edie Sedgwick thing off. It's about time someone did. Remember back in the early 80's - a few years after the book came out - when Molly Ringwald was making noises about wanting to play Edie, and later on there were a few rumblings about Warren Beatty buying the rights to her story? Don't know what ever came of that, but I just pray like mad that the Factory Girl version of La Sedgwick doesn't take the same route Oliver Stone took with Nico in The Doors. Never forgave him for that one.
Back to Daniel Craig, though, I just wish these CraigNotBond.com people shut the bleepin' eff up already and get on with their lives. The film's almost done, anyway. And why can't an actor make a living in peace these days?
Besides that, change is good, people. Playing with the formula means staying one step ahead. Fleming's Bond was no angel himself, and I'm hoping that maybe we'll see a little more of that in Casino Royale. We might see a completely brand new, slightly flawed and more human Bond - through Mr. Craig. And we might just fall in love with him all over again.
Two Things I Shouldn't Have Used My Debit Card Irresponsibly On This Week But Did, Anyway:
St. Etienne's Tales From Turnpike House - Bought the US version and haven't been disappointed, which is nice considering it's been a long wait since the last album. Not that I'm complaining, though. Several standouts: "Oh My" appears in its full flung glory, along with "Last Orders For Gary Stead" and "Stars Above Us," the single I can totally see Madonna covering someday. The London slice-of-life bits are nice, too - especially "Milk Bottle Symphony," which totally makes me think of of mushy Weetabix and steaming mugs of sweetened tea on cold mornings. Next on my list is the UK version, because the bonus disc includes six tracks which make up the children's album St. Etienne did last year, called Up the Wooden Hills. I've yet to feel maternal myself, but would love to hear this one, just for shits and grins. I have complete faith that Sarah Cracknell's voice could calm a bevy of bawling babies.
Over The Edge - Had to have my own personal copy of this 1979 juvie love-fest, about a group of teens gone ape-shit crazy in a Colorado subdivision. The soundtrack kicks ass, and while its young stars remind me just a bit too much of those teen terrors I knew growing up in East Fort Worth at times, they do take on their roles with relish. The young Matt Dillon makes his screen debut, which is ironic because the night I bought this DVD, we ended up re-watching Crash and here's Matt Dillon today, up for Best Supporting Actor for his role in that. Gotta love it when the world comes full circle. And the guy who played Claude, Tom Fergus, even has his own tribute site, featuring photographs of Over The Edge's fictional town, New Granada, in miniature. I shit you not.
Another thing I was delighted to pick up on was a certain riff in the song played during the crew credits, right after the kid takes a pot-shot at the cop car from that bridge - one I had to take a closer listen to before it hit me: it's the same riff lifted for use in "Beer & Ludes," one of the many gems on the Lovedolls Superstar soundtrack. Which reminds me, the 20th anniversary DVD of Lovedolls Superstar: Fully Realized comes out on the 14th! And Amazon's taking pre-orders! God bless America.
Honestly. Can I just vent for a moment here?
Anyone who makes the conscious decision to use their free time maintaining a website trashing an actor with a long and impressive resume, one who's unapologetically fearless when it comes to tackling meaty roles, and one who looks like this, emerging from the sea like a male version of Ursula Andress in Dr. No, is clearly not capable of being taken seriously. These CraigNotBond.com people come off sounding like Bill O'Reilly, if he were to suddenly drop everything and become a film reviewer:
In fact Craig's stock and trade has been playing the part of criminals, alcoholics, addicts, psychopaths, child murderers, thieves, perverts and gigolos. In fact, he is much more the type to play one of Bond's deranged nemeses, ala Robert Carlyle, than anyone remotely resembling the handsome, athletic and sinisterly smooth agent 007.
Oh my. It's called acting, people. And are the James Bond fans out there really that rabid and inflexible? One would think that if Daniel Craig was good enough for the Broccolis, who've only been making Bond films for over forty years now, he'd be a welcome change for the Bond fans, too, right?
Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Daniel Craig shall inherit the earth someday, despite having not seen even a tenth of the stuff on his resume. But what I have seen has made me fan myself and get all well, bless my little cotton socks, and rest assured we're working on that list. My friend and fellow Craig maniac Fiona and I have been planning a Daniel Craig Movie Night for ages now, when we'll be watching Enduring Love and The Mother. And there's so much more out there.
First thing I ever saw the man in was Love Is The Devil, the horrifyingly lurid but captivating biopic of the painter Francis Bacon, where Craig plays his doomed lover, George Dyer, a petty thief (and rent boy, if I'm not mistaken) - their first actual meeting takes place when Bacon walks in on George, robbing his studio. It took me a couple of years to put the two-and-two togther when I saw Road To Perdition, and couldn't get out of my mind how much I loathed the character of Paul Newman's son, this completely amoral piece of human garbage - and that's when it dawned on me: "Wow, that was the guy who let it all hang out in Love Is The Devil." By the way, the videocaps of that are out there somewhere, well worth the Google search.
Never saw Sylvia all the way through, as Sylvia Plath makes me laugh, but having read her Letters Home, her diaries and several biographies, and while flipping through the TV channels, I always make sure to stop if I see Daniel Craig getting all Ted Hughes on our asses. The real-life Ted Hughes just oozed sex appeal, back in his day, and this makes Craig-as-Hughes almost too hot to handle.
I couldn't help but adore his portrayal as a passionate, hot-tempered South African sharpshooter in Spielberg's Munich, and I loved him in Layer Cake, too. Nice chemistry between him and Sienna Miller, who I can't wait to see in Factory Girl. She's adorable. As silly as it sounds, that shot of her in this month's Vanity Fair gives me hopes that she might be able to pull the whole Edie Sedgwick thing off. It's about time someone did. Remember back in the early 80's - a few years after the book came out - when Molly Ringwald was making noises about wanting to play Edie, and later on there were a few rumblings about Warren Beatty buying the rights to her story? Don't know what ever came of that, but I just pray like mad that the Factory Girl version of La Sedgwick doesn't take the same route Oliver Stone took with Nico in The Doors. Never forgave him for that one.
Back to Daniel Craig, though, I just wish these CraigNotBond.com people shut the bleepin' eff up already and get on with their lives. The film's almost done, anyway. And why can't an actor make a living in peace these days?
Besides that, change is good, people. Playing with the formula means staying one step ahead. Fleming's Bond was no angel himself, and I'm hoping that maybe we'll see a little more of that in Casino Royale. We might see a completely brand new, slightly flawed and more human Bond - through Mr. Craig. And we might just fall in love with him all over again.
Two Things I Shouldn't Have Used My Debit Card Irresponsibly On This Week But Did, Anyway:
St. Etienne's Tales From Turnpike House - Bought the US version and haven't been disappointed, which is nice considering it's been a long wait since the last album. Not that I'm complaining, though. Several standouts: "Oh My" appears in its full flung glory, along with "Last Orders For Gary Stead" and "Stars Above Us," the single I can totally see Madonna covering someday. The London slice-of-life bits are nice, too - especially "Milk Bottle Symphony," which totally makes me think of of mushy Weetabix and steaming mugs of sweetened tea on cold mornings. Next on my list is the UK version, because the bonus disc includes six tracks which make up the children's album St. Etienne did last year, called Up the Wooden Hills. I've yet to feel maternal myself, but would love to hear this one, just for shits and grins. I have complete faith that Sarah Cracknell's voice could calm a bevy of bawling babies.
Over The Edge - Had to have my own personal copy of this 1979 juvie love-fest, about a group of teens gone ape-shit crazy in a Colorado subdivision. The soundtrack kicks ass, and while its young stars remind me just a bit too much of those teen terrors I knew growing up in East Fort Worth at times, they do take on their roles with relish. The young Matt Dillon makes his screen debut, which is ironic because the night I bought this DVD, we ended up re-watching Crash and here's Matt Dillon today, up for Best Supporting Actor for his role in that. Gotta love it when the world comes full circle. And the guy who played Claude, Tom Fergus, even has his own tribute site, featuring photographs of Over The Edge's fictional town, New Granada, in miniature. I shit you not.
Another thing I was delighted to pick up on was a certain riff in the song played during the crew credits, right after the kid takes a pot-shot at the cop car from that bridge - one I had to take a closer listen to before it hit me: it's the same riff lifted for use in "Beer & Ludes," one of the many gems on the Lovedolls Superstar soundtrack. Which reminds me, the 20th anniversary DVD of Lovedolls Superstar: Fully Realized comes out on the 14th! And Amazon's taking pre-orders! God bless America.
posted by No, You Can't Watch at 1:24 AM
1 Comments:
Tell it like it is. Daniel Craig is a sizzling hunk of masculinity, the likes of which we haven't seen, IMHO, since Sean Connery. Do people really have the spare time to whine about something so rediculous? It boggles the mind. I hope you sent this post to their site.
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