Monday
Jun042012
Seven ways that waiting for a new James Bond is exactly like waiting for a new Woody Allen
Monday, June 4, 2012 at 9:00AM 
1. You can expect that the locale will change.
2. You know the title sequence will bring back memories like an old friend or comfort food.
3. You'll see new faces mixed in with the repertory company.
4. You can place bets on how many and which younger women the protagonist will sleep with.
Woody Allen as "Jimmy Bond" in Casino Royale (1967)
5. You're forced to admire the longevity because this all started in the 1960s!
6. You've learned to let go of qualitative expectations because it's a crap shoot...
7. ...Otherwise you know exactly what you're going to get.
James Bond goes To Rome With Love on June 28th and Woody Allen Skyfalls into Shanghai on November 9th. I got that right, right?
tagged Bond James Bond, Skyfall, To Rome With Love, Woody Allen
Bond James Bond, Skyfall, To Rome With Love, Woody Allen
Reader Comments (6)
I get the point about knowing exactly what you are going to get, but I would say there's more surprise and variance in the Woody canon than in the Bond canon. I mean, Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah and Her Sisters, Bananas, Match Point and Interiors (just to name a few off the top of my head) might have some consistent themes and technical aspects, but there's some variety there. Can the same be said for Goldfinger, Casino Royale (the Bond one), Live and Let Die, Moonraker and Die Another Day? I would say not so much.
Judy Davis + Woody Allen: I'm sold
And, yes, Roberto Fu*king Benigni!
I love Benigni. I really do.
Skyfall looks amazing, and To Rome with Love looks very average. And no, there is much more variance in the Bond canon. Why? Different filmmakers, different looks, different takes. Woody Allen has never reinvented himself. Not that he necessarily needs to, because his style still works every now and again (Match Point, Midnight in Paris).
Yeah, I guess I just disagree. The fact that there are different actors and directors in the Bond franchise is what makes it such a franchise to me. I mean, McDonald's restaurants in each city are owned by different people, and so therefore it becomes necessary for the company to lay down the law about uniformity. I feel like the Broccoli (sp?) family has done the same things with Bond. But I'm not anti-Bond. I like those movies. I just think Woody Allen gets a bad rap for "making the same movie over and over" when he really doesn't. I'll probably be arguing the same thing about Wes Anderson in twenty years too.
Woody Allen - the best Bond of them all...
Andrew Dice Clay was announced cast in the next Woody Allen picture which also stars Cate Blanchett.