Shaken and Stirred

That was apparently Pierce Brosnan?s reaction to news that the producers of James Bond had decided to ?pension him off? (according to the Scottish Sunday Mail) and replace him with a younger actor. Brosnan told Entertainment Weekly that his 007 days were over: ?Bond is another lifetime behind me,? adding ?[We] went out on a high … I look back affectionately at that time and doing those four movies.?

If so, that?s a shame. Brosnan had humor where Timothy Dalton always came across as Heathcliff with a shoulder holster. As for age, hell anyone looks better than Roger Moore in A View to a Kill. In the Bond canon, Brosnan was on par with the entirely underrated George Lazenby, who put in an estimable performance in On Her Majesty?s Secret Service, before being edged out of the role by (in a remarkable formulation) an "ego which went to his head." As for the Bond women, an esteemed aficionado and friend swears by the delectable Daniela Bianchi, who appeared in From Russia With Love, and the trained eye can only agree.

For Bond information, and much else, here is a not bad website, though one dogged by earnestness. By the way, among the prospective newcomers who may replace Brosnan (assuming this isn?t a scam by him to boost his earnings), is Jude Law. He just might do.