by contributor Suzanne Struglinski
“It’s a great year for James Bond,” said British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott who welcomed members of D.C.’s intelligence community and other guests to the British Embassy Tuesday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of James Bond.
He was quick to point out 007’s memorable entrance in the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony with Her Royal Majesty herself and now the box office success of the newest movie Skyfall.
The party also kicked off the festivities surrounding The International Spy Museum’s newest exhibit “Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of James Bond Villains,” which opens Friday.
Photo credit: Richard T. Nowitz / Corbis
Under sparkling chandeliers in the ambassador’s residence, guests were treated to paper cones of fish and chips, miniature beef wellingtons and tiny white skillets of shepard’s pie among other of England’s favorite foods. Being a James Bond party, martinis –shaken and stirred- along with champagne helped get the celebration going before guests ventured to the AMC Loews movie theater in Georgetown for a screening of Skyfall, the 23rd film in the James Bond series.
Peter Earnest, executive director of the International Spy Museum, playfully introduced himself as “Earnest, Peter Earnest” mimicking James Bond’s signature introduction. He said this is one of the best Bond film’s yet and that Javier Bardem’s role as the film’s villain Silva is a new kind of villain.
“You have to have that conflict,” Earnest said. “Without the villain, there is no Bond.”
Image Courtesy of James Bond Brasil
The new exhibit looks at the Bond franchise through the eyes of the villain and examines how the villains reflect the biggest public concerns of the times.
Dame Stella Rimington, the first female to lead MI5 – Britian’s domestic intelligence agency from 1992 to 1996, said her favorite Bond used to be Roger Moore but Daniel Craig’s performance in Skyfall changed her mind and Craig has taken over the top spot. As for villains, Rimington also pegged Silva as her favorite calling him “sinister.”
As for the ambassador, he did not even hesitate to answer the question on his favorite Bond.
“Early Pierce, not Roger and not Sean,” he said talking of Craig’s predecessors Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore and Sean Connery.
And his favorite Bond villain? Blofeld, Bond’s archenemy that appeared in six different films.
Westmacott said Bond is an effective ambassador and brings a part of British culture to the United States. “It is something that keeps renewing itself.”
Guests took home a Heineken bottle opener, a model of a helicopter that appears in the film, a Skyfall poster, pens from The International Spy Museum and from Agusta Westland, a helicopter company that sponsored the event. Guests can also hit the new exhibit gratis via two complimentary tickets to the museum.
