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January 05, 2006
Underdogs Conquer New York in Bond-Alike Contest
Speaking of slow news days, The Reeler also crashed yesterday's Bond-Alike event at the New York National Boat Show just to see what kind of James Bond enthusiasm the city could summon on a Wednesday night. Answer: More than you might think.
And while I admit a mild interest in viewing the tiny stunt boat from that insane chase sequence in The World is Not Enough, the rest of the "Boats of Bond" exhibit I told you about last week cowered tremulously in the shadow of the event's hyper-competitive Bond freaks. Or perhaps "freaks" is overstating it; at least one convention-goer simply joined in (and won best Bond villain!) after happening by the Bond kiosk during registration. The remaining six entrants in two categories--best Bond and best Bond beauty--evidently took it a little more seriously, cobbling together their character get-ups and bad English accents just in time for judging.
No, really: Your Bond-Alike 2006 winners are (L-R) Bond villain Chris Greco, Bond beauty George Ann Muller and Bond himself, Dan McCruden (Photo: STV)
"I figured I should go with what's simple to make and what impresses the most," said Bond winner Dan McCruden, who acknowledged to the judges that his Long Island roots may have hindered his "Bond. James Bond." impression. But he did put in the extra effort with his Bond outfit, ripped semi-authentically from World. "You know," he reminded The Reeler. "After Bond sleeps with Elektra at her villa, he sneaks out and he catches a ride in the back of Davidov's car? As soon as they get to the airfield, Bond shoots him and he takes on his identity? They fly to Kazakhstan, and he puts on this uniform? He's impersonating Davidov, and Davidov was supposed to have been impersonating a member of the Russian Atomic Energy Department."
Oh, that's right. Of course. McCruden's custom-made uniform patch and eBay-scored Bond ID badge likely put him over the top (earning him a $700 Tourneau watch), the same way victorious Bond beauty George Ann Muller's makeshift crossbow and veil ultimately recalled For Your Eyes Only's Melina Havelock. "This is what she looked like when we first see her," Muller told me. "Remember?"
Absolutely, Ms. Havelock. Absolutely. Congrats again, and be careful with that crossbow.
Posted by stvanairsdale at January 5, 2006 10:21 AM
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