007 One by One – Goldfinger

Bullz-Eye continues its look back at every James Bond film, 007 One by One, as part of our James Bond Fan Hub that we’ve created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Bond film.

The third Bond film is more than one of the most enduringly popular movies in the series, it’s the  template for James Bond movies from that point forward. In fact, it’s fair to argue that it actually set the pattern for actions films for years to come. It was also arguably the first modern-day blockbuster in that it was intended as an event as well a movie — complete with mega-bucks generating merchandizing opportunities. Sadly, it’s also the first movie in the series that Bond’s 56 year-old creator, Ian Fleming, didn’t live to see completed. He could not have conceived of how insanely popular his creation would become within months of his passing.

“Goldfinger” (1963)

The Plot

007 locks deadly horns with a mysterious millionaire known for cheating at gin rummy, golf, and the exportation of gold. That naturally turns out to be only the tip of the iceberg as James Bond discovers a diabolical plan aimed at destroying the economy of the free world and making portly Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) the world’s richest man. The aptly named, gold-obsessed supervillain’s target is, of course, Fort Knox.

The Backstory

With the back-to-back success of “Dr. No” and “From Russia With Love,” the cash-conscious EON producing team of Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli were ready to spend big money in early 1960’s movie production terms — $3 million! (The 2008 Bond entry, “Quantum of Solace,” had a reported production budget of $200 million.)

Dashing director Terrence Young, who had launched the series so ably with “Dr. No” and “From Russia With Love,” went for the gold and held out for more pay. True to form, EON decided to go with a more thrifty option and brought in an accomplished journeyman director who was, nevertheless, a new hand when it came to staging elaborate action scenes, Guy Hamilton.

American writer Richard Maibum was back on board, this time with an assist from British screenwriter Paul Dehn. A likely inspiration for the dashing English spy played by Michael Fassbender in “Inglourious Basterds,” Dehn was a former film critic and admitted World War II assassin. His next gig was, ironically, helping to adapt John le Carré’s specifically anti-Bondian espionage classic, “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.”

Most importantly to the financial bottom line, Sean Connery had made himself synonymous with 007 and was also on board for another go round, though he wouldn’t appear on set until he finished off his highly dramatic starring role in Alfred Hithcock’s “Marnie.” Connery was starting to worry a little about this whole business of being typecast as a veritable superhero; he would continue to go out of his way to remind the public he could be someone other than Bond.

Researching the film today, everyone working on “Goldfinger” seems to have understood  the massive opportunity it presented. That bigger budget meant one thing: more — more action, more gadgets, more violence, and an extremely fast pace by the standards of its day. It was just the kind of wretched excess that could lead to a film so enormous it could launch easily the longest lasting and most consistently successful franchise in movie history.

The Bond Girls (Rule of 3 + 2)

Bond keeps to his usual score of three sex partners per movie. However, as befits the more lavish “Goldfinger,” we actually have five legitimate “Bond girls” this go-round. It’s just that Bond respectfully keeps his hands off of one and apparently never quite reaches home plate with another. To be specific…

Bonita (Nadia Regan) — She gets kissed while naked at the end of the pre-credit sequence, but it appears that actually doing the deed with Bond was never in the treacherous beauty’s plans, and she ends up with only a nasty bump on the head for her trouble. The adorable, Serbian-born Nadia Regan was actually on her second Bond go-round, having played a very brief kittenish role in the just-prior, “From Russia With Love,” where she was the Turkish secretary/girlfriend of Ali Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz.)

Dink (Margaret Nolan) – This lovely bathing beauty and amateur masseuse appears to be Bond’s very temporary girlfriend during his very short vacation at Miami Beach’s ultra-lux Fontainebleau Hotel. In true super-sexist style, he dismisses her with jovial rudeness and a smart smack to the backside when his American colleague shows up. Actress and model Margaret Nolan would go on to appear in a Playboy pictorial and several entries in the “Carry On” series of British sex comedies.

Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) – Bond wastes little time in seducing the bikini clad Masterson, who has unwisely taken a job helping a certain highly suspicious gold broker cheat at gin rummy. The superspy clearly takes a liking to the spunky, frankly sexual Masterson. He is devastated when he wakes up from a clubbing-induced slumber to find her suffocated to death by being painted completely gold from head to foot. It’s a tragic death, but it gave the movie its poster and one of the most creepily memorable and iconic images in the Bond lexicon. Shirley Eaton, already a busy working actress in the British film industry, would go on to star in a number of mostly not-so-distinguished films before retiring in favor of motherhood in 1969. She came out of retirement three decades later with a memoir, Golden Girl.

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Chelsie Hurst at the Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant

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We had a great time covering the 15th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant last year, and here's our final gallery featuring some of the beautiful Hooters contestants that we were able to photograph at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach.

Above we have a slideshow of the beautiful Chelsie Hurst, featuring photos from poolside at the Fontainebleau and also on the beach. Chelsie is sporting a tiny, blue bikini that shows off her great figure. Chelsie also has an incredible smile and you can see she's having a great time as well.

Click here to see bikini photos of the other contestants.

  

Miami Lamborghini: Key Largo Supercar Run Weekend 2011

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“This will be our best run yet!” Brett David announced, and he was right. An impressive collection of the most exotic supercars ever assembled in Miami were idling in front of him. With the support of the Miami Police Department, and with the most remarkable turnout to date, Brent and staff knew the event was a huge success. On October 15th, Lamborghini Miami, the largest and most prestigious Lamborghini dealership in the USA, hosted the Key Largo Supercar Run Weekend. Bullz-Eye was invited to cover the event on a lovely fall day in North Miami Beach. This event was primarily created to support the Ride 2 Revive Foundation.

This charitable foundation, the brain storm of dealership owner Brent David and benefiting terminally ill children with cancer and different diseases, was instantly well received by all in attendance, and the donations poured in that day. This “supercar run” went from the expansive dealership at 14790 N. Biscayne Blvd., N. in Miami Beach to the trendy and contemporary Ocean Reef Yacht Club off of Key Largo. This Yacht basin was the perfect venue for this supercar run destination, and the buffet and cocktail hospitality services upon arrival made for a remarkable day.

This supercar run had an incredible flagship vehicle, and that’s a true understatement. The 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, was THE supercar of the event, and piloted by Brett himself. Bullz-Eye previewed the new Aventador earlier this year. As one of the most powerful stock production sport cars in the world ever produced, this car is completely outrageous. 700 hp with a top speed of over 214 mph is just a start for this flat black “stealth bomber” of a Lambo. In the slideshow above and in character is Lambo repair specialist Johnny of JCM performance. The event was Halloween costume optional, and he fit the “Joker” to the T! Look for his upcoming reality show “South Florida Toys” soon on nationwide broadcast.

One of the most impressive features and activities was the departure “event,” when 68 of the most high performance vehicles on earth blasted out of the Miami Lamborghini Dealership south on Biscayne Blvd. Like last year, this Miami artery was fully blocked by the Miami Police Department, and off they went in hazy cloud of burning rubber and brute horsepower displays! Wow! I’ve seen a lot on the road over the years but $30 million worth of sports car rock n roll on the public roads impressed even me!.

Lest you think they went all the way to Key Largo at 165 mph+, this was definitely not the case. It was 163 mph! Sorry, just kidding. The unofficial pace car rate for this entourage to Key Largo was not official publicized, but when you have the City Of Miami Police as your escort, 55 mph was not a mandate! Needless to say, this happy and safe Fun Run allowed exotic car owners of all types an afternoon to enjoy their cars, the open road and all to benefit a great cause - The Ride 2 Revive Foundation!

  

Janet Layug from 2011 Hooters Pageant

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We continue our series of poolside photo galleries of some of the beautiful contestants from the 15th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant earlier this year. Hooters gave us poolside access at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach where we met and photographed some of the contestants in their bikinis.

Above we have a slideshow of the stunning Janet Layug in her thong bikini. Janet has amazing eyes and and incredible figure, making Paul Miller's job very easy.

Check back for more poolside photos of Hooters contestants.

  

Tia Jackson at the 2011 Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant

We obviously enjoyed covering the 15th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant earlier this year, we also had poolside access at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach where we met and photographed some of the contestants in their bikinis.

Above we have a slideshow of the amazing Tia Jackson sporting a yellow bikini and showing off her incredible figure. Tia obviously keeps in great shape – check out those abs! Tia also flashed her pretty smile as Paul Miller got some great shots.

We’ll be posting more poolside photos of Hooters contestants so check back soon.