WITH the Hawaii International Film Festival presented by the Halekulani going strong this week, it’s a good time to talk about movies. I expected to see Hawaii’s Harold Sakata on "60 Minutes" Sunday in its piece on 50 years of James Bond, but I did not expect to see a picture of Sean Connery as 007 with none other than Jack Lord, who played CIA agent Felix Leiter in "Dr. No." I had forgotten that a young Jack had a solid role in the first Bond picture, made in 1962. The Leiter character has appeared in other Bond films over the past 50 years, but Jack was only in the first. Six years after "Dr. No," Jack said yes to "Hawaii Five-0" and starred as Steve McGarrett in the standout series that ran from 1968 to 1980. In the "60 Minutes" episode, the doors to the James Bond archives were opened, and a piece shown and described as "perhaps the most famous" was the deadly bowler hat with the steel brim that Oddjob wore and used against foes in 1964’s "Goldfinger." It was said to be worth $100,000. That’s a bit more than the copy of the hat, minus its killer brim, that my late, close friend Sakata gave me in the 1970s. Vanity Fair magazine was Bonded in this month’s issue with a 13-page spread on 007 films. It includes a photo of Sakata as Oddjob wearing his hat and formal morning suit with his boss, the villainous Goldfinger, played by Gert Frobe. Sakata had roles in TV shows after "Goldfinger," including "Five-0." He no doubt picked up acting skills when he was known as Tosh Togo, a professional wrestler. …
DON’T miss "Argo," directed by and starring Ben Affleck. It is exceptional filmmaking. The true thriller is about a CIA agent who comes up with what some thought was a crazy idea to rescue six U.S. Embassy employees in Tehran who were hiding in the home of the Canadian ambassador. It takes place in 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis when 52 other U.S. Embassy employees were held for 444 days after the shah, friendly with the U.S., was overthrown. Affleck, as Tony Mendez, flies to Tehran pretending he came with the six hideouts who fake being members of his moviemaking crew. The dangerous plan is to scout locations and fly out. The story is laid out beautifully and builds to a thrilling climax. The film, co-produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, also stars Bryan Cranston as Mendez’s CIA boss, and Alan Arkin and John Goodman, who play real film-industry execs called upon to be part of the fake movie. …
WOOD CHIPS: Clooney’s "The Descendants," based on a book by Hawaii’s Kaui Hart Hemmings, premiered on HBO this week. I enjoyed watching it again as much as I did when it opened last year … Hawaii’s Bruno Mars is hosting this week’s "Saturday Night Live" at 10:29 p.m. on KHNL. The Roosevelt High grad will also be the musical guest … Ruth Lin, who has had film roles in the past, emailed this week to say her daughter, Deborah, and her husband, actor James Gandolfini, had their first child, a girl named Liliana Ruth Gandolfini, Oct. 10 in Los Angeles. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces …
SINGER Candes Meijide Gentry, her mom, Nora Meijide Gentry, and Candes’ baby, Poet Hokule‘a Meijide Shropshire, were having lunch the other day at Neiman’s Espresso. I didn’t get to see the baby because he was covered, having his lunch, too, thanks to mom. Later, dad Steve Shropshire joined the family. "Poet was born Sept. 16, almost a month early, (at 5 pounds, 14 ounces)," Candes said. "His original due date was Oct. 11, but he decided to make his debut early and we are so glad that he did. He is such a joy and has such a beautiful aura. He is calm and thoughtful and appears to have an old soul." As for his names, the family took a trip on the Hokule‘a when Candes was eight months pregnant. Poet is a Shropshire family name …
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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
