All Time High! It is one of the ultimate honours for an actor. The outgoing James Bond star Daniel Craig, who is currently enjoying huge success with No Time To Die, his final turn as 007, attended a special ceremony in Hollywood on the Wednesday just prior to the release of the new movie in the USA, where he was awarded a Star on the famous Walk of Fame in Hollywood Boulevard.
His Star joins the many illustrious names that can be seen at the very popular Los Angeles tourist attraction. The plaudit for the outgoing 007 actor is the 2,704th Star and is, in many ways, the ultimate honour for a movie actor. The pink and terrazo Star was placed (appropriately enough, in a lovely nod to the secret agent’s famous code-number) at the site of number 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, just yards from that of the late Sir Roger Moore, who was, of course, a former James Bond in (00)7 movies.
Just before the cover was taken off to reveal the new Star, Daniel quipped to the waiting media: ‘I never thought I would hear myself say this, but it’s an absolute honour to be walked all over in in Hollywood… If happiness is measured by the company we keep, then me being on this pavement makes me a very, very, very happy man’.
EON producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and the new Bond villain Rami Malek (who plays Safin in the new film), also attended the dedication ceremony to witness the proceedings. Malek told the media that Craig was an ‘old school and classy’, and added that he couldn’t wait to see where Daniel Craig’s career takes him next. We can partly answer that: Craig has agreed to return back to the theatre: he will play Shakespeare’s Macbeth on Broadway in March, 2022.
Early Box Office reports from the release of No Time To Die in the crucial American markets indicate the new movie is performing very strongly, building upon the massive success it has enjoyed in Britain and in Europe. In fact, all the financial indications point to the new film as being one of the most successful James Bond movies ever made, which will be hugely gratifying to the EON producers, who took some very difficult decisions to delay the release due to the pandemic. Their admirable and resolute determination to see the movie play on the big screen has also proved to be more than justified. The film has also ganered widespread critical praise.
You know the name, and you know the number. And remember, James Bond will return.
