James Bond Drinks Heineken Instead Of Martinis; World Collapses
James Bond's famous drink order — "shaken, not stirred" — may not be uttered in the next 007 movie. As Heineken closes in on a product placement deal with the newest Daniel Craig James Bond film, one ex-James Bond actor is outraged over the "sell-out."
The movie, Skyfall, has in the works a $45 million-deal for Bond to sip on a Heineken rather than his signature martini. That, plus Craig's sign-on for Heineken commercials, has ex-Bond actor George Lazenby fuming. Lazenby (the star of 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service) told TMZ that he was disappointed the filmmakers would "go where the money is," as always. Plus, he added — Heineken isn't that great of a beer.
Craig reportedly has no problem with the Heinken deal; in April, he said he understood the companies' need to compromise for financial reasons. He told Moviefone, "We have relationships with a number of companies so that we can make this movie. The simple fact is that, without them, we couldn't do it." He continued, "The great thing is that Bond is a drinker, he always has been, it's part of who he is, rightly or wrongly... having a beer is no bad thing, in the movie it just happens to be Heineken."
Plus, as pop culture blogger Pete Vonder Haar points out, most of the Bond movies have taken liberties with 007's drinks and indulgences. In Vesper, Bond doesn't drink his regular Vesper vodka martini; the drink also had gin and lillet. And in Casino Royale, Bond "didn't give a damn" if his martini was shaken or stirred after losing big at the poker tables. Plus, Bond was also a three-pack-a-day smoker in the books, a sight not seen since Timothy Dalton directed.