By Brian Bohl
University students didn’t need a Brioni suit, Omega watch or Walther PPK to sit in an Aston Martin last Thursday. The British sports car was on display as part of the University’s James Bond symposium, which included an interview with University alumnus and former Bond villain Robert Davi and screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz.
The three-day event, directed by James Kolb, a professor in the drama and dance department, kicked off Tuesday, Nov. 6, with opening remarks, panel discussions and the final segment of a film festival that coincided with the conference. Presentations continued the next day, including a lecture on the role of Bond girls and an examination of the literary side of 007, who was created by author Ian Fleming in 1953.
Davi, who was born in Astoria, Queens and grew up in Suffolk County, was interviewed about his career and especially his role as the drug lord Frans Sanchez in “License to Kill.”
“I always wanted to be inside those films, but I always wanted to be Bond,” Davi said. “But being a bad guy was terrific. I look a certain way, my tonality is a certain way, so even if it’s a good guy, there’s going to be an edge to it. It must be more fun to be the bad guy.”
Davi’s interview preceded Mankiewicz’s video conference, which dealt with his recollections about working on five Bond movies.
Mankiewicz worked with two of the six actors who portrayed the fictional British spy, having written for Sean Connery and Roger Moore in the formative years of a series that now includes 21 movies and has grossed over $3 billion worldwide since “Dr. No” hit theaters 45 years ago.
“Cubby [Albert] Broccoli, who produced the Bond movies, wanted a young American writer,” said Mankiewicz, who got his start working with Connery on his last Bond film, “Diamonds Are Forever.” “I was asked about to Cubby’s house, and they had so much faith in me they signed me to a two-week guaranteed contract at $150 a week.”
The symposium marked the first time the University held a conference on a fictional character. To cap it off, Aston Martin Long Island brought a DB9 Coupe to campus, where it was displayed at the Hofstra Hall Plaza during the day and the east circle ramp adjacent to the Student Center at night. The car was the basis for the DBS model seen in the most recent Bond film, “Casino Royale.”
“It was a very entertaining time,” said Raymond Benson, the fourth official author of the James Bond 007 novels and the Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Symposium Scholar. “There were a lot of Bond scholars and authors. I met up with a lot of old friends. It’s a good excuse for us all to get back together again.”
An Aston Martin DB9 Coupe was displayed in the Hofstra Hall Plaza on Nov. 8 as part of the University’s James Bond symposium. The car was brought to campus courtesy of Aston Martin Long Island. (Rondolf Moreno)