New release: Becoming Bond. George Lazenby may have only portrayed James Bond once, but his 1969 entry, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, has often topped polls for best-Bond film ever. He had been a model and mechanic with no acting experience, and he managed to bluff his way into the role. Talk about Moxie! Lazenby brought an earnestness and athleticism to the story, which involved love, loss, and a frantic escape down a snowcapped mountain that still crackles with visceral energy. His interests at the end of the 1960s, however, were turning more toward the counterculture, and he left 007 behind. Lazenby went on to work in a number of minor roles, has done some cool gigs as a voice actor (Batman Beyond!), and he's treated audiences to the many tales of his wild and fascinating life at screening events. Now those tales have been recorded for the new documentary, Becoming Bond. And taking a cue from films like Jaquot (Varda) and The Death and Life of Peter Sellers (Hopkins), the new documentary will be layered with contemporary on-screen comments and period dramatizations. Sounds awesome! The movie makes its debut this weekend at SXSW and will be available exclusively on Hulu. Hopefully we'll see a DVD release in the future. Below: Philadelphia premiere poster, trailer, 1969 promo photo, and SXSW premiere photo from Getty. Enjoy!
