A career gets into gear

I found it an almost glaring omission that the story about actor Clive Owen (“His Own Dark Knight,” July 4) did not mention his stint as the star of the BMW mini-movie marketing effort from a couple of years ago. It was something that garnered him a fair amount of notoriety over here, at least with BMW enthusiasts, though he was still an “unknown” actor at the time.

The ads were filmed as short vignettes, yet totally scripted as mini-movies, and he was the star in each one. Those movies were directed by some of the best-known directors in Hollywood, including the late John Frankenheimer. In fact, Madonna plays a rather interesting cameo as a pampered rock star with Owen as her chauffeur in an amazing driving sequence through downtown L.A. Well-written and dramatic, each short was what could be described as Owen’s constant audition for the role of James Bond.

David Mecey

Los Angeles