A blind eye to Bond

I have no objection to Strawberry Saroyan’s obvious schoolgirl crush on Shane Black (he is by turns “radiant,” “confident,” a “bruiser” and even like a doggy), but her ignorance of film history is a bit objectionable [“The End of a Fade for Black,” May 1] .

She states, “That cool, jive-talkin’ guy nonchalantly backed up by epic explosions? Pure Black. It may be hard to believe, but the combination of wit and wild action in film was new in the late ‘80s.”

It is hard to believe. Impossible, actually.

Perhaps Saroyan was new in the late ‘80s, but I daresay the combination she describes was new in 1962, when “Dr. No” came out.

And if she has any questions about just how influenced by James Bond movies her adored Shane Black was, she could ask him exactly where the title of his new film comes from. Here’s the answer: Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was the Japanese nickname for 007, coined at the height of Bond-mania in the early ‘60s, and the term was picked up by journalists around the globe. It was even the name of a song in “Thunderball.”

I have nothing against falling in love, but you still need to do your homework.

Richard Schenkman

Los Angeles