The mayor of a remote town in Chile interrupted the filming of the new 007 film, Quantum of Solace, yesterday and was detained by police as a result. Carlos Lopez, of Sierra Gorda, literally came between cameras and Bond star Daniel Craig when he drove onto the set, an act of protest against two separate points.

His first issue was with the size of the production, which apparently brought in special forces and a water cannon and prohibited people from walking around freely in their own town. He claims the scene was reminiscent of the worst of times during the harsh junta dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Boo hoo to his having flashbacks, and maybe I’m just used to film shoots hindering my walk around NYC, but that is no reason to mess with Bond.

The second issue is a bit more valid. Lopez is upset at the production shooting in Chile as a fill-in for Bolivia. His complaint deals with a specific dispute between the two nations, but really he speaks for all of us who’ve had to watch films set in Manhattan but which are actually shot in Vancouver and Toronto. Or even the recent problem I had with Brooklyn being passes off as New Jersey in American Gangster. Maybe somebody watching the film will think Bolivia looks really pretty and decides to go on vacation there. Oops, so much for the tourist industry of Sierra Gorda.

If only Giuliani had gone up to Vancouver and driven through the set of Rumble in the Bronx. Maybe I’d have voted for him for President.