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It’s for the best that you never look at Q’s fingers… :))
Good point.
We shall see
It's not paranoia, I welcome either option, but IMO for Barbara to say "the next Bond will be a British man of any ethnicity", and then to cast a white guy anyways, I think that would be viewed as a step backward.
I'm not advocating for or against, just saying what I think will happen. For the record the ethnicity of whomever they cast as Bond isn't a big issue for me.
We know that either a vocal sector of the fans will lash out if he isn’t white (and say unnecessary ugly things), and the media will whine and say it’s a missed opportunity if he is white. Damned if you do damned if you don’t. Gender is a far bigger leap and one I would not happily accept.
(And I too think Bond No'7 won't be a white actor)
Michael Jai White, perhaps?
I had a long discussion once in this thread about this topic, and it sort of boiled down to a distinction between the following:
A characteristic of the character (negotiables, let's say), and
A characteristic of the character that is inextricably linked to that character (non-negotiables) because of the stories told through that character.
There are some characteristics of the character, such as eye and hair colour, height, etc. which have varied throughout the films from actor to actor, but they're not integral to the stories being told, and so are not inextricably linked to that character.
Bond being British, however, is inextricably linked to the character because it's an important part of the stories being told.
Race, IMO, fits somewhere in the middle here, and thus, is controversial. Bond's race is integral in some of the stories (LALD, for example), and is clearly laid out in the source material that created the character (but so is hair and eye colour, etc., which is why I think race is a grey area).
And to contrast with a comparison people love to use, Blade's race *is* inextricably linked to that character (in a way unique from Bond), because his stories are inextricably linked to black culture.
And as you say, I think Bond's gender *is* inextricably linked to the character, again, because of the stories that are being told.
Just my NickTwentyTwo cents, of course. All opinion.
Right - and let's not forget, only half of the actors so far (Moore, Dalton, Craig) are actually British. If someone not from Bond's home country can play him, why not a man who isn't white? How is it really more of a big deal than a blonde-haired James Bond? Bond being heterosexual and suave are INTERNAL characteristics that is something that should not change, but as far as external, we've already had multiple hair colors, eye colors, heights, voices. The main thing that matters is how Bond acts.
Yes indeed, totally with you on all of that. Bond's not going to change gender any time soon, and Ms Broccolli has even made that clear!
Well, I don't want to be pedantic, but Sean Connery was British too! :)
Oof - being the uneducated fellow I am about geography, I didn't realize Scotland was a part of the UK x ( but yes, my point remains x'P
Well, Scotland is part of the UK, but it's also a part of Britain, which is an important distinction because Northern Ireland is UK but *not* Britain.
Northern Ireland is part of the British Isles, which Ireland is also part of; and also the British Islands, which Ireland is not part of. But neither are part of Great Britain, which is the big island :) Yes, it's confusing!
The "myth" is right, because reality is different. Martin Campbell couldn't direct his way out of a paper bag. That's why he hasn't done jack squat since Casino Royale, which was almost ruined by some of his lazy choices.
I hope you are right
the new James Bond...................
I agree.
Have you even watched GoldenEye and Casino Royale? Do you grasp their impact on Bond as a brand? To me the only two great Bond films since GoldenEye. Both directed by Campbell. Campbell over Fukunaga any day, as NTTD kind of sucked (again).
Also, I am sick and tired of all the pandering and virtue signalling these days. I'll make it simple. If Bond is anything other than white caucasian, a Brit, then I will look back fondly to the good old days and consider myself rich in rewatching my Favourite Bond films such as FRWL, GF, TLD, LTK. In that case Bond is dead to me, truly dead, not the bs in NTTD.
While I nod along in agreement - and I think the idea that race is somewhere in between unimportant traits and integral ones is fundamentally sound - I do wonder how much sense it makes to cast a non-white actor and then not make that a literal part of the character.
What I mean by that is that I would expect a story about a man with f.e. Indian heritage being the top assassin of Her Majesty's Secret Service to at some point have something to say about the history of state violence the British Empire inflicted upon Indian people in the past. To me that just is something someone who kills people for Queen and Country would have to reckon with. Especially in a time of Black Lives Matter and so on. But that isn't James Bond's story. At all. That would add something to the inner live of him that really wasn't ever there.
So could they just never adress the fact that he isn't white and have it not be strange or could there be a way to adress it without breaking with the original character?
Or am I just being racist by imposing what I think a non-white character would and wouldn't have to care about on them?
Or maybe she actually does think differently to you.
I think that's an excellent and very interesting point. In truth, even in the more dramatic Craig films, it's never really been touched upon why Bond does what he does. So you could continue with that with a man of different race, or maybe have people hint that it is a bit of a dichotomy that Bond would do that job. So, as with Craig's run, there's perhaps an opportunity to make Bond's character a little bit more interesting, if anything.
Of course it's not as if plenty of non-white people don't work for the British Government in various roles including SIS, so it's probably not an issue anyway.
Hollywood as a whole just needs to write good strong original parts for people of colour and for women instead of giving hand me downs so that they can look good and get praise for it in the process. Personally in most cases I find that it's bordering on insulting and a cheap way of keeping people quiet about the issue... It feels incredibly short sighted and the only winner is Hollywood in the end. They are pleasing you by what you see on the surface but they're not actually making any significant changes or strides for inclusion.
For the record, I don't personally have any issue with Bond being a POC as I do believe for EON it will be best man for the job. I can just see why people would think it's pandering because of what would be perceived as the current trend.
I just want to note that Bond is technically half Scottish and half Swiss and depending on the lay of the land, Scots have a fractured relationship with Britain as a whole (because of history). You could maybe point that out as an argument for Bond himself but it's either a) a non-issue or b) he just gets on with it anyway. It's a Bond movie so I don't see a POC Bond as bringing up any of those current issues and hanging on to them. Indian and black people were born here so I would fathom most would identify as British while celebrating their heritage and roots.
Britain is a huge melting pot of multiple races because of the amount of times we were invaded, etc etc. I have French roots yet I was born and raised here.. I identify as British and I certainly don't hold past wars between France and Britain against Britain regardless of my roots (though I'm very aware of them).
In the end I just don't think there is a race out there that doesn't have those kinds of concerns.
As you say though, some folk will be determined to see it that way no matter how the choice is made. That's kind of the issue in the world today. And it's impossible to determine that anyway.
And as I keep saying, merit isn't the only consideration- it's down to whether they fit the film too. If Pierce Brosnan had never been Bond and was up for Casino Royale then he might not have got it. Doesn't mean he wasn't right for Bond on merit, just that he wasn't the type of guy they wanted for that film (and, y'know: that is exactly what actually happened!)
Yeah we were saying in another thread recently that a rap or hip hop tune could be a possibility in future: it's not like some of them can't be very grand. A few even sample old Bond themes! :)
And there is the only problem I have if Collins had been cast.
At 57, not going to happen. I will say this though, with his looks, athleticism, thundering voice and presence, MJW SHOULD have been a bigger name.
On the one hand, we’ve got Barbara Broccoli, the woman who produces the films, a progressive type who’s big advocate of greater diversity in the industry, who already broke the mould looks wise with the last time she cast the role, telling us this long running, flexible character who’s already changed height/hair colour/eye colour/personality can also change ethnicity. On the other hand, we’ve got some fans on the internet, who reckon she’s just being diplomatic, apparently based on nothing other than “I don’t like it”.
Seriously, I think projecting your mindset onto her like this is just setting yourselves up for disappointment. Your perspective isn’t the only one, and implying anyone who disagrees with you is crazy is laughable. I’m not saying it’ll definitely happen, but it’s possible. So, I’d try your best to get used to the idea, instead of living in denial about the possibility. She’s given you fair warning.
I think it's clear by now that Barbara Broccoli doesn't want to repeat herself. She will be looking to shake this series up to keep it relevant.
James Bond is a man of today... And when we look at major cosmopolitans today, we see a vast array of backgrounds and mixed backgrounds. James Bond will represent the ever changing landscape sooner or later.