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Indeed, that’s why I mentioned the next actor; he would have fit in the Craig timeframe
If true, and that is a big if, could they be farther along than has been let on?
That'd clearly be the case if these comments were accurate. Seems a pretty stunning admission that they wouldn't have wanted out there if it was the case though. Either way, the prospect of them being much further along is no doubt exciting. I'd still love to get some kind of official announcement by the end of the year but I'm in no rush.
Exactly. She can't be trusted.
Not sure if I agree with that. Bond in OHMSS can be quite cold and ruthless on paper. Just as much as in any other Bond film. Bond in that film has to strangle a man with his ski just to make sure he isn't captured, he disarms Tracy and interrogates/even slaps her, and even his decision to agree to date Tracy is fuelled by a desire to capture his 'white whale' of Blofeld. Hell, I suspect with a different actor even the Hillary Bray stuff would have come off as more calculating rather than the strange comedic portrayal Lazenby runs with (to the point where I'd argue his Bond gets lost at points due to how one dimensional that part of his performance is).
I do like OHMSS, but Lazenby's performance is a bit of a gaping hole within it.
Never heard of her. Also, is it not a bit... well, questionable to be discussing the fact that you've had such an audition before being officially offered the part? Just seems like it'd create some bad feelings between the actress in question and EON.
That said I'm not 100% about the story in general and would have imagined that they'd be more invested in finding Bond first. But I don't know for sure. Between this and the Rebel Wilson audition it seems rather odd.
I disagree, it's not, while OHMSS is a serious film, Bond there wasn't as cold as how Dalton was in LTK, it's not as intense as that, not even Moore pointing a gun to Lazar in TMWTGG or Connery shooting Professor Dent in Dr. No.
Like what I've said, it's more of a drama, the Hillary Bray part was meant to be like that even on paper and in the direction, it's obvious in the style, and the dialogues! That's the way how it's written (and directed) I'm afraid, I even think that whole Piz Gloria scenes was more lighthearted and more in touch with the Moore Era kind of campiness in it. That's how it's written, heck the early drafts had him using a submarine car to save Tracy a la Wet Nellie in TSWLM, remember it reflected the bizarreness of the swinging 60's (the style of the Piz Gloria bares a bit of resemblance to the style of Casino Royale 1967 from the colors, lighting and all).
I mean think of how Ruby Bartlett was played in that film, it's meant to be comedic.
Peter Hunt sure made it that way, he directed those scenes that way, if you have any problem with the execution, it's not Lazenby's fault, if any, it's Hunt's fault, because that's the way he directed those scenes, even if there are different actor in the role, those Piz Gloria scenes would have been comedic as the same with Laz, because it's in the direction.
But as a whole, OHMSS was more on drama, it's about Bond falling in love, and Bond wasn't menacing in his encounter with Tracy, I don't feel it that way, it's still tinted with drama in it, it's full of emotions not just a straight up serious, he's not cold in it.
It's a dramatic Bond film, it's not like LTK, or any Craig Era Bond films where Bond was depicted as a cold hearted killer, he's not, here, he's romantic and soft, a human, vulnerable.
OHMSS is a serious Bond film but in an emotional way.
Like I said I think Bond strangling a man with a ski and interrogating Tracy the way he does are pretty cold. I'd even go further and say that Lazenby's wooden acting undermines just how ruthless Bond is meant to be in that film. Remember, the film is about Bond hunting down Blofeld, even to the point where he considers quitting the Service over it. That particular scene comes off as a bit random and daft, and I think a big part of it is because Lazenby isn't able to adequately sell a more jaded Bond who is obsessed with finding this man.
With another actor I think the Bond of OHMSS could have been much more interesting/dangerous. Despite Lazenby's physicality he just doesn't do those sides of Bond any justice in my opinion.
Sort of. There's definitely a lot of broad comedy during those scenes which are very stereotypically late 60s in tone. But it's not all a romp. You have scenes such as Bond meeting Blofeld for the first time which even in the film is a pretty big dramatic beat. Same for him seeing Campbell being captured, or him trying to convince Blofeld to leave Piz Gloria etc.
A counter example I always give is Connery's performance when he visits Dent's office in DN. Connery does this thing where he's able to convey to the audience that he knows that Dent is working with No. There's a certain wryness, an irony to his performance that sells the idea that Bond is putting on a front and is in control. Heck, it's also there in DAF when he infiltrates the lab (and that scene is also played for comedy). Never for a moment does his Bond get lost, nor that sense that he has a job to do/is playing a character.
Lazenby, on the other hand, simply becomes the hapless Sir Hillary. Doesn't help that his voice is dubbed (I suspect the was due to concerns over Lazenby's comedic timing/performance). When he's in the helicopter looking air sick, he genuinely looks air sick, which is weird because Bond wouldn't be. There's nothing to indicate he's putting on this front even during those dramatic scenes I mentioned, except perhaps during scenes when he's alone/has to do something Bond would do. It's a major flaw with Lazenby's performance and doesn't do these important sections of the film any favours.
The James Bond character is fundamentally a ruthless character, certainly cold at times. Even in a film like OHMSS. It'd be interesting seeing how a Bond like Dalton or Connery would have approached the scene where he disarms Tracy. I'm sure Bond's coldness when he grips her arm, him barking "who was he?" at her etc. would have come off much more menacing, even if they would have played the later, more emotional moments of that scene.
However short, those moments are there in OHMSS. It's kind of telling that you say there aren't any such instances of Bond being cold in this movie, and it says a lot about Lazenby's lack of ability to play that side of Bond. I don't think this would be the case if another actor had played the part.
Ruthless? I know Bond was meant to be tired in here, okay I give you that, but again the scene of him slapping Tracy was still not on par with how Dalton put a knife on Lupe, that scene with Tracy was some sort of taming a wild behavior, and it's dramatic in that kind of way, it doesn't need to be like threatening or menacing, again, that's what we're talking in here.
Bond was making Tracy behave, he's taming her to the point of teasing her or challenging her, hence that dialogue in that scene, the banter, like "you're persuasive", "I thought that's the plan for tonight", in no way that's cold hearted and ruthless, he's challenging her.
Remember this is the story about Bond falling in love and the story was centered about that, that's the main point of the story with Blofeld's plot being a secondary one, this is the one where Bond was meant to show vulnerability, be a human and more softer more than before.
I blame that part on the direction, that's really the way it's directed, okay I granted you the dubbing, but that whole scene, it's just the way it's directed, imagine the whole Piz Gloria scene being under a different director, the vibe, the style, it would've been different, it's Hunt's fault in this matter
And again, I don't see any connection with the topic of Bond being ruthless and cold hearted in this film.
Again, the fault of Peter Hunt, that's the way he directed it, that's the version he wanted, it's obvious to me if an actor was just trying hard to convey a scene, but here, it's intentional on the part of the director, and again, the topic was about the menacing, cold ruthless part, I don't see any connection with this.
Again, like what I've said, it's about Bond taming a woman, for Bond, Tracy is not an enemy, he's trying to get to know her deeper, it's still emotional and romantic in that sense with some sort of romantic/sexual tension going on, after that slapping, he did seduced her and kissed her hand.
It's still dramatic in a sort of way, it's just like how Bond interacted with Solitaire when they're in bed in LALD.
In no way he would act dangerous to her like how Bond does to Lupe in LTK with a knife or even Bond hurting Andrea Anders in TMWTGG.
Okay, this argument is getting longer, I'm finishing it here, we could talk this to the other thread, not in here, this is not the right thread for us to talk about this topic.
It'd still play to that side of Bond. From his perspective he's just been lured to a hotel room by Tracy and jumped by an unknown goon. At this point he needs to know whether she's lying to him or not, and has to decide whether or not to trust her. He'd be cold during those particular moments.
I wouldn't say that it's firstly a story about Bond falling in love with anything being secondary. Part of the tragedy of the OHMSS story is that Bond is chasing a 'white whale' in the form of Blofeld, and ultimately it's due to him doing so that results in Tracy's death. The film doesn't play the former aspect of the story all that well in my opinion (and again, I think much of this is down to Lazenby's acting), but it's certainly there.
The dubbing under Hunt's watch is his fault (or at least the producers). But a director can only play to an actor's strengths. They can't make them do anything outside of their range. If Lazenby didn't play that duality onscreen, wasn't able to give that little aside look as Bray that tells the audience Bond is still there for them to edit in, then the result is what we get. An actor who is only able to play one dimensional emotions.
It's more a gibe about Lazenby's acting, but like I said I think an important aspect of the OHMSS story that is underdone in this film is Bond's determination at all costs to capture Blofeld. Bond during those scenes essentially lets a colleague of his get killed while he looks on, he has to trick and seduce innocent women at the clinic to get the information he wants. That's pretty cold when you think about it. I just don't get any of that from Lazenby's performance because his Bond gets lost in the Bray disguise.
But that's exactly the way he acts towards Tracy in that scene. He disarms are, questions her (like I wrote above, he doesn't know who the goon in her room was or if she has anything to do with it, and at one point seemingly doesn't believe her). He slaps her exactly how he does with Anders and grips her to the point it hurts her (hell, the line is even the same 'You're hurting me').
It's very much in the same vein as those two other scenes.
I honestly forgot which thread we were in! Haha, no worries.
Okay, this is totally far-fetched, but what if they actually auditioned for the reality series and not B26?
If Brian Cox is playing "the controller" an M like figure, the series may also have a host/presenter.
Daisy May Cooper may have been considered for "the controller" and not M as "reported", and based on Rebel Wilson's comments that she got an audition off the back of hosting the BAFTA's, she might have been considered for host/presenter role. And Charlotte Kirk, well I guess they need someone to hold the briefcase.
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1773347/roger-moore-james-bond-aidan-turner-daniel-craig
Seems Sir Roger Moore had an actor who has a fan base already, tipped to replace Daniel Craig.
As for the Charlotte Kirk rumour, I noticed she did an interview for GB News where she promoted some of her upcoming films (she seems to own a production company after returning to the UK from America) and even got asked about the Bond rumours.
It just reaffirms that I don't think it's wholly true, and I don't think she'll be the next Bond girl when the time comes. I don't watch GB News but it doesn't even seem like Mark Donlon believes it (ie. "this is not drummed up by your agent but actual rumours..."). Very weird if it were a complete lie though.
Sope does have a real screen presence, he's a talented actor no doubt
Sope would still rank very highly as a great potential Bond for me.
He has screen presence, a good Bondian look, strong voice, tons of charisma, confidence, looks like he could kick the crap out of you. He really does possess, the complete Bond package.
I really hope EON have him in their sights.
Thing is, BB's said that they want the next actor to play Bond for a decade - which means that if they don't go with Sope this time, he'll have aged out when it's time to cast the 8th Bond. So, for Sope, it's pretty much now or never. Said it before, but I'm not sure that EON are quite ready to take the leap, tbh.
He's only 32. I know they said it will take a while, but eight-years?
First rule of getting cast in a Bond film: You don’t talk about being in the process of getting cast in a Bond film.
And while I don’t believe Ms Kirk will be in B26, it is interesting that there seems to be a bit more smoke. Might there be fire already?
That's true, but didn't Daniel talk about being in talks for the role in 2005 and how he'd want to reinvent the role if he got the job?
There's no smoke. No fire. Not until after a script is developed.
Sope Dirisu, age 32
Leo Suter, age 29
In my opinion, these three actors are objectively the most capable and likely to be Bond #7, if EON were aiming for a 2024/25 release date.
ATJ has the most big screen experience, Sope has wonderful screen presence and Suter is the wildcard, who although being relatively unknown has the talent required for the role.
My personal pick would be Suter, as he has the voice, the height and the physicality for the role. Although he needs more on his C.V than a starring role in Vikings: Valhalla
I mean, it wouldn't be a stretch. The majority of Bond were in their 40s anyway. Even if the next Bond actor is 40 they could conceivably play Bond for 10 years and still be younger than Craig in NTTD when they leave. I think age has a bit of leeway here. Even MGW and BB have publicly stated that Bond shouldn't be too young.
For the record I also think they'd go the opposite way and cast someone as young as even mid-20s if they found the right person. It really depends.
Just an observation, but does anyone else get a young Sinatra vibe from him?