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I'm certainly not disputing his affection for Ursula Andress, nor her inclusion in his OHMSS book. Ursula had everything that Fleming loved in a woman.
Indeed, Fleming did visit the set of Dr No on a number of occasions, but he wasn't at all involved in the production, like you suggest. As far as location scouting and musical input of local band suggestion goes, that was down to Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, who subsequently bought Fleming's Goldeneye home after Fleming passed away.
As I've already taken pains to point out, Fleming was not at all happy with the casting of Connery as his fictional hero to begin with, nor was he happy after he saw the final movie, either. Therefore, he's not very well going to change his character to suit an actor that he wasn't happy with to begin with, now is he? Your own argument hinges solely on the premise that Fleming loved Connery like a son on the few occasions he happened to be on the location shoot and wanted to endorse his own affection by giving Bond a Scottish ancestral background to match that of Connery's, even without having seen him fully immersed in the role. Not even a single frame of footage. Also, if Fleming had really wanted to tip a wink to Connery, why didn't he also give Bond an Irish-mixed ancestry to match that of Sean's? Then there'd have been no doubt. Not sure what Lycett has to say on the matter as you haven't included any of his conjecture for me to think otherwise.
No, I'm not forgetting it. Bond is still English, that didn't change in the books. What did change was that when Fleming decided to marry his character off and, at the same time chase Blofeld through the hereditary angle, he decided to give Bond a similar hereditary background that mirrored his own. Up until OHMSS, Fleming had always wanted to keep Bond's background sketchy.
I was only joking. I could have said the same thing about if Patrick McGoohan had accepted the role and been cast in Dr No, that Fleming give Bond an American-Irish heritage in his OHMSS book. I was simply demonstrating how preposterous the notion was to begin with.
Look, I speak as someone - that for many decades - also believed the myth. It's just there's too many authentic reports and archived incidences that place a huge question mark over Fleming having reappraised his character as a homage to Connery. It's a nice myth, though. If you want to continue to believe it, that's entirely up to you, and I mean no offence if you should do so.
Andrew Lincoln from the Walking Dead would be my choice.
Andrew Lincoln is English.
He's very English in real life. Just a decent actor who can play the American Accent well.
Matthew McConaughey gave a far more interesting performance. He stood out compared to Elba. McConaughey's role was a tad cheesy but he looked like he was having fun with the part.
I quite enjoyed the film itself although it got bad reviews and underperformed at the box office. I lowered my expectations before seeing it. Always helps!
However, his colour (and age, these days) will always be an impediment to him getting that role.
Elba has all the charisma of a potato in The Dark Tower. Nothing there.
People may rave about his role in Luther or The Wire but that's TV. Film acting requires a different set of acting skills.
Also, this lame comment really didn't do him any favours:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/12021241/Luthers-Idris-Elba-Im-probably-the-most-famous-Bond-actor-in-the-world.html
"I’m probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and I’ve not even played the role."
I'm pretty sure Daniel Craig is a more famous Bond than you, Idris, but don't let your deluded ego hit you on the way out of that interview!
Oh, and of course Craig is more famous. He's the incumbent Bond. Elba is actually rather well known for an actor who doesn't have a role of that nature to his name, and certainly more famous than Daniel Craig was prior to Bond.
Gave an even better one in Munich.
Why do we even discuss a black actor as Bond. It's totally pointless and will never happen.
Eh ? I thought you were 1/4 odds on to be BOND number 7 ?!
I've got a tenner bet on you !!
You seem to be terribly confused. The Man With the Golden Typewriter is not a biography and is not by Andrew Lycett. It is a collection of Fleming's letters, and those letters show Fleming's approval of Connery, as well as his involvement with the film of Dr. No, which did extend to suggesting actors, etc. As a Fleming fan, you should have read the book before making some of your wilder assertions.
And what evidence do you have for this? And have you seen the documentary on Fleming included with The Living Daylights, which includes first-hand evidence that Fleming changed his mind about Connery after seeing his effect on women? Ann Fleming herself, who hated the whole Bond business and always spoke her mind about it, told The Ladies Home Journal "He did feel that an unknown should play James Bond, and I know he liked Sean Connery, but they did not see much of each other."
I will thank you not to put words in my mouth, especially not false ones. My argument is that Fleming decided to synch his hero to his upcoming screen incarnation, a decision prompted by the fact that he also had Scottish ancestry. Fleming could tie the character both to himself and the actor--a win-win, so even if the film was a flop, no harm would be done.
Because he wasn't a pedant. Connery was first and foremost Scottish. You could just as well argue that Bond's father might have had Irish-mixed ancestry, since many Scots do.
Up until OHMSS, Fleming continually referred to Bond as English, without a hint of Scottish ancestry. Just as he usually referred to himself as English ("although I am as lazy as most Englishmen are, I have a Puritanical dislike of idleness"). Post-Connery, both Bond and Fleming embraced their Scottish sides. I don't think this was 100% because of Connery. During the 60s regional accents (and regionally-accented actors) became much more prominent. Factor that into a situation where Fleming had plans to explore Bond's genealogy and where a Bond film was being made with an actor whose background reminded Fleming of his own, and it's easy to see how Bond went from being an Englishman to a Scot.
When he's Infact German lol!
Bet on my son: he's only one, but he's very active, he can hit and kick like a pro and he's a catch with the ladies. And there's actors in the family.
I'm not betting on a 3 year old in 2018 becoming Bond matey !! ;)
Give him a few more years though and he'll be ready for MGW's life's work: the live action James Bond Jr reboot (seriously I still can't believe the guy who wrote LTK was appparently involved in that trainwreck, even as a kid I knew it was crap).
I didnt actually know that....From that rubbish to writing the brilliant LTK ?
Well well well.
Some of the names mentioned here have baby faces anyway!