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The China-connection in 'Skyfall'

Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
edited November 2011 in Skyfall Posts: 11,119
I was reading this on Wikipedia:

In the novel:
The organisation's third appearance is in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Blofeld, hired by <b>an unnamed country or party (though the Soviet Union and/or Red China)</b>, is executing a plan to ruin British agriculture.

In the movies:
In the films, the organisation has a more active role, often as a third party in the ongoing Cold War. The goal of world domination was only ever stated in You Only Live Twice, and SPECTRE was working not for itself but for <b>an unnamed Asian government whose two representatives Blofeld speaks to during the movie; perhaps Red China, who earlier backed Goldfinger.</b> SPECTRE thus works with both sides of the Cold War; besides China's attempt in Goldfinger to destabilise the Western world's economy, the French Foreign Ministry has hired its services to kill a defector to the USSR.

So, could it very well be that the upcoming Bond villain in 'Skyfall' is hired by someone in The People's Republic of China? I think it is realistic as well, looking at how China tries to economically colonize the world.

Comments

  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Is this the SPECTRE page?

    I don't see how China MIGHT be involved just because SPECTRE was involved with China.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,694
    I think EON better not put China as the bad guys, or their filming permit in Shanghai will be revoked........ :-?
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    edited November 2011 Posts: 7,854
    I can almost see it, if Robert Brown were still alive. He walks up to them, pipe in hand and says, "007 filmmakers, your permit to film is revoked."
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    Posts: 11,119
    Good point though. I haven't thought about it. But what will be the primary location for 'Skyfall' then?
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,042
    I'd say the primary locale is London, what with the focus on MI6 and all.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    That'd be a change. Though almost all of the films (minus LTK, and I think that's it) include London as a local, they never stay there for most of the film.
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    Gustav_Graves wrote:
    So, could it very well be that the upcoming Bond villain in 'Skyfall' is hired by someone in The People's Republic of China? I think it is realistic as well, looking at how China tries to economically colonize the world.
    What's your evidence of this? That because China was implied to be indirectly responsible for events in a novel and a film, China is directly responsible for the events of SKYFALL, some fifty years later and in a separate timeline?

    Come on, even you have to admit that's thin.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    My guess would be that the producers et al sat down and made a list of cities they'd not committed to film. I can't imagine they'll start politicising the China connection. Who knows though?
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    Why would they write locations into the film on the basis that they had never been ina Bond film before? The locations would have been chosen because they fit the demands of the story.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    If you've ever watched a behind the scenes documentary you'll know that Broccoli and Wilson always discuss locations prior to and during the creation of the story. They are always keen to go to new places or locations not overly exploited before. I'm not saying they picked Shanghai out of a hat but I'm pretty sure they'd have had in mind a few locales during the writing process.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    edited December 2011 Posts: 11,119
    What has happened to this news? http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9744 ??

    Are Chinese actresses Tang Wei, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Shu Qi and Josie Ho still in the running to play a....
    MI6HQ wrote:
    ..role [that] will be on the wrong side of 007 as scouts were looking for a sexy actress that can exude an evil edge.

    I actually look forward to a Rosa Klebb-like henchbimbo :D. Allthough the actresses role can also be as small as the role of Valenka in 'Casino Royale'.
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    Gustav_Graves wrote:
    What has happened to this news? http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9744 ??
    Use your head a little - the story has evidently been demonstrated to be incorrect. It's not the first time we've seen this happen (and it certainly won't be the last time it happens, either). There was either no Asian character in the film to begin with, or the part was rewritten for Berenice Marlohe or Naomie Harris. Some people seem to be under the impression that Severine was originally Asian.

    Just because MI6 reported it, that doesn't make it fact.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    edited December 2011 Posts: 11,119
    shadowonthesun wrote:
    Gustav_Graves wrote:
    What has happened to this news? http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9744 ??
    Use your head a little - the story has evidently been demonstrated to be incorrect. It's not the first time we've seen this happen (and it certainly won't be the last time it happens, either). There was either no Asian character in the film to begin with, or the part was rewritten for Berenice Marlohe or Naomie Harris. Some people seem to be under the impression that Severine was originally Asian.

    Just because MI6 reported it, that doesn't make it fact.

    Use my head a little? I only ask some confirmation, and you start saying that "because MI6 reported it, it doesn't make it fact". Off course not! That's why I ask for confirmation. And I can't be up-to-date with everything. Sorry.

    By the way, is the nature of this Bond girl...
    MI6HQ wrote:
    ..who will be on the wrong side of 007 as scouts were looking for a sexy actress that can exude an evil edge....
    ....still valid? Will there be a bad Bond-girl?
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    primary locations as far as i know of are:

    London
    Shanghai
    Istanbul
    Scotland

    i know India was scrapped for a shooting location... not sure if South Africa was too.
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    @haserot - it can be very difficult to secure filming permission from the Indians and the Chinese. Their governments only allow filming under certain conditions. We saw it with the Indians when they wanted the scenes to be rewritten in order to "better reflect" India (read: present the country in a way the government wanted it to be presented, effectively making the film one big ad for India). I suspect that EON knew this going in, and so started negotiating with both the Indians and the Chinese at the same time, knowing full well that only one of them would be included. China won out, and India was dropped. South Africa piped up and said they would be happy to double for India - mostly because every Indian official commented on it, implying that they were the only ones who were being filmed - but I think EON already had what they needed in China.
  • PanchitoPistolesPanchitoPistoles 2.0
    Posts: 4,619
    shadowonthesun wrote:
    Gustav_Graves wrote:
    What has happened to this news? http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9744 ??
    Use your head a little - the story has evidently been demonstrated to be incorrect.

    No it hasn't. Just because there are two confirmed non-Asian Bond girls it doesn't mean there can't be an Asian woman portraying the villains girlfirend. Like in CR: it had two Bond girls + there was the villain's girlfriend (Valenka).
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    The article implies the role on offer is larger than the character of Valenka.
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