And the Bondie for inspired casting/under-rated performance for an actress...page 134

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Comments

  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    mtm wrote: »
    Lord, Hedison, Wright, Casey, are the best versions of Leiter. I'm baffled as to why he hasn't been played by a recurring actor very much.

    Yeah agreed on both counts there. I didn't think Lord was amazing but was decent enough to bring back: was he too busy with Hawaii Five O or something?
    I thought Casey was better than most in suggesting a bit of Felix's 'easy charm' and I'd have liked to have seen him again. Hedison was probably the one I'd call the best as he's just got a bit of natural likeable charisma about him, even though he had a pretty thankless role (he spends half the film on the phone! :) Then he comes back for LTK and ends the film chatting to James... on the phone!).

    Good points all round. I read that Lord asked for more money to come back and wanted to be on par with Connery. Not sure where I got that from now, though.

    I like all of them a lot, but I'm really into Wright's portrayal at the moment. He's pretty much the only thing I'm looking forward to about NTTD.

    Yeah, Wright has left an indelible mark on that character. Am also looking forward to seeing him in NTTD. And yeah, you're right about Lord....he asked for more money. And to be honest, of all the Leiters, Lord looks like an American Bond....a somewhat mirror reflection of Connery's Bond and Lord looks good in a suit. It's a shame, coz I would have liked him to continue. Maybe he asked for more money, coz he knew he was also goodlooking and had the demeanour of a leading man.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,986
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Lord, Hedison, Wright, Casey, are the best versions of Leiter. I'm baffled as to why he hasn't been played by a recurring actor very much.

    Yeah agreed on both counts there. I didn't think Lord was amazing but was decent enough to bring back: was he too busy with Hawaii Five O or something?
    I thought Casey was better than most in suggesting a bit of Felix's 'easy charm' and I'd have liked to have seen him again. Hedison was probably the one I'd call the best as he's just got a bit of natural likeable charisma about him, even though he had a pretty thankless role (he spends half the film on the phone! :) Then he comes back for LTK and ends the film chatting to James... on the phone!).

    Good points all round. I read that Lord asked for more money to come back and wanted to be on par with Connery. Not sure where I got that from now, though.

    I like all of them a lot, but I'm really into Wright's portrayal at the moment. He's pretty much the only thing I'm looking forward to about NTTD.

    Yeah, Wright has left an indelible mark on that character. Am also looking forward to seeing him in NTTD. And yeah, you're right about Lord....he asked for more money. And to be honest, of all the Leiters, Lord looks like an American Bond....a somewhat mirror reflection of Connery's Bond and Lord looks good in a suit. It's a shame, coz I would have liked him to continue. Maybe he asked for more money, coz he knew he was also goodlooking and had the demeanour of a leading man.

    Ah it was a money thing, thanks for that. Yes it's a good point that he was sort of a rival leading man type: they did seem to drift away from that idea a bit with the casting of the next one. And then they got increasingly bland and forgettable. Such a strangely-treated character when you think about it. I reckon it's probably only because he's got a weird name that audiences remember him!
    :)
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    mtm wrote: »
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Lord, Hedison, Wright, Casey, are the best versions of Leiter. I'm baffled as to why he hasn't been played by a recurring actor very much.

    Yeah agreed on both counts there. I didn't think Lord was amazing but was decent enough to bring back: was he too busy with Hawaii Five O or something?
    I thought Casey was better than most in suggesting a bit of Felix's 'easy charm' and I'd have liked to have seen him again. Hedison was probably the one I'd call the best as he's just got a bit of natural likeable charisma about him, even though he had a pretty thankless role (he spends half the film on the phone! :) Then he comes back for LTK and ends the film chatting to James... on the phone!).

    Good points all round. I read that Lord asked for more money to come back and wanted to be on par with Connery. Not sure where I got that from now, though.

    I like all of them a lot, but I'm really into Wright's portrayal at the moment. He's pretty much the only thing I'm looking forward to about NTTD.

    Yeah, Wright has left an indelible mark on that character. Am also looking forward to seeing him in NTTD. And yeah, you're right about Lord....he asked for more money. And to be honest, of all the Leiters, Lord looks like an American Bond....a somewhat mirror reflection of Connery's Bond and Lord looks good in a suit. It's a shame, coz I would have liked him to continue. Maybe he asked for more money, coz he knew he was also goodlooking and had the demeanour of a leading man.

    Ah it was a money thing, thanks for that. Yes it's a good point that he was sort of a rival leading man type: they did seem to drift away from that idea a bit with the casting of the next one. And then they got increasingly bland and forgettable. Such a strangely-treated character when you think about it. I reckon it's probably only because he's got a weird name that audiences remember him!
    :)

    Lol, yeah....I guess so. Like JAMES BOND, the name is such a standout.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,986
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.

    But then neither would the books, really. Would does he do in them?
    Tanner at least has an onscreen role in terms of helping with exposition and giving M someone to speak out loud to.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    mtm wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.

    But then neither would the books, really. Would does he do in them?
    Tanner at least has an onscreen role in terms of helping with exposition and giving M someone to speak out loud to.

    It is still between him and the other nominees.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 4,983
    Interesting thoughts all around. The esteemed academy is doing a great job with this Klebbie! I thought it would come down to Leiter and Tanner. Looks like my beak was right.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,986
    mtm wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.

    But then neither would the books, really. Would does he do in them?
    Tanner at least has an onscreen role in terms of helping with exposition and giving M someone to speak out loud to.

    It is still between him and the other nominees.

    What do you mean, sorry?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    mtm wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.

    But then neither would the books, really. Would does he do in them?
    Tanner at least has an onscreen role in terms of helping with exposition and giving M someone to speak out loud to.

    It is still between him and the other nominees.

    What do you mean, sorry?

    I mean that one has to pick one, and Tanner doesn t work so well on the screen lately, compared to the others.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,692
    I'm not gonna vote on this one cos I thi k they're all fine. But I wanted to say I really live Rory Kinnear, and I like having him around as Tanner, whether it's different to the novels or not.

    However, as underused as he was in QoS and SF, he is crazily wasted in SP. There's two or three scenes where hes literally just standing around saying nothing. Inexplicable misuse of a great actor.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    It has to be Tanner. And to be honest, it's a no-brainer, coz he doesn't really add much to what's happening on Screen. Recently, all he does is give Bond Tours around Ad hoc Mi6 set-ups.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,986
    mtm wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Yeah, Tanner comes to mind immediately... what is the point of this character, really?

    Yes, that is exactly it. Especially in the Craig era, with the Kinnear version, the films would lose nothing if he was cut out. Tanner for the win.

    But then neither would the books, really. Would does he do in them?
    Tanner at least has an onscreen role in terms of helping with exposition and giving M someone to speak out loud to.

    It is still between him and the other nominees.

    What do you mean, sorry?

    I mean that one has to pick one, and Tanner doesn t work so well on the screen lately, compared to the others.

    Ah I get you.
  • Posts: 928
    My vote is for Tanner.
  • I wish I could vote for someone other than Tanner. Y'know, just to prevent a total landslide. But I can't. Tanner onscreen has had exactly 1 memorable moment, when Michael Kitchen's Tanner referred to M as "the Evil Queen of Numbers." Beyond that, he's been a waste of screen time. Felix has been something of a cipher at times, depending on who is playing him... but a few Felixes have been pretty good, and Jeffrey Wright is one of the better Felixes. So Tanner gets the kick to the ankles as far as I'm concerned.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,395
    Tanner
  • edited June 2020 Posts: 1,009
    Bill Tanner. So much for Bond's inmediate superior, best buddy and, if we take the Horowitz novels as part of the Ian Fleming canon, which is debatable, his discoverer.
    Turned into an uncharismatic and vulgar public servant.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    edited June 2020 Posts: 4,983
    Well after some tight awards we were bound to hit a runaway winner! So we are going to present the Klebbie for worst adapted character for the screen to Bill Tanner! Tanner received 13 votes! Only other character to get some votes was Felix Leiter with 2 votes.

    Okay time to head back to the best of territory! This will be a fun one! Lets go with a musical theme again but this time a guilty pleasure! Guilty Pleasure is defined as something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.

    Over the years there have been a few songs that would fall to this category. We won't have any of the big theme songs that appear at the start of the film. These nominees are off the wall versions of songs (outros) or songs that are heard in the movie but aren't a main song. Lets look at the nominees:
    • Lulu with "Goodnight, Goodnight no need to fear James Bond is here!" Outro version from TMWTGG
    • Shirley Bassey gets in touch with her disco side with a disco Moonraker! Outro version from MR
    • Carly Simon and a chorus of male singers do "Nobody Does It Better" at the conclusion of TSWLM
    • Nina sings "Do you Know How Christmas Trees are Grown" while Bond gives up at the skating rink from the film OHMSS
    • Diana Coupland sings "Underneath the Mango Tree" and it's everywhere in DN!

    There is our list of nominees! What does the esteemed academy think. What is the best guilty pleasure song from the Bond films?
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,423
    Underneath the Mango Tree. I couldn't imagine Dr. No without it.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,561
    Disco Moonraker
    I really love that version. Somehow, Barry's tunes fuse well with the silly disco beat.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    The fun house version of TMWTGG ;)
    I'll think of a real vote in a bit.
  • Tokoloshe2Tokoloshe2 Northern Ireland
    Posts: 1,172
    I'll go for Disco Moonraker. If only there was a full version out there!
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    edited June 2020 Posts: 3,262

    Lulu with "Goodnight, Goodnight no need to fear James Bond is here!" Outro version from TMWTGG and Shirley Bassey gets in touch with her disco side with a disco Moonraker! Outro version from MR are really battling for my vote for this round.

    Disco MR is such a perfect ending to not only the most OTT(to that point in the series anyway) Bond film but also to the wild and wacky decade of 1970s Bond cinema as well. Yet that line in TMWTGG where the singer actually references the actual name of our hero for the only time in the series is irresistible to me. Therefore my vote goes to:

    Lulu with "Goodnight, Goodnight no need to fear James Bond is here!" Outro version from TMWTGG
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,020
    Disco Moonraker
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    Underneath the Mango Tree
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,038
    Disco Moonraker

    I actually prefer it to the title version.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,984
    I'll go with Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?, just because it's used so well at a pivotal moment.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,526
    echo wrote: »
    I'll go with Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?, just because it's used so well at a pivotal moment.

    It's great in the film, awful on the soundtrack. 😋
  • Posts: 2,896
    Yet that line in TMWTGG where the singer actually references the actual name of our hero for the only time in the series is irresistible to me.

    Same here! The title song of TMWTGG was already screaming camp with stunningly coarse double-entendres; the reprise takes the song further into cuckoo-land, where it belongs. And as you mentioned, this is the only time in the official series where Bond is named in song, though of course the closing song of the '67 Casino Royale beat TMWTGG to the post with similar lyrics:

    Have no fear, look who's here--James Bond...
    We're fighting for our lives... Have no fear, Bond is here...
    He's gonna to save the world at Casino Royale!
    Never fear, Bond is here!


    For TMWTGG Don Black wrote an opening along the same lines:

    Goodnight, goodnight
    Sleep well my dear
    No need to fear
    James Bond is HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!!



    (If the video cue doesn't work, go to 01:48)

    After Lulu's orgasm Barry launches into the reprise with an irresistibly sleazy crash of drums and horns. My only criticism is that after the first lines the song returns to the old lyrics, creating the momentary impression that Bond is the one who requires love when he's hired. It would have been better if all the lyrics of the reprise had been rewritten to reflect the end of the film.

    Here is my poor effort at this (Don Black I am not):

    Scaramanga's retired, freshly expired
    Bond dressed up for the kill
    No one can catch him, no hitman can match him
    For his secret agent skill
    His PPK means another proud villain
    Has come to a fitting end

    If you want to get rid of scum
    The double-O with the gun
    Will get it done
    He'll shoot at scum
    With his Walther gun.


    I'm sure there are better lyricists on this forum, so contribute your own rewrites!
  • jabalijabali Los Angeles
    Posts: 43
    Have to go with Disco Moonraker on this one.
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