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This is a very good point.
Let's see what happens tomorrow. I'm expecting either a full press conference with the likes of Nolan, Babs, and ATJ announcing the new Bond film, with a script based on the unused Fleming bits from DAF, MR, TSWLM and TMWTGG.
OR
A huge headline in The Sun apologising for their dreadful mistake, and the journo involved to be named and shamed, then booted out while eating his/her hat.
*setting my alarm clock for tomorrow, excited with anticipation*
The Sun won’t give a damn.
The full press conference will be next week ;)
I can't wait...
I'm gonna predict neither of those will happen.
Okay, but what if people look at his resume and discover he's actually unpopular and people don't support his films.
Films where Elba was the main star or one of the leading cast members:
Beast - flop
Three Thousand Years of Longing - flop
The Harder They Fall - limited release then to Netflix
The Suicide Squad - flop
Cats - flop (the reviews were brutal! Yikes)
The Dark Tower - flop
The Mountain Between Us - failed to break even
He hasn't has a break out hit with him as the lead actor so why would Eon listen to fans saying "Elba is perfect for Bond!" and then approach Elba knowing his lack of box office appeal and knowing he'll want a lot of money to commit to a three or four film Bond contract and hire him? They wouldn't. Eon would think "we've seen Elba's recent box office record and it hasn't brought in any profit for the studios and production companies that invested in his films. Why should we pay Elba millions of dollars to commit to the Bond franchise when he's proven not to be even moderate box office let alone had one hit film."
Take Henry Cavill. Be it fair or unfair, his two spy films tanked hard at the box office. The Man From Uncle, Argylle. Henry Cavill would probably say to his agent "I'm still very interested in playing Bond but let's forget Uncle and Argylle flopped, tell Eon I'm interested in playing Bond for 10 million dollars and it goes up 25 percent per film."
And Henry's agent says "Okay, Henry. I don't think Barbara Broccoli will be interested but I'll make some telephone calls."
So Henry's agent contacts Eon and they have a pleasant chat but Broccoli or her representative says "no, Cavill's market value dropped after Uncle in 2015 and it's fallen off a cliff after Argylle was released. He's not worth the salary you want. It's an emphatic no. We cannot consider your client as he's priced himself out of the role."
And meanwhile many people online just say "Cavill must be Bond!"
It's a film business. It's not a popularity contest (accepting Pierce Brosnan was the overwhelming favourite back in the 1990s). Brosnan didn't overprice his value back in 1994. My guess is Cavill, Elba, Chris Hemsworth (if considered) would overprice their value. I do not believe Cavill, Elba, Hilddleston, Hardy, Murphy would play Bond at a relatively low fee. Never gonna happen. And my guess is Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman also overpriced their value.
I also think if Nolan got paid 100 million for Oppenheimer (!)... Eon aren't going to waste time negotiating with Nolan. Nolan will want some huge fee for Bond 26 ? I guess so. Why would Eon indulge him? Hire Edgar Wright or someone like him and save the cash.
I would argue salary demand is the most important factor in casting Bond. Craig was much cheaper to cast than Owen or Jackman and Brosnan was much cheaper to cast than Mel Gibson (who revealed he was approached to play Bond) and George Lazenby was much cheaper to cast than whatever famous actor was considered in 1967.
*Desperately ignoring such negative comments*
So if Elba was hypothetically 38 years old and had some of those specific flops (and hits) under his belt, I'd still say EON would cast him if he were the right fit for what they wanted. And ultimately that's in their hands. As it is, Elba doesn't have longevity due to being in his 50s, and the reason he was never considered for the part wasn't due to his bankability as an actor, but simply the fact that we had a James Bond.
Haha, we'll see I guess.
Either way, I'd look on the bright side. It'll be Friday and on the off chance that this is correct, then it's cause as a Bond fan for celebratory drinks at the pub. If it's not, then it's an excuse for Friday drowning of sorrows. Either way it'll be Friday and I'll be at the pub. Can't lose I'd say.
The above comment is not reality. Henry Cavill is not a mega star. He last film Argylle may end up the biggest flop of the year. It cost 200 million dollars (it was reported Apple paid that amount to acquire the film) and bombed hard.
People need to do research before saying dumb stuff. Does this guy know Argylle and Uncle flopped or is he just saying dumb stuff for the sake of it? 🙄
Cavill is not box office/not a mega star but if he thinks he is then he'll never play Bond. His salary won't be accepted by Eon. And that applies to all actors overpricing themselves. Time will tell if Aaron Taylor-Johnson is dumb or smart and values himself in a sensible way. Maybe he'll be open to a reasonable fee!
ATJ is even worse, go be Kraven in the woods flying around or whatever.
In 2015 The Man From Uncle made $110,045,109 worldwide.
In 2015 Spectre made $880,707,597 worldwide. Seven times more money.
Cavill brought zero fanbase to Uncle.
In 2017 The Dark Tower starring Idris Elba made $113,231,078 worldwide. Idris Elba brought zero fanbase to that planned franchise.
Noone supported Elba nor Cavill.
Cavill was front and center promotion for Argylle. So called 'popular' Henry Cavill didn't equal box office.
Argylle is one of the biggest flops in film history. Apple may have lost 400 million dollars on the film 😧 so if you think Eon Productions want to hire an actor with a 400 million dollar loss on his resume, I doubt it! Same with Elba.
To be fair it's not their fault if people don't want to see their films, but from Eon's perspective they don't need the hassle of hiring Cavill or whoever if they have an awful box office history. If you want to be a film star and your films flop you can't expect Eon to pay you top dollar to be Bond.
Of course hardly anyone thinks about that when they post social media comments like the ones here:
https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/henry-cavill-james-bond-snub-aaron-taylor-johnson
None consider Argylle may have lost Apple 400 million dollars (apparently it's a stinker so maybe it was fated to fail!) and none consider the possibility Cavill would still want a hefty fee for a three or four film Bond contract. People don't think like that!
They just say "Cavill must be Bond!"
Yeah, well, good luck convincing Babs and MG to spend 100 million or so dollars (or rather Amazon's dollars) on Cavill. That could be the amount he'd want over four films given a pay increase per each film. 100 million to play Bond in all films vs his last film Argylle losing 400 million. Kinda not worth it. I think Babs and MG will pass on Henry.🤭
I mean, Daniel Craig wasn't in a dissimilar situation before Bond, having starred in a number of films which made little if no money (even very good films like Munich and Layer Cake were not financial hits at all). There was no indication he could have starred in some of the biggest moneymaking Bond films of all time, with his presence in the role being a massive contributing factor. Hell, even when he was Bond he starred in some financial flops like Flashbacks of a Fool, Definance, and Cowboys and Aliens. EoN simply thought he was the best man for the job back in '05 and saw potential in him.
I can't tell if you're trolling given the emojis you include, and statements like "To be fair it's not their fault if people don't want to see their films", but putting the failures of those movies on both Elba and Cavil as if they're the "sole cause" for why those movies weren't successful is incredibly inaccurate. Those movies failed for plenty of other reasons, none to do with Cavil or Elba. If you're bored by the prospect of their names being thrown around for Bond then fine, I am too. But don't go making strawman arguments about their "lack of popularity" when it's quite clear as day that both actors are incredibly popular and actually do have large (if not to the size of Bond's) fanbases.
https://x.com/RollingStoneUK/status/1770387720331722974?s=20
Good theory, @LucknFate …
One of my friends from the UK thinks it may’ve had to do with Murdoch’s people taking heat off of The Royals (?). They wanted the spin to be as far away from Kate as possible .
🤷♂️
Idris was fairly popular in the UK a decade back due to Luther, so I guess the Bond thing arose from that rather than any of his films, tbf. Have to say, though, that I could never see him as Bond even when I tried. Not for the obvious reason (I can readily see Sope as Bond) or for any overt reason, actually - Idris just didn't come over that way for me. Have to say, most of the recent suggestions strike me that way too. ATJ slightly less so than most, funnily enough. Or maybe I just have to work less hard to picture it, I dunno! Not sure that should be enough to give him the nod, though...!
As for the ATJ hoax, the way The Sun work, whoever concocted it won't be out on their ear by the weekend, they'll be the toast of the pub, with everyone buying them pints and slapping their back. God, worra rag.
My favourite bit from a quick read of that:
"Speaking of violent masculinity, those Bond rumours are impossible not to ask about, but I’m greeted with a predictable poker face. “I can only really talk about the things I’m going to show and tell,” he says. “So, The Fall Guy, Nosferatu, Kraven the Hunter. I’m here to promote those.” When I say it must be flattering to be associated with 007, he stares at me in silence. I add that I know he couldn’t possibly spill the beans to a journalist in this context; Barbara Broccoli is one formidable woman. More silence, although it is wry rather than severe. I laugh nervously. He asks me how my pasta is."
Haha. Regardless though, whatever I think of him as an actor, I'm sure he'll be fine with or without Bond. As I said I'm looking forward to seeing him in Nosferatu.
The writer also states afterwards that, "we’re discussing the idea of mapping out a career plan", which is what he seems to be rejecting. He seems very in the moment. “It’s the best when you sometimes lose all inhibitions completely, and you feel like you’re dangling there, and the director has sort of got one finger on the back of your shirt, so you don’t fall. It’s all about chasing that feeling. There’s nothing so exhilarating as that.”
So overall I think the discussion about Bond was met by an actor who just wants to focus on what's doing at the moment and not dwell on what could happen in the future.
I wonder what director would offer that in a Bond role to ATJ? Who he'd have in mind to do it... I suppose my read doesn't work with his deal with Marvel, either...
I suppose he means that metaphorically/in a way that's more about him being able to do what's intuitive to him as an actor in a certain role with the director only stepping in when needed. I'd say in a sense all very good directors do that/create that environment (and certainly all very good directors who have worked on Bond/with actors confident and experienced enough).
It is absolutely impossible that the powers that be at EoN have not discussed potential Bond actors. I would love to be a fly on the wall for those conversations: just how many names that they may have bandied about have been mentioned here?
I suspect BB and MGW have been keeping an eye out for potential Bond 7's as early as 2015. Nothing officially will happen until the time comes, but they may well have talked with some of these actors informally (even if it's just a quick meeting at an event or whatever). But yes, it'd be naive to think they've not thought about this at all.
Perhaps he can incorporate that burping in his hypothetical Bond audition?
Who doesn't ? ;)