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The difference is the former group are right, whereas the latter group are wrong.
Can you at least get behind POC actors being preferred?
Are you actually against them casting a white actor?
^This. The tedious criticism during the Craig era was that everything Barbara did was wrong (and that she couldn't control herself by being in love with Craig) while everything Cubby did was right. Gee, no sexism there.
Not to mention leaving out Michael's role as co-producer (and originator of Brofeld) entirely, which adds ageism to the sexism.
It's ridiculous.
Pretty much.
Have you ever heard of bollywood? Might be more your thing. ;)
I'm not saying don't cast white people, just not as Bond.
Maybe, as I say, I can understand why someone would want that. I know in these matters you often have to make a positive decision to do that rather than just leave it open and hope diversity naturally occurs. In this case, for me, Pierre is the most interesting and perhaps most suitable choice and it’s nothing to do with his ethnicity.
They were lucky. Now they'd be called nepobabies.
Well, glad we could dispose of the whole "I just want the best guy for the job" pretense.
We never just get 'the best man for the job'; we get the best man who suits the requirements of there and then (e.g be a bit of contrast to the previous guy), who is available, who actually wants to do it, who isn't too expensive etc. etc. There's an awful lot of other, more technical criteria going into it.
But ultimately I’d say the same about limiting it to white actors - I don’t think you’re as likely to have the best range of potentials.
That's true, but looking like James Bond used to be a requirement too...
They told a different story in 1995. They sold Brosnan as the anti-Dalton and it worked.
The man who missed his chance in 1986 but is now here to save the series. ;)
I don’t think it’s ever quite been based on very specific appearance criteria. I think casting’s more intuitive than that.
I wouldn’t say that for OHMSS. They just picked from potentials they had available. They’re all in that slightly harder edged, rugged Bond mould that the comics had pushed as early as the 50s, but they’re not generic Connery clones. Some are more on the tall dark and handsome side than others. Here, it’s interesting - https://www.life.com/arts-entertainment/being-007-life-behind-the-scenes-at-james-bond-auditions/
But a mixed race or light skinned Asian actor playing Bond would be fine, hypothetically?
I don’t think a non white Bond will bring in masses of new audiences automatically, but I don’t think it’d be quite that doom and gloom either. It’ll be controversial (but that’s the world we live in), but there’s no reason it couldn’t turn out to be a great decision if a strong actor who embodies Bond (and has a good public presence, which I think will be a big part of making or breaking that decision) is picked.
You saw the reception Nomi had, right? And that was with EON in charge. Imagine if THE FILM after we get a non-white 007 we get a non-white Bond. It's going to look like they were teeing that up all along. I know a lot of fans will view that as a clear statement of where Amazon is taking things and simply check out as a result. What people want is some reassurance is that Bond ISN'T going to change, that Amazon understands and respects what they have, and they aren't just going to treat the character as a blank slate which they can do with as they wish. Hopefully Amazon realises they're already on thin ice, and in order to make their billions back they need enough people to actually go and watch the movies.
Well, some people getting annoyed about Nomi didn’t exactly tank NTTD did it? Most of those people were going on about it well before the film had been released. It’s the same with a lot of other films I’ve seen - some people getting annoying about characters in The Batman being ‘race swapped’ and calling it woke had no impact on the film’s reception. Perhaps there’ll be a Snow White type disaster, but for that you need a lead actor coming across very badly and drumming up rotten PR, and an otherwise generic cash grab of a film (so basically playing it too safe in certain ways).
Ultimately I reckon the next Bond will be white and it’s controversy they’ll be wanting to avoid. It’s a shame because it may well come at the expense of a great Bond - black, mixed race, Asian British or otherwise. With regards to the film specifically something too safe could come at the expense of great creative decisions (yes, Amazon need to prove they can handle Bond, but a generic ‘greatest hits’ adventure is of no use unfortunately in the long run. They need to prove they can continuously adapt this franchise going forward). But there are always options. As is the case with these things I don’t think one decision like that means the fate of the film is sealed. If playing it safe and ‘doing all the right things’ guaranteed success the latest MI film would have made a billion by now.
Bingo.
There's no reason why a white actor means "greatest hits" and non-white actor means bold and interesting new direction, that's a false dichotomy.
I agree. A non white Bond also doesn’t mean the actor will portray Bond in a subversive way. There’s a lot of specifics to consider.
Where is your proof for this beyond your personal beliefs which sound very questionable right now?? Say what you truly feel out loud please.
Those aren't really facts though.
Racists gonna racism, you can't pander to them. They're a vocal but small minority.
But to say that white actors or black actors aren’t allowed to audition for the role (and potentially win it), is pretty disgusting.
It’s like I asked in the previous post and have asked before - what if a hypothetical mixed race actor came along who was great? Darker skinned, maybe a bit racially ambiguous looking, but handsome, great screen presence, and just very Bondian while bringing something fresh in their performance. Would this hypothetical actor not be allowed to audition if the casting was closed to Caucasian actors because he’s too white? Is he too ‘black’ (or whatever lineage he has) for Bond, so best not to go for him to avoid controversy? Or is he the ‘safe’ option because of his race, regardless of what he actually brings to this part?
Incidentally I don’t think anyone I’ve ever asked that question to has directly answered it, hypothetical as it is. But I think it shows how silly (and yes, even disgusting) this can potentially be and come at the expense of a really good Bond.