Rincewind Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Your not thinking of Lara Croft by any chance are you? Yes When the books were written the thought of having a black Bond would put people off the books. They were still considered as second class citizens so I doubt the thought entered Flemmings head considering his background and experiences he looked upon for the stories.I doubt there were many ex Eton members of MI5 at the time who were non white so why would he need to specify that Bond was white. I don't really see the problem though now but as Webbo said they may as well do a spy film with a non-white actor. It has been done before and the Bond films are now so far from the books they would not be James Bond if not for the title.
indierich06 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 You can rationalise it by saying that 'James Bond' isn't the agent's actual name but a coded identity passed from incumbent to incumbent of whoever is currently in the job as Agent 007. Then there's no limitation. My favourite fan theory ever, should totally be cannon. It would explain why James Bond has been English, Scottish, Australian (!) etc and looked so different over the years.
MikeyT Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 I don't care who plays Bond. Elba would probably be a great James Bond. However, like someone stated earlier in the thread, if they are casting him simply because he's black then it's wrong. It should go to the person most suited for the role like any other job in the world. I personally would like to see Henry Cavill in the role, but as I said above, I do think Elba would be a great James Bond as well.
yorkie1999 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Exactly. I asked whether or not it stated he was white in the book. I didn't ask if it was contextually implied or Fleming felt it should be assumed. The latter is pretty obvious, I'm not disputing that. But unless Fleming specifically wrote that he was white and stated he could never be anything but, then I don't see the problem? (see points in my previous post.) Well actually he does. In casino royal, Bond is described as looking like hoagy carmichael, who was as white as they come.
Merging Cultures Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 My first thought was no, but then i thought that the premise could just be that 007 and James Bond are given to the Agent and therefore it doesn't matter who plays the part. Fortunately, the movies don't have to stick to the books. Perhaps one day Bond will be a fat guy and I could get the part.
Bettsj2 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Considering all of the improbable and ludicrous things that happen in Bond films that people are happy to accept, having a black guy play him is pretty easy to swallow for me. Like some have said, if a black actor auditions and is amazing, he gets the part. Simple really.
21st Century Fox Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 In Havana Bond meets NSA agent Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson and follows her to a gene therapy clinic, where patients can have their appearances altered through DNA restructuring...
Christoph Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 To be fair, he's a brilliant actor and I wouldn't mind seeing him as Bond. Be a nice change.
MPH Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 In all Seriousness this thread alone just goes to show that Skin colour is still prominent in our minds. But why? Its just a bloody movie. James Bond is a fictional character. He's not real! To me its a bit like objecting to have a gay soldier next to you.... if he can shoot accurately, who bloody cares!! Is he a good actor is what im intrested in. Now if someone made a film about The Queen and gave Rusty Lee the role of playing Queeny i would understand more so if people had an issue with that. Although they would have to have it written into the film her laughing at a Corgi pissing up the Butlers leg.
yorkie1999 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 In all Seriousness this thread alone just goes to show that Skin colour is still prominent in our minds. But why? Its just a bloody movie. James Bond is a fictional character. He's not real! To me its a bit like objecting to have a gay soldier next to you.... if he can shoot accurately, who bloody cares!! Is he a good actor is what im intrested in. Now if someone made a film about The Queen and gave Rusty Lee the role of playing Queeny i would understand more so if people had an issue with that. Although they would have to have it written into the film her laughing at a Corgi pissing up the Butlers leg. Because it ruins it. If they did another Robin Hood movie and Will Smith played Robin and Whoopie Goldberg played maid marion it would make a farce out of it.
Finnaldo Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Does anyone seriously give a sh!t? It's a fictional character and for me if you have the right presence and gravitas for playing Bond then you can be blue for all I care. As long as it's for the character and not some racial pc brigade appeasement what diesbit matter. I think Idris Elba would be a great actor for the role.
MPH Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Because it ruins it. If they did another Robin Hood movie and Will Smith played Robin and Whoopie Goldberg played maid marion it would make a farce out of it. Well for a start Robin Hood and Maid Marion were real people even if their characters have been romanticised James Bond is purely FICTIONAL
yorkie1999 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Well for a start Robin Hood and Maid Marion were real people even if their characters have been romanticised James Bond is purely FICTIONAL Yeah, they were both foxes. You know what i mean though. What about if Django was played by Tom Cruise in Django Unchained? It Just wouldn't have the same appeal and people would laugh at it.
Jimothy Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Yeah, they were both foxes. You know what i mean though. What about if Django was played by Tom Cruise in Django Unchained? It Just wouldn't have the same appeal and people would laugh at it. Django is about an African-American slave, who fictional or not, are usually black. Bond is about a fictional British spy who in this day and age can be black or white.
Samilktray Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Its a shame that there are people out there still this hung up on skin colour.
Dr The Singh Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Most important question can Jesus be played by a white man. Can Gandhi be played by a white man
yorkie1999 Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Its a shame that there are people out there still this hung up on skin colour. It's nothing to do with being hung up on skin colour and has no racist connotations whatsoever, its to do with certain roles can't be played by certain actors, simple as that. Look at that picture of Dr the Singh's. Could you honestly say any of that 5 could play the next James Bond. If the answer is no, why not?
Dr The Singh Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 It's nothing to do with being hung up on skin colour and has no racist connotations whatsoever, its to do with certain roles can't be played by certain actors, simple as that. Look at that picture of Dr the Singh's. Could you honestly say any of that 5 could play the next James Bond. If the answer is no, why not?Honestly think David tenant with a turban on could play Dr Who.
Babylon Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Cool... a black Felix Lighter, a black Miss Money Penney at the minute as well and a black James Bond up next. Just M and Q to go, then perhaps an all female cast, or a cast full of disabled people, better yet a gay James Bond (although he was a bit saucy in the last one the devil). Or we just stop being all right on and "inclusive" and pick the best people for the part. If the part is a male, white secret service agent then I'm guessing a white male might be best qualified. If the role is shaft, othello or another fictional black character, then I'd guess a black male would be best qualified for the part.
Webbo Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 I can't help thinking that a lot of this thread is "look how unracist I am, I'd like a black James Bond".
Dr The Singh Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 I can't help thinking that a lot of this thread is "look how unracist I am, I'd like a black James Bond".Blackist!
Jimothy Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 Cool... a black Felix Lighter, a black Miss Money Penney at the minute as well and a black James Bond up next. Just M and Q to go, then perhaps an all female cast, or a cast full of disabled people, better yet a gay James Bond (although he was a bit saucy in the last one the devil). Or we just stop being all right on and "inclusive" and pick the best people for the part. If the part is a male, white secret service agent then I'm guessing a white male might be best qualified. If the role is shaft, othello or another fictional black character, then I'd guess a black male would be best qualified for the part. Or how about it's just a woman playing Moneypenny, a man playing Felix and will be another man playing Bond and we stop looking at colour of the skin. I totally agree with casting a role based on skin colour in a film or show depicting something intended to be totally historically accurate, but Bond has evolved so much over the last 60 years, to say he's one thing or another is ridiculous. The current films and they're plots and gadgets must be so far from Fleming's original vision, the colour of the skin of the actor portraying him hardly seems worth talking about. If they were making that Queen film again with Helen Mirren and they were looking at Elba to play Tony Blair instead of Michael Sheen, then we'd have to discussion to have. Even to a degree if it was a white Shaft we might have something to discuss, because that's a one off character. But Bond, in much the same way Doctor Who does, changes from film to film and actor to actor, and from time period to time period.
MPH Posted 30 December 2014 Posted 30 December 2014 I can't help thinking that a lot of this thread is "look how unracist I am, I'd like a black James Bond". Or maybe people genuinely feel it shouldnt matter?
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