LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
The last 3-4 Bond films have sucked. Brosnan & actually Moore before him, portrayed a silly, effeminate Bond. If this guy Craig can bring an edge, a little masculinity, to the role, then I welcome him. I say get back to the spirit of the Fleming novels and leave the cartoonishness of these recent "decide what to name a movie, then write the script" fiascos behind. Connery could probably still kick the a**es of Brosnan, Moore, Dalton, Lazenby, et al, on any given day.
The last 3-4 Bond films have sucked. Brosnan & actually Moore before him, portrayed a silly, effeminate Bond. If this guy Craig can bring an edge, a little masculinity, to the role, then I welcome him. I say get back to the spirit of the Fleming novels and leave the cartoonishness of these recent "decide what to name a movie, then write the script" fiascos behind. Connery could probably still kick the a**es of Brosnan, Moore, Dalton, Lazenby, et al, on any given day.
The battle has begun. We've got the "Craig will be horrible" side vs. the "give Craig a chance" side. This battle entails weeks of "God, not him, RIP James BOND!" vs. "He was a brave choice and none of us know how he'll do until we see the movie, don't prejudge it." There will be some name-calling,lots of irritation, and VERY little of anyone actually changing their stance. That's the synopsis if anyone wants to take a small vacation from AJB. It's going to be like a soap opera for a while (i.e. you can stop paying attention for months at a time but not miss anything).
I will be staying to watch the events unfold. Just how many different ways of saying the same thing can we all come up with? Place your wagers now folks! Oh and don't think I won't be participating myself, I'll be working for my side (give Craig a chance) when ever I can spare time.
Yes the arguements from both sides will on the whole be predictable, and yes our opponents will make our blood boil at times due to their complete disregard for our ideas, but it'll surely be fun.
Congratulations Mr. Craig, keep your eye on the prize and be confident that you can succeed.
Just finished watching "Layer Cake" starring Mr. Craig. Good movie and a fine actor. Have no problems with this guy giving Bond a shot. Can't be worse than the last 3 Bond films
Unfortunately the British media seems to have made their mind up about Craig.Whilst at the shops this morning flicking through the tabloids, I saw headlines such as 'James Bland' and comments like , 'he was left shaken and stirred after the press conference , 'he showed non the debonair qualities of his predecessors', him looking scared on the boat and the chewing gum thing.
Even William Hill the bookmakers are apparently taking bets he will only do one film! Its not looking good for Craig.He has a bit of an uphill struggle on his hands
Unfortunately the British media seems to have made their mind up about Craig.Whilst at the shops this morning flicking through the tabloids, I saw headlines such as 'James Bland' and comments like , 'he was left shaken and stirred after the press conference , 'he showed non the debonair qualities of his predecessors', him looking scared on the boat and the chewing gum thing.
Even William Hill the bookmakers are apparently taking bets he will only do one film! Its not looking good for Craig.He has a bit of an uphill struggle on his hands
Yes, it appears he does have to really prove himself, but he's a strong actor, and a confident one. Craig will give Bond his all.
However, isn't it short sighted and narrow minded to write Craig off before we have seen him in the role? It's usual for the media to act that way because Craig is replacing the very popular Brosnan (who is also very good with the press), but I really think as Bond fans we should be open minded here. Some fans on this site are open minded about Craig, but there seems to be quite a few who are not.
This could be a very exciting time for Bond.
How many of us here have been happy with the direction the series has gone in after GoldenEye?
Bond needs to be shaken up or we will just have more of the same -- and that will really mean the death of the franchise.
EON are taking a gamble, but at least they are showing their determination to bring a more serious spin to Bond now. Craig clearly signals a big change in tone, mood and substance -- and it appears that it's all driven by a desire to re-capture the spirit of Fleming again, and we have not seen that for a very long time.
Unfortunately the British media seems to have made their mind up about Craig.Whilst at the shops this morning flicking through the tabloids, I saw headlines such as 'James Bland' and comments like , 'he was left shaken and stirred after the press conference , 'he showed non the debonair qualities of his predecessors', him looking scared on the boat and the chewing gum thing.
Even William Hill the bookmakers are apparently taking bets he will only do one film! Its not looking good for Craig.He has a bit of an uphill struggle on his hands
This sums up my great fear. Ultimately it doesn't matter what us Bond fanatics think. Most of us will go and see this movie regardless of what we think of the choice of actor. It is the rest of the public who will decide whether Craig succeeds or fails and unfortunately, often the media makes that decision..
The battle has begun. We've got the "Craig will be horrible" side vs. the "give Craig a chance" side.
Well, I know I'm just a Star Wars fan who loves the Bond Universe but... You have all seen the first promotional picture of him! He's monstruous. Ok, sure he has all the quality to play Bond but shouldn't Bond be also good looking?
Unfortunately the British media seems to have made their mind up about Craig.
Even William Hill the bookmakers are apparently taking bets he will only do one film! Its not looking good for Craig.He has a bit of an uphill struggle on his hands
Astonishes me really ... the whole world seems such an expert on how to make a great Bond film already! And it seems that looking at a couple of publicity photos of an actor's blond hair seems to condemn him. Chewing gum? Heinous!! Looking scared? Those Navy guys walked passed me on dry land with those weapons ... I was scared!
The Bond world has been spoilt over the past decade really ... PB was and is a master of communication. But here's a surprise, not everyone is as competent in a press conference as he is!
Anyway, I thought I had best respond to Hardy's criticism that a fan can't criticize Bond ... of course they can. But one should criticize from a position of knowledge rather than supposition. And I'm sorry but a couple of publicity shots and/or someone's vital statistics are not necessarily good enough ...
Do you know? I am really looking forward to the first teaser trailers for CR ... hopefully, we will see a fully groomed/made-up/costumed DC. Perhaps we will see some action shots ... some of the dialogue that is supposed to be top drawer after Haggis has worked on it ...
Just a thought, what is that famous 'Brosnan Bond' lookalike going to do for work now? He can't even go around pretending to be James Bond since Bond has been reincarnated as a short, ugly blond bloke!
Just a thought, what is that famous 'Brosnan Bond' lookalike going to do for work now? He can't even go around pretending to be James Bond since Bond has been reincarnated as a short, ugly blond bloke!
The last time I heard about him, he was checking into a Cuban clinic...
scaramanga1The English RivieraPosts: 845Chief of Staff
I for one am relishing the develpment of CR It will certainly be different - and I'm pretty certain Craig has the ability to perform a darker and more serious 007 who will make this film into the dark spy thriller that Fleming would approve of.
I just don't understand why I keep hearing different ways of essencially saying "the last three Bond films were terrible." True, Tomorrow Never Dies wasn't brilliant and Die Another Day certainly wasn't much better, but you can't include The World Is Not Enough in that category. TWINE is one of the best Bond films ever, right up there with GoldenEye. It's the one that got me into Bond--without it, I don't think I would have ever been introduced to the world of the spy we've all come to know and love. Anyway, I just thought I'd say that...
My opinion on Daniel Craig? I think Eon is going in the wrong direction by choosing him. While you can make him look somewhat like Bond by dyeing his hair black (I hear they're not even going to do that), he just doesn't seem to be Bond for me. Perhaps it's just me having to adjust to a new Bond, I still say that Brosnan deserves better than the slap in the face he's gotten from Eon.
They had Brosnan:
[list=*]
[*]a man who is internationally famous[/*]
[*]The Bond actor to an entire generation[/*]
[*]The man who pulled MGM and Bond out of the gutter[/*]
[*]The man who has been a virtual gold mine to MGM[/*]
[*]The man who the general public wants for one more Bond film[/*]
[*]The man who is perfectly capable of doing one last Bond film...[/*]
[/list]
And what did they do with him? He was too old! He wanted too much cash--he would have went from taking an already huge .001 out of Eon's precious billion$ to an astronomical .003!!
So for whatever reason (probably the cash), they hire Daniel Craig...
[list=*]
[*]A man who is almost unknown (at least in the US)[/*]
[*]A man who doesn't look like Bond[/*]
[*]A man who's had a couple of roles...[/*]
[/list]
So... This means they're going to wager their already enormous success with Brosnan, and replace him with this guy, for some reason or another.
I think we can safely conclude that either this is a very elaborate joke, or Broccoli and Wilson have gone insane.
Quoting M Hazard
Bond needs to be shaken up or we will just have more of the same -- and that will really mean the death of the franchise.
EON are taking a gamble, but at least they are showing their determination to bring a more serious spin to Bond now. Craig clearly signals a big change in tone, mood and substance -- and it appears that it's all driven by a desire to re-capture the spirit of Fleming again, and we have not seen that for a very long time.
_______________________________________________
I must say I don't know why people keep saying the Bond movies have to change or it will be the end. The last four Bond movies were hugely succesful, each movie more succesful than the preceeding one. What evidence do we have that the movies, or the character, are losing their
popularity....None! The general movie going public has endorsed the Bond movies with their hard earned money.
I am afraid with the new Bond the franchise may go downhill. I am especially concerned that the female population is very turn offed by the guy. I am being honest when I tell you that I haven't heard a positive comment about him from a female. I have stated before I do not like the choice and I stand by that, does that mean I won't give him a chance, no. He has a good voice, he will pull off the grittier side of Bond, but can he pull off the sophisticated side. Can he seduce a woman and have me believe it, I do not know. Can he look dashing, I don't think so.
Most of the posters who support Craig seem to think he is going to bring a tougher Bond, which he might. But, Bond is more than a tough guy and it is the othet side of bond that will tell if he can be Bond.
Turn the argument around ... as Babs and Mickey G knew, Brosnan couldn't last in the role forever. He was asking for more money which would dent profits (and companies need their profits, like it or loathe it).
So ... what do they do? They know they have Casino Royale in development. A 'big name' Bond story that they can do a lot of marketing around ... the possibilities are endless.
With PB in the lead role, they are certain to have a hit, but what about afterwards? Assuming the story and script are as good as some have infered, it will be a high point of the whole series ... bringing a new Bond in after that is commercially very damaging (let's be realistic, PB will be getting too old to play Bond come 2008/2009).
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Maybe. But I can see their thinking.
ps As a little aside, at least without PB in the role, we won't have his regular as clockwork filming injuries!
Too many articles have claimed that Craig will be the first blond Bond. They obviously forgot about Roger Moore. Is it that hard to check up on a simple fact?
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
If you want to rationalize the pick of Craig; fine. I for one, like many others expressing their disdain,are just not buying it. I just have a nauseating feeling about Craig in the role. I think he was a terrible pick considering what Eon could've had within the 18 month + timespan. I mean the expectations were high, right? I mean we are talking CR. It's almost like sending your scholastically endowed child to Oxford or Yale for 4 years just to see them graduate only to become a fast food cook at Burger King. That's how yesterday's announcement made me feel. Like we all came up short... and we're trying to rationalize to our then irate parents the importance of taking customers orders and cleaning out greasetraps...
That what it feels like is happening to us on the boards.
I believe when Craig's hopefully successful tenor has concluded, to many of us in the fanbase, he'll be remembered as the divisive Bond or the Bond who nearly crippled an empire or something else along those dramatic lines depending on your alleigances.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
and in 30 years time people (bond fans) will look back and say 2That is the best bond film of the series" like they do with Georg Lazemby and O.H.M.S.S
whole heartedly agree with you rogue...one thing i thought about yesterday was how naff his intro was...a gloomy grey sky didnt help but the whole boat thing was more befitting a lewis bodie collins its a knockout tv special circa east anglian tv in the 1970s than the worlds first look at the biggest movie icon in cinemas new incarnation...poor poor poor
I think he was a terrible pick considering what Eon could've had within the 18 month + timespan.
And stripping away your post to the core, this is what we have.
Please don't be offended, but my choice(s) weren't chosen either! However, I think it very early to be burying the actor or for that matter the franchise.
Perhaps Craig's tenure won't be successful ... but perhaps it will. Time will tell.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
I think he was a terrible pick considering what Eon could've had within the 18 month + timespan.
And stripping away your post to the core, this is what we have.
Please don't be offended, but my choice(s) weren't chosen either! However, I think it very early to be burying the actor or for that matter the franchise.
Perhaps Craig's tenure won't be successful ... but perhaps it will. Time will tell.
No, Predator, I'm not offended at all. And I did say that I hope his stint is successful regardless of how I feel about him. But that is what it's summing up to be...
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Those of you with the time and inclination to see the wider audience "armchair" response to Daniel Craig being the new James Bond, can read a selection of thoughts and opinions (and enter your own) in the BBC News Have Your Say page:
whole heartedly agree with you rogue...one thing i thought about yesterday was how naff his intro was...a gloomy grey sky didnt help but the whole boat thing was more befitting a lewis bodie collins its a knockout tv special circa east anglian tv in the 1970s than the worlds first look at the biggest movie icon in cinemas new incarnation...poor poor poor
Actually that is a good point, they certainly didn't do him any favours with that introduction. It is quite hard to look well groomed and cool when you just bombed down the Thames in a dinghy on a gloomy October day.
Also, he didn't seem very well briefed on how to behave as Bond. I can't imagine any of the previous actors announcing how scared they were on the boat at their first Press conference. Like it or lump it, when you take this role you have to remember to BE Bond at all times!
I am a little uneasy with the choice of Craig. Truth be told, I was never much a fan of the literary Bond. The "movie" Bond was the character which I grew up enjoying. The movie Bond was my hero.
While I understand the desire to bring Bond back to his grittier younger roots, Daniel Craig hardly looks young. He lacks those boyish looks that Pierce enjoyed.
Still...I suppose I should give Daniel the benefit of the doubt. He seems to be a competent actor, but we Singaporeans do not have enough information yet to make a solid judgement. Personally,I just feel a little uneasy.
"Casino Royale" a prequel? What about the earlier 20 films before? Is the entire continuity to be thrown out the window? This move profoundly disturbs me. I deeply enjoyed "Goldeneye" and "Thw World is Not Enough".
In short, I just...don't know.
What do the rest of you think?
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
With casting still up in the air as far as continuity was concerned, is Colin Salmon's character going to return to the role? I thought that Eon showed great strides casting a non-white into the Bond world on a movie to movie basis as opposed to the earlier films. Besides, I was a Colin Salmon fan from the Prime Suspect movies.
The prequel idea should be trashed. It's hopefully apparent that Eon won't fool anyone with Craig's features that he is supposed to look younger than the Cold War Connery. I say make it business as usual and continue on.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Comments
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
LOL! Whatever
I will be staying to watch the events unfold. Just how many different ways of saying the same thing can we all come up with? Place your wagers now folks! Oh and don't think I won't be participating myself, I'll be working for my side (give Craig a chance) when ever I can spare time.
Yes the arguements from both sides will on the whole be predictable, and yes our opponents will make our blood boil at times due to their complete disregard for our ideas, but it'll surely be fun.
Congratulations Mr. Craig, keep your eye on the prize and be confident that you can succeed.
Even William Hill the bookmakers are apparently taking bets he will only do one film! Its not looking good for Craig.He has a bit of an uphill struggle on his hands
Yes, it appears he does have to really prove himself, but he's a strong actor, and a confident one. Craig will give Bond his all.
However, isn't it short sighted and narrow minded to write Craig off before we have seen him in the role? It's usual for the media to act that way because Craig is replacing the very popular Brosnan (who is also very good with the press), but I really think as Bond fans we should be open minded here. Some fans on this site are open minded about Craig, but there seems to be quite a few who are not.
This could be a very exciting time for Bond.
How many of us here have been happy with the direction the series has gone in after GoldenEye?
Bond needs to be shaken up or we will just have more of the same -- and that will really mean the death of the franchise.
EON are taking a gamble, but at least they are showing their determination to bring a more serious spin to Bond now. Craig clearly signals a big change in tone, mood and substance -- and it appears that it's all driven by a desire to re-capture the spirit of Fleming again, and we have not seen that for a very long time.
This sums up my great fear. Ultimately it doesn't matter what us Bond fanatics think. Most of us will go and see this movie regardless of what we think of the choice of actor. It is the rest of the public who will decide whether Craig succeeds or fails and unfortunately, often the media makes that decision..
Well, I know I'm just a Star Wars fan who loves the Bond Universe but... You have all seen the first promotional picture of him! He's monstruous. Ok, sure he has all the quality to play Bond but shouldn't Bond be also good looking?
Astonishes me really ... the whole world seems such an expert on how to make a great Bond film already! And it seems that looking at a couple of publicity photos of an actor's blond hair seems to condemn him. Chewing gum? Heinous!! Looking scared? Those Navy guys walked passed me on dry land with those weapons ... I was scared!
The Bond world has been spoilt over the past decade really ... PB was and is a master of communication. But here's a surprise, not everyone is as competent in a press conference as he is!
Anyway, I thought I had best respond to Hardy's criticism that a fan can't criticize Bond ... of course they can. But one should criticize from a position of knowledge rather than supposition. And I'm sorry but a couple of publicity shots and/or someone's vital statistics are not necessarily good enough ...
Do you know? I am really looking forward to the first teaser trailers for CR ... hopefully, we will see a fully groomed/made-up/costumed DC. Perhaps we will see some action shots ... some of the dialogue that is supposed to be top drawer after Haggis has worked on it ...
The last time I heard about him, he was checking into a Cuban clinic...
My opinion on Daniel Craig? I think Eon is going in the wrong direction by choosing him. While you can make him look somewhat like Bond by dyeing his hair black (I hear they're not even going to do that), he just doesn't seem to be Bond for me. Perhaps it's just me having to adjust to a new Bond, I still say that Brosnan deserves better than the slap in the face he's gotten from Eon.
They had Brosnan:
[list=*]
[*]a man who is internationally famous[/*]
[*]The Bond actor to an entire generation[/*]
[*]The man who pulled MGM and Bond out of the gutter[/*]
[*]The man who has been a virtual gold mine to MGM[/*]
[*]The man who the general public wants for one more Bond film[/*]
[*]The man who is perfectly capable of doing one last Bond film...[/*]
[/list]
And what did they do with him? He was too old! He wanted too much cash--he would have went from taking an already huge .001 out of Eon's precious billion$ to an astronomical .003!!
So for whatever reason (probably the cash), they hire Daniel Craig...
[list=*]
[*]A man who is almost unknown (at least in the US)[/*]
[*]A man who doesn't look like Bond[/*]
[*]A man who's had a couple of roles...[/*]
[/list]
So... This means they're going to wager their already enormous success with Brosnan, and replace him with this guy, for some reason or another.
I think we can safely conclude that either this is a very elaborate joke, or Broccoli and Wilson have gone insane.
Bond needs to be shaken up or we will just have more of the same -- and that will really mean the death of the franchise.
EON are taking a gamble, but at least they are showing their determination to bring a more serious spin to Bond now. Craig clearly signals a big change in tone, mood and substance -- and it appears that it's all driven by a desire to re-capture the spirit of Fleming again, and we have not seen that for a very long time.
_______________________________________________
I must say I don't know why people keep saying the Bond movies have to change or it will be the end. The last four Bond movies were hugely succesful, each movie more succesful than the preceeding one. What evidence do we have that the movies, or the character, are losing their
popularity....None! The general movie going public has endorsed the Bond movies with their hard earned money.
I am afraid with the new Bond the franchise may go downhill. I am especially concerned that the female population is very turn offed by the guy. I am being honest when I tell you that I haven't heard a positive comment about him from a female. I have stated before I do not like the choice and I stand by that, does that mean I won't give him a chance, no. He has a good voice, he will pull off the grittier side of Bond, but can he pull off the sophisticated side. Can he seduce a woman and have me believe it, I do not know. Can he look dashing, I don't think so.
Most of the posters who support Craig seem to think he is going to bring a tougher Bond, which he might. But, Bond is more than a tough guy and it is the othet side of bond that will tell if he can be Bond.
Turn the argument around ... as Babs and Mickey G knew, Brosnan couldn't last in the role forever. He was asking for more money which would dent profits (and companies need their profits, like it or loathe it).
So ... what do they do? They know they have Casino Royale in development. A 'big name' Bond story that they can do a lot of marketing around ... the possibilities are endless.
With PB in the lead role, they are certain to have a hit, but what about afterwards? Assuming the story and script are as good as some have infered, it will be a high point of the whole series ... bringing a new Bond in after that is commercially very damaging (let's be realistic, PB will be getting too old to play Bond come 2008/2009).
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Maybe. But I can see their thinking.
ps As a little aside, at least without PB in the role, we won't have his regular as clockwork filming injuries!
That what it feels like is happening to us on the boards.
I believe when Craig's hopefully successful tenor has concluded, to many of us in the fanbase, he'll be remembered as the divisive Bond or the Bond who nearly crippled an empire or something else along those dramatic lines depending on your alleigances.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Typo - sorry!!
And stripping away your post to the core, this is what we have.
Please don't be offended, but my choice(s) weren't chosen either! However, I think it very early to be burying the actor or for that matter the franchise.
Perhaps Craig's tenure won't be successful ... but perhaps it will. Time will tell.
No, Predator, I'm not offended at all. And I did say that I hope his stint is successful regardless of how I feel about him. But that is what it's summing up to be...
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
What do you think of the new 007?
Actually that is a good point, they certainly didn't do him any favours with that introduction. It is quite hard to look well groomed and cool when you just bombed down the Thames in a dinghy on a gloomy October day.
Also, he didn't seem very well briefed on how to behave as Bond. I can't imagine any of the previous actors announcing how scared they were on the boat at their first Press conference. Like it or lump it, when you take this role you have to remember to BE Bond at all times!
While I understand the desire to bring Bond back to his grittier younger roots, Daniel Craig hardly looks young. He lacks those boyish looks that Pierce enjoyed.
Still...I suppose I should give Daniel the benefit of the doubt. He seems to be a competent actor, but we Singaporeans do not have enough information yet to make a solid judgement. Personally,I just feel a little uneasy.
"Casino Royale" a prequel? What about the earlier 20 films before? Is the entire continuity to be thrown out the window? This move profoundly disturbs me. I deeply enjoyed "Goldeneye" and "Thw World is Not Enough".
In short, I just...don't know.
What do the rest of you think?
The prequel idea should be trashed. It's hopefully apparent that Eon won't fool anyone with Craig's features that he is supposed to look younger than the Cold War Connery. I say make it business as usual and continue on.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -