AJB interview with Calvin Dyson
Barbel
ScotlandPosts: 38,115Chief of Staff
Many of us are familiar with the Bond reviews of Calvin Dyson, on YouTube.
(If not, check out
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-9lKusIRrNK3KcU-Jvn8yg )
I've been chatting with him, and he's agreed to a written interview with us here at AJB. I'd like to ask everyone for questions they'd like to ask him, and here are some thoughts to start off with:
1) What sparked your interest in James Bond?
2) How do you see the future of the Bond films?
Over to you!
(If not, check out
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-9lKusIRrNK3KcU-Jvn8yg )
I've been chatting with him, and he's agreed to a written interview with us here at AJB. I'd like to ask everyone for questions they'd like to ask him, and here are some thoughts to start off with:
1) What sparked your interest in James Bond?
2) How do you see the future of the Bond films?
Over to you!
Tagged:
Comments
Thoughts on when Bond comes out of copyright.
Any thoughts on the possible future Bond actors
What in his view should be the future direction of the franchise - more outlandish or, conversely, grittier?
Of course, if anyone has any more questions please put them below.
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Thank you, Barbel. Perhaps an obvious question from me!
AJB: We are very pleased to have been able to interview well-known YouTube Bond reviewer Calvin Dyson.
Calvin: Well, thank you, I'm glad to be here.
AJB: What sparked your interest in James Bond?
Calvin: My interest in James Bond was very much sparked by receiving Moonraker and Diamonds Are Forever on VHS as a present from my Auntie. I can’t really remember if it was a birthday or Christmas or whether I was 8 or 9 but I’d been a big Star Wars fan and I suppose my Auntie made the leap that if I liked Star Wars I’d like Moonraker and then the videos were buy-one-get-one-free so I suppose she went for the one she recognized the most in Diamonds Are Forever! I remember watching both films and this was also around the time one of my friends with an N64 had gotten GoldenEye and so that really sparked the initial interest and then it was a case of borrowing videos from whoever had them and catching ones on TV whenever they were on!
AJB: How do you see the future of the franchise, taking in the MeToo movement, and should Eon be heading for more outlandish or grittier?
Calvin: My sensibilities definitely lean more towards the outlandish but so long as the film is good I have no issue with either grittier or campier! I actually think the 007 franchise has evolved well over the years regarding social attitudes towards women etc and I don’t think they need to do any kind of dramatic U turn on how they’ve portrayed women in the last decade or so.
AJB: What do you think are the quintessential aspects of the Bond character that we can take forward from Bond 25 onwards (so we don't lose the essence of James Bond) , given how much things have changed since the inception of the character?
Calvin: Now that I’ve actually read (most) of the Fleming books, for the first time in my life I feel somewhat qualified to answer such a question! No doubt the portrayals of James Bond have been… Eclectic to say the least, over the years and several actors and writers have all left their own mark on the series. I find it hard to boil the essence down to one particular thing. The Bond franchise is very much “Choose Your Own Hero” in that respect. I guess I’d say that Craig is closer to what was on the page than Moore but others would disagree of course. Bond is a very complex character and even changes quite a bit as he evolves through Fleming’s writing. This is a very tough question and I could waffle on for ages!
AJB: How relevant is Ian Fleming’s original characterisation of Bond to modern audiences, some 65-years on?
Calvin: Another very tough one! The main thing that has struck me about Fleming’s characterisation is just how jaded Bond is through many of the stories and yet has such resilience to get every job done and withstand horrific circumstances in order to do so. He’s a quintessential hero, but not in a bland way, he’s so interesting and relatable. In the book he has moments of superhero/action man type moments fighting giant squids and such but he’s really quite unfit in a lot of regards which I like. He drinks a lot and smokes a lot but his body can still withstand a great deal and it’s his mind that’s his greatest strength. He’s incredibly perceptive. I think those are somewhat universal qualities which can be applied to audiences throughout time.
AJB: What are your thoughts on what should happen when Bond comes out of copyright?.
Calvin: Given the age we’re living in, it wouldn’t surprise me if some kind of law was changed to keep the character under copyright. If not, things will get very messy I suppose. However, I think Never Say Never Again proved that nobody does it better than EON Productions. Not that I’m a loyalist to a certain production company or anything but I would be very wary or rushing to see any Bond film made outside of the usual family.
AJB: Any thoughts on possible future Bond actors?
Calvin: Right now, James Norton and Richard Madden would be my top picks but I highly doubt either will get the top job in the end. I look forward to it being someone I’ve never even considered!
Calvin: I think we saw something of a return to fun in Skyfall before it disappeared again in Spectre. But certainly given how Bond follows trends and a series like Marvel can be so successful dealing with high stakes and yet make an audience laugh without having them lose investment so I think the Bond films will try to incorporate more of that moving forward.
AJB: Would you be open to seeing any of the many James Bond continuation novels used more overtly in future Bond films?
Calvin: I’m only just coming to the end of reading the Fleming novels in my quest to read every official James Bond book so ask me again in a year or so after I’ve read some Gardner!
A big thank you to Calvin, and to our members above for the questions!
Him for taking the time to answer. I've enjoyed his videos for a long time. {[]
Although I'd advise him to only bother with the first five or six J Gardner, Bond novels.
It’s an interesting perspective to say that Bond is “choose your own hero” in certain ways due to the changing ways the character has been portrayed. Not something I had openly considered before but certainly true and essential to Bond’s continuing appeal and relevance. Also interesting from a, umm, somewhat younger viewer’s perspective that the portrayal of women has been positive in the last ten years or so. I’m not sure about Norton or Madden as next Bond though!
If my ageing memory serves me correctly, Michael Caine was talking to either Roger Moore or Sean Connery who said that Victor Maddern had been in their first movie. Caine replied that Maddern had been in everybody's first movie!