Good stuff, @Napoleon Plural. I've sadly never yet written a letter to a newspaper. If I ever do I must sign the letter as David Dragonpol or how about Silhouette Mann? Sounds very exotic! 😀
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
That would be the worst nightmare ever ! Bond's shaving process in Fleming's novels is a wonderful habit I want to see the result in the movies, no matter the period. I don't give a damn to the fact the "new generation" identifies with bearded men because it's a modern trend. It's James Bond we are talking about ! I want to have this tradition of clean shave kept, otherwise I will consider it as an insult.
No matter the actor, he does what he wants in his private life, but on screen I expect some elegant gentleman wearing beautiful suits and incredibly well shaved.
We will never seen an unpolished Bond. We got a little bit briefly in SF when Bond was 'enjoying death' and a lot in DAD with the prologue but that's it. Part of Bond's character is being well groomed and well dressed. It's a big difference that sets him apart from everyone else. The idea that we'll suddenly get a hipster Bond with a man bun is...well, it's not going to happen.
I read that this morning and thought, 'Hmm, that's a reasonable POV. Not the usual carping Metro standard.' Oh, I wish you had signed it NP. That really would have brightened my morning.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,871MI6 Agent
Just to be clear I was of course being facetious there, @SeanIsTheOnlyOne. I totally agree that Bond should remain clean shaven and sharp looking as that is how Fleming depicted him and how the public imagines him. Bond's look is timeless and is not in any way influenced by the inevitably "shifting sands" nature of current trends.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Until he says yes, or something official comes out... In the meantime - I'm not against or for but, if I had to lean - I'd be for. I've heard the next Bond to be a woman, a black man, and then - of course - we'd have the token gay, and so on.
So, basically, ATJ, passes the "basic test". I'm scared this will come out wrong but, I just want Bond to be Bond. Same like if they took Uhura and made her white - wouldn't work for me. Bond drinks, gambles, womanizer - yup - I'll go to hell but, I'll have my Bond like that.
Now, ideally, I don't want him depressed or burnt - I want some crash-bang stuff. Make him nuts - with a car filled with gadgets. If he's got a mission in a particular city - I want the city in ruins when he leaves!
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,871MI6 Agent
New details of ATJ's 007 deal. He has a contract for three films and the plan is make a very grandiose announcement. The tone of the next era will be closer to that of the Pierce Brosnan days than the more 'realistic' films with Daniel Craig
This sounds like codswallop, especially the whole asking former Bonds to attend to 'pass the torch'. Why would she want to distract the attention away from ATJ if he indeed was the pick?
The mention to the Brosnan era seems quite irrelevant considering the few comments/interviews of Barbara Broccoli since the release of NTTD.
The 'pass the torch' concept is such a weird part of the article. We're not dealing with some electoral term and I hardly picture the four living 'time witnesses' united during a special event, with a thunder of applause to celebrate a brand new guy who has everything to prove and who will not necessarily be at ease. Furthermore, it would not match with the way the character is supposed to be received: James Bond is above everything, no matter his previous faces...
I think it has to. If you come back to the campy joky Roger Moore style, people won't like it. It's a sort of genie out of the bottle thing. People grow and change and so do we as a society. Roger Moore was a great guy - Unicerf and etc...but, his Bond today would be the Lazenby. Which...ironically, Lazenby today would get several movie deals.
My biggest wish though, is that we don't get another origin story. I just want the story to start with James Bond being James Bond. Pls - don't take 1 hour of the movie showing his adventures when he was Commander or something like that.
I think NTTD had a more of a campy Roger Moore vibe. Namely, Primo's eyeball, the DNA weapon, Valdo, the Cuba scenes, and Craig's performance being looser and more comical. However, it's obviously balanced out with the more serious beats.
I think that's true from Skyfall onwards to be honest; Craig's Bond got a bit more comfortable and humorous from Spectre. CR Bond would never have given those baddies that little wave at Sciara's funeral (nor would Dalton's: imagine how much better he'd have been with a bit of that stuff).
I know what you mean though that NTTD had some more slightly outrageous sci-fi stuff, which is fun.
And short - I'd like a film that comes in at two hours thereabouts.
I'd like nods to previous films kept to the barest minimum, almost as if they don't exist - similar to when Moore took over, we weren't treated to reminders of his Aston or Little Nellie. He had his own stuff.
Unfortunately it feels like the Bond films now represent the entire British film industry, so have to cater for everything, from David Lean to Carry On.
I found NTTD entertaining from Vesper's grave exploding to the moment we see Madeleine walking across St. James's Park to her office. As a matter of fact, most of the people who genuinely hate the movie seem to have big issues with the second half, not the first.
I agree, I think an origin story would be an artificial means to build the plot. When the stakes mainly consist in showing how you go from point A to point B with point B representing a status known to the audience, it's a lazy exercise. That's why I never enjoyed origin stories, no matter the universe. About Bond, the only (soft) origin story I give credit to is Forever and a day by Anthony Horowitz, simply because he's a wonderful author who knows exactly how to write a James Bond novel. I know some people love the Young Bond novels by Charlie Higson and Steve Cole, but would it work on screen ? I don't think so.
Comments
My letter in today's Metro! (I should have signed it NP, of course!)
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Good stuff, @Napoleon Plural. I've sadly never yet written a letter to a newspaper. If I ever do I must sign the letter as David Dragonpol or how about Silhouette Mann? Sounds very exotic! 😀
That would be the worst nightmare ever ! Bond's shaving process in Fleming's novels is a wonderful habit I want to see the result in the movies, no matter the period. I don't give a damn to the fact the "new generation" identifies with bearded men because it's a modern trend. It's James Bond we are talking about ! I want to have this tradition of clean shave kept, otherwise I will consider it as an insult.
No matter the actor, he does what he wants in his private life, but on screen I expect some elegant gentleman wearing beautiful suits and incredibly well shaved.
Nice work! And we're only a couple of miles from each other then 😊
We will never seen an unpolished Bond. We got a little bit briefly in SF when Bond was 'enjoying death' and a lot in DAD with the prologue but that's it. Part of Bond's character is being well groomed and well dressed. It's a big difference that sets him apart from everyone else. The idea that we'll suddenly get a hipster Bond with a man bun is...well, it's not going to happen.
I read that this morning and thought, 'Hmm, that's a reasonable POV. Not the usual carping Metro standard.' Oh, I wish you had signed it NP. That really would have brightened my morning.
Just to be clear I was of course being facetious there, @SeanIsTheOnlyOne. I totally agree that Bond should remain clean shaven and sharp looking as that is how Fleming depicted him and how the public imagines him. Bond's look is timeless and is not in any way influenced by the inevitably "shifting sands" nature of current trends.
Apart from when he slips on a voluminous pair of flares 😁
Well, yes, that's true. Plus the ties were generally much wider in the 1970s too.
I wold love it if the next Bond popped on a safari suit, completely non-ironically. Own it, James!
Until he says yes, or something official comes out... In the meantime - I'm not against or for but, if I had to lean - I'd be for. I've heard the next Bond to be a woman, a black man, and then - of course - we'd have the token gay, and so on.
So, basically, ATJ, passes the "basic test". I'm scared this will come out wrong but, I just want Bond to be Bond. Same like if they took Uhura and made her white - wouldn't work for me. Bond drinks, gambles, womanizer - yup - I'll go to hell but, I'll have my Bond like that.
Now, ideally, I don't want him depressed or burnt - I want some crash-bang stuff. Make him nuts - with a car filled with gadgets. If he's got a mission in a particular city - I want the city in ruins when he leaves!
The only problem would be that, as Alan Partridge once noted, "No one could wear a safari suit with the same degree of casuality as Roger Moore." 🙂
This is a phenomenal take. Couldn’t agree more.
The safari suit was passed on to the next 007 in NTTD 😁
I think Nomi carried the safari suit with almost the same degree of casuality as Moorebond.
New details of ATJ's 007 deal. He has a contract for three films and the plan is make a very grandiose announcement. The tone of the next era will be closer to that of the Pierce Brosnan days than the more 'realistic' films with Daniel Craig
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13225041/inside-aaron-taylor-johnson-james-bond-film-deal.html
Didn't Barbara Broccoli herself said the next iteration of the character would take the same path as Craig's ?
This sounds like codswallop, especially the whole asking former Bonds to attend to 'pass the torch'. Why would she want to distract the attention away from ATJ if he indeed was the pick?
Yes, I genuinely loved that. She looked cool in it!
I thought her wardrobe in that film was really nicely chosen: she looked sharp and cool and in control but still feminine.
I don't even have to click on that to know it's 100% made-up 😁
The next Bond era will be more Pierce Brosnan than Daniel Craig?! Well, that's something to really look forward to. 🙄
It would be nice if this was true, but I don't think it is.
'Unlikely' is a weak word to describe this.
The mention to the Brosnan era seems quite irrelevant considering the few comments/interviews of Barbara Broccoli since the release of NTTD.
The 'pass the torch' concept is such a weird part of the article. We're not dealing with some electoral term and I hardly picture the four living 'time witnesses' united during a special event, with a thunder of applause to celebrate a brand new guy who has everything to prove and who will not necessarily be at ease. Furthermore, it would not match with the way the character is supposed to be received: James Bond is above everything, no matter his previous faces...
I'm looking forward to when publications like Variety starts bringing news about James Bond, not outlets like The Sun and Daily Mail.
I think it has to. If you come back to the campy joky Roger Moore style, people won't like it. It's a sort of genie out of the bottle thing. People grow and change and so do we as a society. Roger Moore was a great guy - Unicerf and etc...but, his Bond today would be the Lazenby. Which...ironically, Lazenby today would get several movie deals.
My biggest wish though, is that we don't get another origin story. I just want the story to start with James Bond being James Bond. Pls - don't take 1 hour of the movie showing his adventures when he was Commander or something like that.
I think NTTD had a more of a campy Roger Moore vibe. Namely, Primo's eyeball, the DNA weapon, Valdo, the Cuba scenes, and Craig's performance being looser and more comical. However, it's obviously balanced out with the more serious beats.
I think that's true from Skyfall onwards to be honest; Craig's Bond got a bit more comfortable and humorous from Spectre. CR Bond would never have given those baddies that little wave at Sciara's funeral (nor would Dalton's: imagine how much better he'd have been with a bit of that stuff).
I know what you mean though that NTTD had some more slightly outrageous sci-fi stuff, which is fun.
I want something slick, intelligent and funny.
And short - I'd like a film that comes in at two hours thereabouts.
I'd like nods to previous films kept to the barest minimum, almost as if they don't exist - similar to when Moore took over, we weren't treated to reminders of his Aston or Little Nellie. He had his own stuff.
Unfortunately it feels like the Bond films now represent the entire British film industry, so have to cater for everything, from David Lean to Carry On.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I found NTTD entertaining from Vesper's grave exploding to the moment we see Madeleine walking across St. James's Park to her office. As a matter of fact, most of the people who genuinely hate the movie seem to have big issues with the second half, not the first.
I agree, I think an origin story would be an artificial means to build the plot. When the stakes mainly consist in showing how you go from point A to point B with point B representing a status known to the audience, it's a lazy exercise. That's why I never enjoyed origin stories, no matter the universe. About Bond, the only (soft) origin story I give credit to is Forever and a day by Anthony Horowitz, simply because he's a wonderful author who knows exactly how to write a James Bond novel. I know some people love the Young Bond novels by Charlie Higson and Steve Cole, but would it work on screen ? I don't think so.