Sony email leaks: Studio head wants Idris Elba as the next James Bond
136 replies, posted
tbh I want to see Idris Elba play James Bond not because "oh it's really cool that they're being diversity inclusive and simultaneously playing up the 'James Bond is a codename' theory" but because he's [I]Idris Fucking Elba[/I] and he was fucking [I]brilliant[/I] in Luther
A lot of people here are saying that James Bond is just a codename in the films but that's just a theory. The Bond films actually have an incoherent continuity where characters change actors all the time. For a few of many examples: Felix Leiter went through multiple portrayals during the Connery era, and in Diamonds Are Forever (Connery post-Lazenby) Blofeld is played by a minor character from the previous Connery film. In OHMSS, Moneypenny, Q and M all treated Lazenby's Bond as the same character and referenced his pursuit of Blofeld since the last film, but neither of the two men had even met face to face. Tracy Bond dies at the end of that film but both Moore and Dalton's Bonds say they were married to her. The only exceptions to this continuity are the Daniel Craig films, with Casino Royale acting as a reboot explaining how Bond earned his 007 codename.
Anyway, isn't Craig contractually obligated to do another film or two? It could be years before we see an Elba Bond, but even then he'll be in his mid-forties and may not keep the role for too long before he's too old for it.
[QUOTE=Dr. Fishtastic;46760390]tbh I want to see Idris Elba play James Bond not because "oh it's really cool that they're being diversity inclusive and simultaneously playing up the 'James Bond is a codename' theory" but because he's [I]Idris Fucking Elba[/I] and he was fucking [I]brilliant[/I] in Luther[/QUOTE]
I'm with this guy. That would be awesome.
i mean there's nothing NECESSARILY wrong with it but i'm just personally not really a fan of randomly changing characters' orientation, sex, race, any of that.
Elba's a great actor, it'd probably be fine, anyhow.
[QUOTE=AK'z;46758524]the Craig era is already miles better than Brosnan.[/QUOTE]
really?
even quantum of polish was better than dead another day.
[QUOTE=Korova;46755197]Not sure how I feel about this.
[/QUOTE]
You feel FUCK YES about it.
[QUOTE=Killergam;46758876]Ok, we can have a black james bond if we can have a white Django.[/QUOTE]
Of all the characters you could pick, you chose the one whose blackness is an integral part of the character itself.
If you wanted a better argument you could've said a white Blade or Agent J.
James Bond isn't black? I mean, I'm aware of the [I]James Bond is a codename[/I] theory, but this just seems like racial appropriation to reach out to a new audience.
[QUOTE=barrab;46762623]James Bond isn't black? I mean, I'm aware of the [I]James Bond is a codename[/I] theory, but this just seems like racial appropriation to reach out to a new audience.[/QUOTE]
James Bond is a suave, handsome badass. He's a male power fantasy role. Guys look at themselves in a mirror with a tux on and imagine the James Bond theme in their heads.
Idris has THAT about him more so than other actor I can really think. It doesn't matter that he's black, that's not the point. Each bond actor brings their own personality with them to Bond. I think an Idris bond will be much more interesting and charismatic than the Craig bond, that is for sure. Idris playing bond would have a much warmer, powerful feel to the character. Craig was just much too cold and robotic for my tastes, it works for the darker, edgier movies they were going for I guess.
Also I do not subscribe myself to the Codename Theory, James Bond movies are just pulp-spy movies, the overall plot continuity isn't as important as what's happening individually in the movies themselves. I kind of like to think each bond actor is in it's own continuity, despite reoccurring elements sometimes. But hey it doesn't even matter.
[QUOTE=BenJammin';46762643]James Bond is a suave, handsome badass. He's a male power fantasy role. Guys look at themselves in a mirror with a tux on and imagine the James Bond theme in their heads.
Idris has THAT about him more so than other actor I can really think. It doesn't matter that he's black, that's not the point. Each bond actor brings their own personality with them to Bond. I think an Idris bond will be much more interesting and charismatic than the Craig bond, that is for sure. Idris playing bond would have a much warmer, powerful feel to the character. Craig was just much too cold and robotic for my tastes, it works for the darker, edgier movies they were going for I guess.
Also I do not subscribe myself to the Codename Theory, James Bond movies are just pulp-spy movies, the overall plot continuity isn't as important as what's happening individually in the movies themselves. I kind of like to think each bond actor is in it's own continuity, despite reoccurring elements sometimes. But hey it doesn't even matter.[/QUOTE]
I just feel like it's taking some extreme liberties with the character. I agree with what you're saying, but I think that rather than using James Bond as a vehicle for Idris' suave, handsome, badass (had to stop to reminisce Stringer for a moment then) traits, it seems more logical to create a new character rather than modifying James Bond's white alpha-male archetype.
Idris as a supporting character, who ends up saving James or even saving the day while James Bond deals with personal battles, would be a fucking awesome film though.
[QUOTE=barrab;46762741]I just feel like it's taking some extreme liberties with the character. I agree with what you're saying, but I think that rather than using James Bond as a vehicle for Idris' suave, handsome, badass (had to stop to reminisce Stringer for a moment then) traits, it seems more logical to create a new character rather than modifying James Bond's white alpha-male archetype.
Idris as a supporting character, who ends up saving James or even saving the day while James Bond deals with personal battles, would be a fucking awesome film though.[/QUOTE]
Being white was never an important characteristic of Bond. What made Bond was the suave personality, the cool gadgets, the exotic locales, and the exciting plots.
[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;46762778]Being white was never an important characteristic of Bond. What made Bond was the suave personality, the cool gadgets, the exotic locales, and the exciting plots.[/QUOTE]
I'm aware Bond was created in a time where a black hero was out of the question, but that doesn't change the fact that Ian Fleming's original design for the character was:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Fleming007impression.jpg/220px-Fleming007impression.jpg[/img][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg/220px-Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg[/img]
[quote=Wikipedia]Fleming decided that Bond should resemble both American singer Hoagy Carmichael and himself[/quote]
It doesn't matter that being white isn't an important feature of Bond, it matters that it is a feature of his character. I mean, now his childhood has been solidified in Skyfall, why change it?
For example, it'd be slightly ridiculous to change say Gordon Freeman to a black man even though you don't even see his skin. It wouldn't make a difference, but it would essentially be changing the character. It'd be like gender swapping the character.
[QUOTE=J!NX;46758461]you people seem to care a little too much about race to be honest
I'm wondering how many of you are being genuinely racist, and how many of you simply believe in a stories consistency[/QUOTE]
dunno why you're jumping to the race card. It's not super hard to follow that James Bond as a character has a distinctive look of a middle-aged, tall, tanned, handsome white dude. Dudes a great actor and I'm sure he'd do a good job, but it's not hard to understand why people are curious about the race thing.
[editline]21st December 2014[/editline]
I don't care personally if bond becomes black suddenly one way or the other, but there's no need to start calling people racists
[QUOTE=barrab;46762805]I'm aware Bond was created in a time where a black hero was out of the question, but that doesn't change the fact that Ian Fleming's original design for the character was:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Fleming007impression.jpg/220px-Fleming007impression.jpg[/img][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg/220px-Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg[/img]
It doesn't matter that being white isn't an important feature of Bond, it matters that it is a feature of his character. I mean, now his childhood has been solidified in Skyfall, why change it?
For example, it'd be slightly ridiculous to change say Gordon Freeman to a black man even though you don't even see his skin. It wouldn't make a difference, but it would essentially be changing the character. It'd be like gender swapping the character.[/QUOTE]Gordon Freeman hasn't been played by numerous actors. And there is really nothing that says Gordon has to be white. Ian Flemming probably didn't imagine most of the people who would play Bond as actually playing him when he created the character. Being white is not a feature of Bond.
He shouldn't play it just because "we want to be more ethnically diverse" - that's just weak. It should be because he [I]can[/I] play the role in the first place.
I'm still on the "Idris Bond" bandwagon. I'd love to see his take on the role. I'm also okay with Clive Owen as Bond, that'd be pretty interesting.
[QUOTE=barrab;46762805]I'm aware Bond was created in a time where a black hero was out of the question, but that doesn't change the fact that Ian Fleming's original design for the character was:
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Fleming007impression.jpg/220px-Fleming007impression.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg/220px-Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
So... Mark Strong, with hair?
[img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/M9AGoUJ.jpg[/img_thumb]
Nobody mentioned it yet, but I think Tom Hiddleston would make a *terrific* Bond.
[editline]21st December 2014[/editline]
Scratch that - Michael Fassbender would be amazing too. Just imagine this scene, as him being Bond. He'd nail it.
[hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LFtoz9sERo[/hd]
[editline]21st December 2014[/editline]
[I]"-Well, if this is it, old boy, I hope you don't mind if I go out speaking the King's."[/I]
His delivery was amazing.
I'm kind of mixed about this. I love Idris Elba as an actor, and really I think he'd be quite brilliant in the role. My only problem is that it sounds like more of Hollywood's political banter as an effort to draw in audiences, and therefore money. This doesn't go for race alone (for instance, [I]Annie[/I], the new [I]Fantastic Four[/I] has Sue and Johnny as an interracial adoptive siblings, and Jamie Foxx's Electro in [I]The Amazing Spider-Man 2[/I] to name a few), but also applies to gender (Not sure if it's beyond rumors but Robin in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] is said to be a woman, the series [I]Elementary[/I] about Sherlock Holmes has Watson played by Lucy Liu), sexuality (Disney is said to be working on an animated movie about two young princes that fall in love with each other) and modern trends (Both Lex Luthor in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] and the [I]Fantastic Four[/I] reboot are said to be internet moguls a la Mark Zuckerman types of billionaires), or even Star Power ([I]World War Z[/I] comes to mind. What reason did Brad Pitt have to be in the movie (that is already watered down from the source material, mind you) where a lesser named actor couldn't fill the role, other than to further sell the movie with his namesake? Likewise how Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are among the highest demanded celebrities and therefore are trying to be put in everything).
Whether or not these changes help or hinder a movie is debatable, but nonetheless, it is apparent that the media, especially Hollywood, loves to make these executive decisions. It often just feels like needless amounts of "It's a new age, we're progressive. You don't like it because you're a racist/misogynist/homophone/conservative purist. When, really, it's none of those. They seem more like contrived means as to being ~progressive~ or ~New Age~ without any real call for it.
That being said, I say again, I do believe Idris Elba would make a good Bond simply because he's a very versatile actor whom I really do enjoy watching. Personally, I'd be interested in seeing Damien Lewis as Bond at some time. Lewis is very underrated actor as is, but he could potentially put Bond into a 'slower-paced' Bond movie of espionage (more akin to the classic Sean Connery Bond in Goldfinger) as opposed to the over-the-top action Bonds that have been in years passed.
Didn't he say this?
“It’s a rumor…I just don’t want to be the black James Bond. Sean Connery wasn’t the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn’t the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don’t want to be called the black James Bond.''
[QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-;46763096]I'm kind of mixed about this. I love Idris Elba as an actor, and really I think he'd be quite brilliant in the role. My only problem is that it sounds like more of Hollywood's political banter as an effort to draw in audiences, and therefore money. This doesn't go for race alone (for instance, [I]Annie[/I], the new [I]Fantastic Four[/I] has Sue and Johnny as an interracial adoptive siblings, and Jamie Foxx's Electro in [I]The Amazing Spider-Man 2[/I] to name a few), but also applies to gender (Not sure if it's beyond rumors but Robin in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] is said to be a woman, the series [I]Elementary[/I] about Sherlock Holmes has Watson played by Lucy Liu), sexuality (Disney is said to be working on an animated movie about two young princes that fall in love with each other) and modern trends (Both Lex Luthor in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] and the [I]Fantastic Four[/I] reboot are said to be internet moguls a la Mark Zuckerman types of billionaires), or even Star Power ([I]World War Z[/I] comes to mind. What reason did Brad Pitt have to be in the movie (that is already watered down from the source material, mind you) where a lesser named actor couldn't fill the role, other than to further sell the movie with his namesake? Likewise how Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are among the highest demanded celebrities and therefore are trying to be put in everything).
Whether or not these changes help or hinder a movie is debatable, but nonetheless, it is apparent that the media, especially Hollywood, loves to make these executive decisions. It often just feels like needless amounts of "It's a new age, we're progressive. You don't like it because you're a racist/misogynist/homophone/conservative purist. When, really, it's none of those. They seem more like contrived means as to being ~progressive~ or ~New Age~ without any real call for it.
That being said, I say again, I do believe Idris Elba would make a good Bond simply because he's a very versatile actor whom I really do enjoy watching. Personally, I'd be interested in seeing Damien Lewis as Bond at some time. Lewis is very underrated actor as is, but he could potentially put Bond into a 'slower-paced' Bond movie of espionage (more akin to the classic Sean Connery Bond in Goldfinger) as opposed to the over-the-top action Bonds that have been in years passed.[/QUOTE]
I feel the same way, and it's annoying to no end, because it's fueled by political correctness, and I'm pretty fucking tired of it. Just google the "controversy" around Idris Elba as Heimdall, the Norse god in the Thor movies. [url=http://comicsalliance.com/racists-thor-idris-ebla-racism/]Plenty of racists freaked out about it[/url], because their reasoning is that a black man has no place whatsoever in Norse mithology.
[url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/apr/27/idris-elba-thor-race-debate]He acknowledged those remarks[/url], and this was his reply:
[quote]“There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?” he told TV Times. “Hang about, Thor’s mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That’s OK, but the colour of my skin is wrong? “I was cast in Thor and I’m cast as a Nordic god,” he said. “If you know anything about the Nords, they don’t look like me but there you go. I think that’s a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that, and I think that’s good.”[/quote]
Having said that, he did a terrific job as Heimdall and I'd love to see him as Bond!
[QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-;46763096]I'm kind of mixed about this. I love Idris Elba as an actor, and really I think he'd be quite brilliant in the role. My only problem is that it sounds like more of Hollywood's political banter as an effort to draw in audiences, and therefore money. This doesn't go for race alone (for instance, [I]Annie[/I], the new [I]Fantastic Four[/I] has Sue and Johnny as an interracial adoptive siblings, and Jamie Foxx's Electro in [I]The Amazing Spider-Man 2[/I] to name a few), but also applies to gender (Not sure if it's beyond rumors but Robin in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] is said to be a woman, the series [I]Elementary[/I] about Sherlock Holmes has Watson played by Lucy Liu), sexuality (Disney is said to be working on an animated movie about two young princes that fall in love with each other) and modern trends (Both Lex Luthor in [I]Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice[/I] and the [I]Fantastic Four[/I] reboot are said to be internet moguls a la Mark Zuckerman types of billionaires), or even Star Power ([I]World War Z[/I] comes to mind. What reason did Brad Pitt have to be in the movie (that is already watered down from the source material, mind you) where a lesser named actor couldn't fill the role, other than to further sell the movie with his namesake? Likewise how Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender are among the highest demanded celebrities and therefore are trying to be put in everything).
Whether or not these changes help or hinder a movie is debatable, but nonetheless, it is apparent that the media, especially Hollywood, loves to make these executive decisions. It often just feels like needless amounts of "It's a new age, we're progressive. You don't like it because you're a racist/misogynist/homophone/conservative purist. When, really, it's none of those. They seem more like contrived means as to being ~progressive~ or ~New Age~ without any real call for it.
That being said, I say again, I do believe Idris Elba would make a good Bond simply because he's a very versatile actor whom I really do enjoy watching. Personally, I'd be interested in seeing Damien Lewis as Bond at some time. Lewis is very underrated actor as is, but he could potentially put Bond into a 'slower-paced' Bond movie of espionage (more akin to the classic Sean Connery Bond in Goldfinger) as opposed to the over-the-top action Bonds that have been in years passed.[/QUOTE]
Just to point out, Batman vs. Superman is in part largely inspired (at least visually) by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which did actually feature a female Robin, Carrie Kelly. If they do use her in the movie, then that's just another thing they've borrowed from TDKR, not some "Hey what if we made Robin a woman to show how inclusive and diverse we are?" deal.
Idris Elba would be fucking fantastic, I don't know why everyone's all spooked about it.
How the fuck is everyone in this thread ok with bond suddenly turning black and yet the thread last summer about spiderman going black had people shit-flipping
Facepunch you seriously confuse me
I don't care enough about this sort of thing but it does annoy me from time to time
It's not really a hard argument IMO..cut through all the fluff and waffle people spout to make them seem more tolerant and it comes down to one thing..why can't he be black? because james bond isn't black.
Working in media you hear this jumping on the racial bandwagon record all the time.
"how's about we make your character mexican!"
"because thats not his character"
"but what if it was"
"the character i wrote lives in 1600 England ..I dont give a fuck about whatever points your trying to score on the look how tolerant i am game...there were no fucking mexicans in 1600 england"
"but tolerance"
"i'm leaving"
But of course anybody who dissagree's must be a racist so they get drowned out by the unanimous sound of people nodding as fast as they can and before you know it your favorite character goes from mysterious jack the ripper character trying to control the voices in his head to a mary sue chris rock making slavery jokes every scene.
Sorry for the rant..but sometimes i think I'm the only one with any balls to say anything
Sure this guy would be great as bond and your right..its just a skin colour ...but bonds character isn't black. The only reason the actors change in the first place is the original's got too old for it.
Now it seems more of a money thing to keep changing actors but originally anyway
[QUOTE=mini me;46763699]How the fuck is everyone in this thread ok with bond suddenly turning black and yet the thread last summer about spiderman going black had people shit-flipping[/QUOTE]
because it's not the same people?
if it is though that'd be pretty funny and dumb of them
[QUOTE=axelord157;46758211]"James Bond travels all around the world, sleeps with dozens of beautiful women, stops global domination plots, and has access to hundreds of secret high-tech gadgets and cars; But my suspension of disbelief ends when the actor is black."
This is exactly what you sound like. Does Exodus: G&K's mainly white cast bother you at all for a story taking place in the Middle East?[/QUOTE]
Actually watching Troy last week (beyond it being tripe), it annoyed me that everyone were played by Americans. Generally it annoys me when the language spoken isn't the language of the country.
I wouldn't mind Idris as James Bond, though - sure, I think of Bond as a white Brit, but the franchise has been through loads of shit decisions, so why not make a change that will at the very least benefit a minority? If Idris is good (haven't really seen him beyond the Old Spice commercials), give him the role - it's not like Bond is a historical person anyway, he's just traditionally been white.
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;46763845]Actually watching Troy last week (beyond it being tripe), it annoyed me that everyone were played by Americans. Generally it annoys me when the language spoken isn't the language of the country.
I wouldn't mind Idris as James Bond, though - sure, I think of Bond as a white Brit, but the franchise has been through loads of shit decisions, so why not make a change that will at the very least benefit a minority? [B]If Idris is good (haven't really seen him beyond the Old Spice commercials)[/B], give him the role - it's not like Bond is a historical person anyway, he's just traditionally been white.[/QUOTE]
That's not Idris Elba, you're thinking of Isaiah Mustafa... or Terry Crews.
[QUOTE=Bread_Baron;46763889]That's not Idris Elba, you're thinking of Isaiah Mustafa... or Terry Crews.[/QUOTE]
Terry cruise would be a less subtle Bond that's for damn sure
[QUOTE=Bread_Baron;46763889]That's not Idris Elba, you're thinking of Isaiah Mustafa... or Terry Crews.[/QUOTE]
fuck me
Shows how much I haven't watched him in movies. Anyway, they don't look too far apart and I don't really know any of them. Just looked up Idris Elba on Google Images before my post and assumed it was him. Looking at his IMDB page I realize I saw him in Prometheus two years ago, but come on. Also, Isaiah would be a smooth as fuck Bond, so don't judge me.
i would suck that man off i think maybe
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;46763043]Scratch that - Michael Fassbender would be amazing too. Just imagine this scene, as him being Bond. He'd nail it.
[hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LFtoz9sERo[/hd]
[editline]21st December 2014[/editline]
[I]"-Well, if this is it, old boy, I hope you don't mind if I go out speaking the King's."[/I]
His delivery was amazing.[/QUOTE]
michael fassbender seems perfect from the outset but i'm not sure how much there would be for him to work with for bond, unless they did a lazenby kind of thing and made him a more tragic character (or something with similar depth to it). he's a stellar actor but i'm just not seeing the action hero simplicity we got from all the previous actors. imho the films would have to get far more cerebral and much less actionized before he would fit
Despite his perfect acting personality, I don't think Idris Elba is the best fit for Bond, but not because he's black per se. Bond was written to represent the idealistic social concept of the landed English gentry of the turn of the century, projected into the Cold War. His characterization as a suave, knowledged, respectable, and above all honorable gentleman is the continuation of the social construct of the British upper class. You can find a lot of characters similar to Bond in earlier (especially Victorian) works, where they usually take the role of a military officer (which has in turn been parodied, for example the Flashman series of the '70s), but with the end of WW2 and the start of the Cold War the fashionable trend was to write that sort of character as a spy rather than a soldier. A character meant to evoke that archetype basically has to be white, male, and British because it's exclusively a white, male, and British historical trope.
I think, barring the hardcore racists and the Fleming purists, the vast majority of people who object to casting a black character as Bond do so because a black Bond doesn't really reflect the social context for the character archetype, and that's hard to articulate without seeming racist.
Personally I don't care about who they choose for Bond because the last thirty years of cinema have already broken from Fleming's work, but I can see where the complaints come from.
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