Stephen Fry is a big Bond fan, who likes quoting lines from the films back and forth with his friends - but I rather presumed Jim was joking.
Hugh Laurie has appeared in SPOOKS and written a well-received spy thriller.
When I first heard Fry mentioned here, I actually thought Laurie was the more qualified one of the two to write it. Still I'll try and keep an open mind if it's either of them even though both seem a little far-fetched, but I guess the same could probably have been said of Charlie Higson.
I actually suggested Hugh Laurie as my ideal candidate for the new novel quite a while back.. I thought
The Gun Seller was one of the smartest, most well-written spy thrillers I've ever read (including the Fleming novels!) and I think he'd do a fantastic job..
I love Stephen Fry's work as well, but I'm just not sure he can tame that wild vocabulary of his
Not that a Bond novel shouldn't be intellectual and smart, but there's a limit for it still to be fun and within character
I do think Fry is very Fleming-like though (in the sense that he seems more at home in an earlier era).. if the new novel is set in the past, he gets my vote..