4014 replies to this topic

[Agent 76]

In terms of looks, I think Turner strikes me as a cross between Dalton and Brosnan, and he certainly fits the bill to be a strong contender for the role.

 

we'll see how it goes

[Odd Jobbies]

 

At this point I'm starting to think Craig's time is over, and they're going to recast. 

 

That's the most wise direction forward, I think.  

 

 

Ye of little faith

 

Craig is a better Bond than we deserve and i'm sure he can still nail it if he decides to stay on for one more.

 

Like many a franchise it's perhaps the curse of bi-polar sequels - alternating in perceived quality. Who knows!

 

Talking to Turner now makes sense - he could take the role now if Craig steps aside and will do a fine job i'm sure - he can walk the wit and broodiness (though only Hardy could really fill Craig's shoes), but if Craig does one more, then Turner is young enough to do it in a few years time.

 

Another reason for the Turner rumour could be Eon an effort by Eon to haggle with Craig's fee. They've got form in this respect with Moore and Brolin. One could also view Craig's negative comments this way.

[tdalton]

 

 

At this point I'm starting to think Craig's time is over, and they're going to recast. 

 

That's the most wise direction forward, I think.  

 

 

Ye of little faith

 

Craig is a better Bond than we deserve and i'm sure he can still nail it if he stays on for one more.

 

What faith I did have in Craig went out the window when he said he'd rather slash his wrists than take my money to play make believe again.  I'd argue that he's not a better Bond than we deserve.  For those of us who essentially pay his salary, I'd say we deserve a Bond who at least has enough respect for us to not complain about getting paid millions of dollars to play make believe for a few months out of the year.  Quite frankly, it's insulting and I hope EON is moving on.  

 

And given his awful performance in Spectre, I'd say we deserve a Bond who is going to show up and give the solid performance we know he's capable of each and every time out, especially when his adoring public is chipping in roughly $2 billion in the last three years for something that he apparently hates doing.

Edited by tdalton, 16 March 2016 - 09:34 PM.

[SecretAgentFan]

Interesting - why did you think Craig delivered an awful performance in SPECTRE?

[thecasinoroyale]

I have to say, Craig is good - was great - but if he doesn't get EON to change this "moody and p***ed off Bond" rogue agent near enough then I'll welcome new blood and I think maybe the direction needs it because I forsee another personal vendetta in 'Bond 25' if he returns, and it'll be so much more "personal" with Blofeld now the step-brother and if Swann dies blah blah blah.

 

I don't know if I want someone akin to the people who look like a "typical" Bond, as in the sharp suits, slick black hair and smouldering eyes. That was Brosnan's gig back in the day and now that image is almost used as a pastiche for any and all things Bond. It looks too Fleming-esque for the man they're making today, but I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

 

I still don't know when Craig goes are they going to "continue" his timeline or change it all again for another new Bond world. I hope the former, which then means are we after another blonde Bond away from the jet-black hair style?

[Odd Jobbies]

Interesting - why did you think Craig delivered an awful performance in SPECTRE?

Ditto!  I thought he was superb in Spectre.

 

 

What faith I did have in Craig went out the window when he said he'd rather slash his wrists than take my money to play make believe again.  I'd argue that he's not a better Bond than we deserve.  For those of us who essentially pay his salary, I'd say we deserve a Bond who at least has enough respect for us to not complain about getting paid millions of dollars to play make believe for a few months out of the year.  Quite frankly, it's insulting and I hope EON is moving on.

 

 

I couldn't care less what he says off-screen. All i care about is his performance on-screen and i think he always gives 100%

[Dustin]

Up to a point I'm able to understand some of the anger about Craig's comments. Not so long ago I might have shared just these sentiments about an actor who ranges in the top ranks of his profession paycheque wise, yet seriously isn't able to grasp how his comments may sound to some of the audience. It would have seemed to me grossly disproportionate, lacking respect and common sense. Also somewhat unfair towards all those of us slogging away in our macjobs, the vast majority of us I'd wager.

But during the last few years I started seeing things a bit differently. I'm no longer convinced money makes a human being in any way significantly more happy; or that the presence of loads of cash - or whatever bling they buy with it - would necessarily add to the well-being of a man, any man (or woman, of course).

Since 2004 I've had the great luck of meeting a number of people whose concerns go far above and beyond mere financial matters, a couple of them very rich, perhaps even in the Craig league. Most of them what we might call modestly well-off. But some of them also quite poor, in a very basic and material sense. Yet I'm fairly sure most of these people would without a doubt immediately agree if I offered them the chance to trade their concerns for, phew, let's say one million in debt with a particularly nasty and repulsive loan shark. Why? Simply because their concerns would be easily managed then, even if it meant to work their a**es off for that figure for the rest of their lives.

You might say I became an atheist, I don't believe in money any more.

Since I made these observations it occurred to me even the very rich and privileged don't differ much from the ordinary Joe on the street. They have good days and bad days and a lot of soso days and everything in between. They moan and bitch about their job, their spouse, their lives just like everybody else does - even though we perhaps may think they have no reason to complain, the actor, the manager, the heir to the throne. Believe it or not, they are not different from us. For evidence see us chewing on this slash-my-wrists comment...

[Marcin]

Aidan Turner in talks to play Bond (allegedly): http://www.thesun.co...Bond-talks.html

Regarding the article. Is there any particular reason for him flying to LA at this point? Who would he talk to? Sony executives? MGM?

[SecretAgentFan]

Up to a point I'm able to understand some of the anger about Craig's comments. Not so long ago I might have shared just these sentiments about an actor who ranges in the top ranks of his profession paycheque wise, yet seriously isn't able to grasp how his comments may sound to some of the audience. It would have seemed to me grossly disproportionate, lacking respect and common sense. Also somewhat unfair towards all those of us slogging away in our macjobs, the vast majority of us I'd wager.

But during the last few years I started seeing things a bit differently. I'm no longer convinced money makes a human being in any way significantly more happy; or that the presence of loads of cash - or whatever bling they buy with it - would necessarily add to the well-being of a man, any man (or woman, of course).

Since 2004 I've had the great luck of meeting a number of people whose concerns go far above and beyond mere financial matters, a couple of them very rich, perhaps even in the Craig league. Most of them what we might call modestly well-off. But some of them also quite poor, in a very basic and material sense. Yet I'm fairly sure most of these people would without a doubt immediately agree if I offered them the chance to trade their concerns for, phew, let's say one million in debt with a particularly nasty and repulsive loan shark. Why? Simply because their concerns would be easily managed then, even if it meant to work their a**es off for that figure for the rest of their lives.

You might say I became an atheist, I don't believe in money any more.

Since I made these observations it occurred to me even the very rich and privileged don't differ much from the ordinary Joe on the street. They have good days and bad days and a lot of soso days and everything in between. They moan and bitch about their job, their spouse, their lives just like everybody else does - even though we perhaps may think they have no reason to complain, the actor, the manager, the heir to the throne. Believe it or not, they are not different from us. For evidence see us chewing on this slash-my-wrists comment...

 

Perfectly put - and so true.  Of course, there are those super rich people who behave as spoilt as can be.  But no money can buy true happiness, as corny as that sounds.

 

As for Craig - the "wrist slashing" is a quote taken out of context.  He was coming off months of hard work, with chronic pain from his injury, enduring a press junket (and if one has attended that kind of monstrosity, one cannot fault an actor for losing his patience since most "journalists" will ask questions like "Are you like James Bond in real life"? , "What´s your favorite colour?",  "How many times have you played Bond?").  

 

At that point, Craig was just tired and worn out.  He also says: Ask me again in a couple of months.  

 

I´d compare it to Connery around the time of shooting YOLT.  

[Orion]

More when Connery was doing Thunderball, but yeah, those press junkets are dire and literally the last thing you want to do after a 7 month shoot with a painful leg injury.

If Craig does return for Bond 25, here's hoping journalists have learnt after fifty years that following someone into a toilet to get a quote is not an OK thing to do...

As for the Scum's story, why would Turner go to LA? The only people who can make any sort of thoughts on Bond's future at the moment (as there is no studio who have a rep for the series to give an opinion) are EON's production staff, all of whom are situated in the UK.

[SecretAgentFan]

Well, Broccoli and Wilson might be in L.A. right now for talks with MGM about the new distributor - and surely the question has come up who could be Bond next should Craig retire.

 

Speaking of this - it will be very interesting to see whether WB, reportedly in the running as distributor, too, will get a major, universe-building (and justifying) hit with BATMAN V SUPERMAN next week - or whether the grosses will disappoint and end many plans and careers at WB.

 

If WB cannot sustain the DC franchises it will be desperately clawing for getting Bond.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Well, he does not mind colouring his hair - as Loki he pulls of the black hair pretty well.

True, but who wants an anemic-looking Bond? In general dark-haired people, especially men, are naturally swarthy, and changing a light-haired man into a dark-haired one just makes him look a bit anemic like Loki does.

[Odd Jobbies]

 

Well, he does not mind colouring his hair - as Loki he pulls of the black hair pretty well.

True, but who wants an anemic-looking Bond? In general dark-haired people, especially men, are naturally swarthy, and changing a light-haired man into a dark-haired one just makes him look a bit anemic like Loki does.

 

 

Well i've got black hair and i'm not at all swarthy, which is a fairly common combination in the those of Celtic origin (which, unless i'm mistaken is Bond's heritage).

 

However, us black-haried folk do look a damn sight better with a tan, so give me tropical beach and i'll happily get as swarthy as the next guy

[tdalton]

Interesting - why did you think Craig delivered an awful performance in SPECTRE?

 

He seemed to be on autopilot for the entire thing.  The intensity, as well as just about everything that made him a great Bond in the previous three films, was gone for me.  The traits that he and Connery share, for instance, like the fact that they both carry themselves with a degree of coolness, just wasn't there.  He was channeling Connery from You Only Live Twice, the bored and fed up Sean Connery who phoned that one in. 

 

I think that even if you take a look back at my initial review of the film, where I was generally positive about Spectre, I don't recall being particularly high on Craig.  For my money, Lea Seydoux is the only saving grace of the film.

 

As for his comments about the film, I don't see there being anything wrong with asking for a bit of professionalism from him.  That actually should be required of him this time around, seeing as he is a producer of Spectre.  He's not just the star.  You don't see Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli talking about wanting to slash their wrists after making a Bond film.  He holds the job of an executive on Spectre and should be expected to behave and represent EON/Sony/MGM as such, especially when working on their time.  That's not even taking into account that he has the tone-deafness to say that when he's being paid millions of dollars to play make believe, a salary that is coming from people who, many of them, don't have anything resembling financial security.  Going to see Spectre, for many, is probably a once-a-month diversion from the awfulness of every day life, where they get paid far less for doing much more important and demanding work than pretending to be a make believe character.  And his salary comes from those people, yet he talks about wanting to slash his wrists when there are people out there who have it far more difficult than he does, yet don't talk about such things.  I don't see what the problem is in holding what should be considered a fairly rational point of view.

 

That's just my $.02, for what it's worth.

[Harmsway]

I think Craig is giving 110% in SPECTRE. I don't think his performance comes off well, but that isn't his fault, necessarily. In every scene he's working hard to explore some unusual body language or deliver dialogue with a unique lilt. That's not coasting.

But he's a very internal actor. He's not capable of simply coasting on star quality; he's not a natural movie star. His charisma comes from his ability The script doesn't do a good job of giving Bond an internal life. So Craig, unable to tap into the character's mindset, can only give us the acting equivalent of window dressing.

[SecretAgentFan]

IMHO, Craig has never given less then his best during his Bond tenure.  

 

I also feel that SPECTRE gives Craig the broadest canvas yet: he is playful and ironic, he is tense and brooding, he is vulnerable and human.

 

And despite his "bloody hell, won´t give a damn"-behaviour in the press also becoming (or already being) his schtick, I welcome any actor to not immediately bow to the company line and give sunny confirmation how wonderful it was to work with everybody and how grateful he is to have this good luck to be handed this character.   That´s McCompany-fluff we´re being fed constantly and much too often.  Let the people be honest:  Damn, it was a nightmare to work through this!  Doesn´t mean the end result has not turned out great.

 

Also, Craig certainly knows how it is to barely scrape by, not knowing where the money for the rent will come from, waiting by the phone, being demoralized at auditions.  He wasn´t born with a silver spoon and has earned his way upwards.  It´s absolutely okay with me when he speaks his mind.

[tdalton]

Also, Craig certainly knows how it is to barely scrape by, not knowing where the money for the rent will come from, waiting by the phone, being demoralized at auditions.  He wasn´t born with a silver spoon and has earned his way upwards.  It´s absolutely okay with me when he speaks his mind.

 

That just makes his comments worse, to be honest.  

[Surrie]

 

Well, he does not mind colouring his hair - as Loki he pulls of the black hair pretty well.

True, but who wants an anemic-looking Bond? In general dark-haired people, especially men, are naturally swarthy, and changing a light-haired man into a dark-haired one just makes him look a bit anemic like Loki does.

 

 

Thank you for saying this. If Hiddleston is cast, then they need to keep his 'natural' hair colour. He does not look good with jet black/dark brown hair!

 

 

Also, Craig certainly knows how it is to barely scrape by, not knowing where the money for the rent will come from, waiting by the phone, being demoralized at auditions.  He wasn´t born with a silver spoon and has earned his way upwards.  It´s absolutely okay with me when he speaks his mind.

 

That just makes his comments worse, to be honest.  

 

 

Craig's comments obviously don't sit right with tdalton, and I do see his point. It's slightly insulting but at the same time refreshing to hear an honest opinion of how he feels, rather than the usual Hollywood bull! However, can we be sure he was honest? Maybe, this was a marketing ploy to get more to the cinema's if we thought this was going to be Craig's last outing. Just a thought.

[Mack59]

After watching the BBC adaptation John le Carré's "The Night Manager" I think that Tom Hiddleston would be able to tick all of the boxes as a future 007

Edited by Mack59, 18 March 2016 - 10:02 AM.

[Orion]

I find I don't really care about the actors' views on anything unless they stop the film to do it. If Bond had turned to camera midway through Thunderball to talk Scottish Independence it might have bothered me, but taking anything to said in a press interview to heart is never going to happen.
I've sat through these and most "journalists" spend their time trying to egg you on into getting a good click worthy headline, intentionally ignoring any off hand dry remarks and ignoring tone so the headline can take you at your word. Even the most patient people will get annoyed and slip up, it's why actors have started going in pairs to these press junkets, so the one can tag in when one is getting annoyed or frustrated by an obnoxious journalist. Even then they can still get caught out (see Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner's "sexist" remarks promoting the last Avengers - it was the journalist who was sexist, the actors made the mistake of replying dryly to mock him and the journalist quoted them as serious remarks so as to cause a furore)

[Skylla]

 

Interesting - why did you think Craig delivered an awful performance in SPECTRE?

 

He seemed to be on autopilot for the entire thing.  The intensity, as well as just about everything that made him a great Bond in the previous three films, was gone for me.  The traits that he and Connery share, for instance, like the fact that they both carry themselves with a degree of coolness, just wasn't there.  He was channeling Connery from You Only Live Twice, the bored and fed up Sean Connery who phoned that one in. 

 

I think that even if you take a look back at my initial review of the film, where I was generally positive about Spectre, I don't recall being particularly high on Craig.  For my money, Lea Seydoux is the only saving grace of the film.

 

As for his comments about the film, I don't see there being anything wrong with asking for a bit of professionalism from him.  That actually should be required of him this time around, seeing as he is a producer of Spectre.  He's not just the star.  You don't see Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli talking about wanting to slash their wrists after making a Bond film.  He holds the job of an executive on Spectre and should be expected to behave and represent EON/Sony/MGM as such, especially when working on their time.  That's not even taking into account that he has the tone-deafness to say that when he's being paid millions of dollars to play make believe, a salary that is coming from people who, many of them, don't have anything resembling financial security.  Going to see Spectre, for many, is probably a once-a-month diversion from the awfulness of every day life, where they get paid far less for doing much more important and demanding work than pretending to be a make believe character.  And his salary comes from those people, yet he talks about wanting to slash his wrists when there are people out there who have it far more difficult than he does, yet don't talk about such things.  I don't see what the problem is in holding what should be considered a fairly rational point of view.

 

That's just my $.02, for what it's worth.

 

I see. So how often have you been injured in your job the last few years (without proper time to heal because the work had to be finished on time) and never had the balls to curse about it?

[DaveBond21]

Watched a bit of the Night Manager last night. 

 

It has a Bondian feel to it. Tom Hiddleston seems good but he doesn't have the voice for Bond. He's not quite right.

[tdalton]

"I see. So how often have you been injured in your job the last few years (without proper time to heal because the work had to be finished on time) and never had the balls to curse about it?"

 

 

A couple of times, actually.

[Skylla]

 

"I see. So how often have you been injured in your job the last few years (without proper time to heal because the work had to be finished on time) and never had the balls to curse about it?"

 

 

A couple of times, actually.

 

and you never said something about it like Craig said in that interview, and remember he was laughing as he said it? You must be a true saint then....  

[DaveBond21]

 

 

"I see. So how often have you been injured in your job the last few years (without proper time to heal because the work had to be finished on time) and never had the balls to curse about it?"

 

 

A couple of times, actually.

 

and you never said something about it like Craig said in that interview, and remember he was laughing as he said it? You must be a true saint then....  

 

 

I imagine him to be like Frank Grimes from the Simpsons.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

[Surrie]

 

 

 

"I see. So how often have you been injured in your job the last few years (without proper time to heal because the work had to be finished on time) and never had the balls to curse about it?"

 

 

A couple of times, actually.

 

and you never said something about it like Craig said in that interview, and remember he was laughing as he said it? You must be a true saint then....  

 

 

I imagine him to be like Frank Grimes from the Simpsons.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

BEST. ANALOGY. EVER.

[DavidJones]

 

 

At this point I'm starting to think Craig's time is over, and they're going to recast. 

 

That's the most wise direction forward, I think.  

 

 

Ye of little faith

 

Craig is a better Bond than we deserve ..

 

 

 

I don't understand why some people make out that Craig is some sort of acting messiah and that we should all be grateful he accepted the part in the first place. He gives out that vibe himself when he says he's wanted to quit the role ever since he started etc. Like in the Skyfall press conference and he said, "It's too late to back out now."

 

All the other Bonds were glad to be given such a plum role. Craig's been kicking and screaming for years and I say fine, if he doesn't want it, he knows where the door is.

 

He's a crap Bond: he has one expression, which is pouting, and he has no charisma, which is what the character has always needed. And he's never looked natural in a suit. He looks like a Russian doorman. Or like he's crept up on someone in Chelsea one night, mugged them and nicked their tux.

Edited by DavidJones, 22 March 2016 - 02:58 PM.

[tdalton]

 

 

 

At this point I'm starting to think Craig's time is over, and they're going to recast. 

 

That's the most wise direction forward, I think.  

 

 

Ye of little faith

 

Craig is a better Bond than we deserve ..

 

 

 

I don't understand why some people make out that Craig is some sort of acting messiah and that we should all be grateful he accepted the part in the first place. He gives out that vibe himself when he says he's wanted to quit the role ever since he started etc. Like in the Skyfall press conference and he said, "It's too late to back out now."

 

All the other Bonds were glad to be given such a plum role. Craig's been kicking and screaming for years and I say fine, if he doesn't want it, he knows where the door is.

 

He's a crap Bond: he has one expression, which is pouting, and he has no charisma, which is what the character has always needed. And he's never looked natural in a suit. He looks like a Russian doorman. Or like he's crept up on someone in Chelsea one night, mugged them and nicked their tux.

 

 

While I don't agree with the last sentiment, as I do think that, overall, Craig has been a rather good Bond, the rest of this I very much agree with.

[Jim]

He looks like a Russian doorman.

 

 

The only Russian doorman I am aware of is the one at the Embassy from whom I obtain... certain other things. He's very good looking.

 

I'm assuming this is what was meant, and the observation was not one riddled with turgid, racist misery, but intended in loving, kindly spirit.

[DavidJones]

 

He looks like a Russian doorman.

 

 

The only Russian doorman I am aware of is the one at the Embassy from whom I obtain... certain other things. He's very good looking.

 

I'm assuming this is what was meant, and the observation was not one riddled with turgid, racist misery, but intended in loving, kindly spirit.

 

 

 

What's racist about saying he looks Russian? He does look Russian. And it's not even a different race.