537 replies to this topic

[Pussfeller]

I doubt we'll see anything as unconventional as flashbacks. This is already wrapping up to be a fairly daring film, with a new (potentially contentious) Bond actor, an adaptation of a Fleming script, new supporting characters, what have you. Since Visnjic is in his early thirties, he's already fairly young. I don't know if a flashback would work out.

[bryonalston]

By flashback, I mean a PTS that highlights Bond's early missions as described in the book. Since Bond was in his early 20's, I would probably find some teen hearthrob like Orlando Bloom to play young Bond, solely for publicity reasons, then just leave the whole young Bond thing there: an extended pre-credit sequence showing you how Bond got his 00 number. There. Simple. Then continue on with the rest of the movie with Visnjic and Bond.

[Pussfeller]

Interesting idea, but daring. As for Orlando Bloom, he does look vaguely like a young Visnjic, although his nose is blunter.





Remember, however, that the last time two actors played Bond in the same movie was in the 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale! If a flashback were inserted into the PTS of the new film, it might draw unfavourable comparisons with the campy 60's farce. Then again, it might be interpreted as a subtle homage to Charles K. Feldman's version. It would have to be done with the utmost skill, or it would look ridiculous and cast a pall over the entire film.

Edited by Pussfeller, 26 July 2005 - 10:01 AM.

[Skudor]

[quote name='lion-storm' date='24 July 2005 - 22:17']More news here:



http://www.sundaymir...-name_page.html


Personally, I'm all for Mr. Visnjic playing Bond.

[Pussfeller]

If anyone wants to see him in action, here's a site with a lot of ER video clips. Don't expect a British accent, though. His character is Croatian, so he'll be speaking with an accent. It's probably a fake accent, since he's apparently done a lot of "non-ethnic" roles (for lack of a better word). I've been looking for some non-ER clips, but so far I haven't found any.

On edit: Go to this link and you should find a bunch of clips related to Elektra. Near the bottom of the list, there's a clip called "Electra World Premiere". It's kind of boring to sit through, but it features a brief interview with Goran Visnjic, during which he doesn't put on an accent. At first, he seems kind of shaky, but he rapidly falls into a nearly flawless American accent. He has the intonation and everything. See for yourself. I figure if he can pull of an American accent, there's no reason he can't pull of a British one.

Edited by Pussfeller, 26 July 2005 - 10:51 AM.

[fatima]

Do you think Visnjic would be facing so much hostility if he had changed his name to say Fred Smith or something when he came to America? Then people would just be looking at him as TV actor Fred Smith, who happens to be of Croatian descent. I mean the posters are going to look a little odd saying: 'Goran Visjnic as British secret agent James Bond', are they not?

What's in a name, probably not much. But I know that the British tabloids at least will rip into the idea of a Croatian actor in a British institution (even if he is one of the best candidates for the part IMO)

[Loeffelholz]

Not hostility, just bemusement. All those fine Brit actors on that whopping great island, and they COULDN'T FINE ONE?!?!?

[Pussfeller]

How many actors do you think live in Britain? I mean, really, how many? It's not like they number in the millions. When you really narrow down the search parameters (he's gotta be over six foot, dark, handsome, dashing, threatening, within this age bracket, able to give a convincing performance, able to woo the ladies, and so on), there probably aren't all that many left, even if you go through the entire country. I assume they started out with a rather long list. They do have Cavill. He's British, and apparently a finalist.

It's just the luck of the draw, Loeffelholz. Perhaps there aren't any suitable British actors... Or maybe EON just hasn't found any that really jump out at them.

[Red Grant 15]

I don't know if anyone else but me has seen it but at www.onlybond.com there is this trailer of the "new bond",of course it's just the guys on the website fooling around, but it has clips of Clive Owen from that BMW web mini-series "the driver".And you can clearly tell that it was based on James Bond, they even admitted themselves at some point ,I think, but in anycase it works really well as a screen test for Clive Owen.You should check it out if you haven't already seen it.

[Pussfeller]

Fair enough, but what does that have to do with Goran Visnjic?

[Red Grant 15]

Nothing.I'm just saying that there are better actors to choose from that are actually british to play Bond instead of a croation.

[Pussfeller]

I like Clive Owen too, but I hardly think his nationality is of tremendous importance. People should judge Visnjic as an actor, and not blow him off just because he's a Croatian.

[Red Grant 15]

Look, I'm not bigoted against Croations, but I just think Bond should be British. I've seen Goran on ER before, and he has gotten tough on there before, and is somewhat the lady's man, so he may make an excellect Bond, I'm just worried about his accent.

[Seannery]

Loeffelholz, I agree that there undoubtedly are lots of British men who could play Bond, but why go to the trouble, if (and this is purely hypothetical, as Moomoo is quite possibly lying) the producers have already found a perfect candidate in Visnjic? It seems wasteful, irrational, even pig-headed, and certainly unfair, to demand that an actor be of a particular nationality, regardless of the time and expense involved in the search.

I'm sure there are tons of British men who could play James Bond, but if none of them have been found after this long, why should the producers waste more time looking for them? Why should they not cast Visnjic, if, as is apparently the case, he is a perfectly qualified candidate? If Visnjic is appropriate for the part, why should his nationality enter into things? It's not like he'd necessarily be cheaper. To say that the producers have "gone Croatian" isn't really fair. From what I hear (and I've yet to confirm this personally), he has a very good command of English, to an extent far surpassing the average Croatian! I say we should judge him on his own merits, and not throw him out because we think he "must" have an accent.

At any rate, I'm going to watch ER tomorrow (well, to be accurate, I intend to leave it on while I do something else), and I suggest you do the same. I'll reserve my final judgment for when I've heard this guy. I doubt either of us has seen him in action, or heard his voice.

You're right this is just hypothetical--the poster that originally claimed that Goran was announced as Bond now says the radio station was making a joke. In otherwords Goran isn't Bond and no one has said he is Bond.


And to interupt this pro-Goran dialogue with Pussfeller and Bryonalston--I have to say Goran would be a bad choice as Bond. I've now watched him a number of times on ER and seen him in Elecktra, Welcome to Sarajevo and part of Spartacus and he comes across with a soft blank presence with no Bond dash--you either have that or you don't and I've seen him enough in a variety of scenes and roles to clearly see that. And his vaunted tall dark looks are not Bondian--there is something off about them that doesn't fit Bond. I don't care if he is Croation or not--I care if he fits Bond and to me he so clearly does not. I don't think we will end up with him as Bond anyway.

[Red Grant 15]

I agree.We can't be sure they are even looking at him to play Bond.

[luciusgore]

Look, I'm not bigoted against Croations, but I just think Bond should be British. I've seen Goran on ER before, and he has gotten tough on there before, and is somewhat the lady's man, so he may make an excellect Bond, I'm just worried about his accent.

He would absolutely need to wipe out any Croation accent to do the role. He'd have to be very convincing as a Brit. He certainly looks the part.

[Red Grant 15]

He may look like Bond, but I don't think he could act or sound like Bond.

[k13oharts]

He would absolutely need to wipe out any Croation accent to do the role. He'd have to be very convincing as a Brit. He certainly looks the part.

And to convince is all part of being an actor/actress.

[Red Grant 15]

Yeah, but I don't think is that good of an actor, just my opinion though.

[Pussfeller]

I'm watching him in ER right now and I think he has a very light accent, often nonexistent (and it's obviously a put-on, because he speaks without an accent in interviews). He has definite Bond potential, though he hasn't had that enough English-language roles to demonstrate it. His character on ER isn't very Bondian, but he does have a strong, looming, genuine screen presence that reminds me of Connery. Anyway, I get the impression that he'd be a drastically different Bond, but perhaps a great Bond.

If you don't see it, then I can't blame you for not wanting him. But as for myself, I'm won over. I think Visnjic is a very promising candidate. Now we'll have to see if EON thinks so.

[Red Grant 15]

Hey, you may be completly right, he could make a great Bond, but at this point I think there are better canidates than him.

[Pussfeller]

You may be right as well, Red Grant. I personally favor Gerard Butler, but we'll have to see who EON picks. Something tells me we may be in for a surprise.

[Red Grant 15]

I'll agree with that, we probably are going to be surprised by who they pick.

[Skudor]

Considering that Goran was the least surprising name of that infamous list of four, I reckon we are going to be surprised. Very surprised.

[luciusgore]

He may look like Bond, but I don't think he could act or sound like Bond.

Maybe true. But there are some seriously talented actors out there who could pull it off. It's just a question if he's one of them. If there's even a hint of a Croation accent he wouldn't be right. But he looks good.

[Loeffelholz]

If we're going to cast a truly international net for 007, since there seem to be only a few in the entire UK (!) who fit the rather generic physical requirements (6'1"-6'2", good looking, dark hair), let's head further into the former Eastern Bloc nations: Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland...these places must be positively crawling with potential 007s...

[bryonalston]

I agree Loeffelholz. Maybe it's a British pet-peeve to have non-Brits playing British characters (i.e., Renee Zellweger,) but it's not really THAT big of a deal if Bond isn't British. Bond doesn't look like the typical British male anyways, which definitely narrows down the actors who could play him. Goran Visnjic looks the part, has the acting chops and TALENT, (something that Brosnan was lacking) to play the part, and already has a fanbase. Hell, he's as famous as Clive Owen was before 'Closer' and look how popular Owen became amongst fans. This time two years ago, the two main candidates were Owen and Jackman, and almost everyone said that Owen looked like a troll and had NO CHANCE...look at where he is now...TOO GOOD for Bond. Visnjic is like Owen. The right part will get him recognition, and his future is right over the horizon, and hopefully, that where the 007 role will be waiting for him.

BTW, I think that it's pretty pathetic that all of the Goran-phobes can only think of TWO reasons as to why he shouldn't be Bond (1. He's not British / 2. He has a thick, Croatian Accent (which he doesn't)) If you're going to strongly protest against him, you should at least think of better reasons to disqualify him as being Bond # 6.

[Pal]

Well why not Canada then?

[bryonalston]

Why not? It doesn't matter where the actor was born, as long as they look the part and do a good job acting the part. All of this Xenophobia against Visnjic is shocking..., positively shocking...

[Bondian]

Excellent post bryonalston.

I would like to add that I'm a Brit, but I wouldn't go "up in arms" if a Croatian, American, Africano etc was cast as James Bond as long as he was 100% convincing in the role.

Why not? It doesn't matter where the actor was born, as long as they look the part and do a good job acting the part. All of this Xenophobia against Visnjic is shocking..., positively shocking...