467 replies to this topic

[tdalton]

Don't get me wrong, Dalton is my favorite Bond. But no matter how much Craig can act the part like Dalton, I refuse to accept his looks/body frame as Bond Material. I believe Owen is the better choice to follow in Dalton's footsteps. But back to Felix, Mike Varton would be a great choice as well. Has anyone out there heard of an actor named Gabriel Macht? He played Frank James in American Outlaws with Colin Farrel. He may be too physically big but a solid choice nonetheless.

Never heard of Gabriel Macht, but going with an unknown would be a good decision for Felix since that character shouldn't overshadow James Bond.

BTW, Clive was my first choice as well, but once it appeared that he was definitely out of the picture, I stopped focusing on him and lobbying for him to get the role.

[Spoon]

Vartan is French, and I do think it should be an American.

[tdalton]

Vartan is French, and I do think it should be an American.

I think that he looks American enough to the point that it wouldn't be a concern. Of course, I could be wrong, but I don't see where that would be a problem.

[Spoon]

Well, it's tough to "look American"; America's an ethnic melting pot, so it's difficult to say what one looks like. I think it only makes sense, though, that the actor be an American. He represents America in the Bond world, as it were.

In any event, one can certainly look like a straw-haired, good-ol'-boy type Texan, and I don't think that Vartan or most of the other candidates mentioned here look like that. So I'm thinking of candidates who do look like that, and are American. Owen Wilson would be good if you see Felix as a comedy role, or Anthony Michael Hall if you're concerned about Felix overshadowing Bond (or if Bond is Brosnan, thus requiring an older actor.) I would like to see the Jack Lord-Dr. No type Felix, though; someone who, although he plays things more "by the book" than Bond, you can still easily envision having Bond-type adventures on his own. I think it makes Bond cooler, not less cool, to have that type of ally. So that's why I pick Lucas.

Edited by Spoon, 03 October 2005 - 04:23 AM.

[dinovelvet]

Vartan is French, and I do think it should be an American.

Half French, half American. He sounds American but speaks fluent French, so maybe he could play Rene Mathis !

[tdalton]

Vartan is French, and I do think it should be an American.

Half French, half American. He sounds American but speaks fluent French, so maybe he could play Rene Mathis !

That wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

Then maybe we'd get both Gary Sinise & Michael Vartan (my two top choices for Felix) in the film.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Always been an ardent supporter of Robert Patrick and/or Bruce Campbell in regards to who should fill Felix's shoes (wheelchair?).

Val Kilmer would also do a decent job if he wasn't so high-profile.

[Pal]

Robert Patrick is a very good suggestion. I'd love to see him as a main villain in Bond 22 or 23 perhaps.

[Pussfeller]

If they were going to take it in a Jack Lord-ish direction, Patrick would be an excellent choice.

[sam29]

I think they should replace Felix in Casino Royale and bring in a new CIA character who is Bonds new Friend and will help Bond out in other films. Also they should get the same actor to play the Character. Like they did with Jack Wade.

[mcsearg]

Didnt Bond meet Felix for the first time on Dr No? I dont think he going to be in the movie..

[spynovelfan]

Didnt Bond meet Felix for the first time on Dr No? I dont think he going to be in the movie..

Did you read sam29's post? Thought not.

I don't like the idea of a new CIA agent myself. Leiter and Mathis don't do very much in the novel anyway. I'd just use Mathis.

[FelixLeiter]

I have seen many threads concerning who should play who, giving regards to Vesper, LeChiffre and others? But what about the characters who makes more appearances in the field on Bond's adventures than any other character? That's right, I speak of course of the straw haired Texan, Felix Leiter. His description more or less gives Felix the image of being tall and very thin, his clothes fitting him loosely. He wore a mop of straw colored hair, and in Casino Royale carries the well spoken demeanor that he keeps until the second half of Diamonds are Forever.

And for that matter, another that needs to be addressed is Bond's friend in the Duxieme, Rene Mathis. Mathis appears various times throughout the series.

Everyone, including Bond, needs real friends, and in Casino Royale we get to meet both of Bond's real friends. What faces do you see for these two.

I hope to hear from everyone soon. Let the decisions begin.

Choose me wisely,
Felix Leiter

[Double-Oh Agent]

If Casino Royale is a prequel, then unfortunately, there should be no Felix Leiter since Bond met him for the first time cinematically in Dr. No. Now if it's a continuation film then there's no problem. (It would be kind of neat to see him with a prosthetic or two.

But in the interests of this post here are my suggestions for what they're worth:

Felix Leiter: Xander Berkeley

Rene Mathis: Vincent Cassel

[Qwerty]

Topics merged.

[Agent 76]

Is it really confirmed by Martin Campbell that Felix Leiter will exist in the movie?

[Turn]

I think they should replace  Felix in Casino Royale and bring in a new CIA character who is Bonds new Friend and will help Bond out in other films. Also they should get the same actor to play the Character. Like they did with Jack Wade.

Yes, and what a memorable, interesting character Wade was.

Seriously, most of the attempts to get Bond another contact - Chuck Lee in AVTAK, Ferrara in FYEO, for example - fall pretty flat. If they can do Leiter justice, like he is somebody that would be Bond's friend and share his adventures then fine. It seems the only real successful allies are the older men like Kerim, Draco, Tanaka and Columbo.

[Pussfeller]

Felix has alwats been one of Bond's major allies, not only in CR, but in general. Of course he should return. They never should have gotten rid of him in the first place. I certainly don't think he should be abandoned in the interests of "continuity". Let's not butcher the plot just so it can be shoehorned into an already paradoxical canon.

I don't want to ever see Jack Wade again. Or Damien Falco. Or any other lousy, two-dimensional ersatz Felixes. Why should they resort to hollow imitation when they can just as easily use the genuine article? This is the perfect time to resurrect Felix's character. People are expecting it. If they don't do it now, they'll have missed their chance.

[Agent007.5]

I would love to see Felix Leiter in this film or in any future Bond films. But in the movies Bond never met Felix until Dr. No, but I still think there's hope that Felix is in this film since he was in the book. As for who should play him, I would pick Tom Hanks, but I don't think he'll want a small role like Felix, a more realistic choice for Felix that I would like to see is William H. Macy.

[SecretAgent007]

I thought I read an article in which P&W said Leiter was not in the script.

[Carver]

Felix has alwats been one of Bond's major allies, not only in CR, but in general. Of course he should return. They never should have gotten rid of him in the first place. I certainly don't think he should be abandoned in the interests of "continuity". Let's not butcher the plot just so it can be shoehorned into an already paradoxical canon.

I don't want to ever see Jack Wade again. Or Damien Falco. Or any other lousy, two-dimensional ersatz Felixes. Why should they resort to hollow imitation when they can just as easily use the genuine article? This is the perfect time to resurrect Felix's character. People are expecting it. If they don't do it now, they'll have missed their chance.

I totally agree with you there Pussfeller, but like everyone else has said, it'll be confusing since Bond and Felix both met cinematically in Dr. No. I'm all for a Felix's return, but it will be a tad confusing if he is in CR. The production team have got a lot to think of for CR since they've announced it as a prequal.

[Tiin007]

While I would love to see Felix again, it just wouldn't work because of the continuity issues. This is why they should forget the whole Bond Begins idea and bring back Felix with a few prosthetic limbs. Since he doesn't have any action scenes in the book, this would work out fine.

And if they insist on making CR Bond's first mission, then they should just totally forget about Felix and use Rene Mathis instead. With Mathis as Bond's only ally in the movie, they could give him a bigger role than he had in the novel and possibly use him as an ally in future Bond movies (just like they did with Felix). After all, Mathis was an interesting character in the few books he was in.

[Donovan]

As the novel has it, Leiter's real responsibility in the story is to give Bond some more money after he's been cleaned out. There was another thread discussing Leiter and the continuity issue. I suggested that Leiter could be in the film, sort of on the sidelines as a kind of guardian angel for a few small instances (maybe wearing shades a-la Terence Young films ) but he and Bond never actually meet. In this way, Leiter can still do things like loan Bond money, and through inquiries Bond can discover who helped. This could serve to explain the line in "Dr. No"..."I've heard of him, but never met him."

Oh hell, continuity be damned. Bond told Tania in FRWL he'd been to Tokyo and later in YOLT told Tiger he'd never been to Japan.

[Arrant]

Leiter plays a very important role in Casino Royale turning up like the cavalry at Bonds darkest moment during the card game.

From an English Lit point of view, Vesper is the vehicle to explain the rules of Baccarrat to the reader/ viewer... Leiter is the vehicle to explain many other things. As they are clearly intent on filming Casino Royale from the book, as Bonds first mission, as a "00" agent, then I think we can expect to see Leiter

Movie continuity verses novel continuity is a red herring here. As I said in aother thread,
" The sensible way to look at Bond movies is to take each Bond film as an adventure in the life of a fictional character called James Bond.
Worrying about "continuity" will lead to a mental breakdown, and turn you into a geek."

and, as Genrewriter added.... " we shouldn't forget this is supposed to be fun."

Lets enjoy Daniel Craig as Bond in Casino Royale without hyperventilating over every point. To me, the producers HAVE listened to the points raised on this and other fan sites.. " It;s getting too silly. No more invisible cars, lets get back to FRWL, and a Bourne style movie.
That is what is coming, I hope you enjoy it!.

Me.. I wanted Robbie Williams and a fun extended Barclays credit card add, with Girls Aloud as the villians. How do you think I feel ?

[Pussfeller]

While I would love to see Felix again, it just wouldn't work because of the continuity issues.

Why? Why should every Bond film ever made have to harmonize with every one of its predecessors? If the franchise lasts for another fifty years, will Bond continue to remember his wife, a century after her death? In 2062, will he remember meeting Felix in 1962? Please. They'll have to dump the conceit of continuity eventually. I'd rather they do it sooner than later.

Had they adapted each book faithfully, in chronological order, and with the same actor playing each part for the entire duration of the series, one could potentially argue that the films occurred in a strict Star Trek-style canon. But they haven't adapted them that way. Bond has gone way beyond that point, into the realm of Superman and other "ageless" characters. So why should we continue to expect Bond plots to adhere to the same rigid rules, recognizing forty year-old events as though they happened recently? Why limit ourselves to contrived, inferior adaptations for the sake of maintaining some imaginary continuity?

I say we just enjoy each film (or string of films) as a self-contained "take" on the life of James Bond. On the one hand, it's not unreasonable to expect continuity within a single era (for example, you expect Pierce's films to not contradict themselves), but to me it seems ludicrous to expect long-term continuity, such as between Connery and Craig. When a new actor is hired, his slate should be wiped clean. Otherwise, we end up with loads of unnecessary baggage that doesn't contribute at all to the fun. And the primary object should always be fun, i.e. Felix.

Incidentally, I don't know where people have gotten the idea that CR is going to be a "prequel", like Star Wars Episodes I-III, but it seems like a major misconception. I believe Campbell explicitly stated that it would be a "reimagining". In other words, it isn't supposed to agree with previous Bond films. It doesn't "come before Dr. No". It doesn't have anything to do with the previous film series, except that both are based on a character created by Ian Fleming, both are produced by the same company, and both will incorporate similar stylistic elements (e.g. the gun barrel, PTS, "Bond, James Bond", etc.)

[Pam Bouvier]

Why remove a character like Leiter that was in the novel CR?
I didn't see "continuity" after OHMSS...Tracey isn't even referred to until the pre-film sequence in FYEO. If they can just leave Bonds marriage unaddressed, I don't see why Leiter being in CR would be such a no no.
But, they DO need to find a Leiter that can stick around for the next ones. No need to recast & recast.

[Tiin007]

Why remove a character like Leiter that was in the novel CR?
I didn't see "continuity" after OHMSS...Tracey isn't even referred to until the pre-film sequence in FYEO.  If they can just leave Bonds marriage unaddressed, I don't see why Leiter being in CR would be such a no no.
But, they DO need to find a Leiter that can stick around for the next ones. No need to recast & recast.

There's a difference between not mentioning someone (such as Tracy until FYEO) and having Bond meet someone for the first time twice. Not mentioning Tracy just means that they didn't mention her for a while, but having Bond meet Felix again is a blatant contradiction.

[Pussfeller]

Why remove a character like Leiter that was in the novel CR?
I didn't see "continuity" after OHMSS...Tracey isn't even referred to until the pre-film sequence in FYEO.  If they can just leave Bonds marriage unaddressed, I don't see why Leiter being in CR would be such a no no.
But, they DO need to find a Leiter that can stick around for the next ones. No need to recast & recast.

There's a difference between not mentioning someone (such as Tracy until FYEO) and having Bond meet someone for the first time twice. Not mentioning Tracy just means that they didn't mention her for a while, but having Bond meet Felix again is a blatant contradiction.

But if Craig was born in 1968, his Bond must have met Felix six years before he was born. Does that make any more sense than meeting him twice?

There's no use trying to reconcile DN with CR when one takes place 44 years after the other. Why not just adapt CR faithfully and produce an entertaining film? To do so, it seems natural that EON should incorporate Felix Leiter.

Who cares if Sean Connery already met Jack Lord? I don't.

[B5Erik]

I still say that Gary Sinise would be a great Felix Leiter.

And you've got to have Felix Leiter in Casino Royale - he's a key figure in the novel. Don't worry about continuity issues with Leiter (EON never did), especially if the movie is a pseudo reboot.

(I am against blatant continuity flaws, but including Leiter would be forgivable due to his role in the novel.)

Edited by B5Erik, 21 October 2005 - 01:57 AM.

[FelixLeiter]

interesting answers from all. thank you for responding to my post. I look forward to more opinions. i would give my own, but I'm still searching for the right actor for Felix's part. i shall check my opinions against yours as soon as possible. until then, i continue to await your responses.
the man from the CIA,
Felix Leiter