30 replies to this topic

[draxingtonstanley]

I thought this might provide a nice feel of continuity (I choose not to dwell on any mind bending reboot conundrums).
I felt the Bill Tanner character as played by Michael Kitchen was a great addition to the film series,and I feel his absence more keenly than that of,say Q or Moneypenny. I love Judi Dench's chemistry with Daniel Craig's Bond and look forward to at least two more films with her. When she does step down,however,who would be better than Bill Tanner to be promoted to fill the vacancy?
Your thoughts,ladies and gentlemen?

[TheREAL008]

Could work. Tanner gets promoted.

Edited by TheREAL008, 26 April 2007 - 09:26 PM.

[Mr. Wint]

I like that too. Kitchen is a very good actor. has that upper class English accent that is totally convincing as a high ranking British Gov't director. But I think he is very short. Will he be physically too small to be Bond's boss?

[draxingtonstanley]

Not really. Dame Dench was shorter than PB and is shorter than DC. Never bothered me.

[Mister Asterix]

Okay. But only if they are very clear on whether he is intended to be Tanner or not.

Very clear.

[Loomis]

Why the need for clarity? (Or are you posting in a tongue-in-cheek way? ) After all, there was never any clarity on whether Brown's M was Admiral Hargreaves, or whether the M of CASINO ROYALE is the same person Dench played from '95 to '02. As very well you know.

[Mister Asterix]

(Or are you posting in a tongue-in-cheek way? )

Firmly.

[shadytreewejustdoredyouract]

It's a perfect call. Michael Kitchen is the only actor already to have appeared in the series that I can think of who could punch The Dame's weight in the role. But all in the fullness of time of course.

And while we're in that general area is it fair to say that we are done and dusted on the Moneypenny front? Samantha Bond and Pierce took it to the max and theirs should be the rightful resting place for it.

[Loomis]

Firmly.

Fnarr.

And while we're in that general area is it fair to say that we are done and dusted on the Moneypenny front? Samantha Bond and Pierce took it to the max and theirs should be the rightful resting place for it.

Well, it should certainly be the resting place for the Bond/Brosnan brand of Moneypenny/Bond, but there are other ways of doing it. Which I think should be explored.

Welcome to CBn, BTW. Best. Username. Ever.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, I can see Michael Kitchen as M. How old is he now?

Also, I find Moneypenny a much better character than Villiers, who was a stereotype as glaring as Sheriff Pepper to me. I didn't like any of the MI6 staff in CR. They were all stereotypical Brits - the kind you only find in American movies ordinarily.

When will they put some realistic English people in a Bond movie? It's ironic, because there are so many English people working behind the scenes and none of them speak like the actors in the movies!!!

[Publius]

Nah, I'd rather they get someone with more...presence? Gravitas? We've been missing that since 1979. Quite a long time to be without a powerful figure to run the show (although to their credit, Brown and Dench did have their moments in that regard).

[Qwerty]

After all, there was never any clarity on whether Brown's M was Admiral Hargreaves...

Thankfully these sorts of things are never debated on message boards.

[DavidSomerset]

Helen Mirren as M.
Replace one Oscar winner with the other. Not necessarily soon as Judi is still fine.

[DavidSomerset]

How about Laura Linney as MoneyPenny?

[draxingtonstanley]

Helen Mirren as M.
Replace one Oscar winner with the other. Not necessarily soon as Judi is still fine.

Good call. Like that a lot. Still want to see Michael Kitchen back though. Hmm...

[Blofeld's Cat]

Okay. But only if they are very clear on whether he is intended to be Tanner or not.

Very clear.

Of course Kitchen would be playing Admiral Hargreaves and not Tanner.

[Zorin Industries]

It would make a certain sense, but his character was TANNER and Michael Kitchen is very much of the Brosnan era. They could certainly do a lot worse than going down that route however.

My own casting for the part would see Michael Gambon placed in a mahogany and leather-embossed office with his slight London accent keeping him away from that Etonian view of Universal Exports and suggesting he has the ability to talk to a beggar on the street or the head of the UN. I love Judi Dench in the part, but the school governor interpretation of the role tends to paint an 'M' who isn't all that in touch with the real world. Tell me I'm wrong by all means...

[RazorBlade]

I like Michael Kitchen as "M" too. So there's my vote on the matter.

As for Moneypenny, I started a thread in the general film discussion section where I posited that Dame Judy's M was Moneypenny. The perservse side of me likes that. Of course I don't have an unperverse side...

[quiller]

would M then become T?

[Vauxhall]

Michael Kitchen would certainly be excellent, but I imagine the main problem may be encouraging him to return once more.

[draxingtonstanley]

My own casting for the part would see Michael Gambon placed in a mahogany and leather-embossed office with his slight London accent keeping him away from that Etonian view of Universal Exports and suggesting he has the ability to talk to a beggar on the street or the head of the UN. I love Judi Dench in the part, but the school governor interpretation of the role tends to paint an 'M' who isn't all that in touch with the real world. Tell me I'm wrong by all means...

Blimey Chief! I like that idea a LOT. Kitchen,Mirren,Gambon. It's a profusion of riches. How to choose? All in the fullness of time of course...

[Santa]

It's ironic, because there are so many English people working behind the scenes and none of them speak like the actors in the movies!!!

I don't know what you mean here, which actors don't speak as people in real life do and in what way? Do you mean what they say or the accent?

I do like Michael Kitchen but I'm not sure he has the air of authority needed for M. Michael Gambon does, however. That's a pretty good suggestion

[Zorin Industries]

"I do like Michael Kitchen but I'm not sure he has the air of authority needed for M. Michael Gambon does, however. That's a pretty good suggestion"


And he's worked with and highly rates Daniel Craig. I know that, because he told me himself (!).

Gambon as 'M' would bring back to Universal Exports the sense of careers. What I mean is, in the Dench / Brosnan scenes their dialogue began to veer too much towards the unavoidably vocational nature of Bond's job with a lament and sad inevitability about it that I don't think Bernard Lee or Robert Brown were ever guilty of. If Michael Gambon was ever cast as 'M' the audience would immediately believe that BOND's boss has done the jobs BOND himself is now required to do. I don't get that vibe from Ms Dench's take on the character. 'M' should speak from hands on experience, not some corporate-led take on bureaucracy and leadership.

[chris-o]

Michael Kitchen would be great choice.

[Mister Asterix]

would M then become T?

Excellent point and God forbid I turn this thread to more about Hargreaves, but if Admiral Hargreaves was placed in charge would he not been ‘H’?

[Righty007]

Michael Kitchen is too old to play Tanner in the Daniel Craig era. In the books, Bond and Tanner were around the same age, right?

[Mister Asterix]

Michael Kitchen is too old to play Tanner in the Daniel Craig era. In the books, Bond and Tanner were around the same age, right?

Sure, but isn’t that like saying Craig is too blond to be Bond or Jeffrey Wright is too black to be Felix?

[Righty007]

[quote name='Mister Asterix' post='732427' date='27 April 2007 - 10:09'][quote name='Righty007' post='732412' date='27 April 2007 - 08:45']Michael Kitchen is too old to play Tanner in the Daniel Craig era. In the books, Bond and Tanner were around the same age, right?[/quote]

[mra]Sure, but isn

[Mister Asterix]

Michael Kitchen is too old to play Tanner in the Daniel Craig era. In the books, Bond and Tanner were around the same age, right?

Sure, but isn't that like saying Craig is too blond to be Bond or Jeffrey Wright is too black to be Felix?

Craig and Wright are still the right ages for their characters despite the different appearances.

Mathis was the wrong age and M was the wrong sex.

[Double-0-Seven]

I like that suggestion. Kitchen could be a great M.

I hope Judi sticks around for a while though. She really impressed me with Casino Royale, and I'm looking forward to the rest of her performances in the Daniel Craig era.