47 replies to this topic

[S K Y F A L L]

I wonder if we'll get anymore of Helen McCrory in any feature installments. 

[RMc2]

 

I believe it was in the Hollywood Reporter interview with Mendes where he said that Fiennes and  Harris had each signed a 3 picture deal.  I was doing my best to remain spoiler free at the time and when I read that I instantly thought, "Oh, they must both be playing what will become known cast members then... Gotta' be M and Moneypenny."

 

Remember, Fiennes stayed on for the run of Harry Potter films, so he's got a track record for recurring roles.

Yes but I believe he played the bad guy in the harry potter films, so besides the kid himself, he had, maybe the first role for an adult. I do not mean to be demeaning, but even though the role of M is very important, he/she appears only for a few minutes him.

 

With the risk of taking the full wrath of the community, isn't this role a little under him?

 

Now that being said, I think he is fantastic for the role

 

 

A walk-on role, easy payday for M is exactly the kind of thing British actors love. And if Fiennes is a Bond fan, what's not to love?

 

They'll probably bump up the role with him in it anyway - just in the way they did with Dench.

[The Shark]

They'll probably bump up the role with him in it anyway - just in the way they did with Dench.

 

Please God no.

[Pussfeller]

Personally, I would like to see a shrinking of the M role, but I doubt if it will ever again be as peripheral and unobtrusive as it was before 1995. I'm afraid that Dench created a precedent whereby M must be played by an Actor, and that Actor must be given a meaty part and high billing. If I'm optimistic, I can imagine a balance being struck between Mallory, Moneypenny, and Q. These characters would form an MI6 trinity that collectively occupies about the same amount of screentime as Dench used to occupy, but in which no individual is more prominent than the others. I think that would work well, and return the focus and narrative momentum to the conflict between Bond and the villain. This is as much as I'm hoping for. I would never expect MI6 to atrophy back into its pre-Brosnan form, essentially a slender little bookend to an adventure in which it is a bystander. MI6 plays too prominent a part in the 007 "brand", and we know how keen the producers are about branding. It's not enough to tell a thrilling story involving a guy named Bond. The whole thing has to spew Bondian details from every orifice.

[Double-0-Seven]

As long as Mallory doesn't give Bond any of the "You can't tell your friends from your enemies" kind of lines then we're good.

[AgentBentley]

I want them to stick around as long as is credibly possible, not into old age but at least for several movies, say five. Having different actors play the same character too often, is not good - case in point: Felix Leiter.

[graric]

I want them to stick around as long as is credibly possible, not into old age but at least for several movies, say five. Having different actors play the same character too often, is not good - case in point: Felix Leiter.

 

Naomie Harris should probably leave with Craig (depends on the age of the next Bond cast, if she still feels age appropriate then there is likely no reason why she wouldn't stick around) but there is no reason Ralph Fiennes can't have a longer term than Judi Dench in the role (provided he wants to stay on for that period of time.)

Judi Dench was already in her early 60's when she appeared in Goldeneye while Ralph Fiennes has only just turned 50, he could easily be around for the next 25 years and still fit the part (at the moment he looks like he is from a similar generation to Bond, in a couple of Bond's time the dynamic could move back towards that of M as a parental figure)

It'll be interesting to see how long Ben Whishaw sticks to his role as well, he could just as easily stay for the short term leaving with Daniel Craig or stay in the role for years like Desmond Lewellyn did.

[singleentendre]

I'm more concerned about them keeping a Felix on for awhile. I like Jeffrey Wright a lot so hopefully they'll keep him for a few more movies at least.

With Felix changing actors every movie he might as well have not existed and been some no-name agent. It's time to commit if they want to keep his character around.

Edited by singleentendre, 29 December 2012 - 04:23 PM.

[Leon]

I hope they remain for a good while, I love the castings and the relationships formed just in that first film were great, particularly with Mallory and Q. Mallory has shown himself to be intelligent, firm but fair and willing to break protocol in emergencies. There's already a deep understanding between these characters ripe for more great stories.

[archer1949]

I hope Fiennes stays on as Mallory. He adds a lot of gravitas to the role and I love it when actors who are best known for their villainous roles play against type. While watching Skyfall, I was half expecting him to turn traitor any second. It added quite a bit of suspense for me.

Edited by archer1949, 07 January 2013 - 11:44 PM.

[Iceskater101]

I love that Ralph Fiennes is in my two favorite franchises, Harry Potter and James Bond!

 

Anyway, I hope that he stays for the long haul, he makes a good M in my opinion. Naomie Harris I could see her staying for 2-3 films and then leaving when Craig does, but that's alright.

[Mallory]

Fiennes is the perfect actor to play M. I think he can establish the mutual respect Bond and M had as Bernard Lee had in his role. 

 

I can already see people cry sexism over Naomie Harris sitting behind a desk in future Bond films.

[tdalton]

Fiennes is the perfect actor to play M. I think he can establish the mutual respect Bond and M had as Bernard Lee had in his role. 

 

 

Agreed.

 

I also like the fact that they chose someone for M that could easily have played Bond himself had the franchise chosen to go in a different direction back in the 1990s.  Should provide a different dynamic than what we've seen before in the franchise.

[Iceskater101]

 

 

I can already see people cry sexism over Naomie Harris sitting behind a desk in future Bond films.

 

Really? I don't think so. I mean Moneypenny is a woman. Plus they can always introduce a female kick ass field agent that James can work with in the future, so I am not too worried about this.

[tdalton]

 

 

 

I can already see people cry sexism over Naomie Harris sitting behind a desk in future Bond films.

 

Really? I don't think so. I mean Moneypenny is a woman. Plus they can always introduce a female kick ass field agent that James can work with in the future, so I am not too worried about this.

 

 

I don't think so either.  It would be one thing if she were the first lead female character in the series that had been a field agent and was then forced into a secretarial role, but there have been plenty of such characters that have preceded her (Pam Bouvier, Wai Lin, Jinx, Camille, to name a few), that have proven to be capable agents in the field, although the characters or the performances of those characters may have been lacking in one area or another at times.  Plus, I can't imagine that anyone could think she belongs back in the field after how poorly she performed as a field agent in Skyfall anyway.

Edited by tdalton, 08 January 2013 - 05:13 PM.

[Iceskater101]

Haha yeah..... I can shoot better than that.

Plus like I said they can bring a new character that is bad ass for Daniel Craig in another movie.

[Mallory]

All I am saying is that I've already seen people cry sexism when Moneypenny turned out to be a terrible field agent. Bond calling M bitch who is in an empowering role and Severnine being killed off. Just a lazy way to criticize the film.

[MajorB]

And those critiques, which are fairly silly, will just bounce off the franchise, which will march on unscathed. I'm not concerned.