Who should/could be a Bond actor?

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  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    Venutius wrote: »
    Same, talos7. Ok, I'm on dodgy ground when saying that as I've never actually seen any of Pattinson's films, but I don't see anything 'Bondian' in any of his photos.

    4e536e200d4dcb7404533f3b2d233fe5.jpg

    I like the gritty stylishness in Tenet.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    edited December 2022 Posts: 8,243
    It was a weird film. too many close up (1/3rd axis) shots, the story and dialogue was contrived, and the performances ended up very flat.

    Really looked forward to Colin Ferrell as the penguin, but he just ended up doing an impeccable impersonation of Robert Deniro.


    I am not opposed to Hollywood trying to be more artsy, but when artfilms take themselves too seriously without any substance they just end up big boring cringefests.

    Still more interesting than Marvel, but not by much.

    I could not agree more; I love dark, intense films, Se7en is an all time favorite, but I found The Batman to be a soul sucking, joyless, experience. I wasn’t a fan of Pattinson’s emo portrayal.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,230
    talos7 wrote: »
    It was a weird film. too many close up (1/3rd axis) shots, the story and dialogue was contrived, and the performances ended up very flat.

    Really looked forward to Colin Ferrell as the penguin, but he just ended up doing an impeccable impersonation of Robert Deniro.


    I am not opposed to Hollywood trying to be more artsy, but when artfilms take themselves too seriously without any substance they just end up big boring cringefests.

    Still more interesting than Marvel, but not by much.

    I could not agree more; I love dar, intense film, Se7en is an all time favorite, but I found The Batman to be a soul sucking, joyless, experience. I wasn’t a fan of Pattinson’s emo portrayal.

    He's great when he's in the suit, but not so good out of it. His Bruce Wayne completely lacked any personality, for me. Luckily, he spends 80% of the film as The Bat, so the film survived it.
  • 007InAction007InAction Australia
    edited December 2022 Posts: 2,579
    This underrated Thespian could be a bond ?
    Bond with a moustaka ?
    a6e48a02-889d-11e8-8608-b7163509a377_1280x720_113228.jpg?itok=X_PusDnK
    Wa wa wee wa.......
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,800
    This underrated Thespian could be a bond ?
    Bond with a moustaka ?
    a6e48a02-889d-11e8-8608-b7163509a377_1280x720_113228.jpg?itok=X_PusDnK
    Wa wa wee wa.......

    It's a sad thing, he's nearly cast as Valdo Obruchev though.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,273
    MI6HQ wrote: »
    This underrated Thespian could be a bond ?
    Bond with a moustaka ?
    a6e48a02-889d-11e8-8608-b7163509a377_1280x720_113228.jpg?itok=X_PusDnK
    Wa wa wee wa.......

    It's a sad thing, he's nearly cast as Valdo Obruchev though.

    I mean, Dencik was basically doing a Borat impression at times during that movie anyway.
    talos7 wrote: »
    It was a weird film. too many close up (1/3rd axis) shots, the story and dialogue was contrived, and the performances ended up very flat.

    Really looked forward to Colin Ferrell as the penguin, but he just ended up doing an impeccable impersonation of Robert Deniro.


    I am not opposed to Hollywood trying to be more artsy, but when artfilms take themselves too seriously without any substance they just end up big boring cringefests.

    Still more interesting than Marvel, but not by much.

    I could not agree more; I love dar, intense film, Se7en is an all time favorite, but I found The Batman to be a soul sucking, joyless, experience. I wasn’t a fan of Pattinson’s emo portrayal.

    He's great when he's in the suit, but not so good out of it. His Bruce Wayne completely lacked any personality, for me. Luckily, he spends 80% of the film as The Bat, so the film survived it.

    It's a rather odd performance as Batman/Wayne, no doubt. I actually really like Pattinson in that film, as well as the movie in general (it's not perfect, but it's very well made, and certainly the last time I went to see a film in the cinema I was genuinely excited by). That said I've heard some people say that his performance as either Wayne or Batman are flat or 'lazy' etc. I can sort of see why, but I think it's a case where it's just a very subtle performance, and much of it is impacted by whether one likes that particular approach to the character. As Batman much of the impact comes from his body language, how he moves his eyes. His 'Batman' voice can go from being 'whispery' and almost normal sounding in front of Gordon/Catwoman, to noticeably growly in front of Penguin and other criminals (heck, he does this within the span of the opening monologue), which in itself is very purposeful.

    It's there with his Bruce Wayne as well I'd argue, that subtlety. For what it's worth I think Pattinson plays that younger, more isolated, and less assured version of the character well. I definitely got this sense through his body language and facial expressions when he attends the funeral in that film - he's a man out of his depth when it comes to even the most basic social situations. In that sense it's a very humanising portrayal of the character, different as it is. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen what Pattinson could have done with Bond in an alternate universe, but at least we have a solid Batman for now.
  • I really liked Pattinson's moody and coiled Batman. There is a serious darkness to him in that role. If you were unfamiliar with the character you'd be hard pressed to not believe that he was the serial killer. That edgy quality made his portrayal work for me. An actor who reminds me of Pattinson and someone who could bring a similar quality to 007 is Jacob Elordi. He was great in Euphoria and will star in an MGM film next year.

    EP_JACOB_ELORDI_DATING_EXPL_COMP.jpg

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    USP2.jpg

    IMG_1160-683x1024.jpeg
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,800
    I really liked Pattinson's moody and coiled Batman. There is a serious darkness to him in that role. If you were unfamiliar with the character you'd be hard pressed to not believe that he was the serial killer. That edgy quality made his portrayal work for me. An actor who reminds me of Pattinson and someone who could bring a similar quality to 007 is Jacob Elordi. He was great in Euphoria and will star in an MGM film next year.

    EP_JACOB_ELORDI_DATING_EXPL_COMP.jpg

    Banner.jpg

    USP2.jpg

    IMG_1160-683x1024.jpeg

    His problem would be the weight, he's not thinner than Chalamet, but he has the same body structure as Ben Whishaw, he could make a great Q though.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,230
    007HallY wrote: »
    It's there with his Bruce Wayne as well I'd argue, that subtlety. For what it's worth I think Pattinson plays that younger, more isolated, and less assured version of the character well. I definitely got this sense through his body language and facial expressions when he attends the funeral in that film - he's a man out of his depth when it comes to even the most basic social situations. In that sense it's a very humanising portrayal of the character, different as it is. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen what Pattinson could have done with Bond in an alternate universe, but at least we have a solid Batman for now.

    That's a decent analysis, but I'm still not quite sold on him as Bruce yet. I hope they move it on from that version of the character in the sequel (while keeping what made his Dark Knight tick) because even if has artistic merit, it's an incredibly boring version of him to watch. I'd admittedly be less harsh on it if people didn't label is as "comic accurate" when it very much isn't.

    And of course, while it doesn't mean he have played Bond that way (something like Tenet would be more likely) it does make me more relieved that he never became Bond. And I say that as a fan of Pattinson.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,273
    007HallY wrote: »
    It's there with his Bruce Wayne as well I'd argue, that subtlety. For what it's worth I think Pattinson plays that younger, more isolated, and less assured version of the character well. I definitely got this sense through his body language and facial expressions when he attends the funeral in that film - he's a man out of his depth when it comes to even the most basic social situations. In that sense it's a very humanising portrayal of the character, different as it is. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen what Pattinson could have done with Bond in an alternate universe, but at least we have a solid Batman for now.

    That's a decent analysis, but I'm still not quite sold on him as Bruce yet. I hope they move it on from that version of the character in the sequel (while keeping what made his Dark Knight tick) because even if has artistic merit, it's an incredibly boring version of him to watch. I'd admittedly be less harsh on it if people didn't label is as "comic accurate" when it very much isn't.

    And of course, while it doesn't mean he have played Bond that way (something like Tenet would be more likely) it does make me more relieved that he never became Bond. And I say that as a fan of Pattinson.

    The Batman isn't everyone's cup of tea, which I can appreciate. It's very much a slow boil, Neo-noir mystery which for many people can either be a bit dull, or perhaps doesn't have that rewatchability to it because you ultimately know the answer to the mystery after that first viewing. They definitely go a different direction with Batman/Wayne, with Pattinson playing him as a lonely, rather angry young man who seems to be suffering from mental illness. Again, it's not a version of the character for everyone. Personally, I prefer it to Nolan's trilogy, and I connect more with Pattinson's Batman than Bale's as a character. That's just me though.

    I will say that my gut instinct is that The Batman will have some creative impact on Bond 26, however. More so than something like Top Gun actually. I don't think this will be strictly speaking in terms of tone (The Batman is stylistically and thematically a rather dark film), and I don't think we'll see an 'emo Bond' or anything like that. But I would like for the next Bond to be played and written in a way which subverts specific expectations of the character while still maintaining their core traits, much like Pattinson's Batman. The Batman also has some thematic overlap with the later Craig films, and I'd argue handles its ideas much better than NTTD (ie. the villain ultimately having rather sympathetic motives taken to their extremes, which mirrors the struggles of the hero). I think we might see Bond with a broad character arc not dissimilar to Batman's in this film. It's also an example of a film which was able to be a visual spectacle which leaned heavily into its source material (I don't know or care about comic book accurate, but I know it was influenced a lot by certain comics), drumming up fan expectation and praise, all with a budget of under £200 Million.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,154
    007HallY wrote: »
    Dencik was basically doing a Borat impression at times during that movie anyway.
    Yep - couldn't unsee it.

  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,273
    Venutius wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    Dencik was basically doing a Borat impression at times during that movie anyway.
    Yep - couldn't unsee it.

    The meerkat from those 'Compare the Market' adverts also came to mind.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    edited December 2022 Posts: 1,351
    Elordi is my main contender for the „Fassbender Cup“ given to the actor everyone says should have been Bond, but just wasn’t in the right space at the right time. He’s too young right now (one of the few who looks older than he actually is) and will be too old by the time Bond7 gives up the role.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    talos7 wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    I do wonder what the logic is in this 'he has to look like he could fight Mr. Hinx' stuff. Same for him apparently not looking like he could seduce Monica Bellucci. Short of any of us watching Hoult's audition or having seen him fail to appear convincingly tough or seductive in a different role, I'm not really sure how anyone could make this assumption one way or the other.

    The Monica Bellucci benchmark is a funny one. There are men her own age, that would struggle to look convincing when trying to seduce her. I mean.... she's Monica Bellucci!

    She would have been an incredible Paris Carver.

    I want to agree, and in part, I do. But I also wish that she had been the main Bond Girl at some point. In an alternate SP (still released in 2015), I would have been fine with Bellucci as the main Bond Girl. Given how Hollywood likes to put most actresses out to pasture once they hit 40, I would have thought that with a feminist producer, we would see a main Bond Girl in her 40's, maybe early 50's.
  • Posts: 4,273
    Elordi looks more like Superman to me than Bond, although this is on a very superficial level. I know he can have an edge when needed having seen Euphoria. That said I don't think he'll be our man ultimately.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    Isn't Elordi Australian? Not sure if Bond should be Australian again.

    Also he's 6'5 (according to google) so perhaps he too tall, as daft as it sounds. If Bond was that big it would be jarring
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    Posts: 5,970
    I don't think they'll go for a non-"British" actor whatsoever. Not only was Lazenby a hiccup but we now live in a world where that can't be skimmed over and I imagine producers will want a "British" actor who can promote the film and continue to celebrate the "britishness" of it all.

    I don't think whoevers cast needs to be Bond through and through but casting someone who isn't "British" just seems odd and I worry they'd stand out like a sore thumb during press or premieres.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,356
    OHMSS is my favorite Bond film and will likely forever be so, but Lazenby in the film almost needed to fail in order to pave the way for the series to continue.

    There is no Moore success without Lazenby's failure.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited December 2022 Posts: 3,154
    Yeah, I imagine casting a non-British actor would be an unnecessary distraction that the trite UK media would bang on and on (and on) about. However, if the ideal candidate was, say, Australian or Canadian, would it be a good enough reason to pass him over? I'd say not. I don't envy them having to weigh up all this stuff.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited December 2022 Posts: 5,970
    Venutius wrote: »
    However, if the ideal candidate was Australian, would it be a reason to pass him over?
    No, not really, but I guess that depends on how the process works. Would they only look at British actors for a certain amount of time and then when that's not working start broadening the actors to American, Australian and so on? Or do you get everyone at once?
  • Posts: 351
    MI6HQ wrote: »
    I really liked Pattinson's moody and coiled Batman. There is a serious darkness to him in that role. If you were unfamiliar with the character you'd be hard pressed to not believe that he was the serial killer. That edgy quality made his portrayal work for me. An actor who reminds me of Pattinson and someone who could bring a similar quality to 007 is Jacob Elordi. He was great in Euphoria and will star in an MGM film next year.

    EP_JACOB_ELORDI_DATING_EXPL_COMP.jpg

    Banner.jpg

    USP2.jpg

    IMG_1160-683x1024.jpeg

    His problem would be the weight, he's not thinner than Chalamet, but he has the same body structure as Ben Whishaw, he could make a great Q though.

    He's not very good in Euphoria.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,800
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    However, if the ideal candidate was Australian, would it be a reason to pass him over?
    No, not really, but I guess that depends on how the process works. Would they only look at British actors for a certain amount of time and then when that's not working start broadening the actors to American, Australian and so on? Or do you get everyone at once?

    Remember we'd even get an Irishman.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    007HallY wrote: »
    MI6HQ wrote: »
    This underrated Thespian could be a bond ?
    Bond with a moustaka ?
    a6e48a02-889d-11e8-8608-b7163509a377_1280x720_113228.jpg?itok=X_PusDnK
    Wa wa wee wa.......

    It's a sad thing, he's nearly cast as Valdo Obruchev though.

    I mean, Dencik was basically doing a Borat impression at times during that movie anyway.
    talos7 wrote: »
    It was a weird film. too many close up (1/3rd axis) shots, the story and dialogue was contrived, and the performances ended up very flat.

    Really looked forward to Colin Ferrell as the penguin, but he just ended up doing an impeccable impersonation of Robert Deniro.


    I am not opposed to Hollywood trying to be more artsy, but when artfilms take themselves too seriously without any substance they just end up big boring cringefests.

    Still more interesting than Marvel, but not by much.

    I could not agree more; I love dar, intense film, Se7en is an all time favorite, but I found The Batman to be a soul sucking, joyless, experience. I wasn’t a fan of Pattinson’s emo portrayal.

    He's great when he's in the suit, but not so good out of it. His Bruce Wayne completely lacked any personality, for me. Luckily, he spends 80% of the film as The Bat, so the film survived it.

    It's a rather odd performance as Batman/Wayne, no doubt. I actually really like Pattinson in that film, as well as the movie in general (it's not perfect, but it's very well made, and certainly the last time I went to see a film in the cinema I was genuinely excited by). That said I've heard some people say that his performance as either Wayne or Batman are flat or 'lazy' etc. I can sort of see why, but I think it's a case where it's just a very subtle performance, and much of it is impacted by whether one likes that particular approach to the character. As Batman much of the impact comes from his body language, how he moves his eyes. His 'Batman' voice can go from being 'whispery' and almost normal sounding in front of Gordon/Catwoman, to noticeably growly in front of Penguin and other criminals (heck, he does this within the span of the opening monologue), which in itself is very purposeful.

    It's there with his Bruce Wayne as well I'd argue, that subtlety. For what it's worth I think Pattinson plays that younger, more isolated, and less assured version of the character well. I definitely got this sense through his body language and facial expressions when he attends the funeral in that film - he's a man out of his depth when it comes to even the most basic social situations. In that sense it's a very humanising portrayal of the character, different as it is. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen what Pattinson could have done with Bond in an alternate universe, but at least we have a solid Batman for now.

    Now that you say it, the film did, better than any of its predecessors, realistically portray him as a loner with too much money who dresses up in a bat suit and fights crime. Making him an awkward, mentally ill, weirdo was indeed refreshing, humanising and sensical. (Not too dissimilar from what Craig tried to do with Bond).

    They should have emphasised this quality beyond riddler's antagonism/kinship and meshed it better with the rest of the film, which was too plot heavy despite limiting itself to one (hollow) main storyline with no tangible parallels. E.g. The romance with cat woman was non-existent and forced, if she'd been the one to initiate and reject him at the end, they'd at least have been character consistent.
  • Posts: 4,273
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    However, if the ideal candidate was Australian, would it be a reason to pass him over?
    No, not really, but I guess that depends on how the process works. Would they only look at British actors for a certain amount of time and then when that's not working start broadening the actors to American, Australian and so on? Or do you get everyone at once?

    All at once. Remember, in 2005 the likes of Sam Worthington and even Goran Visnjic were considered and auditioned. I'm sure they'll mainly have a list of British candidates, but they won't pass over someone who is a potential contender because of their nationality.
    007HallY wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    It's there with his Bruce Wayne as well I'd argue, that subtlety. For what it's worth I think Pattinson plays that younger, more isolated, and less assured version of the character well. I definitely got this sense through his body language and facial expressions when he attends the funeral in that film - he's a man out of his depth when it comes to even the most basic social situations. In that sense it's a very humanising portrayal of the character, different as it is. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen what Pattinson could have done with Bond in an alternate universe, but at least we have a solid Batman for now.

    That's a decent analysis, but I'm still not quite sold on him as Bruce yet. I hope they move it on from that version of the character in the sequel (while keeping what made his Dark Knight tick) because even if has artistic merit, it's an incredibly boring version of him to watch. I'd admittedly be less harsh on it if people didn't label is as "comic accurate" when it very much isn't.

    And of course, while it doesn't mean he have played Bond that way (something like Tenet would be more likely) it does make me more relieved that he never became Bond. And I say that as a fan of Pattinson.

    The Batman isn't everyone's cup of tea, which I can appreciate. It's very much a slow boil, Neo-noir mystery which for many people can either be a bit dull, or perhaps doesn't have that rewatchability to it because you ultimately know the answer to the mystery after that first viewing. They definitely go a different direction with Batman/Wayne, with Pattinson playing him as a lonely, rather angry young man who seems to be suffering from mental illness. Again, it's not a version of the character for everyone. Personally, I prefer it to Nolan's trilogy, and I connect more with Pattinson's Batman than Bale's as a character. That's just me though.

    I will say that my gut instinct is that The Batman will have some creative impact on Bond 26, however. More so than something like Top Gun actually. I don't think this will be strictly speaking in terms of tone (The Batman is stylistically and thematically a rather dark film), and I don't think we'll see an 'emo Bond' or anything like that. But I would like for the next Bond to be played and written in a way which subverts specific expectations of the character while still maintaining their core traits, much like Pattinson's Batman. The Batman also has some thematic overlap with the later Craig films, and I'd argue handles its ideas much better than NTTD (ie. the villain ultimately having rather sympathetic motives taken to their extremes, which mirrors the struggles of the hero). I think we might see Bond with a broad character arc not dissimilar to Batman's in this film. It's also an example of a film which was able to be a visual spectacle which leaned heavily into its source material (I don't know or care about comic book accurate, but I know it was influenced a lot by certain comics), drumming up fan expectation and praise, all with a budget of under £200 Million.

    Now that you say it, the film did, better than any of its predecessors, realistically portray him as a loner with too much money who dresses up in a bat suit and fights crime. Making him an awkward, mentally ill, weirdo was indeed refreshing and deeply humanising. (Not too dissimilar from what Craig tried to do with Bond).

    They should have emphasised this quality and meshed it better with the rest of the film, which was too plot heavy despite the story being hollow with no parallels. E.g. The romance with cat woman was non-existent and forced, if she would have been the one to initiate and reject him towards the end, they'd at least have been character consistent.

    I'd say the film did a pretty good job of meshing it with the main plot. The whole film is pretty much about how Batman's brand of vigilantism is only one step away from Riddler's quest for vengeance. The opening of the film especially leans into it - it opens with a rather brutal murder and as a result we expect to cut immediately to Batman doing something heroic. Instead you get Wayne doing this Travis Bikle-esque monologue about fear (it's not even clear for the first half a minute whether it's meant to be Riddler or Batman). Heck, even during his first fight with the goons he calls himself 'Vengeance' as opposed to Batman.

    It's very plot heavy, agreed. But then again it's essentially a Neo-Noir, and by their nature they're very plot heavy and at times convoluted.

    Compared to the relationship between Batman and Catwoman in TDKR I thought this one did a much better job. It helps that Zoe Kravitz is cast well in the role and her character seems a bit more fully written (I have no idea what it is with Christopher Nolan, but he has a weird habit of writing tough, sometimes femme fatale type female leads and then casts actresses who really don't fit that type nor inherently bring those qualities to the roles - Anne Hathaway, Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhall etc.)
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    You are right on the coherence with Riddler's thematics.

    Zoe's character did have an arc but I wouldn't say it was explored very much at all. The plot was actually too simple according to me, too expositioned and too interjected by vague monologues and cliched dialogue. Side characters weren't given enough room to shine.

    A neo-noir in all aspects, but more reminiscent of a video game cutscenes than a Humphrey Bogart flick.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,273
    You are right on the coherence with the Riddler thematics.

    Zoe's character did have an arc but I wouldn't say it wasn't explored very much at all. The plot was actually too simple according to me, too expositioned and too interjected by vague monologues and cliched dialogue.

    A neo-noir in all aspects, but more reminiscent of a video game than a Humphrey Bogart flick.

    I actually think some of the dialogue was a bit too expositional as well at times (which is a very common problem I personally have with lots of modern scripts anyway). You then have little issues such as Riddler's plan in the third act not being foreshadowed at all and feeling like it came out of nowhere (I didn't even realise first time watching it that Gotham was meant to be located near a river or had a water damn).

    Apart from that I thought the script was relatively solid despite its flaws. I certainly felt the story was more thought out and thematically consistent than Nolan's Batman films (I enjoy the first two a lot but those are films I'd say are plagued by the same problems you mentioned, arguably even more so than this one, right down to the vague monologues).

    At the end of the day it's a film that reinvented Batman and created a new cinematic universe (it really is a very engrossing film cinematography/mise-en-scene wise) while still keeping the core traits of the character consistent. Like I said, I think if we want an early indication of what Bond 26 might try, then this film is a good one to look at.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    I liked the macro shots and the fight scenes, there could have been more of them. I think close ups should be used sparsely to pronounce intense feelings.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,273
    I liked the macro shots and the fight scenes, there could have been more of them. I think close ups should be used sparsely to pronounce intense feelings.

    That's more just a personal preference thing I guess. Some people would say that close ups are better at conveying more subtle emotions - the little twitches of the face, flickers of the eye etc. - which couldn't otherwise be emoted in a wider shot. Sometimes it's a visual tactic used to make the audience feel more connected to the character as they go through the story (which I guess is what The Batman is doing with its many close up, shallow depth of field shots of the main character).
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,163
    Okay take this to the Batman thread please.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    I think vintage bokeh lenses are overused as well
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