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I really think it didn't and they are making a big deal out of nothing, the oscars are not always fair but they are not racist.
Many good films have been snubbed in the oscars history and its nothing to make really such a big fuss about not having diversity
So Barry never won an Oscar for his Bond work, Hitchcock never won an Oscar, DiCaprio's been nominated numerous times and never one, there are many films deserving of nominations and many that actually deserved a win over others. The list of unfairness can go on but part of that unfairness also encapsulates institutional racism within Hollywood. How many films that have no business having white leads, especially when it comes to films based on historical facts get made because Hollywood won't cast appropriate ethnicities because people won't allegedly pay to see a cast of Mr and Mrs dark skin actors? Why won't audiences allegedly pay? If they're not going to pay to see such appropriate actors then the film has no business being made. Period. When these films won't get funding to be made as such such actors won't get cast. The recent Moses film was a joke, this new gods of Egypt movie coming out is pathetic and just looks conceptually stupid anyway but in any case, there's a fundamental error with the casting that automatically renders it a typical case of Hollywood being, well, a combination of ignorance of the tallest order and flat out racist and all the nonsense that comes with it.
As it stands, films like straight outta Compton have proven that a predominantly black cast can be both a critical and financial success. However, how many mainstream movies have leading actors that are people of colour? It looks like Marvel are going to set a precedent with Black Panther come 2018 as its goinh to be a predominantly black cast and mostly set in Africa. We'll see what happens there but the talent involved so far is A grade lets see what the response to that is going to be.
Yep. There not always fair....but rasist....nope.
So I showed the trailer of night manger to my parents and they are going to watch it too all four of us (me my wife and my parents) are going to pay close attention to hiddleston and after the miniseries I plan on showing mi6 what my family thinks as to wether Hiddleston could be bond or not. Also part of the reason I am doing this is unlike my stepfather and myself my wife and mother aren't huge bond fans at all so we will be getting somewhat of a casual fans reaction to Hiddleston as well.
I agree with every word of your post. But I find it ludicrous when people say that Bond should be anything but white. He is a white fictional character and should remain unaltered. The same goes for Black fictional characters.
Oh I agree here because before people claim race I would say to anyone ok so a White person can play Luthor (the character Idris Elba plays) or Shaft or Black Panther? Or we could white wash the King and I and it would be ok right?
Again what I find interesting about people who say any race can play bond or batman or superman ok what if we turn to the heros of your race and say lets have a white guy play them? I would be just as mortified with a White Shaft as I would a black 007
Yep. We agree 100% then.
Ok i shouldn't have said about diversity.
What i meant is that its really not about race that some people and films were snubbed this year. I think the lack of diversity is just a coincidence of this year.
We have had a lot of diversity since 2002 when Halley Berry and Denzel Washington got their oscars.
I do want people of every race getting equal opportunities in everything and blavk getting better parts in film but the oscars its about who and which films were the best of the year, not which race should win and this controversy has come that.
Let the academy do what they always do : judge which films are the best regardless of race, sex, age and everything which has become a reason of critiszcing the academy.
Comparing Bond with Shaft or black panther within this instance doesn't work. Never mind the fact that Shaft was created out of the Blaxploitation era to give the black community a protagonist they can relate to that wasn't a slave, a bit part or some cliched criminal or typical goon in a sea of white protagonists that filled the airwaves. White people already had, have and will continue to have their "shaft", in fact for every shaft there's are more than a dozen counterparts. The likes of TJ Hooker, Ironside, Kojak, Macguiver, Magnum PI, Columbo, Jack Bauer, Steve Austin (6 million dollar man), Starsky and Hutch, the streets of san Francisco, the avengers, man from uncle, Mannix, walker texas ranger, Renegade, knight rider...the list goes on and on. So the argument about the acceptability of changing Shaft's race is something that rings empty and something I can't subscribe to.
Secondly, throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and onwards, TV screens had their fair share of superheroes that sure as hell weren't heroes of colour not to mention the plethora of comic books out there at the time that were filled with white protagonists. Again, Stan Lee to the rescue to create the first black superhero in the 60s who was African not African American or Afro Latina or whatever black derivatives there are but a thoroughbred African, who was created out of a necessity to add diversity and to appeal to an audience readership that did feel alienated and couldn't always relate to the heroes that were and still are the norm. BP, a character who's ethnicity and skin colour is an essential and integral part of who and what the character is all about, who fought the KKK and even today still combats racism in his stories. The same cannot be said about Bond which tackles very different issues and who's appearance whether shown or verbally described in film has been played fast and loose over 50 odd years.
In any case, I for one don't agree that Bond's race should change. He's a white male and I'd prefer it remain that way, there's no reason what so ever to change it. If they did, then it's not the end of the world because his skin colour really isn't THAT important. There are people of all colours in real life who do essentially what Bond does when it comes to globe trotting espionage and undercover work. His skin doesn't define who he is or what he represents today and definitely nowhere near the level of changing Shaft's race. Luther on the other hand is a different case. His skin colour isn't important at all. Completely interchangeable. He just so happens to be black, nothing more nothing less.
Bond is also not a woman.
Bond is also not American. English and Swiss with a Scottish heritage I guess.
Also after trying to return to Fleming except for Blofeld I guess who is not never was Bond's foster brother nor was blofeld an African warlord.
Totally level-headed post that I completely agree with. If I have to hear the 'Ok, let's make Shaft white then' argument again, I might blow my own fucking brains out.
I think there needs to be better opportunities in film for every minority that's for sure and i won't deny there are a lot of unfair typecasting for Latinos, Afro Americans, Asians and others but changing iconic characters is not the answer.
Its about creating more great characters where they cast actors fir these minorities but without doing anything about the Race.
Like Jinx sure its not the best written Bond girl but they never made a big deal of Jinx skin color.
Yeah, because it's as simple as just writing a new character. In the last decade I can only think of Jack Sparrow as totally original cinematic character who has transcended the norm and become a genuine household name.
It's not white vs black - as it so often is presented - it's white men vs everyone else. Starting with kids books and movies, most heroes are white males. Harry Potters and the like.
However, since the thread title is about Bond actors, I don't see the solution to be to have a Bond that would be an Asian guy or a black woman or something.
The thing with iconic characters, even fictional ones, is that they are certain kinds of characters. I don't agree that if Bond were, for instance, a woman, it would be no big deal, and it would be just good for gender equality and blah blah. But it would no longer be Bond, it would be another character. And if so, then what good would it actually be in the end? To me it would seem just gimmicky.
Writing new iconic heroes is not simple, of course. Writing more characters for both women and non-white males would be a start. And offering them the roles. Ultimately, though... maybe far more are written than we know, since they may not get financing to be made into movies, or if they are, they may be sidelined by movies with white males, anyway. Which part is politics or marketing and which part is box office and how it continues, well...
Most movies that are widely marketed and seen and awarded, etc. are stories about white men. Not just stories about white people, but about white men. Their stories are apparently considered the most important and the most marketable. Is it really that not much else is available, or is it that those are the movies we choose to watch, and so it continues?
I was just thinking about something while reading this thread the other day - the Oscars (and other awards) have different categories for male and for female. Imagine if they only had a category for best 'actor' regardless of sex. So no female category at all. I wonder how many women would win anything then.
Of course they can't have a separate category for 'minority' because then it would be seen as racist, but why have a separate category for women at all. Just expand the number of winners nominees and keep it to 'actor' only.
I was just thinking about something while reading this thread the other day - the Oscars (and other awards) have different categories for male and for female. Imagine if they only had a category for best 'actor' regardless of sex. So no female category at all. I wonder how many women would win anything then.
Of course they can't have a separate category for 'minority' because then it would be seen as racist, but why have a separate category for women at all. Just expand the number of winners and keep it to 'actor' only.[/quote]
Oh, this is coming
Thats an interesting idea but i think its better in terms of show to keep it in 2
There are some people who watch only the important categories sonto have a few more of the more relevant we need best actress and supporting actress
I like that idea its just the oscars Boyoct is a hot topic and even herevwe had our thoughts about it but yes lets go back to future Bond candidates but like i said i dont have one. I just know i want somone similar to Pierce in the role
The closest is Henry Cavil he is the most Pirce like but if is not him
I could see in a few years Richard Madden his smile in cinderella was very Pierce like and ive seen him in some interviews which give remind me to Pierce.
He just needs to grow up a little since he looks way too young for Bond right now but in 3 or 4 yesrs he could be Bond.
Another one is charlie Hunnam when he is woth his short hair and clean shaven.
Another big contender for me used to be Christian Bale but he has said he is not interested in Bond at all but he has the looks, the sophistication and is great in action sonhe could have made a great Bond.
I have seen Madden in Game of Thrones I'm sure but can't remember much about him. He seems a bit young though.
I have caught a few bits here and there of Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy while changing channels, but don't know enough about him either to comment. He seems a bit thuggish looking for Bond. Sort of in the Craig mold it seems. I know he's been mentioned on here a few times so I'll keep a look out for him and then give my views.
Yes Madden is a little too you g right now but if Craig stays for two more he could grow up and fit into the role.
Hunnam with his beard and tattoos give give us the impression that he is more craig style but his add for Calvin Klein he did with duzten Kroues looks very Pierce Bond like.
Here is the link to the add
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=enzT6uBZgZQ
I don't believe that Bale ever really said he is not interested in Bond at all. Wouldn't be now, of course, but very well might have been back when it was still theoretically possible. He certainly didn't trash the idea when he was asked about it in 2002 or thereabouts, and sounded pretty positive about it, and he has later been very complimentary of Craig as Bond. Personally I'm happy it never happened, for several reasons, though it would have been interesting to see. (I'd also be curious to know if EON had managed to get him to do late night talk shows. :P My guess would be not, though.)
I'm not familiar with Madden's or Hunnam's work, so I can't comment on them.
I was using that to illustrate the problem the Academy has when allocating award nominations. Given that the pool of roles is so much greater for white males (as you correctly noted) it just makes sense from a numbers standpoint that more white men will be nominated. Such a situation would be much more noticeable if there was no separate category for male and female. Given there is a separate category, there is less protest from the female contingent of the acting guild, since they get nominated in their own category - a bifurcation of sorts.
The Academy would have much more difficulty pulling off a separate category just for minorities though (the charge would then be that minorities are being marginalized and segregated).
It is an interesting dichotomy of sorts. Women welcome their separate category for proper recognition of contribution, but minorities probably wouldn't