It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
So they want to see films that are only about Bond on a mission, but with loads of material where he's not on a mission? :)
Perhaps on the contrary the point of view will be that of the female character and in which case there is no need to delves into Bond's private life. But, I think a point of view will be chosen for the story, it's consistent with the conventions of our era, and if it's Bond's, then the character will probably have his own (even limited) character journey. Thus, showing him having breakfast can be quite worthwhile to better understand this iteration of the character.
But that entirely depends on the story being told; what we have here is folks deciding that they want to see him having breakfast and then hoping there's a storytelling reason for that afterwards, which isn't really how should it be. We don't even know what the story would be yet.
I'm not sure: Wayne is a billionaire and they really do have staff; guys living in a flat in London don't so much. Also I think it would just make Bond seem a bit weird that he can't make his own breakfast.
Yeah that's a good point, that I could imagine. Certainly with it being a bit of a comedy routine, which I think he'd have played well.
Maybe less so in the 80s films where he'd have been about the same age as her! :D
Exactly! :D Moore would have done wonders with it.
May didn’t ironically become more of a big character until John Gardener started writing in the 80s, when Moore was going back and forth with playing Bond again honestly.
It would all depend on the tone and “how is the world personal to Bond again” style.
Yeah. I just can't imagine any other Bond with May. It's Moore all day long.
John Gardner's already done that with having both May and Moneypenny kidnapped by Tamil Rahani's SPECTRE in Nobody Lives Forever (1986). It was done in order to try to ensnare Bond too FRWL revenge style.
Yeah, there was a bit of a feeling of a slight return of Colonel Sun's plot with that one.
That's true. I was going to mention that it was of course Kingsley Amis in Colonel Sun (1968) who set the kidnapping subplot ball rolling with having M kidnapped from Quarterdeck early on. John Gardner also closed his run as Bond continuation author by having M kidnapped again in Cold (1996).
I think it is symptomatic of the kind of "shock value" idea that the Bond continuation authors seem to go in for to keep us reading. I don't think it's the sort of subplot Fleming would ever have used although ironically the assassination attempt on M by Bond at the start of TMWTGG is more out of that ballpark. Had it not already been used by Fleming it's the sort of thing you'd expect to read in a pithy opening chapter of a Bond continuation novel by Amis or Gardner.
Oh I'd forgotten about that. I can't remember anything about Cold apart from it being in two halves (and having a helicopter in, but I'm using the cover to remember that! :) ).
Yes I don't think it's the sort of thing that was below Fleming. Giant squids and amnesia plots: he wasn't too picky! :)
Yes, Cold is indeed a novel of two halves, set four years apart in 1990 and 1994 respectively where the previous novel, SeaFire, had left off on the ongoing story arc. The American edition, Cold Fall, makes this more explicitly clear than the British edition does, with dates being provided. There are significant differences between the editing of both texts in fact, with many things appearing in one version that don't appear in the other.
To be honest I can hardly remember anything about the (second) M kidnapping subplot myself, other than the fact that it happens! It's sadly been too many years since I last read Cold. That's something that I need to rectify. Yes, the helicopter fight was memorable and the American main villain, General Brutus Clay, nearly met his end there. Plenty of resentment on the part of the villain was built up against Bond for the future too. As you say, the Hodder and Stoughton first edition (now worth a pretty penny due to a low print run) and the Coronet paperback edition both had the exact same vibrant helicopter art on their respective front covers.
You're no doubt right about the kidnapping of M subplot not being below Fleming. The examples you cite show the "anything goes" aspect to his writing that wouldn't have been out of place in the continuation Bond novels that followed. No doubt today it'd be called "bats*** mental." As stated above Fleming after all had a brainwashed Bond try to assassinate M at the start of his last Bond novel! It's all much the same territory really, when you think about it. Maybe I just don't have enough creative imagination sometimes? That's probably why I stick to writing non-fiction over writing fiction! ;)
Yes, though still nice to have a copy and worth something I'm sure. I bought two first edition copies on eBay a few years ago just to have them before they become any more expensive!
I think these two have been tied to Craig's Bond so much, it'll be difficult for the next actor to shake that, plus why leave room for more comparison's with Craig. I think each new Bond since Sir Roger has faired better for having there own Moneypenny especially.
As for Fiennes as M, I'm happy for him to stay and carry over into the next run, although I hope he and MI6 staff have less screen time in the next actors run
I think their phraseology was that those characters (Miss Moneypenny and Q) had to be "earned" which I suppose was fair enough for the novel idea of a reboot Bond film. I don't think it's necessary to repeat that approach with the next Bond actor but who can say what the next approach to the film Bond will be after the current Craig era ends?
Colin Firth as M
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Moneypenny
Richard Ayoade as Q
David Oyelowo as Bill Tanner
Sam Rockwell as Felix Leiter
One can dream, but I think this supporting cast would knock it out of the park and give a fresh interpretation while keeping in the spirit of these classic characters. I'd especially be excited at the possibility of Oyelowo as Tanner if they further establish the character as Bond's closest friend in MI6.
Oyelowo is an inspired choice, although he might be a bit too old to be the next Bond's closest friend. If they f.e. go with Nicholas Hoult for Bond, there would be about 15 years between them. Not unreasonable, but if they want to re-introduce that type of relationship - which I don't think Craig and Kinnear have at all; Moneypenny and Q are much, much closer to Bond - I think a smaller age gap would be advisable. The problem there of course is: Would a 30-ish person be Chief of Staff to M? So maybe I am talking myself out of it again :))
These are pretty cracking suggestions. I agree that Rockwell might be a bit old for Leiter now, but otherwise they're great. I do like Oyelowo as Tanner, he can do that warm-but-professional really well.