How would you feel if a black JAMES BOND was cast?

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  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,385
    Why is "JAMES BOND" in all caps?
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    how about a white actor playing Martin Luther King? or a white actor playing Malcolm X? or a white actor playing shaft? or a white actor playing Michael Jordan?

    ...point is bond is a British white guy, always has been and always will be. I can't even stand talking about a black bond, it literally makes me want to puke.

    You dug up a year old thread and made some of the most ludicrous comparisons as to why Bond should never be black. Jordan, X, King...they're real people. Newsflash! Bond isn't real. Can Bond be black, brown, tanned, mix raced?? If course he can but it doesn't mean it should happen. Casting Bond should primarily be about finding the best actor to do the job. Everything else is secondary. The idea of Bond being non White is entertained but on a serious level, it'll never happen as that's something most people don't want nor need to see. Just looking at the op again and this thread was and is so ridiculously pointless.

  • Posts: 1,548
    I would disown the franchise if this ever happened.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2012 Posts: 15,723
    how about a white actor playing Martin Luther King? or a white actor playing Malcolm X? or a white actor playing shaft? or a white actor playing Michael Jordan?

    Luther King, Malcom X and Jordan were real persons, so having white actors playing them is ludicrous. Even if Bond was white in the original novels, it's more conceivable for Bond to be played by a white actor than real historical figures changing race. So your argument is pure rubbish.
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 228
    LeChiffre wrote:
    I would disown the franchise if this ever happened.


    amen.


    and as for Dalton Craig calling my argument rubbish, what im trying to say in my argument is that the changing of a fictional or non fictional black character into a white character would be considered outrageous and racist, but for a white character whether it be fictional or non fictional to be changed into a black character would be considered modern and acceptable. My point is we live in a culture of pure political correctness and white man is the new minority of this new 3rd world coming of age America.

    Its just not right, the books clearly state bonds characteristics and thats what the movies are based upon, Ian Fleming's James Bond.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    WHY HAVE YOU RISEN AGAIN?!?!?!?!
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited May 2012 Posts: 15,723
    @TouchMyButtons no matter how wrong a black 007 is, it still is more conceivable than Martin Luther King played by a white actor in a biopic.....
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 12,837
    how about a white actor playing Martin Luther King? or a white actor playing Malcolm X? or a white actor playing shaft? or a white actor playing Michael Jordan?

    ...point is bond is a British white guy, always has been and always will be. I can't even stand talking about a black bond, it literally makes me want to puke.

    Why drag this up again?

    MLK was real, Malcom X was real, Shaft has only ever been played by one guy and nobody else (white or black) should play him, Micheal Jordan was real.

    Personally, I don't really care if he's black or white, I suggested Idris Elbra for Bond before, not because he's black, but because he's a good actor who could handle the part (watch Luther). I like the books but like I've said before, I'm not too bothered how close they are to the films, they can be entirely different, as long as the films are good I don't care how close they are to the books. If they are great, if not, that's fine by me.

    So I wouldn't make Bond black for the sake of it, but if an actor nails the audition, is better than all the other canditates, who could play the part well and who just so happens to be black, fine. But don't make Bond black just for the sake of being PC.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    how about a white actor playing Martin Luther King? or a white actor playing Malcolm X? or a white actor playing shaft? or a white actor playing Michael Jordan?

    ...point is bond is a British white guy, always has been and always will be. I can't even stand talking about a black bond, it literally makes me want to puke.

    Why drag this up again?

    MLK was real, Malcom X was real, Shaft has only ever been played by one guy and nobody else (white or black) should play him, Micheal Jordan was real.

    Personally, I don't really care if he's black or white, I suggested Idris Elbra for Bond before, not because he's black, but because he's a good actor who could handle the part (watch Luther). I like the books but like I've said before, I'm not too bothered how close they are to the films, they can be entirely different, as long as the films are good I don't care how close they are to the books. If they are great, if not, that's fine by me.

    So I wouldn't make Bond black for the sake of it, but if an actor nails the audition, is better than all the other canditates, who could play the part well and who just so happens to be black, fine. But don't make Bond black just for the sake of being PC.


    Exactly! You expressed what I think better than I could. Sums it up just right.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,385
    how about a white actor playing Martin Luther King? or a white actor playing Malcolm X? or a white actor playing shaft? or a white actor playing Michael Jordan?

    ...point is bond is a British white guy, always has been and always will be. I can't even stand talking about a black bond, it literally makes me want to puke.

    Why drag this up again?

    MLK was real, Malcom X was real, Shaft has only ever been played by one guy and nobody else (white or black) should play him, Micheal Jordan was real.

    Personally, I don't really care if he's black or white, I suggested Idris Elbra for Bond before, not because he's black, but because he's a good actor who could handle the part (watch Luther). I like the books but like I've said before, I'm not too bothered how close they are to the films, they can be entirely different, as long as the films are good I don't care how close they are to the books. If they are great, if not, that's fine by me.

    So I wouldn't make Bond black for the sake of it, but if an actor nails the audition, is better than all the other canditates, who could play the part well and who just so happens to be black, fine. But don't make Bond black just for the sake of being PC.

    Well said.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Actually, Shaft has been played by two actors...just saying...
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 624
    Will Smith and all those guys from the OP can forget about being Bond simply because they are American. I don't want any Americans playing Bond.

    Who brought this thread up again anyways?

    [img][/img]a2306779-142-beating-a-dead-horse.gif?d=1233038343
  • Posts: 228
    @TouchMyButtons no matter how wrong a black 007 is, it still is more conceivable than Martin Luther King played by a white actor in a biopic.....


    no not really...bond is fiction, but he was fictionalized as a Caucasuan British Male, not a black male. Martin Luther king was realistically born with African American Traits, not with Caucasian/White American traits. So you're argument is that just because Bond wasn't a real human being ,that gives more justification to change his race to black rather than MLK to be turned to white? Thats you're opinion and it doesn't really make much sense rather than you thinking its more acceptable to change traditional fictionalized characters than actual real-life born traditional characters . so yeah, doesn't really speak much of a real debate there
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 774
    If a black actor was cast as Bond, just for the sake of having a black actor as Bond, then it would be stupid and overly PC.

    However, if there is an extremely talented actor who would play Bond well, and he happens to be black, then I wouldn't care.

    Just as long as he isn't American.
  • Posts: 228
    Volante I admire you're diversity, but there are plenty of White European actors who are out there who are extremely talented and capable of being 007, it would definitely be a PC move if a black male ever was chosen as bond.

    Its like feeding a dog catfood when theres plenty of choices of dogfood. it just doesn't make sense. Anyway Felix was already a PC move in my opinion with Jeffery Wright, but I think he does a good job as Felix and I do enjoy him none the less, also M's introduction as female was a major PC move in 1995.Can you think of any other PC moves EON has done in the past?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Felix had been been colored before Wright.
  • Posts: 5,634
    Leiter is only an obscure figure in the James Bond series, and I didn't have a problem with a colored Leiter, but we're talking about James Bond himself, the most pivotal figure of the franchise and all said I hope a colored James Bond never sees the light of day, it's just something I wouldn't be happy with, can't put it any clearer than that really, Bond should be a British, Caucasian guy and I can never look beyond that
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 774
    Volante I admire you're diversity, but there are plenty of White European actors who are out there who are extremely talented and capable of being 007, it would definitely be a PC move if a black male ever was chosen as bond.

    Its like feeding a dog catfood when theres plenty of choices of dogfood. it just doesn't make sense. Anyway Felix was already a PC move in my opinion with Jeffery Wright, but I think he does a good job as Felix and I do enjoy him none the less, also M's introduction as female was a major PC move in 1995.Can you think of any other PC moves EON has done in the past?

    As long as the best actor for the job is chosen, I'll be happy.
  • Posts: 232
    Such a tired discussion. Bond is white, end of story. If people want a black Bond, make a spin off like 009 or something. The major push of PC boundaries has reached an absurd height. Cubby always warned that if you mess with his winning formula, it will be a disaster. Need to follow this advice. Though the trailer of Skyfall looks like an amazing film, I worry that the old Bond franchise is a bit lost for good, it seems.
  • Posts: 228
    If you mean, " silly unrealistic stunts, over-the-top unnecessary action scenes , out-of-place gadgetry and constant humorously filled quips" , when you refer to the old bond franchise, then thank god. Because Skyfall is looking to be one of the best bonds, if not the best already ...yes the best already, I said it kiddies.
  • Posts: 232
    You must have quite the contempt for the whole series then. Like I said, I do think Skyfall looks to be a great film, but I do start to think the franchise was it's own thing. Skyfall looks like someone else's great film, not a Bond film. Still super psyched to see it, but in a different way.
  • Posts: 5,634
    You need to realize not all participants on MI6 are 'kiddies' ?!

    But as Mr Jarrod said before, we can debate this 'til the cows come home, James Bond is white, should be white, and hopefully will remain white until Armageddon..

    It is a tired debate as stated, with all due respect..
  • Posts: 284
    Nick Fury. kojak, they changed to black from their source material maybe we should have a white shaft
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Maybe we should shut this thread up. We have discussed all that could be discussed, and at the end of the day the argument won't change for either parties for or against. And in the past it has caused more chaos and spats than it should have.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,256
    I think it can best be kept open though, at least as long as we don't end up in fuss. The problem is that every now and then someone feels compelled to bring up the issue and I refuse to spend any more forum space on the subject.
  • edited May 2012 Posts: 12,837
    Actually, Shaft has been played by two actors...just saying...

    He has? If you mean the Samuel L Jackson version he was playing his nephew also called John Shaft.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Actually, Shaft has been played by two actors...just saying...

    Nope only one. The shaft movie with Samuel L Jackson was a movie about Shaft's nephew. Roundtree aka Shaft was in the movie and Jackson, the lead of the movie was the nephew.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Why do we have to entertain the idea, anyway? Is it out of some kind of need to satisfy equality or be PC? Surely, there are roles that are meant to be racially distinct? Can't we have that anymore, or will someone throw up their arms and declare it racist?

    Like I said, if they got a fantastic actor to play the part, then fine. But it would be a long way from Fleming's hero, just by definition. I'd not hate it, but I think I'd be disappointed. Not because the actor was black, but because society is so bloody scared of offending anyone these days that poor decisions are made to appease a minority. And I'm not talking about a black minority. I'm talking about a hardcore of bleedingheart extreme PC liberals who believe that black people or other ethnic groups "might" be offended.

    When that small group has enough power and influence to turn James Bond black, then I'll be very sad. I won't be sad because we have a black Bond, but because idiots will have succeeded in messing up something that really isn't broken.

    I honestly wonder if this is an issue for black people. Are they slighted and offended that Bond has never been black? I doubt it. I really wonder at the motivations of people who suggest that it would be a good idea in the first place.

    Well said Sir. Finally some intelligent analysis of this tedious topic.
    Volante wrote:
    As long as the best actor for the job is chosen, I'll be happy.

    I see people wheeling this point out time and again (quite probably, it seems to me, in a concerted effort just to point out how much of a racist they arent) as a justification for a black Bond but I find it a somewhat fatuous argument.

    The 'job' in this particular question is portraying a suave, athletic white man in his mid to late 30s. The best actor for said job would therefore be someone who meets those criteria. So no matter how good his audition is Ving Rhames would not get the job - for the simple reason that he is plainly not the best actor for this job. This is of course not to say hes not a good actor or indeed the best actor at the audition in terms of talent. But hes not the best actor for the job. In the same way if I were casting Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch I wouldnt turn to Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore.

    What this stupid 'the best actor for the job' argument is saying is that anyone can come in and as long as they blow you away with their interpretation of Bond in the audition then any fundamental facet of the character on the page can be changed to accomodate them. So Heather Mills, Gary Coleman, Bella Emberg and Warwick Davis are all equally in the running for the role if you follow this preposterous logic to its conclusion.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I remember Pierce Brosnan on the DAD commentary said that the actor who played Robinson in TND, TWINE and DAD (can't remember his name) might have made a good Bond. What are people's thoughts on that?
  • Posts: 774
    Why do we have to entertain the idea, anyway? Is it out of some kind of need to satisfy equality or be PC? Surely, there are roles that are meant to be racially distinct? Can't we have that anymore, or will someone throw up their arms and declare it racist?

    Like I said, if they got a fantastic actor to play the part, then fine. But it would be a long way from Fleming's hero, just by definition. I'd not hate it, but I think I'd be disappointed. Not because the actor was black, but because society is so bloody scared of offending anyone these days that poor decisions are made to appease a minority. And I'm not talking about a black minority. I'm talking about a hardcore of bleedingheart extreme PC liberals who believe that black people or other ethnic groups "might" be offended.

    When that small group has enough power and influence to turn James Bond black, then I'll be very sad. I won't be sad because we have a black Bond, but because idiots will have succeeded in messing up something that really isn't broken.

    I honestly wonder if this is an issue for black people. Are they slighted and offended that Bond has never been black? I doubt it. I really wonder at the motivations of people who suggest that it would be a good idea in the first place.

    Well said Sir. Finally some intelligent analysis of this tedious topic.
    Volante wrote:
    As long as the best actor for the job is chosen, I'll be happy.

    I see people wheeling this point out time and again (quite probably, it seems to me, in a concerted effort just to point out how much of a racist they arent) as a justification for a black Bond but I find it a somewhat fatuous argument.

    The 'job' in this particular question is portraying a suave, athletic white man in his mid to late 30s. The best actor for said job would therefore be someone who meets those criteria. So no matter how good his audition is Ving Rhames would not get the job - for the simple reason that he is plainly not the best actor for this job. This is of course not to say hes not a good actor or indeed the best actor at the audition in terms of talent. But hes not the best actor for the job. In the same way if I were casting Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch I wouldnt turn to Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore.

    What this stupid 'the best actor for the job' argument is saying is that anyone can come in and as long as they blow you away with their interpretation of Bond in the audition then any fundamental facet of the character on the page can be changed to accomodate them. So Heather Mills, Gary Coleman, Bella Emberg and Warwick Davis are all equally in the running for the role if you follow this preposterous logic to its conclusion.

    Well, I'm not a racist, and I actually used that point because I enjoy good acting. I should have said something like 'best actor within reason'. I just don't think Bond being black is that much of a big deal; as long as it's the same Bond character I love I don't care what colour his skin is.

    I should also note that I want Tom Hiddleston to be the next Bond. He's suave, athletic, white, and would be about the right age when Craig retires. I'm not actively demanding a black Bond, just saying it wouldn't really matter to me.
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