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Does Smoking in Bond films have a future in e-cigarettes?

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  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,138
    I think the fact that Bond does not smoke is not entirely in the hands of the filmmakers.
    According to the MPAA - In May 2007, the MPAA announced that depictions of cigarette smoking would be considered in a film's rating

    Films can attract a higher rating if they are deemed to have excessive amounts of drinking or smoking. As a result, the producers have kept the smokes out, and kept the rating down. I've said it once, I'll say it again. I'm not against Bond smoking. But I don't lose anything from having him not do it. Yes it's a character trait from Fleming. But it doesn't weaken or strengthen the character in any way.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    James Bond is not a period peice. Fleming's Bond did many things that the 21st century Bond doesn't do. It's called evolution.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    If they ever make a period piece set in the 50s or 60s, that is when we will see Bond smoking again. But it won t be e-cigarettes.

    Pretty sure Bond smoked some good hashish offscreen while on sabbatical in Turkey.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Birdleson wrote:
    Worrying about smoking or his alcohol consumption was a joke to Fleming's Bond. He wasn't expecting to reach old age, or even retirement. He was a tense, wired and depressed bastard. He smoked and drank to get through the job and the life he chose.
    If they openly chose to make Bond not a hero, that could result in the best Bond characterisation on screen we ever got.
    The paradox is that even the "pc" Bond we get is far from being a role model.

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    large.jpg
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Don´t care much for the chains, but with the rest one could do one helluva Bond.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    boldfinger wrote:
    Don´t care much for the chains, but with the rest one could do one helluva Bond.

    He is a chainsmoker, I guess.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    edited March 2014 Posts: 4,012
    Thunderfinger wrote:
    boldfinger wrote:
    Don´t care much for the chains, but with the rest one could do one helluva Bond.

    He is a chainsmoker, I guess.

    Promo images for TGWTDT, as Mikael Blomkvist. There was an actual issue from the Millenium magazine with photos, regarding the imprisionment of Blomkvist for libel, it was pretty cool!

    EDIT: And it's still online! http://whatishiddeninsnow.com/images/Millennium.pdf I'll never forget the promotion for this film, it might not have been great for drawing audiences in but it was epic and certainly one of a kind. Yeap, those were interesting months, difficult to explain to those who didn't experience the entire thing.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Yes, I have seen several of those. This one is one of the better, i think.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Thunderfinger wrote:
    He is a chainsmoker, I guess.
    Ha, I'm embarrassed to say that I never made the connection until you pointed it out. Was that the intent of the picture? I haven't read the magazine.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Never read it either. Just came across this while searching for another picture which I could not find.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    I think it would be pretty silly considering his profession?
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Electric ciggies what is next alcohol free lager, shirly temples?

    I accept that the age for smoking in movies is perhaps passed but we do not need substitutes.

    Otherwise we end up with 007 and a blow-up doll, and I do not want to see that. ;)
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    SaintMark wrote:
    Electric ciggies what is next alcohol free lager, shirly temples?

    I accept that the age for smoking in movies is perhaps passed but we do not need substitutes.

    Otherwise we end up with 007 and a blow-up doll, and I do not want to see that. ;)

    =)) I bet their are some individuals out there wouldn't mind?!! ;)
  • BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG Banned
    Posts: 29
    SaintMark wrote:
    Otherwise we end up with 007 and a blow-up doll, and I do not want to see that. ;)
    Have you seen A View to A Kill?
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG wrote:
    SaintMark wrote:
    Otherwise we end up with 007 and a blow-up doll, and I do not want to see that. ;)
    Have you seen A View to A Kill?
    It´s hard to find an accurate description of what she was, but she was certainly no blow-up doll.

    Or did you mean the blonde?

  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    boldfinger wrote:
    BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG wrote:
    SaintMark wrote:
    Otherwise we end up with 007 and a blow-up doll, and I do not want to see that. ;)
    Have you seen A View to A Kill?
    It´s hard to find an accurate description of what she was, but she was certainly no blow-up doll.

    Or did you mean the blonde?

    The women were fine but Grace Jones...........should have bagged Moore and Oscar. ;)

  • sirseanisbondsirseanisbond
    edited March 2014 Posts: 2,189
    Lets get down to brass tax shall we? I started this thread out of a curiosity about smoking and the future of the Bond franchise. Unlike Bond's martini, cigarettes are a vice that have become not only outdated but flat out shun by Hollywood, but that doesn't mean that it cant still be part of the character. As an American, I accept that Europeans are always going to be more open to smoking but that doesn't mean that the habit will feature prominently in a film where a majority of the market will be in America, and there fore must adhere to Hollywood's standards.

    I believe that the character of James Bond was, is, and may always be one who smokes, and like many on this thread I agree, he should and would smoke the real stuff or nothing at all, but I started this thread to explore the possibility of e-cigs as a way for Hollywood to accept Bond's smoking, and therefore allow him to smoke in movies. This question also extends beyond the present and was intended to anticipate a future where e-cigs may be a very popular alternative to the real thing, and most probably in America. Thoughts?
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Yes, the same from before. E-cigs aren´t badass. They lack the viscerality of plant leaves dried, cut, rolled, and then made to glow. In comparison to that an e-cig looks like a prostesis. That´s my feeling as a non-smoker.
  • ManOftheLAWManOftheLAW Banned
    Posts: 11
    You mnow in all honesty I think in 20-25 years we will FINALLYfinally have A bond that not only smoes tar free flavorourful cigarettes, but also marijana. Harmless vice for a man of many vices
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    No, this is instead much more like an idea John Gardner would have deployed in Licence Renewed - as much as I love his work and defend it. Happily e-cigs were not around in 1981 or JG might have been tempted to include them in the list of bad habits he reformed (low tar cigarettes, moderate drinking of alcohol etc.) Of course I see the point that the OP is making here, but I think it is something of a red herring for several reasons to wonder if Bond would come off tobacco and "smoke" a nicotine-free e-cigarette. I'd imagine (channeling my inner Bond here) that Bond would feel (rightly, in my view) that they are a gimmicky fad thought up as n answer to re-glamorise the practice of smoking for the 21st Century hipsters who feel the need to do things that bit different (such as young women shaving only half of their heads?!). There is also the danger that these e-cigarettes have not been tested properly and that they may very well be hazardous to health in another way, not least that they may encourage young impressionable non-smokers to take up the habit of smoking rel cigarettes with all of the negative health implications that that entails. So, to summarise, I'm in agreement with those here who say that James Bond should either smoke real cigarettes on screen or not at all. There should be no half-way house with e-cigarettes as that is not Bond's style at all, even in these more aware times of all the dangers of cigarette smoking. You have to bear in mind that Bond always believes he will be killed on a mission so what is smoking real cigarettes to him? Nothing much, I'd imagine. E-cigarettes are a fad and they are not Bondian in any sway shape or form. End of.
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    Creasy47 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    The "enjoying death" time in SF was the perfect moment for him to smoke. If he didn't then, I doubt he'll do it later. They could have even insinuate his lack of physical level was partially because of retaking the habit, so health authorities couldn't complain.

    Spot on. They really missed their chance with this. I would love for Bond to resort to smoking again: it's one of the many things that made the character, and like others have said, he's indestructible: why can't he smoke and kick ass as well?

    I don't see this as a wasted chance. There is simply no glamour and coolness factor to be had these days with the way smokers are treated almost anywhere around the globe. One can't smoke in restaurants and airplanes anymore and on airports you are separated in extra areas when you want to smoke a cigarette. Frankly those smokers in glass cabinets I frequently pass by on airports do rather look like animals in the zoo than suave Globetrotters. I say all of this as someone who was once a very heavy smoker and who doesn't mind one bit,when others are still in the habit.
    And as much I am usually against giving in to the Zeitgeist, this might be one of the very few examples where it really makes sense, since the idea of raising up a generation, which doesn't ruin its health with smoking has some merit. There are funnier ways to do so anyway! Just think on all the fun to be had on your way to liver cancer.
  • 00130013
    Posts: 1,817
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    Creasy47 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    The "enjoying death" time in SF was the perfect moment for him to smoke. If he didn't then, I doubt he'll do it later. They could have even insinuate his lack of physical level was partially because of retaking the habit, so health authorities couldn't complain.

    Spot on. They really missed their chance with this. I would love for Bond to resort to smoking again: it's one of the many things that made the character, and like others have said, he's indestructible: why can't he smoke and kick ass as well?

    I don't see this as a wasted chance. There is simply no glamour and coolness factor to be had these days with the way smokers are treated almost anywhere around the globe. One can't smoke in restaurants and airplanes anymore and on airports you are separated in extra areas when you want to smoke a cigarette. Frankly those smokers in glass cabinets I frequently pass by on airports do rather look like animals in the zoo than suave Globetrotters. I say all of this as someone who was once a very heavy smoker and who doesn't mind one bit,when others are still in the habit.
    And as much I am usually against giving in to the Zeitgeist, this might be one of the very few examples where it really makes sense, since the idea of raising up a generation, which doesn't ruin its health with smoking has some merit. There are funnier ways to do so anyway! Just think on all the fun to be had on your way to liver cancer.

    The thread isn't about smoking good or bad. It's about having e-cigarettes in future Bond films.
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    0013 wrote:
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    Creasy47 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    The "enjoying death" time in SF was the perfect moment for him to smoke. If he didn't then, I doubt he'll do it later. They could have even insinuate his lack of physical level was partially because of retaking the habit, so health authorities couldn't complain.

    Spot on. They really missed their chance with this. I would love for Bond to resort to smoking again: it's one of the many things that made the character, and like others have said, he's indestructible: why can't he smoke and kick ass as well?

    I don't see this as a wasted chance. There is simply no glamour and coolness factor to be had these days with the way smokers are treated almost anywhere around the globe. One can't smoke in restaurants and airplanes anymore and on airports you are separated in extra areas when you want to smoke a cigarette. Frankly those smokers in glass cabinets I frequently pass by on airports do rather look like animals in the zoo than suave Globetrotters. I say all of this as someone who was once a very heavy smoker and who doesn't mind one bit,when others are still in the habit.
    And as much I am usually against giving in to the Zeitgeist, this might be one of the very few examples where it really makes sense, since the idea of raising up a generation, which doesn't ruin its health with smoking has some merit. There are funnier ways to do so anyway! Just think on all the fun to be had on your way to liver cancer.

    The thread isn't about smoking good or bad. It's about having e-cigarettes in future Bond films.

    I blush in most severe embarrassment! Dumb,dumb Matt Helm.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,585
    Cool ad! Dalton definitely made smoking look badass!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2014 Posts: 18,281
    Birdleson wrote:
    It's also a taste of what we may have gotten if Dalton had been given a more (Moore) traditional Bond film. I think he pulls it off fairly well. In fact he seem much more at ease here than in his actual Bond outings.

    It's a cross between Goldfinger (Oddjob death) and Octopussy (yo-yo saws) that and very interesting indeed to see.

    When was that TV advert released I wonder?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Matt_Helm wrote:
    Creasy47 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    The "enjoying death" time in SF was the perfect moment for him to smoke. If he didn't then, I doubt he'll do it later. They could have even insinuate his lack of physical level was partially because of retaking the habit, so health authorities couldn't complain.

    Spot on. They really missed their chance with this. I would love for Bond to resort to smoking again: it's one of the many things that made the character, and like others have said, he's indestructible: why can't he smoke and kick ass as well?

    I don't see this as a wasted chance. There is simply no glamour and coolness factor to be had these days with the way smokers are treated almost anywhere around the globe. One can't smoke in restaurants and airplanes anymore and on airports you are separated in extra areas when you want to smoke a cigarette. Frankly those smokers in glass cabinets I frequently pass by on airports do rather look like animals in the zoo than suave Globetrotters. I say all of this as someone who was once a very heavy smoker and who doesn't mind one bit,when others are still in the habit.
    And as much I am usually against giving in to the Zeitgeist, this might be one of the very few examples where it really makes sense, since the idea of raising up a generation, which doesn't ruin its health with smoking has some merit. There are funnier ways to do so anyway! Just think on all the fun to be had on your way to liver cancer.

    Fair enough, that's your opinion, but I'm not talking about a 'coolness factor' to it, I'm saying that it would've been nice (and easy) to bring back in SF given Bond's 'reawakening,' in a sense, and since it has always been a staple of the character, it would be nice to see once more. Might as well remove the alcohol, while we're at it, since that is also deadly in large doses.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2014 Posts: 18,281
    Birdleson wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Birdleson wrote:
    It's also a taste of what we may have gotten if Dalton had been given a more (Moore) traditional Bond film. I think he pulls it off fairly well. In fact he seem much more at ease here than in his actual Bond outings.

    It's a cross between Goldfinger (Oddjob death) and Octopussy (yo-yo saws) that and very interesting indeed to see.

    When was that TVFG advert released I wonder?

    I'm not sure. I think it was shown in Japan.

    Thanks. I assume at any rate it was post-LTK? A little research may uncover such details. I find it a tad odd too that Dalton seems to be speaking in an American accent, despite playing a highly iconic British cinematic and literary character. I do wonder why this is the case...?

    On a side note though, I do concur that Dalton's third and next projected Bond (be that The Property of A Lady in 1991 or GoldenEye in 1993) would have returned to some of the more recognisable tropes of the earlier Bond films as the third film a Bond actor does generally shows them to be well settled into the role. TLD and LTK seem to me to have been highly successful attempts to bring back a gritty sense of realism to the series not seen since the halcyon days of Connery and Lazenby of the Bond films of the 1960s. Still, at least we have this very interesting advert. I do wonder now if there are more such adverts out there starring Bond actors that may be of especial interest to members here and Bond fans further afield. I will endeavour to investigate whether there are or not as Bondian appearances by Bond actors in between films is sure a lacuna in our current Bond literature and I like to Polyfilla (Flemingesque brand name alert!!!)these areas with new knowledge as I hope anyone who reads the papers on my blog project will be aware by now.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Birdleson wrote:

    An awefull add
  • Villiers53Villiers53
    edited May 2014 Posts: 802
    If Bond were to be recast as a politically correct, teetotal, vegan, Prius driving transexual, then I think it would be perfectly consistent for him/her to smoke e-cigs.
    As for the Bond the rest of us know and love — how the hell would he get sixty of them into his gun metal cigarette case? Wouldn't they melt when he let them with his oxidised Ronson? And how would Casino Royale read;"The scent, e-smoke and sweat are nauseating at 3:00 in the morning"?
    Please don't mess with my hero. This suggestion is pure sacrilege!
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