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Yes. Yes you do. Honestly I still think it is very overused, and there are plenty more intresting places Bond could travel to. Maybe somewhere else in America, but I don't think they should use New York.
You see, I think there are some bigger underlying issues here that extend as far back as 1776. Brit's were the ones who ran the world before us Americans got the reigns after WW2, and deep down I think you all resent that. It is also manifested in your distaste for New York next to your beloved London because in the back of your minds you know that it is the only city in the world that can top London's global importance. That may make you wish that Bond wouldn't go there, but really it could be a great oppertunity to prove that Britton is still Great, and that its greatest secret agent can still tackel the big apple and come out on top. Bond is the personification of British international strength, and if he could go to New York and make a diffrence among his American coliegs, he could do something great for England.
So... Me and the other Brits on this thread who don't want Bond in New York don't want him there because of some deep resentment for America in the back of our minds. :| really???
I don't want New York because it's overused and I don't think it'll be all that intresting. End of.
Seconded. And America is hardly running the world, it would doubtless be a vastly different place then.
There is no need to return to a city that has an overwhelming presence already when Bond is supposed to be exotic and hasn't yet been to so many, many other places.
You see, I think there are some bigger underlying issues here that extend as far back as 1776. Brit's were the ones who ran the world before us Americans got the reigns after WW2, and deep down I think you all resent that. It is also manifested in your distaste for New York next to your beloved London because in the back of your minds you know that it is the only city in the world that can top London's global importance. That may make you wish that Bond wouldn't go there, but really it could be a great oppertunity to prove that Britton is still Great, and that its greatest secret agent can still tackel the big apple and come out on top. Bond is the personification of British international strength, and if he could go to New York and make a diffrence among his American coliegs, he could do something great for England."
You misunderstod me. New York is a great city. As some one who did graduate studies (postgraduate for us, Brits) in America and lived there for sometime, and have tens of friends there, I like America and Americans. But I think Bond and Paris will be good.
i hate to bring this up to you but the Brits hardly ever think about 1776. We are far more likely to think of 1066, 1588, 1666 or 1815 then that.
As for cities topping Londons global importance it can be argued Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Singapore and Shanghai do that as well.
I cant speak for every brit but every film coming out of Hollywood is either LA or NYC. It gets abit tedious. Yet another action film in LA or yet another rom com set in Central Park in NYC. Thats the reason I would argue against it. Since Americans produce most of the worlds movies then it goes that the majority will be set in your most important city.
To be frank, it gets a little boring.
So I have nothing against New York. Its a great city. I have been there four times - the first time in 1992 where Times Square was a right shithole. But when I went back in 2003 and 2006. The city had irrevocably changed for the better and was a pleasure to be in. So I love New York...
Disagree. I think the fact a lot of us feel uncomfortable with the idea of Bond in the USA is actually a lot to do with the realpolitik of the post war world, and the USA's growing power and dominance since the end of WW2. Bond in the USA always comes across as a bit stiff, awkward and out of place. See LALD and LTK. 1776 is still a significant date in British history, even if we try and pretend it wasn't important - it represented the end of one imperial chapter and the beginning of another, even grander one. It was also highly significant in that the colonials gave the mother country a good kicking - I don't think the Brits have ever fully forgotten that and is another reason we resented having to call on the American's help in 1941.
Also, do you seriously think Frankfurt and Singapore challenge London? Perhaps Hong Kong and Shanghai to some extent, but none of these places equal London's combined financial, political, educational, media, sporting, historical and cultural influence. I'd argue that New York doesn't really either, although it's a wonderful city.
Agreed - Bond is much more at home in the 'old world' of Europe and Asia - it suits him better. Let's just say it's his natural habitat.
Granted, Bond does belong in the old world because a s a Brit, it's his natural home. My point is that I think it could be really interesting to see Bond pushed out of his cumfort zone, and into the hotbed of international activity that is Manhattan. Does no one else agree that, given the correct plot devices, New York could be a really interesting place to revive Bond's international importance?
No, because this is James Bond, not Die Hard With A Vengeance, The French Connection, Ghostbusters, or Goodfellas
James Bond is most suited to the European continent, it's as simple as that, even if they do go to some exotic locations every now and again
I am happy to see Bond wander far beyond Europe - just not super keen on the US as a location, although perhaps there are some unusual locations that have potential.
I just think when you put Bond and Mi6 up against the CIA it all looks a bit silly.
Furthermore, for the 50th anniversary etc, they could reimage it so instead of Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt etc, they could put up faces of Moore, Lazenby, Dalton and Connery for instance in a nice homage (or Brosnan even and omit someone else)
Or then again, maybe it's better they don't and just stay away etc, but I did think about that just then
Thank you for agreeing with me @Getafix, as I knew my suspicions about their being some lingering resentment of the US by the UK must have been accurate. As an American who loves his country, despite its many foibles, I can only imagine what it must feel like to be part of a nation that is past its prime, and as many seem to be predicting that America is at or near its peak of influence, I understand what sort of displeasure you Brits must get out of being reminded of your waning glory as a country. Sorry to get all nationalistic there and prodding into history, but it’s something that I think gets left out on these threads.
I also agree with your critique of @actonsteve’s choices of comparable cities to New York. Frankfurt misses the mark completely, as it is a puny trading city next to New York. As for the Chinese megalopolises, their prestige may come in time, but it is unlikely that any one of them will match New York, at least in the foreseeable future. While I de agree that London holds a more traditional and historical significance over New York because of its age and influence, New York makes up for that clout with its sheer size, and in the amount of business that it houses.
As for you @Baltimore_007, I hope you were joking about the Mt. Rushmore thing. This is James Bond we’re talking about, not Richie Rich. Also, while you bring up a good point about how the Bond series is not like one of the American crime films you mentioned, I must say that those films you mentioned belong to the old New York, or to the one that was defined by the Twin Towers. 9/11 has changed New York in so many ways, and really, no film yet can define what the New-New York is going to be like because the new World Trade center isn’t finished yet. That new complex will be a defining manifestation of a new New York, which is not filled with crime and smelling of piss like it was in the 80’s, but as a new city, which has been to hell and back, and come out stronger than ever. That’s what I hope for, and I think that, as a Brit, Bond could judge the new city for the international community, and deliver a foreigners view of it, rather than a hyped up American one with superhero swizzing around it to stop an alien invasion, (Avengers still looks awesome though). Does anyone see what I’m getting at?
They are very simple.
Every other film coming out of Hollywood is set in New York. It gets very boring. I groan when there is another cliched horseride around central park or yet another monster stomping amongst the skyscrapers.
The Bonds have always been international. They have gone to Macau, Siena, Kingston, Luxor,the Bernese Oberland. Places you don't see on the average Hollywood film.
We can see New York in any average film. I like it when we go somewhere different.
Like Frankfurt?
Paris to me feels like a city that Bond would spend a lot of time in, and frankly he should, not just because the city fits the sexy european feel of a Bond film, but because it is a major stronghold for Muslim's in Europe, and not that I'm profiling here or anything, but the major enemy of the west at the moment are muslim extremists, and it's feasible that Bond might need to track down a terrorist contact in the streets of Paris to find out who he's working for, or something along those lines.
Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy- just one kilometre from the coast
Perhaps not for next film though, as we just saw Silva's island. It does look like something we'd see in a Bond film, however.
I am American, and I think that setting Bond in the US is almost always a bad idea (the "adult playgrounds" of '60s Miami and '70s Vegas are the two exceptions). The same goes for Asia. Bond's roots are in Europe and the Cold War. The best Bond movies (FRWL, OHMSS, TLD, CR) realize this.
The ideas suggested for a scene there sound great, too. Let's hope something happens with this idea in future.
(07 Apr 2010)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7561805/Paris-tries-to-lure-James-Bond-to-Palace-of-Versailles.html
So, I keep thinking the motto should be used for 007's locations and for his own culture and lifestyle (Turkey's caviar, French champagne of course, Mojito and delectados in Cuba...). Bond also means mediatic tourism.
Not only Paris or NY, but the many cities previously posted. (I obviously include my country in, with Brussels and Namur. I'd be so glad if it happen in the future and won't let the chance to miss the shoot on set)
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/2744/what-country-would-you-like-a-bond-movie-to-feature-in/p5