Is a black James Bond inevitable ?

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  • It's a fine line to tread, I have no issue with race or color but sincerely hope they never go down the 'black bond' path, strongly agree that 007 should forever be a white secret agent, it's what Fleming intended and It's always been that way for fifty years, they have no need to change it now or in the future
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,582
    if our society ever gets to the point where that it's so politically correct James bond becomes a black man, I will put a bullet in my head..

    in all seriousness though this topic disgusts me. Since were playing change the race game, how about a movie about Martin Luther King Jr played by a white guy. or a movie about Barack Obama played by a white guy??? huh? ?
    This point has been made many, many times on this thread. Just remember though that King and Obama are real historical figures, whereas Bond is a fictional character which opens it up to different interpretations by different actors.

    The part of Bond will go to the best and most appropriate actor at the time.

    What Brosnan said about Salmon was more to do with him being politically correct than anything else. I'm not necessarilly against a black man playing Bond, I would have been against Salmon playing him. He has no big star charisma to ever pull it off. And for that reason, I'm out.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    So a white Shaft there @NicNac?

    Pulp Fiction 2: The Jules Story - with a white actor portraying Jules? :-))
  • SexpionageSexpionage Suspended
    Posts: 49
    amen luds, I was just thinking of Shaft as well..Very good mention there. Also wanted to say to nicnac, what does it matter if the character is fictional or non fictional , james bond has over 50 years history of him being portrayed as a white english man in literature and filming cinematography,

    I wouldn't call that fiction , I would call that a milestone. james bond is more than just a fictional character ,he is part of our cultural entertainment history and future . turning james bond into a african man would not only ruin the james bond franchise but also set a precedent in hollywood and filming history that there are no standards or traditions left in filming cinematography and that everything is about money.
  • WillardWhyteWillardWhyte Midnight Society #ProjectMoon
    Posts: 784
    If it happens it will be the end of the franchise for sure.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    If it happens it will be the end of the franchise for sure.
    That is up to the public. Would they on mass, reject a black Bond? I'd like to think so.
  • Makes about as much sense as a black Indiana Jones (and it doesn't)
    Make a new character if you want
  • Posts: 7,653

    That is up to the public. Would they on mass, reject a black Bond? I'd like to think so.
    I am quite sure that the general audience wouldn't accept it. The blond hair was this time with the changing of the guard already somewhat of an issue. If a black 007 is created I am done with the franchise.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    I think the Bond movies have endured enough PC crap as it is but this isn't about being racist or prejudice or anything like that. Bond is a white man and anyone else just wouldnt be Bond and I think even the producers realise this.
  • SexpionageSexpionage Suspended
    Posts: 49
    if you support a black bond than your a complete moron that has been manipulated and controlled by mainstream Zionist controlled media. you should be slapped hard in the face for even considering such buffoon ideas!

    Tea anyone?
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,582
    So a white Shaft there @NicNac?

    Pulp Fiction 2: The Jules Story - with a white actor portraying Jules? :-))
    Shaft is constantly brought up as an example, it's nothing new. My comment was based on @Sexpionage using historical figures to compare with fictional figures. You can't do that.
    I don't want to see a non-white Bond for the same reasons as everyone else, but comparing the role of Bond to Barak Obama is just dumb.


  • Tea anyone?

    (sips) Quite.
  • Posts: 1,894
    If they ever cast a black James Bond his first film should be a 100% faithful adaptation of LALD. ;;)
    Featuring as much Dikko Hendersen as possible, where possible.
  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    Posts: 257
    I am, unfortunately, too cynical to think otherwise - I am certain that there will be a black Bond, if not in 10 years certainly 20.

    From IMDb and other online chatroom sources I have personally gauged that there is an overwhelming majority of people who think "it's time for a black James Bond." Of course, I have no idea what that means.

    In fact, I actually find it more insulting and racist to not be OK with James Bond staying a white character than not wanting a black Bond…. That somehow the character remaining a white man is a crime against the human race and anyone who thinks that making the character black is a bad idea will be strung up after their fixed trail in The Hague. Of those people, all I ask for is a little intellectual honesty- please.

    But what is worse is that most people today do not think of James Bond as an interesting, complex literary character that should be closely adhered to. They think of him as an empty shell of an action hero inside a three-piece suit, a martini in one hand and a buxom Euroblonde’s buttcheek in the other saving the world one quip at a time.

    Few seem to understand that Ian Fleming wrote James Bond specifically as a white British man; to make the character black changes Bond's outlook on the world and therefore changes Fleming's character altogether. At the face of this fact, people come out of the woodwork claiming that Fleming wrote Bond as race-neutral; and, while I am a staunch proponent of free speech and different ideas, quick to condemn cheap measures of silencing a debate, anyone who actually buys into this claim does nothing but expose a clear misunderstanding and/or ignorance of Fleming's character and novels.

    My personal opinion on the matter is that of course a black actor can give a good performance as James Bond (he could not get much worse than 'ol Piercy, anyway) - but why change what Fleming already brilliantly created?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,187
    if you support a black bond than your a complete moron that has been manipulated and controlled by mainstream Zionist controlled media. you should be slapped hard in the face for even considering such buffoon ideas.
    @Sexpionage Please refrain from using this or any other kind of inappropriate language. Members are free to post their thoughts but they will only gain respect if they do so in an adult fashion and with respect to everybody else. When an opinion is phrased in such an uneducated, insulting and even borderline offensive way as yours is, you may both lose other people's respect as well as your posting privileges. Furthermore, with two inexcusable grammatical errors in one sentence, it would be wise not to call other people morons...
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited September 2011 Posts: 13,355
    This is doing the rounds at the moment. Idris Elba is again addressing the James Bond rumours:

    Interestingly, even though he's hidden his accent to play Americans for many of the most high-profile roles of his career, chatter has circulated for years that Elba could one day wind up playing one of the most iconic British film roles there is: James Bond.

    "It's a rumor," he says flatly. But does that mean you should dismiss it out of hand? Not necessarily. Elba says he recently talked about the role with his father and said that while it sounded like an interesting idea, he had concerns. "I just don't want to be the black James Bond," he says. "Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond."

    That doesn't, of course, really answer the most interesting question: What would he do if they asked him? At first, he's noncommittal. "I"d definitely consider it," he says. But when Linda Wertheimer presses the issue — if Sony called, would he get in a cab to take the meeting? — he can't resist.

    "I'd not only get in the cab," he says, "but I'd take the taxi driver out of the car, hostage. The taxi, jump out while it was moving, jump onto a pedal bike that was just past the door as I got on it, and then get onto a plane — on the wing — land on top of Sony Studios, slide through the air conditioning, and land in the office."

    Sounds pretty confident. And so does this closing line: "I'm never shaken or stirred."

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/09/28/140870300/idris-elba-the-man-who-is-luther-was-stringer-and-could-be-james-bond

    The interview also appears to be available in audio form.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Hahaaha interesting and honest answer from Elba. I think for any non white actor who would be offered the role of Bond would approach it with trepidation but to flat out say they wouldn't do it would be doubtful. Many actors, hell many people in general, including women would love to be James Bond.
  • Posts: 289
    i am not for a "black" Bond i want the best actor available for the job....

    you would rather have be stuck with a worse actor than Laz play Bond over a non-white or light skinned cause he is white?

    example casting:

    a) you have a 5'6 heavy set white american
    b) a tall dark hair french men
    c) a really tall ex-basketball player white (think Shannon Bradley) but cant act at all
    d) a Christopher Lee type (ex-sf turned actor) englishman of mixed heritage
    e) a white welsh man that can act but cant fight and has no charisma.

    take the screen tests when the picked Lazerby none of the other actors fit the bill so Laz won by default because he could fight.

    for me BOND = ENGLISH/BRITISH, QUEEN and COUNTRY, Deadly, lover of women/cars, likes a drink, has a Coolness, calm under pressure, looks good in a TUX/under cover and is finally suave. If the actor can pull all that off....there you go...

    but i will say this...i DONT want a "gangsta" bond.
  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    edited September 2011 Posts: 257
    i am not for a "black" Bond i want the best actor available for the job....

    you would rather have be stuck with a worse actor than Laz play Bond over a non-white or light skinned cause he is white?
    Your flawed non-argument operates under the false assumption that there would be no good white actors that could play James Bond well and that everyone who does not like the idea of betraying Fleming's character with a black Bond would rather see ANYONE but a black Bond.

    This is what I was talking about; intellectual honesty is sorely needed in this discussion.
  • edited September 2011 Posts: 289
    well it appears that some would rather have a terrible actor who is white before a non-"White" actor....

    they did pick LAZ.......i would rather have the best actor possible....i dont see skin tone being that important...what is the difference between a deeply tan "white" man vs a light skinned non-white?

    I see being english/british/common-wealth being the most important...unless you are ok with Clint Eastwood being Bond...
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    I'd rather have a mediocre white actor over a young Morgan Freeman, yes. Bond is white. It's as simple as that. He can't just switch race like a transformer. Like I said, before, if we're going to make Bond black, why black, why not Mexican? Why not a homosexual? Why not a woman?
  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    edited September 2011 Posts: 257
    well it appears that some would rather have a terrible actor who is white before a non-"White" actor....

    they did pick LAZ.......i would rather have the best actor possible....i dont see skin tone being that important...what is the difference between a deeply tan "white" man vs a light skinned non-white?
    I am out of the loop on that one. I'm not sure what you mean by that. Did the producers cite picking Lazenby over someone else because that someone else had tan skin? I doubt that - Cary Grant was offered the role and he was very tan (ever see To Catch A Thief?). I thought Lazenby was picked because he handled himself terrifically in the physical aspect of his screen tests.

    I have seen that Life piece about all of the actors who tried out for James Bond in OHMSS - Lazenby was the clear standout in my mind out of that weak crop for a variety of reasons, none of which skin color played into, and, for my money, gave a fine performance in the role.
  • SexpionageSexpionage Suspended
    edited September 2011 Posts: 49
    I'd rather have a mediocre white actor over a young Morgan Freeman, yes. Bond is white. It's as simple as that. He can't just switch race like a transformer. Like I said, before, if we're going to make Bond black, why black, why not Mexican? Why not a homosexual? Why not a woman?
    great post luds, I completely agree, it seems like your the only one who has any common sense in here.

    so for all you guys saying it be okay for a black bond, then why not a Chinese guy? or hell why not a woman? why not a Muslim? why not a Korean? why not a gay man? why not a guy who has sex with animals? why not a transgender? why not a midget? ??

    get the point now? there must be a standard. If Bond were to be changed in race it would only continue to change in other ways.

    BOND WILL ALWAYS BE WHITE.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited September 2011 Posts: 28,694

    I have seen that Life piece about all of the actors who tried out for James Bond in OHMSS - Lazenby was the clear standout in my mind out of that weak crop for a variety of reasons, none of which skin color played into, and, for my money, gave a fine performance in the role.
    So you consider Sean Connery and Daniel Craig to be in a "weak crop"? Though I don't enjoy Moore as Bond he is very memorable in other roles and does funny well. Can't say much for Brosnan, but a painface could be important...
  • edited October 2011 Posts: 1
    Why does it matter if he's black or white or any other races. All that really matter is that it's written and shot as good as all the other one. To sit here and Focus on skin color and say a black guy will be the end of bond is stupid. Sean Connery wasn't even British but they still gave it a shot and worked out. So who's to say that a black guy won't work out. Jame bond is a uncover name and it could be give to any british agent and I'm sure their not all white. Stop being races and start being open for change. Skin color shouldn't - matter.

    Edit by moderator: No swearing.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    edited October 2011 Posts: 1,986
    Why does it matter if he's black or white or any other races. All that really matter is that it's written and shot as good as all the other one. To sit here and Focus on skin color and say a black guy will be the end of bond is stupid. Sean Connery wasn't even British but they still gave it a shot and worked out. So who's to say that a black guy won't work out. Jame bond is a uncover name and it could be give to any british agent and I'm sure their not all white. Stop being races and start being open for change. Skin color shouldn't - matter.
    Sean Connery worked because he was at least from the UK. How can a black actor work? Is he going to be CGI'd to look white? Because Bond is white. I didn't make it up ;) Bond is a specific secret agent. He's no code name, he's a person written by Fleming, portrayed by a few actors so far.

    Why can't another agent be black? Why does it have to be a character established for over 50 years as a white person, who'd all of a sudden morph into a Black man?

    Open to change? As I wrote many times, if you're going to make Bond black, why not make him gay as well? And while we're at it, let's make him transgender. And a Muslim. And a little person, handicapped. And, eh, mute.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Look at what this silly Screenrant article has to say on the matter:

    As stated, the mere rumor of a black actor playing James Bond is sure to incite immediate controversy amongst those…”true fans” of Ian Fleming’s dapper spy, who would argue (as usual) that ‘Black does not equal Bond,’ or that switching the character’s race would amount to some form of PC pandering… Because, you know, James Bond is a white male who just so happens to change ethnicity (Scottish? English?) and physical traits (blond or auburn hair, blue or brown eyes) depending on the actor playing him. A black Bond would undoubtedly have as many opponents as he would supporters.

    http://screenrant.com/idris-elba-james-bond-kofi-134345/

    LOL- I never know Scottish and English were different ethnicities. (Though both being British makes it even funnier!)
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    The reality is that actors act. I'd have no objection to have an American play Bond, as long as he can portray a decent British accent. Race though, is a different beast.
  • edited October 2011 Posts: 3,494
    This thread is like good old Baron Samedi himself...the man that cannot die :-))

    Seriously, the whole idea of Bond being anything but white, especially using the "non-historical figure" theory, is patently ridiculous in my opinion. Bond is based in part of Ian Fleming's exploits (he is white) and also speculated to be based on the exploits a field agent he knew (who was also white). Now these PC panderers are going to insist that because Fleming didn't specify Bond is white, his race is open to interpretation? Codswallop :-)) . Bond is white. End of story. The PC crew needs to get a life and work on more important social issues than this.
  • Jazz007Jazz007 Minnesota
    Posts: 257

    I have seen that Life piece about all of the actors who tried out for James Bond in OHMSS - Lazenby was the clear standout in my mind out of that weak crop for a variety of reasons, none of which skin color played into, and, for my money, gave a fine performance in the role.
    So you consider Sean Connery and Daniel Craig to be in a "weak crop"? Though I don't enjoy Moore as Bond he is very memorable in other roles and does funny well. Can't say much for Brosnan, but a painface could be important...
    What are you talking about? I said "that Life piece about all of the actors who tried out for James Bond in OHMSS - Lazenby was the clear standout in my mind out of that weak crop for a variety of reasons."

    http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/12/14/james-bond-majestys-secret-service/

    That's^ what I was talking about. Out of all of the actors who tried out for the role in 1969 George Lazenby was the clear standout - and not because of skin color.
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