porntrooper
Posts: 2497
Joined: 6/9/2006
From: Sheffield
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This is one of the better threads doing the rounds in Movie Musings, a very entertaining read.
As for my thoughts, I'm sure there are several black actors that could easily pull of the necessary skills to portray many of the characteristics of the character. However, I'm still firmly in the camp that if the character is created with a particular history, character lineage and viewin mind by the creator(s) then it should probably be respected, where adaptations of literary works are concerned I think getting as close to th original character is a good thing. A black actor could easily pull off the suave, sophisticated, womaniser that beats the bad guys and gets the girls. Of course he could, as could an actor of any other race, but Bond as a character on screen and in literature has a particular lineage and certain characteristics, and yes some of which confirm that he is indeed a white guy. He's been on screen with (loose or not) continuity for 40 years, it would be too jarring for me for Idris Elba (as he sems to be the current example of a black actor playing Bond) on screen referring to his Scottish father and dead wife Tracy, for example, because the same character that did those things in Skyfall and For Your Eyes Only (I think it's FYEO that has Bond at Tracy's graveside?) was white. It would require a full reboot of the character and one that effectively says 'all that other Bond stuff is done with, this is 'new' Bond'. Although Bond's current continuity is loose as hell, I have been swayed over recent weeks (by watching Skyfall lots, and doing a series re-watch via Sky 007) that the continuity is a there more than not. Yes, the character in each incarnation is in a different time and is of varying ages, but he's the same man, the same character. I wouldn't be against a black actor playing Bond, and I can think of a few that could certainly pull it off, I'm just not sure it would sit right with me and I would forever see the franchise split by such a change in continuity.
Batman may be a good comparison franchise. In my view, there are two Batman movie franchises - Burton world and Nolan world. Some would say three - Burton world, Schumaker world, and Nolan world. However, for me, Burton's and Schumaker's Batman are the same character. They're played by different actors and therefore have different faces, but they're in the same film universe (same Alfred and Gordon for example) even though there are visual differences in those worlds. The Nolan world is Bruce Wayne/Batman taken from the same soure material with the same characteristics and lineage but it is a different incarnation of the character. A new universe, new Alfred and Gordon. Rachel changes faces halfway through, the city changes looks in certain parts but the movie universe is the same all the way through. The next movie Batman could quite easily be played by a black actor, playing Bruce Wayne with the same upbringing, same characteristics, raised by Aflred, living in Gotham, same character all the way, but black etc. He is an adaptation of the same character but in a different universe. Thats the only way I can see a black Bond working. By recognising that tis is a whole new adaptation of the original character. The Bond franchise to date is the same movie universe, keeping elements (Desmond Llewellyn's Q, Judi Dench's M) and changing elements (Bond himself, Felix, M, ,Q etc) to keep with the times, but it is essentially the same character and movie universe thoughout - loose continuity for sure, but continuity all the same.
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RE: The Black Bond Question - 
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