Anthony Horowitz says Idris Elba is 'too street' to play James Bond

[Revelator]

They should just have two Bonds in the next film, a white one and a black one. They can do the mission together. There you go, problem solved.

That Obscure Multi-coloured Object of Desire

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Hire a white actor, but use make up to make him appear black. That way everyone will be happy.

[Revelator]

Hire a white actor, but use make up to make him appear black. That way everyone will be happy.

Or have the white actor in blackface and the black actor in whiteface.

[Mister Six]

^^  This reading of Bond is correct 99% of the time, but the Bond of Quantum of Solace is notably less imperial - cf his conversation in the bar with Felix Leiter re. what the US did to South America.

Yeah, but Quantum of Solace was so shit that it doesn't even count, like A View to a Kill.

Interesting to see what they might do with LeftBond, but I think that would require a level of cohesive vision that's unlikely to come to fruition unless they can keep tempting Sam Mendes back.

[Revelator]

Yeah, but Quantum of Solace was so shit that it doesn't even count, like A View to a Kill.

QoS skewed trendy-lefty due to the writer's strike leaving the producers to work with Paul Haggis's undoubtedly shitty draft, which was supplemented with on-set script contributions by Marc Forster (a hack) and Craig (who already had a day job). Now that Haggis has left the series and taken his literal-mindedness with him, that perfect storm won't reoccur anytime soon. Trying to incorporate Le Carre into Bond is a grave mistake, a betrayal of the Cavalier spirit of the series.

[CaledonianGonzo]

As we all know by now, QoS may be divisive but it has plenty of often vociferous defenders.  I'm not sure AVtaK even has that.

[chand]

What about a black goth James Bond?

[Blumf]

As we all know by now, QoS may be divisive but it has plenty of often vociferous defenders.  I'm not sure AVtaK even has that.

Well, I like AVtaK, not sure what's wrong with it for anyone to hate on it (FFS, we've got Octopussy sitting right next to it!). It's better than dull-dull-dull QoS.

[Hollow]

Well, I like AVtaK, not sure what's wrong with it for anyone to hate on it (FFS, we've got Octopussy sitting right next to it!). It's better than dull-dull-dull QoS.

I liked it when I was little...but I liked any old crap then, Bond seemed to be quite an old man is one thing I noticed even then, Grace Jones scared me and still does...Walken was pretty cool in an unsettling way, typical really...can't remember if it was any good, I can remember a car getting sliced in half?

All my favourite Bond films have Sean Connery, I can't really handle anyone else...Live and Let Die was fun I suppose.

[The Masked Unit]

What about a gay Bond? I mean I know Bond would've dished out his fair share of handies at public school, and nobody's saying that's a bad thing, but I'm talking about a complete fucking mincer in the Liberace mold.

[Dr Rock]

In this day and age I see no reason why Bond can't be played by some kind of flightless bird. Instead of saying 'a martini... shaken, not stirred,' he could instead squawk 'eyaaaaaaacckk-yaaaaaackkk-yaaack.'

[Revelator]

A View to a Kill and Quantum of Solace would have benefited from swapping directors, editors, and writers: despite the virtue of being a classical-era Bond film, AVTAK is sluggish and tired; despite an excellent premise and conclusion, QoS is slapdash and frantic.

Childhood viewings leave me with a some fondness for AVTAK but even at it's best it's a good-bad movie. Moore is of course way too old--thanks to him we know James Bond shouldn't appear in his late 50s (Fleming says the cut-off age for double-Os is 45). Other casting demerits: supposed geologist Tanya Roberts plays helpless ditz (even a blimp sneaks up on her); Walken's character is so thinly written he doubles-down on his mannerisms; Grace Jones looks great but seems to be in a different movie--the idea her and Roger Moore making love is pure Dada.
AVTAK's tone is all over the place--Beach Boys in the pre-credits (not even the real "California Girls" but a cheap soundalike!), while the majestic rescue from city hall is followed by the Keystone Kops ("the dumb police-car crashes seem to have got in by mistake--they belong to a back-roads chase comedy" wrote Pauline Kael). The script takes its unsweet time--the horse-doping scenes at Chantilly go on forever, and uncovering Zorin's plot in the bay area is only slightly less lethargic.

Good bits: John Barry's score (his best since Diamonds Are Forever); Duran Duran coupled with Maurice Binder's kinky-eerie dayglow nudies; the ski-work in the pre-credits; seeing progressively bigger pieces of Bond's car sheered off in Paris (a rare example of a comedic scene that's actually funny); the let's-destroy-Silicon-Valley-with-an-earthquake plot (still worth attempting); the businessman's surprise slide from the blimp into San Francisco bay; Mayday's self-sacrifice; and, best of all, the genuinely iconic fight on top the Golden Gate bridge, which has aged well, thanks to the mix of location filming and large models. Walken's demented chuckle as his hands slip from the cable is one of the finest moments in Bond villainy.

[Mister Six]

In this day and age I see no reason why Bond can't be played by some kind of flightless bird. Instead of saying 'a martini... shaken, not stirred,' he could instead squawk 'eyaaaaaaacckk-yaaaaaackkk-yaaack.'

Ricky Gervais, then?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Good bits: John Barry's score (his best since Diamonds Are Forever)

Say what? 

It's become a cliche to point out how nails the Moonraker score is, but...yeah...what about the Moonraker score...?

Otherwise I agree.  I don't hate it either, and it's far preferable to Octopussy, but I guess the point was re. "vociferous" defence.

[Revelator]

It's become a cliche to point out how nails the Moonraker score is, but...yeah...what about the Moonraker score...?

The Moonraker score is a little too quiet and unambitious for me--the same problem dogged Octopussy as well. It lacks the splash and flamboyance that Barry did better than anyone else. The opening theme is rather sedate, despite Shirley Bassey's wails. But anything by Barry is better than everything by Arnold or Newman.

[momatt]

I didn't immediately think this was offensive in terms of race, more insulting to him as an actor.
Idris is indeed a fairly 'street' sort of cockney fellow.  But he is also a very good actor.  Actors are generally very good at pretending to be people different to themselves.  Idris would be a great Bond.

But on the other hand, if his ego got any more inflated it would probably do him some serious damage.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Tattooed Fountainbridge milkman Big Tam Connery was unfamiliar with the very concept of a 'street'.