"No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Die!" By James Reed
There have been books and articles by the dissent Right written about James Bond and manliness. It is incredible to go back and watch Sean Connery Bond movies from the 1960s such as Goldfinger, which would be heavily censored today. In fact, the Bond character was gradually censored over time in partial cancellation and emasculation, with Bond being openly called misogynist by head spy M and other female staff. Then came the Daniel Craig Bond, and more emasculation, until we have Bond committing suicide by missile in No Time to Die (2021), as he had some special virus that would have killed his ex-wife, or some such nonsense, if he came in contact. Craig was a terrible Bond.
The Bond series was going to be rebooted, maybe with a Black Bond. That was fielded by the franchise producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. As bad as that would be, it seems that Amazon who owns Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio, wants to do a full woke job on Bond, with a gay Bond, lady Bond, and probably a trans Bond as well. The same job that was done to The Lord of the Rings in the appalling TV series. Wilson and Broccoli are fine with the gay and Black Bond, but are objecting to all the rest, so no new Bond movie has been made. I think in this age of infinite woke, best to let Bond die and rest in peace, rather than be assaulted by political correctness gone mad.
"Having lost a few hands at Baccarat, the mysterious and beauteous Sylvia Trench proposes raising the stakes. "I admire your courage, Miss…?" responds an unseen man dressed in a black tuxedo.
"Trench, Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mr…?" replies Trench.
"Bond, James Bond," replies the man, as he flips open a gold lighter to illuminate a cigarette dangling from his lips.
That was 1962 and the film was Dr. No, the film that introduced James Bond to cinema audiences. The film commenced a journey of 25 films that grossed over $7 billion; that number would be considerably higher if adjusted for inflation.
All through his cinematic journey Bond overcame myriad nefarious adversaries. However, in the most recent film, No Time to Die (2021), Bond sacrifices his life to save his wife and daughter. The wistful conclusion left fans baffled about the future of the series. But the franchise producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, both of whom run EON Productions which produces the Bond films, promised fans that Bond would return. It has been over three years, and much to the dismay of Bond enthusiasts, there has been no movement on the series.
Wilson revealed that the next film will be a hard reset for the franchise and Bond himself. Broccoli said that the next actor to play Bond will be a "big decision" and that "he'll likely be in his 30s. Whiteness is not a given."
There have also been casting rumors.
The mystery over the franchise's inertia now appears to be resolved.
Troubles began after Amazon acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio for $8.5 billion in March 2022. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Bond producers rejected proposals from Amazon executives to expand the Bond franchise into a Marvel-like "universe" with spinoffs of principal characters, TV series, and even alternate Bonds, including a female James Bond. There were even talks of casting opting for more "diverse" ideas such as including gay or black leading men.
Broccoli purportedly rejected the idea of a female Bond, though she didn't mind the idea of a gay or nonwhite actor in the role. She rightly insisted that Bond be played by a British actor. The Journal has reported that Broccoli is willing to hold the film "hostage" and delay the release of a new Bond sequel, rather than make hasty decisions and capitulate before Amazon executives.
Perhaps Broccoli learned from the Bond-based reality show made by Amazon titled "007: Road to a Million". The show was utterly banal and was panned by audiences for misusing Bond to lure audiences.
Broccoli and Wilson were also irked because senior Amazon executives seemed reluctant to schedule meetings with them; this was a contrast with MGM executives who were easily accessible.
Broccoli purportedly has a fractious relationship with Jennifer Salke, who runs Amazon Studios. Broccoli's bone of contention was Salke reportedly cheapening the James Bond series by referring to it as "content" that the company wanted to offer the public; then another executive apparently said, "I don't think Bond's a hero."
So what does one make of all this?
Albert R. Broccoli acquired the rights to the famed spy created by Ian Fleming. The Broccolis fought hard to ensure that they were the sole custodians of the character, even seeking legal routes to prevent others from developing any rival series.
One of the secrets to the longevity of the Bond franchise is its exclusivity — if you want to watch Bond you have to choose among the 25 pictures. Apart from the adaptations of Casino Royale on TV in 1954 and on film in 1967 and Never Say Never Again (1983), there have been no on-screen Bond adventures beyond the official EON series.
Exploring other characters in the series with spin-offs is not a bad idea, but even if the outcome is of superior quality it could diminish the novelty factor of the series.
The problem with Amazon honchos is they see Bond not as a creative endeavor but a product.
Their instincts are to exploit the goodwill of this product to reap maximum profits in the shortest span. Once they are done, they will allow Bond to languish in the corner while they move on to exploit their next product.
This is what happened with the Star Wars franchise. Once upon a time, the Star Wars productions were strictly film adventures. But since Disney acquired Star Wars, various mediums, including film and TV, were flooded with Star Wars-related spin-offs. The result was a dilution of the impact of the franchise.
The fact that executives have disdain for the character is also troubling. It means they will use their power to destroy the character. Consequently, Bond will be undermined, ridiculed, insulted, and depicted as anachronistic while supporting players that satisfy the "diversity" criteria will be depicted as competent and the voice of reason.
Bond must be straight, white, male, and British, the way Ian Fleming envisioned him, which is the basis of the adventures. If the race, gender, or sexuality is altered the character ceases to be Bond.
It was annoying when Pierce Brosnan's Bond was insulted by Judi Dench's M as a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur" and "a relic of the Cold War." In previous films, M was always the dominant force before Bond and subtly put Bond in his place. But M always respected Bond and his abilities, M was almost a father figure to Bond.
But Dench's M seemed to despise Bond, especially when she uncouthly declares "If you think for one moment I don't have the balls to send a man out to die, your instincts are dead wrong. I have no compunction about sending you to your death." In subsequent outings with both Brosnan and Craig, the writers ensured that Dench's M didn't appear as adversarial in subsequent films.
The other problem with seeing Bond as a product is that executives will rely on market research and customer surveys to decide the direction of the series. This would eliminate creative instincts and risks that have made the franchise what it is.
Sean Connery is thought of by many as the best on-screen Bond, however, his casting was faced with resistance from executives, and even creator Ian Fleming, who thought Connery was too rough for the part.
Daniel Craig is also regarded by many as the best Bond. But one has to remember the vicious online campaign against Craig who took over from the popular Pierce Brosnan whose last Bond film had broken box office records.
If studio executives were in charge, Connery and Craig would never have been Bond; they would have played it safe and followed conventional thinking.
The reason the series created an impact upon launch was Connery's uniqueness; had it been a "safe" choice, the series may not have survived beyond the 60s.
If the series weren't rebooted in 2006 with Daniel Craig, it would have continued with fantastical plots and outlandish villains, perhaps the series would have been finished by 2010.
Hopefully, Broccoli and Wilson will continue to remain steadfast.
It is better to gracefully end the series than allow it to be destroyed by woke and vacuous Amazon executives."
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