Posted on 12/02/2004 6:32:50 PM PST by aculeus
A leading black actor, 6ft 4in Colin Salmon, emerged last night as a front-runner to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in the next 007 adventure.
Noted for a deep, commanding voice, the 41-year-old actor already has a recurring role in the Bond series as Charles Robinson, M's suave chief-of-staff.
The chance to promote him, while startling, would not be unexpected. The Broccoli family, who are casting the film, the 21st in the series, are said to fear that the films have become anachronistic.
They told Brosnan they wanted to "go in a new direction".
Initially, this was taken to mean that they were turning away from the special effects and high-tech gadgetry to update Casino Royale, Ian Fleming's first Bond book.
The feeling is that despite the vast profits from the last movie, Barbara Broccoli, whose father Cubby made the early Bonds, and Michael Wilson, her step-brother and partner at Eon Productions, are anxious to make a more hard-boiled thriller.
Speculation about Salmon, who was born in Luton, stems from a sudden rush of unusually large bets on him. Warren Lush, a spokesman for Ladbrokes, said yesterday: "They have come out of nowhere, with sums like £500 apiece. These are huge bets for what is really a novelty wager.
"The suspicion is they may be being placed by people, or spies out there, in the know. So we have temporarily closed the book on the next Bond, as we don't want to get out fingers burned."
Until now, the favourite was Dougray Scott, whose play, Becket, closes in London's West End in a fortnight. Ewan McGregor was also a runner until he accepted his latest stage role.
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True. But who is as cool as Connery.
Ah, yes. Ursula Undress in the role she's most remembered for.
Thank you!!!!! I'm a definite Hugh Jackman fan. I'd definitely be one of the first in line to see him as Bond!
He is yummy! He is the only blue-eyed black man I have ever seen! Wotta doll! I have seen hazel but not dead on blue like him.
Relax. He's in Harlem. People gettin' popped all the time. A shot not fired in anger never hurt nobody.
Let's put it this way...
Sean Connery is the only 70 year old who could talk the knickers off me, just by saying 'Oh hello Miss Moneypenny' *LOL*
Well his mother is white so I guess that's where he gets it from.
I was not born 'into the age of Hillary'.
The Timothy Dalton Bond most closely resembles the Bond of Ian Fleming, not the 'fantasy Bond' that we were subjected to with Connery and Moore.
Before Dalton, Bond was becoming a cartoon character. With Dalton, Bond became more real. He lived on the edge and knew that he could be killed at any minute. He was the flawed human being, burned-out, rather humourless, and deadly serious about his work, gritty and fallible, that his creator, Ian Fleming saw. Connery and Moore were a celluloid caricature, styled around, identified with and inextricably a part of a fictional world comprising the mystique of beautiful women, high-tech, science-fiction gadgets and a tuxedo which never needs pressing.
Daltons striking departure from the past tuxedos, apparently committed a most unforgivable crime, one for which he has been castigated ever since. He instilled reality into a character, which, until then, both men and women could see only as a fantasy figure, yet never being realistic to the point of acknowledging him as such. James Bond bleeding from the mouth when he has been struck in the face? James Bond being monogamous? James Bond committing a mistake? This was not the James Bond of film lore. Thus, Dalton has committed the ultimate sacrilege, and therefore, could not, for these people, be the real James Bond.
Woo-hoo! There we go...
*ahem* he's mine
THe best was the first
Dr. No
Fairly true to the book
Each succeeding one got more SCHLOCKY ( Russia with Love abd Gold Finger were pretty decent )
That's pretty cute.
Okay, got his pic now.
( got curious so I beat my computer to make it download faster!)
I don't know this guy, never seen him before.
James Bond is more of an "attitude" than anything. If this guy can pull it off, more power to him!
Of course, for me? There is no Bond but Sean!
:-)
BOND: "Do you expect me to die?"
THUG: "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to rap!"
Of course, for me? There is no Bond but Sean!
*** That's why I like you!
Good point. Denzel Washington could pull it off better than just about anyone. Pity he's doing so many turkeys lately, but perhaps he's to blame for that. Of course, Bond films never have been anything more than popular.
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