The son of former James Bond actor Roger Moore recently said that under no circumstances would a female-led 007 movie ever exist, or even work. Turns out, when you change the circumstances a little bit, a female 007 project can actually be quite successful.
Geoffrey Moore recently spoke with The Express about the issue and he didn’t really pull any punches when describing his thoughts. Also, a quick aside: just because he’s the son of a James Bond actor, he’s qualified to give his opinion on the matter? What’s that about? If anyone’s going to be biased towards continuing the status quo, it’s going to be him!
Let’s take a look here. When asked whether a woman could portray 007, here’s what he said:
“Well, then it’s no longer James Bond. I mean, she could be 006, 008 or 009. In the last Bond, I think Lashana Lynch being 007 temporarily was the confusion. That she was 007 and then said, ‘I’ve got to give it back to Bond. It’s his number.’ So, I think that’s very good. I think they were also testing the waters. Maybe there will be a ‘From the filmmakers of James Bond comes Jane or Jemima Bond’ or whatever. It wouldn’t be the same because it’s Bond. It’s Fleming’s Bond. It’s a guy, unfortunately.”
Yeah, because things in movies are set in stone and can never be changed, even though they’re works of fiction. Really? Perhaps realizing how these comments may come back to bite him, he kind of pulls back, but God forbid she has the same name as the male character. That’s too far.
“If you look at Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde…I mean, woman can certainly pull it off and certainly do the fight sequences. And even if not, as a species, ladies are probably smarter! But in terms of the role itself, Fleming’s Bond is James Bond. Do women deserve their own, equally successful franchise? It’s right, and they should. But if you want to do a female Bond, you can’t just call her ‘James Bond.’ Personally, I don’t think that would work.”
Women can “certainly” do the fight sequences. They’re also “probably smarter!” What a nice man. When asked about the issue, most recent Bond actor, Daniel Craig, also sidestepped the issue to a certain extent.
“There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, for a woman?”
See how simple it is? Just… write the part! The argument that a woman 007 won’t work isn’t applicable to Japan’s famous all-female acting troupe, the Takarazuka Revue. The troupe runs a show called Casino Royale – My Name’s Bond, with a female Bond making all the ladies swoon.
Sure, lesbian 007 isn’t your run-of-the-mill Bond, but that’s kind of the fun of it. Even better, the troupe will be streaming the very gay show The event will be hosted by BeyondLive, and takes place on June 25th.
So take that, son of an actor who played Bond 100 years ago. Happy Pride, everybody.