The Future of 007

The latest James Bond 007 film, No Time to Die, has been out for almost a month in the United States and just over a month in most other territories of the world. A lot of critics loved it compared to Spectre. As of November 1st, it has made over 600 million altogether with 133 million domestically and 473 million in international markets. Some places have yet to or just put it in theaters in a few markets, so the number can still rise. It marks the end of Daniel Craig playing Bond, a role he has done for 15 years.

I've never watched any movies of Ian Fleming's secret agent outside of most of Goldeneye. But that doesn't mean I'm ignorant to what may be done in the future. Craig's take of Bond along with the writers of those films helped revive the franchise critically. Outside of Goldeneye, critics were not keen on the Pierce Brosnan ones. They did well enough, but were also getting outclassed by Austin Powers, a parody of Bond that got huge once the second one came out. I'm going to assume the people involved in the last 15 years wanted to stand out, which they did. I think with Skyfall, they outdid themselves critically and commercially and I'm not sure it can be topped ever again.

So where does James Bond go? I don't know. But I'd imagine they would want to go a route similar to what has been done since 2006. Maybe find a way to have some things that were good about the older films while seeing the quality of the Craig films. You have to find a good balance to please many fans of the last 60 years. No Time to Die's performance might determine what kind of scale they go on being an action film. I'm not sure they can keep making budgets of 250 million. Maybe going back to basics could go a long way. But I still think Bond will be around for a long time if the quality is still up there. Time for a new arc in the world of 007.

Sean Connery: More Than Bond

If one were to think of Sean Connery today, they will point to one of the most prominent names in the film industry. With his passing on Halloween night, one should discover the career he had. Stuff that was small, but serviceable. Being able to sustain a career, especially when you get to the mid 80s and his resurgence for a decade. He carved out a career that everyone can look at and be rather pleased at most of his roles.

That prominent name of course is James Bond. And Connery was the first one to portray Ian Fleming's character when Dr. No first came out in 1962. After many television show appearances in the UK, you can say this was his first major break. He wound up playing the character six more times. It had a formula on what to do. You had puns, catchphrases. There was interesting gadgetry, cars, the Bond girls. It made the spy genre very attractive. This was when programs like Man of U.N.C.L.E. and the parody Get Smart appearing thanks to Bond. Over 30 years later, you have the Austin Powers movies that lampoon how ridiculous those early films were.

With that role being attractive, it would be hard to get roles without being typecast. That is something for many in Hollywood. Connery was still finding roles after Bond. There's The Great Train Robbery. He was Robin Hood in Robin and Marian. Consistently finding work in the 70s and early 80s. But then you look at what he got from 1986 through at least 96, he was in the spotlight for different reasons. Highlander for one. Being part of The Untouchables in 87. Indiana Jones in 89 as Indy's father. The bad guy in The Hunt for Red October, the first major Jack Ryan film.  Of course, Connery slowed down, but still able to do Rising Sun, The Rock. Even in 2000 with Finding Forrester. A couple more films and he retired from acting. Point is, he put out an even bigger legacy with the efforts of playing different types of characters.

When you think about Connery, think about his other roles. He was more than just James Bond.

Viral Cancellation

This coronavirus is a bit more serious than people realize. I think this outbreak will be gone within a month or so, but it's hurt a lot more than some may realize. One of the big aspects is the stock market. It's not going to make the world go into a depression, but enough to make everyone panic.

Tons of events have been canned as a result. The most recent one has been E3 in Los Angeles. It has been going since 1995, but a few factors do kick in. Not as much interest and several companies not being interested in the event. The coronavirus accelerated it to the point where a cancellation probably was their only choice. Other game conferences have been canned as well. Whether E3 comes back next year, I don't know. If it doesn't, it had its time in history and tried to press on in an era full of Internet and live streaming.

I'm not a James Bond guy, but there is worldwide appeal. Europe is a big market. And probably one of the reasons why the No Time to Die film got pushed back to November. One of the most affected is Italy. There have been a lot of cases in that country and with quite a bit of casualties. I'm surprised there hasn't been any other films that haven't got the push back to another date because of this. You would think some Disney material or anything for kids that would appeal worldwide would be a pressing concern.

Sports is growing to the point where the idea of an empty NBA arena could be a likelihood. I don't think they would like it themselves, but cancellations of games could happen, though no one wants to see that. Possible relocations to other places. Locker stuff for them, NHL, MLB, Soccer, have come down to not having the media in and only doing one on one interviews. This is a way to prevent the spread of the virus so 30 media aren't getting infected when they go into a locker room. I'm sure there's other events for other sports or events.

When it comes to local stuff, be aware of your surroundings. Keep your hands clean and stay clean all around. Hopefully, we've reached the end of this panic. With warm weather coming in soon, it should disappear. Stay healthy folks.

Shut Up, Millennials! (The Whiny Ones, At Least)

I will always consider myself a Generation Y kid and generalize 1983 through 97 as that group. Unfortunately, that ugly phrase, millennial, is used in place of Gen Y and is accepted as that. However, that's not that point of this blog. This is about whiny millennials crying about James Bond 007 films.

Most people now these days will find a vast array of films, showcasing different eras of time. James Bond has been a relevant franchise since the 50s and since the 60s with the movies made around Ian Fleming's secret agent. In the case of millennials, articles are publishing about the whining about how racist and sexist the early ones are. This is considering recently as well that they are not just criticizing 50 year old stuff. The TV show Friends has gotten criticized for homophobic jokes and lines, and that started airing from 1994 until 2004.

To the ones criticizing this stuff, this is what I have to say. Shut the fuck up, you over privileged, over sheltered, coddled, spoiled, rotten, uncultured, thin skinned, over sensitive, snotty, four flushing moronic pieces of shit. These kind of films and shows are a product of their time. You can't criticize every little thing that happened back in 1962 and expect it to be like 2018. There was a time where you could say queer. Now, we don't today. I wonder how any of you will react to Austin Powers, which was a huge parody of Bond films and had a lot of sexual references.

I wonder how many would react to stuff from plays like A Streetcar Named Desire, which came around in 1947. It's sad that these kind of millennials are getting offended so easily by different eras of film. They are not the only ones seeing them. Hell, when Looney Tunes started releasing their shorts on DVD, they put up a few things in them to say that their very old cartoons might have certain things that reflected the era they were in. After all, most generations have seen at least a cartoon or two of this group. It'll be funny to see how many would also react from the One Beer episode of Tiny Toon Adventures or any kids cartoon with smoking or drinking.

These millennials crying need to grow a pair and look at culture from back then without bursting into rage and tears. Despite how racist Blazing Saddles is, it is still a very funny film. One of these days, they will get older and a new generation will do the same thing. It is an endless cycle, only except today, they vent on social media. The Internet may be great, but it is a very dangerous weapon.