The idea of a female 007 was already foreseen 70 years ago and the candidate for the role was a legendary Oscar winner!
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| Image Credit: Universal Pictures |
Probably one of the most absurd controversies – there is one every week – that has hit the cinema debate in recent years is that relating to No Time to Die and how the actress Lashana Lynch became the first woman to dress 007's status in the story of the saga centered on the adventures of the iconic British spy.
My name is Bond, Jane Bond
When the possibility of having a female 007 was suggested - and even more so when it actually happened - many people raised their fists in the air as a sign of dissent, in true Grandpa Simpson style, demanding revenge on the current so-called "woke" culture that, according to them, is ruining Hollywood. But, in an unexpected twist, we learned that the first time the idea of having a female James Bond was considered was about 70 years ago. In the biography of Ian Fleming, father of James Bond, the author Nicholas Shakespeare revealed that the producer of the original Casino Royale Gregory Ratoff imagined a woman in the main role, taking into consideration the actress Susan Hayward – winner of the Oscar for Not I want to die – like the great number one candidate for the role.
“From the mid-1950s many famous actors were contacted. Gregory Ratoff had the surprising idea of having a woman, Susan Hayward, play Bond. Ian Fleming had considered several possibilities, from Richard Burton ("I think Richard Burton would be by far the best James Bond") to James Stewart ("I wouldn't mind him being Bond at all if he could anglicize his accent a little"). , to James Mason ('We might have to settle for him').”
After having had actors such as Cary Grant, Dirk Bogarde, Rex Harrison, and Roger Moore in his sights - who would have ended up in the role of 007 anyway - Sean Connery obtained the status of double zero, due to the misfortune of Ian Fleming, who just didn't like: “He's not my idea of Bond at all, I just want an elegant man, not this criminal.”
Source: IW