I do not understand the recent dislike for Stromberg. I think he is a very imposing, menacing main villain.
I was scared of Curd Jurgens back then and still am.
Kristatos also was very effective, in my mind, especially because he came across as a matter-of-fact businessman and turncoat. And Grave´s smugness - yeah, definitely a villain I could hiss at.
For Bond Number 7 I would actually like a villain who offers Stromberg´s evil fatherly menace.
Me too! He had the aristocratic indifference to human suffering down pat.
And most importantly, a good range of ways of disposing of minions/threats at his fingertips!!
I always enjoyed Michel Lonsdale as Drax myself.
Possibly the definitive Bond villain, with so many great lines… “you’re not a sportsman Mr Bond!” Absolute genius!!!
Agreed! While his plan is a little too similar to Stromberg’s, he’s much more droll.
“Mr. Bond, you persist in defying my efforts to provide an amusing death for you.”
“Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him.”
And who could forget,”Mr Bond, you appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season. And Dr Goodhead, your ambition to be the first woman in space will soon be fulfilled”? Damn I miss the days when villains would come out with outrageous lines like that! I’d say we’ve not had one since Kamal Khan.
Mix in Michel Lonsdale’s posture and delivery and you have my favorite villain. Part of me thinks that Lonsdale totally disdained the role and just acted his disdain.
I think you know SAF, TSWLM is my favorite Bond film. I always wanted to like Stromberg and he certainly is very menacing, but he just lacks the charisma that the best Bond villains have. He’s by no means a poor villain, but when compared to the likes of Sanchez, Trevelyan, Silva, etc, IMO, he just comes off as rather average.
Hmm, no charisma? To each his own, I guess. For my taste, Trevelyan was lacking in that department.
I know what you mean. He was cultured and had a demeanour of being fully in command and above everyone else with his unlimited resources. Right now I think a good way to describe him is ‘dangerously bored’. His voice remained the same because the plan was usually going as intended. But if it wasn’t, he had a demon under the surface ready to strike. EXPEL THEM!
I agree. I’ve always liked Stromberg. He’s commanding and willing to put an end to whomever he deems worthy in any manner of painful death. He’s my fifth favorite Bond villain behind Sanchez, Khan, Goldfinger, and E. Largo.
Bond 26 directors…
Apostle, the new movie from Raid 1 & 2 director Gareth Evens looks as intense as you’d expect from him (he’s gone full Ben Wheatley!). But with Dan Steven and Michael Sheen leading and far more ‘story’ by the looks of the trailer, could this movie put him in the frame to direct Bond?
In terms of action the Raid movies are pretty untouchable, setting a bar so high i doubt anyone but Evens himself is likely to ever reach it. But that alone isn’t enough to direct Bond now that so much enfaces is on character, story and subtext.
Well, Apostle is looking very promising indeed, so i’m hoping it proves he has all the criteria for Bond. If so, he’ll surely be up high on Eon’s list along with Denis Villeneuve and Nolan (assuming the latter has indicated he’ll play ball in his BB meetings).
And by the sound of things he now has a great working relationship with Dan Stevens, whom in my book is the most promising successor to Craig.
Here’s some of a recent puff piece on Apostle:
Empire Magazine’s Simon Crook was lucky enough to pay a set visit to Apostle, and was blown away by what he saw…
Comparing this film to Ken Russell’s The Devils – a truly bonkers work, and one of my all-time-favorite movies – has me very excited. Co-star Lucy Boynton offered some insight into the film in an interview with Collider last year:
“It’s slightly more story heavy than The Raid films,” she explained. “It’s about a cult and a guy goes to rescue his sister from the cult and I play the cult leader’s daughter who slightly starts to realize the darkness of all that her fathers cult entails.”
Speaking with Flickering Myth, Dan Stevens added:
“I can tell you that there is a bit of action in there…The Raid 3 might be. A lot of people keep asking me, ‘is it The Raid 3 in disguise?’ I’d love it to be. It’s not. It’s really, I hope, a pretty special work. It was a really unique experience, very, very tough shoot, but Gareth Evans is a wonderful, wonderful filmmaker – the Welsh Tarantino – he’s quite something.”
Evans’ direction on the Raid films is extraordinary, and the V/H/S/2 segment he helmed – Safe Haven, which is also about a cult – is one of the best entries in all of the V/H/S films. In summation, Apostle has a very real chance at being pretty damn incredible. Apostle will have its debut at Fantastic Fest this month, before finding its way to Netflix on October 12, 2018.
Note for mod: I was going to start a Bond 26 thread, but saw that one had already been merged with this thread. Please feel free to start a dedicated Bond 26 thread and move this post into it if you wish 
For the time being this one will do.
As for BOND 26 directors I think it’s a fair bet that, should BOND 25 be a success, Eon will be inclined to ask Fukunaga back. To the best of our knowledge they tried to get directors back for many years now, even when productions had had a rough going.
Then again, you never know. And if a director has already worked with a candidate for Bond 7…
So, the rumor of the week seems to focus on Richard Madden:
Basically The Sun just watched The Bodyguard.
Does anyone else think “we’ll he’s definitely not doing it then” whenever a story like this turns up before the position is even open?
The producers are currently making sure Bond 25 stays on track after the director switch and dealing with a string of issues with The Rhythm Section. However their priority is, and always will be, casting the next Bond, no matter how far away their debut film may be.
Can’t believe it took them so long to recycle this story with the latest ‘Hiddleston du jour’.
Sure he’ll be Bond, until the next facsimile crops up. I doubt he’d be BB’s pick and besides, much of it hinges upon Bond 7’s director and i doubt that’s been locked just yet!
Madden did far better than i expected with in the Bodyguard, but there’s competition from the likes of Dan Stevens and others that frankly outshine Madden. But these rumours are good for Madden’s career, so, good for him.
The original article is from a local Scottish Newspaper
Watching the Bodyguard , became VERY tedious after Keeley Hawes left.
Watching the Take with Idris Elba, Madden was totally overshadowed by his co star.
In response to Vanya the producers will be looking for Bond 7 but the won’t be looking at Madden.