Topic: The Movie Thread

@WanderingBullet That looks amazing!

Also, got around to watching 'Knives Out' over the weekend. Quite a lot of fun, breezy, nicely put together and nothing was 'subverted' along the way

Well done Ryan!

@KALofKRYPTON Yeah, but it does look like in the movie the armour will have a more shiny chrome finish look to it. Found the wings to be quite interesting too.

@LN78 @KALofKRYPTON I'll admit I haven't seen all that much of Bond, only really the recent Craig movies. Nothing that I've seen there have made me believe that a change in race would somehow alter the character in a major way. I understand that changing gender would probably be a step too far, and it's certainly not wrong to have preferences. Minority characters absolutely should be able to thrive on their own, but I don't see the problem with giving them some opportunities with established franchises for as long as we're not there yet. I don't think that's racist. Not trying to get hyper-focused on Bond either, as obviously what I'm saying I believe to go for most characters.

@Tjuz In the case of Bond - frankly, his history and origin just don't add up to him being black, so there would have to be yet more alterations to go along with it; And I certainly have no need to see a black guy portraying another womanising, chauvinistic, cold, slightly rapey character.

In some things - some characters and IPs, it doesn't really come with as much baggage.

On the whole though for major characters - it just feels counter-productive.

@Tjuz so what you're saying is OK because he is a white fictional character but it's not OK if he wasn't

if it's wrong for one then it's wrong for all, if it's wrong to change a black character into a white one or a asian one then they it's wrong to change a white character into a black or asian one too if we want proper equality and representation then it can't be one rule for one and one for another

but on to bond as we are using it as an example the very fact he is white has actually played into some of his stories, for example as a Spy he would at time impersonate people such as Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun or how in Live and Let Die him being white was a major point because how one CIA agent put it "nice disguise Bond, a white guy in harlem"

but here is the thing, i have no issue if they did make Bond black as long as they don't try to pretend that he is the same Bond, reboot the franchise, have it be a new person who is given the name Bond as a code name whatever but they can't just change the race and or gender and pretend it's the same character from the past films, this isn't like Doctor Who where the character is a alien that can regenerate after all

it's not what they are doing but HOW they are doing it, they are doing it in a disrespectful way, not only to the audience they currently represent but also to the one they say they are representing by doing it, most of the time it comes off as a pandering cash grab and i think that's worse

remember hollywood doesn't care about diversity, they see it as a way to make money

@LN78 sounds interesting, first i heard of ti though

@LN78 I meant to look in to Tenet but forgot about it

Sounds like a nice idea - also not a million miles away from the book 'Time And Time Again' by Ben Elton.

@LN78 Ha! I hadn't even considered that, but yeah - very her!

The Black Widow movie poster looks awesome. Definitely one of my favourite MCU poster so far.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESq2JNOXkAA-fig?format=jpg&na...

Also, Dio's Rainbow In The Dark will apparently be use in Thor: Love and Thunder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWKZTI9OC4
The song's alright but I like the Immigrant Song better.

@FullbringIchigo Yes, I do believe that racebending a minority character to a caucasian is considerably different from the other way around. One is taking away a valuable character from communities that are already underrepresented, while the other way around isn't really affecting anything in the larger scope of things. The idea that the same sentiment should go for both ways is an ideal one for equality, until you realise that that equality is not currently there.

I'll admit that I'm a bit out of my depth in the whole Bond business since I'm only really familiar with the recent films, like I've said before. I think a reboot like you suggested would be wonderful idea for a racebended Bond if racebending with existing lore and history is such an issue for the character. Funny you should bring up Doctor Who, as I have always seen Bond kind of as a character like that. One portrayed by many different actors who each have their slightly different takes on it. I was delighted to see Jodie Whitaker be the newest Doctor Who, although I haven't seen the show. She's an incredible actress.

I do realise that Hollywood's primary interests aren't diversity, but business. Nothing wrong with using their primary interest as a roundabout way to end up favoring the audience! To circle back to an earlier discussion point, that is why actively supporting diversity is important. I realise that it rubs certain people the wrong way, but as long as the majority of people go out and support these movies, that is all we really need to keep our end of the equation going! That is why having minority characters in big blockbusters, racebended or not, will always be important. That is where the big bucks will be made and where it will be the easiest to keep convincing Hollywood to take a shot at it.

@LN78 Thanks for that addendum! I had no idea Nolan was trying to set up Tenet as a long-term franchise. That's fantastic. I wish more filmmakers had the swing to get something like that made. I'll definitely be giving it a looksie once it comes out, although I admit I'm most excited for Elizabeth Debicki. That woman can do no wrong.

And as a short, final addition to the racebending conversation. Disney has just cast Peter Pan for their upcoming live action adaptation, and it's a kid of Middle Eastern descent. With that and Aladdin getting a sequel, I'm glad to see that demographic get some more recognition too. They have to be easily one of the least represented ethnic groups in Hollywood at the moment. There's change happening, and we need to make sure it stays that way, whether we always agree on the best methods or not!

@Tjuz I just feel that race/genderbending characters is low-key an insult because they could have just written a movie about a character who embodies their community through more than just what they look like, you know? The Bond name would actually get the movie a big budget and advertising campaign though, a movie about a black spy would absolutely not get that level of attention otherwise.

@Tjuz Disney's deep dive in to the orientalism of the Aladdin story aside - I do agree with LN - they're in it for the money. Currently they think that money is to be found by virtue signalling.

@Tjuz like i said, it's not what they are doing but HOW they are doing it

@nessisonett Totally agree that a character written first and foremost with the minority race in mind is preferable. Like you said though, Hollywood is unlikely to take risks with big budget movies if it hasn't previously been shown that such movies can be consistently successful. An entirely new IP would not get the backing that an established, popular IP would get, which is where racebending can occasionally become useful. Once they get through that initial hurdle and said movie is hopefully a success, and there end up being enough of those, then we'd start seeing more bigger budget movies with minority characters in major roles show up. It's all a very precarious situation, but for now we're making progress!

Initial reactions for Mulan.

The live-action movie is replacing Shan Yu with two new villains played by Gong Li and Jason Scott Lee.

@WanderingBullet It’s a shame the main lead sunk the movie through support for the Chinese government and police against Hong Kong. I was kinda looking forward to it as it looked like a proper wuxia movie but it’s hard to tell how much of the bad press is due to the movie or the actress. Plus, poor Shang has been removed. He’s an icon given that he’s clearly attracted to ‘Ping’ even though a crucial plot point is him not knowing she’s a woman 😂😂

@nessisonett Yeah, Shang was replaced with another new character as Mulan's love interest.

@LN78 had to google to see if F&F9 was actually called that.

@LN78 I didn't realise they were doing a 9th movie. As the 8th movie had the definite ending sounding name "The Fate of the Furious", I assumed that would be the last one outside of spin-offs.

I've generally found the Fast and Furious movies to be enjoyable in a guilty pleasure kind of way, and I'll be up for watching Fast and Furious 9 when it finally releases.