After #BackToHogwarts, Idris Elba is currently the biggest trending topic on Twitter at post time. It’s because Anthony Horowitz who wrote the new Bond book, Trigger Mortis, has offered his opinion to the Daily Mail on whether or not Idris Elba would be a good James Bond:
“Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better.” He names Adrian Lester, star of Hustle. “For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too “street” for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.’”
So…to recap, Idris Elba is “too street” to play James Bond and not “suave” enough.
Errrm.
You might know Horowitz from the Alex Rider books, which he says he started writing because:
“I wanted to write a James Bond film. I met the producers years and years ago and tried to persuade them. That was when Alex Rider came into my head. They were talking about the next movie, not offering it to me. I thought, ‘Sod you. If you won’t let me make a Bond film, I’ll make my own up!’”
As you can see, since he wasn’t invited to be part of the Bond movie family, Horowitz has a lot of feelings about the films, most of them negative:
“Daniel Craig is a terrific Bond. Casino Royale is probably my favourite. Of the films after Connery, it is easily the best. Fantastic. A total return to the gritty seriousness of it.”
However, he is spectacularly rude about the follow-ups.
“Quantum Of Solace just went wrong. Skyfall is my least favourite. I know it is heresy to say so, but it is the one Bond film I have never liked. Bond is weak in it. He has doubts. That’s not Bond. Secondly, the villain wins. The villain sets out to kill M – the film finishes with the villain killing M. So why have I watched it? And if you have to protect the Head of MI6 from a madman, do you take her to a Scottish farmhouse with no weapons? And tell your bad guy where you are, so he will arrive with six people to kill her? And then M escapes and stands on top of a hill waving a torch to tell them where she is! It’s that sort of thing that made me angry.”
And he is just as unimpressed with the trailer for the new film, Spectre.
“I’m looking at the trailer and I am seeing a photograph of Bond’s family. The mum and the dad are in there and their faces are missing because the picture has been burned in a fire. This is going to be to do with his family background, and I know the fans are all terribly excited to know more, but I’m saying, “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” I don’t want to know about his doubts, his insecurities or weaknesses. I just want to see him act, kill, win.”
If you recall, Skyfall, despite Horowitz sh-tting on it, was widely regarded to be one of the strongest Bond movies. So…this is the bitter poncy ass who deems Idris Elba unworthy? Does his opinion even matter? Clearly his Bond – the one who acts, kills, wins, and that’s all – isn’t the Bond of now. His Bond seems stuck in 1970 and should be white but if he’s black he can’t be “too street”, meaning “too black” because… old white f-cks like Anthony Horowitz are still alive. But I guess now we know why the filmmakers weren’t interested in him writing the movies. Good decision.
As for Idris, please. There’s no question he’d be an amazing Bond, something that might be working against him. Because, as he said, the internet has made it too obvious now. Does obvious always have to be bad? Can’t he be the rare exception?
