Quote from: Steve J on 12 September 2022, 10:01:17 AMWe watched the third episode and it was a bit slow, but still we are very much enjoying.

Agreed - my wife drifted off into her knitting about half-way through - but it's all scene/stage setting at present. As a Tolkien fan, I am just interested in how the next new 'portrayal' is going to look. And I liked the representation of the Numemor. All very 'byzantine'.

The set designers must have had a field day Mark and we thought Numenor was especially well done too.

Quote from: Steve J on 12 September 2022, 12:46:08 PMThe set designers must have had a field day Mark and we thought Numenor was especially well done too.

Quote from: Big Insect on 12 September 2022, 10:27:16 AMAnd I liked the representation of the Numemor. All very 'byzantine'.

I had the same reaction

I don't really give two hoots about the ethnicity of the actors as long as it makes sense within the narrative.  If we've got a bunch of northmen from the frozen wastelands then I'm expecting to see pasty pale skin and a lot of furs.  And obviously if you're from a desert region then I'd expect darker skinner folks.  And actors within each 'tribe' should look reasonably similar if we're dealing with a time period where long distance travel would be usually be limited to soldiers and traders.

Accents are similar in that it doesn't matter what the accent is but if you're from the same region/family then you should sound the same.

The only time I'd be more strict about it is when a particular character has been written in a very specific way, so something like Bond and the oft-repeated discussion about giving it to a female actor.  Bond should be left as the charming, alcoholic, womanising, damaged man that he is.  If we want a female-lead spy franchise then let's create a new character to take that role.

Have now seen episode 3 and continue to enjoy it more and more. I've said before I consider the production values excellent and Numenor did not disappoint.

The meta themes of Evil Is Patient and Beauty Can Deceive certainly reflect Tolkien
(and the sources he drew from). 

I agree with the many here, nobody is forced to watch it.

RoP was pre-billed as a wokefest which caused me to begin with a very negative view. So far it seems far from that. Any competent actor should be able to play any role, particularly in a fantasy. Let me emphasize competency rather than quota.

Quote from: Leon on 12 September 2022, 02:52:54 PMThe only time I'd be more strict about it is when a particular character has been written in a very specific way, so something like Bond and the oft-repeated discussion about giving it to a female actor.  Bond should be left as the charming, alcoholic, womanising, damaged man that he is.  If we want a female-lead spy franchise then let's create a new character to take that role.

Can you imagine a White "Shaft"

Quote from: flamingpig0 on 12 September 2022, 03:08:58 PMCan you imagine a White "Shaft"

Good point.  A white shaft would be as risible as a black Bond. 

Quote from: John Cook on 12 September 2022, 04:31:32 PMGood point.  A white shaft would be as risible and a black Bond. 

I can easily imagine a black Bond but a White Shaft would somehow be very hard to pull off I feel.


Just an aside but I was talking to the security at  the local university and the people they most hate are the members of the James Bond Society. Apparently they are just appallingly  rude and condescending - I suppose for the teen Bond fanciers the security guards are the closest they will get to  Dr No's minions or whatever.

Quote from: flamingpig0 on 12 September 2022, 04:42:09 PMI can easily imagine a black Bond but a White Shaft would somehow be very hard to pull off I feel.

I can't.  I really can't.  The lore and narrative is too well established.  Bond is an SIS officer and a Commander in the RNVR.  Not that that would disqualify a black actor necessarily, but he is also supposed to be of mixed Scottish and Swiss parentage, namely Andrew Bond, from the village of Glencoe, and one Monique Delacroix.  Casting a black actor as Bond would, in my view, make as much sense as casting a black actor as Sherlock Holmes or Richard Sharpe.  It doesn't fit the narrative.  Though, God knows, somebody thought it was a good idea to cast a black actress as Anne Boleyn. 
I had no idea such a thing as a James Bond Society existed, but I'm not surprised.  I find people attracted to those kinds of groups a little bit sad to be honest, but there is no law, as far as I know, that stops them making arses of themselves if they want to.

Quote from: Leon on 12 September 2022, 02:52:54 PMThe only time I'd be more strict about it is when a particular character has been written in a very specific way, so something like Bond and the oft-repeated discussion about giving it to a female actor.  Bond should be left as the charming, alcoholic, womanising, damaged man that he is.  If we want a female-lead spy franchise then let's create a new character to take that role.

If you want female alternative 'Bond' then try 'Atomic Blonde' with Charlize Theron in the title role. It worked perfectly well for me anyway   

Quote from: John Cook on 12 September 2022, 04:31:32 PMGood point.  A white shaft would be as risible as a black Bond. 

Don't you get a 'black Bond' in Tenet?

QuoteI had no idea such a thing as a James Bond Society existed, but I'm not surprised.  I find people attracted to those kinds of groups a little bit sad to be honest, but there is no law, as far as I know, that stops them making arses of themselves if they want to.

I just found it unbelievable laughable that some 19 year old  would turn up in a tuxuedo and then try and gain some sort of satisfaction by being rude to a minimum wage night security worker.

Quote from: Big Insect on 12 September 2022, 05:11:33 PMDon't you get a 'black Bond' in Tenet?

I thought it was John David Washington auditioning for the role of Bond


Just a thought; to keep Bond edgy and relevant to the modern world the next film should be about him being prosecuted for sexual harassment.

Quote from: flamingpig0 on 12 September 2022, 03:08:58 PMCan you imagine a White "Shaft"

Not really, as the cultural background wouldn't fit.  Similarly a black Sherlock wouldn't work for me either, as the period setting wouldn't allow for it.  A modernised Sherlock (like Cumberbatch) could have been black though as you're bringing it to a different timeframe.

Quote from: Big Insect on 12 September 2022, 05:11:33 PMDon't you get a 'black Bond' in Tenet?

I don't think so.  Tenet just had a Bond-like central character.  He didn't even have a name as I remember.  There have been dozens of films with 'secret-agent' Bond-like characters but there is only one Fleming creation.