No Time To Die director Cary Fukunaga has claimed Sean Connery’s James Bond was ‘basically’ a rapist as he reflected on historic casual misogyny of the character.
The filmmaker insisted the spy franchise has moved on drastically with its attitude towards women since the late Scottish actor portrayed the first incantation of the suave spy, with a main hurdle being how it navigates the post-#MeToo era.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Is it Thunderball or Goldfinger where, like, basically Sean Connery’s character rapes a woman?
‘She’s like, “No, no, no,” and he’s like, “Yes, yes, yes.” That wouldn’t fly today.’
It is believed the director was referring to a scene in 1965’s Thunderball where Connery’s Bond forcibly kisses nurse Patricia Fearing (Molly Peters) and she rejects his advances.
Bond then says he will complain to her bosses after he almost dies, prompting the nurse to beg him not to as she fears losing her job.
The spy replies: ‘Well, I suppose my silence could have a price.’
She backs away and says: ‘You don’t mean … oh, no,’ before Bond replies: ‘Oh, yes.’
He then pushes her into a sauna and removes her clothes.
As well as that, Bond also pinned Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) to the ground in 1964’s Goldfinger until she gave in to his charms.
In his interview, Fukunaga also insisted Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge wasn’t brought in to help with the No Time To Die script just to change attitudes towards women in the films, though he and producer Barbara Broccoli were keen to make more of the female characters.
He said: ‘I think that’s the expectation, a female writing very strong female roles, but that’s something Barbara wanted already.
‘From my very first conversations with [Broccoli], that was a very strong drive. You can’t change Bond overnight into a different person.'
‘But you can definitely change the world around him and the way he has to function in that world. It’s a story about a white man as a spy in this world, but you have to be willing to lean in and do the work to make the female characters more than just contrivances.’
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Naimat Zafary, who feared for his life after the Taliban seized power, is one of nine students from Afghanistan enrolling at @SussexUni on the UK Government’s Chevening programme.
The father-of-four was airlifted out amid fraught and desperate scenes on August 23 having spent 10 days in hiding in Kabul, his home city, after it fell into the hands of the militants.
It has only been a few weeks since the finalists returned home, but despite meeting up for the infamous Love Island reunion after landing back in the UK, the former PE teacher confessed that their group text isn’t quite full of tea.
Chatting to @MetroUK's @Rishma_Dosani, Hugo said: ‘There’s a cast WhatsApp group, it’s called, “You’ve got a text” and everyone is in it.’
When asked if it was used now everyone has their phones back, he said: ‘No, it’s not actually. Maybe I should put a message in it now?'
Tiger King season 2 will be coming to screens sooner than you think as Netflix has confirmed the next instalment of the weird and wonderful documentary.
Many viewers undoubtedly assumed the Tiger King chapter was closed as season 1 ended with Joe Exotic’s arrest and imprisonment for trying to hire someone to kill animal rights activist – and his longtime rival – Carole Baskin.
Well, Netflix has delivered an early Christmas present as they’ve announced season 2 will drop before the end of 2021.
A new survey of people aged 18-30 in the UK from diverse backgrounds has revealed that the majority are uncomfortable with the term ‘Black, Asian and minority ethnic’ (BAME).
Collective terms for diverse groups have been widely regarded as inadequate for a while now, and a new survey has confirmed that young people are officially done with the term ‘BAME’.
The survey conducted by charity Blueprint for All found that 98% feel it is important for a shared language that unifies people from diverse heritages, however there is no shared word or expression that participants feel represents them all.
We all know sustainability is an area that the fashion industry is falling short on.
But last night at London Fashion Week, one designer put recycling and reuse in the spotlight – demonstrating just how powerful second-hand clothing can be.
Rising star Harris Reed showed his commitment to the planet by creating catwalk looks made from Oxfam donations.
Models walked the runway showing off 10 different outfits – made up of items sourced from outlets such as the Oxfam wedding boutique and the Oxfam Online Shop.
Pre-loved wedding gowns, morning suits and veils were among some of the garments reimagined by Harris.
The collaboration with Oxfam comes during the charity’s Second Hand September campaign – which encourages people to buy pre-loved items and donate unwanted clothes.