When Ian Fleming published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale in 1952 little did he know that these creative embers would work their way into an immortal inferno. His literary oeuvre offered 12 James Bond novels and two additional short stories but it was the film adaptions that kickstarted the cultural phenomenon.
The spy franchise began in 1962 with Dr. No starring Sean Connery, and from the off, the unruly ladies man struck a chord with audiences around the world. Beyond the action packed plots, recurring often comical traits, such as Bond’s shaken, not stirred line or his flirtatious rapport with Miss Moneypenny drew audiences in with the comfort of familiarity. One of the recurring traits is the Bond girl each movie featured at least one woman on whom Bond would set his eyes. These glamorous women would often be presented in sensual clothing and, although usually leading Bond on, would inevitably gravitate to his arms.
When Daniel Craig replaced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond ahead of the 2006 movie Casino Royale, the studio looked to reinvent Bond. The Bond of the 20th century was characterised by his cheesy one-liners and chivalry that often overspills to misogyny. Craig’s Bond would be more severe than seedy, with the misogyny kept to a minimum.The term Bond girl has become stigmatised in the modern day. It suggests the lucky or unlucky lady will join a long queue of Bond girls who’ve come and gone often used and subsequently dumped. So when asked to partake in a Bond film some female actors have undoubtedly felt somewhat bittersweet.
While casting for Casino Royale, director Martin Campbell sought an A-lister to take the role of ‘Bond girl’ Vesper. Eva Green ultimately took the role, but before her, the studio had approached Angelina Jolie. It started with a call from Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Jolie once revealed to Vanity Fair. She asked if I wanted to play a Bond girl. I said, No I’m not comfortable with that, but I would like to play Bond. We laughed, and then, about a year later, she called back and said, I think I found it .
Though the pair had found the prospect of Jolie portraying James Bond risible, Pascal took the implication seriously and found Jolie the role of action heroine Evelyn Salt in the movie Salt. Salt is nothing like Bond, Jolie once told the Daily Mail. In so many films, women are femme fatales, and we wanted to avoid that. My character doesn’t use her sexuality to get anything. It’s the roughest I’ve looked. When we fight, it gets ugly. Somebody breaks my nose in the film. It’s not pretty.
I think when people write things for women at least with the films I’ve done in the past, such as Tomb Raider they’re not serious she added. They’re not raw. They’re not hard. So when we wanted a real female action hero, we looked towards something that wasn’t written for a woman.
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