Lea Seydoux praises James Bond and hails him as a 'feminist'

‘We’re not here only to please his sexuality’: Lea Seydoux heaps praise onto ‘feminist’ Daniel Craig for helping to develop Bond’s relationships with women in No Time To Die

Lea Seydoux has praised Daniel Craig for helping grow Bond’s relationship wiht women in No Time To Die.

The actress, 36, even hailed him as a ‘feminist’ and commended the way he changed both his own spy alter ego and the characters around him, saying the female characters are ‘not here only to please his sexuality.’

Lea reprises her role as Madeleine Swann in No Time To Die after first taking on the role in 2015’s Spectre.

‘We’re not here only to please his sexuality’: Lea Seydoux heaped praise onto ‘feminist’ Daniel Craig for helping to develop Bond’s relationships with women in No Time To Die (pictured at the premiere in London on Tuesday)

Speaking at the No Time To Die premiere in London on Tuesday, Lea told reporters: ‘I think that Daniel really changed his character, he made him more human in a way, more complex.

‘I think that Daniel is also someone who’s a feminist and it’s really something that he brought to the franchise. He wanted to have more complex characters.’  

She explained that the female roles in the movie aren’t there to ‘please [Bond’s] sexuality’, and instead have a deeper impact on the story being told on screen.

Changing views: The French actress explained that the female roles in the movie aren’t there to ‘please [Bond’s] sexuality’, and instead have a deeper impact on the story being told on screen [left, Lashana Lynch]

She added: ‘We’re not here only to please his sexuality and not seen only through a male perspective, but real women that are strong but also vulnerable.

‘That was something, I think, that was needed in a way.’  

Her comments come after Lashana Lynch, 33, suggested her character Nomi – a Double 0 agent – is a sign of the franchise shifting in its portrayal of female roles.

Satisfied: The 33-year-old suggested her character Nomi – a Double 0 agent – is a sign of the franchise shifting in its portrayal of female roles

She said: ‘The fact that [Nomi] was even an idea in the first place is just a reflection of where we are in the world, where we are continuing to go, but also where the franchise is.

‘And it would be a shame not to do that – so they’re doing exactly the right thing, and I think they’ll continue to do that in the future.’ 

Elsewhere, Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge was brought in as a scriptwriter to ensure the blockbuster was appropriate for the #MeToo era – with the flick billed as the most politically correct and ‘woke’ James Bond movie yet, with outdated sexism banned. 

While No Time To Die sees the typical explosive Bond drama beloved of the franchise, 007’s previous history of adding notches to his bedpost is very much an afterthought – with the agent seen building a friendly rapport with his female colleagues, rather than trying to seduce them.

In one scene, Bond asks Paloma – a Cuban agent played by Ana De Armas – to turn around as he changes, before shaking hands with her in a scene of mutual respect and understanding following a dramatic fight scene.

No time for sex! While No Time To Die sees the typical explosive Bond drama beloved of the franchise, 007’s previous history of adding notches to his bedpost is very much an afterthought [pictured with Ana De Armas as Paloma]

On Tuesday evening, Lea certainly turned the heads of onlookers as she made a show-stopping arrival at the No Time To Die premiere in London.

She looked incredible as she showcased her ample assets in a busty pink sequined maxi dress.

She had gelled her light brown locks into a sleek side parting and painted her pout an eye-popping raspberry red. 

Wow! On Tuesday evening, Lea certainly turned the heads of onlookers as she made a show-stopping arrival at the No Time To Die premiere in London

Stunning: She had gelled her light brown locks into a sleek side parting and painted her pout an eye-popping raspberry red

Ahead of the red carpet event, fans gathered at the Royal Albert Hall to catch a glimpse of James Bond’s Astin Martin as it made its way to the red carpet.

Crew members brought the luxury vehicle to the venue in a truck where it was rolled out hours before the star-studded event began. 

The car had bullet holes in the glass and scratches across the sides following Bond’s adventures.  

Event: Ahead of the red carpet event, fans gathered at the Royal Albert Hall to catch a glimpse of James Bond’s Astin Martin as it made its way to the red carpet

It has been a long road to the premiere after the film’s release was delayed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was originally scheduled for release in April 2020, but was pushed back to November before the release was changed once again to April 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The release date was finally settled for September 30 in the UK followed by October 8 in the US.

Ahead of the release, Daniel and some of his fellow star cast members joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to talk about the movie.

Fans: Crew members brought the luxury vehicle to the venue in a truck where it was rolled out hours before the star-studded event began

Daniel, who has appeared in five Bond films over 15 years, told Chris: ‘After the last one, I thought that was it. I thought, ‘I can’t do any more of these’. 

‘I got a bit of a rest and we kind of talked about what we wanted to do with this last movie and how big we wanted to go, and it felt right, and I just got really excited about it, and I can’t wait for people to see it.

‘I saw a rough cut of it about a month after we finished, which is really rough, because there’s no special effects or anything. When you see that version of it, you just hope and pray that it makes sense, and it did. 

‘Once you get the effects, and you get the music, Hans Zimmer’s done the music, and it’s just incredible. The story holds together.’

‘Everyone is just turning in brilliant performances, and I think it’s quite special.’

Action: The car had bullet holes in the glass and scratches across the sides following Bond’s adventures 

Speaking about the enforced delay to the film’s release due to the pandemic, the actor said: ‘It’s odd enough with a movie, when you’ve finished it, and you put it out and you kind of go, ‘Woah, I hope it’s good.’ 

‘But when there is a two-year gap between finishing it and putting it out, it just makes things even stranger.’ 

On where he was when he first found out he had got the role of Bond: ‘I was in Baltimore doing a movie. And I was in Whole Foods, doing my weekly shop, wandering around with a trolley with food in it, and (producer) Barbara Broccoli was on the phone, and she just went, ‘Over to you kiddo.’ 

‘So I got my trolley and I pushed it quietly down an aisle, walked into the booze section and bought a bottle of vodka and a bottle of vermouth, a glass and a shaker, took it home and drank it, and then went out and sat in a bar and drank about three more vodka martinis.

‘It’s really sad, actually, when you think about it. But, I must have had a sort of look on my face, because the barman kept asking me what was going on, and I said, ‘I can’t tell you!’ 

Release: The release date was finally settled for September 30 in the UK followed by October 8 in the US  

Daniel recently addressed the outdated James Bond plotlines of past films in the franchise – such as the idea of glamorous disposable so-called Bond girls.

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly, he said of the spy series – which sees latest movie No Time To Die released this week – that ‘you’ve got to adapt’ with the times.

‘Certainly a lot of what went on in the earlier movies is sort of questionable now… different times, but we didn’t want to lose the essence [in the new film]. It’s still a Bond movie.

‘I’ve been given free range to put my influence on it, but I’ve never forgotten that. We can have all key elements and things people have loved over the years, but you adapt. 

On the franchise, Daniel said: ‘Certainly a lot of what went on in the earlier movies is sort of questionable now… different times, but we didn’t want to lose the essence [in the new film]. It’s still a Bond movie’

‘One of my biggest things is all the characters, especially the women, have to be brilliant and believable.’

Daniel also told Lorraine about becoming overcome with emotion when he shot his final scene as Bond.

‘Everybody turned up – all the heads of department came down, and I thought ‘Oh God, I have to make a speech, this is my worst nightmare.’ It all just came out, I tried to keep it together.

‘All of those people I go to work with every day, particularly on this movie, the collective effort was so huge and meant so much to me that everyone put that hard work in – that’s what I’ll miss so much.’

Changes: The movie was previously supposed to come out on April 2, however its original release was supposed to be in April 2020 (pictured Daniel Craig)

No Time To Die is the 25th film in the franchise, and finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.

Leaving his seemingly happy life with Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), Bond returns to the field to face Safin (Rami Malek) who is armed with a new dangerous technology that could impact the world.

Producer Barbara Broccoli has already teased what fans can expect and said that the movie will deliver a satisfying ending for Daniel’s Bond.

Speaking on the official James Bond podcast, she said: ‘It’s a culmination of everything that his portrayal of the character has been through and it ties up all the storylines. It’s a pretty epic film, I have to say.’

Daniel took over the role of Bond from Pierce Brosnan in Casino Royale in 2006 and went onto appear in Quantum of Solace in 2008, Skyfall in 2012 and Spectre in 2015.

History: Daniel took over the role of Bond from Pierce Brosnan in Casino Royale in 2006 and went onto appear in Quantum of Solace in 2008, Skyfall in 2012 and Spectre in 2015  

Source: Read Full Article