Half-Assed Internet Research
Yale professor Stephen Carter's theory that M is Silva's adopted mother, with 'Raul Silva' and 'think on your sins' as anagrams; the James Bond codename theory; alternate titles Silver Bullet, A Killing Moon and Once Upon a Spy; the Golden Dragon Casino interior was built at Pinewood; Silva's island is based on Hashima off Nagasaki
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:12Read transcript
- Yale professor Stephen Carter believes there is a deeper mystery to Silva and M, possibly that she is his adopted mother; Raul Silva is an anagram for a rival soul and think on your sins for your son isn't in HK, readable on Bloomberg and in blog posts.
- Codename theory holds that James Bond is a codename used by different individuals, one per actor; one host does not buy it, finding it overthinking a series that before Casino Royale had no such intentionality.
- Heroes like Superman or Bond don't expire, yet like Unforgiven and the Rocky films the best entries are about a hero no longer as powerful, and this movie's genius is being both; a further wrinkle says the Bond of this film does not know about the codename theory, was brainwashed into believing he is an orphan, and that Silva is also a James Bond.
- The franchise used to just not worry about continuity, bringing back an old actor and ignoring the dead wife; the spreadsheet-making impulse is mocked, Silva knowing the layout of Skyfall is explained by recon or Google Maps, and gaming out archetypal themes is called a bummer.
- Asked whether they want continuity across the next films, one host says Skyfall would then be the logical end of the franchise and nothing with Craig will be as good; another notes the series rarely takes risks and wonders whether Carrie Fukunaga (as transcribed) will break the formula against the controlling Broccoli family, who could not accommodate Danny Boyle; both look forward to Bond 25.
- Alternative titles were Silver Bullet, A Killing Moon and Once Upon a Spy; the Golden Dragon Casino interior was Pinewood Studios, production visited China, Turkey, all over England and Glencoe in Scotland, and Silva's island was shot off Macau but is based on Hashima, an abandoned mining town off Nagasaki, prompting jokes about dial-up and Prodigy.