Bisexual Bond: ‘Skyfall’ Writer Discusses Controversial Interrogation Scene

A homoerotic interrogation scene between James Bond and Javier Bardem’s Skyfall villain has prompted screenwriter John Logan to discuss the scene with The Hollywood Reporter.

The scene in question finds the dashing hero tied to a chair while the film’s villain begins the interrogation. At one point in their conversation, Bardem’s character begins openly flirting with Bond. The spy’s response to the situation is the source of the controversy.

“What makes you think this is my first time?” Bond remarks.

The Huffington Post explains that rumors began circulating that it was the screenwriter’s own homosexuality that inspired the scene. Logan stated there’s no truth to the rumors.

Here’s what the scribe had to say about the scene’s genesis:

“Sam and I were discussing, there were so many scenes where Bond goes mano-a-mano with the villain, whether it’s Dr. No or Goldfinger or whatever, and there’s been so many ways to do a cat-and-mouse and intimidate Bond, and we thought, what would truly make the audience uncomfortable is sexual intimidation; playing the sort of homoerotic card that is sort of always there subtextually with characters like Scaramanga in ‘Man With the Golden Gun’ or ‘Dr. No.’ So we just decided that we should play the card and enjoy it.”

According to Movieline, Daniel Craig danced around inquiries regarding James Bond’s sexuality. When asked if Bond was bluffing when he delivered the controversial line, the Skyfall offered up the following explanation:

“What are you going to do? I don’t see the world in sexual divisions. Someone suggested that Silva may be gay. And I’m like, I think he’ll f**k anything. I love that scene. It makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh.”

When asked about the homoerotic interrogation scene, Javier Bardem decided to leave the specifics up to the viewer. The way the actor describes it, the villain was doing nothing more than creating an uncomfortable situation for his prisoner.

“It was part of the game, but it’s not entirely the game,” Bardem said. “Within that, you can read anything that you want or wish. But it was more about putting the other person in a very uncomfortable situation where even James Bond doesn’t know how to get out of it.”

During the Hollywood Reporter interview Logan also addressed rumors that the Bond franchise’s gritty new direction was directly inspired by the success of the Bourne films starring Matt Damon. Although it’s easy to see why some would make comparisons, Logan insists 007 isn’t jealous of Jason Bourne whatsoever.

“It has to do with wanting to create a really realistic story but also acknowledge the grandiosity of Bond, so that it could be both an honest-to-God movie for adults and also a Bond movie that has the women and the cars and the action that the audience loves,” the Skyfall writer explained.

With the film’s release slated for November 9, a number of American critics have started to weigh in on the latest cinematic adventures of the world’s greatest spy. Moviefone reviewer Drew Taylor listed a number of pros in his Skyfall write-up and only one con: the film was too long.

“At 143 minutes, it’s the longest James Bond movie ever. It’s a con in the sense that maybe you can’t see it twice in the same day if you love it as much as I imagine you will. Otherwise, it’s perfectly acceptable and every second is nothing short of gripping,” Taylor wrote.

Charlie McCollum’s review at the San Jose Mercury News was equally as enthusiastic, going as far as to say that the film should be strongly considered for an Academy Award.

“Once again starring Craig and directed by Sam Mendes (not anyone’s first choice to direct an action flick), this is a brilliant reboot of the canon, mixing a sense of melancholy, the shock of changing times and the darkness of loss with thrillingly staged chase and fight scenes and clever references to all that has come before,” McCollum explained.

Director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall has generated an astronomical amount of money ahead of its release in the United States. Over the weekend, the film added $156 million to its worldwide gross. Presently, the film has amassed $287 million on an international level. Analysts expect the movie to pass the $300 million mark by Thursday.

Are you planning to catch Skyfall in theaters this weekend?