James Bond in film Roger Moore, and he tried not to imitate either his predecessor Sean Connery or his own performance as Simon Templar in "The Saint"; Mankiewicz adapted the screenplay to emphasise Moore's persona by giving him more comedy scenes and creating a light-hearted feel to Bond. Guy Hamilton was again chosen to direct, and Mankiewicz suggested they film in New Orleans, as he knew Hamilton was a jazz fan. Hamilton didn't want to use Mardi Gras, as "Thunderball" featured Junkanoo, a similar festival, so after more discussions with the writer and further scouting, he decided to use two well-known features of the
James Bond filmography Worrall noted that Connery "personified James Bond with such perfection that even Ian Fleming ... admitted that it was difficult imagining anyone else in the part"; academic Jeremy Black agreed and declared that "Connery made the role his own and created the Bond audience for the cinema". Black also observed that Connery gave the character a "spare, pared-down character ... [with] inner bleakness along with the style". Connery played Bond with "the right mix of cool charisma, violence and arrogance ... against which all others are judged". Raymond Benson perceived that Connery "embodies a ruggedness and an intense screen presence