Diddy: Next James Bond?

After the election of Barack Obama earlier this month, James Bond star Daniel Craig said the film series was ready for a black Bond. Diddy (real name Sean Combs) seems to have taken that very seriously, because he wants to be the next James Bond.

According to Britain's The Mirror tabloid, the artist formerly known as P. Diddy, who was formerly known as Puff Daddy, has apparently spent 500,000 British pounds (about $946,000 Canadian) on an audition tape that doubles as a promo for his new fragrance, I Am King (which, by the way, has "an untraditional fresh fruit woody scent" that "attracts women to encounter its power").

"I just landed a role on CSI: Miami, I'm about to announce this movie, and I feel like I am best-suited to be the next James Bond," he says in his latest video blog entry (see below), which introduces the promo clip. "We've got a black president. It's time for a black Bond."

Diddy apparently flew to tape the spot near Casino Royale in southern France and has apparently already sent it to film executives.

If the rapper, producer and entrepreneur should somehow become the next Bond, we hope he revives the series' gadgets, which have fallen by the wayside of late. The Diddy could be an LP or CD that turns into some sort of saw when you throw it. Or how about a suitcase full of fake money, called The Benjamins, which contains some kind of sophisticated spy technology or weapon?

Let's not forget that Puffy owns his own vodka line, Ciroc, which I'm sure he could work into the film. Why wouldn't he want to use the phrase "shaken, not stirred"?

This could actually be a brilliant marketing tactic for the Puffster.

Here's the mini-movie for I Am King: