OFFICIAL: Sam Mendes NOT directing Bond 24

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=36712

Quote :

Bond may be back, but Empire can exclusively reveal that Sam Mendes won't be joining him. At the BAFTAs recently, basking in the glow of Skyfall's triumph for Outstanding British Film, it seemed that Mendes, who had previously claimed he would make just the single Bond entry, could be tempted back for another go. But, having bumped into the Oscar-winning director on a barren Scottish glen - or was it a glitzy Macau casino? - he confided in us that he won't be returning to direct Bond 24.

“It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie," explained Mendes. "Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond."

With Skyfall freshly crossing the $1.1bn mark at the box office and still hoovering up plaudits - it dominates the nominations at this year's Jameson Empire Awards - the news will no doubt be a blow to producers Broccoli and Wilson. Then again, with a freshly reinvigorated franchise to oversee and actors of the calibre of Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes to work with, there'll be no shortage of high-calibre applicants to pick from for Bond 24.

If his gifted direction of dramatic beats came as no surprise to movie-watchers, Mendes' adroit handling of Bond's action sequences wowed fans and elevated Skyfall to critical and commercial echelons previously never enjoyed by a Bond movie. For his part, the 47 year old director refuses to rule out the possibility of a Martin Campbell-like return to the franchise in years to come. "I feel very honoured to have been part of the Bond family", said Mendes, "and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again sometime in the future".

A response from Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli has just reached us, and it more than leaves the door open to a Mendes return. "We thoroughly enjoyed working with Sam, he directed our most successful Bond movie ever, Skyfall. We would have loved to have made the next film with him but completely respect his decision to focus on other projects and hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again."

Bye bye Deakins and Newman. Arnold must be jumping in joy.

Bummer.

I'd have liked to have seen Sam Mendes return, but he clearly has other commitments. Shame.

Great to have Arnold back! :D

For me, SKYFALL (while it certainly has its impressive and entertaining moments) was a disappointment - overlong and underwritten, with too much focus on the folks at MI6 (the ongoing origin story subplot is getting boring, and is also coupled akwardly with a "Bond's getting old and past it" angle that's unconvincing, badly handled and redundant) and too little focus on the villain (the brilliant Bardem, whose show-stealing Silva is by far the best thing about the film). SKYFALL is poorly paced and pretty joyless, and it repeats too many elements from recent Bond outings (our hero going AWOL, an attack on his workplace, our hero breaking into M's flat for an argument with her, our hero learning that the villain is a fellow agent, M in direct danger, etc.) to feel in any way fresh. It feels like a megamix of the films GOLDENEYE - QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

On the other hand, I found enough to like about SKYFALL to support the idea of Mendes returning. If SKYFALL was his BATMAN BEGINS (very good in places but also heavily flawed and overrated), I was hoping that BOND 24 would be his DARK KNIGHT, i.e. a much more solid and satisfying work that's unencumbered by the need to introduce various recurring characters and therefore focuses more on story than backstory. Still, given that Mendes didn't knock it outta the park with SKYFALL in the way I'd hoped (just as Sebastian Faulks' tremendous skills didn't seem to fully come into play with DEVIL MAY CARE), I can't say that I'm too upset that he isn't coming back.

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Might be better to wait until that's confirmed, eh?

It's a given, unless the next director they hire wants to bring his own composer. If its Nolan, prepare for the Zimmerman factor! ;)

Blunt Instrument wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Might be better to wait until that's confirmed, eh?

Indeed. Besides, I'd like a fresh composer. How about Alexandre Desplat?

As for the director, my choice would be Martin Campbell. A predictable pick, I know, but the man does make bloody good Bond films.

David Arnold back?
Let's hope so!

Shit. I'm sure EON has a shortlist of replacements ready, but Mendes did one fine job. I hope he'll direct Bond at some point again. No chance of Deakins returning either now, unless the Coens direct. I'm sure Newman could be coaxed back though.

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Let me be the first to welcome Hans Zimmer to the project. I cant' wait to see what he and Chris bring to the next Bond movie. It's going to be intense!

This news definitely saddens me. I was hoping for a return for Mendes, Deakins, and Newman. I dearly pray that Arnold comes nowhere near Bond 24. However, of the three, I think I will miss Deakins the most.

There are plenty of great directors. I hope EON picks one of them.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Let me be the first to welcome Hans Zimmer to the project. I cant' wait to see what he and Chris bring to the next Bond movie. It's going to be intense!

With Mendes out of the picture (so to speak), this may be the best option.

Sorry to see Sam go, but at least he makes it sound like a future Mendes-helmed Bond flick is a strong possibility.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Let me be the first to welcome Hans Zimmer to the project. I cant' wait to see what he and Chris bring to the next Bond movie. It's going to be intense!

With Mendes out of the picture (so to speak), this may be the best option.

Sorry to see Sam go, but at least he makes it sound like a future Mendes-helmed Bond flick is a strong possibility.

Once you've earned 1.1 billion, it's kind of hard to go with Matthew Vaughn or Quentin Tarantino. Like Lois said to Clark in Superman II: "You're kind of a hard act to follow." How do you follow up Mendes/Skyfall? You get Nolan. He fulfills every requirement needed to direct: British, has a proven track record of success, access to A-list talent, can write as well as direct and he WANTS to do it. I wonder what kind of pressure SONY will be putting on EON now. When you've tasted 1.1 billion, anything less is going to see like.....less. You can probably top SKYFALL's record by bringing on Nolan, which is really all that's going to matter going into BOND 24. SONY is going to want bigger.

Yellow Pinky wrote:

I dearly pray that Arnold comes nowhere near Bond 24.

Amen. Time for some new blood, I hope the producers don't fall back on tradition and make the mistake of asking him back. He's had his 10 years on the series, that's far more than enough.

Moore wrote:

Yellow Pinky wrote:

I dearly pray that Arnold comes nowhere near Bond 24.

Amen. Time for some new blood, I hope the producers don't fall back on tradition and make the mistake of asking him back. He's had his 10 years on the series, that's far more than enough.

And failed to perform to a really dcent standard.

I do hope that EON has learned something with Newman, namely that there are plenty of talented composers out there that would easily make a smashing soundtrack which would put DA to shame.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Let me be the first to welcome Hans Zimmer to the project. I cant' wait to see what he and Chris bring to the next Bond movie. It's going to be intense!

With Mendes out of the picture (so to speak), this may be the best option.

Sorry to see Sam go, but at least he makes it sound like a future Mendes-helmed Bond flick is a strong possibility.

Once you've earned 1.1 billion, it's kind of hard to go with Matthew Vaughn or Quentin Tarantino. Like Lois said to Clark in Superman II: "You're kind of a hard act to follow." How do you follow up Mendes/Skyfall? You get Nolan. He fulfills every requirement needed to direct: British, has a proven track record of success, access to A-list talent, can write as well as direct and he WANTS to do it. I wonder what kind of pressure SONY will be putting on EON now. When you've tasted 1.1 billion, anything less is going to see like.....less. You can probably top SKYFALL's record by bringing on Nolan, which is really all that's going to matter going into BOND 24. SONY is going to want bigger.

So how do you follow Nolan after that? Who would they get for BOND 25? Chasing bigger and bigger directors is not the way forward for the series.

I suspect that the general public doesn't care about directors anyway. I know a lot of people who've seen SKYFALL but very few indeed who could name the guy who directed it.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

Great to have Arnold back! :D

Let me be the first to welcome Hans Zimmer to the project. I cant' wait to see what he and Chris bring to the next Bond movie. It's going to be intense!

With Mendes out of the picture (so to speak), this may be the best option.

Sorry to see Sam go, but at least he makes it sound like a future Mendes-helmed Bond flick is a strong possibility.

Once you've earned 1.1 billion, it's kind of hard to go with Matthew Vaughn or Quentin Tarantino. Like Lois said to Clark in Superman II: "You're kind of a hard act to follow." How do you follow up Mendes/Skyfall? You get Nolan. He fulfills every requirement needed to direct: British, has a proven track record of success, access to A-list talent, can write as well as direct and he WANTS to do it. I wonder what kind of pressure SONY will be putting on EON now. When you've tasted 1.1 billion, anything less is going to see like.....less. You can probably top SKYFALL's record by bringing on Nolan, which is really all that's going to matter going into BOND 24. SONY is going to want bigger.

For better or worse, I think you're right. Nolan or bust, from a business perspective at least.

Loomis wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

[Once you've earned 1.1 billion, it's kind of hard to go with Matthew Vaughn or Quentin Tarantino. Like Lois said to Clark in Superman II: "You're kind of a hard act to follow." How do you follow up Mendes/Skyfall? You get Nolan. He fulfills every requirement needed to direct: British, has a proven track record of success, access to A-list talent, can write as well as direct and he WANTS to do it. I wonder what kind of pressure SONY will be putting on EON now. When you've tasted 1.1 billion, anything less is going to see like.....less. You can probably top SKYFALL's record by bringing on Nolan, which is really all that's going to matter going into BOND 24. SONY is going to want bigger.

So how do you follow Nolan after that? Who would they get for BOND 25? Chasing bigger and bigger directors is not the way forward for the series.

Sam Mendes.

So, basically, only Nolan and Mendes are possible Bond directors? And if neither is available Sony and Eon should do---- what? Put the series on hold?

Don't think so somehow.

Disappointed, quite disappointed.

Loomis wrote:

So, basically, only Nolan and Mendes are possible Bond directors? And if neither is available Sony and Eon should do---- what? Put the series on hold?

Don't think so somehow.

No, but do you really think Sony wants a director who can pull in Casino Royale numbers when they can get someone who can do Skyfall numbers? There aren't many who can do that, though I suppose Mendes wasn't considered one of those before Skyfall anyway, so who the hell knows.

Jack Wade wrote:

though I suppose Mendes wasn't considered one of those before Skyfall anyway, so who the hell knows.

Exactly.

I don't say that replacing Mendes will be easy, mind. Neither am I saying that pretty much anyone can direct BOND 24 and it won't matter because it has a huge inbuilt audience (although that's probably true to an extent). But I think Sony and Eon have a lot more options than just Messrs Mendes and Nolan.

Loomis wrote:

Jack Wade wrote:

though I suppose Mendes wasn't considered one of those before Skyfall anyway, so who the hell knows.

Exactly.

I don't say that replacing Mendes will be easy, mind. Neither am I saying that pretty much anyone can direct BOND 24 and it won't matter because it has a huge inbuilt audience (although that's probably true to an extent). But I think Sony and Eon have a lot more options than just Messrs Mendes and Nolan.

The only options they have are directors who understand Bond like Mendes and who can direct a film the caliber of SF. Their options are therefore quite limited.

That's if you believe that Mendes has a unique understanding of Bond and that SKYFALL is a film of rare brilliance.