The Rhythm Section

More excited by and for this than the generically titled Bond 25, if I'm honest.

Surprised they didn't use the CR trailer music here too.

Am tickled by EON 'branching out' by, erm ... producing a spy thriller .

Ha!

They did make Films Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, which was decent enough. Bizarre seeing 'Eon Productions' pop up on something not Bond.

So after all the demanding for a female Bond type thriller, EON Productions actually goes on to make such a film. So either it becomes a modest hit and encourages EON to continue adapting that book series, or nobody goes to see it and EON takes it as a sign that nobody wants to actually see female spy thrillers. You can't say they didn't try!

Anyway, this looks alright. I'll definitely check it out, given it comes out on my birthday. Why not?

Still haven't seen CALL ME BWANA or FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL.

I remember about a decade ago EON announced they purchased film rights for several spy thrillers that Sony was going to finance and distribute but that never really panned out, probably because few studios care about EON non-Bond projects. JINX almost happened, until CHARLIES ANGELS 2 and LARA CROFT 2 under-performed and gave MGM cold feet on a female spy thriller.

EDIT: Interesting that they actually restrained themselves from using "From the producers of the James Bond series", perhaps they're hoping to have this film stand on its own feet without preconceived notions with Bond.

Liverpool is a solid biopic of sorts that tells more of Grahame's less known later years. It's fine but not very remarkable and not what you expect from an EON production after all this time.

The trailer for this seems like a great number of modern cliches rolled into one though.

Some good bit of sense - finally - from Babs: "why would a woman want to be Bond?"

(I'm assuming it's more of a derogatory statement directed at James Bond himself, but the other comments, particularly from the director, about how women should have their own thing and not ride the coattails of an established series is refreshing to hear).

https://variety.com/2020/scene/news/blake-lively-female-james-bond-rhythm-section-1203484534/

I'm curious to see this. I'm happy to support this as, hopefully, an indication to Eon that Bond and their other ventures can and should be kept separate, politics and all.

Trailer for this played before 1917 ... oddly given what sort of movie it is, it doesn't feature a 'From the producers of James Bond' onscreen caption.

As MP said above, perhaps they don't want audiences comparing it to Bond.

Early reviews not too kind on The Rhythm Section... I shouldn't be, but I find myself amused by this:

Mara Reinstein wrote:

Sticking a gun in the backside of an Islamic radical terrorist and sneering, "Where's the detonator?!" in a British accent just does not play to Blake Lively's skillset.

Deadline asks: What Went Wrong with The Rhythm Section?

Facing a loss of $30m.

http://dlvr.it/RPFGvn?fbclid=IwAR0pwp1MIXQGt8LRH5uanSYhmRdm7r2sN3QBY2vT0A8Wz-0wH-SiY_T8qYM

With all those records Eon seem keen to break in NTTD, they just broke another one for The Rhythm Section: worst box office opening ever for a wide release film.

Deadline wrote:

Then, in post-production, I understand that Morano, Lively, and Eon all clashed on what the final product should be, with the latter’s vision winning out.

I'm really not surprised. I'm curious to see the film, and doubt it's as bad as the numbers/reviews suggest, but it just goes to show Eon can't handle modern spy films anymore.

I saw this before it got pulled from my area.

It's a decent rental. Blake Lively is actually pretty excellent. I would have been open to a sequel that improved on this, but that'll never happen.

B-

I heard that MGW makes a cameo appearance, I must have missed it though because I don't remember seeing him.

I do think it's absolutely hilarious that the left have been begging EON to do a female James Bond. So here it is, a female spy thriller filmed by a female director, and nobody goes to see it. LOL.

Though to be fair it seems this got such bare minimal marketing by Paramount it's no wonder it flopped. All I ever saw of this was a trailer online. No TV spots or anything. It's like Paramount said "fuck it" and just dumped it on January. I guess EON isn't going to partner with Paramount for a long while.

B- minus is a decent score. Hopefully Babs cites the failure of the female spy/Bond in future interviews. Or that PC culture is all talk and no walk.

I'm still interested to see it (now more so to see MGW's cameo!) but probably will go to VOD in Oz.

I doubt she will, because its failure seems to be more due to studio politics/infighting than the inherent concept of a female spy thriller. I think EON would have been better off selling this film to Netflix as it would have found a much bigger audience.

The studio politics and infighting most certainly played a part, but perhaps it was ignited by a weak script, and the different egos involved thought their version would be best.

I think female-led spy thrillers can and should be a thing. But like all films they need to be done well. And that starts with the script. I think Babs just doesn't know how to handle spy material anymore.

Eh, she's been running the Bond franchise since 1995 and so far has kept it pretty well afloat without ever nearly sinking it like her father did throughout the 80s. I wouldn't say she doesn't know how to handle it anymore.

Holding out for a lead actor who is clearly bored by the role is hardly a good idea in a business sense, and creatively, the output hasn't exactly been successful, either. Her venture into a failed non-Bond spy film might reflect this, too.

It's been 15 years of Babs fingering herself.

Given how well Craig's films have done at the box office, it's not surprising EON would want to hold onto Craig. Heck, Universal only signed the one film deal for NTTD on the condition that Craig would star in it. If anything, I think EON is going to have a challenge finding MGM another production partner unless they find a new Bond that would entice deals.

Besides, Babs isn't the only woman fingering for Craig.

I had typed out 'please don't be predictable and default to the box office takings as a defence' but deleted it. Wish I kept it. Bond's always going to draw crowds. DAD did huge business at the box office. Plus growing audiences/bigger population, inflation, etc.

Eon can get Fassbender or Cavill or a no name actor and the series will survive just fine without Craig, just as it did prior to 2005. Considering the bidding war surrounding Bond 25 distribution, I'm sure Eon/MGM would have easily found another partner. I'm willing to bet Babs chose Universal because they were willing to pay Craig's huge rate for his return and she knew it would be enough to tempt him back. $50m of that $250m budget would most like be going to Craig.

Babs and anyone else can finger themselves over Craig if he does it for them. Just don't let it interfere with business.

And yet Bond has had its notable slumps, noticeably through the 80s. So it's not like it will ALWAYS draw crowds, and Babs saw to it throughout the Brosnan and Craig era to make sure she does as much as she can to keep it fresh and enticing, whether the films turned out alright or not.

But I guess giving her that credit would be too much for some.

Hmm, domestically:

FYEO was the 8th highest grossing film in '81.
OP was the sixth highest grossing film in '83.
AVTAK was the 11th highest grossing film in '85
TLD was the 16th highest grossing film in '87
LTK was the 36th highest grossing film in '89, perhaps the higher classification and poor marketing contributed to this.

Internationally:
FYEO was the 2nd highest grossing film in '81
OP was the 3rd highest grossing film in '83
AVTAK was the 5th highest grossing film in '85
TLD was the 4th highest grossing film in '87
LTK was the 10th highest grossing film in '89.

LTK aside, and maybe AVTAK, I think they did more than ok in the 80s. Even with poor marketing and a higher classification for LTK, it made the top 10 highest grossing films of the year globally.

It might be a stretch to suggest that any success she has financially is because of the hard work of Fleming, Cubby and Saltzman who built the audience over the years prior to her taking control of the series. LTK proves that, even with lesser returns.

I wouldn't factor in the PG-13 as part of the reason for LTK's low gross. BATMAN and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUDADE were both PG-13 and they were massive successes. The bad marketing was likely more a factor, but I think given how low TLD performed domestically it's very clear American audiences were not taken with Dalton's Bond. Common complaint was that he took the role too serious and wasn't fun to watch. There's a reason that after LTK there was speculation that the Bond series had lost its gas, because it really looked like it at the time. Bond was no longer the powerhouse that it used to be in the 60s and 70s, and its turnout reflected that. GE was a much needed shot in the arm for the series, surpassing everything in the 80s by a wide margin.

LTK was murdered by the criminally bad distribution due dumped out in the MASSIVE 1989 summer and being the main release of the cash strapped financially screwed dying MGM/UA which had been slowly murdered by Kirk Kerkorian's idiocy from the early 70's to that point. The last straw was their purchase of UA post Heaven's Gate and then selling off the legendary UA distribution system which is the greatest the world has ever seen.

Along with Batman and Indy, Lethal Weapon 2 was another from '89's blockbuster summer' that LTK struggled to hold its own against.

If you go back and look at press reports, opening weekends and the summer slate in the year of the Batman extravaganza it's absolute gut wrenching to see LTK just dumped out so pitifully.

And the ad campaign is just so pitifully lackluster....they went with those crummy photo montages after dumping the planned campaign.