OFFICIAL: Sam Mendes NOT directing Bond 24

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.

Jack was right. Mendes being able to bring in a billion dollar movie was probably a surprise even to him. I'm sure SONY, in their heart of hearts, wasn't expecting SF to do THAT well. But now that it has, there's no turning back. Because the bar has been raised so high, I don't think, from a financial perspective, that SONY will want to take a risk on any director that isn't "A-list" and already well known, for fear of bringing in lesser box office returns. I mean, after all, if 1.1 billion with Sam Mendes is possible (whose previous films did respectable business, but were never considered blockbusters), 1.3 billion should be possible with Chris Nolan.

I mean, just the headlines...the media speculation...about what Chris Nolan would bring to the series would be worth its weight in gold. People would be interested in seeing how he follows up with his first film since THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. However, he's busy on other projects as well, and if EON has any hope of securing his services, they'd better lock him down now.

The people who meet the criteria to direct BOND 24 are in rarefied air.

Nolan is attached to Interstellar so I don't think he will be doing Bond 24.

It seems Craig has some say on the director's since he apparently asked Forster and Mendes and if EON listen to him we might have Matthew Vaughan or Roger Michell being considered since Craig has worked with them before.

If EON want a British director with the same calibre as Mendes they might go for Tom Hooper or Danny Boyle.

Personally I would go for Duncan Jones or Tomas Alfredson or beg Martin Campbell to come back.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Because the bar has been raised so high, I don't think, from a financial perspective, that SONY will want to take a risk on any director that isn't "A-list" and already well known, for fear of bringing in lesser box office returns.

That may well be true but it hardly leaves Nolan as the sole candidate.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

I mean, just the headlines...the media speculation...about what Chris Nolan would bring to the series would be worth its weight in gold. People would be interested in seeing how he follows up with his first film since THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

And people would also endlessly compare BOND 24 to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. I suspect that the last thing that Eon would want is for Batman to be mentioned in virtually every single review of the new 007 outing, even if the comparisons were to favour Bond.

Neither would Eon want to hire a director whose own fame and acclaim might overshadow that of the Bond series. I may have to eat these words in due course if Nolan does get hired for BOND 24, but my hunch is that Eon want it to be "the new Bond film", as opposed to "the new Christopher Nolan film" or "the new Tarantino" or "Spielberg's latest" or whatever. I suspect that that's one reason that the Bond series has always avoided hiring household name directors.

bondfan06 wrote:

If EON want a British director with the same calibre as Mendes they might go for Tom Hooper or Danny Boyle.

Personally I would go for Duncan Jones or Tomas Alfredson or beg Martin Campbell to come back.

Interesting suggestions. How about Stephen Daldry?

And I think Ang Lee might be a very good choice.

Loomis wrote:

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

To say Mendes' understanding of Bond is "unique" and that SF is a film of "rare brilliance" is overstating things. Nevertheless, it is the general consensus across various filmgoing demographics that Mendes has a profound understanding of Bond and that SF is a superb film. Not just any director holds Mendes' promise. If B24 proves as good as SF, Micolli will have pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

Loomis wrote:

bondfan06 wrote:

If EON want a British director with the same calibre as Mendes they might go for Tom Hooper or Danny Boyle.

Personally I would go for Duncan Jones or Tomas Alfredson or beg Martin Campbell to come back.

Interesting suggestions. How about Stephen Daldry?

And I think Ang Lee might be a very good choice.

I think both of them would be completely wrong for Bond.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

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.

Jack was right. Mendes being able to bring in a billion dollar movie was probably a surprise even to him. I'm sure SONY, in their heart of hearts, wasn't expecting SF to do THAT well. But now that it has, there's no turning back. Because the bar has been raised so high, I don't think, from a financial perspective, that SONY will want to take a risk on any director that isn't "A-list" and already well known, for fear of bringing in lesser box office returns. I mean, after all, if 1.1 billion with Sam Mendes is possible (whose previous films did respectable business, but were never considered blockbusters), 1.3 billion should be possible with Chris Nolan.

I mean, just the headlines...the media speculation...about what Chris Nolan would bring to the series would be worth its weight in gold. People would be interested in seeing how he follows up with his first film since THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. However, he's busy on other projects as well, and if EON has any hope of securing his services, they'd better lock him down now.

The people who meet the criteria to direct BOND 24 are in rarefied air.

I attribute virtually none of SF's box office success to the name "Sam Mendes," but a huge percentage of that success to Mendes' ability to make a spectacular Bond film. That said, Nolan is such a huge name and Batman is such a potent cinematic entity that his presence alone would provide a substantial box office boost to B24.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

To say Mendes' understanding of Bond is "unique" and that SF is a film of "rare brilliance" is overstating things.

Yes, considerably. ;)

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Nevertheless, it is the general consensus across various filmgoing demographics that Mendes has a profound understanding of Bond and that SF is a superb film.

Granted. I don't agree that SKYFALL is a superb film (it's a fairly decent timekiller with a number of strengths and a number of weaknesses and hardly the Second Coming of James Bond), but, yeah, majority opinion does seem to hold it up as something very special (I wonder, though, whether this is mostly a consensus among professional critics as opposed to the public at large - I've read a fair number of scathing user reviews of SKYFALL on the IMDb).

And I think Mendes is a good director, and maybe even a very good one. I don't think he's a genius, though (not that you're saying he is one, of course). And, sure, he knows his Bond (although this knowledge is sometimes more apparent from his director's commentary for SKYFALL than from the film itself), but then I'm sure that that's also true of many other directors.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Not just any director hold Mendes' promise.

True. But there are surely some out there.

bondfan06 wrote:

Loomis wrote:

bondfan06 wrote:

If EON want a British director with the same calibre as Mendes they might go for Tom Hooper or Danny Boyle.

Personally I would go for Duncan Jones or Tomas Alfredson or beg Martin Campbell to come back.

Interesting suggestions. How about Stephen Daldry?

And I think Ang Lee might be a very good choice.

I think both of them would be completely wrong for Bond.

How so?

And which directors (other than Campbell, Mendes and Nolan) do you think might be right for Bond?

Loomis wrote:

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

Boring.

This is terrible news.

Quote :

How about Stephen Daldry?

How about Extraordinary Rendition?

Loomis wrote:

Perligau Khan wrote:

Not just any director hold Mendes' promise.

True. But there are surely some out there.

I haven't seen a single one mentioned in this thread. Maybe Tom Hooper... but no one else.

Loomis wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

To say Mendes' understanding of Bond is "unique" and that SF is a film of "rare brilliance" is overstating things.

Yes, considerably. ;)

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Nevertheless, it is the general consensus across various filmgoing demographics that Mendes has a profound understanding of Bond and that SF is a superb film.

Granted. I don't agree that SKYFALL is a superb film (it's a fairly decent timekiller with a number of strengths and a number of weaknesses and hardly the Second Coming of James Bond), but, yeah, majority opinion does seem to hold it up as something very special (I wonder, though, whether this is mostly a consensus among professional critics as opposed to the public at large - I've read a fair number of scathing user reviews of SKYFALL on the IMDb).

And I think Mendes is a good director, and maybe even a very good one. I don't think he's a genius, though (not that you're saying he is one, of course). And, sure, he knows his Bond (although this knowledge is sometimes more apparent from his director's commentary for SKYFALL than from the film itself), but then I'm sure that that's also true of many other directors.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Not just any director hold Mendes' promise.

True. But there are surely some out there.

I'm sure there are a few. Ascertaining who might possess the Midas touch, however, will be a dashedly tricky business. Micolli largely misfired with Forster and hit a home run with Mendes. What will they do with B24? Something between those two poles, most likely.

Largo's Shark wrote:

This is terrible news.

Well, even as someone who doesn't think that SKYFALL is all it's cracked up to be, I'm slightly disappointed by this news, if only because I'd like a director to stick around for at least two films. And I think Mendes can make a better Bond film than SKYFALL and was curious to see how his second stab 007 would turn out.

However, I'm not at all worried about BOND 24. I'm sure that a good director will be hired and that the film will turn out okay (or more than okay). The folks at Eon have a pretty good track record in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

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.

Let's see:

1. Humourless
   
2. Borderline Asperger's
   
3. Asexual
   
4. Massive geek
   
5. Hans Zimmer's BFF
   
6. Can't direct actors
   
7. No feeling for action
   
8. Can only write in portentous trailer dialogue

Yep, sounds like Bond to me.

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

This is terrible news.

Well, even as someone who doesn't think that SKYFALL is all it's cracked up to be, I'm slightly disappointed by this news, if only because I'd like a director to stick around for at least two films. And I think Mendes can make a better Bond film than SKYFALL and was curious to see how his second stab 007 would turn out.

That's what I hoped for too. Someone to build on the success of their previous Bond, and create a completely different film for contrast. A new atmosphere, tone, vibe, whatever.

Now I worry that [insert next director-for-hire] is going to try and have his/her crack at SKYFALL 2.0.

Some interesting suggestions here:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/03/06/james-bond-directors-nolan-vaughn/

I wonder how Mendes' departure will affect the development of the screenplay. Will writing continue while the hunt for a director is underway, so that directorial candidates may be presented with a finished script to consider, or will the script be put on hold until a director is signed?

Edgar Wright would be a brilliant choice. Maybe a bit left field for EON, though.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Now I worry that [insert next director-for-hire] is going to try and have his/her crack at SKYFALL 2.0.

Yes, and that could also have the effect of prolonging the whole reboot/let's-reinvent-James-Bond-from-the-ground-up shtick, which to my mind (and I can't possibly be alone) is getting extremely old and tired (and tiring).

Personally, though, I'm still waiting for a decent followup to CASINO ROYALE (with the origin story stuff put to bed, of course), so I hope that Campbell is now deep in negotiations with Broccoli and Wilson.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Edgar Wright would be a brilliant choice. Maybe a bit left field for EON, though.

I'm not a fan of Wright. Of the names mentioned in the article I'd consider the following if I were in charge (which, sadly, I'm not):

Martin Campbell

Lee Tamahori

Matthew Vaughn

Danny Boyle

Paul Greengrass

Paul McGuigan

Steve McQueen

Gareth Evans

Nicolas Winding Refn

Ang Lee

Loomis wrote:

Personally, though, I'm still waiting for a decent followup to CASINO ROYALE (with the origin story stuff put to bed, of course), so I hope that Campbell is now deep in negotiations with Broccoli and Wilson.

Campbell's too old for this shit. Plus he'll bring along Phil Meheux instead of Deakins, and worse - rehire David Arnold.

Just when I thought he was out, they pull him back in.

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Edgar Wright would be a brilliant choice. Maybe a bit left field for EON, though.

I'm not a fan of Wright. Of the names mentioned in the article I'd consider the following if I were in charge (which, sadly, I'm not):

Martin Campbell

Lee Tamahori

Matthew Vaughn

Danny Boyle

Paul Greengrass

Paul McGuigan

Steve McQueen

Gareth Evans

Nicolas Winding Refn

Ang Lee

Excluding Campbell and Tamahori, I'm honestly not a fan of any of those. Especially McQueen and Greengrass. Can't stand those two.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Personally, though, I'm still waiting for a decent followup to CASINO ROYALE (with the origin story stuff put to bed, of course), so I hope that Campbell is now deep in negotiations with Broccoli and Wilson.

Campbell's too old for this shit. Plus he'll bring along Phil Meheux instead of Deakins, and worse - rehire David Arnold.

Just when I thought he was out, they pull him back in.

I love Meheux's cinematography, and particularly on CASINO ROYALE. No one will agree with me here, but I think the cinematography of CASINO ROYALE kicks the shit out of the cinematography of SKYFALL.

I'd even be cool with getting Arnold back if he came up with a score as good as that of CASINO ROYALE, which to my mind is by far his best work (everyone brought their A-game to CASINO ROYALE, if you ask me).

Gotta ask: Why Stephen Daldry?

Disappointing news.

Let me join the chorus of people praying this doesn't mean David Ahnuld will be roused from his slumber.

Here's some more directors I'd approve of -

Joe Wright (if he gave us another HANNAH)

Joe Cornish

Marco Bellocchio

Roman Coppola

Todd Solondz

Whit Stillman

Andre Techine

David Mamet

Luc Besson

Python wrote:

Gotta ask: Why Stephen Daldry?

Because he's British and knows how to bore the shit out of you.