OFFICIAL: Sam Mendes NOT directing Bond 24

Loomis wrote:

I'd even be cool with getting Arnold back if he came up with a score as good as that of CASINO ROYALE.

Well, he did. He bettered it with the far more nuanced, stylish and original QUANTUM OF SOLACE.

Python wrote:

Gotta ask: Why Stephen Daldry?

A respected film and theatre director. A friend of Daniel Craig, or so I gather, and has directed Ralph Fiennes. British and in his early fifties. Not really a household name but has an impressive body of work under his belt. Has worked in America, worked with some major stars and has done a couple of big budget films (not as big as Bond, of course, but that was also true of Mendes pre-SKYFALL). Has a lot of critical acclaim and has had no fewer than three Oscar nominations for Best Director.

I think he's the sort of director who more or less fits the Eon profile and strikes me as very similar to Mendes in some ways. I'd be staggered if he hasn't at least been considered for the Bond director's chair. I'm not particularly pushing for the man, and indeed I've seen only one of his films (THE READER) - I'm just citing him as someone I'd expect to be on the Eon shortlist.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Roman Coppola

Sofia Coppola would be great. Won't happen, though, sadly.

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Roman Coppola

Sofia Coppola would be great.

Nah, Roman's the more interesting director.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Roman Coppola

Sofia Coppola would be great.

Nah, Roman's the more interesting director.

inclined to agree.

Arnold will be back, the itch you can't scratch.

Hilly wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Roman Coppola

Sofia Coppola would be great.

Nah, Roman's the more interesting director.

inclined to agree.

Granted, Loomis is the world's biggest LOST IN TRANSLATION fan, so there's not much room to argue here.

I'm a big Lost in Translation fan but Roman edges it all the same.

Loomis wrote:

Danny Boyle

Well, I don't know much about him. I do own SUNSHINE and I've seen 28 DAYS LATER. I could roll with Danny Boyle.

David Fincher would be an interesting idea. Are his sensibilities too dark for Bond? Scratch that. I thought he was British for some reason (maybe because Alien3 was filmed in England), so I guess he'd not be on the list. But he's the rare director for which I happen to have seen all of his films (not because of him, per se, but because they were all fairly interesting).

And Kenneth Branagh might not be a bad idea. He did a great job with THOR (except for the casting of Idris Elba), but he's directing JACK RYAN as we speak, and he might not be available, and EON may not want him directing Bond so soon after directing a similar property.

Kathryn Bigelow has earned my respect. I would have no problem if a skirt was hired to direct Bond. Heck, it seems a given at this point that Barbara would hire a woman. Better yet, why doesn't Barbara just direct it? She's been in the industry long enough. She could probably do it. She has a..........close relationship with Daniel. I'm sure she could give him some pointers (no pun intended about her sweater meat on the set of CASINO ROYALE).

And, of course, Christopher Nolan.

With Mendes out, EON's problem is that they now have to find someone who can live up to the standard set by SKYFALL, but without resorting to base imitation. BOND 24 might have lost Roger Deakins as a result of Mendes' departure, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - it should prompt a new visual direction for the film, making it a little easier for the director to carve out their own style and avoid falling into the trap of apeing Mendes.

I definately think Fincher would be a strong choice for director, but I'd be inclined to go with Ben Affleck. He might be a horrible actor, but the man knows how to direct.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Danny Boyle

Well, I don't know much about him. I do own SUNSHINE and I've seen 28 DAYS LATER. I could roll with Danny Boyle.

There are quite a few directors I'd pick ahead of Boyle but I do think he could do the job.

His hiring wouldn't have the publicity value of a big name like Boyle or Nolan, but Stuart Baird might be a solid choice.

I doubt the aforementioned Greengrass would do it, am pretty sure he regards Bond as an appallingly imperialistic bully-boy. And we've already had the franchise's Bourne tribute in the shape of Quantum Of Solace, anyway.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I doubt the aforementioned Greengrass would do it, am pretty sure he regards Bond as an appallingly imperialistic bully-boy. And we've already had the franchise's Bourne tribute in the shape of Quantum Of Solace, anyway.

Exactly. Straight to hell with Greengas.

And Tamahori? Riiiiiiiiight.

From that EW list, I wouldn't say no to Joe Wright, Vaughn, Boyle, Yates, or Cuaron.

Loomis wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Loomis wrote:

Danny Boyle

Well, I don't know much about him. I do own SUNSHINE and I've seen 28 DAYS LATER. I could roll with Danny Boyle.

There are quite a few directors I'd pick ahead of Boyle but I do think he could do the job.

His hiring wouldn't have the publicity value of a big name like Boyle or Nolan, but Stuart Baird might be a solid choice.

Baird hasn't directed a film since STAR TREK NEMESIS and for a good reason: he was terrible. Moving back to editing was the best decision he made because that's where his strengths lie.

Also Boyle said he wouldn't do a Bond film anyway, which is fine by me because he's overrated.

Yeah... I wouldn't say no to Joe Wright either. Apparently he wants to do a blockbuster too... Maybe he can bring in Keira Knightley, and I wouldn't object to a Dario Marionelli score! :D

Loomis wrote:

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.

For all of these reasons and them some, I am very happy to see Mendes go. For someone who claimed to love Live and Let Die, we didn't get much of a LALD-like film. SF is not my cup of Bond. Less drama please. Enough is enough. Thank you for your efforts Sam. Much appreciated, but seeing as we are set-up now for more conventional Bond films,(based on the ending of SF) lets see if we can't find the next Terrence Young, Guy Hamilton or Peter Hunt.

tiffanywint wrote:

we didn't get much of a LALD-like film.

As they say in the Old Country: Baruch Hashem!

:)

This might sound very unusual but what about Ralph Fiennes?

I thought Coriolanus was great and he could collaborate with John Logan on the script.

I'm a bit disappointed in Mendes not returning. The experience he gained with SKYFALL would have served him well for Bond 23, I think. Although, the biggest loss here is Deakins, and the possibility of Arnold returning like some kind of incurable disease will always be looming. It also once again begs the question why the producers haven't been able to secure a director for back-to-back Bond films in almost 25 years.

As far as some of the director suggestions go....Boyle is a no. I believe he was offered Bond 22, but turned it down. Bigelow is an interesting selection that I'd definitely support, and there was even talk of her being the heavy favorite for Bond 23 before Mendes signed on. Affleck wouldn't be a bad choice either, but after turning down Justice League and Star Wars 7, it would appear that he has no interest in franchise movies. Edgar Wright, Matthew Vaughn, Duncan Jones and Alfonso Cuaron are also pretty solid picks, but Joe Wright may be a bit too "stuffy" for EON (despite the excellent HANNA). Fincher could possibly bring a little of that signature "benign-bizarre" darkness to Bond, but overall his name doesn't excite me much. And I say definitely no to Branagh, Greengrass, Yates, Hooper and Martin Campbell.

The obvious dream-scenario would be Spielberg....but I think that ship has sailed. And I still insist that QT would make an excellent Bond movie, but he's obviously burned that bridge long ago and it will never, ever happen.

At this point, I think the way to go with Bond 24 is Nolan. No doubt in my mind. He obviously has his deficiencies (namely his dialogue), but the guy knows how to make a successful Hollywood blockbuster that is smarter than your average action flick. He'd be a home run hire, as far as I'm concerned. The problem with him is going to be lining his schedule up with what is going on with Bond (he has even said so much) and he is also going to want a large amount (if not all) of the creative control that Babs and Michael may not be willing to concede to him.

A recent press release from Paramount and Warner Bros. says that Christopher Nolan will release his new scf-fi film “Interstellar” through both Paramount Pictures (domestically) and Warner Bros. (Internationally) starting November 7th, 2014. It will be released in theaters and IMAX.

http://latino-review.com/2013/03/08/christopher-nolan-ready-interstellar-you/

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Wow. That's an incredibly ambitious challenge...to direct both Interstellar and BOND 24 at the same time. Has SONY set a release date for BOND 24 yet? They'll probably release it November 21st, that way Nolan's two films won't be competing against each other on the very same weekend.

Well! So much for Nolan.

Scratch Nolan off the list. I could see someone like Alfonso Cuaron getting the gig.

Jack Wade wrote:

Scratch Nolan off the list. I could see someone like Alfonso Cuaron getting the gig.

and tack Alberto Iglesias [as composer[ into that as well.

Jack Wade wrote:

Scratch Nolan off the list.

I can't. I won't. I shan't.

Denial is just a river in Egypt. I refuse to allow any facts to alter my judgement. Nolan IS going to direct BOND 24 and INTERSTELLAR at the same time. INTERSTELLAR is probably just the working title of BOND 24.

Oh God, nooooooooooooo! Why? The pain! The humanity!

Jack Wade wrote:

Scratch Nolan off the list. I could see someone like Alfonso Cuaron getting the gig.

Indeed. Wasn't he considered for THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and CASINO ROYALE?

I just hope it isn't Guy Ritchie, who's reportedly the bookies' favourite to direct BOND 24,