EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures and MGM have started talks for Sam Mendes to return and direct Daniel Craig in the next installment of the James Bond franchise. Mendes helmed the last installment, Skyfall, an audience-pleasing film that grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide to become the biggest Bond film and the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time. John Logan is writing the next film.
There has been much speculation on whether Mendes would come back — right now he’s knee-deep preparing for the West End launch of the stage musical Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which will then move to Broadway. That happened because Mendes bowed out, claiming that musical and King Lear were his new priorities and producers Michael Wilson and Barbra Broccoli seemed resigned and they moved on. Recently, he and the producers got back in touch. While Mendes’ first love is theater, it became clear that the producers wanted him and he wanted to return, and the only thing standing in the way were these stage commitments that Mendes felt obligated to do. So, they’ve decided to wait for him to work through those other commitments, and he’s now making a deal to start production probably next year. What’s the hurry? Craig doesn’t seem to have aged since he took the Bond role; he’s always in rocking shape. While Mendes looked doubtful, a bunch of names have been floated in the press, from Ang Lee to Nicolas Winding Refn and Christopher Nolan. I’m not sure there is much validity to any of them, but now it is a moot point, because Mendes will be the director of the next Bond.
I'm happy to see Mendes staying involved. And I enjoyed Thomas Newman's score. It was a bit reminiscent of The Debt, but I liked it.
I see this as a good sign - that they're taking their time and coming up with a story and movie that works for everyone.
Newman's score had a couple of nice moments in it but I'd much prefer David Arnold coming back. Or bring in Giacchino with strict orders to pull an Incredibles and ape the heck out of John Barry.
Eric W. wrote:Newman's score had a couple of nice moments in it but I'd much prefer David Arnold coming back. Or bring in Giacchino with strict orders to pull an Incredibles and ape the heck out of John Barry.
Good news about Mendes.
Like DavidBanner I liked Newman's score (and was surprised that, at least for me, he pulled it off and did way better than I thought he would), though I would prefer something less "contemporary" and more "classic" for a score. I wouldn't mind hearing him do another one.
Just bring in somebody who gets it. I would be happy with Arnold coming back. Giacchino? STID was really bad (IMO), not sure if he would take strict orders to be John Barry-esque. If he doesn't, then keep him as far away from the new Bond picture as possible!
Newman's clearly capable of more...but he didn't deliver anything other than the completely formulaic to that project. Yet, I'm guessing that's exactly what they wanted. Oh well, at least it was better than Eric Serra!
I'd also prefer Giacchino to stay far away. His TREK score was even worse than his first one (though a function of the film's frenetic elements)
AndyDursin wrote:Newman's clearly capable of more...but he didn't deliver anything other than the completely formulaic to that project. Yet, I'm guessing that's exactly what they wanted. Oh well, at least it was better than Eric Serra!
Yup!
I'd also prefer Giacchino to stay far away. His TREK score was even worse than his first one (though a function of the film's frenetic elements)
I'd be happy to see Mendes come back. SKYFALL didn't quite come together as a narrative but it hit more often than it missed. Mendes certainly proved himself capable with the set pieces. And let's not forget, besides Newman it could mean the return of the amazing Roger Deakins to the series, which alone is cause for celebration.
At the very least I'd prefer Mendes over a lot of the names recently bandied about - Shane Black (a fabulous filmmaker but IMHO not right for Bond), Tom Hooper (noooooooooooooooooooo), Nolan, etc. The most interesting possibility I read was Ang Lee. I'd love to see him get a shot at Bond.
The entire movie would be shot in close-ups. lol. No thanks!
I'm not a Mendes devotee and I was admittedly quite skeptical -- but he did a fine job with SKYFALL, and proved adept at the action sequences as well. I didn't think the film was "great," but it was certainly solid.
