JAMAICA, APRIL 25, 2019 - GoldenEye in Jamaica. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today confirmed the start of principal photography on the 25th official James Bond film begins on 28 April 2019. From Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, the film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fifth film as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer will release the 25th James Bond feature film domestically through their United Artists Releasing banner on April 8, 2020; through Universal Pictures International and Metro Goldwyn Mayer in the UK and internationally from April 3, 2020.

Director, Cary Joji Fukunaga confirmed the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright and introduced Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen and Rami Malek.

Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios in the UK, and on location in London, Italy, Jamaica and Norway.

Wilson and Broccoli commented, "We're thrilled to return to Jamaica with Bond 25, Daniel Craig's fifth instalment in the 007 series, where Ian Fleming created the iconic James Bond character and Dr No and Live And Let Die were filmed."

Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Scott Z. Burns with Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, other members of the creative team are; Director of Photography Linus Sandgren, Editor Tom Cross and Elliot Graham, Production Designer Mark Tildesley, Costume Designer Suttirat Larlarb, Supervising Stunt Coordinator Olivier Schneider, 2nd Unit Stunt Coordinator Lee Morrison and Visual Effects Supervisor Charlie Noble. Returning members to the team are; 2nd Unit Director Alexander Witt, Special Effects and Action Vehicles Supervisor Chris Corbould and Casting Director Debbie McWilliams.

Spectre, the 24th James Bond film, was a global box office hit, opening #1 in 81 territories around the world, including the U.S., and earning $880 million at the global box office. The film broke a new all-time box office record in the UK with the biggest seven-day opening of all time at $63.8 million. Skyfall, the 23rd film in the series, earned $1.1 billion worldwide.

The start of production launch of Bond 25 was streamed live on the official James Bond channels: 007.com, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and the video is now available on demand on all of these sites.

NOTES:
The announcement took place at GoldenEye in Jamaica, once the home of Ian Fleming where he created the James Bond character in 1952. Ian Fleming wrote 12 novels and two collections of short stories on the island. GoldenEye is owned and operated by Island Outpost, founded by Chris Blackwell who formerly owned Island Records.

GoldenEye will not be used as a filming location for Bond 25.

The first 007 film, Dr No, produced by Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, Fleming's sixth novel, filmed on location in Jamaica in 1962 starring Sean Connery.

The production has employed approximately 500 local Jamaican cast and crew and has support from the Government of Jamaica led by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and the Film Commission.

James Bond is the longest running, and one of the most successful franchises of all time, with twenty-four films produced and the twenty-fifth about to commence principal photography. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli and have produced the past eight Bond films together, including the highly successful Skyfall and Spectre. All of the James Bond films have been made in collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios or United Artists, its predecessor.

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:58 pm Lea Seydoux also back, probably for the opening 10 minutes before she's killed off I'd imagine.

There’s already trouble in paradise on new James Bond set

The 25th James Bond film just launched in Jamaica and there’s already trouble in paradise over the title and plot – however Page Six has learned that famed Bond villains Grace Jones and Christoph Waltz will return in cameo roles.

While Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) Ben Whishaw (Q) and Léa Seydoux (Madeleine Swann from Spectre) were formally announced on Thursday as returning for Daniel Craig’s swan song as 007, with Oscar winner Rami Malek newly signed as a villain – the movie has no title and no finalized script.

And rather like grumpy Craig himself (who famously said he’d rather “slash his wrists” than return as 007 after 2015’s insipid “Spectre”), Bond 25 opens with a retired 007 who appears to be just as unwilling to go back into her Majesty’s Secret Service, living in “his spiritual home” of Jamaica with Swann.

A source close to Bond 25 said, “They don’t have a script, there’s no title, it is nearly five years since the last Bond. It starts with a retired Bond living in wedded bliss, but the rest of the script is still being worked over. They rolled out the cast this week at Ian Fleming’s villa in Jamaica because if they wait much longer Daniel Craig, who is 51, will be too old, and then he really won’t do the film.”

Brief details of the plot find Bond called back into action when his CIA cohort Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, turns up asking for help to rescue a kidnapped scientist. It has been rumored that the plot would also touch heavily on the dangers of powerful tech or social media platforms falling into nefarious hands.

The source added of curmudgeonly Craig’s return, “Everyone on the production side detests working with Daniel, he’s so difficult and makes things impossible. But [Bond producer] Barbara Broccoli thinks he walks on water, and only her opinion matters.”

However Page Six can reveal there are some surprises in the works to inject life into Bond 25 – including a cameo role for “View To A Kill” femme fatale Grace Jones (likely not as her murderous character May Day, who was killed by a bomb in the 1985 classic).

Plus there is a currently scheduled brief return of Christoph Waltz as Blofeld, the villain captured alive at the end of “Spectre.” However Malek’s character will reign as the key villain in Bond 25.

The source continued it was also likely that Swann would be killed off in Bond 25 in a nod to Diana Rigg’s role as Bond’s wife murdered by Blofeld in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

Plus “Fleabag” creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the writing force behind the fantastic female-led twisted BBC and Netflix spy drama “Killing Eve,” was brought in by Craig himself at the 11th hour to join the writing team and inject the script with killer wit.

Finally, Bond 25’s working title, “Shatterhand” (an alias historically used by Blofeld) has been scrapped after it leaked a few months ago, sparking sneers because that was also the title of a primitive punch-up, shoot-em-up ’90s Nintendo game.

Bond 25 is due out on April 8, 2020.

AndyDursin wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 11:45 am It's what happens when you give your diva star the reigns, with nobody reeling him in. Their (and our) hope has to be that Fukunaga can salvage it on his own accord.