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Until Baz says something, I would just ignore it.
@bondsum, I'm not sure where the Demange/Mackenzie rumours originated, but coincidentally the infamous cashleypersia (of reddit notoriety) mentioned them as possibilities well before Deadline. Make of that what you will.
Sorry, I've just seen you've replied to my previous post @bondjames since I posted my above remarks. On the subject of the Reddit charlatan, I recall having had a look at all his past predictions when the subject of Nolan was first brought up and they were way off the mark to the point of being absurd. I have no intention of reviewing his comments again.
http://wmgk.com/2018/02/21/rumored-james-bond-25-director-lie-debella-show/
Regarding the Nolan rumour, it was actually a reputable Spanish fan website (from which we have a member or two here) who broke the Nolan rumour, and said that their sources were journalists and insiders from both the US & UK. The Redditer pretty much said the same thing a few weeks later. The issue with that all along was that Nolan has said he'd like to reimagine it, and so logic should have dictated he wouldn't sign on to clean up Mendes' mess.
Furthermore, Baz pretty much debunked it shortly after it broke. That's why he remains the best source for Bond imho.
Well, maybe "comedy" is a bit of a stretch, but UNCLE sure is light in tone, which suits the film. Got to love how Eurospy this film is - much helped by the locations, of course.
With regards to the "reputable Spanish fan website"... just how reputable is it when it can concoct a story about Nolan working on Bond 25 when the opposite is true?
Apparently they had a good track record until this recent blunder, and were vouched for by members here. I was always skeptical on account of Nolan's own words, and that is why I ask you to consider what Boyle has said in the past too, rather than what you may wish for.
I'm not saying he's not possibly involved. Just temper expectations.
I think it's clear that Boyle has an "idea". The producers evidently want to work with him, as Danny is something of a national treasure and would be considered a "big get" for EON.
Maybe they can get Yann Demange to finish off Craig's era with the P&W script and Danny/Hodge are actually doing Bond 26? I suspect Yann wouldn't mind finishing off Craig's era, whilst Danny would be ideally suited to launching a new Bond.
But I suspect that the reason they want Boyle is to placate Craig, who I imagine has become accustomed to "name" directors. But I have a huge degree of respect for EON as they are not creatively sticking to one path. Clearly there's something in the P&W script that isn't clicking. If Danny has something really good up his sleeve, then why not let him explore it?
Here's my take:
1. ) P&W have written a pretty traditional script. They're been doing this for 20 years and know the beats off my heart. I imagine they've written something akin to CR and SF. This is the script that EON were using to entice directors (such as Demange, Villenueve and even Boyle), so I doubt it's shit.
I suspect that it has traces of Fleming's YOLT. That doesn't mean that Blofeld features, but I think there will certainly be elements that went unused from that novel. It's also Fleming's most morose and melancholic book, which I think will feed into the story.
2. ) Boyle probably came in and met with the producers and gave his usual line ("I'm not interested in big-budget stuff, etc") and EON convinced him otherwise ("We'll give you creative control, etc"). We know EON are very trusting of their directors and Danny probably got word from Mendes that this is the case.
So Danny tested EON's mettle. He said that if you guys truly want me to do this, let me rebuild the script to my own tastes. If it works then let's do it, if not we can part ways.
Now it's totally against EON's best interests to not let this latter scenario work. They have to make the Boyle script work as going back to the P&W script this late in the process could be problematic, as they loose Boyle and the film gets a messy PR trip.
But this isn't an entirely new situation.
Mendes threw out Peter Morgan's script for SF and kept the central conceit (M dies). That script was entirely rewritten, the only difference was that instead of bringing in his own writer immediately, Mendes let P&W crack out the first draft.
We don't really know if Hodge is working off an idea from P&W's script that Danny liked. We don't know if it's totally original idea that Danny has. So we are in a slight holding pattern regarding juicy behind-the-scenes stories. I imagine we'll know fairly soon what's happening. After all, Boyle has a new TV show airing next month that'll need promotion. (also, I hear the show isn't that great....)
But Boyle is an endlessly creative soul. In my recent research, I found he directed a play on the West Bank with Banksy which tells an alternative version of the nativity. which sounds awesome.
Also, Boyle is a massive socialist who has actively spoken out about Brexit. I'll love to see how this sentiment will feed into the story for Bond 25. Especially since both Broccoli and Craig actively engaged in the referendum. Could we get our most political Bond film? I imagine the thought of some social commentary must have enticed Boyle to want to tackle Britain's most enduring cultural icon.
I imagine that thought of a super liberal making a Bond film will make the conservative voices on this forum wither. Which I'm kinda excited about.
In other news, Boyle got the Arctic Monkeys to perform at the 2012 ceremony. They'd kill a Bond theme:
Either way, Baz has yet to dismiss these Boyle rumours, which is odd considering he's been Tweeting like a little bird on his Twitter account the past few days. Maybe there is something to these rumours after all?
Yes, I'm aware what Danny Boyle has said in the past on not wanting to direct a future Bond movie. I even used to point this out to other members here whenever they brought up his name as a possible and suitable candidate. But (and it's a BIG but) that was a few year's ago, and a director (or actor) is allowed to change his mind. The only real reason that Mendes did Bond was because he'd had a poor string of movies that had all performed badly at the BO and he was having difficulties raising money for future projects. Helming Bond gave him a much needed boost and restored some faith in his ability to make a successful movie again. It could be the reason why Boyle is turning to Bond, thinking: "I'll have some of that!" Of course, the story could be total bollocks and our hopes have been dashed yet again.
I realize we live in a world of fake news and gossip from 'unnamed insider sources' parading as journalism, but all that's required here is a phone call into the reps to get a definitive 'no'. If they don't get that, then there is something to this. These 'journalists' could have done that with Nolan in December and cleared that rumour up much earlier too, but then they wouldn't have been able to sell papers or get website clicks for months.
Has anyone contacted Baz for comment on the Danny Boyle story?
I think even ignoring the sources, it just sounds more believeable than Nolan. I don't think Nolan would want to do a Craig movie, I think he'd want to be able to really do his own thing with it. Bond 26 seems more likely for him imo.
And at this point I can't think of anything better. Boyle for Bond 25 and then a Nolan led reboot for 26 has a very, very nice ring to it.
I don't think that's necessarily true at all. The Craig era cribbed a lot from Nolan's Batman yeah, but he's shown a lot of variety through his movies and I don't think it's fair to assume that he'd repeat what he did with Batman for Bond. Dunkirk for example was very stripped back and barebones, pretty much the exact opposite of the big, dramatic epic style he used for Batman.
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Discussion of Nolan is a bit moot at this point sadly, due to his recent remarks.
Given the Bond films he's on record as saying influenced him and that he likes, there's no doubt in my mind though that if he got the Bond franchise he would deliver a film for the ages - a true celebration of all that's great in cinematic Bond. Directors of his capabilities and vision only come about once in a while and it would be short sighted to think he's a one trick pony.
I personally think it's a great shame that he hasn't been invited to do the deed this time around, because this sort of opportunity and timing doesn't come around often.
Disney buys Bond.
Yes good point. And celebration doesn't have to come in the form of fist pumping, but also can be quite sober, so they have some flexibility with the tone. I can't see them not playing up the old Bond once again (hard to avoid looking at the man lately).
Champagne socialist.