What Directors Should Helm A Bond Film?

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  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,208
    No doubt…
  • Posts: 4,139
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    It's also worth asking though: is there always a difference?

    There are directors who could be considered auteurs that don't always have a consistent 'vision' as such, at least stylistically. Someone like Martin Scorsese (who yes, does explore similar ideas in many of his films and has arguably even loosely remade some of his own ones) has movies which are very different in his filmography to the point you wouldn't necessarily think that, say, Hugo, The Aviator, or The Age of Innocence is a Scorsese film if you didn't know. I suspect he'd say himself it's a case where how he approaches a film is done so to fit the story. Someone like Howard Hawks was the same. Are these 'craftsman' directors or 'auteurs'?

    Similarly it'd be naive to say that Martin Campbell didn't asset his 'vision' onto CR and GE in some way. We know he specifically brought on Paul Haggis to polish off the CR script, and he had the same cinematographer who he'd worked with in the past on both GE and CR.
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,135
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.
  • Posts: 1,340
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,208
    Well obviously lines are often blurred, but the the difference between a Martin Campbell helmed film and one directed by the likes of say a Nolan type director would be substantial.

    Now, with that said, both films could be excellent and both could be failures; there is no guaranteed template for success
  • Posts: 1,340
    Maybe EON needs some help. Barbara has already done two reboots. It is not easy to find a new approach.

    A director "with a vision" can help to find...well, a new vision.
  • edited February 7 Posts: 4,139
    talos7 wrote: »
    Well obviously lines are often blurred, but the the difference between a Martin Campbell helmed film and one directed by the likes of say a Nolan type director would be substantial.

    Now, with that said, both films could be excellent and both could be failures; there is no guaranteed template for success

    Oh yeah, agreed. But then again I suppose it'd be the case that any Bond film will come out slightly different dependent on the director. And of course different directors have different ways of working, different temperaments etc. They do have a lot of power over how these films end up. They all bring some kind of 'vision' to the film, and even Nolan would say that his decisions are influenced by how best to tell the story.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    Forster and Mendes both said that the reason they directed a Bond film was because they liked what Daniel Craig had done with the role. Now Dan's gone, the modern equivalents of Forster and Mendes might not even want to be involved. For Bond 26, I'd expect EON to either go big so that the name brings some kudos (Nolan, Villeneuve) or get someone who they can rely on to do a solid job (Campbell or similar). The more left field, outsider choices might have to wait a while.
  • edited February 7 Posts: 4,139
    Or perhaps after the Craig era those kinds of directors (ie. the Forsters and Mendes types) are exactly the ones who will be interested in directing the next Bond as they know what kind of films EON are capable of making. After all, it wasn't just Craig who brought everything to his films, it was EON too. I think it's known in the film industry anyway that EON has a sort of 'independent production company' spirit with a franchise that happens to be worth millions. If anything it's more suited to that kind of director - relatively well established, having worked on a variety of genres with often moderately large (not necessarily large) budgets, and eager to bring their vision to the story.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.

    Nothing you say adds anything @DEKE_RIVERS , but you know this.

    And now you're saying the issue is a solid script, yet a couple weeks ago you said the script isn't important and they're not meant to be read, silly-billy!

    Yesterday you were saying Bond isn't important, you waffley-waffley!

    Compile everything you say, and it's clear what you are...
  • Posts: 9,846
    I actually would like Forester back quantum is extremely underrated

    I mean sure the vaughns and nolans of the world would be amazing because again i watch popcorn fair

    Heck David Ayer’s new film the beekeeper looks quite good

    But with Nolan seemingly out of the running i will put one dollar down the director will be some artsy guy i have never heard of that you all know because he directed that one british period peice last year that was the talk of the town
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    Posts: 1,646
    I too would love for Forster to have a shot again but let's be honest, the public would not be excited for that. He did WHICH movie? WHAT are they thinking?? would be the headlines. Some fans would love it, but it doesn't make business sense. Plus, what has he done lately to keep him on the map?

    In a perfect world they could easily hire Campbell back. I do think the optics of a 90 year old directing the future of your hot young star is troubling and likely not what they want, to be honest.

    I genuinely think they would have asked Fukunaga back if he hadn't messed his career up.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    Yeah, lots of fans would hate Forster returning, and I am not sure he'd be able to capture the same magic, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be stupidly excited and bouncing off the walls over hearing him announced as returning.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    LucknFate wrote: »
    I too would love for Forster to have a shot again but let's be honest, the public would not be excited for that. He did WHICH movie? WHAT are they thinking?? would be the headlines. Some fans would love it, but it doesn't make business sense. Plus, what has he done lately to keep him on the map?

    In a perfect world they could easily hire Campbell back. I do think the optics of a 90 year old directing the future of your hot young star is troubling and likely not what they want, to be honest.

    I genuinely think they would have asked Fukunaga back if he hadn't messed his career up.

    I agree with all of this. Especially your thought that Fukunaga may have been asked back.

    I think it was @talos7 who brought up an interview where Cary met with Broccoli to discuss his ideas for Bond (shortly after Spectre, when it wasn't clear if Craig was coming back). Then Craig returned, Boyle was hired and fired, and it seems Broccoli remembered Fukunaga and circled back to him.

    Post NTTD, it did seem the producers were genuinely happy with their film...so, yes, I agree with Luck, that Cary would have been considered to launch the new era.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,208
    I would love to see what Fukunaga could do with a clean slate. Oh well…
  • edited February 7 Posts: 1,340
    peter wrote: »
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.

    Nothing you say adds anything @DEKE_RIVERS , but you know this.

    And now you're saying the issue is a solid script, yet a couple weeks ago you said the script isn't important and they're not meant to be read, silly-billy!

    Yesterday you were saying Bond isn't important, you waffley-waffley!

    Compile everything you say, and it's clear what you are...

    I never said the script isn't important. You don't have to lie.

  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    peter wrote: »
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.

    Nothing you say adds anything @DEKE_RIVERS , but you know this.

    And now you're saying the issue is a solid script, yet a couple weeks ago you said the script isn't important and they're not meant to be read, silly-billy!

    Yesterday you were saying Bond isn't important, you waffley-waffley!

    Compile everything you say, and it's clear what you are...

    I never said the script isn't important. You don't have to lie.

    I believe you did, @DEKE_RIVERS . You said scripts aren't important, and they're not meant to be read-- whatever that means, 😂! What did you mean?

    You also stated yesterday that Bond wasn't important either.

    In fact, it'd be fun to compile all of your one line posts, and dissect how amazing you are at crafting absolute vagueness, with absolute certainty.
  • edited February 7 Posts: 1,340
    peter wrote: »
    peter wrote: »
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.

    Nothing you say adds anything @DEKE_RIVERS , but you know this.

    And now you're saying the issue is a solid script, yet a couple weeks ago you said the script isn't important and they're not meant to be read, silly-billy!

    Yesterday you were saying Bond isn't important, you waffley-waffley!

    Compile everything you say, and it's clear what you are...

    I never said the script isn't important. You don't have to lie.

    I believe you did, @DEKE_RIVERS . You said scripts aren't important, and they're not meant to be read-- whatever that means, 😂! What did you mean?

    You also stated yesterday that Bond wasn't important either.

    In fact, it'd be fun to compile all of your one line posts, and dissect how amazing you are at crafting absolute vagueness, with absolute certainty.

    Are you Neal Purvis or Robert Wade? serious question
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    peter wrote: »
    peter wrote: »
    Benny wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    I’ve said in another post that I would lean toward having a director who is a strong craftsman, working with a solid script rather than an auteur who is trying to control the entire process to realize his “vision”

    "Solid script" is the hard part.

    @DEKE_RIVERS your minimalist posts are getting tiresome.
    It adds nothing to the discussion. It’s little more than spam.

    It adds a lot. The issue is the solid script.

    Nothing you say adds anything @DEKE_RIVERS , but you know this.

    And now you're saying the issue is a solid script, yet a couple weeks ago you said the script isn't important and they're not meant to be read, silly-billy!

    Yesterday you were saying Bond isn't important, you waffley-waffley!

    Compile everything you say, and it's clear what you are...

    I never said the script isn't important. You don't have to lie.

    I believe you did, @DEKE_RIVERS . You said scripts aren't important, and they're not meant to be read-- whatever that means, 😂! What did you mean?

    You also stated yesterday that Bond wasn't important either.

    In fact, it'd be fun to compile all of your one line posts, and dissect how amazing you are at crafting absolute vagueness, with absolute certainty.

    Are you Neal Purvis or Robert Wade? serious question

    I am both of them, but none. Serious answer.
  • edited February 7 Posts: 579
    Btw, if I had to pick between @peter writing of BOND 26, and Purvis & Wade writing BOND 26, I would pick Peter any time. I am 100% confident he would deliver a script that is better than anything P&W have written (except maybe for CR, but that script was great despite P&W, not because of them).
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Btw, if I had to pick between @peter writing of BOND 26, and Purvis & Wade writing BOND 26, I would pick Peter any time. I am 100% confident he would deliver a script that is better than anything P&W have written (except maybe for CR, but that script was great despite P&W, not because of them).

    I love your confidence @Colonel_Venus , and I’ll take the win! But I’m certainly not playing on their field. And I wouldn’t want that job. No way. Coming up with and developing a huge $200 million 007 adventure? No thanks (although the money would be tempting, I’m just not confident in my execution, 😂). There are a couple writers on this site who’d be much more appropriate.

  • Posts: 9,846
    peter wrote: »
    Btw, if I had to pick between @peter writing of BOND 26, and Purvis & Wade writing BOND 26, I would pick Peter any time. I am 100% confident he would deliver a script that is better than anything P&W have written (except maybe for CR, but that script was great despite P&W, not because of them).

    I love your confidence @Colonel_Venus , and I’ll take the win! But I’m certainly not playing on their field. And I wouldn’t want that job. No way. Coming up with and developing a huge $200 million 007 adventure? No thanks (although the money would be tempting, I’m just not confident in my execution, 😂). There are a couple writers on this site who’d be much more appropriate.

    I have the humility to recognize that uou mean me and thanks

    I am kidding of course

    Honestly Purvis and Wade arent bad… i would be curious what they would especially as 90’s action movies are in vogue again it would be interesting to see a fun exciting bond film written by them
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    007HallY wrote: »
    Or perhaps after the Craig era those kinds of directors (ie. the Forsters and Mendes types) are exactly the ones who will be interested in directing the next Bond as they know what kind of films EON are capable of making. After all, it wasn't just Craig who brought everything to his films, it was EON too.
    Yeah, could be, although they did specifically say that they wanted to do it because of Craig. After all, EON made all the other films too and those directors weren't interested until Dan. I do think there's a good chance they'll hang back and see what the next actor does with it before they express an interest (or not).
  • Posts: 4,139
    Venutius wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    Or perhaps after the Craig era those kinds of directors (ie. the Forsters and Mendes types) are exactly the ones who will be interested in directing the next Bond as they know what kind of films EON are capable of making. After all, it wasn't just Craig who brought everything to his films, it was EON too.
    Yeah, could be, although they did specifically say that they wanted to do it because of Craig. After all, EON made all the other films too and those directors weren't interested until Dan. I do think there's a good chance they'll hang back and see what the next actor does with it before they express an interest (or not).

    Yeah, it'll be interesting seeing who they eventually pick for the job in that sense. I do think Bond as a franchise is simply in a better place than it was in '02 though, and much of that is to do with the Craig era as a whole (as much as we criticise it). I can imagine more directors willing to jump at the opportunity this time round.
  • 007HallY wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    Or perhaps after the Craig era those kinds of directors (ie. the Forsters and Mendes types) are exactly the ones who will be interested in directing the next Bond as they know what kind of films EON are capable of making. After all, it wasn't just Craig who brought everything to his films, it was EON too.
    Yeah, could be, although they did specifically say that they wanted to do it because of Craig. After all, EON made all the other films too and those directors weren't interested until Dan. I do think there's a good chance they'll hang back and see what the next actor does with it before they express an interest (or not).

    Yeah, it'll be interesting seeing who they eventually pick for the job in that sense. I do think Bond as a franchise is simply in a better place than it was in '02 though, and much of that is to do with the Craig era as a whole (as much as we criticise it). I can imagine more directors willing to jump at the opportunity this time round.

    I don’t think the series was ever really in a bad spot though back in 2002. For as much as we the fans tend to bash Die Another Day, it was still a box office hit, and received pretty decent reviews from critics at the time. I think it was only with the passing of time that DAD (and by extension the rest of Brosnan’s era) got thrown under the bus. But I think an argument could be made that it’s going to be harder to move on this time than it was back in 2002 because of NTTD’s ending. I imagine some audiences will be confused at the thought of Bond dying, then coming back to life, regardless of the change in actor. That’s going to require one brilliant marketing strategy on behalf of EON.
  • Posts: 4,139
    007HallY wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    Or perhaps after the Craig era those kinds of directors (ie. the Forsters and Mendes types) are exactly the ones who will be interested in directing the next Bond as they know what kind of films EON are capable of making. After all, it wasn't just Craig who brought everything to his films, it was EON too.
    Yeah, could be, although they did specifically say that they wanted to do it because of Craig. After all, EON made all the other films too and those directors weren't interested until Dan. I do think there's a good chance they'll hang back and see what the next actor does with it before they express an interest (or not).

    Yeah, it'll be interesting seeing who they eventually pick for the job in that sense. I do think Bond as a franchise is simply in a better place than it was in '02 though, and much of that is to do with the Craig era as a whole (as much as we criticise it). I can imagine more directors willing to jump at the opportunity this time round.

    I don’t think the series was ever really in a bad spot though back in 2002. For as much as we the fans tend to bash Die Another Day, it was still a box office hit, and received pretty decent reviews from critics at the time. I think it was only with the passing of time that DAD (and by extension the rest of Brosnan’s era) got thrown under the bus. But I think an argument could be made that it’s going to be harder to move on this time than it was back in 2002 because of NTTD’s ending. I imagine some audiences will be confused at the thought of Bond dying, then coming back to life, regardless of the change in actor. That’s going to require one brilliant marketing strategy on behalf of EON.

    Oh for sure it wasn't a disaster or anything. But I think there was a general sense that the series had drifted a bit too far in the realm of 'self parody'. Craig certainly thought this when he took the role and has even said he wouldn't have done so had they not decided to change direction.

    I don't know, I'm not entirely sure general audiences will think too much about that really. A good chunk of casual viewers will have forgotten about NTTD/will want to see the next Bond film, another chunk will understand the concept of a new story/reboot, and amongst those who do question the ending of NTTD I suspect the majority will go along with it once they're told it's a new film. Certainly the director will understand this concept if they're taking the job.
  • 007HallY wrote: »

    Oh for sure it wasn't a disaster or anything. But I think there was a general sense that the series had drifted a bit too far in the realm of 'self parody'. Craig certainly thought this when he took the role and has even said he wouldn't have done so had they not decided to change direction.

    I’d probably pin that down to the Brosnan era being in such close proximity to Austin Powers, which sort of amplified all of the “pastiche” elements of the Bond formula, and in a way kind of hurt the credibility of the series. Even Craig was quoted as saying “Austin Powers f@cked us.”

    007HallY wrote: »
    I don't know, I'm not entirely sure general audiences will think too much about that really. A good chunk of casual viewers will have forgotten about NTTD/will want to see the next Bond film, another chunk will understand the concept of a new story/reboot, and amongst those who do question the ending of NTTD I suspect the majority will go along with it once they're told it's a new film. Certainly the director will understand this concept if they're taking the job.

    I don’t know, some General Audiences already try and think of messy ways to form some kind of continuity for the films, resulting in wild theories like Bond being a code name. Having Craig’s Bond die I think will just inevitably add to that confusion. Heck for a while even people on this site were struggling with the concept that the series will just reboot again after Craig-Bond’s Death, and that kind of confirms to me that this is might be a bit of a tricky situation to navigate for EON. That’s just based off what I’ve witnessed over the years however.
  • Posts: 4,139
    007HallY wrote: »

    Oh for sure it wasn't a disaster or anything. But I think there was a general sense that the series had drifted a bit too far in the realm of 'self parody'. Craig certainly thought this when he took the role and has even said he wouldn't have done so had they not decided to change direction.

    I’d probably pin that down to the Brosnan era being in such close proximity to Austin Powers, which sort of amplified all of the “pastiche” elements of the Bond formula, and in a way kind of hurt the credibility of the series. Even Craig was quoted as saying “Austin Powers f@cked us.”

    007HallY wrote: »
    I don't know, I'm not entirely sure general audiences will think too much about that really. A good chunk of casual viewers will have forgotten about NTTD/will want to see the next Bond film, another chunk will understand the concept of a new story/reboot, and amongst those who do question the ending of NTTD I suspect the majority will go along with it once they're told it's a new film. Certainly the director will understand this concept if they're taking the job.

    I don’t know, some General Audiences already try and think of messy ways to form some kind of continuity for the films, resulting in wild theories like Bond being a code name. Having Craig’s Bond die I think will just inevitably add to that confusion. Heck for a while even people on this site were struggling with the concept that the series will just reboot again after Craig-Bond’s Death, and that kind of confirms to me that this is might be a bit of a tricky situation to navigate for EON. That’s just based off what I’ve witnessed over the years however.

    I suppose we’ll see. My gut instinct is it won’t matter. This sort of thing hasn’t been an issue with other franchises like Spider-Man and Batman. I’m not sure how much people on this site were struggling with the concept more than they didn’t like it (fair enough). The Bond codename thing I always assumed was s*it some people in the internet liked to spout. I can imagine it coming from an equally smaller section of people this time round.

    Yeah, Austin Powers likely had an impact on the perception of Bond, as did the Bourne films. But things like the ropey CGI, the outlandish plots and gadgets etc were there in DAD. There’s a feel of pastiche with TWINE too. As much as those films tried to do something new/different I can see where they were coming from.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited February 8 Posts: 3,152
    Yes, tbh, I don't think modern casual/general audiences will have the remotest problem with a new Bond after the last one died. Reboots and alternative timelines are so embedded in popular culture now that I don't think it'll even be an issue. I do get the argument that Bond's not sci-fi and he's not a superhero, but I think the whole concept of these things is so commonplace now, that it just won't matter. Whether that's a good thing or not is another matter, obvs.
  • I disagree, I think the difference between Bond and the likes of Batman and Spider-Man are that Comic Books have had a long history of exploring alternate timelines/universes, in fact it’s a trope of Comic Books, and their film adaptations. I don’t think audiences have a hard time recognizing that Robert Pattinson’s Batman is in a different continuity entirely to Christian Bale’s Batman.

    I feel different about the Bond series mainly down to the fact that there was somewhat of a backlash to Craig’s era being a reboot when announced, the backlash itself to Craig’s Bond dying (where many online pundits threw their arms in the air proclaiming Bond is dead and therefore so is the series), and the lengths some people will go to try and make a coherent timeline for the Bond series. Do I think ALL audience members are going to have this trouble? No, but to someone who isn’t as immersed in the knowledge of the series/character as much as they are Marvel/DC, having a marketing campaign that heavily emphasizes the fact that it’s a new beginning with a new 007 will help ease that problem I think.
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