It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
I think a BAFTA, an Oscar and a Golden Globe is much more unique than an Empire Award. Perhaps you call the 'Best British Picture' BAFTA bullocks, but I don't. Moreover, you never know completely for sure if it is merely a 50 year gesture towards the Bond producers. 'Die Another Day' was a huge nod to the 40 year jubilee of Bond, but that film failed miserably. And did 'Die Another Day' win this BAFTA? No! So comparing SF with DAD is quite necessary to state my arguments.
BAFTA is a BAFTA. Period. An Oscar is an Oscar. Period. A Golden Globe is a Golden Globe. Period. And all these three awards result in one hell of an awards resumé. It's not only fantastic recognition, it is deserved and especially truly unique for a Bond film. And that uniqueness is doing it for me. I'm glad many Bond fans agree with me on this.
With your criticism though...you completely forget how delighted and happy Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Sam Mendes, Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth, Thomas Newman, Per Hallberg and Karen M. Baker are with their fantastic golden statues. I think if Barbara and Michael would have read your remarks about the 'Best British Film' BAFTA, they would say something like: "But we're still very much honoured!"
Moreover, with so much recognition from awards that previously did not go to a Bond film, you also get an upgrade of the franchise. It's excellent promotion for the future 24th Bond film. Bigger actors, bigger names, including the Oscar/BAFTA/Golden Globe winning cast/crew, want to be associated with this upgrade Bond franchise. Mark my words,
Also, you can't get everyone happy. You could ask yourself what would have happened on this forum topic if 'Skyfall' did NOT win a BAFTA for 'Best British Picture' and 'Best Original Score', if 'Skyfall' did not win a Golden Globe for 'Best Original Song' and if 'Skyfall' did not win an Oscar for 'Best Sound Editing' and 'Best Original Song'. More importantly, you could ask yourself what would have happened in here if 'Skyfall' got NO Oscar nominations and Golden Globe nominations at all.
I can give you the answer: A lot of dissatisfied, complaining, ranting Bond fans. So with that thought in mind, I simply do not understand why you keep argueing with me if 'Skyfall' in the meanwhile is the Bond success of our lifetime, quality wise, award wise, money wise, everything-wise! And when you especially say you actually agree with me on the reputation of the Empire Awards......really, can't we meet on those agreements and be nice to each other?
All the Craig Bonds had a French bond girl so far - even if the names don't sound like they were ! - (Green, Kurylenko, Marlohe), none of them with prestigious movie awards under their belt (Green had a rather prestigious French award for stage play, though).
Do you really believe they'll go back to the DAD Halle Berry kind of casting for Bond 24 ? Really ?
How can you be so sure ? Maybe when we see Bond 24, we'll start consider Skyfall was "only" the first step in the new direction that Bond 24 illustrates even better. Or maybe there will be a complete U-turn, and we'll consider Skyfall as an arty experiment etc...
Imagine someone going out of the movie theater after having seen a yellow 2CV car making "funny stunts", a Blofeld talking about stainless steel, a young nymphomaniac too hot even for Bond, etc... Do you think he would have been able to predict that 20 years after, "For Your Eyes Only" would be considered by Bond fans as the "serious one" in the Moore era ? :)
I'm happy to bury the hatchet mate.
At least we can agree that winning a BAFTA and Oscars represents a nice cherry on the commercial and critical success of SF - not to mention the fact that its a bloody good film.
I just don't understand why you're so adamant that the Best British Picture BAFTA is anything but a sympathy vote and I'll tell you why this point is indisputable:
Les Mis was nominated for best picture and SF wasn't. Therefore BAFTA have already stated that SF is not as good as Les Mis.
Les Mis also featured in the best British picture so as the academy have already stated that it is better how can it not beat SF to that award?
Yet I don't think anyone was surprised when SF won it. I get the impression no one wanted to see SF go home empty handed and knowing Les Mis would pick up other awards the decided to hand SF this consolation prize.
And then there's the question of what counts as British - apparently it's a film produced by Americans, paid for by Sony, half written (the better half most will have you believe) by an American, scored by an American.
One of the things that is so fascinating about the Bond series is how it keeps changing, evolving and reinventing itself. I mean, look at the series in roughly 10 year leaps...
We go from the low-key, low-budget, "detective story" Bond film DN to the over-blown comic book spoofery of DAF where a bloated Connery stars in a film that is a caricature of what came 10 years before. Then ten years later we get a much more grounded Cold War story in FYEO.
Then, a few years later, we get the dark LTK. And then comes DAD that makes DAF look like FRWL! And ten years after that comes SF. Two things that I've learned from being a Bond fan for a long time is 1) if you don't like the current films or the current actor (I really suffered through the Moore years) just wait a while and 2) as much as it looks like the Bond films are "set" in a certain style the pendulum always swings back.
I actually rather meant that for any film, from a franchise or not, time will tell. Blade Runner, or Brazil, turned out to be a classic for moviegoers, they could have been instead only remembered as a long bore, IMO. On the other hand, I can testitify Jurassic Park was considered a top notch suspens/action movie for a few years after it was released. Now, the only time I hear people talking about it, it's to laugh about the file manager scene. So, will Skyfall be considered a classic in 20 years, or will we be all talking/laughing about Silva's escape as the biggest plot hole of the franchise, or as a parody of the Joker's escape, for instance ? No one knows, time will tell...
That was great! Thanks for posting it, @Pierce2Daniel.
I totally agree with MI6 seeing Bond as the ultimate recruiting tool; they really lucked out there. The CIA are probably extremely jealous that they don't have a single fictional American agent that is even a third of the agent Bond is in popularity or grand scale. The closest to Bond would maybe be Hunt or Bourne, but even they still can't stack up to the history and popularity Bond has attained over such a fruitful life onscreen and off.
Agreed, while the CGI isn't as impressive as when it first came out the film still holds up extremely well. Interestingly, I would say that Bladerunner is the one that doesn't hold up. Like a Tim Burton film, it's all production design. A couple of goods ideas but as a whole the film is nothing special.
"It's a Unix system"
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-03-12/skyfall-parades-end-and-twenty-twelve-win-at-south-bank-awards
http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/12/skyfall-wins-best-film-at-2013-south-bank-sky-arts-awards-3538565/
And from those awards:
Skyfall producer Barbara Broccoli said it was "an honour" to win the best film award, adding she planned to keep Daniel Craig on as 007 as long as possible.
"I'm not letting Daniel Craig go anywhere - he's staying right here," she said backstage.
The producer added she was "devastated" director Sam Mendes had decided to leave the franchise, although she she hoped "we will get him back" in the future.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21755232
In all seriousness, it is very interesting how upset and shocked they are that Mendes didn't want to return. Looking forward to who they go with for 'Bond 24.'
Yeah, they aren't hiding their disappointment well, haha.
I understand where Mendes is coming from though. He has had a long involvement with this film, even before pre-production, working with Daniel by e-mail when MGM was still up in the air. It was a hectic shoot and by no means a small film to complete, with tons of locations to go to and so many things to set up and acquire shooting permission for at the locations on top of all the planning, editing and shooting that had to be done after to form copious film shots into a final product. If I was Sam I would want a break too. Going back into another shoot like Skyfall before barely having any time away from Bond would be damaging to his process and he wouldn't have the proper energy necessary to direct the film. I think that theater work is just what he needs: smaller projects that he loves doing and where he won't have such a great weight on his shoulders as with Bond, and when he has had the deserved rest from Bond that he needs, hopefully we will see him back. But as it stands right now his participation in Bond 24 wouldn't be good for anyone considering he hasn't properly recovered and been able to relax and take a breather after completing the behemoth project that was Skyfall.
So what can a fan realistically expect as new director choice for Bond 24?
A) Another Sam Mendes-like director with heavy Oscar credentials?
B) A Lee Tamahori-like director without any heavy Oscar credentials?
I think I know the answer :-).
Any and all awards are important, my dear @Sandy! Thanks for reporting. :)
Skyfall just won Best Film as well!
Here to present our Inspiration award is someone who’s a bit of an Inspiration himself, Kevin Spacey, in a sharp suit, white tie and trainers. Would it be too much to hope for a bit of breaking-the-fourth-wall, direct-to-camera sarky inner monologue as he presents? Sadly no - but he does speak eloquently about his long friendship with Sam Mendes and Mendes' familiarity with the human spirit. "Not content with exploring and reinventing the theatre, he then turned his attention to motion pictures. His first film won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars - which I can tell you he fucking deserved. Few filmmakers can compare to the breadth of his talent."
Yes, our Inspiration this year is SAM MENDES, who basically smashed any notion that he was just a serious, borderline-arty director by delivering the box-office behemoth and critical titan that was Skyfall. Heck, he deserves it just for that rather magnificent beard, which is exceptionally shiny. The montage this time reminds us just how damn gorgeous his films tend to be; where many theatre directors make rather flat-looking films, these are luscious.
"That was like watching my life pass in front of my eyes. I love that Spacey says I know humans, very serious, when really I just type-cast. When I want an amoral suburbanite, Kevin Spacey! [Spacey waves proudly from the side of the stage]."
It's a lovely speech, even when he wasn't saying nice things about us. Rather than thanking collaborators, Mendes thanks filmmakers and moments / characters who inspired him - check out the video online later, and make sure you've seen them all; it's a spine-tingling selection for any film fan and a bit of a film school.
***
BEST DIRECTOR presented by Monitor Audio
We feel like suddenly the end of the world is night, which either means we’re all doomed or that Edgar Wright is here to present the next award during a quick break from editing The World’s End. "It's an award I like to call Avengers vs Bond vs Batman vs Django vs Bilbo. Bilbo from the movie Bilbo Unchained," says Wright.
And the winner "for services to Queen and country" is SAM MENDES, doing the double and played onstage to Nobody Does It Better. Is there anything he can't do? Hmm. We're not sure he can play the accordian. Or do macrame.
"Thank you Edgar; thank you Carly. Me again, sorry," starts Mendes, before praising the great Roger Deakins at some length - all of it thoroughly deserved.
***
BEST FILM presented by Sky Movies
Here’s a treat: Nick Park is presenting this one, during a quick break from polishing his many Oscars / moving bits of plasticene a tiny bit at a time. "It's a great honour to do this; when I got on the bus from Bristol this morning I had no idea I was doing this," says Park.
And the winner is…drumroll please; this is the big one… SKYFALL. The biggest Bond film of all time, the only film ever to pass £100m at the UK box office and generally one of those films that reminds people why Bond is a national icon. To be honest, it is on home ground, as Headhunters' Vatn noted earlier, so that won't come as much of a surprise.
Mendes, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are there to collect. "Our thanks go back 60 years to when this series was first conceived by Ian Fleming and 50 years to the first movie," says Wilson. "You really don't want to hear anything else from me tonight, but I just want to say that the people standing behind me are lovely people," says Mendes, before informing us that there have been fewer Bond producers in 50 years than there have been Bonds. Good piece of trivia, that. Remember it for your next pub quiz: 4 producers in 50 years.
***
***
"The single greatest contribution we've made to British cinema has been making a trailer for Skyfall," laughs Boyle.
http://www.empireonline.com/awards2013/live/