No Time To Die: Production Diary

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  • edited December 2017 Posts: 12,837
    I think SF is really good, it's just not very rewatchable. It's still top ten but I think all the hype and buzz around it at the time meant that rewatching it was never going to be as special as it was seeing it when it first came out.

    CR is a really good film but it isn't one of my personal favourites. I admire it more than I enjoy it. I really don't like QoS, it's my least favourite Bond film. But I thought SF was great, and SP was even better.
  • Posts: 3,333
    TripAces wrote: »
    I don't think Spielberg would have done a Bond film until FYEO...and I can only imagine how that would have gone.
    According to the man himself, the filmmaker approached Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli in 1975 fresh from finding blockbuster success with Jaws. Speaking on Michael Ball's BBC Radio 2 show, he said: "I called Cubby Broccoli twice, and after Jaws which was such a huge success, I thought 'Hey people are giving me final cut now.' So I called up Cubby and offered my services but he didn’t think I was right for the part."

    So that was before Lewis Gilbert got the gig of directing TSWLM, @TripAces. Therefore, he could have potentially added The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and/or Moonraker (1979) to his list of credits.... and not FYEO, @TripAces. That was one of the big reasons why Lucas offered Spielberg Raiders of The Lost Ark in 1980.

    It didn't stop there either, the director adding: ‘Then even after Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] came out and was a big hit - once again - I tried to get on a Bond film and now they can’t afford me. So Barbara, forget it."

    I've bolded-up the last part of his comment to demonstrate that he's no longer interested in directing a Bond movie, hence "Forget it, Barbara."

    Just to put an end to any further woolgathering comments.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I think SF is really good, it's just not very rewatchable. It's still top ten but I think all the hype and buzz around it at the time meant that rewatching it was never going to be as special as it was seeing it when it first came out.

    CR is a really good film but it isn't one of my personal favourites. I admire it more than I enjoy it. I really don't like QoS, it's my least favourite Bond film. But I thought SF was great, and SP was even better.
    I agree with you on CR. I objectively rate it very high and it has some special moments and superb performances all round. However, I don't revisit too often myself. I find it a bit heavy going during the last act which isn't to my liking.

    I subjectively enjoy SF a lot more than CR and view it far more often. The overall atmosphere (courtesy of Deakins), style, Berenice and Javier are the highlights for me. I really enjoy the 'Wayne Manor' finale too (it's beautifully shot).
  • Posts: 3,333
    Yeah, I know what you mean, @Birdleson. He's made some stinkers, for sure. But when Spielberg's on top of his game, he can produce some truly amazing movies. Trouble is, the Bond fanatic Spielberg was young then, and Bond hadn't began to spoof itself as it would post 1975. I think if Cubby had chosen Spielberg after CEOT3K, then MR might have been much better. Not to take the polish of MR, because I know it has its own strengths.
  • Posts: 12,473
    I must be one of the only ones here who loves the Scotland sections of SF. I enjoy almost all of SF, really. It was more unique and exciting than SP IMO.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    The Scotland section of SF is one of the strongest third acts in the franchise, IMO.
  • I loved the scotland scenes
  • edited December 2017 Posts: 3,333
    I agree with both @thelivingroyale and @Birdleson. Though SF loses me around the middle mark, as soon as Silva is captured. I've struggled with it every time I've tried watching it. I just don't think it's as good as everybody made it out to be at the time, as I did mention back in October 2012, before anyone accuses me of ex-post-facto commentary, like some did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
  • Posts: 12,473
    jake24 wrote: »
    The Scotland section of SF is one of the strongest third acts in the franchise, IMO.

    Agreed. Glad to see a couple others do like it.
  • Posts: 3,333
    Ottofuse8 wrote: »
    I loved the scotland scenes
    However, a lot of that wasn't filmed in Scotland at all. Of course the mountain ranges had to be added digitally - unless someone else knows of a south-west Surrey mountain!

    Skyfall-set.jpg
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I must be one of the only ones here who loves the Scotland sections of SF. I enjoy almost all of SF, really. It was more unique and exciting than SP IMO.

    They're pretty cool. By that point the film feels like it's gone bonkers, in a good way. Feels like we're in uncharted territory.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,807
    echo wrote: »
    I like QoS but the film itself is redundant in terms of Bond's journey. He became Bond at the end of CR, then he became Bond again at the end of QoS (and frankly, became Bond again at the end of SF).
    Sounds like a film formula.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    mattjoes wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I must be one of the only ones here who loves the Scotland sections of SF. I enjoy almost all of SF, really. It was more unique and exciting than SP IMO.

    They're pretty cool. By that point the film feels like it's gone bonkers, in a good way. Feels like we're in uncharted territory.
    Good point. Very true. I remember thinking 'this is different' upon first viewing in the theatre, but still being quite engrossed. Of course, I knew going in that Mansfield was going to bite the bullet somehow, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.
  • CASINOROYALECASINOROYALE Somewhere hot
    Posts: 1,003
    Wasn’t the ending of Skyfall shot in Surrey?
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    the ending to SF felt very anti-Bond to me, which is why i loved it... and let me explain what i mean by Anti-Bond.. traditionally, it's Bond and his tag along, usually traveling that "heart of darkness" path to the villains hideout, where a large battle ensues.... this was just the opposite.. Bond and his tag along (M), retreat to the middle of nowhere and await the baddie to come to them.. it felt like such an unusual switch for the climax of a Bond movie...

    there is very little about SF i don't enjoy... everyone loves to parrot those "plot holes" as they call them - which they aren't really plot holes by definition.. but whatever - if i were to sit back and base my enjoyment level of a Bond movie, solely around it's plot holes, then there wouldn't be too many Bond films that one could actually enjoy..
  • Posts: 12,473
    I’m against the idea of seeing Bond marry in Bond 25. I much prefer it as a one time thing for the series with OHMSS. If they do make him and Madeleine marry, they should at least start the film after that and with her out of the picture IMO.
  • CASINOROYALECASINOROYALE Somewhere hot
    Posts: 1,003
    Starting to get annoyed here. We are supposed to start filming next year and no news.. No director and no distributor ughhh. I can’t believe it’s almost 2018.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Starting to get annoyed here. We are supposed to start filming next year and no news.. No director and no distributor ughhh. I can’t believe it’s almost 2018.

    BB has stated she wants a director by early 2018, and if that previous post is true regarding production (not principal photography) beginning in March, we'll have something in the next two or three months.
  • Posts: 16,167
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I’m against the idea of seeing Bond marry in Bond 25. I much prefer it as a one time thing for the series with OHMSS. If they do make him and Madeleine marry, they should at least start the film after that and with her out of the picture IMO.

    I'm so against the idea of Bond marrying Madeleine or anyone who is NOT Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo, that I'd rather have Lee Tamahori back and risk B25 being Craig's DAD.
  • Posts: 12,473
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I’m against the idea of seeing Bond marry in Bond 25. I much prefer it as a one time thing for the series with OHMSS. If they do make him and Madeleine marry, they should at least start the film after that and with her out of the picture IMO.

    I'm so against the idea of Bond marrying Madeleine or anyone who is NOT Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo, that I'd rather have Lee Tamahori back and risk B25 being Craig's DAD.

    ...tough call here, but I definitely see your point. Tracy and Vesper were enough. I think Madeleine is a fine Bond girl, but the idea of her being Bond's special one just doesn't work IMO. It was fine to have a happy ending for one film (SP), but Craig's era/Bond character needs to end on a sadder or bittersweet note. Bond cannot just end up with someone and be happy; his character is too tragic for that kind of story.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,216
    Others may see it differently but I felt no chemistry between Bond and Swann, like much of the movie it felt very forced.
  • Posts: 16,167
    FoxRox wrote: »
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I’m against the idea of seeing Bond marry in Bond 25. I much prefer it as a one time thing for the series with OHMSS. If they do make him and Madeleine marry, they should at least start the film after that and with her out of the picture IMO.

    I'm so against the idea of Bond marrying Madeleine or anyone who is NOT Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo, that I'd rather have Lee Tamahori back and risk B25 being Craig's DAD.

    ...tough call here, but I definitely see your point. Tracy and Vesper were enough. I think Madeleine is a fine Bond girl, but the idea of her being Bond's special one just doesn't work IMO. It was fine to have a happy ending for one film (SP), but Craig's era/Bond character needs to end on a sadder or bittersweet note. Bond cannot just end up with someone and be happy; his character is too tragic for that kind of story.

    Very true. Bond can get reasonably close to his leading lady a'la Tiffany in the novels, Domino, etc but cannot settle down.

    I'm only being slightly sarcastic about Tamahori, but IMO Bond marrying Swann damages Tracy's legacy. It's part of Bond's mythology that he was only married once and she was killed on their wedding day. Changing that by having 007 marry another character is like..........turning Blofeld into Bond's stepbrother. Just wrong.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Just reading and hearing about this marriage thing is enough to make me sick too.

    I'm still holding out hope that they radically shift gears and take us in a new direction after this lengthy break, with Nolan or whomever.

    The more I think about it, they are sort of boxed in now with all these leaks. Nolan has been brought up twice (once in May and then again a week ago). I think he was also the front runner before Mendes returned for SP. So perhaps he is the guy after all. Anyone else would seem like a bit of a let down after all this chatter, especially if Villeneueve is out. Yann who?
  • Posts: 12,473
    I'm buying into the Nolan rumor. Honestly it just adds up; they will want someone big in the business, he is available, and they are probably very uncertain about the direction to go in with Bond 25 (putting trust in Nolan). And the more I consider it the more I am surprisingly warming up to it. Still cautious for sure, but I don't think it's impossible he could make a great last film for Craig.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Nolan may explain the earlier lock at Pinewood too. He may need more time to get his vision going.

    I still don't buy that he would do this without reinventing things though. He's too creative and visionary to see someone out. Rather, he would want to bring someone in.

    So let's see. Perhaps we've been given one big head fake. Babs said she was looking for a director just a few weeks back, so she's in on the b/s if it's Nolan.
  • Posts: 16,167
    I like Nolan a lot. He has a love for classic cinema especially noir and I've quite warmed to the idea of him doing a Bond. I do have concerns about the length. I really don't want a two and a half to three hour Bond film. I prefer them to clock in around the 130 minute mark.
  • Posts: 12,473
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    I like Nolan a lot. He has a love for classic cinema especially noir and I've quite warmed to the idea of him doing a Bond. I do have concerns about the length. I really don't want a two and a half to three hour Bond film. I prefer them to clock in around the 130 minute mark.

    Honestly I have to agree. SF and SP were both on the longer side, so I'd be open to something a little more contained. 2 hours exactly would be ideal. If the film is good enough I won't care so much about length, but it'd be refreshing to have something on the shorter side after the lengthy Mendes films.

    I've always shared my concerns about Nolan directing Bond and making it too brainy, but I should probably have more faith in him. He may well have the potential to hammer out a refreshing, classic Bond adventure. If Craig's sendoff film is good enough if Nolan directs, he will probably be approached to also direct Bond 26 to start the next actor.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I wonder if any existing contractual commitments or marketing related matters are preventing announcements, even if things have been arranged behind the scenes. Everything being a matter of timing. Nolan is a front runner for an Oscar nom, and wouldn't want that overshadowed for example (would the Academy give him a nod if they knew he was going to direct a Bond film?).
  • Posts: 12,473
    bondjames wrote: »
    I wonder if any existing contractual commitments or marketing related matters are preventing announcements, even if things have been arranged behind the scenes. Everything being a matter of timing. Nolan is a front runner for an Oscar nom, and wouldn't want that overshadowed for example (would the Academy give him a nod if they knew he was going to direct a Bond film?).

    Good points here as well. There could be a lot already determined behind the scenes. There could be several script drafts, a planned cast, chosen director, etc. If it is Nolan, it would indeed make sense they were waiting until after he gets an Oscar Nomination (if he does). Slowly but surely I'm warming up to the idea of Nolan doing Bond 25. It just has to be executed carefully.
  • DonnyDB5DonnyDB5 Buffalo, New York
    Posts: 1,755
    FoxRox wrote: »
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I’m against the idea of seeing Bond marry in Bond 25. I much prefer it as a one time thing for the series with OHMSS. If they do make him and Madeleine marry, they should at least start the film after that and with her out of the picture IMO.

    I'm so against the idea of Bond marrying Madeleine or anyone who is NOT Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo, that I'd rather have Lee Tamahori back and risk B25 being Craig's DAD.

    ...tough call here, but I definitely see your point. Tracy and Vesper were enough. I think Madeleine is a fine Bond girl, but the idea of her being Bond's special one just doesn't work IMO. It was fine to have a happy ending for one film (SP), but Craig's era/Bond character needs to end on a sadder or bittersweet note. Bond cannot just end up with someone and be happy; his character is too tragic for that kind of story.

    And that’s what I love about Craig’s Bond. He doesn’t typically get the happy ending. If anything, I’d love to see B25 end with all of MI6 believing he is dead.

    I know it’s cliche, but they’ll be attending his funeral and from a distance we’ll see Bond watching over his own funeral from a hilltop. He’ll turn away and leave, riding off in to the sunset.
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