What Directors Should Helm A Bond Film?

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  • "Nolan was developing a Bond script with P & W?"

    No, he absolutely was not. That info was taken from a BS youtube video from the end of last year.
  • edited September 2023 Posts: 579
    Kojak007 wrote: »
    https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2023/9/7/mi8wysplfielbboojrpgho116hkkp0

    Here we go again...I don't believe anything to be honest.

    Part that seems believable:
    A source of mine told me on Tuesday evening that Christopher Nolan is in very serious contention to direct the next James Bond instalment.

    Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is zeroing in on Nolan. I was told there were discussions with the filmmaker to helm the film, but no deal has been struck just yet, and the strike, not to mention Nolan promoting “Oppenheimer,” further delayed talks.

    The main issue right now seems to be the amount of creative freedom Nolan wants for the film.

    The part that I'm not buying:
    Broccoli’s backups, currently, seem to be Danny Boyle, Denis Villeneuve, and Paul Greengrass.

    Why would Broccoli pick Boyle after the Danny Boyle's Bond 25 debacle? And even if the disagreements had been mainly between Boyle and Craig, I still don't see Broccoli hiring Boyle for Bond 26. As for Villeneuve, he will be very busy in the next couple of years (a TV show titled "The Son", Randezvous with Rama, potentially Dune 3) and Broccoli knows it.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Venutius wrote: »
    'Nolan had been developing the story with Bond writers Purvis and Wade, who were tasked to write the new film while Nolan was finishing “Oppenheimer”.'
    Nolan was developing a Bond script with P & W? Others on here know way more about Nolan than I do, so...how likely is it that Nolan would get involved with Bond on the basis that he worked with Purvis and Wade?

    I said on another thread that some of the "facts" of the article seemed a bit mixed-up...

    Could P and W have started to write outlines based off of Nolan's notes before the strike started? It's possible. It would be tight, and if I'm to believe a general timeline that a friend of mine (who is close to the EoN family), gave to me, it would be incredibly tight:

    October/November of 2022, basically after the 60th anniversary, EoN had supposedly met with some actors in an informal setting (no names were shared with me, but, as I've said before, I have to believe ATJ must have been one of them (his wife is a friend of the Broccolis), and then I heard, come the New Year, that the plan was to start spit balling ideas to develop what would be the new script (and the actors would then be called in for the audition process)...

    By March everything went radio silent, and this was in and around the time that drums were heavily beating that we were in for a rough WGA strike.

    As far as I know, not much was accomplished, but, it is possible that Nolan met them in mid to late late January for a quick meeting, but of course, he would have still been knee-high with Oppenheimer. He shot that film in 57 days, and I believe principal would have started in February and ended on May 2 (please correct me if I'm wrong). I imagine the preproduction would have been hectic, and post production was non-stop until its release date... And then there's the openings and the press tour after.

    So could he have slipped in for a couple hours meeting at EoN? Some time during a very hectic preproduction? It's possible, although I believe he was heavily scouting the US, so maybe it was done over a zoom call?

    But I don't exactly believe the article for one main reason (and this isn't to say Nolan won't be the director, just that I don't buy the news in the article):

    IF Nolan shared an idea that P and W are working on, or were working on, well that costs money. They'd have to pay Nolan and pay their writers.

    Which means a new holding company for B26 would have opened. This happens on ALL films (it's where all the financing for the production is stored, where all payments are taken from, and where all accounting is done).

    The new Bond film hasn't opened a new holding company.

    Which means P and W aren't working on anything.

    Which means EoN doesn't even have the financing in place from Amazon/MGM yet, and with these bloody strikes happening, none will be forthcoming until the dust settles on the industry upheaval.

    So whether Nolan becomes the director or not, the article doesn't quite pass the smell test.

    I apologise for the long post and any typos(typing fast)
  • Agent0099Agent0099 Milford, Michigan
    Posts: 29
    Nolan just wouldn't be a great fit at all despite being a lifelong bond fan, His non-linear approach just wouldn't work and basically we've already seen a Nolan like bond film with Skyfall. I think they will go with someone like Mark Mylod.
  • @peter Oppenheimer was filmed in 2022.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    edited September 2023 Posts: 9,509
    So he finished it in May 2022?

    And did post for over a year?

    (Edit: I blame my confusion of years due to half-zeimer’s)

    Sorry, my point still stands that if Nolan shared an idea, they’d have to pay him (and I imagine attach him as director at that point (you don’t share ideas with a company that may not hire you)); then EoN would have to pay their writers.

    To do that EoN would open a holding company where the development funds would be submitted into via the financiers.

    But EoN has done none of this.

    Which means this article doesn’t pass my smell test (once again, a criticism of the reliability of the article, and I’m not saying Nolan won’t be the director).
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited September 2023 Posts: 3,152
    peter wrote: »
    I don't exactly believe the article for one main reason...
    IF Nolan shared an idea that P and W are working on, or were working on, well that costs money. They'd have to pay Nolan and pay their writers. Which means a new holding company for B26 would have opened. This happens on ALL films... The new Bond film hasn't opened a new holding company. Which means P and W aren't working on anything. Which means EoN doesn't even have the financing in place from Amazon/MGM yet
    Yep, I'll buy that. Makes complete sense. Thanks, Peter.
  • Agent0099 wrote: »
    Nolan just wouldn't be a great fit at all despite being a lifelong bond fan, His non-linear approach just wouldn't work and basically we've already seen a Nolan like bond film with Skyfall. I think they will go with someone like Mark Mylod.

    I think Mylod is too much of a TV director to handle Bond. And I did really enjoy The Menu.
  • Posts: 9,848
    Nolan is again being rumored not the most surprising of choices but we will see what happens
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Film is very much a director’s medium. It makes sense that Broccoli would go after Nolan, but I wouldn’t discount names like Villeneuve (who again stated as recently as April ‘23 (no, I’m not mixing my years again), that he’d love to do a Bond picture); also I wouldn’t discount having a woman director being thrown into the mix either. In the end, Nolan’s participation or lack thereof, won’t make or break the next era. There are plenty of prestige directors out there who’d also love to throw their hat into the ring. And I’m sure Broccoli and Company are measuring who best fits the direction they want to go in (my way of saying that Nolan’s name monopolizes the interest of the media when it comes to James Bond, but in reality, I think the producers may be looking at any number of people to helm the first film of the new era).
  • These rumors are pretty underwhelming for me, if they are true. I doubt I would look forward to a Nolan or Villeneuve directed Bond movie. And I don't think Paul Greengrass' directing style would fit the Bond series. I don't want to see a "James Bourne" movie. 😉
    I would prefer a bit less known directors. There have been some interesting suggestions here.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    I empathize with @Risico007 ’s statement above. But in the end, just as Brosnan may not have been the most creative casting decision, it was the best choice for the James Bond business. I’d have rather seen a Dalton film, or give the role to Ralph Fiennes or a Liam Neeson. The fact is, I’m not sure they had the “it” factor to pull Bond into a new era, a new decade, after a long hiatus. Brosnan was that man.

    The same thing here: we’ve had 15 years of arguably the most popular James Bond actor since Connery. It’s so lazy and obvious to think Nolan is the only director to give the new era a real shot in the arm. Creatively I disagree. But business may be dictating the exact opposite.

    I feel there are better directors out there, and I’m excited by what they’d bring. But…

    … if I was Barbara Broccoli and the creative team i’d go straight to:
    1/ Nolan

    A gap, but second choice:
    1a/ Villenueve


    2/ Bigelow
    2a/far left candidate, David Fincher (who I’d love, but he’s such a perfectionist I’m not convinced he has the temperament to do a Bond film).



  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    I didn't even think that Greengrass's directing style fit Bourne. No Liman, no Bourne. The Bourne Identity is a one-shot in my house. ;)
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 693
    I'd pull for Nolan as long as he didn't bring Aaron Taylor Johnson with him, and as long as he wrote a story that was more interesting than another revenge movie or personal mission. James Bond in an Inception-like mind-bending thriller would be very interesting.


  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited September 2023 Posts: 3,152
    Realistically, aren't EON more likely to go the full-on blockbuster route to get the new guy firmly established, rather than do anything low-key or experimental for the new Bond's first outing? Would that influence whether or not they went with Nolan?
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Venutius wrote: »
    Realistically, aren't EON more likely to go the full-on blockbuster route to get the new guy firmly established, rather than do anything low-key or experimental for the new Bond's first outing? Would that influence whether or not they went with Nolan?

    I think so.

    I imagine a tighter budget as well, but from a business perspective: Nolan is a star unto himself and if his name was a top of the film poster for B26, it’s bound to explode.

    And Oppenheimer had an eighty-five day schedule shoot.

    Nolan delivers it in 57 days, saving the financiers millions of dollars- that’ll be music to any producers ears.

    Who knows who will get the gig, and other writers excite me more than Mr. Nolan, but from a business perspective, I just can’t believe this option won’t be full explored (and to a lesser extent, Villeneuve).
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    That is one positive with Nolan possibly directing: his budgets are usually a lot smaller than you'd expect given the size and scope of what he manages to put on screen.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,818
    725ae3080e4fb0a4be66df0e9899a215.gif
    1CGZU
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,540
    I don't know if the new Bond will have to deliver all of the iconic lines in his first outing, but if he does, you think they'd go with a director whose dialogue is audible.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    I don't know if the new Bond will have to deliver all of the iconic lines in his first outing, but if he does, you think they'd go with a director whose dialogue is audible.

    💯 💯 💯…

    I’m sure EoN are aware of his shortcomings, and I pray to the writing gods that their final approval of the script includes the hiring of script doctors if they see fit— and have this clause as part of Nolan’s contract. If he doesn’t like it, they move on before anyone attempts a crack at the script (therefore they’re transparent, and they don’t waste four or five or six months for a script to be delivered that they don’t like, and can’t do anything about except start afresh, as they did after Boyle).

    If Nolan is the guy, he’ll ultimately have to give up some control to the gatekeepers of the series.
  • Posts: 380
    I don't understand why people think Nolan wouldn't just deliver a proper Bond film. His Batman films are very much Batman films, with all the tropes you would expect all in place. Why wouldn't he just do the same with a series of movies he loves so much.
  • TheSkyfallen06TheSkyfallen06 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    Posts: 1,103
    cooperman2 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people think Nolan wouldn't just deliver a proper Bond film. His Batman films are very much Batman films, with all the tropes you would expect all in place. Why wouldn't he just do the same with a series of movies he loves so much.
    Nolan's Batman is good but kinda overrated imho.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    cooperman2 wrote: »
    I don't understand why people think Nolan wouldn't just deliver a proper Bond film. His Batman films are very much Batman films, with all the tropes you would expect all in place. Why wouldn't he just do the same with a series of movies he loves so much.

    I think part of it stems from the fact that Nolan isn’t the same director he was in ‘05, ‘08 and ‘12. And his most recent attempt at a thriller was the dismal and head-scratching dud, Tenet (a film that admittedly did make me upset (to me a waste of money went into a half-baked concept that was filmed as a dull and washed out “ticking time bomb” thriller, with no thrills— in my opinion)).
  • Posts: 60
    Do we think going forward it will always be a big name in the directors chair?

    Are the days of a Peter Hunt and John Glen gone?
  • Posts: 15,125
    Do we think going forward it will always be a big name in the directors chair?

    Are the days of a Peter Hunt and John Glen gone?

    I hope not. Fukunaga wasn't exactly a big name though, so there's hope.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,217
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Do we think going forward it will always be a big name in the directors chair?

    Are the days of a Peter Hunt and John Glen gone?

    I hope not. Fukunaga wasn't exactly a big name though, so there's hope.

    Indeed, but he was a plan B hire after other plan A , prestige candidates didn’t pan out.
  • Posts: 60
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Do we think going forward it will always be a big name in the directors chair?

    Are the days of a Peter Hunt and John Glen gone?

    I hope not. Fukunaga wasn't exactly a big name though, so there's hope.

    I agree, he wasn't a big name (specifically to motion pictures) but he was well known for True Detective and lauded for the six minute tracking shot at the climax. He also won the Emmy for Outstanding Direction.

    I'm with you and I hope other less known directors will be in consideration for future entries in the series.
  • Posts: 60
    talos7 wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Do we think going forward it will always be a big name in the directors chair?

    Are the days of a Peter Hunt and John Glen gone?

    I hope not. Fukunaga wasn't exactly a big name though, so there's hope.

    Indeed, but he was a plan B hire after other plan A , prestige candidates didn’t pan out.

    That's true also.
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    Posts: 1,649
    I'd be vastly more interested in a future of directors of Fukunaga's level getting it over someone like Villeneuve or Nolan. Someone with something to prove still, seems right.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    LucknFate wrote: »
    I'd be vastly more interested in a future of directors of Fukunaga's level getting it over someone like Villeneuve or Nolan. Someone with something to prove still, seems right.

    💯 💯 💯

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