Rumour: 007 to return to the 1960's?

24

Comments

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2015 Posts: 23,883
    talos7 wrote: »
    patb wrote: »
    30 seconds of thought into how they can combine a back to the 60s concept with the amazing global locations that we have come to expect and you realise it will never work (unless you get a load of close ups), a good Bond is hard enough to shoot now but going back in time would make it ten times harder, just a bonkers idea

    I have to respectable disagree with this. There may be many reasons why this concept might not be the best way to go but every year countless films are made that take place in a variety of time periods. Recently the X-men series has shown how successfully this can be done. Creating a different time period is the least of concerns.

    As with most things in life, it's all about the execution. If executed well, anything can work, with the right actor & the right concept.

    Mad Men is an absolute favourite of mine....I actually prefer it to many shows from the 60's. However, it is just beautifully executed with an incredible creative vision. I have my doubts that EON can consistently deliver to this level of quality with a period piece unless they have the same director and make it a trilogy or something.

    I had mentioned a while back on another thread that I thought Nolan could make Bond work (and would be motivated to take it on) if it was a period piece......because he would have something challenging then to get to grips with post-Craig & post-Mendes without having to worry about living in their shadow. I still think this, but realize it's far more difficult than it seems.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 725
    What a clever idea. And they can hire the same team, same actors (like Cavill), same director who did Man from Uncle. It would be so similar, with the exact same BO results, a flop. It's the dumb rumor of the day. Craig's unwise interview will now unfortunately unleash a ton of this kind of click bait junk when all we should and want to be seeing are articles about SP.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 533
    Studio bosses have asked TV’s award-winning Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner to head a new team to oversee Bond’s return to his heyday 1960s.

    An MGM executive said: “This won’t be a retro one-off. We’re taking him right back to his roots. We’ll go forwards by taking 007 back to the era in which we believe he fits most comfortably.”



    This is an incredibly stupid idea. The Bond movies have always reflected the current times. The movies have been financially successful. What is this need for such a drastic reboot of the franchise? And Matthew Weiner? He's a pretentious windbag, not an action-adventure scribe.


    It would look like the new man from uncle movie

    I didn't mind the 60s retro for "THE MAN FROM UNCLE". The old TV series has not been seen in years. And there was no current movie franchise before this movie. But for the Bond movies, which has always been set in the present . . . ? With Matthew Weiner writing the movies? Forget it.
  • Posts: 1,631
    I don't see this happening. I wouldn't mind it as a TV event for something like HBO or Showtime, but it's a nonstarter for the film franchise.
  • Posts: 725
    Agreed. MM was another TV show that went on and on, milking the series for all they could ring out of it. It was very good in the beginning, but jumped the shark at least a year ago. Breaking Bad is about the only long series I can think of that maintained its quality till the very end. I loved House of Cards, but fear they have also run out of decent story ideas. To be fair, it has to be hard as hell to maintain quality writing in a series year in and out and even harder to pull the plug when they run out of ideas.
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    edited October 2015 Posts: 3,000
    I find the thought a bit unsettling, but at the same time, the video game "From Russia With Love" showed that a throwback can be good. I just don't know. It could be absolutely horrible. It very well could be completely false. I remember hearing speculation that Bond 24 was going to be based on the novel "Devil May Care" by Sebastian Faulks, and that turned out not to be true. Then again, "Devil May Care" is set in the 60's. Maybe this 60's throwback idea has been floating around MGM for awhile, and "Devil May Care" was actually being considered then.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,964
    As I've said, I'm open to it. The truth is none of us know if it would be great or horrible; it could be either or something in the middle.
  • DariusDarius UK
    Posts: 354
    Don't let's forget that the source of this rumour in the Daily Express. This means that this is definitely a "yellow" story designed to stir up controversy and therefore sell more papers. It would be easier to divine more actual news from a DC comic than it would from this rag.

    It's obvious to anyone who thinks about this story enough that it's a no-brainer. This is because:

    1. Eon currently own the film and TV rights for Bond and associated Fleming novels with their attendant characters. Making a 60s franchise of movies or TV shows would compete with the main "here and now" franchise -- an enterprise that is currently a money-making leviathan. It doesn't make sense to compete against oneself, especially if you are competing against a very lucrative cash-cow.

    2. Such a 60s film or show would receive absolutely no backing from companies wishing product placement, which would remove most of such a movie's financial backing. Period pieces tend to need higher budgets than "here and now" movies, especially if they involve loads of stunt work.

    3. A 60s rendition of Fleming material, such as DN, FRWL, GF, TB YOLT and OHMSS has already been done. Why do we need remakes? The only recourse would be to come up with original material. and if that material is coming from Matthew Weiner, then I, for one, will definitely be taking a rain-check.

    4. A 60s version of Bond, whether for TV or movie, would appeal only to hardened Bond nuts such as ourselves, who sadly make up only a tiny fraction of the current movie franchise's audience.

    I could go on, but I won't because this is not going to happen today, or tomorrow, or the day after.
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    This is just something that would be an awful idea. Bond has to move with the times.
  • Posts: 725
    dalton wrote: »
    I don't see this happening. I wouldn't mind it as a TV event for something like HBO or Showtime, but it's a nonstarter for the film franchise.
    Darius wrote: »
    Don't let's forget that the source of this rumour in the Daily Express. This means that this is definitely a "yellow" story designed to stir up controversy and therefore sell more papers. It would be easier to divine more actual news from a DC comic than it would from this rag.

    It's obvious to anyone who thinks about this story enough that it's a no-brainer. This is because:

    1. Eon currently own the film and TV rights for Bond and associated Fleming novels with their attendant characters. Making a 60s franchise of movies or TV shows would compete with the main "here and now" franchise -- an enterprise that is currently a money-making leviathan. It doesn't make sense to compete against oneself, especially if you are competing against a very lucrative cash-cow.

    2. Such a 60s film or show would receive absolutely no backing from companies wishing product placement, which would remove most of such a movie's financial backing. Period pieces tend to need higher budgets than "here and now" movies, especially if they involve loads of stunt work.

    3. A 60s rendition of Fleming material, such as DN, FRWL, GF, TB YOLT and OHMSS has already been done. Why do we need remakes? The only recourse would be to come up with original material. and if that material is coming from Matthew Weiner, then I, for one, will definitely be taking a rain-check.

    4. A 60s version of Bond, whether for TV or movie, would appeal only to hardened Bond nuts such as ourselves, who sadly make up only a tiny fraction of the current movie franchise's audience.

    I could go on, but I won't because this is not going to happen today, or tomorrow, or the day after.


    Best post on the topic as it nails why it can't possibly happen. Without product placements and the huge share of Bond film budgets/and promo they cover, there are no Bond films. End of phony rumor.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,787
    andmcit wrote: »
    May as well have it all CGi'd up to get a Desmond Llewelyn Q Bernard Lee and a young Connery together. Call it something like Thunderball?

    And have a holographic Lois Maxwell too!

    =))

    It could be called Die Another Day II: This Time it's Personal. :D
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    I really think the journalist made up so much. And no, I don't want Bond films to be period set pieces, back in the sixties.
  • Posts: 1,181
    It could be called Die Another Day II: This Time it's Personal. :D

    Bring Pierce back again for one more! ;)

  • SirHilaryBraySirHilaryBray Scotland
    Posts: 2,138
    Quote is laughable, as if that would be MGM's decision. I will wait for an EON comment when the time comes. With the film rights still to be sorted before we get a next instalment, I cant see anything having been decided.
  • I would like it, but only for a faithful adaptation of Fleming´s novels for TV. There would be 2-3 seasons (SMERSH/SPECTRE/other), with 6-10 episodes each one of them. It could be a HBO or Showtime and Sky or BBC co-production during a 3-4 year break of the theatrical franchise.
  • Posts: 12,506
    How Q creates an Aston Martin time machine to get him back there!!!!! =))
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Well, that one really is only a rumour.

    I think, for the 60th Anniversary in 2022 they could make ONE PERIOD PIECE BOND MOVIE just for that Birthday.
    If there is a proven Bond actor around, take him, otherwise cast someone especially for that movie.
    Promote it as a one-time-happening.
    That could work very well.
  • That would be a fun idea @BondJasonBond006
    Didn't Sherlock Holmes do something similar but set in the 1800's?
    For Bond, if they tried such a thing I'd say a TV mini series is the way to go
    1) Does anyone believe Weiner would work as an employee to Broccoli-Wilson?

    2) Does anyone believe MGM has bought out the Broccoli-Wilson family?

    If the story is true, the Express has missed a far larger story. To be clear, the story only says Weiner was "asked." Still, for MGM to even ask him would *suggest* the studio wants to displace Wilson and Broccoli.
    The only wiener Barbara Broccoli is interested in working with is attached to Daniel Craig.
    Damn, not even a lousy 'lol' for that? Tough crowd! ;)
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    That would be a fun idea @BondJasonBond006
    Didn't Sherlock Holmes do something similar but set in the 1800's?
    For Bond, if they tried such a thing I'd say a TV mini series is the way to go
    1) Does anyone believe Weiner would work as an employee to Broccoli-Wilson?

    2) Does anyone believe MGM has bought out the Broccoli-Wilson family?

    If the story is true, the Express has missed a far larger story. To be clear, the story only says Weiner was "asked." Still, for MGM to even ask him would *suggest* the studio wants to displace Wilson and Broccoli.
    The only wiener Barbara Broccoli is interested in working with is attached to Daniel Craig.
    Damn, not even a lousy 'lol' for that? Tough crowd! ;)

    Here it is:
    =)) =)) =))

    I could make some naughty remarks about Babsy and Craig's wiener but I won't it'll make blows rain upon me around here :))
  • Let's see now: Currently among the Top 10 most popular topic threads on this forum are this one, "Rumor:007 to return to the 1960s?"...plus "Bond 25 Production Diary: Craig will probably be back for Bond 25" and that notable old standby, "Daniel Craig says he doesn't want to do another Bond, Spectre may be his last." All of which proves what exactly? IMHO: That nobody knows what the future will hold and we're all just crazy for speculating in the absence of cold hard fact.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 4,599
    I once read a script from a Bond fan where the pre title sequence was set in the sixties, we did not see the spy's face and he was referred to as an agent. It played with the audience that the whole movie would be set in the "Dr No" era, and then we moved on to present day and the agent had retired and he was a witness who helped Bond on a "cold case", nice twist I thought. We are still just in the era where that time line would work.
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 4,813
    Mama-Fratelli-001_986.jpg

    'Now THAT sounds like a great idea!!'

    You wouldn't happen to have a link, would you? I'd love to read it!
  • Posts: 4,599
    Not in the public domain, sorry
  • Posts: 4,619
    I know I promised I won't post again for a long time, but I really have to comment on this rumour. :bz For now, I do believe that Bond will return to the 60s starting with Bond 25. What I don't believe is that Matthew Weiner will be heavily involved with this reboot. They probably just talked to him once or twice.

    Some people here are saying that this will never happen because they wouldn't be able to use product placements in the 60s , and that without product placements there are no Bond films. This is simply nonsense. Many big budget movies don't rely heavily on product placements, like Indiana Jones, Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. A Bond film without product placements can be done. Others are saying that they would never mess with the formula. Well, it was Michael G. Wilson who said that they do not believe in the phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". As for "Bond has to move with the times", sure, he does, but what's wrong with a few movies set in the past?

    MI6-HQ claims that this is "total hogwash"... It's safe to say the producers already have some plans for the future, and it's also safe to say MI6-HQ has no idea what those plans are. So no, I do not believe this rumour is necessarily ""total hogwash".
  • Posts: 1,009
    I think it would work for a CR'67/NSNA kind of "outsider" film, but not for the Bond series as a whole.
    I also think Bond should stick to contemporary times.
  • ThomasCrown76ThomasCrown76 Augusta, ks
    Posts: 757
    James Bond will appear in 1971 and be portrayed by an older man with a gut and unflattering toupee
  • Posts: 4,622
    No not the '60s. Lets have fun and go back to the. '70s. '70s Bond was a gas.
    Hire a deadly new young Bond, outfit him as in DAF and the Rog films.
    A serious '70s Bond , ie not like Moore, would be great fun.
    No need for more '60s Bond. Sean and Laz already perfected that era.
  • Posts: 4,599
    Take a look at any of the big set pieces within the last few Bonds and then imagine how you would convert that to the 60s, the cost and hastle would be enormous,just not happening (city centres, airports, car chases etc etc)
  • edited October 2015 Posts: 1,661
    Take a look at any of the big set pieces within the last few Bonds and then imagine how you would convert that to the 60s, the cost and hastle would be enormous,just not happening (city centres, airports, car chases etc etc)

    Yeah, good point! But the new Man From Uncle film was set in the 60s. I haven't seen the film. Perhaps it's easier to recreate the 60s than we think? If there is any truth to this rumor the powers-that-be must think the budget can cover a 60s retro Bond film. But on paper it sounds like it would cost a lot!
  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    Reset with some awesome CGI. =)) .

    Not happening. Producers already said publicly they want Craig back.

    A one shot CR as a miniseries on an anniversary might be fun.

    But lest we forget Dynamic is already doing this as a graphic novel.

    Speaking of literary Bond the second ersatz young Bond novel has been announced.

    Not one thread on that real news.
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