What Directors Should Helm A Bond Film?

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  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    How about Doug Liman from The Bourne Identity....not sure if he was mentioned yet, I di not read this entire thread
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,032
    KenAustin wrote: »
    How about Doug Liman from The Bourne Identity....not sure if he was mentioned yet, I di not read this entire thread

    Liman is really hit and miss. For every Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow and American Made, there is Chaos Walking, Jumper or Locked Down.

    Also according to imdb he has 14 in development films as director, he may not have time 😂
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Mallory wrote: »
    KenAustin wrote: »
    How about Doug Liman from The Bourne Identity....not sure if he was mentioned yet, I di not read this entire thread

    Liman is really hit and miss. For every Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow and American Made, there is Chaos Walking, Jumper or Locked Down.

    Also according to imdb he has 14 in development films as director, he may not have time 😂

    Not sure what you see as hit vs miss here. I didn t care for Bourne Identity or Edge of Tomorrow, but I did enjoy Chaos Walking.
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    Mallory wrote: »
    KenAustin wrote: »
    How about Doug Liman from The Bourne Identity....not sure if he was mentioned yet, I di not read this entire thread

    Liman is really hit and miss. For every Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow and American Made, there is Chaos Walking, Jumper or Locked Down.

    Also according to imdb he has 14 in development films as director, he may not have time 😂

    Not sure what you see as hit vs miss here. I didn t care for Bourne Identity or Edge of Tomorrow, but I did enjoy Chaos Walking.

    The point is he is no stranger to spy or espionage movies, and even if you didn't like The Bourne Identity it was well put together.
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    Another good choice could be John McTiernan from The Hunt for Red October, Predator, Die Hard...no stranger to espionage and action, just sayin
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,032
    KenAustin wrote: »
    Another good choice could be John McTiernan from The Hunt for Red October, Predator, Die Hard...no stranger to espionage and action, just sayin

    McTiernan and Brozza did The Thomas Crown Affair, shame he didnt do TWINE after, would’ve kicked ass.
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    Mallory wrote: »
    KenAustin wrote: »
    Another good choice could be John McTiernan from The Hunt for Red October, Predator, Die Hard...no stranger to espionage and action, just sayin

    McTiernan and Brozza did The Thomas Crown Affair, shame he didnt do TWINE after, would’ve kicked ass.

    I agree...although TWINE was not done badly anyway
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,248
    There was a reason why Doug Liman wasn't invited back to the Bourne sequels...
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    peter wrote: »
    There was a reason why Doug Liman wasn't invited back to the Bourne sequels...

    Doesn't mean he would not have done well elsewhere
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,248
    @KenAustin -- it had nothing to do with his talent
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Anyway Greengrass did one hell of a job.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,248
    matt_u wrote: »
    Anyway Greengrass did one hell of a job.

    He absolutely did @matt_u ... But it wasn't about replacing one director with a more talented one (although I find Greengrass the better of the two-- absolutely a personal opinion).
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    edited January 2022 Posts: 4,343
    Yeah I find he’s better too.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited January 2022 Posts: 2,895
    No, no, no - Paul Greengrass ruined what Doug Liman had created. IMO, obvs. Changed Bourne's backstory, altered his character and misunderstood what Doug had been doing with the camera and editing. Greengrass even ended up with Bourne's dad creating Treadstone and Jason joining up to avenge his pa...I mean, no. Just no. Liman was rolling in his grave at that - and he's not even dead!
    Liman was screwed over by Universal - he owned the film rights to The Bourne Identity, not them, and his contract meant that he was supposed to be the sole producer - so when the studio wanted to do things on the cheap and nasty and cut vital scenes to save money, he dug his heels in and fell out with them, big time. The farmhouse section - great, right? Universal wanted to ditch that whole sequence. Liman argued and, eventually, they told him straight out not to film it. He did it anyway. That was the end of him and Bourne, even though it was his personal pet project. But Liman was right - The Bourne Identity would've been much the poorer without the farmhouse sequence, no?
    I like Liman's style a lot, but I don't think he'd be a good fit for EON and Bond - Doug's known to rip up scripts, re-write them on the fly as he sees fit, ignore the producers, ignore the studio and avoid plot points if he thinks they're too pat, replacing them with less obvious developments even at the expense of satisfactory storytelling. Could be a tough shoot...
    The real irony is that Liman desperately wanted to direct a Bond film, but he was an indie director with only two little films to his name and he knew that EON would never hire him - so he tracked down Robert Ludlam and made a personal deal with him for the film rights to The Bourne Identity as a consolation!
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,248
    There is a story that has travelled about the film industry that when Brad Pitt, who was about to sign onto Mr and Mrs Smith, asked Matt Damon what it was like working with Liman, Damon allegedly told him to run in the opposite direction and not do the film.

    That shoot was very tough on Pitt and Jolie (their relationship aside); it was the lead stunt coordinator/second unit director who ended up directing the majority of the film.
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    Thought of another crew, how about Chad Stahelski and David Leitch from John Wick
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited January 2022 Posts: 2,895
    Although after The Bourne Supremacy, Damon did say that he'd be happy to be directed solely by Liman and Greengrass for the rest of his career. However, judge them by their actions not their words - when Universal saw the dollar signs from Identity and began to prise Liman away from any sequels, Doug personally asked Matt Damon to back him with the studio but the furthest that Damon would go was to say to Universal that he'd be happy to work with Liman again if Frank Marshall co-produced (Marshall then towed the studio line about blackballing Liman). Had Damon refused to appear unless Doug directed, Universal would've been over a barrel. But no. Guess Matt's $26 million fee for Supremacy overrode any loyalty, even though Damon had previously admitted that Liman (who personally chose Damon to play Bourne) had saved his career.
    The story I like best about Mr. and Mrs. Smith is that Fox told Brad Pitt that he could make the film with any director he chose - except Doug Liman. So Pitt got straight in touch with Liman and offered him the job! :D
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    jobo wrote: »
    I remember someone suggested Bong Joon Ho earlier. It is more of a left field choice, but a highly interesting one in my opinion. He certainly has a natural eye for creating suspense and dynamic action, and he corporates humor into his films very skillfully.

    I think that was me? I think he'd be an inspired choice.
  • GustavGravesGustavGraves Ukraine
    Posts: 15
    Nolan. I believe that decorated Bond fan with unique vision should be given a chance. Even if it means giving him creative freedom I know they so reluctant to yield.
  • edited January 2022 Posts: 3
    I have a few picks for the gig.

    Joe Wright - Atonement, Hanna, Darkest Hour, Cyrano
    The main reason I like Wright is because I really like Hanna. If you haven't seen it check it out because it's a really awesome action film. I really this scene .

    Wright's known for making lots of prestigious films, like Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour and he mix his work one dramas and the genre work of Hanna could work really well for the Bond franchise.

    Wright works a lot with Seamus McGarvey and Dario Marianelli, so image what they can do with the camera and music. I would love to see a Wright style continuous take in a Bond film.

    J. A. Bayona - The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom
    A very talented filmmaker from Spain and I can see him doing a great job with the Bond franchise. He has shown he can handle intimate stories and massive-scale productions. I loved his first three films. Whilst his Jurassic Park wasn't so good there were still some great blockbuster moments when the characters were on Isla Nublar. I put a lot of the blame for Fallen Kingdom's faults on the writers.

    Gareth Evans - The Raid, The Raid 2, Gangs of London
    Very simple, he made The Raid films, some of the best action films from the 2010s.

  • echo wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    I remember someone suggested Bong Joon Ho earlier. It is more of a left field choice, but a highly interesting one in my opinion. He certainly has a natural eye for creating suspense and dynamic action, and he corporates humor into his films very skillfully.

    I think that was me? I think he'd be an inspired choice.

    Bong Joon Ho is a great filmmaker but I doubt he would do it. He was burnt by his experience with Snowpiercer.

    I can picture Park Chan-Wook making a great Bond film.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    I don’t think they will choose an “authorish” director to launch a new era but on the same time the most authorish director to ever helm a Bond movie pulled off the highest 007 box-office ever…
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    Posts: 648
    Venutius wrote: »
    The farmhouse section - great, right? Universal wanted to ditch that whole sequence. Liman argued and, eventually, they told him straight out not to film it. He did it anyway. That was the end of him and Bourne, even though it was his personal pet project. But Liman was right - The Bourne Identity would've been much the poorer without the farmhouse sequence, no?

    How were they going to ditch that sequence? It needs to happen for Bourne to kill The Professor, get his phone, and set up the meeting with Treadstone. It's also where Bourne and Marie part ways.
  • Posts: 725
    Denis Villenuve.
  • Daniel Craig
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited January 2022 Posts: 2,895
    slide_99 wrote: »
    How were they going to ditch that sequence? It needs to happen for Bourne to kill The Professor, get his phone, and set up the meeting with Treadstone. It's also where Bourne and Marie part ways.

    Exactly. That's why Liman got it reinstated. After Universal insisted on the removal of the farmhouse sequence, it was replaced with a quick re-write of a standard shootout and footchase on the streets of Paris. They did film that - those clips in the trailer of Bourne and Marie running through the streets are taken from it. Liman knew it wasn't anywhere near as good as the farmhouse sequence would've been and wouldn't let it lie. He managed to get the farmhouse sequence reinstated and got the money to film it - but then Frank Marshall snitched to Universal that Liman was also going to re-shoot the Bourne-Professor sequence at the end of it. They gave him an explicit order not to do so, but he did it anyway, with two small teams filming in that valley at the same time - Liman filming Matt Damon with a handheld camera while Alexander Witt filmed Clive Owen. And that's why Doug Liman was barred from directing any sequels - even though Bourne had been his project from long before the studio were involved. 'Universal hated me', said Liman... :D
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    I didn't know any of that, thanks @Venutius. Interesting stuff. The daft safehouse stairwell sequence at the end - was that Liman's idea or someone else's?
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited January 2022 Posts: 2,895
    The daft safehouse stairwell sequence at the end - was that Liman's idea or someone else's?

    Universal's, apparently - written in as part of re-shoots after they insisted that the safehouse sequence needed more action. Liman originally had Bourne confront Conklin, warn him off and just disappear into the night - 'I don't want to do this anymore', etc. Test audiences didn't like it and wanted Bourne to shoot his way out, so they rejigged it and did reshoots. I think Gilroy wrote the stupid stairwell drop - Liman sounds a bit shamefaced when he talks about it on the commentary! As he should - shooting that bloke on the way down was too close to leaping over a Great White, eh! Apparently, the stairwell was fake and it was only a 10ft drop, with CGI making it look like a six-storey fall. I'd've preferred the 10ft drop...

  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Venutius wrote: »
    Universal's, apparently - written in as part of re-shoots after they insisted that the safehouse sequence needed more action. Liman originally had Bourne confront Conklin, warn him off and leave - 'I don't want to do this anymore', etc. Test audiences didn't like it and wanted Bourne to shoot his way out. I think Gilroy wrote the stupid stairwell drop - Liman sounds a bit shamefaced when he talks about it on the commentary! Apparently, the stairwell was fake and it was only a 10ft drop, with CGI making it look like a six-storey fall.

    Thanks for that. It's a real shame. That sequence is such a black mark on an otherwise great film for me. Why in hell would a guy as clever as Bourne attempt something like that when he has all the advantages in that situation? All he needed to do was pick the guy off when he got to the top of the stairs.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 2,895
    Exactly. Test audiences + Universal suits = pffft!
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