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As I've said in the past I hope they go into this with the intention of making the best Bond film they can, if not the best James Bond film ever, regardless of what we get. Playing it too safe will satisfy no one fully. I think they can afford to take risks - not to the extent it's unrecognisable as a James Bond film, and ultimately this film will be starting a new era in terms of story so we'll certainly be defaulting to some of the more recognisable Bond tropes. But I hope they don't feel the need to make Bond or the story less interesting than they could be.
Same
I agree. There are far more of less headier names than the likes of Nolan (either brother), Curón, Berger or Villeneuve from which Amazon MGM could pick to direct Bond 26. And yet every rumor of who will direct tells the same story: The relaunch of James Bond will be one of the most ambitious blockbusters this decade.
This message even extends to the choice of producers in Pascal and Heyman. As far as who’s writing, if the filmmaker's feel so inclined, maybe see whether or not Tony Gilroy is available. Or Alex Garland.
How long’s a piece of string? ;)
We won’t know what direction they’ll be going with this film until a bit later. And as is the case there’ll be nuance. But yes, I think there’s that sense of ambition with the choices of producer. It might be a bit underwhelming for some of us, but it has every chance of being successful.
Have you seen much of Berger’s work out of interest?
No.
I don't have much of an opinion on Berger being given the job, but hire a director for what they are good at or don't hire them at all.
Even journeymen directors had instincts that elevated projects.
Fair. Maybe give something like Conclave a go. Patrick Melrose is very dark but very funny as well. I’ve heard the same about Deutschland 83 although I’ve not seen it myself. His work’s always very stylish from what I’ve seen and he’s shown he can do thrillers (even spy thrillers), comedy, drama, and big set pieces. I think he’d be a great fit for Bond, even if further down the line.
I think he’s far more interesting a director than you’re making out essentially.
But apparently this has been EON's strategy since the beginning, even with Terrence Young or Lewis Gilbert. Hire someone primarily concerned with character and force them into the sandbox of a fun, escapist commercial franchise. Infact it was Guy Hamilton who you could say came closest to "being hired for what they are good at", and he delivered what are considered some of the limper entries in the 70's.
But producers will look at the directors and try to pick who they feel will best fulfil what they want. Or even add something to it. I do think being adaptable at genres and being able to understand character/effectively convey drama is a great skill for Bond in a more general sense, and ultimately they’ll be working within that Bond story template. But every director is different too.
They hired them because Hitchcock and David Lean were too expensive. Let's not think too much about these things.
They were directors who could do the job without spending too much money.
I can imagine plenty of scenarios where wonderful, experienced directors would do badly in front of producers, even if they're Bond fans or really want to direct. I dunno, maybe they get in Edgar Wright and he starts banging on about his 'chocolate' analogy for Bond (something about a 'lighter' Bond always following a 'darker' one), and saying he'd make an outright homage to the Lewis Gilbert Bond films. He leaves the room and Heyman and Pascal say to each other the guy has doesn't have much nuance when it comes to thinking about James Bond as a character, he wouldn't add what they needed to this film, and decide he's probably not the best fit... not saying that's happened or will incidentally, it's just a scenario.
It's probably why a lot of accomplished directors were passed over for Bond by EON.
Well, @007HallY I hope you're right, it looks like he might be the director of Bond 26. Jeff Sneider thinks its between himself and Johnathon Nolan who has no experience of directing movies. I hope whoever they pick it ends up being the right person for the job. I have no doubt that Berger would give us a setting and reality we believe in and feels tangible. Where I worry is how will he be able to distinguish himself from the Craig era, and I know some might scoff, but I really do think that a distinct portion of the public is ready for something new, and not just a slight tweak. If Berger can deliver on a vibrant new creative direction with a tighter story less encumbered by emotion and more predisposed to thrills, then it could have a great chance for success and I will be first in line to see it.
Well, no one knows how true these reports are at the moment anyway. We'll see.
None of us know at the moment what Bond film the future director will make. I wouldn't worry too much about this film standing out from the Craig era. It's a new Bond, a new team, and a different story. They'll want it to be fresh. It'll be different even if Bond 26 has some similarities to the Craig era (which is not a bad thing - every new Bond film of an era has had traces of the previous one, and the later Craig films evolved and took different directions. You can't create something out of nothing at any rate).
I also don't think any of us know at the moment what kind of Bond film will ultimately prove to be the most successful at kickstarting this new era. We know there'll be thrills, action, women, villains, but what they actually do with the story and how they do it is another matter. And we're talking so theoretically about this, divorced from any concept of story, it's all hypotheticals at this point. I'm sure there'll be some surprises, and that's needed too.
At the very least if it is Berger, Fiennes can reast assured he'll get to play M at least one more time! ;)
That would certainly be a surprise! Not sure if that'd happen even if Berger directed though, but I guess time will tell.
But they weren't forced. They took it on because they felt it was something they could do - which is not the same as hiring Berger (who might want to make a more visceral Bond film) and forcing him to make the breezy, whimsical adventure that you are craving just because it looks as if he is available. He'll be hired because they believe his strengths as a director can produce the film they want, which may or may not align with your hopes.
There'll be no forcing. Square pegs into round holes on a multi-million dollar proposition are not good bed fellows; especially not on the first go-around!
Makes me wonder if we'll get a grand unveiling of the cast/director/writer at some sort of event when the time is right. It's hard to see Amazon passing up an opportunity for promotion, like you say everything is rising on this film.
What are you talking about? There's always a press conference to announce the new Bond, and there's a grand reveal for every movie, even NTTD did that strange Jamaica livestream. Amazon may not choose to do that, but there's precedent exactly because it's the sort of thing that gets the franchise buzz going. They have a solid $800 million to 1 billion road map to follow... they are not going to dramatically deviate from Eon I don't think.
Sorry, I missed that Mendes mentioned cast; I only saw him saying director/writer. New glasses needed. Yes, they'll do a big press call when it's all set up and shooting starts, but I meant they won't for when they hire a director.
Well, hopefully they'll keep up that tradition of the big launch press conference, although I guess it's not something I've noticed many other movies do. It does always make the front pages here in the UK, I don't know about other countries.
God that was strange. No one looked like they knew what they were doing there.