Mendes says Skyfall is both `traditional’ and `personal’

The Skyfall cast and crew conducted a press conference in Instanbul today. Shortlist magazine sent out updates on its TWITTER FEED. Shortlist quotes director Sam Mendes as saying the 23rd James Bond film will be both “traditional” and “personal.” Here’s the tweet:

Sam Mendes

Director Sam Mendes: “I’m making a film that’s both a traditional Bond film, but also one that’s very personal to me.” #skyfall

Shortlist quotes star Daniel Craig as saying, “Bond is as funny as hell in this movie,” compared with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

UPDATE: Here’s a story by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON YAHOO. It contains this passage:

In Fleming’s last novels, Mendes said, Bond suffered from a “combination of lassitude, boredom, depression, difficulty with what he’s chosen to do for a living, which is to kill. That makes him a much more interesting character, and some of those things are explored in this movie, because Daniel as an actor is capable of exploring them.”

Based on the AP story, this Skyfall event may have had the most mentions of 007 creator Ian Fleming. The author, who died in 1964, just as Bond mania was approaching its peak, hasn’t gotten much attention so far in publicity for the movie.

UPDATE II: The Huffington Post is running this same AP story on its ENTERTAINMENT PAGE. The teaser to entice you to click (as of 11:15 p.m. ET)? “James Bond Gets `Depressed’ in `Skyfall'”