Susanne Bier on Bond 25 director ‘shortlist,’ website says

Susanne Bier

Susanne Bier, who helmed the television miniseries The Night Manager, is among a “handful” of directors “making up producer Barbara Broccoli’s shortlist” for Bond 25, the RadioTimes website said.

The story cited “sources close to Bond producers Eon,” without being more specific.

Until now, Bond 25 speculation has centered on whether incumbent 007 actor Daniel Craig would return and, if not, who might succeed him. One of those actors is Tom Hiddleston, the star of The Night Manager.

The RadioTimes story is the first report concerning who might direct Bond 25. Sam Mendes, director of Skyfall and SPECTRE, said again over the weekend that he’s not coming back to the world of 007.

RadioTimes also spends much of its story evaluating whether Bier, 56, being considered would increase Hiddleston’s chances of getting the Bond role.

Here’s an excerpt:

If Bier gets the job it would make her the first woman ever to helm a James Bond movie – and would also vastly increase the chances of the already hotly-tipped Hiddleston getting the role of Bond thanks to the pair’s previous working relationship.

Bier directed Hiddleston in acclaimed espionage drama series The Night Manager, which aired earlier this year on BBC1, and has spoken of her huge admiration for the star.

At this stage, fans may want to exercise caution. RadioTimes doesn’t say just how many directors are being considered by Eon Productions co-boss Broccoli.

Also, for the moment, Bond 25 can’t get a release date until Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer selects a studio partner to co-finance and distribute the movie. MGM’s contract with Sony Pictures expired with SPECTRE and MGM doesn’t have the resources to release a film itself.

Pulp novels to get new life with Doc Savage film

Cover to a re-issue of Doc Savage: Man of Bronze

Pulp magazines, which influenced both comic books and Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, are about to get some new life, thanks to a new film version of Doc Savage with Dwayne Johnson.

Johnson announced the movie, to be directed by Shane Black, via his Instagram account. That prompted stories on Deadline: Hollywood, Entertainment Weekly and Birth Movies Death among other places.

Pulps (as they were commonly called) were inexpensive publications including the exploits of heroes who experienced outlandish adventures.

Doc Savage, according to Wikipedia, was the subject of Doc Savage Magazine, which ran from March 1933 to summer 1949. Other pulp heroes included The Shadow and The Avenger.

As we’ve written before, Ian Fleming 007 novels had pulp influences with larger than life villains such as Dr. No and Goldfinger.

Pulps also were forerunner of comic books, which took off when Superman debuted in 1938, Batman in 1939, the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch in 1939 and Captain America in 1941.

Doc Savage was a master of all trades with multiple sidekicks. In the 1970s, movie producer George Pal, whose credits included the 1960 version of The Time Machine, thought it was time to bring Doc to the big screen.

Thus, Doc Savage: Man of Bronze came out in the summer of 1975 with Ron Ely as Doc. It was directed by Michael Anderson, who had helmed 1956’s Around the World in Eighty Days.

Like James Bond movies of the era, the end titles of Doc Savage: Man of Bronze included the title of the next film adventure. Unfortunately for Doc, the movie didn’t do well enough at the box office to merit a second film.

It remains to be seen how well the new Doc movie will fare. But, for now, the announcement is pumping new life into the pulps.

 

Our modest proposals for Bond 25 Part II

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

Despite all the unknowns (leading man, distributor, script, etc.) about Bond 25, Eon Productions is getting plenty of advice about the cinema future of James Bond.

Variety, for example, suggested Kathryn Bigelow or Quentin Tarantino would be good candidates to succeed Sam Mendes as director.

We’ve already done this act once, so here’s our sequel:

Select an up-and-coming director to helm Bond 25: Over at Marvel Studios, executives have a knack for signing up-and-coming directors such as James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Joe and Anthony Russo (the past two Captain America movies) with good results.

Taking such an approach may: 1) Provide a fresh set of eyes on 007 movie making and 2) Help with the budget because you’re signing people before they reach peak earnings power.

Bond 25 after the Sam Mendes-directed SPECTRE and, yet again, homages to past films could use the former. Or, put another way: The DB5, again after it was blown up in Skyfall? Really? Daniel Craig has driven it more than Sean Connery ever did.

Sign your own version of Kevin Feige:  Kevin Feige runs the Marvel movie operation and he’s credited as producer of each Marvel-made film. By all accounts, he’s enthusiastic about his job and has never publicly complained about the stresses of making big movies.

Both Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the co-bosses of Eon Production, have interests in non-007 projects.

A Feige-like deputy could keep an eye on things while Broccoli and Wilson are involved with plays, non-007 films and the like. Such a person could perhaps have kept a closer eye on SPECTRE’s script development while Broccoli and Wilson were involved with The Silent Storm.

The key thing would be to hire a sufficiently talented individual who the Eon co-bosses could trust. Not necessarily an easy task, but one worth considering.

Develop a succession plan if you haven’t already: Michael G. Wilson, at 74, has already spent a majority of his life in Bondage, longer than anybody else associated with the franchise. Over the past 20 years, he has commented more than once about the strains of the job.

Only Wilson knows if he’s up for doing it yet again for Bond 25. But whether it’s Bond 25, 26, 27, etc., nobody lives forever.

Sam Mendes said at a public appearance  that Barbara Broccoli alone will select the next actor to play James Bond. If he’s correct, perhaps there already has been some kind of transition. We’ll see.

Meanwhile Wilson’s son, Gregg, was assistant producer on Quantum of Solace and associate producer on Skyfall and SPECTRE.

 

007 collector, author John Griswold dies

Cover to Ian Fleming’s James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming’s Bond Stories by John Griswold

John Griswold, who amassed a large collection of James Bond items and wrote a book about the literary 007, died on Sunday.

Griswold, 65, wrote Ian Fleming’s James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming’s Bond Stories , published in 2006, which analyzed Fleming’s 007 works.

Griswold also put together a Bond collection that included, among other things, a Mort Drucker illustration of Fleming; Drucker artwork for a Mad magazine parody of the first eight 007 films; Robert McGinnis artwork for Bond movie posters; and a first-edition copy of the Casino Royale novel.

The collector suffered from Alzheimer’s and his collection was put up for auction in 2010.  The blog was informed about Griswold’s passing by collector Gary J. Firuta, who assisted with the 2010 Griswold auction.

Griswold’s 2006 book can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Mendes says, again, he won’t direct another 007 film

Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes, who helmed Skyfall and SPECTRE, said, according to The Associated Press, that he won’t be directing Bond 25.

Here’s an excerpt with the key details:

“It was an incredible adventure, I loved every second of it,” Mendes said of his five years working on the thriller franchise. “But I think it’s time for somebody else.”

Mendes revealed his plans to step down from the series to an audience at the Hay Festival of literature in Wales. A former theatre director whose films include the Oscar-winner “American Beauty” and the somber “Revolutionary Road,” Mendes said he hoped the next Bond director would come from an “unexpected direction,” just as he had.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Mendes has made such comments.

In 2013, he said the idea of directing a sequel to 2012’s Skyfall made him feel “physically ill,” but he directed the next Bond movie, SPECTRE, anyway. Pay raises have a way of calming the stomach.

In July 2015, he told the BBC he “probably” would not direct another 007 film.

Regardless, Mendes’ latest comments are worth noting given how the Bond film series is in flux.

Bond 25, as of now, has no leading man (Daniel Craig hasn’t said if he’s coming back or not), no director, no script and no distributor.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, following its 2010 bankruptcy, doesn’t have the resources to release a Bond movie on its own. Sony Pictures, which released the last four 007 films, saw its contract with MGM expire after SPECTRE.

And, for now, the world goes round and round, albeit without a firm schedule for the return of agent 007.

UPDATE: The AP story has this passage, which raises questions.

Mendes said lobbying by fans is pointless because the decision will be made solely by the series’ producer, Barbara Broccoli.

“It’s not a democracy … Barbara Broccoli decides who is going to be the next Bond, end of story,” he said.

Does Michael G. Wilson, co-boss of Eon Productions, not have a say?

Different ways to celebrate Ian Fleming’s birthday

“Sounds like a jolly good time.”

Around the world, James Bond fans are noting the 108th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming. There are plenty of ways to celebrate from morning until evening.

Eat a James Bond breakfast: That’s what blogger Edward Biddulph of James Bond Memes did. He even sent a photo of his scrambled eggs on Twitter.

It’s past time for breakfast as we type this, but if you want scrambled eggs the way Bond had them, David Leigh of The James Bond Dossier supplied the recipe in a post some time back.

Warning: Your doctor may not approve of using as much butter as in the Bond scrambled recipe, which is from the short story 007 in New York.

Re-read a Fleming James Bond novel or short story: It’s never a waste of a Bond fan’s time to go back to where it all began. Even in the 1962 novel The Spy Who Loved Me, written from the perspective of a woman, you can see Fleming’s gift for detail.

Watch a James Bond movie: Admittedly, this falls under the “duh!” category and is a bit obvious. But for May 28, you may want to concentrate on 007 films with higher “Fleming content,” as detailed in our handy dandy guide.

Watch an episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or the 2015 U.N.C.L.E. movie: Fleming’s involvement in the 1964-68 television series is widely known, but rarely discussed. Many Bond fans look down on the show, and many U.N.C.L.E. fans say he hardly contributed anything.

We take a middle ground. Fleming’s involvement helped attract NBC’s interest. By the time he bailed out in mid-1963, there was enough momentum to get to the pilot stage and indeed the pilot was made in late 1963. And, let’s face it, Napoleon Solo is a lot cooler name than Edgar Solo. So U.N.C.L.E. fans still owe Fleming thanks for that.

Also, in the 2015 film version, one of Fleming’s ideas for Napoleon Solo (that he’s a very good cook) finally saw the light of day.

Play some baccarat: You, too, can go banco. In this day and age, you don’t even have to go to a casino. You can play baccarat online. Just remember to gamble responsibly.

 

Our latest questions about Bond 25

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

We’re not very good at answers but we certainly can generate Bond 25 questions. So let’s get on with it.

What’s up with MGM?: The Deadline: Hollywood entertainment news site said in a May 26 story that there have been “no negotiations” between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and other studios concerning which one would release Bond 25.

The last four 007 films have been released by Sony Pictures. Sony’s most recent two-picture deal expired with 2015’s SPECTRE. MGM, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, doesn’t have a distribution operation.

“There’s no rush,” MGM chief Gary Barber said during a March call with investors and analysts. “We’re evaluating all of our options. We will advise on the deal when we actually make it.”

If Deadline is accurate, Barber wasn’t kidding about not being in a rush.

For now, MGM seems to be trying to develop its non-007 portfolio and to prepare itself for an initial public offering of stock to the public within the next three to five years.

The now-expired Sony deal wasn’t a good one for that studio. Sony co-financed the last two Bond movies, but only got 25 percent of the profits. It remains to be seen whether MGM can get anywhere near such terms in the future.

What’s up with Daniel Craig? By this time, people who read this blog can recite forward and backwards lists of actors (male and female) who’ve been touted as potential 007 successors.

It’s stating the obvious, but Craig hasn’t said whether he’s staying or going. Until he specifies or a successor actually is announced, Craig remains a big unknown.

When will Bond 25 come out? It’s too early to push the panic button but it’s now a real possibility it won’t be released until 2019.

The Deadline story said negotiations between MGM and other studios aren’t likely to occur “until later this year.”

You can’t release a movie until there’s somebody to release it. Whoever eventually strikes a deal with MGM will want a say in the making of Bond 25. If you provided half of the financing, wouldn’t you?

Let’s say a deal is reached in late 2016. How long would it take the partner studio to weigh in and get comfortable with MGM and Eon Productions? Even if Sony were picked again, that studio has new management, so there’d be a new cast of characters involved. Would this process take a few weeks in 2017? Or a few months?

Also, according to Deadline, “There is no workable script yet and the creative elements have yet to come into place.” For the moment, that would also mean securing the services of a leading man and a director.

To have a fall 2018 release, Bond 25 would need to get the creative elements nailed down by late 2017, or about 18 months from now. There’s a lot to be settled before the cameras are ready to roll on Agent 007’s next adventure.

Craig may have another non-007 project, Deadline says

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig may join a heist movie directed by Steven Soderbergh amid signs there’s little progress on Bond 25, Deadline: Hollywood reported.

The website also reported that there “no negotiations” yet what studio will distribute Bond 25. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s most recent two-picture deal with Sony Pictures expired with 2015’s SPECTRE.

Craig and Katherine Heigl “are said to be finalizing deals to join Steven Soderbergh’s heist film Logan Lucky about brothers who plan a crime during a NASCAR race in Charlotte,” the entertainment news website said.

Logan Lucky “is scheduled for a fall start date, which puts further into question the actor’s willingness to return to the Bond franchise for MGM,” wrote Deadline’s Anita Busch. Deadline said pre-production will begin this weekend during the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race and the Daytona Beach, Florida-based racing series “has thrown its support behind the picture.”

Soderbergh once was attached to direct a movie version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He quit the project in late 2011 and for a time declared himself retired from directing.

If Craig joins Logan Lucky, it adds to his growing list of non-007 projects. He’s scheduled to appear in an off-Broadway production of Othello this fall and is involved with Purity, a television limited series.

Meanwhile, Deadline said not much is happening on the Bond 25 front. Here’s an excerpt:

There have been no negotiations on where the Bond movie will land (Sony or Warner Bros. are out front on this) and although it was thought that negotiations might start after the first quarter 2016, parties are not likely to engage in negotiations until later this year. There is no workable script yet and the creative elements have yet to come into place. It has also been widely reported (and confirmed by Deadline) that Jamie Bell has discussed the Bond role with his Film Stars Don’t Die movie producer Barbara Broccoli (who has long produced the Bond movies).

The possibility of the 5-foot-7 Bell, 30, being a potential future 007 has been reported in a variety of outlets, including The Independent. He played the Thing in the 2015 version of The Fantastic Four.

SEQUEL: 007 movies listed by number of tickets sold

Skyfall’s poster image

Last year, this blog published a post about how the last eight James Bond movies performed in number of tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada, 1995 to present.

Since that post ran, we now have the final figures for SPECTRE. No major changes in the conclusion. Bond movies  during this period — featuring two different Bond actors, Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan — sold between 23 million and 27 million tickets each.

The one exception was Skyfall with Craig, which was much higher.

Here’s the information again, with one change. Before, we listed the movies sequentially. Here, they’re listed highest to lowest, along with the average ticket price during the year of release. The information is from the BOX OFFICE MOJO website.

Skyfall (2012): 37,842,000/average ticket price $7.96

Die Another Day (2002): 27,584,000/$5.81

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): 26,911,200/$4.59

Casino Royale (2006): 25,428,700/$6.55

The World Is Not Enough (1999): 24,853,800/$5.08

GoldenEye (1995): 24,403,900/$4.35

Quantum of Solace (2008): 23,449,600/$7.18

SPECTRE (2015): 23,001,900/$8.43

 

‘Jane Bond’ shows interest in women spies

Salt poster

This week’s buzz about whether actress Gillian Anderson should play a female version of James Bond caused a lot of fans to complain about click bait and political correctness.

But the media attention concerning “Jane Bond” may show something else — continuing interest in women spies.

There have been attempts at a woman spy movie series. Eon Productions, maker of the 007 films, tried to develop a spinoff movie featuring Halle Berry’s Jinx character from Die Another Day. But in the end, no movie occurred.

In 2010, Angelina Jolie starred in Salt, which had worldwide box office of $293.5 million. The film had an ending that left things open for a sequel but none has taken place. Sony Pictures is developing a television series version, Screen Daily said in February.

In 2015, the movie version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. included Alicia Vikander as a British spy, Gaby Teller, who wasn’t a character in the original 1964-68 television series.

Thus, Solo and Illya became Solo, Illya and Gaby. Vikander got good reviews, but the movie limped home with worldwide box office of $109.9 million, pretty much killing any chance of a sequel.

On the other hand, Jennifer Garner’s Alias television series ran more than 100 episodes from 2001-2006.

In the 007 films, women spies have been a major part of the proceedings for decades.

Bond has allied himself with women agents from the Soviet Union (The Spy Who Loved Me), United States (Moonraker), China (Tomorrow Never Dies) the U.S. again (Die Another Day) and Bolivia (Quantum of Solace) . 2012’s Skyfall provided a new take on Moneypenny, in which the Naomie Harris version is initially an MI6 agent.

In these risk-adverse days, studios may want to check out properties such as the comic strip Modesty Blaise, the subject of a 1966 movie.

Anyway, we were reminded by reader Stuart Basinger that back when the film rights to Casino Royale were first acquired (years before Eon Productions was formed), producer-director Gregory Ratoff wanted to change James Bond into a woman. Ratoff wanted to cast Susan Hayward in the role. Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. worked on the project and described it in a 2012 article in Variety.

What prompted this post was a comment from a reader, @CinemaOnFire on Twitter. So, as a shoutout, we present that tweet:

@TheSpyCommand Producers should take note of the excitement for a female #JamesBond and make more spy films and TV shows starring women!

— Lisa Funnell (@CinemaOnFire) May 24, 2016

UPDATE (May 25): Alyssa Rosenberg, a pop culture blogger for The Washington Post, has weighed in with an essay titled “No, a woman shouldn’t play James Bond.”  Here’s an excerpt:

If our goal is for Hollywood to create action-oriented jobs for women that will be available for decades to come, then we need franchises that are built around women. We need roles like Bond’s, or Jack Ryan’s, or Captain Kirk’s that are designed to be occupied by a rotating series of women. Borrowing Bond’s tux might be a fun fantasy. But real power means a role we don’t have to give back to the men.