Bond 25 questions: The Empire magazine edition

No Time to Die teaser poster

A (short) Empire magazine article is due out on Oct. 31. Naturally, the blog has a few questions.

Will this movie be different from other Daniel Craig Bond films?

Perhaps not.

The Empire article has this quote from Barbara Broccoli, the boss of Eon Productions:

“We always like to have a very personal trial for him emotionally, put him up against something that he finds difficult to deal with emotionally.”

So, if this quote is accurate, No Time to Die will have the same tone that began with 2006’s Casino Royale and which extended into 2015’s SPECTRE.

No differences at all?

Not necessarily. Director Cary Fukunaga may come up with visual differences. Screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge may contribute some bits. Already, Daily Mail scribe Baz Bamigboye has floated a story saying Waller-Bridge’s contributions to the script have saved the movie.

At this point, Waller-Bridge saving the movie is about to become a talking point in the marketing.  We will also hear about how Daniel Craig is the best and/or favorite James Bond performer.

Any conclusions?

If you love Daniel Craig versions of James Bond films, you’ll love this one. If you’re indifferent to Daniel Craig versions of James Bond films, you’ll probably be indifferent to this one. If you hate Daniel Craig versions of James Bond films, you’ll hate this one (most likely).

Really?

It’s possible director Cary Fukunaga comes up with some visual/style changes. There may be surprises audiences can’t anticipate.

We’ll see.

Robert Evans dies at 89

Poster for Black Sunday, the 1977 movie produced by Robert Evans

Robert Evans, who had a remarkable career as an actor, studio executive and producer, has died at 89, according to Variety.

As an actor, Evans played MGM producer Irving Thalberg (Man of a Thousand Faces); as an executive at Paramount, he helped get The Godfather made; and a producer he made Chinatown, Marathon Man and Black Sunday.

Evans died on Saturday, Oct. 26, according to Variety.

Evans was as colorful, if not more so, than the characters in his various productions. His wives included actress Camilla Sparv (whose credits included the Matt Helm film Murderers’ Row); actress Ali MacGraw; and former beauty contest winner Phyllis George.

His personal life also included arrests of cocaine possession, according to the Variety obituary.

Nevertheless, when Evans was a Hollywood survivor — in a major way.

The Godfather was one of the most important movies of the 1970s. Chinatown had a huge impact on audiences, gathering 11 Oscar nominations, though only writer Robert Towne won. Black Sunday, a movie based on a Thomas Harris novel, dealt with Middle Eastern terrorism brought to the United States at the Super Bowl.

Evans was the ultimate Hollywood survivor. He wrote a memoir, The Kid Stays In the Picture: A Notorious Life. That was later the basis of a 2002 documentary. 

Broccoli talks Bond’s emotional travails

Barbara Broccoli, boss of Eon Productions

In Empire magazine’s 2020 preview issue, Eon Productions boss Barbara Broccoli talks about the emotional stress James Bond is under in No Time to Die.

The issue is due out Thursday, Oct. 31. However, @corneelvf obtained an image of the short article.

“We always like to have a very personal trial for him emotionally, put him up against something that he finds difficult to deal with emotionally,” Broccoli told Empire.

Emotional travails have been a big part of the Daniel Craig era of Bond films. Craig’s run began with an adaptation of Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s first novel. Bond falls in love with Vesper Lynd, who betrays him and commits suicide. That’s followed up by Bond seeking revenge in Quantum of Solace. Other emotional highlights include the death of M (Judi Dench) in Skyfall.

Meanwhile, Eon’s Michael G. Wilson said it really is possible this will be the end of Craig’s run.

“It looks like the end of this era,” Wilson told Empire.

Finally, Empire said “it’s rumoured” the 25th James Bond film will have “the biggest explosion in cinema history.” Part of the publicity for 2015’s SPECTRE boasted that movie had the biggest explosion in cinema history.