Bond 25 questions: Ginormous (?) premiere edition

No Time to Die poster released Sept. 1 before another delay was announced.

U.K. tabloids The Sun and Mirror this month reported about supposed plans for big No Time to Die premiere plans this fall.

The Sun wrote that star Daniel Craig will conduct a “whirlwind tour” of personal appearances of No Time to Die premieres. The Mirror said the movie’s producers are planning for a 10-million-pound (almost $14 million) premiere event in London, possibly in a stadium.

Naturally, the blog has questions.

How seriously should I take these accounts?

As usual, keep in mind U.K. tabloids have a reputation for cutting coners, overhyping things, etc. But that often doesn’t mean they’re wrong. And there are elements of the stories that pass the smell test.

How so?

Essentially, the two stories are talking about larger, but traditional, ways of promoting movies. Also, bear in mind that Michael G. Wilson of Eon Productions said in 2015 that Eon does the heavy lifting in devising Bond film marketing (“We pretty much run the marketing ourselves.”) while studios merely execute it.

Eon is nothing if not traditional.

What do you mean?

Eon boss Barbara Broccoli has said she’s opposed to Bond spinoffs. “We want to make these theatrical films,” Broccoli told Total Film published in the outlet’s 2020 Preview issue published in December 2019. “We want to make them one at a time, and create an anticipation for them, and deliver films of a very high standard.”

The movie business is feeling a big impact from streaming. Netflix became a big thing, in some times acquiring movies from studios. Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. are stepping up stepping up streaming efforts.

For Eon, the tagline of 2012’s Skyfall (the old ways are the best) is a way of life.

If true, how practical are these plans?

No Time to Die has been delayed three times because of COVID-19. The current release date is the Sept. 30 in the U.K. and Oct. 8 in the U.S. There are multiple COVID-19 vaccinations available.

By this fall, COVID-19 may be under control enough to permit these kinds of large gatherings. There certainly is “COVID fatigue.” One school of thought is there’s much pent-up demand we may see a new “Roaring Twenties” as COVID-19 gets under control.

It should be noted that COVID-19 progress isn’t taking place in a straight line. In the U.S., the current COVID hot spot is Michigan, where cases have skyrocketed since February. There may be more unexpected developments between now and the fall.

Mirror claims a £10 million NTTD premiere is planned

The U.K. tabloid Mirror claims a £10 million (almost $14 million) premiere is planned for No Time to Die.

The tabloid quotes a source it didn’t identify as saying Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Bond’s home studio) and “the producers” (presumably Eon Productions which makes the Bond films) “are in agreement” for a big, splashy affair.

“They think they can pull off the biggest in-person premiere of the post-pandemic era, and have already put aside a whopping £10million for an event in England that will signal the return of these kinds of flashy movie launches that everybody’s been missing for the last year,” the Mirror quotes its source as saying.

No Time to Die has been delayed five times between fall 2019 and fall 2021. The first two delays were because of production issues (Danny Boyle departing as director and replaced by Cary Fukunaga) and three more times because of COVID-19.

The current release calls for the 25th James Bond film to come out Sept. 30 in the U.K. and Oct. 8 in the U.S.

The U.K. has completed another COVID-19 shutdown. Globally, COVID-19 vaccinations are underway, although progress varies by country.

If the Mirror is accurate, MGM (and presumably Universal, which is handling international distribution) wants to do a traditional, pre-pandemic premiere. Some major films (such as Marvel’s Black Widow, now due out in July) have premiered simulantaneously on streaming and in theaters.

Hilarious 007 ‘reports’ over the past five years

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

The world is a grim place right now and we could all use a laugh. So, in that spirit, here is a partial list of questionable reports involving the James Bond film franchise over the past five years.

The Bond series will be a period piece overseen by the Mad Men showrunner!

In October 2015, the Sunday Express reported that “studio bosses” (it cited an MGM executive who wasn’t identified) had asked Matthew Weiner, the creator/showrunner of the now-defunct TV show Mad Men ” to head a new team to oversee Bond’s return to his heyday 1960s.” This would occur after the departure of star Daniel Craig.

This story, of course, appeared shortly before the debut of 2015’s SPECTRE, the most recent James Bond film.

Mad Men was set in the 1960s. One episode referred to both the 1967 Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice (as well as a 1965 episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.)

Left unanswered by the story: What happens to Eon Productions and its producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson? Reading the story in 2020 also is unintentionally hilarious given the soap opera surrounding the production of the next Daniel Craig Bond film.

Daniel Craig was being offered $150 million to stay as Bond!

In September 2016, an outfit called Radar Online said that Sony Pictures was offering Craig $150 million to play Bond in two more movies.

Problem: Sony’s involvement with the franchise ended with SPECTRE. The studio sought to continue the relationship but that didn’t happen.

Second problem: Paying Craig $75 million per film? Really? Some Daniel Craig fans contacted the blog to claim this made perfect financial sense. Later, Variety reported Craig’s paycheck for Bond 25/No Time to Die was $25 million.

Studio bosses want Bond 25 out by November 2018!

In December 2016, the tabloid Mirror chimed in with a story saying MGM was getting nervous and Bond 25 was supposed to be out by November 2018. (Oops).

Bond 25 will be called Shatterhand but be based on a Bond continuation novel!

There has been a long-held fan theory that Shatterhand (a Blofeld alias in the You Only Live Twice novel) would be a great title for a Bond film. But in July 2017, the Mirror had a novel twist on this.

This version said Bond 25 would be called Shatterhand but be based on a Bond continuation novel, Never Dream of Dying, by Raymond Benson. Benson said nobody from the Mirror had contacted him about the story. This was a few weeks before Craig finally announced he was coming back to play Bond in one movie.

Danny Boyle’s haunting laugh!

By now, Bond fans know the Danny Boyle saga. The director had suddenly become a contender, in early 2018, to direct Bond 25. Then, in May 2018, he was announced as the director. And then in August 2018, he was out because of “creative differences.”

In March 2018, Boyle talked briefly about the prospect of directing Bond. At that point, he was working with scribe John Hodge on a script. But around the 25-second mark of this Associated Press video, Boyle lets out with a laugh that comes across as haunting given subsequent events.

Tabloid silliness: Bond’s gray hair

If Daniel Craig is the first film Bond with gray hair, what is this? Oh, the gray on the temples is Connery’s own, not his hairpiece.

This month, the Mirror had a breathless story with a headline that declared: “Daniel Craig is the first ever James Bond to have grey hair in new 007 film.” It was also labeled “Exclusive.”

Really? Are you sure?

Even if it was true, such a story hardly merits being called an exclusive. In this case, it’s not even true.

Exhibit A: 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. Sean Connery made a one-film return to the Eon Productions 007 film series. While his gray hair may vary from scene to scene, the actor had gray hair. That includes gray hair at his temples (his own hair and not part of his hairpiece).

Connery’s gray would be more noticeable in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which wasn’t part of the Eon series. Bond fans often refer to non-Eon productions as “unofficial.” But you don’t even have to go there. Diamonds has a Bond with gray hair.

Nevertheless, the Mirror went nuts.

Craig returns as 007 in No Time To Die, his final outing as the super-spy.

And he becomes the first James Bond with grey hair.

Despite efforts to cover them up, the actor’s silver strands clearly shine through in a couple of shots in the trailer.

The article referenced Diamonds, saying Connery used hair dye to try to hide gray streaks.

All of this is pretty silly, of course. Still, the story has been making the rounds on social media. Whatever.

Bond 25: The annoying Monica Bellucci edition

Monica Bellucci during filming of SPECTRE.

File this under “A” (for annoying) and under “C” (for “click bait”).

Back on Oct. 14, the Mirror tabloid ran a story saying that 007 actor Daniel Craig wants Monica Bellucci, who had a very small role in 2015’s SPECTRE, back for Bond 25.

An excerpt:

One insider told us: “He wants Monica Bellucci back, that’s for sure.”

Monica made headlines as the oldest Bond girl ever when she appeared, aged 51, as Lucia Sciarra, widow of a notorious assassin.

The problem? The Mirror earlier ran a story in July claiming Bond 25 would be based on a Raymond Benson novel, despite making no attempt to talk to the one-time 007 continuation novel author.

You’d think that would give people pause before citing the Mirror story on Bellucci. But you’d be wrong.

A site called The List ran with it, citing the Mirror. Forbes.com, citing The List, did likewise.

Earlier today, Variety got into the act.

“Bellucci’s agent told Variety on Wednesday that the actress is neither confirming nor denying rumors that she might appear in the 25th film to feature the suave super-spy, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2019,” the trade publication said in an online story.

Variety didn’t note how this originated with the Mirror, the publication with the shaky reputation for accuracy.

According to Variety, Bellucci herself was being coy during a Tuesday night event, telling scribes,” I can’t say anything.”

Meanwhile, here’s a question nobody has been asking. If Bellucci really is in the picture for Bond 25 (not a given), would she have to play her SPECTRE character? Or could she pull a Maud Adams and play two different characters in two Bond films?

Another question: Is this a lot of hooey for a movie that, two years before its announced release date, still doesn’t have a distributor to actually get the film into theaters?

Bond 25 title song artist? Get back to us summer 2019

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

Over almost two months, we’ve had dueling tabloid stories about which popular singer will perform Bond 25’s title song.

In July, the Mirror tabloid said A POPULAR SINGER WHO PREVIOUSLY PERFORMED A 007 TITLE SONG was all but certain to do the same in Bond 25.

Over the weekend, Rupert Murdoch’s Sun tabloid said A DIFFERENT POPULAR SINGER IS ALL BUT CERTAIN to perform Bond 25’s title song.

Obviously, both can’t be right.

This post carefully didn’t mention either performer (while providing the links for those who feel the need to read it). Why?

Truth be told, this blog really finds it hard to care about a title song for a movie **THAT WON’T BE OUT FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS FROM NOW**.

Right now, nobody knows who the distributor of Bond 25 is. That distributor will co-finance the movie and get the film to theaters. That may not be as sexy as a 007 title song singer but considerably more important. Without a distributor, nobody will actually see the film.

Also, are you willing to wish more than two years of your away to find out the Bond 25 title song perfomer? We aren’t.

Put another way, get back to us during, say, in summer 2019, when we might care more about a movie coming out in November 2019.

What’s more, on social media, you’ll find some posters, who describe themselves as 007 insiders, chiding fans for being impatient. Some of them will say that artistes will take their time and shouldn’t be hurried.

OK, fine. By that standard, there’s no reason to get excited about a film that nobody can see for more than two years.

The artistes shouldn’t be pressured. Fans should not do so. However, please let us know when it’s time to care.

Mirror says Bond 25 to be based on Benson novel

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

UPDATE (July 30): Raymond Benson today told the Commander Bond website via Twitter that, “I know nothing; haven’t spoken with any Mirror journalists, can only assume the article is fabrication. Would be wonderful if it were true.” He made similar comments on Facebook.

ORIGINAL POST (July 29): Consider this Caveat Emptor. No room for that in the headline

The tabloid Mirror said Saturday night that Bond 25 will be based on the Raymond Benson 007 continuation novel Never Dream of Dying.

According to the tabloid, the movie has a working title of Shatterhand, the alias Ernst Stavro Blofeld used in the novel You Only Live Twice.

However, the Mirror said the movie is based on “Never Dream Of Dying by US author Raymond Benson” which “sees Daniel Craig’s spy battle a blind supervillain” who is “behind an evil organisation called the Union.”

The tabloid quoted an unidentified “insider” as saying the movie may be filmed in Croatia.

Benson wrote six Bond continuation novels published from 1997 to 2002 as well as novelizations of three 007 films.

Never Dream of Dying was published in 2001 while the Mirror refers to it as a “1999 thriller.”

Eon Productions, which produces the Bond films, has avoided adapting continuation novels published by Ian Fleming Publications.

That changed with 2015’s SPECTRE, which adapted a torture sequence from Kingsley Amis’s 1968 Colonel Sun continuation novel. Amis’s estate received a special thanks credit in SPECTRE’s end titles.

Eon said July 24 that Bond 25 will have a release date of Nov. 8, 2019 in the United States and that the film is being written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. The New York Times reported the same day that Craig is returning for a fifth turn as Bond.

Our latest Bond 25 questions

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

It’s summer. Instead of going to the beach the blog came up with some new Bond question after this weekend’s story by the U.K. tabloid Mirror saying Daniel Craig would play 007 for a fifth time.

Here goes.

What’s the difference between the July 8 Mirror story and an April 3 Page Six column? 

Not that much on the main point.

“Daniel Craig has changed his mind and is set to sign up for his fifth Bond movie,” The Mirror said.

“Multiple sources tell Page Six that Bond franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has ‘just about persuaded Daniel Craig to do one more Bond movie,'” Page Six said more than three months earlier.

How solid is this newest story?

Reading the Mirror story is like trying to read quicksand — mushy and opaque.

The Mirror’s story begins by making like Craig’s return is a done deal. “But Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is said to have secured Craig – and we can reveal she is ‘determined’ that superstar singer Adele will record the theme tune.”

To support this notion, the story presents a quote from a person it didn’t identify.

“It’s taken time but Daniel has come round and the strong consensus in the Bond offices is that Mr Craig is 007 again.” (Emphasis added.)

Whoa! Consensus? Bond offices? Did the office personnel at Eon take a vote? Isn’t Barbara Broccoli the one who decides everything? At least that’s what Sam Mendes has said.

The Mirror’s first paragraph said he’s set to sign on the dotted line. What’s this about a consensus? Is there some doubt, even a tiny bit? What gives?

Anything give you pause?

Adele has injured her vocal chords and canceled the last two stops of a tour. That’s a potentially serious situation for a professional singer.

Despite that, the Mirror says, “Although Adele had to cancel the final two shows of her world tour because of damaged vocal chords, Barbara is said to be ‘talking the singer round’.”

Is this really the time to make a hard to Adele to sell to sing a Bond song — for a movie with no director or release date?

Also, the Mirror says, “Skyfall and Spectre scriptwriter John Logan is also said to be involved in the project.”

That’s interesting because Logan’s first draft for SPECTRE was judged to need extensive reworking. So much so, that veteran 007 screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were brought back to revise Logan’s work. The extent of SPECTRE’s scripting difficulties became public as a result of the 2014 hacking at Sony Pictures.

Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail reported in March that Purvis and Wade were hired to start work on a Bond 25 story.

That’s not been officially confirmed but Bamigboye has a good track record of 007 scoops that prove to be correct.

Now, out of the blue, the Mirror brings Logan into the conversation. This is perhaps the shakiest aspect of the Mirror story.

As 007’s lost year ends, will Eon follow its own advice?

James Bond, feeling sad after examining his back story one more time.

As 2016 draws to a close, the future of the film James Bond is a little up in the air.

It’s been a bit of a lost year. No progress toward a finding a studio to release Bond 25. No public announcement about a writer or director. No hint about a release date.

With that in mind, will Eon Productions follow its own advice about how to carry on a film franchise?

On July 31, 2012, Eon’s Michael G. Wilson gave an address about the subject. Among his recommendations:

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a “formula for complacency”

 “It’s important to change things, to get ahead of the curve before things taper off,” Wilson said.

In the last week, tabloids in the U.S. and U.K. have come out with studios saying that Eon or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer are determined that Daniel Craig’s decade-long reign as 007 continue.

The Page Six feature of the New York Post said Eon boss Barbara Broccoli is producing the off-Broadway play Othello, where Craig plays Iago, to eventually get the actor back for Bond 25. The U.K. Mirror said MGM was “panicked” after not hearing anything from Craig.

If there’s any truth to either (which remains to be seen), it doesn’t appear as if anyone is looking to make a major change.

“Believe in your brand. Cubby Broccoli used to say Bond is the star”

“That means that Bond is bigger than any actor who portrays him,” Wilson said, “and no writer, director or producer is indispensable.”

“It all boils down to don’t be afraid of change”

“The Bond films have been recast six times and each time the series was re-evented,” Wilson said. “Each actor brought out different aspects of the character.”

“We believe story is not an element, the story is a key to a good film.”

The last two Bond films, Skyfall and SPECTRE, included Bond confronting his backstory. They sold a lot of tickets in theaters.

Eon could continue down that path. Perhaps Bond could discover his father wasn’t his actual father. The agent could confront, yet again, a major personal crisis. That could yield many dramatic moments.

Or the filmmakers could change yet again.

If you want to watch Wilson make his comments, the quotes cited here begin after the 11:00 mark:

Caveat Emptor: UK tabloid claims MGM ‘panicking’

Daniel Craig photo opposing Brexit

A British tabloid apparently has decided U.S. tabloids shouldn’t have all the James Bond fun.

The Mirror claims that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives are “panicking” because they can’t get Daniel Craig to respond about whether he’ll be in Bond 25.

Here’s an excerpt, for what it’s worth.

A source said: “Daniel and MGM are currently at a stalemate with him having not spoken to them about Bond.

“They have offered a bigger wage deal, and asked about his filming availability to his reps in 2017, but as yet they have not spoken to Daniel.

“They want Bond 25 out in October 2018, but currently they have no Bond, film dates or knowledge of when that will change.”

What’s more, according to the tabloid, getting a commitment from Craig, 48, is an important part of securing an agreement from Sony Pictures to co-finance the movie.

The Mirror didn’t get into this detail or context. But here goes. MGM is a shadow of its former self. After a 2010 bankruptcy, MGM isn’t big enough to release its own movies. Sony Pictures, through its Columbia Pictures brand, has distributed the past four 007 films.

Sony’s most recent contract expired with SPECTRE. That contract called for Sony to co-finance the 007 movies while only getting 25 percent of the profits.

On Jan. 11, the New York Post’s Page Six gossip site said Eon Productions boss Barbara Broccoli is producing Craig’s current Othello off-Broadway play to encourage the actor to do Bond 25 eventually after a hiatus of performing more serious roles.

And the world goes round and round….