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UPDATES EXCLUSIVE: Sam Mendes “Consultant” On Bond #23
So today’s announcement comes via the PR newswire, untypical for EON Productions which always operates with the maximum amount of secrecy. Some showbiz news outlets are mistakenly claiming the next Bond movie, #23, is cancelled. Nope. You can see it’s only been postponed. This is the same pic on which Sam Mendes has been consulting and ultimately was expected to direct.
So what’s really going on? Well, given that MGM is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and at the mercy of its creditors, EON may have the right to take Bond elsewhere. So it stands to reason that the producers wouldn’t want to do anything now that further complicates ownership of Bond #23 or binds them to MGM during this precarious period during which the once storied studio may now be in its standalone swan song.
As you know, the James Bond filmmakers operate with great autonomy. And producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson were in pre-production on Bond #23 for release in 2011. (The story begins after Quantum Of Solace‘s and again stars Daniel Craig.) But those two have been watching the current MGM auction proceed with a mixture of dismay and curiosity. Dismay because Bond’s longtime home is a mess. And curiosity because Broccoli and Wilson would love to move Bond to a fully functioning studio. Like Sony, where Amy Pascal is dying to keep the famous franchise. Or Fox, which handles Bond’s DVD distribution. “It feels like EON is sending a message to MGM,” one source tells us. “If they try to continue as a stand-alone studio, don’t expect to be making any Bond films.”
Broccoli and Wilson very deliberately have made certain they don’t do anything on Bond #23 which ties the movie further to MGM. (That’s why Mendes was hired as a consulting, not the director. Because once EON hires a director on their Bond films, it triggers a first payment from MGM.) We believe today’s announcement is about that as well. With the MGM auction apparently busted, even though no official announcement has been made yet, EON Productions wants to keep all its options open. Here’s the news release:
LONDON, April 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions, today announced they have suspended development on the next James Bond film previously scheduled for release 2011/2012.
“Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on BOND 23 indefinitely. We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release of BOND 23,” stated Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli jointly.
EON Productions have produced twenty two James Bond films since 1962. In 1995, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli took over the 007 franchise from Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and are responsible for producing some of the most successful James Bond films ever, including CASINO ROYALE and more recently QUANTUM OF SOLACE. The James Bond franchise is the longest running in film history. EON Productions and Danjaq LLC are affiliate companies and control all worldwide merchandising for James Bond.
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Yup – Many do not like what Hollywood stands for and the crap that they indoctrinate (especially the youth) with. Yet, you all still sit like zombies and watch the trash they put out. Try not watching TV or movies for a month and your life will improve without all of that emotional garbage. Of course, most of you won’t because you need to escape from the reality of the US today….
Yeah, but spending your time spouting political crap on the internet will make you a real rock star.
Everything I grew up loving is dying. Sadly, General Motors is now owned by the union and the government that suffocated it. Banks are forced to make loans to people who can’t repay…and then are closed or taken over by the government. And to put the lid on America as we KNEW it…MGM is sinking into the sea of red ink because it wouldn’t make movies we wanted to see. Time to prune the current crop of leaders…in D.C. and in Hollywood. We can do so much better.
Take whatever time it takes to give us a quality Bond film. Daniel Craig is OK, better than Timothy Dalton was, but no one will ever really be Bond except Sean Connery, although Roger Moore came close (I’m showing my age, here, I guess); but if Craig becomes unavailable, they might go back to Pierce Brosnan. Judy Dench is wonderful in whatever she does, but if they need to recast a female M, how about Helen Mirren?
This reminds me of the scene where Bond was strapped to the bottomless wicker chair except in this case it’s MGM that’s now strapped to the chair and Broccoli is swinging the rope. What a nasty business of win lose and there’s no chance of it ever changing. Everyone in this business takes their turn in the chair. Swing away, Ms Broccoli… swing away!
If Daniel Craig leaves this francise should just shut it down. He has been the best since Sean Connery, hands down.
MGM owns the largest film library on Earth, yet can’t make a buck? James Bond is the most successful movies series in the short history of movies and yet is tired?
Okay, EON goes to Toho for the next Bond, and Bond takes on Godzilla!
mgm sold the best parts of its catalogue to turner in the 80s.
Bond in TOHOSCOPE?!?!?!? That’s what the world has waited for!
The early Bonds with Sean Connery were definitely the best. Daniel Craig is not a good Bond and is wasted. He is much better in other films. I agree that MGM has shot itself in the foot and a new company needs to take over with new ideas, but going back to the flavor Connery gave the films as well as some of the better ones Roger Moore handled as 007. I also agree you need a real lasting arch villain like Blofeld, though Goldfinger remains my favorite.
I lost interest in Bond when they decided to “reboot” the franchise and make it imitation Bourne, only with James Bond as a thug. Bond has class, and this version of Bond has none. It’s as if they hadn’t learned the lesson of the Dalton years, which is that anyone can make an action movie (and make no mistake, “License to Kill” and “The Living Daylights” were good action flicks), but a Bond movie needs more than just action. It needs flair, humor and fun. Connery and Brosnan hit the right balance. Moore came close a couple of times but was generally too light. Dalton and Craig were never in the ballpark; to them, it’s all heavy lifting — even making love to gorgeous girls. They never seem to enjoy it. A shame.
I miss Roger Moore.
As a diehard fan of Bond (my mother named me after the BEST Bond)… I hope they can figure things out and either get MGM on stable footing or move the franchise to a new home.
I agree that QOS wasn’t a very good Bond film. It was a generic action flick that wouldn’t have been recognizable as even being a Bond film if people had used the name “James Bond” now and then.
I like Daniel Craig as Bond… but he needs to do more investigation/infiltration/sneaking around. In QOS he just went, seemingly by accident, from one fight to the next.
Royale & Quantum were so dark and gritty that I was repelled from them.
I want to be entertained and not immersed into perversity. Why cannot EON produce quality films like Goldfinger, Diamonds and The Spy Who loved Me?
Bond is supposed to be cool not a kook.
Did you ever READ a James Bond novel? The recent Casino Royale movie (not to be confused with the original W/ David Niven & Woody Allen–and not considered a ‘Bond franchise’ movie) was very close to Ian Fleming’s novel–which was the world’s introductory to James Bond.
And while I’m much rather see Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan as 007, Daniels does much better than Roger Moore ever did. Daniels is an exstuntman who ‘works’ at what he’s doing…while Roger Moore was a clothes manequin who was afraid of the noise guns made.
As long as they continue, they will be those of us who ‘adore’ whomever is portraying Bond, those of us who hate him and those of us who want things changed. The bottomline is that we will keep on loving James Bond. So just keep hoping for them to going!
I grew up with MGM, but their powerhouse is quickly dying. I HIGHLY doubt they will get anywhere near as much money as they want/need to sell it for. Time to ask the CEO of Linens & Things which liquidation firm they hired to unload their stuff.
The Bond films have really gone downhill since they ran out of Ian Flemming novels to make into films. The Cold War theme is what made Bond enduring, and those films classics. It’s hard to find an enemy that has the same lasting and enduring qualities (in the age of the internet) that had the same sense of real world threat and fantasy that made the early films click. Super spy James Bond vs. some current type terrorist just leaves something missing, because it loses the strong connection to MI-6 (which Ian Flemming was a real part of prior to his books) and makes Bond seem more of a parody of himself than the character we all know and love. Perhaps they could ask someone like a Tom Clancy to write the next Bond story…
Clancy is a poseur. Fleming was the real deal.
I’ve grew up with JB like many, MGM has a great history and it’s sad that no one has the balls to operate a stand alone and make movies from talented people not just churn out films from clever marketing ideas; people understand that it’s business as usual in Hollywood but as a fan it bad form, please give us back Bond asap whoever he is isn’t important that entertainment be put out the stimulates and entertains is. Get back to work
Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli seem to be a bit stupid. Why do they delay this movie? Why do they not find someone to immediately get the job done? Why do they delay a stream of revenues and profits into the future? Stupid stupid stupid.. nobody cares about producers, about the studio, all these stupid people. The audience sees actors, it does not give a shot about the studio or the producers. The audience wants Bond NOW!
First WB should have kept MGM simply to maintain the Bond series. That being said I thought the Craig Bonds with Sony have been high quality films. I don’t know where all you haters are getting that Craig has done a bad job. Compared to whom…You all complained about Brosnan in then end and before that Dalton. No pleasing rabid fan boys.
Casino Royal, directed by Martin Cambell was a great film! One of the best Bonds ever. It was a smash at the BO, Blu-Ray /DVD sales, and with the critics. Quantum of Solace wasn’t bad either…just incomplete. You can blame that on the set fire that moved back production against the already announced release date but its more or less the fact that Bond was filming with a reduced script due to the writers strike.
So haters if you want to blame someone for Quantum of Solace trying blaming the selfish writers, who because of their selfishness took good properties and reduced their values. Frick’n commies.
As for director…True Sam Mendes does seem like an odd choice but I’ve got no reason against the guy taking on the role of director. He’s made good films in the past. If it were me however I’d get Martin Campbell back. He has a proven track record reinvigorating the series and getting Bond back on track. Bond has always had those directors like Terrence Young who simply knew who Bond was and how to make a movie with the character.
I think Craig is the worst Bond ever. Yuck. They should have picked Clive Owen.
Maybe JK Rowling should step in. LOL
I think the Transporter series is a better film series. They have what Bond lacks.
Get rid of Daniel “The Pipsqueak” Craig.
This is what happens when producers go along with the Political Correctness story line for movies. Hollywood,——people want to be entertained, not preached to.
Ain’t that the truth Phocus. Hollywood has been committing suicide for about 20 years now. I have often wondered why they did it, seeing as how they are profit driven, but to deliberately alienate 1/2 the US population to shove a liberal socialist democrat agenda down our throats seems somewhat schizophrenic, you know, kindof like they have a coexistence of contradictory elements in their heads. Or, in a laymans terms they know 2 + 2 = 4, but it sure as hell bothers them.
To paraphrase Goldfinger, “No, MGM I want you to die!”
First off: get rid of Dan Craig and get someone taller.
Like Clive Owen.
I elect Clive! And JK Rowling! Directed by Ridley Scott!
Let it go, people.
Clive Owen vehemently asserted he did not want the Bond role, five years ago.
James Bond went south slowly after Connery left. Besides the truth be know they couldn’t package it because there’s no money because of our lame politicians destroying investment capital. They don’t dare say that because they all helped elect these inexpeierenced morons running the country. The only films getting made are sure things that take less money. All the other crap is smoke and mirrors.
Like everything else in life, this is all temporary. Bond 23 will be restarted and we’ll all get our Bond fix but SOONER IS BETTER THAN LATER! Everyone hang in there!
It’s true, quantum of solace was one of the worst Bonds ever. I hope they will get back to what has made Bond films so sucessful in the past. Craig is not the problem, it’s the writers, directors and producers. Can you remember the plot of the last film? I can’t and I watched it at least a couple of times.
it’s craig _and_ the writing. the films are no longer fun. the great thing about the bond films used to be going to see them opening weekend with the hardcore fans. total interactive madness. at least in LA. now, you could hear a pin drop.