78 replies to this topic

[Johnboy007]

Not surprising news. Kind of makes me mad, but hopefully it will be in Summer 2006, as 2007 is way too long to wait.

[Jack Bauer]

Disappointing, honestly.

[Loomis]

No wonder you keep coming back to it, the two named choices of possible directors are way, way off the usual Eon radar.

More than the news of the delay (which even I had come to accept was now inevitable) it's the named directors that has really put the cat among the pigeons.

Is this Eon about to dive head first into the "youth" market?. It looks as if they are looking at the "new" generation of British directors, as in the Guy Richie mould.

Or the Christopher Nolan mould.

This apparent switch of focus to young, "up-and-coming" directors suggests to me that the Eon people are now prepared to give their Bond directors rather more creative control than they've previously been prepared to give. After all, if the new Bond flicks are going to be the usual "producers' movies", movies-by-committee, etc., why hire energetic whizzkids who've burst onto the scene with films full of flair and invention? (All of which said, Vaughn still seems to me a very curious choice indeed.) Why not just continue to hire the usual ageing "yes-men" hacks happy to be controlled and take orders?

Could we indeed be looking at a "Bond Year One" revamp of the whole series ?

I've no doubt Sony will be considering it, were Eon already ahead of them?

Far too early to say, of course, but I have the strong feeling that a "Bond Year One"-type film is now much more of a possibility than at any time in the history of the series. We've had major stylistic changes before (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS following A VIEW TO A KILL, for instance), but there's always been the pretence that a new Bond is the same character (miraculously immune to the ageing process) whom we first saw battling Dr. No in 1962. But perhaps this pretence will finally be abandoned.

Obviously, it would be a case of putting two and two together and making 134 to conclude from today's news that BOND 21 will be a period picture, a BATMAN BEGINS-style fresh start. But, hey, we may indeed be in for radical change, particularly with a new studio that's obviously determined to stamp its footprints over Bond.

If so we could be looking at a much younger Bond actor than anyone anticipated.

"Young Bond", or

[The Dove]

[COLOR=blue]

NOOOOO!!! This totaly sucks! Oh well it wasn't a complete surprise. All I can say is that Bond 21 better be good and worth this delay when we can finally see it in '06! Well at least I can still look forward to Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith next year!

[Bryce (003)]

Well.....

HELL!

Part of me still wants to hold on to the notion that maybe, just maybe, all is not said, done or scrapped.

PB could return....Eon could still get a director...They could still make November '05...

...and while I'm at it, I'll keep wishing for the redheaded, scottish, nymphomaniac with the killer body who smokes, drives fast, likes good scotch and better champagne, is independently wealthy and who owns an Aston Martin dealership and has a fetish for James Bond fans in their middle 30's.

Passing up the 2-007 year is a serious mistake.

C'mon Eon.....PLEASE for the love of all this world and series you've created, give us what we want.

BOND 21 in '05

Don't let this studio-shuffling BS slow you down.

Remember when you could set your watch by the Bond films - every two years.



Hell, at one point in the beginning, they were coming out every year.

Yet, I still refuse to believe Eon has rolled over on this.

I like the folks at Sony and have some friends there....

But they're starting to get on my bad side....

and my "bad side" is....

You know the rest.

[Loomis]

Hey, I think the people at Sony are probably the good guys here, and quite possibly the last best hope for James Bond. If you're gonna blame anyone for the fiasco that is the Bond franchise at this point, blame the people at Eon.

What have Broccoli and Wilson managed to accomplish of late? Months of dire public relations with this "Is Brosnan in or out?" speculation. An aborted JINX. A Purvis and Wade script that's said to borrow heavily from "Casino Royale". And two very odd choices for the BOND 21 director's chair - one shudders to think who they had lined up as Bond.

Seems Sony pulled the plug on what would almost certainly have been a turkey. Good on 'em.

Let's hope Sony will force Eon to hire decent directors and ensure that the scripts are polished to the highest possible standard before the cameras start rolling, and that they'll also break what appears to be Eon's addiction to employing the same people over and over again (Purvis and Wade, David Arnold, Vic Armstrong, etc.) to the near-total exclusion of fresh talent in areas where fresh talent is so sorely needed.

Now that Sony has put its foot down, I am for the first time fairly confident that we might actually get a pretty decent BOND 21 when it finally goes into production.

[Roebuck]

This apparent switch of focus to young, "up-and-coming" directors suggests to me that the Eon people are now prepared to give their Bond directors rather more creative control than they've previously been prepared to give. After all, if the new Bond flicks are going to be the usual "producers' movies", movies-by-committee, etc., why hire energetic whizzkids who've burst onto the scene with films full of flair and invention? (All of which said, Vaughn still seems to me a very curious choice indeed.) Why not just continue to hire the usual ageing "yes-men" hacks happy to be controlled and take orders?

Encouraging. These are the sort of directors who can bring fresh thinking to the franchise, yet haven't a big enough rep that Broccoli and Wilson will feel threatened by them (as they might have been by a Tarantino). But would those kind of directors really want to work from a script by old boys Purvis and Wade? Wouldn't be too surprised if the current script isn't significantly overhauled by other writers (or dumped completely) before shooting finally starts. Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking.

[Loomis]

Encouraging. These are the sort of directors who can bring fresh thinking to the franchise, yet haven't a big enough rep that Broccoli and Wilson will feel threatened by them (as they might have been by a Tarantino).

True. Perhaps I'm overreacting re: Vaughn. For all I know, LAYER CAKE is superb. For all I know, both McGuigan and Vaughn are very good directors who'd be excellent for Bond (and who'd have thought Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass would do such brilliant work on the Bourne films?). Still, I can't help feeling that Broccoli and Wilson were looking at them out of a desire to be "trendy", to be "down with the kids" - it's as though they're trying to surf the Britpop gangster movie wave five years too late.

Something just feels very wrong with all the little snippets of information we've gleaned about BOND 21. My instinct tells me that Sony was right to put the brakes on things, and that the studio should exercise as much influence (read: control) over BOND 21 as possible. Because, basically, I really don't believe Broccoli and Wilson really know (or care) what they're doing at the moment. The Bond franchise needs a very big overhaul, and I don't feel Eon alone is capable of properly giving it one.

[Janus Assassin]

I hope it gets released in the summer instead of Fall '06 because I wouldn't be able to see it most likely if it gets released in the Fall of '06.

[zencat]

One wonders how different the situation would be today if Eon hadn't spent a full year working on that darn Jinx movie.

[Slaezenger]

Whoa! Hold on there. At what point will the skinny white guy with the black suit and tie step out of the bushes and interrupt this nightmare. You know the name. Serling, Rod Serling. Come on people. Wakey, wakey. We are jerking ourselves around here. Its a royal waste of time to continue to get all excited over a film that's two or more years away, and that may well feature a tag line fit for the WB/Felicity/Charmed demographic:

"Tomorrow on the WB, the flames of jealousy engulf Her Majesty's newest recruit when he finds close friend Cummin Taker putting the moves on Jim's girl friend, Pussy Smore. (Sound up) Smore to Bond: "Is that a banana in your Berns Martin, or are you just happy to see me..." Whitehall will never be the same again, on the next "Up The Creek"...

Now if some of you want to continue to prattle on about which director would be best to direct 2 hrs of junk that's 2 years away -- be my guest. But this golf ball has had enough of what has become a Thunderbore.

Slaezenger

[zencat]

I agree with Slaezenger.

Let's become a Star Wars website.

That Lucas makes me so mad!!!!

Hmmm...still doesn't work.

[deth]

oh man...... this is REALLY sad news.......... but as you guys say, it's not really surprising..........


I just hoped you know........




......to think that I'll be in my last year of university before I'll get to see a new Bond film....... oh man........

[Double-Oh-Zero]

So, 2006 it is. Right on. Jolly good. Excellent.


Well, at least it's something, for God's sake.

I'm now increasingly more confident that Eon got the message (finally), through The Bourne Supremacy about what a good spy thriller should be like. If it makes for a near-flawless spy thriller for Bond 21, then by all means, push it off for however long they need.

[Arrant]

Again I'm with Loomis on this one. I think the fact that Sony have taken one look at the state of play over at Eon and shouted STOP, has got to be a good thing.

It's jumping the gun, I know (hell it's starting to run before the stadium is built) but I think this intervention could signal some serious rethinking of the Bond franchise.

Bond 21 could be a whole new beginning.

Volume two if you like.

In a thread a while back I expressed a desire to see the series restarted. The original books revisited and used as frameworks too hang a whole new series of adventures on, updated for a modern audience.

The advantage of going back is that this time round they can plan where the series is going next. So say they decided to remake the Blofeld trilogy, then events in the revised Thunderball script could foreshadow events in the OHMSS script.

An obvious example would be Tracy could actually make her first appearance in Thunderball making her death in OHMSS all the more poignant and setting up YOLT as a revenge epic.

I

[Bon-san]

[ I really don't believe Broccoli and Wilson really know (or care) what they're doing at the moment.

A case of "paralysis," perhaps?

[Turn]

Shades of 90-94! This is all seeming rather familiar.

I don't really know how I feel about this yet. On one hand, I am honestly tired of all the speculation with nothing to back it up and no word from EON. On the other, maybe we can hope for something fresh and different to come out of it.

I lived through that down period in the early '90s, so I guess I can make it through it. But, like Bryce said, it's tough when you also come from the old school that was used to a new film every two years.

And will this news have any affect on the DVD rereleases next year?

[00-FAN008]

Jesus, MGM really pissed in Tarl_Cabot's Cheerio's.

For some reason, the forum is messed and I can't quote his post, but he said "It's not so hard to make a Bond film". Of course it is! WTF? You need all the special talent, effects, locales, etc! Who said that was easy?

And I'm starting to have zero patience to those who think Bourne is better than Bond. They can go on some Jason Bourne forums, but this is a James Bond forum for people who like James Bond movies. God, what's the big hype with Bourne Supremacy? I thought the first one was better.

[JimmyBond]

So, is anybody really honestly surprised by this news? I'm sure not, and quite frankly, I don't mind waiting, I mean we've already waited 2 years, whats another 2 eh?

[Peter Franks Is Alive In Vegas]

Now where is Moomoo with his I TOLD YOU SO!! response to all this??? I said in the past in another forum that I didn't believe him, but that it would be lots of fun for things to turn out his way, now I'm only expecting a Jackman announcement!! were is moomoo with his amusing and sometimes insane posts? He should be annoying the Living Daylights out of us by now...I want to have some fun!

[Bondian]

I think "Moomoo" saving it all up, and he's going to hit us anytime soon.

[Jim]

I think "Moomoo" saving it all up, and he's going to hit us anytime soon. 

Oh, I really hope so.

[Joyce Carrington]

PB could return....Eon could still get a director...They could still make November '05...

[nervous breakdown]
I can't take this anymore!
[/nervous breakdown]



Sigh. I guess, in some way, I will survive. Though, at that point, I'll probably have officially lost my mind.

Where's the Sc... oh, whatever.

[Genrewriter]

So, is anybody really honestly surprised by this news? I'm sure not, and quite frankly, I don't mind waiting, I mean we've already waited 2 years, whats another 2 eh?

I'm not all that surprised either and while I'd like to have another one sooner rather than later I'm fairly certain I can find other items to occupy my time with.

[Bondian]

Oh, I really hope so.

Hey Jim,

I recon, I have a feeling in my water works!.

[LordAsriel]

This is really sad news. The problem is obviously that Eon and MGM disagree with the choice of the director and of who will be Bond, and certainly also on the direction to go with Bond21. Eon seemed to want to go back to more down to earth style and I believe that MGM would prefer to continue in the same FX driven-style of DAD.

[Moomoo]

Oh well, seems I was right all along. What a shock! Not.

Moomoo

[JCH]

Shades of 90-94! This is all seeming rather familiar.

I don't really know how I feel about this yet. On one hand, I am honestly tired of all the speculation with nothing to back it up and no word from EON. On the other, maybe we can hope for something fresh and different to come out of it.

Is that really a bad thing? Remember, after that 90-94 gap. we were treated to Goldeneye after what was License to Kill. I think that was definitely worth the wait. Maybe this gap will restart the series much like the gap did prior to Goldeneye. I do agree with you though that I don't like to wait. I just hope it's worth it...and I think it will be.

I really think that the extra year will give everyone involved a chance to figure out the direction that the series is heading. It will give them a chance to get a director lined up, a good script finished, and a direction in place. Hopefully, the extra wait will result in another great movie a la Goldeneye.

I also think that 2006 is pretty solid as a release date. Remember, Spider-Man 3 is due to be released in Summer 2007. Sony won't release Bond 21 and Spier-Man 3 in the same period. So, I'm guessing that Bond 21 will remain in 2006.

[zencat]

Shades of 90-94! This is all seeming rather familiar.

I don't really know how I feel about this yet. On one hand, I am honestly tired of all the speculation with nothing to back it up and no word from EON. On the other, maybe we can hope for something fresh and different to come out of it.

Is that really a bad thing? Remember, after that 90-94 gap. we were treated to Goldeneye after what was License to Kill. I think that was definitely worth the wait. Maybe this gap will restart the series much like the gap did prior to Goldeneye. I do agree with you though that I don't like to wait. I just hope it's worth it...and I think it will be.

I really think that the extra year will give everyone involved a chance to figure out the direction that the series is heading. It will give them a chance to get a director lined up, a good script finished, and a direction in place. Hopefully, the extra wait will result in another great movie a la Goldeneye.

Well said JCH. Also remember, TSWLM came out of the chaos of Harry selling his shares and a three year gap (which at that time was the longest gap the franchise has yet experienced). Every "gap" has produced a seminal Bond flick. Let's hope that happens again.

[Loomis]

Am I the only one here who considers THE SPY WHO LOVED ME inferior to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, and GOLDENEYE inferior to LICENCE TO KILL?