396 replies to this topic

[SecretAgentFan]

I´d love to see Nolan do a Bond film. And after Forster, this seems not improbable anymore.

[Loomis]

I didn't at all forget that Babs was a chick, so I don't think there's any real sexist bias, but EON has not, as of yet, gone after a female director, so the track record doesn't really point in Nair's favor.

Neither had Eon hired a non-British/non-Commonwealth director prior to Forster.

There's also a sense in which I imagine most women wouldn't be interested in directing Bond. I know that's a sweeping generalization

Indeed it is.

There aren't many female hard-edged action flick directors, after all.

The Bond films are nowadays rather more than just hard-edged action flicks, and in any case Eon has never hired "action directors" in the John Woo sense - instead, Eon appears to seek established, competent directors who are respected within the industry but not household names, with varied CVs that show a strong background in drama and documentary.

The Bond series is now prestigious and artistically innovative in a way it never was. Someone like Nair would obviously have been inappropriate for, for instance, OCTOPUSSY (as would Forster), but I think she'd be a perfect choice for the Craig era. And she's certainly a far more realistic suggestion than fan favourites such as Christopher Nolan, who will be hired to direct a Bond flick the day that Eon announces Brosnan's return to the role of 007.

[Harmsway]

The Bond films are nowadays rather more than just hard-edged action flicks,

Only insofar as the BOURNE films are more than "just hard-edged action flicks."

and in any case Eon has never hired "action directors" in the John Woo sense - instead, Eon appears to seek established, competent directors who are respected within the industry but not household names, with varied CVs that show a strong background in drama and documentary.

Sure, but the Bond franchise is still an action franchise, so they end up hiring directors who are interested in action. Even the more dramatic directors among them - Apted, or Forster - were looking to play around with the action. I think I just have a hard time imagining Nair, after having seen her films and her interviews, getting all excited about gritty, violent action sequences. I could be entirely wrong and misjudged her wholesale, but nothing about her films has made me think that she's got a sensibility that's just perfect for the current action-driven Bond franchise.

And she's certainly a far more realistic suggestion than fan favourites such as Christopher Nolan, who will be hired to direct a Bond flick the day that Eon announces Brosnan's return to the role of 007.

Sure. But she's not out of the league of suggestions like Lasse Hallstrom or Paul Haggis, and I'd actually count those two more likely to actually join a Bond flick.

[Orion]

And she's certainly a far more realistic suggestion than fan favourites such as Christopher Nolan, who will be hired to direct a Bond flick the day that Eon announces Brosnan's return to the role of 007.

alas you are probably right, but we can still dream

Edited by Orion, 12 August 2008 - 12:05 PM.

[Loomis]

The Bond films are nowadays rather more than just hard-edged action flicks,

Only insofar as the BOURNE films are more than "just hard-edged action flicks."

A little more so. While I'm aware that it's probably an OHMSS-style "one-off" (but nonetheless will have set the tone, to extent, for QUANTUM OF SOLACE and further followups), CASINO ROYALE is, essentially, a love story drama, and a film that I can easily picture as the work of a female director.

In any case, we're hardly talking about films like HARD TARGET. If the Bond series was ever stuck in that mindless macho action rut (and that's a different discussion), it certainly isn't today.

I think I just have a hard time imagining Nair, after having seen her films and her interviews, getting all excited about gritty, violent action sequences.

SHANTARAM will feature plenty of gritty, violent action sequences - very gritty and very violent. Obviously, I don't know exactly what's in the script (the novel is 900-something pages, and I can only assume that an awful lot will have been dropped), but SHANTARAM cannot possibly be anything other than an extremely action-driven film, featuring car crashes, chases, fistfights and full-on battle scenes (in Afghanistan), as well as, most probably, prison torture scenes so nasty as to make Le Chiffre's treatment of Bond look like nothing. It'll be a graphic, intense and hard R movie.

Moreover, it's a highly masculine story that focuses totally on a tormented and lovestruck "hard man" who cannot seem to break away from the life of violence he appears to have been born for (a role for which Daniel Craig would have been absolutely perfect - I gather that Russell Crowe originally wanted to play it, but Depp has now been cast). SHANTARAM is definitely not the sort of "woman's film" you might expect from a director like Nair.

[Harmsway]

I think I just have a hard time imagining Nair, after having seen her films and her interviews, getting all excited about gritty, violent action sequences.

SHANTARAM will feature plenty of gritty, violent action sequences - very gritty and very violent. Obviously, I don't know exactly what's in the script (the novel is 900-something pages, and I can only assume that an awful lot will have been dropped), but SHANTARAM cannot possibly be anything other than an extremely action-driven film, featuring car crashes, chases, fistfights and full-on battle scenes (in Afghanistan), as well as, most probably, prison torture scenes so nasty as to make Le Chiffre's treatment of Bond look like nothing. It'll be a graphic, intense and hard R movie.

Moreover, it's a highly masculine story that focuses totally on a tormented and lovestruck "hard man" who cannot seem to break away from the life of violence he appears to have been born for (a role for which Daniel Craig would have been absolutely perfect - I gather that Russell Crowe originally wanted to play it, but Depp has now been cast). SHANTARAM is definitely not the sort of "woman's film" you might expect from a director like Nair.

Fair enough. I'm entirely ignorant of SHANTARAM, so maybe Nair would be somewhat interested in Bond after all.

[Loomis]

I'm entirely ignorant of SHANTARAM, so maybe Nair would be somewhat interested in Bond after all.

To be fair, I do, of course, have no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Nair has any interest in Bond. But I do think her CV really fits the Eon profile - she's the female Forster, only with a career of Aptedian longevity (and she's only 51). And SHANTARAM will be next year's KITE RUNNER, only more original and interesting and packed with gritty action.

If Eon was in recent times considering directors like Stephen Frears, Matthew Vaughn, Kevin Macdonald and Roger Michell, then I'm virtually certain that Eon is currently looking at Nair (and, obviously, others - Nick Broomfield, Agnieszka Holland and Michael Winterbottom being among the names I'd suggest are being mulled over at Eon HQ), because she's exactly of that kind of pedigree.

Obviously, I'm just speculating, but Nair seems just about the most intelligent guess I can make right now about a possible BOND 23 director.

[Harmsway]

But I do think her CV really fits the Eon profile - she's the female Forster, only with a career of Aptedian longevity (and she's only 51). And SHANTARAM will be next year's KITE RUNNER, only more original and interesting and packed with gritty action.

It'll be interesting to see how SHANTARAM shapes up, then. I'm not particularly acquainted with the novel, but I know the production has been quite troubled, with lots of scheduling difficulties.

Obviously, I'm just speculating, but Nair seems just about the most intelligent guess I can make right now about a possible BOND 23 director.

Fair enough. Lasse Hallstrom is mine. I daresay his CV is about as EON-appropriate as they come.

[Loomis]

It'll be interesting to see how SHANTARAM shapes up, then. I'm not particularly acquainted with the novel, but I know the production has been quite troubled, with lots of scheduling difficulties.

Indeed. And apart from those difficulties, I'm amazed that they're attempting to adapt the novel as a single film - given its extreme length it's much more appropriate for a miniseries.

It's a remarkable, beautiful, unputdownable book, and has all of the ingredients you could possibly need for a cracking film (and then some), but it's also so vast and unwieldy as to present a Mount Everest-sized challenge for a screenwriter. Unsurprisingly, it appears that "script issues" have been among the project's problems.

Done right, SHANTARAM could be an amazing flick, but at present it does seem questionable whether it's going to be done at all.

[Skudor]

So Nair is a great candidate because of a film that may not be made?

[Judo chop]

Lasse Hallstrom is mine. I daresay his CV is about as EON-appropriate as they come.

I loved CHOCOLAT, and haven't seen any of his films after that. But it seems he's switched his preference for Johnny Depp with one for Richard Gere. Which, IMO, may mean nothing, but certainly cannot mean anything good. I wonder if he's on the down and down, instead of the up and up?

Have you seen CASANOVA, or even HOAX? How's he looking?

[Harmsway]

Has anybody seen CASANOVA, or even HOAX? How's he looking?

I saw CASANOVA. It wasn't anything great, mind you - the story's just mildly entertaining fluff - but as far as Hallstrom's part is concerned, it looked pretty.

HOAX I haven't seen yet, but I'm intrigued. The reviews weren't all raves, but they suggest that the film has something interesting going on.

[Judo chop]

Has anybody seen CASANOVA, or even HOAX? How's he looking?

I saw CASANOVA. It wasn't anything great, mind you - the story's just mildly entertaining fluff - but as far as Hallstrom's part is concerned, it looked pretty.

HOAX I haven't seen yet, but I'm intrigued. The reviews weren't all raves, but they suggest that the film has something interesting going on.

But Richard GERE?

<despondent pout>

EDIT: Read a review from a mostly trusted source and it does look like it might be entertaining. Somewhat of a sleeper.

[Harmsway]

But Richard GERE?

<despondent pout>

He got good marks for his performance in THE HOAX. The consensus was that he gave his role a surprising depth.

[double o ego]

Nolan or James McTeigue

[Quantumofsolace007]

Nolan Would Be cool but seems unlikely

Perhaps a more thriller/suspense Director

[dutch_pepper]

Nolan Would Be cool but seems unlikely

Perhaps a more thriller/suspense Director

Maybe Paul Greengrass or Martin Campbell again. Steven Spielberg always wanted to make a Bondfilm. David Cronenberg, perhaps?

We'll see, let's go back ontopic!

[DamnCoffee]

Paul Greengrass.. NO, NO, NO!!! I don't want that man anywhere near the Bond franchise, Imagine the Bond/Bourne debates then!

[Vauxhall]

Michael Winterbottom could be interesting but he seems to like to be very busy and I guess may be unwilling to allocate so much time to Bond. It would be fun for everyone to have to watch 9 SONGS to gauge his work though!

[Royal Dalton]

Peter Hewitt.

[Agent 76]

Tony Scott

[doubler83]

Michael Mann.

Peter Berg.

[ForMathis]

Edward Zwick, and Peter Berg are both excellent choices in my opinion. They can both handle Action, Drama, and Comedy.

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

Paul Haggis coud be a good choice. He already knows the EON series, he had proved to be a good a writer for Bond, and he's recognized for many as a good director.

[Harmsway]

Peter Berg isn't a compelling choice in my mind. His work so far has been really dodgy (and HANCOCK was just awful).

I like Edward Zwick as a choice, though. I imagine he'd do very well with a Daniel Craig Bond flick.

[doubler83]

Peter Berg isn't a compelling choice in my mind. His work so far has been really dodgy (and HANCOCK was just awful).

I'm yet to see Hancock. But I saw the Kingdom which I thought was pretty good.

[ForMathis]

Peter Berg isn't a compelling choice in my mind. His work so far has been really dodgy (and HANCOCK was just awful).

I like Edward Zwick as a choice, though. I imagine he'd do very well with a Daniel Craig Bond flick.

I haven't seen Hancock, just going by his earlier films. Perhaphs you are right. I am personally rooting for Zwick though, its unlikely he'd get it, but I think he'd be perfect for it and be able to give the action scenes a unique spin that separates them from Bourne.

[sorking]

Peter Berg isn't a compelling choice in my mind. His work so far has been really dodgy (and HANCOCK was just awful).

I like Edward Zwick as a choice, though. I imagine he'd do very well with a Daniel Craig Bond flick.

I thought The Kingdom was a great piece of work. Held off on the major action until the final reel, then genuinely blew the roof off. He's not yet a director of 'all-time great' films, but he creates a lot of very good pieces. Under strong producers - and for all the talk, we know Wilson and Brocolli aren't letting Forster have total free licence - Berg could do something very interesting. He's big on getting strong performances, too.

Zwick's a terrific suggestion, anyway. Spot on. I was awfully enamoured with Blood Diamond, which was an action thriller pretending to be a political picture, and had great performances. Plug that Zwick into Bond 23 and I'd feel very comfortable.

[Kristian]

Peter Berg isn't a compelling choice in my mind. His work so far has been really dodgy (and HANCOCK was just awful).

I like Edward Zwick as a choice, though. I imagine he'd do very well with a Daniel Craig Bond flick.

I thought The Kingdom was a great piece of work. Held off on the major action until the final reel, then genuinely blew the roof off. He's not yet a director of 'all-time great' films, but he creates a lot of very good pieces. Under strong producers - and for all the talk, we know Wilson and Brocolli aren't letting Forster have total free licence - Berg could do something very interesting. He's big on getting strong performances, too.

Zwick's a terrific suggestion, anyway. Spot on. I was awfully enamoured with Blood Diamond, which was an action thriller pretending to be a political picture, and had great performances. Plug that Zwick into Bond 23 and I'd feel very comfortable.

How about....


BRETT RATNER!!!!! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!

Uh... no. Never.

Edited by Kristian, 20 October 2008 - 12:16 AM.

[Mister E]

I still want to see Vince Vaughn do a Bond film. Another would be Jon Jones, he did a great job in ARCHANGEL. Hell, that was pratically a Bond film.