538 replies to this topic

[PotterBond007]

How about Michael Bay? Can anyone say pyrotechnic Bond movie? That would be neat.

Or even Stephen Sommers from the first two Mummy Movies, Brett Ratner(X3). I've also heard people say Quentin Tarantino, though I haven't seen any of his work. Rob Cohen, perhaps? He did Mummy 3, Stealth, Fast and the Furious. Ridley Scott (Haven't seen his work, either). OH! Ron Howard. He did good with Da Vinci Code. Chris Nolan would be good, too, I think. Or Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Patriot). Just some names I'm throwing into the pot.

I'll ignore the Michael Bay comment because you yourself have shown you don't really believe it.

Stephen Sommers is popcorn fare, he shouldnt be anywhere near Bond. Brett Ratner is no better than Sommers. Quentin Tarantino is a great director but all wrong for Bond. Rob Cohen is just a horrible choice.

The only name on the list I'd get behind would be Ridley Scott, but I think they'd have a better chance of getting Tony Scott instead, who'm I actually do think would do a great job.

Hmmm. Ok. Like I said, I don't know much about directing or choosing one. I just threw out some names I was familiar with.

You said you threw out a few names you were familiar with but then say you've never seen any of Tarantino's or Scott's films? How can you be familiar with a director if you've never seen any of their films?

Good point. Let me correct myself. I have HEARD of those two, but have not seen their work. The others I mentioned, I have seen at least one of their films. Like Sommers' Mummies.

[JimmyBond]

To be fair to him Tarantino and Ridley Scott are rather big names. I knew about Ridley Scott long before I was aware of any movies he directed (though I had seen quite a few of his, I just wasnt aware he had directed them).

[Pierce - Daniel]

Someone mentioned Edgar Wright..I like this idea, i can see him cracking his teeth on something a little meatier then his current fair and he is a typically out-there choice EON like to make, I like this suggestion.

Personally I'd love to see Kevin Macdonald do the next one. Or Joe Wright, we know he's keen on tackling it.

But Bond as we well know is better done by journeymen with something to prove (ala Martin Campbell) then auters turning in their hand (ala Marc Forster)

Therefore I suggest:
Iain Softley

[The Shark]

Someone mentioned Edgar Wright..I like this idea, i can see him cracking his teeth on something a little meatier then his current fair and he is a typically out-there choice EON like to make, I like this suggestion.

Personally I'd love to see Kevin Macdonald do the next one. Or Joe Wright, we know he's keen on tackling it.

But Bond as we well know is better done by journeymen with something to prove (ala Martin Campbell) then auters turning in their hand (ala Marc Forster)

Therefore I suggest:
Iain Softley

Ian Softley??

Another Marc Forster in my opinion. No action experience at all.

[Quantumofsolace007]

Someone mentioned Edgar Wright..I like this idea, i can see him cracking his teeth on something a little meatier then his current fair and he is a typically out-there choice EON like to make, I like this suggestion.

Personally I'd love to see Kevin Macdonald do the next one. Or Joe Wright, we know he's keen on tackling it.

But Bond as we well know is better done by journeymen with something to prove (ala Martin Campbell) then auters turning in their hand (ala Marc Forster)

Therefore I suggest:
Iain Softley

Ian Softley??

Another Marc Forster in my opinion. No action experience at all.

Shark how about some of My suggestions


Pierre Morrel (taken)
Adrian Paul (highlander Here comes a horseman and Revelation 6:8)
Eli Roth (Cabin Feaver)


I tend to go for horror and action directors over drama directors. because in my opnion Bond 23 drama shouldn't come from Bond becoming bond 2 films while amazing is enough i think the drama should come from Quantum being really a terryfying orgnization the most terryfying orgnization we've ever seen in a bond film. bond 23 shouldn't be goldfinger but From russia with love an extremly suspensefull bond film.

[The Shark]

Agreed, though the only choice I agree with is Pierre Model.

[Quantumofsolace007]

Agreed, though the only choice I agree with is Pierre Model.

Ok I can accept that Tkaen was a good film. I'm near postive though whoever the director is Unless someone here has metioned him or he;s a big name I won't know him.

Interesting enough Jonathan Mostow was considered for bond 22.

though someone said it best "Between u571 and terminator 3 he shouldn't be allowed to direct anything ever again" Point is I do beleive they look at directors form all generes and decide which is the best to tell the story so while Eli roth or Joe Wright or Kevin macdonald may seem odd for all we know they maybe in the top 5 directors eon is looking at. Who knows.

[Bucky]

maybe james cameron

[dinovelvet]

Someone mentioned Edgar Wright..I like this idea, i can see him cracking his teeth on something a little meatier then his current fair and he is a typically out-there choice EON like to make, I like this suggestion.

Personally I'd love to see Kevin Macdonald do the next one. Or Joe Wright, we know he's keen on tackling it.

But Bond as we well know is better done by journeymen with something to prove (ala Martin Campbell) then auters turning in their hand (ala Marc Forster)

Therefore I suggest:
Iain Softley

Ian Softley??

Another Marc Forster in my opinion. No action experience at all.

Softley wishes he was another Marc Forster! When K-PAX is your magnum opus, and you just directed an expensive Brendan Fraser-starring flop, I don't think you're someone who is on the Bond shortlist. As for Edgar Wright, I don't think they're going to be looking at (intentional) comedy directors.
MacDonald and Joe Wright are more likely candidates, both being associated with Oscar bait films.

[Safari Suit]

Lets get one thing clear; K-Pax is all well and good, but Hackers is his magnum opus.

How can anyone think the director of Hackers is "another Marc Foster"?

[DamnCoffee]

Someone mentioned Edgar Wright..I like this idea...

As do I. He's a great british writer and director. Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead are more than comedy's Imo. They're really intelligent comedy's. He's working Tintin as well isn't he. I wouldn't mind him writing or directing a future Bond movie, Imo.

[Odd Jobbies]

If Mostow was ever considered, then Eon have lost the plot. He managed to make Terminator look like the A-Team. His submerine film was a turgid piece of U.S. propaganda. Maybe he'll get his act together for the forthcoming 'Surrogates' with Bruce Willis? Good luck to him, but he couldn't be more wrong for Bond.

Same goes for many of the other names bandied about here (no offense), such as Eli Roth (?!), Rob Cohen (?!), Edger Wright (stick to the comedy), Stephen Sommers (Please no!) , Brett Ratner (rightly derided online as the hack of all hacks).

Ron Howard (?!!! The Da Vinci Code book was a lesson in how to pace a thriller, if nothing else. Ron Howard managed to turn the movie into a drearily slow crawl).

Roland Emmerich/Michael Bay (they're almost as bad as Stephen Sommers - they're Bond films would be so bad they'd have to turn the Bond into a comedy franchise).

That's a great who's who of directors that should never, ever make a Bond film.

As for Quentin Tarantino (that boat sailed already), and Ridley Scott, they're both great filmmakers, but Eon are too scared of them. If these two auteurs conceaded final cut to Eon, we would get a butchered masterpiece, since they're unique visions would most likely diverge too much from the formula (see Scott's butchered Kingdom of Heaven as reference - studio cut is full of plot holes and missing beats).

The only names mentioned that make any sense are Kevin McDonald (as an experienced producer he'll collaborate well with Eon) and Chris Nolan (his comments suggest that he loves the existing Bond formula - he'd be a bloody catch for Eon)

I'd add Paul Maguigan: Came close to directing a Bond several years back. Gangster No1 was the right cocktail of sex and violence - put that together with Daniel Criag and it's perfect. His other films range from the highly underrated Lucky Number Slevin, to the mediocre Push.

Matthew Vaughn: His star is ever rising - layercake was Craig's dry run for Bond. His forthcoming Kick- got the best crowd reaction at this years Comic-con - better than James Camerons Avatar (by the way Cameron+Bond - interesting, but will never happen. His ex-spouse Kathrine Bigerlow has a better chance).

Outsiders:

John Maybury: His film 'Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon' has Daniel Craig's finest screen performance - it was after seeing this almost 10 years ago that i got flack for telling friends that this odd looking guy, Craig, would be a fantastic Bond. But his action directing is untested and i do believe in directors that want to helm the action, rather than let a second unit take over.

Jonathan Glazer: Hasn't done to much lately, but he gave us 'Sexy Beast', the best british gangster flick since Get Carter. He could potentially make the best Bond movie of all these names. Be smart for Eon to at least meet with him - see if there's any interest.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 24 August 2009 - 12:33 PM.

[mister-white]

Been revising my list lately, so here goes:

Top 5, in preferred order:
1. Mike Newell - Really needs to be considered by Eon as a future director. Shown he can jump from human dramas to big budget franchaise fare.
2. Edgar Wright - Has proven he can direct a character driven story with all the styling that defines a great Bond film.
3. Martin Campbell - Well, duh!
4. Nick Meyer - Was considered back in the Brosnan years, even though his style is more in sync with the Craig era.
5. Stuart Baird - He has potential, is one of the best action editors ever, has yet to prove himself as a director, but with the right script, he'll be great.

[DaveBond21]

I think it has to be someone who won't mind the input from Barbara and Michael and also the cast, as well as changes to the script at a moment's notice.

I think that rules out some of the big movie directors.

[Odd Jobbies]

Been revising my list lately, so here goes:

Top 5, in preferred order:
1. Mike Newell - Really needs to be considered by Eon as a future director. Shown he can jump from human dramas to big budget franchaise fare.
2. Edgar Wright - Has proven he can direct a character driven story with all the styling that defines a great Bond film.
3. Martin Campbell - Well, duh!
4. Nick Meyer - Was considered back in the Brosnan years, even though his style is more in sync with the Craig era.
5. Stuart Baird - He has potential, is one of the best action editors ever, has yet to prove himself as a director, but with the right script, he'll be great.

Hope you don't mind me poo-pooing some of your choices, but here goes:

Mike Newell: Good choice - not in the top half of my list, but still good.

Edgar Wright: Can't agree with that at all. I think he makes great modern day 'Ealng Comedies'. He's very talented and may well one day make great drama and thriller, but until i've seen him do that, he's not my choice.

Nick Meyer: Coulda' been a choice back in the 80's, making the best Trek by far. Showed he still had the chops with Undiscovered Country, but hasn't made a movie since - that's 18 years. Don't feel comfortable handing over Bond in those circumstances.

Stuart Baird: Agreed, he's a top editor (i'm an editor myself - obviously not in his league, but i certainly recognize his talent. However, i also direct, and again i've obviously never had the chance to helm a budget and script such as his 3 endeavors (in fact my film has the dodgy honor of having the lowest budget of a feature ever released on DVD!) and, yet i feel i could have done a better job than Stuart Baird in the director's chair. In fact i think my mate's gimpy dog coulda' directed a better version of the complete misfire, Star Trek: Nemesis! Not to mention the underwelming 'US Marshals' and God awful 'Executive Discussion' - when i saw the latter movie at the cinema, the only positive reactions were a cheer when 'hero' Steven Segal came to an unexpectedly early demise and when the projector broke down halfway and the audience applauded the projectionist gratefully and left quickly before he could fix it.

Sorry, Mister White, don't mean to flame you, just can't resist expressing my horror at the prospect of Stuart Baird directing again.

I'll add Stephen Frears to my list - love all his films, but was surprised that he was to direct the 'Jinx' movie spin-off a few years back, as he's not known for action. Thank God that travesty never happened, but maybe he'd fancy Bond 23. He'd certainly get the best out of Craig. Please feel free to shoot that idea down in flames

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

Been revising my list lately, so here goes:

Top 5, in preferred order:
1. Mike Newell - Really needs to be considered by Eon as a future director. Shown he can jump from human dramas to big budget franchaise fare.
2. Edgar Wright - Has proven he can direct a character driven story with all the styling that defines a great Bond film.
3. Martin Campbell - Well, duh!
4. Nick Meyer - Was considered back in the Brosnan years, even though his style is more in sync with the Craig era.
5. Stuart Baird - He has potential, is one of the best action editors ever, has yet to prove himself as a director, but with the right script, he'll be great.

(in fact my film has the dodgy honor of having the lowest budget of a feature ever released on DVD!)

'Horror! - Gold Edition'?

[Odd Jobbies]

(in fact my film has the dodgy honor of having the lowest budget of a feature ever released on DVD!)

'Horror! - Gold Edition'?

Comedy-horror. A mockumentary - tag line was, 'Blaire Witch meets Spinal Tap'. Being a mockumentary made a virtue of the very low budget - cheap, i guess.

[JimmyBond]

I won't refute you're opinions about Nemesis and US Marshals (it was a decent thriller, but nothing noteworthy). But I felt Executive Decision was a real crackerjack of a film, what exactly do you have against it?

[Odd Jobbies]

I won't refute you're opinions about Nemesis and US Marshals (it was a decent thriller, but nothing noteworthy). But I felt Executive Decision was a real crackerjack of a film, what exactly do you have against it?

I found it cheesy, hackneyed and worst of all, boring (as did the rest of the audience who applauded the broken projector and seized the opportunity to leave and get a refund, rather than wait the short time for it to be fixed)

I guess Kurt Russell turned in his usual good performance - he's always pretty good, no matter how bad the film (Poseidon, Death proof).

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 25 August 2009 - 08:22 AM.

[double o ego]

Matt Vaughn!

[Tybre]

Much as I'm probably going to get hell for this, I admit lately I've been a bit curious as to a Zack Snyder-directed Bond film. Certainly not first on my list, but he's there.

[tdalton]

Much as I'm probably going to get hell for this, I admit lately I've been a bit curious as to a Zack Snyder-directed Bond film. Certainly not first on my list, but he's there.

I certainly don't agree, but I also see why a lot of people would want to see Snyder tackle a Bond film. I'd be more inclined to agree to it if he did the film more in-line with his work on DAWN OF THE DEAD (which was brilliant, IMO) as opposed to his work on 300 and WATCHMEN.

[dinovelvet]

Much as I'm probably going to get hell for this, I admit lately I've been a bit curious as to a Zack Snyder-directed Bond film. Certainly not first on my list, but he's there.

There are worse choices. I'd take slo-mo over shaky cam any day!

[Odd Jobbies]

Much as I'm probably going to get hell for this, I admit lately I've been a bit curious as to a Zack Snyder-directed Bond film. Certainly not first on my list, but he's there.

Yep, I''ll give you hell for that

I've enjoyed all of his films - thought Watchman was a semi masterpiece (the director's cut may well be the genuine masterpiece).

But, dear god, please keep his slow-mo, green-screen heavy comic look away from Bond.

[Quantumofsolace007]

I'm curious what are people thoughts on the Possiblity of Jim Sheridan as director

He's Irish and he's working with Daniel Craig on Dream House and he has done a varity of different films. I think it could be good. Your thoughts?

[Safari Suit]

I'm sceptical that they could get an Oscar-nominated director, but if they could, sure why not? If they're going to go for Oscar-bait directors, and it seems a lot of people think they are, he would be preferable to many; better than Joe Wright anyway.

[Odd Jobbies]

Jim Sheridan's one of the best at tackling controversy via damaged, or down-trodden characters in ways that get to the heart of the issue without seeming partisan, or worse, over sentimental.

There are aspects of Bond that he could tackle perhaps better than most - Bond's inner conflict, or the villains motivations, or the hypocrisy of foreign policy and it's definitions of 'terrorist'. However, the same could be said of Michael Apted and ultimately TWINE was one of the most disjointed and uneven Bonds in the cannon. This is because he's obviously not particularly interested in the action - he's not a visionary.

Contrast that with, for example, John Woo. Woo has great visionary prowess and can execute an action scene as though it were ballet. However, i wouldn't let him within 10 feet of Bond because he seems to have no real interest in anything that happens below the surface of his characters.

Martin Campbell is the only Bond director, since the 60s that truly straddles these polarized aspects of filmmaking: With the help of a good writer he handles character well (the shower scene in CR) and undoubtedly has a passion for action.

What we need is a director that, like Campbell, wants to do both action & character. In a league all their own are visionary all-round filmmakers, Nolan, Tarantino, Michael Mann, Alfonso Cuarón, Peter Jackson etc. For one reason or another these names probably won't be attached to B23.

Aspiring to this league, and capable of straddling action and character i can think of Paul Maguigan (Gangster No1) and Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake).

I'm sure there's others out there -point is they need that passion for both action & character. Choose a director that excels in just one of these passions and we could end up with another TWINE mishmash of Mrs Brown & Mission Impossible 2.

So IMO it's a no to Jim Sheridan, as brilliant a director as he is. Besides, at his age i imagine bond is the last thing he wants to take on!

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 28 August 2009 - 04:33 PM.

[Safari Suit]

Contrast that with, for example, John Woo. Woo has great visionary prowess and can execute an action scene as though it were ballet. However, i wouldn't let him within 10 feet of Bond because he seems to have no real interest in anything that happens below the surface of his characters.

Not that I want him for Bond either, at least not now, but I don't agree with this. The Killer has well above-average characterisation for the genre, it's no shallower than any Bond movie anyway, and at times it's rather affecting.

[Odd Jobbies]

I must confess that i haven't seen Woo's early chinese films - they may well be much better than his latter efforts. I'm just using those poor U.S. efforts, particularly MI:2 as an example of 'shampoo-ad filmmaking'. There's plenty of other offenders, such as Paul Anderson. I'd even say that without a decent script Martin Campbell can be incredibly 2D, and even Tony Scott (a big part of True Romance's perfection is that the Tarantino script is so good) .

IMO the majority of Bond movies certainly do offer no more characterization than your above average action movie, but we should be aiming above that with talent like Craig and the very high benchmark that is CR.

The advantage of Bond above and beyond other movies in the genre is Bond himself. Fleming gave us a complex character that can still fascinate and has many cinematically unexplored depths.

[Quantumofsolace007]

I must confess that i haven't seen Woo's early chinese films - they may well be much better than his latter efforts. I'm just using those poor U.S. efforts, particularly MI:2 as an example of 'shampoo-ad filmmaking'. There's plenty of other offenders, such as Paul Anderson. I'd even say that without a decent script Martin Campbell can be incredibly 2D, and even Tony Scott (a big part of True Romance's perfection is that the Tarantino script is so good) .

IMO the majority of Bond movies certainly do offer no more characterization than your above average action movie, but we should be aiming above that with talent like Craig and the very high benchmark that is CR.

The advantage of Bond above and beyond other movies in the genre is Bond himself. Fleming gave us a complex character that can still fascinate and has many cinematically unexplored depths.

The truth of the matter is that I Love Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace any director who can give us that level again I'm happy.

Now there is a glimmar of hope for Campbell fans as Greeen lantern may get it's plug pulled.

we'll See I'd be curious to see who is on eon's short list this time around.


Last time we got a list about 2-3 weeks before we got the actual announcement. There are only 3 names out of 5 I can remember now.

Alex Proyas
Marc Forster (who got the job and did an execlent job)
and Jonathan Mostow.

We'll see soon enough if we will just get a director announcement or if we will get a list like last time.