8 replies to this topic

[Spy76]

Phillip Noyce (The Saint) I think he's a good Director, and honestly he did a good/constructive job in The Saint.
If you know him, do you think he would a good choice?

[iceberg]

I thought he did a good job with DEAD CALm and The Bone Collector. It will be interesting to see if he could do action.

[Triton]

He seemed to do a credible job with Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Saint.

[Bryce (003)]

I've been a fan of Noyce's work for some time for all the above reasons.

He has the right visual style and can certainly handle actors and action.

I'd love to see what kind of Bond he'd deliver. Let's just hope whatever the script would be measured up.

[Genrewriter]

Same here, I loved Clear and Present Danger and Dead Calm.

[Loomis]

No one's mentioned Noyce's best film (well, IMO his best), THE QUIET AMERICAN, which along with RABBIT-PROOF FENCE turned him from a middle-ranking Hollywood hack (albeit an artisan of superior skills) into a "serious" director who makes "serious" films and has serious critical acclaim.

Now, given that Noyce is now verging on auteur status (and presumably has more choices and creative independence than before), I assumed until recently that he'd be "too big for Bond". Until, that is, I read that Stephen Frears, another hugely-respected "serious" director who makes films that have Something To Say and whose critical standing has never been higher (thanks to DIRTY PRETTY THINGS), was going to direct the Jinx spinoff film.

Obviously, Noyce and Frears are two different artists with different goals, and just because Frears was willing to work for MGM/Eon as a director-for-hire on a Bond (-related) film with a Purvis and Wade script, it clearly doesn't follow that Noyce would be willing to do the same thing. Still, before I read of his involvement with JINX, I ruled out Frears for Bond in the same way as I ruled out Noyce. If asked whether Noyce would be likely to direct a Bond film, I'd have replied: "No. He's too serious, successful and critically-acclaimed a filmmaker and too independent." Now I'd reply: "Possibly."

Anyway, yes, I think he'd be a fantastic choice for Bond. As an Australian, he meets Eon's requirement that directors be from Britain or the Commonwealth. He's only 53, and he's more or less the perfect age for a Bond director (The Powers That Be like seasoned professionals who've been around for a while, but who are not, obviously, wizened old men who couldn't get insurance) - Noyce is the same age as Lee Tamahori.

And then there's his CV, which is, well, perfect. Adult, intelligent fare such as NEWSFRONT and HEATWAVE (both Australian films). Then there's DEAD CALM. Plenty of action/thriller experience (see PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER; the latter is, IMO, the best of the Jack Ryan films). THE SAINT is silly fun, and THE BONE COLLECTOR has its fans. And Noyce is currently at the height of his powers, with the abovementioned RABBIT-PROOF FENCE and THE QUIET AMERICAN.

I don't think Noyce is out of the question as a Bond director, although I do think that MGM/Eon would be pretty lucky to get him. Besides, according to the IMDb, production on his next film, AMERICAN PASTORAL, is set to start in the spring of 2004, with the film scheduled for a 2005 release, which means that Noyce probably wouldn't be available for BOND 21.

[Simon]

As an action director, I would tend to agree.

Although, maybe totally unreasonably, since he sliced the crap out of the Saint film in terms of what the Saint is really all about, I would wonder whether he would want to be reigned in to the Bond ring. I am wondering whether he has a penchant for castrating established characters' erm, characteristics, and if so, he should leave Bond well alone.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Simon

I am wondering whether he has a penchant for castrating established characters' erm, characteristics, and if so, he should leave Bond well alone.  

Well, I'm not a Clancy buff, so I'm probably not on 100% sure ground here, but didn't Noyce do okay with Jack Ryan? Hmmm.... that said, isn't Ryan a smoker, and occasionally impotent, in the books? Neither of those things are evident in the films of PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. Still, are those characteristics really all that important?

To be honest, I think Bond's been well and truly castrated already. (And when's the last time we saw him smoking a cigarette? 1989.) Don't forget, too, that Broccoli and Wilson found themselves having to say no to some of Lee Tamahori's ideas (a cameo by Connery as the former 007, for instance), and an excellent film still resulted (IMO). So I don't think Noyce would necessarily be too wild and woolly for Bond.

[Simon]

Originally posted by Loomis

So I don't think Noyce would necessarily be too wild and woolly for Bond.

You might be right. Certainly the reigning in attributes of the Brocolli clan are well established - maybe he didn't have such reigns attached when fleshing out the Saint.

Otherwise, he has done some good stuff. Would be happy if he was employed, but after Roger Donaldson.