612 replies to this topic

[Cody]

Joe Wright says maybe:

 

“Oh, I love James Bond. I grew up with Bond. I think doing the James Bond after Sam (Mendes), who’s a friend, would be challenging, because he has done such an incredible job with it. So maybe down the line, I’d do a Bond, but not straight after Sam.”

[Odd Jobbies]

 

Joe Wright says maybe:

 

“Oh, I love James Bond. I grew up with Bond. I think doing the James Bond after Sam (Mendes), who’s a friend, would be challenging, because he has done such an incredible job with it. So maybe down the line, I’d do a Bond, but not straight after Sam.”

 

 

I did my fine art foundation with Joe at Camberwell - very nice lad. While i was making great plaster monstrosities inspired by Geiger and Cronenberg and painting storyboards for a film i'd not make he had quietly built an incredible miniature set for an animation (apparently his folks ran a theatre company nearby).  Good to see him doing so well and i'm sure he'd make an excellent Bond movie (i enjoyed Hanna).

[rubixcub]

I was just about to post about Wright in here.  I believe I was the first person to drop his name in this thread, and now with interviewers asking him about it, here's to prescience LOL!

 

The reason I was going to post is that, with his latest effort, "Pan", taking a critical beating, plus early box-office tracking strongly suggesting that the film will not make a profit against its $150M budget, I suspect he will not be seriously considered for some time, if ever.  He will need to recover from this first.

 

http://variety.com/2...lop-1201612622/

 

Dave

[hoagy]

1. Christopher Nolan

2. Christopher Nolan

3. Christopher Nolan

[JohnnyWalker]

Joe Wright really needs to redeem himself before he's up for anything.

[Harmsway]

Joe Wright really needs to redeem himself before he's up for anything.

Maybe now is the perfect time for EON to grab him. He'd come cheap.

Honestly, directing the next one is a thankless job. The film is already saddled with a lot of baggage.

[Dustin]

I think, after what Mendes delivered with SPECTRE he ought to be sentenced to do the next one, too...

[Harmsway]

I think, after what Mendes delivered with SPECTRE he ought to be sentenced to do the next one, too...

As long as they keep John Logan and Lee Smith away, sure.

[SecretAgentFan]

Lee Smith?

[Harmsway]

Lee Smith?

SPECTRE's editor.

[x007AceOfSpades]

 

I think, after what Mendes delivered with SPECTRE he ought to be sentenced to do the next one, too...

As long as they keep John Logan and Lee Smith away, sure.

 

Absolutely this.

[SecretAgentFan]

 

Lee Smith?

SPECTRE's editor.

 

 

I know - but I did not consider his work lackluster.  In the end, he is also a foot soldier, like the writers - so Sam Mendes would be the one to address.

[Vauxhall]

I think the US reviews and criticism will have put an end to any idea that Mendes would do another one.

[Dustin]

I don't see him coming back either. Fact is, he's done what he thought he could with Bond. I don't have the feeling there is the vision of one more - however distant - Bond film sleeping inside his mind, only waiting to be woken up by the magic words coming from Eon. Mendes did his duty, now let him go his way in peace.

[SecretAgentFan]

I think Mendes did a tremendous job on SKYFALL.  He built up a fantastic villain with a great personal scheme that involved Bond as well and gave the whole thing real gravitas.

 

It´s only speculation, of course, but it must have been him who cleared the idea of Bond´s past rearing its ugly head in SPECTRE again, going for a dark brotherly relationship.  Which has its interesting aspects, sure.  But since it is not really developed (for whichever reasons) in the film, it feels as if a villain who perfectly works in isolation is weighed down by the additional emotional baggage.

 

Could it be that Mendes kind of "over-shakespeare-ized" Bond?  Reading his recent interview on deadline.com I even get the feeling that Mendes has begun to overestimate his grip on Bond.  Maybe he wants to overload the character with too much that isn´t necessary and could actually have a negative impact.

 

So, I wouldn´t mind him stepping down and having another director transform Bond again.  We know Bond already.  We don´t have to overanalyze him or constantly have Mi6 justify his and its own existence.

[Harmsway]

Lee Smith?

SPECTRE's editor.

I know - but I did not consider his work lackluster. In the end, he is also a foot soldier, like the writers - so Sam Mendes would be the one to address.

Lee Smith has a body of work that displays similar issues, so it's not just his work on SPECTRE.

Editors are the most significant contributors to the final shale of a film other than the director. They are not just foot soldiers.

[Dustin]

Depends if the director looms over their shoulder or not. Some are kept on a pretty tight leash, some do better work than the director. But if Smith repeatedly shows the same issues it's probably his genuine style - and he was likely or not hired for that. Somebody amongst the top brass must like his flavour.

[seawolfnyy]

I don't want anyone who worked on that piece of garbage that is Interstellar anywhere near my Bond films.

[Professor Pi]

I don't want anyone who worked on that piece of garbage that is Interstellar anywhere near my Bond films.

 

What about Shane Black (Lethal Weapon writer, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) then?

[SecretAgentFan]

 

 

 

Lee Smith?

SPECTRE's editor.

I know - but I did not consider his work lackluster. In the end, he is also a foot soldier, like the writers - so Sam Mendes would be the one to address.

Lee Smith has a body of work that displays similar issues, so it's not just his work on SPECTRE.

Editors are the most significant contributors to the final shale of a film other than the director. They are not just foot soldiers.

 

 

I must say I disagree.  Smith´s work with Peter Weir and Christopher Nolan was, for my taste, pretty good.  And the editing is not SPECTRE´s problem, either.

 

Again, I should not say too much before I have watched the film at least once more.  But after my first viewing I thought that the editing itself was perfectly fine.  It was the rhythm of the script that led to the impression of many sequences going on for too long.

 

As far as I know, Sam Mendes is very, very, very particular how things have to be done.  So Smith had to bow to his demands, I´m sure.

[Harmsway]

The problem isn't that SPECTRE's scenes go on too long, it's that Smith has no sense of emotional current and aesthetic pleasure. His editing rhythms are shaped by plot incident, not mood or performance.

His Nolan films display the same problem: they barrel through moments that they should savor just to get to the next big plot point. As a result, everything feels stuck in one gear. (Note also that the film's big, trailer-friendly action moments feel unimpressive in context, another sign of poor editing rhythm.)

The best filmmaking in SPECTRE occurs when Lucia Sciarra braces herself for death. It's not a big story moment, but it's a beautiful grace note full of humanity and aesthetic pleasure. Bond films thrive on those grace notes and SPECTRE needed an editor more attentive to them.

But if Smith repeatedly shows the same issues it's probably his genuine style - and he was likely or not hired for that. Somebody amongst the top brass must like his flavour.

Yes. We know Mendes likes Nolan. Mendes also loved working with Smith, so it's not as though he was unhappy.

That said, I preferred the editing in SKYFALL.

[Dustin]

SKYFALL had this moment where Dench-M explained her backstory with Silva - and why she cut him off. You could practically see Craig ponder that it could well have been him with the unconventionally shaped upper gum now. Same with Craig in taking-a-life-off mode, the atmosphere and mindset of those few frames was perfectly captured.

[The Shark]

SPECTRE shares a similar unvaried pulse to Quantum of Solace. It's a little more competent and slower in tempo, but its effect on the audience remains the same: emotional distancing.

 

One of the reasons why the opening tracking shot stands out so favourably, is it's the one continuous moment where Smith's editing doesn't get in the way.

 

 

[Harmsway]

SPECTRE shares a similar unvaried pulse to Quantum of Solace. It's a little more competent and slower in tempo, but its effect on the audience remains the same: emotional distancing.

One of the reasons why the opening tracking shot stands out so favourably, is it's the one continuous moment where Smith's editing doesn't get in the way.

Exactly.

[Dustin]

I love this opening shot, perhaps my favourite of the entire series.

[JohnnyWalker]

 

Joe Wright really needs to redeem himself before he's up for anything.

Maybe now is the perfect time for EON to grab him. He'd come cheap.

Honestly, directing the next one is a thankless job. The film is already saddled with a lot of baggage.

 

Not really, the only baggage would be if they use the Spectre villain again.

[Harmsway]

Not really, the only baggage would be if they use the Spectre villain again.

The ending of SPECTRE leaves a number of things up in the air that will have to be addressed by the next film.

Given SPECTRE's mixed reception and the fact that the next film will almost certainly be Craig's last, it also has a certain burden of expectation.

[casinoroyale75]

Martin Campbell or George Miller...no more Mendes, please.

[Harmsway]

George Miller would be wild.

[sharpshooter]

Martin Campbell or George Miller...no more Mendes, please.

It'd be an amazing story if Martin Campbell was an option to introduce Bond #7. Debuting three Bonds. Probably won't happen though.