Excuse me, it’s been your point and you’ve been passionate enough about it. Also, you seemed to be very sure of it. All I did was pointing out, not for the first time either, that it would seem Mr Barber didn’t exactly fare badly in the whole process.
I can understand how you see things differently. I beg your pardon if the facts do not exactly support this view though.
Naturally, Barber selling his shares and options isn’t anything he couldn’t do as he pleases. What belongs to him is of course his. But just as naturally his contract with MGM contained a number of if/then clauses and no CEO has to leave ship early without getting his fair compensation.
If anything, the telling part here isn’t the $ 15m compensation but the fact MGM want Barber off their back for a full three years.
My response this morning wasn’t meant as riposte, to prove you wrong or anything in that vein. I merely quoted you because that was the post where golden handshakes/parachutes came up, no other reason.
To guide this back to the thread title - Any speculations as to how this final ousting of MGM’s former CEO could have an effect, if any, on Bond’s future?
I suppose the effect is merely that of cutting loose ends. BOND 25 is on track, MGM is probably also on track for some kind of sale/merger. The Barber story came only up again when he was said to make his own bid for MGM - that’s obviously something that could have tempered with plans for the future, whatever they may be.
The AT&T/Time Warner story is probably the main impetus here: now the industry is going full steam ahead for major reshaping. It depends whether MGM is bought or MGM/Danjaq/Eon is swallowed up entirely. But for BOND 25 none of this should interfere with the schedule.
BOND 26 however could possibly see a vastly different landscape in Hollywood.
Celebrity trainer Giacomo Farci has posted a video on Instagram with Mark Strong doing a workout, accompanied with Bond 25, Daniel Craig and Danny Boyle hashtags. Says he is working on a “new project”.
The biggest indication yet that Strong is going to be the Bond villain and is in Bond 25?
I wouldn’t be surprised given his CV (spies and villains are certainly a trend) and Craig is the godfather to his kids. Wasn’t he suggested for Skyfall? Or was that only ever rumour?
No more so than any Mikkelsen when he was cast, or any other villain really. The two villains of Mendes films were very much the exception rather than the rule.
True. But Mikkelsen at that point was rather unknown and therefore low profile.
Mark Strong has starred in many films and tv shows but has not risen to the A-list nevertheless. He is too often the go-to-bad guy for B-movies.
To cast him as the main bad guy would be the equivalent of casting Jason Statham as Bond.
And while some might want to see that - I don’t.
Give us some really surprising choice as main villain. Someone previously unknown who can really be shockingly effective because there is no baggage from other roles.
He’s exactly where Craig would be without Bond (as is Christopher Eccleston now I think about it) so I don’t see his status as more of a character actor than an A-lister holding him back.
However, I too would rather see Strong as another 00 rather than the main villain. I won’t complain if he is, but I’d like something really left field, the kind that will upset the Daily Mail and get a similar reaction Craig got from some corners when he was cast, someone not even considered in main stream but nonetheless a brilliant idea.
Well, the multiple hashtags are interesting. I’ve certainly enjoyed Strong in about everything he’s done. Friend or foe? He certainly could play either. Craig has said before that he starts training 5-6 months before hand with the first three to get in shape and toned and then be fit for action rehearsals with the stunt team. If he’s sticking to that, then the timetable math works and Strong doing the same certainly points to something.
Here’s a notion on the allied side: Imagine Strong as an SAS officer (say Major or Colonel) that knows Bond or has worked with him. It’s been established that Bond (both books and films) trains with the SAS annually. Maybe Strong could turn up with an assault team for the battle royale we’ve all been wanting.
On the foe angle, he could go any route from privileged henchman to secondary villain.
Regardless of speculation, hopes and dreams, this is interesting news.
Oooh! Yes please for Mark Strong… I had been hoping he would have been in SPECTRE but now he gets another shot and hopefully a chance to be in a better film.
