News on NO TIME TO DIE (no spoilers)

Well, there are a few scenarios that might explain why they wait, why they don’t confirm Craig. It’s possible MGM’s most likely suitor isn’t prepared to sign his paycheque. So maybe they play hide and seek until the project is too far up the ramp to abort - and then pull out Craig from the sideline as the saviour of BOND 25?

Yep, haven´t thought about that game - but that is a clear possibility.

As for the two online speculations:

I consider the New York Times a great newspaper. But they, too, are striving for quick attention in today´s click-here-first-climate. And entertainment journalism, regardless of which venue it is published in, is too often just leaning towards sources who want to stir up attention.

Consider this sentence again:

“But Mr. Craig´s return is a done deal, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid conflicts with Eon and MGM.”

If it is indeed a done deal, it will have been done by very few people who were sworn in to keep it a secret. And Craig does not gain anything by having his agent tell the NYT.

I don´t believe these “two people briefed on the matter”, and if they wanted to avoid conflicts with EON and MGM they would not have said anything - because both parties will know exactly who knew about the deal if it had been done.

And this one from this “birth.movies.death”-website:

“On the less official front, I have read thoughts from someone I believe to be close wth the production that the Broccolis are looking to do one more Bond then sell the franchise off, a la George Lucas/Star Wars/Disney.”

“I have read thoughts from someone I believe to be close with the production”… What? Thought reading now? He probably means that he read something on message boards. Such as… ours, by the way, since we were talking about this possibility a few weeks ago.

Again, I don´t believe this. EON will never sell Bond, BB is not old enough (as Lucas was) to step back completely. She rather would extend the production capabilities of EON and, if not interested anymore, hand it over to the next generation within EON. But selling Bond? C´mon…

Don’t see it either. It’s her life, not just a job. She didn’t do this for over thirty years just to get herself a huge cheque to buy twenty Rolls-Royces in rainbow colours.

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I certainly hope this isn’t the case. They should just look back to the last film to see how that same process fared for them. Go out and get a director who has some fresh ideas and is hungry to tell a Bond story, not wait around and hope to convince someone to come on board for a third time, especially after their second was one of, if not the, worst films in the franchise.

I get why they waited for him after SKYFALL, given the $1.1 billion they made. Waiting for him after SPECTRE, though, makes very little sense.

They’re probably holding off on announcing the star (Craig or otherwise) until they can make it more of a media “event.” This kind of thing – just reserving a date – doesn’t really mean anything. The Six Billion Dollar Man movie has had several dates assigned to it over the years and it hasn’t materialized yet.

Which is my way of saying, as far as I’m concerned, this announcement isn’t even proof Bond 25 is happening, much less with any particular actor in the lead.

Sadly, that’s entirely possible.

2019!!??

Must be waiting for Tom Hardy and Christopher Nolan. Just my humble (pie) opinion.

It will be the 25th Bond, after all. Time to make things anew.

As for EON up for sale…?? Whoa! Shiver me timbers.


And then, there is this…

Pick your link, here’s mine:

“But Mr. Craig’s return is a done deal, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid conflicts with Eon and MGM.”

The 1st rule in the spy game is deception.

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So, after the deadline.com-article on the three directors who reportedly had meetings with EON, Variety claims this one is closest:

Which would be very interesting: rather an up-and-coming director than an established A-lister.

That seems a more sensible choice, IMHO, since EON can exert more influence that way and still reap the benefits of a fresh mind who is still eager to prove himself.

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Also not to forget that Demange - provided he gets the gig - would come in a bit cheaper than the contenders, especially the likes of Nolan and Mendes.

It´s still weird to me that they are putting a director under contract now for a film to be released two years in the future.

And in this blockbuster business it´s definitely NOT about “getting the script right”. It´s also hardly about securing a director so he won´t take on anything else. To get a Bond movie gig every up-and-coming director would cancel other projects in a New York minute.

Something is delaying BOND 25 for a year. Some articles speculated on waiting for Craig - but which project would prohibit him from doing Bond sooner?

One more thing: I´m hoping for Demange to direct BOND 25 because he won´t have the clout to bring on his own writer etc. He will have to work within the system, and that - in this particular genre - will work in favour of the film.

I think the delay must be due to MGM-StudioX. Some kind of mechanism must prevent a sooner production start and/or being any more specific with regards to Craig. Also it strikes me that the ‘Eon sells Bond’ rumour may not come from Eon themselves…

I’m a big fan of '71, directed by Demange, so I’m rooting for him. I am a bit surprised EON is willing to bet on a relative newcomer. And '71 was very much an auteur film, so not sure if he doesn’t want to put his stamp on the series. MacKenzie seems like a great choice as well, so who ever gets the gig, I’m game.

Oh, yes - MGM… they would like that rumour.

Hmm. I want Craig to return. I want the next film’s script to be excellent. But Spectre burned me somewhat. And I have zero faith in the studio politics going on at the moment. The fact that the release is 2 and a half years away means they should hit it, but… I don’t know. Am I being too cynical?! Although it makes sense to announce the release to secure time in the cinematic calendar I find it insane to announce a release date and nothing else i.e. the person playing Bond (although I’m pretty sure it will be Craig).

Is it possible they’re trying to force some movement in the studio situation by announcing B25 as a go project?

MajorB - As we have learned here at CBn, a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g is possible. As before, so it is now, the fun is in the speculation…for the next 2 years.

Showtime’s CEO would seem to know more about BOND 25. Actually, he seems to know more about that than about Purity…

Interesting - and still weird that Showtime would wait until 2019. I thought “Purity” is the project that keeps Craig from shooting BOND 25 in 2017/18.

Something´s still fishy here. Maybe EON actually is pursuing a two-films-back-to-back strategy, with filming taking place in 2017 and 2018? Would make sense for them to have Craig do Bond now rather than later, due to the physical strains on an aging body.

One thing´s for sure: it won´t be the script that holds things up. Although this is widely used as a perfect scapegoat, we all know that the perfect script that “needed the time” is a silly idea. In other words: SKYFALL and SPECTRE did not benefit from the extra time at all. More time only means: more meddling and diluting the quality of ideas.

And if they are not doing two films back-to-back, are they waiting for a particular director?

I also think it’s not the script. Just as it’s probably not the script that convinced Craig to return (that ‘right of first refusal’ that was so popular with fans some time ago).

I’m highly sceptical about the two films idea, mainly because there have been a number of better opportunities to do this, yet both Eon and Craig discounted it repeatedly. Would be a very odd time to jump on that bandwagon now, with neither MGM nor the general atmosphere around 007 giving a particularly stable impression.

That said, there would be on the other hand the opportunity to get - not quite but almost - two films for one price tag. Albeit a generous price tag. SPECTRE was in fact so bloated and overlong that it could have made, with some cutting room floor help, two films. If you expand on a regular script and make the most of sets and locations you could probably ramp BOND 25 Mk I and Mk II for not that much more money. Consequently, you’d have the opportunity to get Mk II into cinemas twelve months later. Or even just six months, if you really wanted to shake things up. I still don’t think that’s the big mystery behind BOND 25 in 2019 - but it’s a possibility, however distant.

At a guess I’d still say it’s got to do with the studio side, or possibly the director.

Very possible. But which director is that booked and sought after by EON that they want to wait?

Denis Villeneuve? Christopher Nolan?

All the other candidates, IMHO, would jump at the chance to direct as soon as possible.