I was half joking with my previous comment but now I think there could be some merit to the idea. If Eon could organise for potential Bonds to tape an audition while in lockdown they they’d have dozens of screentests on file when the time comes to cast in a year or two. Having your finalists already selected has got to speed things up a little.
While I’d never claim to be an expert on the ins and outs of the casting process this should’t even difficult to organise. We’ve already established that the candidates are taping the audition in their own home using their own equipment (in this day and age you could shoot it on a smartphone). And since there’s not much acting work going right now who wouldn’t want to put on a suit/ tux and be Bond for the afternoon? Could be fun and maybe secure them a lucrative job when this is over. Actors wouldn’t typically get paid to audition and agents work from commission so the only real financial consideration would be getting Eon’s casting director to reach out. So whether or not my crazy idea would work all comes down to if they can free up some cash to pay Debbie McWilliams, who we can hardly expect to do this for free.
It’s a longshot I admit but at the same time we are still hearing bits and pieces of TV and films news so clearly there are wheels turning somewhere. Since studios are loosing money and performers and creators aren’t working you can bet that everyone wants to hit the ground running when this is over.
The problem is the other side. They don’t know when this pandemic and its consequences - including the financial ones that may very well kill off MGM - will have passed. The right actor for bond in 2021 isnt likely to be the best for the role in 2026.
The guy who is going to end up taking over for Craig is most likely someone that, right now, we’re not bringing up because we deem him to be too young for the part.
Though I like the idea, there’s no way Eon would be in the mood to do that. They’re annoyed that the film they’ve been focused on - which, naturally, they would have treated as though it were their first and last - has been shelved at the point of release. I don’t expect another Bond film until 2026 at the earliest, though it will probably be 2027 (at the current rate, I anticipate just six films in the next twenty five years, taking us to 2045, but that’s another matter). As they don’t know what kind of film the world will want, they also don’t know what kind of actor to choose either.
Fair point, I was skewing a little on the optimistic side for life getting back to normal. Looks like we’re going to need to settle in for a long delay.
But having said all that is anyone else thinking about putting on a suit and taping a Bond audition? No? Just me then.
I’m all for optimism Even if we’re just fooling ourselves, it’s preferable.
And, to follow what you just said, I would audition as Roger. Of course, I’m nowhere near as good-looking as he was, but I’d still put on that deep voice, and say, "Well, I … er … " a lot.
I never thought about it before but auditioning for Bond solo would actually be quite tricky. He’s not one for big speeches so you really need someone to play off.
If I had to pick a scene I’d go with some Dalton and see if I could rope someone in to be Saunders. I always loved the back and forth in those scenes.
EON really needs to break away from MGM. I still firmly believe that MGM was hoping No Time To Die would make enough money to make the Bond license attractive enough to sell. My hope was that the deal for Universal to handle international marketing and release would lead to Universal buying the license and then maybe we’d get more semi-regular releases.
The deal Sony had on the previous Craig films was closer to what you would have hoped - partly because that included the US as well, where MGM retained rights this time.
I was hoping for same. MGM are an albatross around the neck of this franchise, and without more regular releases the brand itself will suffer. As I often say, many teenagers weren’t even born when Craig was cast, and those who wouldn’t have been allowed into the cinema for the last film are now out driving cars and trucks. It’s a sobering thought, but I wonder if Eon are so used to success that they don’t worry enough about maintaining it in the long-term. Either they should offer to buy MGM’s license outright or try, at least, to somehow maneuver them into selling it to someone else. As it stands, young people will be more interested in the flashiness of major studio tent-poles like Fast and the Furious and Marvel, with their big-name casts and American settings, than anything this small, rather troubled British production company can offer them. Hate to be hard-nosed, but as a frustratingly infrequent non-American product, Bond is in a fairly vulnerable position.
I’m not saying Bond was in trouble in 2015. Not after the almighty success of Skyfall just three years earlier. I’m referring to a sustained, regular gap between films.
Though I don’t mean to enter into a robust discussion on this, those Billie Eillsh fans are singing - as far as they’re concerned - a Billie Eilish song. That’s the very reason films studios pick popular singers to perform songs for their films. It sweeps up a large, pre-existing fan base and does wonders for promotion.
NTTD’s postponement got headlines because it’s Bond and, as such, a familiar name. A headline screaming Virus Delays Minions 2 Release wouldn’t have been as effective.
Regarding the series’s health in the future, I hope I’m proven wrong, of course. But, even so, nothing can be taken for granted. A new generation of fans must be cultivated in order to maintain success and ensure that the series will be here in years to come.
I’m not doubting the success of Minions either. I’m saying Bond was more note-worthy, probably due to its long history, and would’ve been something which was more likely to register with people who buy newspapers. Unless ten year-olds are stood in One Stop scanning the headlines of The Daily Star, in which case that would have been the right film to pick.
So what’s your point? It’s either forgotten or it’s not. If audiences actually forgot about series if not constantly rammed down their throats, The Force Awakens would’ve tanked…as would’ve Goldeneye. The Bond movies, despite you not getting them as regularly as you want, are doing better both critically and financially than they have in decades. I mean, if a sixteen year old only being able to see a new Bond movie legally in a cinema matters that much to you, sure, otherwise; the Bond movies are doing fine.
Friend, let’s be nice about this. I’m just saying that Eon can’t rest on their laurels.
The Force Awakens came ten years after the previous film, yes, but it had a massive hook in the return of its original cast, particularly the legendary Harrison Ford.
Perhaps, tentatively, consider it this way: You speak of the series in the present tense, yet SP is five years gone. By the same token, the five year gap between the release of LTK and the production of GE made many people wonder whether it had been too long and that it would be a mistake to revive the series.
My concern comes from a place of affection. I always want the films to do well. Even though I was personally disappointed with SF, I was delighted that it was such a success. Likewise, now, I hope that the franchise can invest in its future by releasing good films regularly, instead of relying on the prestige of its legendary status to shore up interest.
I don’t mean this for me. I don’t need any more films. I only saw SP once and that was in the cinema. I liked the first half, in particular. I’ve got plenty of other things to keep me occupied - brand new characters of my own to create in my writing, and more than half a century of film and TV to catch up on. I’m thinking about the series’s longevity. Not in a loud, vituperative way, but in the calm confines of a friendly discussion with friendly people.
The Force Awakens’ biggest hook was banking on nostalgia by using the original cast and trying so hard to emulate the feel of the original trilogy, it just remade Ep IV.
Even if we’re just fooling ourselves, it’s preferable.