The question is: what is the right look these days?
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They have put a lot of really good people in charge of this, so until those people come up with something that doesnāt live up to the standard that I would expect from them, Iām going to choose to believe that they will get the job done in the end. Nina Gold has been in on the casting for some very good films and has done pretty good with franchise fare like Star Wars (the casts of the sequel films are fantastic, they are certainly not the problem those films had). Iāve wanted Villenueve to do a Bond film for years. Pascal was in the room for one of the best casting decisions EON ever made for Bond and is a successful producer in her own rite. Unless and until these talented people screw this up, Iām going to look at it optimistically.
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I was thinking the same.
Dare I say it, theyāve put together a stronger creative team behind the scenes than EON did over the past twenty years.
I genuinely canāt remember the last time I felt this optimistic about Bond.
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I would like to point out that I have confidence in the people chosen to work on this new iteration of Bond.
I just donāt have any confidence that their abilities and know how will mean anything if the boss and his sycophants will demand to be heard.
I just experienced that situation too often. And if audiences sometimes ask why talented people were involved in something that became a mess - well, very often it was not the fault of the talented people.
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With First Light coming out next week and auditions officially underway Iām also feeling really good about Bond right now.
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Also have the first Bond novel in 4 years out this year. It does feel like the flood barriers opened for new Bond.
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I get where youāre coming from.
I guess the Broccoli family will be put through a litmus test soon enough, even if unintentionally.
If the next film turns out better than the last few, it may suggest they had become more symbolic torchbearers than the driving force behind Bondās success.
If it misses the mark, one could reasonably argue that there was a creative synergy the Broccolis uniquely brought to the franchise and that some of that magic is now missing.
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A very interesting thing to assess as time goes on. Iām curious myself. Well said.
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Itās not a question I feel I can answer. I cannot define the look; you either have it, or you donāt.
But then again, how much of the look is natural, and how much of the look comes down to wardrobe and styling choices? There were those who said Craig didnāt have the look, and then they released the first promo picture:
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This will be very interesting to see. The remarkable thing about the Bond films is that the spirit of the product, the Britishness, a very particular endearing sense of humour and charm, has been there throughout the years without fail, regardless of the chosen tone.
I was watching NTTD last week and itās there in spades too, the last entry in the Broccoli 25. A short scene, on the plane before they arrive at Safinās island, they show Q has a special drawer for coffee cups. Bond jokes heās been without a drink for a few hours. Nomi says sheās never flown one of those gliders before. I love all that stuff. I think if Amazon stay true to the soul of who the characters are it can still shine through even with different creatives behind the scenes.
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No doubt, but my concern is that weāre going to get the equivalent to āwriting as Ian Flemingā.
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We just have to face the fact: talent is unique.
Yes, two people (and certainly many more) can be talented enough to do the same job successfully.
But one cannot do the job the same way as the other.
Bean counters like to claim it doesnāt matter, people are exchangeable.
Thatās false.
As we already saw, BB did it differently than her father.
But at least she and MGW were part of the EON talent pool before they took over, learning the craft as it had developed.
The Amazon takeover* will not have that luxury.
*and no, Amy Pascal working with EON during the Craig tenure does not make her one of them, knowing enough to groom Villeneuve.
The new films will be content based on EON. But mainly their own thing.
Maybe that will turn out well and interesting and even better than 20 more EON Bonds.
Maybe not.
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I think the wild card is David Heyman the producer of Harry Potter and Paddington. For Pascal itās a buisness. Ive seen enough of Knightās work to have an idea of what heāll do, same with Denis Villeneuve.
Heyman thoughā¦
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I think itās inevitable the series will feel different from now on. When a much loved business is sold thereās generally hope the new management will carry on the same experience customers have loved for years. EON changed aspects of that from 2006 onwards.
They played around with the formula and did things that some fans didnāt like, while still providing aspects of the traditional experience. Some think EON didnāt go far enough. Getting the spirit translated through a different lens could be change we need, especially when the aim has been to justify more films.
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He proved that he can run a high budget production smooth enough to avoid scandals and deadline threatening problems, placating a rabid fanbase.
Then again, nobody would accuse the Potter films of being something else but mainstream consumer friendly.
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I started this last week and forgot to finish itā¦. Better late than neverā¦
I think Amazon and Bezos do have a legitimate role to play on the films that is akin to the owner of a professional sports teams. IMHO, goods owners hire professional people and let them run the team but want to know whatās going on in terrms of contract negotiations and player trades. If it is a bigger player/contract, they will want to have the case made to them by the General Manager before saying yes given the importance of those contracts and trades. Sometimes they may say no and may very well be right. For hockey fans, rumour has it in 1995 there was significant discussion of a trade that would have sent Yzerman to Ottawa in exchange for Yashin. The owner said no. As As a Senators fan, I so wish that would have happened but it was definitely the right call by the Detroit owner. But I digressā¦.
I think it is fair Bezos to want to be involved in the decisions and perhaps even say no to some things. The problems will happen if he starts dictating things and unwilling to listen to the ideas of creative types he has hired.
We will see how this plays out. I remain optimisticā¦. maybe I will be wrong. Letās hope Iām not.
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The main difference between sports and storytelling: if a boss vetoes a player or whatever, it will be simply a factor in the whole enterprise which is just about winning a game.
But if someone who has no talent, knowhow and actual expertise in storytelling vetoes what the actual experts are working on it will impact the whole production and cause uncertainty leading to creative chaos.
Also, most bosses like to say no because it is easier than coming up with a creative idea.
And Bezos, really, people, he has no background in narrative fiction. Neither has his wife in whichever update she has now agreed to in order to look as he wants.
He should have no say at all in making a Bond film or anything.
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Yeah, I get what you mean. It can really mess things up when the wrong people have too much control over creative projects.
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Your Amazon parcel has been delivered. Oh no it bleedinā hasnāt. Not to me, anyway.
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