Mendes, Sam Mendes
Tue, January 5, 2010 
Sounds like Eon Productions aren’t too terribly bothered by MGM being sold after all.
Hot off the heels of that story from earlier this morning comes news to the contrary. Via Heat Vision comes word that British filmmaker Sam Mendes is in negotiations to direct the forthcoming next James Bond cinematic outing.
The Broccolis have hit the Fast-Track button on Bond 3. If everything goes according to plan, production could commence as soon as this June. So it looks like that November 2011 release date is still a go. Sure, there is the possibility of it hitting in the summer instead. I’ve long been of the opinion that 007 will return to the summer and during the Daniel Craig reign. But that particular summer is already over-stuffed as it is. Just can’t see that happening.
But what to make of Mr. Mendes’ directorial involvement? He’s nowhere near the filmmaker I had pegged the Broccolis to hire. That’s not to say I’m against him (I’m not). With the exception of Revolutionary Road (which I haven’t seen and looks like bad Oscar bait), I’ve enjoyed everything on his filmography. My almost high anticipation for the new Bond installment has increased.
Reader Comments (2)
I've been saying for a while now, that if the next Bond movie turns out to be as dull as Quantum, then that's it for me with Bond...
However, this does bring hope! American Beauty is a modern classic, Road to Perdition was interesting (if a little cold for my tastes) and I enjoyed Revolutionary Road more than I thought I would (though "enjoyed" may be the wrong word to use to discribe that film).
A lot can happen between now and 2011 and as we all know, Eon don't like giving their franchise to directors that are too celebrated, but yeah... my interest for the new Bond has definetly shot up since hearing this news!
P. S Someone mentioned this on the Empire boards, but if there are any studio bigwigs paying attention to this post, can we have a more impossing villian this time? In both of the Criag movies, the villians have been fairly lightweight and not really "evil" enough.
This is the most interesting Bond-related news of the entire Daniel Craig era, imo, maybe even the past two or three decades. Props to Broccoli and Wilson for finally having the balls to hire a director with an identifiable, auteurist style. They've consistently stayed away from handing the keys to the kingdom over to an auteur, afraid not to "mess it up," as Cubby advised them before he passed. The result has been formulaic and staid and conservative. This at least has the potential to be a Bond film with a signature directorial vision and not just a director-for-hire effort. We'll see.
P.S. If Ian Fleming were alive today, he'd want the Bond films to be rated R (read the books, people!), by I'm resigned to the fact that that ain't happening anytime soon.