Sam Mendes Speaks About BOND 24
I am a huge Bond film fan. I have all the movies from Connery to Brosnan... on VHS. Don’t laugh, that’s just how I roll. The rest I have on DVD. Anyway, Skyfall is one of my favorite Bond films by far. You can tell that Sam Mendes is a fan of the franchise, and he directs that way. I was thrilled to hear that he would be back for what is now titled Bond 24.
Recently in an interview with Charlie Rose, Mendes spoke a little bit about what brought him back to a franchise that he originally said he would be leaving. Mendes starts talking about Bond 24 at about the 17 minute mark of the video, which you can watch below thanks to Hulu.
For those of you who just want the abridged version, here are some relevant quotes, courtesy of Firstshowing:
I also started a number of stories [in Skyfall] that were incomplete. I cast a new M, I cast a new Moneypenny, I cast a new Q, I cast a new Tanner. There was a missing piece now... I felt like there was a way to create a second part of the two-part story. And then, I started to get re-interested in it again. When they agreed to wait a little longer, and not go immediately, and not go with two movies, but one."
[...] What we tried to do, and audiences seemed to embrace in Skyfall, is that for the first time characters were allowed to age. And they were allowed to acknowledge the passing of the years. And they were allowed to acknowledge—in kind of a sly, mischievous way—the history of the franchise that they'd been part of. So there's the DB5 coming out with the Bond theme... Well, the orgy of nostalgia, the noise an audience made, the first time I sat with an audience at that point, was enough to make me want to do it all over again. Because that was my 12 year old self that loved that moment and loved that car..."
Being a fan boy, the November 15, 2015 release date seems unbearable. Kind of like waiting for the next season of Sherlock, but that is for another rant.
Do you think Mendes is still a good choice for the franchise? Who do you think should take over after him? Personally I would like to see David Fincher, James Wan, or Alfonso Cuaron take a shot at it. All three have completely different stylistic approaches that would fit in the world of James Bond.