The Spy's Speech

BIG TAM

I've read today KING'S SPEECH director, Tom Hooper's expressed a desire to direct a Bond film. Perhaps Sam Mendes' helming of SKYFALL may have convinced other A-listers it's not demeaning to be involved in such a long-running franchise. In fact Broccoli & Wilson may find themselves spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing the director of Bond 24. I for one don't feel this to be a bad thing. I do hope like Mendes, any new director will have a genuine passion for 007 rather than just wanting to cash in on a booming bandwagon for the sake of commercial gain alone.

Colonel Shatner

I also won't mind competent "hack" directors like Joe Johnston to be hired for a more far fetched Bond movie that strikes the right balance between fantasy and gritty action (like GF, TSWLM, GE, and TND) and doesn't go too overboard (like ME) and doesn't have very weak visual effects (like DAD).

osris

I’d like to see an American director doing one. I think Spielberg would be brilliant. The action sequences in his Indiana Jones films are equal to many of the Bond ones.

I don’t understand the embargo on hiring American directors for Bond. It just seems silly to me, especially as the last few British directors used have not really delivered the goods in the action department.

BIG TAM

I wouldn't mind an American (or any non-British) director either. It's the passion the director brings to the project that's important, not the nationality.

I'd be very interested to see what someone like Kathryn Bigelow might bring to the table.

osris

I’m not familiar with Bigelow’s films. Has she a track record doing action films?

BIG TAM

Kathryn Bigelow can give many a male director a run for their money in the action stakes. Possibly her best known film for this genre is POINT BREAK. She's since hit the A-list with THE HURT LOCKER. But she's dabbled in other genres quite interestingly; horror (NEAR DARK) & sci-fi (STRANGE DAYS).

osris

I just saw the YouTube trailer for “The Hurt Locker” and the camerawork was shaky, probably to make it look like a documentary. After QOS’s shaky camerawork, I’d be wary of any director who was likely to repeat that approach. Obviously, I’m only going by one trailer, but I would hope that if she did get the chance to direct a Bond film, she would not use a shaky camera or a documentary style approach.

BIG TAM

I agree, the shaky cam shouldn't come back. I just plucked her name out of the hat; a director with the chops to tackle a big project & an interesting departure, offering a woman's perspective on the character.

osris

BIG TAM wrote:

offering a woman's perspective on the character

I’d be wary of such a perspective, to tell you the truth, as I see dangers in it recasting Bond even further away from Fleming’s original conception of him. I think he has already become too politically correct as it is.