Putting aside for a moment speculation about why Boyle left, there is one thing that bothers me a little: the general lack of interest from the media. Most of the major outlets and entertainment dedicated sites reported on him leaving and then ... nothing. No thought pieces on why he left or how it would impact the film. No opinion articles speculating on who would be a good new director. The general silence has been kind of defeaning. When a director has left other franchise movies recently (Marvel, DC or Star Wars for example) websites have wasted no time spilling digital ink on the why, how, what's next and what it means.
Makes me wonder how the relevance of the Bond franchise is viewed by the media. If Bond movies really were still that important you'd think this would be a bigger story.
Check again. I’ve seen/read multiple thinkpieces about why this is the end of the world for Bond, how Bond is a relic of the pre- #metoo era, about how the franchise is out of step and needs diversity, etc. Media silence would actually be preferable.
Perhaps EON had called in Purvis and Wade to make revisions, and Boyle didn't like that so he walked. Bond scripts are always written by committee, and maybe Boyle didn't think it would happen this time.
More speculation on the death of Bond ? Bond is bigger than any Director, He's not just
another action movie franchise like MI, Fast & Furious etc. He's part of British culture. Believe
it or not, But there will be a Bond 25 and it will have a different director. Be positive guys, the
glass is always half full. -{
As for the Media interest, I watch a lot of news programmes and as far as I can tell the story
was on all news stations, news programmes, All media entertainment shows, radio, internet.
Even today the internet ,YouTube etc is full of stories on the Bond film.
I truly value your optimism and general Dunkirk spirit, even if I don't always share it.
? Is the glass still half full if it's been knocked over and the contents are all over the Parquet
Of course there will be a Bond 25, it's just what and when that bothers me :007)
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Well, I did a search before making my comment for "why Boyle left Bond", "new Bond director" and variations on the theme. 3 relevant hits came up from UK newspapers. The rest of the results were straight ahead reporting about the tweet from yesterday.
I have no doubt the story is getting more traction in the UK. But in the U.S. (as near as I can tell), there hasn't been much follow up. At least not compared to the attention given to stories about directors departing other franchise films. Follow up stories were often written mere hours after the event. And sure, most were just click bait, but at least they showed an interest in what had transpired and what it meant for the film.
Don't get me wrong: I have NO interest in seeing Bond, Eon or Craig fail and I want a great film. But I think the relatively low level of media attention given to Boyle's departure is indicative of the general audience's interest in the topic. It's an observation, not a judgement.
I wonder what contracts have been signed? Can Boyle legally stop EON from using the Hodge script? would he want to?
From what I have read of how Hollywood works and scriptwriters and agents and what happens to scripts, the production company or the studio owns the script, the writer is writing for the production company.
As EON and MGM own the Bond rights they must be the script owners, as studios come and go as distributors.
Hodge may have written his B25 script 'on spec,' which means free, with the help from Boyle, and then EON buys that script when Boyle came on-board.
This explains why there are so few Bonds scripts floating around, EON/MGM owns them and buries what isn't used, in a vast warehouse with endless lines of boxes.... ;-)
There are plenty of books around about Hollywood and scriptwriters, for example, Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories
Well, I did a search before making my comment for "why Boyle left Bond", "new Bond director" and variations on the theme. 3 relevant hits came up from UK newspapers. The rest of the results were straight ahead reporting about the tweet from yesterday.
I have no doubt the story is getting more traction in the UK. But in the U.S. (as near as I can tell), there hasn't been much follow up. At least not compared to the attention given to stories about directors departing other franchise films. Follow up stories were often written mere hours after the event. And sure, most were just click bait, but at least they showed an interest in what had transpired and what it meant for the film.
Don't get me wrong: I have NO interest in seeing Bond, Eon or Craig fail and I want a great film. But I think the relatively low level of media attention given to Boyle's departure is indicative of the general audience's interest in the topic. It's an observation, not a judgement.
I've seen the story reported a lot by various major news outlets as well. But if its not as reported as some similar events like Solo then I can only surmise that its because Bond has more or less been on the public's backburner since 2015. Beyond the incessant but warranted noise surrounding the next Bond of course.
Nail on head. And then some. There’s a point when Bond isn’t Bond anymore. It’s a blurry line, but there is a line. He isn’t a secondary character in his own film, and he isn’t a soapbox to air political and sexual opinions for the sake of virtue signalling.
Which does all sound very odd as, I’m assuming, Eon signed off on the script...which then makes this doubly odd ...and then you wonder what made Eon ditch their plans from a year ago... ?:)
Boyle's comedy is being distributed by Universal. I wonder if this is all just about getting a distributor (for one film if I recall which seemed odd) and to seal the deal with Universal. EON agreed to Boyle because Universal wanted him and then have since made life difficult for him and he's jumped ship. Universal do not have the option of quitting like a director or actor.
I'm sure there's a clause in the contracts allowing Universal to pull out if certain things happened (Craig leaving, Boyle leaving being the two most obvious). There's no way they're going to put up at least $250 million for a film directed by somebody they regard as a hack.
Remember, Universal signed on at the same time as Boyle and Hodge. Before that EON/MGM had spent two fruitless years trying to find a distributor.
So according this it may really about casting? I haven't seen anything Tomasz Kot has made, but I noticed two things about him:
- he has made a lot of movies in Poland, often as the lead.
- he is very tall (199 cm)
EON not wanting to focus on the new 'cold war" is easier to understand. The Bond movies were never really about the cold war, that conflict was more of a backdrop.
I find it strange that Barbara Broccoli was so upset that Boyle brought on board some people he has worked with earlier. Didn't Mendes and other directors do the same?
And how could she be surprised Hodges was a part of the package?
If they're dumping the plot that Boyle and Hodge dreamt up, wouldn't John Hodge leave because of creative differences too?
My completely unbiased opinion is that this is good question :v
If Hodge turned in a completed script, his involvement would be finished.
Are you sure? On some productions the screenwriter is kept at hand during the filming in case something happens (delays, the wishes of the actors, practical stuff). It makes sense to me.
We are going to see a lot of stuff coming out of the British Tabs that is going to be presented as "news" that is nothing more than pure speculation. Many times, the Tabs print stuff that is speculation based upon speculation. IMO, if Boyle really did leave Bond 25 over the casting of a villain then he was just looking for an excuse to leave or he never really understood or accepted the collaborative nature of how Bond films are made these days...and Barbara and company are much more willing to allow directors more input than Cubby was back in the day. I just get a feeling that may be Boyle's feelings of not ever wanting to do another big film may have caused him a bit of panic as production neared and he was looking for an excuse to bail. Just a theory on my part.
until quite recently the Bond directors were employees, not established auteurs. The crew they worked with were longterm employees who had worked on many Bond films before, ensuring continuity of vision.
As much as I would like some favourite director to make his unique vision of a Bond film, if he's insisting on working with his own people instead of the people who've been contributing all along, that approach is going to lead to problems. Maybe we would get a sequence of disjointed episodes that have little in common with each other stylistically, no attempt at continuity, recurring characters who act out of character, all in exchange for one auteur to stamp his personal vision on the franchise. Which is basically what started happening during the Brosnan years.
So Boyle or Tarantino or Nolan or some of these other names often suggested could be cool in theory, but if they're not going to cooperate with the existing team, maybe we'd be better off with a no-name employee who does his job and helps make a proper Bond film.
Save the unique auteurial visions for when the franchise falls into the public domain, which will come soon enough.
I'm sure there's a clause in the contracts allowing Universal to pull out if certain things happened (Craig leaving, Boyle leaving being the two most obvious). There's no way they're going to put up at least $250 million for a film directed by somebody they regard as a hack.
Remember, Universal signed on at the same time as Boyle and Hodge. Before that EON/MGM had spent two fruitless years trying to find a distributor.
I wouldn't give Universal that much credit. Just last year they released the Alex Kurtzman directed The Mummy.
If Hodge turned in a completed script, his involvement would be finished.
Are you sure? On some productions the screenwriter is kept at hand during the filming in case something happens (delays, the wishes of the actors, practical stuff). It makes sense to me.
From what I've read, often the scriptwriter's involvement does typically end when the script gets locked down and everything moves into pre-production. Sometimes scriptwriters can be on set but this is down to the director's choice. I think if the odd word or phrase is changed in a scene or scenes no one cares, it's only if there is a need for major change does the scriptwriter come back on board and even then it maybe a different scriptwriter. For example, Purvis & Wade coming in to change Logan's Spectre script.
Apparently Craig and Boyle couldn't agree on who plays the villain, don't know how true this is! Thought Craig was leading actor not casting director!! 8-)
LOL Tomasz Kot was about to play the main villain!? This sounds unreal Shame, he's a very, very good actor in Poland, one of the very best and it would be a pleasure to watch him along Craig on screen.
Comments
Check again. I’ve seen/read multiple thinkpieces about why this is the end of the world for Bond, how Bond is a relic of the pre- #metoo era, about how the franchise is out of step and needs diversity, etc. Media silence would actually be preferable.
I truly value your optimism and general Dunkirk spirit, even if I don't always share it.
? Is the glass still half full if it's been knocked over and the contents are all over the Parquet
Of course there will be a Bond 25, it's just what and when that bothers me :007)
I have no doubt the story is getting more traction in the UK. But in the U.S. (as near as I can tell), there hasn't been much follow up. At least not compared to the attention given to stories about directors departing other franchise films. Follow up stories were often written mere hours after the event. And sure, most were just click bait, but at least they showed an interest in what had transpired and what it meant for the film.
Don't get me wrong: I have NO interest in seeing Bond, Eon or Craig fail and I want a great film. But I think the relatively low level of media attention given to Boyle's departure is indicative of the general audience's interest in the topic. It's an observation, not a judgement.
Makes complete sense.
When and where?
But that's not news, it's an opinion piece.
My completely unbiased opinion is that this is good question :v
I'm sure there's a clause in the contracts allowing Universal to pull out if certain things happened (Craig leaving, Boyle leaving being the two most obvious). There's no way they're going to put up at least $250 million for a film directed by somebody they regard as a hack.
Remember, Universal signed on at the same time as Boyle and Hodge. Before that EON/MGM had spent two fruitless years trying to find a distributor.
If Hodge turned in a completed script, his involvement would be finished.
Huh? I didn’t say it was news, I just posted a link...
My apologies. I thought that was in response to canoe2 asking for a follow up story.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/22/danny-boyle-quits-bond-dispute-films-russian-villain/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_em
- he has made a lot of movies in Poland, often as the lead.
- he is very tall (199 cm)
EON not wanting to focus on the new 'cold war" is easier to understand. The Bond movies were never really about the cold war, that conflict was more of a backdrop.
I find it strange that Barbara Broccoli was so upset that Boyle brought on board some people he has worked with earlier. Didn't Mendes and other directors do the same?
And how could she be surprised Hodges was a part of the package?
Are you sure? On some productions the screenwriter is kept at hand during the filming in case something happens (delays, the wishes of the actors, practical stuff). It makes sense to me.
As much as I would like some favourite director to make his unique vision of a Bond film, if he's insisting on working with his own people instead of the people who've been contributing all along, that approach is going to lead to problems. Maybe we would get a sequence of disjointed episodes that have little in common with each other stylistically, no attempt at continuity, recurring characters who act out of character, all in exchange for one auteur to stamp his personal vision on the franchise. Which is basically what started happening during the Brosnan years.
So Boyle or Tarantino or Nolan or some of these other names often suggested could be cool in theory, but if they're not going to cooperate with the existing team, maybe we'd be better off with a no-name employee who does his job and helps make a proper Bond film.
Save the unique auteurial visions for when the franchise falls into the public domain, which will come soon enough.
I wouldn't give Universal that much credit. Just last year they released the Alex Kurtzman directed The Mummy.
From what I've read, often the scriptwriter's involvement does typically end when the script gets locked down and everything moves into pre-production. Sometimes scriptwriters can be on set but this is down to the director's choice. I think if the odd word or phrase is changed in a scene or scenes no one cares, it's only if there is a need for major change does the scriptwriter come back on board and even then it maybe a different scriptwriter. For example, Purvis & Wade coming in to change Logan's Spectre script.
Shame Craig didn't go for it, weird to be honest.