OFFICIAL: Marc Forster to direct Bond 22 (Page 2 of 3)

Kinda reminds me a bit of Young or (early) Hamilton or Hunt...a young creative guy strong on character work and great story-telling.  Guess that is leftfield for Bond these days, CR excepted.   Viva la new EON!

A reliable source tells me that the Stardust shoot went very badly, which is a possible reason why Vaughan isn't involved. Remember that he was also slated to direct X-Men 3 at one point.

Just been looking up Forsters work. Nothing of any note really and nothing I find appealing.

I will just have to wait and see what he turns out.

On a different note, I noticed he is younger than me. That means that not only is the actor playing Bond younger than me but now, so is the director!!!  This is a sad, sad day .....

He did a bit of action in Tomb Raider, a film that is high on my guilty pleasures list despite the fact that everyone hated it.

I'm in the same age-denial boat, so not fair!

But, I really recommend "Stranger Than Fiction," I had zero expectations for it walking in (Ferrell has a knack for getting on my nerves...) and was very pleasantly surprised at not only Ferrell's understated performance ( ) but just everything: great script, very creatively shot, excellent performances from all in the cast.  One of my favorite films of this past year, not for any one thing but for the whole package.  Which has really sold me on Forster.  I think he'll bring in at least a fine Bond film, with the potential to create the best film in the series (I'm high on Haggis and Craig also, duh ralph ).

I had pretty high expectations with CR, Campbell was a concern for me but he turned in a great Bond film IMO.  Forster's a much better director, so IMHO the sky's the limit with Bond 22.  Of course, it may all crash and burn to little toasty bits, but not like that's anything new for a Bond fan.   Just excited that EON has finally--FINALLY--hired a director of Forster's ilk, they've never had somebody with the imagination Forster's got in the director's chair.  Very thrilling Bond times! :):)

I think Forster will keep the dramatic edge that CR had going. A lot of people who weren't Bond fans before loved CR because it was accessible to a wide audience and also had a universal dramatic appeal. Great choice for the next director, should be interesting, I know I can't wait for 08!

I watched Stranger Than Fiction the other night. I quite liked it. In the same vein as Eternal Sunshine and I Huckabees, but I liked this one best. Forster certainly brings out good performances from his cast.

That said, I didn't like it that much. At only 1hr 40mins, it seemed a lot longer than it was. The direction was pretty unobtrusive, which I quite liked. I don't like Bond directors getting in between us and Bond if you know what I mean. (Campbell and Tamorhi were prime offenders in that regard.) Ultimately the film never really picked up speed for me. One scene after another. And not a bundle of laughs.

I sense Forster will go either the way of Spottiswoode or Apted. (TND or TWINE).

You can guess the way a director is going to turn out usually. I saw No Escape before Campbell did GE and could see
a) He wasn't that different from Glen, just some flashy camera angles.
b) He hadn't assimilated the lessons of Die Hard etc. Action scenes weren't from the hero's pov, but with the camera outside the action, like from 20 feet away.
c) A slightly cold, uninvolving but efficient style.

Spottiswoode was more solid, more grounded, a bit opaque judging from Air American and And The Band Played On. Not very flash or fun.

Tamorhi, from watching Along Came A Spider?
a) No directorial flair, just one scene after another, not involving, no mean feat considering the serial killer type thriller is a formula that's hard to mess up.
b) Ludicrous CGI stunt
c) Utterly implausible plot twist
d) One very good, breathtaking action scene.
Which is about how DAD panned out.

So I'm not crazy about Bond 22 though I can see that Forster is competent enough and certainly the most A-list director they've probably ever had in terms of recent hits.

Well...I've now seen Stranger Than Fiction...and I thought it was excellent.

I'm going to have a look at Monster's Ball next, I think...but Forster seems quite able.  I've a good feeling about him.

I hope you enjoy Monster's Ball. Personally I greatly preferred Monster's Ball to Stranger Than Fiction, so, hopefully, you will have a good time. The performances are superb (especially from Miss Berry who IMO fully deserved her Oscar) however the subject matter is quite disturbing. I don't think you should watch it with your kids.

Last edited by Dan Same (6th Jul 2007 16:20)

Watched Stranger Than Fiction again tonight, another thought about Forster: he has a great touch for finding humor in the drama, drama in the humor.  Since Connery uttered the iconic "Shocking" line that's been a hallmark of the best Bonds IMO, that layering and juxtaposition of perspectives at key moments (when it's been handled poorly we've gotten daft Bonds).  Very keen on seeing Forster's take on the new/old school Bond, his visual flair was also quite nice and should translate to Bond genre just fine IMO.  Wouldn't surprise me a bit to see him one-up Campbell's work in CR on multiple fronts.

Geek on.

Really?  I thought Sunshine was overhyped, a good but not great film.  Never thought of Stranger as trying to be Sunshine, both are good little films each in their own way IMO.

Some interesting stuff from Mr. Forster here, gleaned from an interview with The New York Times, as linked via CBn:

http://commanderbond.net/article/4713

Surely, just the sort of quote for which our own Napoleon Plural lives   

Obvious entendres aside...a very informative piece---certain to further disenfranchise devotees of the double-taking pigeon and 'Tarzan yell'   

Last edited by Loeffelholz (9th Dec 2007 06:53)