One does not need to look too hard if spring is coming when the first buds on a tree begin to sprout. Nor does one need a college education to observe night is falling when the first rays of sunlight begin to fade behind the horizon. These of course are simple tell-tell signs. Perhaps these same signs can be applied to the announcement of the newest actor to play James Bond.
Recently Pierce Brosnan posted at his website these words:
"I would like to thank all of you who have supported me over the last year or so in regard to my playing Bond. It was a decade of my life that I will always hold dear to my heart and a time that will never be forgotten. And you dear friends stood by me throughout. Many, many thanks! But everything comes to an end, and one must accept this decision which cannot be dealt with in any other way but with some kind of grace and knowledge that I did the job to the best of my ability."
Why would Pierce choose this time to write on his website that James Bond is now behind him? Unless, he had to clear some legalities between him and Eon. With this final comment (and we all know that Pierce has been saying this publicly for months) the door has been left open for the next actor to don a tux.
Dougray Scott and Pierce Brosnan
The latest James Bond rumours have actor Dougray Scott taking over the lead role in the long-running movie franchise. Fuelling the speculation around Scott, who has appeared in movies like Mission Impossible II and Ever After, is the decision by British betting house William Hill to stop taking wagers on the actor. William Hill closed its book on Scott on Friday, January 28th, after it received a number of large bets on the Scottish performer.
"In the past, gambles like this have often been right," Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, told the Daily Mail newspaper.
So with these 'signs' hovering in the background of internet blogs, bookies and tabloids, could it be possible that Bond fans around the world will soon wake up one morning to surprising news that a new OO7 has been chosen?
I would say sooner than later.
Bond 21 Is "CASINO ROYALE"February 3, 2005 - MGM-Eon Productions
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the James Bond films, and MGM announced today that Martin Campbell will direct CASINO ROYALE, the 21st film in the 007 franchise.
This is Campbell's second time as helmer of a James Bond film. In 1995 he directed the hit GOLDENEYE which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role of 007 with great success.
Wilson and Broccoli said:
"We are thrilled that Martin has accepted our offer to direct CASINO ROYALE. He is an extremely talented director and we believe he will help take our films in a new and exciting direction. He is currently finishing filming 'Legend Of Zorro', the sequel to 'The Mask Of Zorro', and will be joining EON Productions shortly to work on the development of the script with our writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade."
MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk said:
"Martin is an incredibly exciting filmmaker. GOLDENEYE was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We're thrilled to have him back to direct the newest Bond."
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to England in 1966 and made his directorial debut on the popular TV series' 'The Professionals' and 'Minder'. He moved to America in 1986 to direct 'Criminal Law' and 'Defenceless'. Following GOLDENEYE, he went on to direct 'The Mask Of Zorro', 'Vertical Limit' and 'Beyond Borders' and is currently directing 'Legend Of Zorro'.
CASINO ROYALE will be released in 2006 and distributed world-wide by MGM. No decision has yet been made regarding casting for the role of 'James Bond'.
Thank you Ms. Broccoli and Mr. Wilson for giving the fans what they have wanted for years. And it's great to see Martin Campbell back in the director's chair.
John Barry Rails Against SuccessorsFebruary 11, 2005 - by Charlotte Higgins for The Guardian
The film composer John Barry - whose stellar 50-year career has encompassed scoring the great Bond movies, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves - has lashed out against his musical successors.
"[The composers] have nothing to say. They are just messing around with notes. I'm at a loss," he told the Guardian. "I walk out of the cinema bewildered these days. I think, what was the producer or director thinking of to allow 45 minutes or an hour of music that doesn't mean a damn thing?"
On Saturday, the 71-year-old Yorkshireman receives the Academy Fellowship at the Baftas for an outstanding lifetime contribution to cinema, an honour previously awarded to Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and, last year, John Boorman.
Talking about the generation of Hollywood composers such as Miklos Rozsa, Franz Waxman and Bernard Herrmann, many of whom were exiled from central Europe in the pre-war years and ended up defining a golden age of film music, Barry said: "They were my heroes. The people I adored and learned from. But today I don't see there's anything to learn. Today it's very empty. There's a whole thing of loading films up with songs - it's a commercial choice. The composers seem to ignore what's going on on screen. I look at movies; in the old days you knew what the composer was about. Today you don't - the scores are like a filler."
Asked whether he could be tempted to write a score for Casino Royale, based on Ian Fleming's first 007 novel and due for release in 2006, he said: "It would depend. Films like From Russia With Love and You Only Live Twice were based on an old tradition of moviemaking. They were great stories - the idea of raiding Fort Knox is a great story. But the Bond movies have totally changed. They don't have any stories any more.
"Sean [Connery] was marvellous. George [Lazenby] - well, we won't talk about that. Roger Moore was good. Pierce [Brosnan] was fine. But the films wouldn't have made it without Sean. We don't have those stars any more. The formula has run out. It was great and it had its day. Now they are just treading water."
Barry, who is based in New York state, has recently received poor reviews for his musical version of Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock which premiered in October at the Almeida theatre in London.
"When people think of musicals these days they think of Mary Poppins," he said. "When there is murder and deceit they are confused. But I think that's wrong. Think of West Side Story, which is very dark."
The four-times Oscar winner, born the son of a cinema-owner and a pianist, recalled his earliest memories of film. "My father had eight movie-theatres in the north of England. I remember his taking me to the Rialto in York when I was about three or four. I was taken to the back and I saw a big black and white mouse on the screen - and there was all this wonderful music and people were going crazy. I forget what I did last week but I remember this so vividly."
And I thought I was the only one who felt that contemporary film music had died. Thank you Mr. Barry for taking a stand on this issue.
Latest Casino Royale LocationsFebruary 11, 2005 - The Guardian & Fiji Live
First there was a palm-fringed beach on a Caribbean island then there were the bright lights of Monte Carlo. Now, James Bond could be taking a gamble on one of Scotland’s most controversial buildings. The £431 million Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh could be turned into a casino for the latest James Bond movie, it was claimed today.
The film Casino Royale is set to go into production this year and bosses at Eon Productions are not ruling out the home of Scotland’s politicians as a possible location. The building, designed by the late Spanish architect Enric Miralles is understood to be one of several secret locations being mooted by film chiefs, according to the Daily Record newspaper. However, Ann Bennett, director of publicity at Eon Productions, who are making the film, was staying tight lipped.
She would only say: “I can’t tell you anything. We are not even in pre-production. No locations have been chosen at all. But we wouldn’t rule anything out in Scotland.”
The paper quotes an insider at Pinewood studios, where the Bond films are made, saying the Parliament was a “stunning building” which could be turned into a casino. But a Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said today: “We haven’t had any approach by Pinewood and are not entirely convinced about turning the Parliament into a casino, but we would never say never.”
Meanwhile other locations have cropped up from the other side of the world. The Fiji islands is the first of location rumours, primarily the port capital city of Suva. Exactly what this location will be used for is anyone's guess. But as past examples of Bond films have shown it most likely will have some beautiful and shapely forms rising from it's wake.
Both Scotland and Fiji do not appear as locations in Ian Fleming's novel of the same name.
Jill St. John Has Surgery After Ski AccidentFebruary 11, 2005 - ABC News
Former James Bond girl Jill St. John fractured her hip in a skiing accident and was transferred earlier this week to a Los Angeles hospital, family spokesman Alan Nierob said Thursday.
St. John was hospitalized at Aspen Valley Hospital after the accident Saturday and then transferred Monday, Nierob said. The name of the Los Angeles hospital was not disclosed. The 64-year-old actress, whose screen credits include the 1971 classic "Diamonds Are Forever," underwent successful surgery Tuesday. She is married to actor Robert Wagner.
Get well soon, Jill.
COMMENTARY: Bond Back To BasicsFebruary 14, 2005 – Stuart Basinger
James Bond fans were heard throughout cyberspace cheering as the announcement came declaring Bond 21 to be Casino Royale. This was Ian Fleming's first OO7 novel, written in 1953 and introducing the world to a young secret agent. Pitted against the evil Le Chiffre, a French undercover paymaster of the Russian-controlled trade union in Alsace. Recently Le Chiffre carelessly appropriated funds to finance a string of brothels for his own profit. Now, he must repay his debts back to the Soviets. His target is the baccarat table at Royale-les-Eaux. The very place Bond plans to break him, and the Soviets.
Many things have happened in our world since the first printing of Casino Royale and many fans fear that the producers of this most successful movie franchise may end up botching the job. After all, Casino Royale has been produced twice before - once for the live TV drama series CLIMAX on CBS in 1954, and twice theatrically in 1967. Both versions have never given the novel its overdue respect.
One could easily be forgiven for not knowing the reasons why Casino Royale was not the first OO7 film. I could go into great detail but the simple reason is the rights were sold early to many different owners. When Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman bought the rights to the James Bond novels in 1960, both Casino Royale and Thunderball were not available. Thunderball was caught up in a court battle between producer Kevin McClory and Ian Fleming - but that's another story.
The actor/director/producer Gregory Ratoff bought the rights to Royale after surviving a potentially dangerous plane trip and swearing that the first novel he spotted in the airport gift shop would be produce by him. Ratoff bought the rights and proceeded to find a studio to film it. Unfortunately, Ratoff died a few years later and the rights were transferred from his widow to producer (and former associate to Cubby Broccoli) Charles K. Feldman.
Feldman knew he was sitting on a hot property after the success of the first four OO7 films. Unfortunately for him he was unable to convince Broccoli and Saltzman to make the film with him. Rejected by United Artist and pressured by Columbia Studios, Feldman did the unthinkable - Casino Royale became an uneven and over-budget comedy. Not only spoofing James Bond films but also making fun of the psychedelic 1960s craze as well. Years later the film eventually made its money back, but the damage was done to this classic novel.