comment #1

Pertwillaby says ...

I liked the film, but the series need serious changes. First of all: get rid of the screenwriters. Purvis, Wade and Haggis, they need to go, all of them. Purvis and Wade have written 4 Bond movies so far, from these only Casino Royale was really good. Why should Haggis go too? He wanted Vespers lost child in the movie. Luckily, Broccoli and Forster rejected the idea. Second: get a new composer. David Arnld was good, but never more. We need a breath of fresh air in the Bond-music department.Last but not least: hire an acclaimed director, who loves(!) Bond. Chris Nolan or Danny Boyle would be a great choice. If they are really Bond fans, I think they wwould be happy to accept the job. ;)

comment #2

bfm says ...

Martin Campbell, who directed both Goldeneye and Casino Royale, is also a New Zealander.

comment #3

JaySmire says ...

Tarentino wanted to do a complete Bond re-invention, set back in the 60's. I would still love to see that some day. Why didn't this happen? Broccoli. Some day. Oh, some day the Broccoli's will be out of the picture and then maybe we'll get somewhere with Bond.

Still can't wait to see the new one this weekend.

comment #4

K. Bowen says ...

I enjoyed it as an action film. That explanation about cutting the Kurylenko scenes actually would be good news, I would think, in the sense that it would mean the powers that be wanted acting but didn't get it, menaing it's not a calculated change of direction. The big advantage that Bond has over Bourne is the acting. I was wondering why there wasn't as much of it in this one, compared to Casino Royale.

I know there were rumors floating around one Bond board of an earlier screening that ran just short of two hours. But that report was met with skepticism.

Boyle would be interesting. Maybe Mira Nair.

comment #5

p.Vice says ...

Hm, a Marc Forster movie with a lot of scenes that don't work? The films of his I've suffered through have all been dramatically choppy and inconsistent so that little tidbit sounds right on the money. What a disastrous choice.

I also seem to remember him at one point talking about wanting this one to be funnier and lighter than the last... wonder what happened to that idea.

If we're talking British directors, my vote goes to Peter Greenaway. His would be a Bond film worth getting excited about.

comment #6

Geoff says ...

I hope I enjoy Bond tomorrow night.

So far Martin Campbell seems like a hero for making a really good Bond film

comment #7

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

Roger Spottiswoode, a Canadian -- and by extension, also a Commonwealther -- helmed one of the Brosnan Bond pictures, too.

The British Commonwealth helped establish the cultural meme that any new nation has to get a huge number of its people killed on a battlefield, *ANY* battlefield, to pay its dues; sort of a "hazing ritual," as in, "sacrifice your best and brightest and toughest fighting some OTHER nation's war, or you can't be in the club..."

comment #8

LexG says ...

The "hire a name director!" argument comes up every couple years, and as always I have to say that the Bond franchise is not, and has never been, director based. BOND is the star of the show, not some "auteur" director. At that point it because a Spielberg movie or a Tarantino movie or a Nolan movie or a Boyle movie and has to be considered within their ouevre, which distracts from the matter of it being a BOND FILM.

Bond is one of the rare times in film where film-by-committee has always kind of worked, and the direction has been stable, colorful, but not too flamboyant; Lewis Gilbert, Terrence Young, Peter Hunt and Guy Hamilton directed the best Bond movies-- NOT their contemporaries Boorman, Kubrick, Leigh, Polanski, etc.

Whoever said MIRA NAIR, I sinceeeeeerely hope that was a joke. Jesus.

comment #9

Edward says ...

A Greenaway Bond? R-Rated at least. That would be different.

comment #10

source188 says ...

Danny Boyle MUST direct a Bond pic, and Alfonso Cuaron. I agree about David Arnold....how about Clint Mansell John Murphy? David Julyan? or Desplat doing the score.

comment #11

Chase Kahn says ...

I don't see Clint Mansell as a Bond composer...he's amazing, but he composes beautiful, long, center-of-attention pieces...a Bond movie needs a DARK KNIGHT like pounding/soaring/loud score. James Newton Howard might actually be a good choice.

The score to THE FOUNTAIN was criminally overlooked...

comment #12

Nick Rogers says ...

Chase: Watch "Sahara" and realize that Mansell could totally pull off a Bond score. The trumpet part alone sounded exactly like vintage Bond.

comment #13

Sonic Boom says ...

Nolan has said that he's a huge Bond fan so he'd be a great choice, as would Boyle. My ideal director would have to be Cuaron.

comment #14

Chase Kahn says ...

Haven't seen Sahara -- actually didn't realize he did that score -- I suppose I was thinking more Kronos Quartet/Mansell score...

comment #15

TVMCCA says ...

p.vice wrote:
If we're talking British directors, my vote goes to Peter Greenaway. His would be a Bond film worth getting excited about.

Ken Russell? Certainly BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN was watchable enough.

comment #16

Dan Revill says ...

Just got back from QoS. It was pretty enjoyable, although initially I thought it started off a little shaky after the whole car chase. The character stuff was pretty good though once Forster found his rhythm. That being said, it's not Casino Royale, but it is a lot of fun. I'm not sure if I'll see it again in theaters, but I'd definitely purchase it on BD.

As for other directors that I'd like to see tackle it, well, Cuaron would certainly be an interesting choice...Boyle I'm not sold on mind you. I'm a sucker for anything Aronofsky, so I'd love to see that. How about Scorsese? I'm sure he doesn't have any interest, but it'd certainly be different (at least one hopes it would be). Imagine, he could really get into Bond's troubled past. Schrader should write the script.

comment #17

otownroger says ...

Wells' question re: running time is a good one. There isn't much chemistry between Craig and Kurylenko. Was more of that cut? Good. I GREATLY appreciated the shorter running time, considered the last half hour of Casino Royale a washout, and certainly think this one had the better villain and better (save for Casino's opening parkour chase) action beats.

comment #18

Rich S. says ...

Greenaway? p.Vice is certifiably insane.

I love it.

comment #19

actionman says ...

Actually, as much as I hate to say it, p.Vice is slightly on to something. Greenaway would certainly bring a decidely cerebral touch to Bond and it'd probably be a brainer entry. But he wouldn't know what to do with the action scenes.

Bring on Ridley or Tony; it's a crime that one of them hasn't been given the keys to this franchise at least once. Danny Boyle would also be a great choice.

Here are some other ideas: the Coen brothers, Tom Tykwer, Demme, Florent Siri (anyone around these parts seen The Nest? Hostage was cliched but had some great action/cinematography), Roger Donaldson, Louis Letterier, maybe Doug Liman.

Of course, the long-ago rumored notions of Scorsese, Tarantino, or Woody Allen would all have made for interesting Bond flicks.

comment #20

Nick Rogers says ...

actionman: They could let Siri run the second-unit stuff. And the Coen Brothers? Come on.

comment #21

actionman says ...

Yeah, the Coen brothers. Granted, they've never done large scale action, but neither had many other Bond directors before they got involved with the franchise. The Coens would bring a different edge and you know it'd look unbelievable; imagine Deakins shooting a Bond flick!

Siri brought an exacting action-movie technique to The Nest. I don't know...I think he'd do a good job.

comment #22

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Between extended action sequences in No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy, and the entirety of Miller's Crossing, I'm not sure what makes you think the Coens can't shoot action.

I'm not sure what the hell "large-scale" means, though. Does that involve hiring a pyrotechnic supervisor to supervise one of dem big 'splosions u love to watch?

As long as they stay away from that Great White guy, they should be good to go.

comment #23

actionman says ...

Sorry, but who is the "Great White Guy?"

The action scenes in NCFOM, Raising Arizona, Hudsucker (was there really any action scenes cause I don't remember any...), and Millers were more thriller-action oriented than out-right large-scale action.

Large-scale action means, to me, boat chases, car chases, massive explosions, shoot-outs, air plane chases...I think you get the point. The Coens have never done any of that. And I never said that they couldn't or wouldn't execute those types of sequences in a great, stylish way. Just saying that they've never done that kind of stuff before.

Bond films require a director who knows his way around blowing shit up and staging thrilling scenes of action and adventure. That's a key part to these films. Marc Forster is not someone I would initially think as an immediate choice for directing duties on a Bond pic. I will find out on Sunday how well he did.

And honestly, who doesn't love watching "big 'splosions" on the big screen?

comment #24

actionman says ...

Also, and it'd be a first and a major change for the Bond franchise, but why not Kathryn Bigelow? She'd be great. No?

comment #25

DavidF says ...

I stlll haven't seen QoS but it sounds like Ebert nails the problems: Too much trying to be REAL, not enough fun...
(As always with Ebert, a great read)

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081111/REVIEWS/811129989

comment #26

Nick Rogers says ...

actionman: CitizenKaned means the guy who handled Great White's pyrotechnics in the bar that got torched.

comment #27

actionman says ...

Sorry...maybe I am slow...I still don't get the reference.

comment #28

Nick Rogers says ...

actionman: Here you go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire

comment #29

actionman says ...

Thanks, Nick. Now it makes sense.

Though I don't see the humor in Kaned's original post.

comment #30

frankbooth says ...

A Coen Bond film would look something like the Jackie Treehorn scenes in Lebowski.

comment #31

frankbooth says ...

...minus the fat old hippie, of course.

See what I mean?

http://cuboidal.org/lebowski-treehorn/

comment #32

bmcintire says ...

Finke is now projecting a $70M weekend for QUANTUM OF SOLACE:

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/wow-new-bond-could-do-25m-today-is-70m-debut-weekend-possible/

comment #33

/3rtfu11 says ...

QoS is far more entertaining than CR -- CR is the better photographed of the two.

comment #34

Jay T. says ...

Of the last 6 Bond films I think most will agree that the best two were GoldenEye and Casino Royale -- both directed by Martin Campbell. So I'd be perfectly happy having him direct another, although I'd love to see what Christopher Nolan could do.

comment #35

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

It wasn't meant to be humorous, actionman. Explosions are a serious business and hiring the wrong people to supervise them can lead to serious consequences. That's all I was implying. Sorry if it came out as a D.Z.-ish non-sequiter up there.

I still think you're wrong about the Coens not directing action, btw. The car chase in Raising Arizona? What about the motorcycle sequences? There is plenty of large-scale action in Hudsucker, just not the violent variety you seem to prefer. And as I stated, Miller's Crossing is filled with gunplay, hell, there is an operatic sequence set entirely to music without any dialogue. Right up your alley.

I'm a little surprised you continued to argue with me over films you don't remember (at best), or haven't even bothered to see in the first place(as I suspect).

comment #36

Jay T. says ...

The Coens did a great job with the action/suspense scenes in No Country -- they know as well as anyone when to cut away and when not to.

comment #37

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