Category: James Bond

Daniel Craig to become longest serving James Bond?

Daniel Craig is set to be offered a multi-million pound deal to become the longest serving James Bond of all time.

According to The People, Bond producer Michael G Wilson wants Craig, who has played the spy since 2006’s Casino Royale, to sign up for five more 007 flicks.

With Craig currently working with director Sam Mendes on Skyfall, his third outing in the role, the deal would see him make eight Bond movies in total – one more than Roger Moore, who played the character seven times over 12 years.

Wilson said: It’s certainly something we’ll be discussing with him once we finish shooting Skyfall. Filming has gone very well and I’d love Daniel to surpass Roger’s record and do eight pictures.

He went on to add: “There’s really no one more passionate about making these films work than him – he’s a film maker’s dream. A lot of people have said Daniel’s been their favourite Bond since Sean Connery and I can’t argue with them. He’s doing a great job.”

The People also claims that although Wilson declined to reveal any financial details, it is believed that any deal Craig signs will see him pocket more than the £8 million he is expected to receive for Skyfall.

Earlier this month, Craig revealed that he had been forced to help finish the script for the Bond film Quantum Of Solace when the Writer’s Guild Of America strike of 2007/8 crippled Hollywood.

Producers: New James Bond film titled “Skyfall”

LONDON (AP) — Screen spy James Bond is returning next year with a new movie called “Skyfall” and a star-studded cast, producers said Thursday.

Daniel Craig returns as the suave secret agent for a third time in the film, to be directed by Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”).

Spanish star Javier Bardem will also join the cast for 007’s 23rd screen adventure as Bond’s foe, producers said.

“There’s lots of surprises,” Mendes told reporters, as he confirmed filming will begin Thursday and will take place in London’s Whitehall, and on location in Scotland, Istanbul and Shanghai.
English actress Naomi Harris plays a field agent called Eve, Judi Dench reprises her role as spy chief M, while French actress Berenice Marlohe also joins the cast.

Bond’s future was thrown into doubt when studio MGM filed for bankruptcy in 2010. But its new management and Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced earlier this year that the spy would live to fight another day.

The movie is due to be released a year from now, four years after Bond’s last adventure, “Quantum of Solace.”

Ex-‘Bond’ bashes Connery, Craig

Roger Moore has taken aim at fellow James Bonds Sean Connery and Daniel Craig in a new interview.

The British actor, who portrayed 007 in seven films between 1973 and 1985, admits he hasn’t always been a fan of the spy franchise.

He tells Varsity he thought the latest Bond film, Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace, was “a long, disjointed commercial” and he pokes fun at his predecessor, Scottish star Connery.

Moore says, “Sean is a great actor. It’s a pity I can’t understand what he’s saying.”

Javier Bardem confirmed as new James Bond villain

Javier Bardem won an Oscar for portraying “No Country for Old Men” super-baddie Anton Chigurh. It looks like Bardem will return to his villainous roots in the new James Bond movie.

Bardem has confirmed that he will be going toe to manly toe with Daniel Craig in the upcoming Sam Mendes helmed James Bond sequel.

The ever stoic Bardem only needed a few words to confirm his involvement on “Nightline,” simply revealing that “they chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.”

Even that brief snippet is frightening and intimidating. Bardem’s involvement in the 23rd Bond flick marks the second time an actor with an Oscar on the shelf has portrayed a Bond villain. The first? Christopher Walken as Max Zorin in the 1985 Roger Moore Bond flick “A View to Kill.”

Details on the new Bond movie are sparse, however Sony has recently been snapping up domain names featuring the word “Skyfall.”

007 remains spy who loved Sony in deal with MGM
LOS ANGELES ñ James Bond is staying put with the studio that distributed his last two big-screen adventures.
Sony Pictures has signed a deal with MGM to co-finance and distribute the 23rd film in the super-spy franchise, due in theaters Nov. 9, 2012. Daniel Craig will be back for the third time as British agent Bond.
In an announcement Wednesday, the studios said they hope to partner up for a 24th Bond film, as well.
Sony Corp. had been a part owner of MGM and distributed Craig’s earlier Bond flicks, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace.” But the Bond franchise had been on hold until MGM worked out financial problems and emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership.
Sony will handle worldwide distribution for Bond, except for some overseas markets MGM will oversee directly.

New Superman was almost a 007
Henry Cavill missed out on a leading role in Zack Snyder’s 300 epic because he was fighting to become the new 007.
The British star has revealed he had to turn Snyder’s project down because he was in contention to play Bond with the man who landed the spy role, Daniel Craig.
He tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, “I came very close. The choice was between a younger Bond and a Bond closer to his 30s, which is to say, Daniel Craig.”
But now he’s working with Snyder on the new Superman movie, seven years after he first planned to play the Man of Steel.
He tells the publication he was up for the superhero part when McG was onboard to direct in 2004.
Cavill says, “It was wonderful to have a second stab at a job – and as a wiser, older, more experienced actor.”

Sony finalizing distribution and co-financing deal with MGM, including next two ‘Bond’ films
Newly relaunched Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is finalizing a deal for Sony Pictures to handle worldwide distribution of its movies and DVDs and for the two studios to co-finance upcoming films, according to people familiar with the situation.
As part of the arrangement under discussion, Sony would fund half of MGM’s next James Bond movie, which is planned for release Nov. 9, 2012, and 25% of a potential follow-up. Sony co-financed and released MGM’s last two Bond movies, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace,” making it a logical home for Hollywood’s longest-running franchise.
Sony would also release all future films made by MGM and the studio’s already completed movies “Red Dawn” and “Cabin in the Woods,” as well as handle sales of its 4,000-title library on DVD and digital platforms.
Though talks are far along, people close to the discussions cautioned that there are a number of complex terms still to be hammered out and that it’s not certain a deal will be completed. MGM has talked to several other studios, including Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., but Sony has been more aggressive in negotiations, the people said.
Since MGM emerged from bankruptcy in December and secured a $500-million credit facility, one of the top priorities for its new chief executives, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, has been landing a distribution partner. The CEOs have laid off staff and opted not to release and market movies with the studio’s reduced resources. MGM, which stopped developing and producing movies because of its financial woes, does not have its own slate ready to be made.
As a result, Barber and Birnbaum have been seeking an overall deal with a partner that includes not only distribution but also an opportunity to co-finance movies already in the works. MGM will probably not have any movies ready for release until late 2012.
MGM is hoping to co-finance several Sony movies that are already in or headed to production. One under discussion is director David Fincher’s remake of the Swedish hit “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” MGM executives also wanted to invest in Sony’s 2012 reboot of “Spider-Man,” one person familiar with the situation said, but were rebuffed.
Sony, however, has agreed to accept a low distribution fee of about 8% to secure the agreement with MGM, according to a person close to the matter. An 8% distribution fee is on the low end for the industry, where typically the range is 8% to 12%.
Sony previously distributed MGM’s DVD library after it acquired a stake in the studio when it was sold to a consortium of investors in 2005. However, a year later it lost control of the library to Fox after MGM management was disappointed by the sales of its titles, which include such classics as “Dr. Zhivago” and “Rocky.”
Fox’s deal to distribute the MGM library worldwide expires in September.
Last month, MGM made a separate deal with Warner Bros. to fully finance and release two movies based on “The Hobbit,” for which MGM owns half the rights.
Spokespeople for MGM and Sony declined to comment.

Ralph Fiennes Circling Bond 23
After his turn in the “Harry Potter” films, there’s no question Ralph Fiennes can do bad better than any actor out there.
So it’s no wonder that director Sam Mendes reportedly wants “The Constant Gardener” star to bring the same villainous intensity to the next James Bond film.
An executive close to the production of Bond 23 tells the Daily Mail that Mendes wants Fiennes to play a “darkly complex role.”
A spokesperson for MGM, which is producing the film, declined to comment and a spokesperson for Fiennes did not immediately return TheWrap’s calls.
It is also reportedly a different part than the villain role Javier Bardem is currently being approached to play, making this perhaps the most star-studded 007 outing ever.
“I was told Fiennes was approached because ëthe part is one of extreme complexity and only an actor of great ability and dexterity can take it on ó and Ralphís name is top of our list,” the executive told the Mail.
What makes the potential casting of Fiennes ironic is that more than a decade and a slightly less receding hairline ago, the English actor was shortlisted as a possible replacement Bond for outgoing Timothy Dalton — a part that eventually went to Pierce Brosnan.
With Daniel Craig back on board as 007, Bond 23 go into production later this year and premiere Nov. 9, 2012.

Javier Bardem Wanted For Bond 23
Javier Bardem is a popular man right now. Heís already in the mix as a possible Roland Deschain for Ron Howardís ambitious take on The Dark Tower, and now it appears that the EON team are eager for him to take a hefty role in the 23rd Bond film alongside Daniel Craig.
Deadline reports that MGM and regular Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are looking to snag Bardem as the likely second male lead of the movie. And while we could definitely see him playing a villainous type in the high echelons of the Quantum organisation, thereís no confirmation yet on what the part might actually be ñ for all anyone outside of EON knows, he could be another intelligence type who helps Bond out, or another, more mysterious player in the world of 007. If we had our choice, though, weíd put him as a formidable challenge to Daniel Craigís hero.
Ever since MGM finally got things sorted out and set a November 9, 2012 release date, the pieces of the new Bond have started to slowly draw together Sam Mendes is still attached to direct the script from Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan and Judi Dench confirmed last week that sheíll return as M. Despite the longer break between this film and the last one the story apparently picks up almost immediately after the events of Quantum of Solace.
If the idea appeals to you, donít get your hopes up too quickly ñ Bardem has turned big roles down before and, as, mentioned, heís a man with plenty of choices. Plus thereís a certain infant (the child he just had with Penelope Cruz) who has a high-profile role for him: Dad.