Amazon takes control of James Bond franchise.

[GRPHX]

Since this is an Animation forum, I've never talked about this topic, but it's about time.

I have been a James Bond fan since my early adolescence, and my favorite James Bonds are, of course, Dalton and Craig from the late 80s, mid-late 90's and early 2000s. License to Kill and GoldenEye are my favorites, on the other hand, being a James Bond fan has started to become a burden and trouble.

Since the Daniel Craig era, the franchise is no longer as appealing as it used to be. I've especially hated Skyfail since the first day I watched it. The worst James Bond movie ever made and a completely anti-Bond production. When Craig's miserable and loser Bond finally died in NTTD, I was hoping for peace for the franchise and a continuation of the old campy/over the top tone, but Amazon; He has never had a positive attitude towards the franchise he inherited from Babs and Mike. Villeneuve is a terrible director choice for the series. He'll do the same gritty nonsense as the Craig era. Was this really necessary? So why did Amazon take over the franchise? Considering the constant disappointments I've had since Skyfail (Spectre was at least escapist, but the script was terrible), I won't be watching any more James Bond movies until this misery porn and gritty nonsense is completely out of the series. I'm tired of big gaps and disappointments between movies. I hope Amazon gives up on its insistence on gritty-auteur tone and Villeneuve gets fired.

Really hope they can get the script right this time!

The choice of Steven Knight is at least as bad as Villeneuve. More prestige-TV drama nonsense in the franchise? Dude, that's enough.

The selections so far point to a younger Craig-like tenure, whereas the franchise has completely lost touch with the escapist/pop-corn audience, except for A24, festival films and the cinephile audience on RottenTomatoes or Letterboxd To Gen Alpha and GenZ, Bond does not mean what it means to us Brosnan or Dalton Bond fans. That's damned up. I'm even OK with the tone of the MCU movies, which I've never liked, but I don't think Amazon will bring the next-gen refresh and lightness that's needed.

Mod Note: Double Post Merged.

 

[Daikun]

No Time to Die has been pulled from Amazon Prime.

 

[Yojimbo]

Rumor is Callum Turner is Villeneuve's "top choice" for Bond.

 

[GRPHX]

Rumor is Callum Turner is Villeneuve's "top choice" for Bond.

It's just a bad choice as much as Villeneuve can make.

 

[Daikun]

Netflix made a deal with Amazon to stream some of its James Bond titles, including No Time to Die, which they previously pulled.

 

[GRPHX]

The only good movie in them is Die Another Day. Others are gritty funeral opera.

 

[Yojimbo]

Casting for James Bond has begun with Nina Gold helping.

 

[Frontier]

Casting for James Bond has begun with Nina Gold helping.

Probably one of the biggest casting jobs to undertake at the moment .

 

[Yojimbo]

Tom Harris auditioned for Bond.

Cosmo Jarvis denies he did.

 

[Frontier]

Tom Harris auditioned for Bond.

Cosmo Jarvis denies he did.

Cosmo Jarvis is such a name .

 

[dmxx116]

Don’t cast Henry Cavill as Bond to old and no acting talent to the role. They need a actor to to Bond for at least five to six movies.

 

[Frontier]

Don’t cast Henry Cavill as Bond to old and no acting talent to the role. They need a actor to to Bond for at least five to six movies.

He's definitely got talent but I agree they should go for someone younger a fresher face.

 

[Yojimbo]

Yeah, looks like they casting early-mid 30s so Cavill is out. He probably had his fill of espionage movies already with M:I and Man from U.N.C.L.E. so I'd think he's looking at other kinds of projects to do.

 

[GRPHX]

Don’t cast Henry Cavill as Bond to old and no acting talent to the role. They need a actor to to Bond for at least five to six movies.

It sucked that we never got Cavill because of Babs' obsession with Danny. Danny should have retired with SkyFAIL.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I would've loved to see Cavill playing Bond but yeah, he's now in his early 40s, so I'd rather see him play Q in the new film instead.

 

[Yojimbo]

Amazon MGM Studios boss Mike Hopkins mentions Denis Villeneuve, Amy Pascal, David Heyman, and Steven Knight are currently writing the script.

 

[GRPHX]

Amazon MGM Studios boss Mike Hopkins mentions Denis Villeneuve, Amy Pascal, David Heyman, and Steven Knight are currently writing the script.

007: First Light was a fantastic experience. After 20 years of gloomy, elitist cinema nonsense, it felt great to get a modern Bond story that actually respected James Bond’s roots and brought back the character’s old wit, swagger, charm and sense of adventure. Patrick Gibson delivered a modern and convincing performance as Bond. I’ll be blunt about this. I was against Denis Villeneuve and Steven Knight from the beginning. I do not understand why they are insisting on these names so much. These guys do not look like they can add anything to what First Light got right. They will most likely repeat the same tiresome nonsense from the Craig era: grief, sorrow, suffering, gloom, death, destruction, trauma, legacy, identity, the fall of Britain, the death of institutions, the decay of the world, Bond suffering, Bond being broken, Bond being ashamed of himself. This creative team offers nothing new and no real vision for Bond.

EDIT: Let me say it again. I do not support any nonsense Villeneuve and Steven Knight might do with Bond 26. I was against their selection for this project from the very beginning. I believe James Bond should reinvent himself the way First Light did, by reinterpreting his core humor, over-the-top adventure, wit, swagger and escapist style with a modern approach. Unless this absurd thing called Bond 26 actually embodies those values, it is null and void to me. And I desire nothing but failure for a Bond film that does not possess those values. Even if they accidentally succeed, just like Cash-In Royale and SkyFAIL, I would never be satisfied with that success or see it as a valuable contribution to the series. Because this is absolutely not the direction where James Bond needs to succeed.

Mod Note: Double post merged. Please edit rather than post twice in a row.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

This may surprise you but the franchise could've been under Disney as Bob Iger revealed in a recent interview that he attempted to acquire the franchise (and presumably Eon Productions) but to no avail.

Disney Failed to Buy James Bond Franchise, Walked Away From Owning Twitter Hours Before the Deal Closed and Held Apple Merger Talks

Disney failed to buy the James Bond franchise and walked away from purchasing Twitter just hours before a deal was expected to close.

variety.com

 

[Frontier]

This may surprise you but the franchise could've been under Disney as Bob Iger revealed in a recent interview that he attempted to acquire the franchise (and presumably Eon Productions) but to no avail.

Disney Failed to Buy James Bond Franchise, Walked Away From Owning Twitter Hours Before the Deal Closed and Held Apple Merger Talks

Disney failed to buy the James Bond franchise and walked away from purchasing Twitter just hours before a deal was expected to close.

variety.com

Disney definitely has enough franchises...

 

[Yojimbo]

Reportedly next round of auditions will be in August with at least 5-7 actors.