Sam Mendes to Direct Bond 23?

By our guest blogger, Ben McCarthy

There has been lots of speculation about the future of the James Bond franchise of the past couple of days, especially with the sale of MGM studios. But this hasn't stopped the producers from starting pre-production on the next Bond any time soon. The producers are currently talking to Sam Mendes for him to direct the 23rd entry in the long lasting James Bond franchising.

Currently, Mendes is in negotiations with the Bond producers to helm the next Bond film. The producers--Michael G. Wilson and Barbra Broccolli--are fast-tracking the production as early as June for a 2011 release. The film is being written by regular Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, along with “The Last King Of Scotland” scribe Peter Morgan.  Daniel Craig will reprise the role of 007. With the sale of MGM pending, this is what the film’s producer, Michael G. Wilson, said a couple of days ago on the MI6 Web site:

“Our timeline's a little up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible. We just don't know enough about the situation to comment, but we know it's uncertain.”

It’s good to see they are trying to progress with the film’s development during this difficult time at MGM. If Mendes does take the job, it will be a far cry from his previous work, which includes "American Beauty," “Road To Perdition,” “Jarhead,” “Revolutionary Road” and “Away We Go.” This will be Mendes’ first action film--if you don’t count “Road to Perdition” and “Jarhead," each of which mostly was a drama. All in all, he is a very interesting choice, much like Michael Aptad was for “The World Is Not Enough” and Marc Foster for “Quantum Of Solace."  In them, the producers got an actor’s director to take control of a Bond film--and to turn them into a moody and realistic Bond adventure.

So, should he get the job, let's hope the best for Sam Mendes, who is a perfectly capable director. With a good script that isn't designed only to offer action, this could be a fantastic James Bond adventure. And you never know, given that she's Mendes' wife, Kate Winslet might be the next Bond girl.

Source.