Latest news with #Broccoli
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Matthew Goode's 'dark pitch' ruined his Bond chances
Matthew Goode's 'really dark' pitch got him dropped from James Bond auditions. Before Daniel Craig was cast as the suave spy in 2006's 'Casino Royale', a host of actors including Henry Cavill, Rupert Friend and Sam Worthington were tipped for the part and Goode, 47, has admitted he didn't even get an audition after his meeting with franchise producer Barbara Broccoli went terribly wrong. Speaking on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, Matthew shared: 'I didn't audition. I went in and met Barbara [Broccoli]. It was quite a funny one because - and she's gorgeous and just a lovely, lovely person - she was like, 'So what's your idea for Bond?' And I was like, 'My idea for Bond. We've gotta take it back to the books, you know? Really, we absolutely have to make this guy an alcoholic, a drug addict. He hates himself. He hates women. He hates a lot of people. He's in deep pain. He's brilliant at killing people.' 'I think by the end of the interview, she was like, 'Mhmm. Next.' I wanted to make it really dark, but what I should have said was, 'But also incredibly charming.'' Meanwhile, Broccoli and co-producer Michael G. Wilson sold the creative rights to the Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios earlier this year. Denis Villeneuve has been announced as the director of the next movie but a successor to Craig has yet to be appointed.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Dynamic director Denis Villeneuve can breathe new life into flagging James Bond franchise
Yesterday morning, the blockbuster auteur behind the Dune films and Arrival was announced as the director of the 26th Bond film, which remains − for now − untitled and un-cast. These two further puzzle pieces will doubtless slot into place soon enough, though Villeneuve's appointment offers a tantalising glimpse of what the future direction of 007 under his new owners at Amazon might be, as well as granting the tech giant's handling of the franchise a much-needed PR boost. After Amazon's acquisition of Bond cost them $9.5bn (€8bn) and a creative falling out with Barbara Broccoli's Eon Productions – the keepers of the Bond flame since the Sean Connery years – the stakes have never felt higher for appointing the right director. Securing Villeneuve hushes complaints from every direction imaginable – this is a director whose work has screened at Venice and Cannes, is a four-time Oscar and five-time Bafta nominee and has taken almost $2bn at the global box office. His two Dune films alone grossed just over $1.1bn, despite the first being semi-nobbled by Covid. It's also a move that Broccoli herself could have never taken issue with, since she tried to do the same around 10 years ago during the search for a director for No Time to Die, the last instalment in the Daniel Craig run. Villeneuve is known to be bloody-minded when tangling with executives Back then, Villeneuve recused himself as he was busy with the first instalment of Dune − and indeed he's currently consumed with part three, Dune: Messiah, which is expected to shoot later this summer then land in cinemas by the end of next year. This means that even with a Ridley Scott-like work ethic, we won't be seeing Villeneuve's Bond until the summer of 2027 at the earliest. Yet Broccoli's smartest directorial hirings were always journeymen rather than visionaries – think Martin Campbell of GoldenEye and Casino Royale and Sam Mendes of Skyfall and Spectre. These were filmmakers who would bend to Bond's will, rather than vice versa. Villeneuve is quite a different kettle of fish and known to be bloody-minded when tangling with executives on stylistic matters. The first major scenes he shot for Dune: Part Two were nightmarish monochrome infrared sequences, which led to frantic calls from studio heads who wanted to 'put the colours back in' in the edit. Because Villeneuve had shot them on infrared cameras, this was impossible. Nor is he the type to take a gun-for-hire approach when working on an established movie brand. The last – and only – time he hopped into a franchise mid-stream was Blade Runner 2049, a film whose cold visual magnificence, dreamlike texture and tone of mounting existential disquiet was wholly in keep- ing with his earlier, self-authored work. And that suggests his take on 007 is unlikely to appease the sizeable Make Bond Fun Again cohort − if Timothee Chalamet's Paul Atreides and Ryan Gosling's Nexus-9 replicant K are anything to go by, his 007 will be a pre-institutionalised pretty boy who bridles at the system that dispassionately puts him to use. You could say the same, in fact, of Emily Blunt's FBI agent Kate Macer from his chokingly tense 2015 cartel thriller Sicario − presumably the film that offers the most clues as to how a Villeneuve Bond might look and move. Meticulously staged, strikingly shot action scenes are a given, as well as a commitment to realism, or at least plausibility: in other words, no invisible cars or tsunami kite-surfing ahead. Even the Dune films, with their bizarre technology, costumes and rituals, presented all of that spectacularly designed strangeness without explanations or excuses. The result may be the strangest Bond film ever made I remember Villeneuve once telling me that in order to make Dune's spacecraft feel truly cinematic, he had to force himself to shoot them as if they were ordinary cars, using atmospheric effects like mist, rain and dust to force the audience to crane in, rather than flaunt them like crisp 4K tech demos. All of the above suggests that Bond 26 will be a film that doesn't fall over itself to make the world love it – which, at this make-or-break juncture, is exactly what the franchise needs. Amazon will have surely made this decision with one eye on their tepid and muddled Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power – without strong direction, prestigious acquisitions can become corporate humiliations fast. After the Broccoli rift, 007 had to be taken firmly in hand, and the hiring of Villeneuve represents a stern summons to Whitehall for a rigorous briefing. True, the result may be the strangest Bond film ever made, but if the alternative was to be 12 hours of Blofeld: Origins on Prime, we should all be glad of it.
Evening Standard
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Denis Villeneuve to direct next James Bond film in major franchise shake-up
Wilson and Broccoli had produced the franchise since the death of Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli. The official film franchise had been controlled by members of the Broccoli family, either single-handedly or in partnership with others, since the first 007 movie Dr No in 1962.
Evening Standard
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Denis Villeneuve to direct new James Bond film
Under the terms of the agreement, the Broccoli family, long the force behind the Bond films, agreed to co-own the intellectual property and granted Amazon the ability to move forward without their creative approval.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Man denies breaching restraining order by contacting ex-007 producer
A man has denied 11 counts of breaching a restraining order by contacting former James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli. Daniel Wilson was prohibited from contacting Ms Broccoli, 64, by an order put in place at Isleworth Crown Court on July 3 2017. Ms Broccoli, 64, and her half-brother Michael G Wilson, 83, produced the James Bond franchise after the death of her father Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli in 1996 until February this year. Amazon MGM Studios gained creative control of the franchise in March this year. It is alleged that Mr Wilson, 36, from Lambeth, south London, acted in breach of the restraining order by attempting to contact Ms Broccoli 'without reasonable excuse' on 11 dates between April 2022 and April last year. Mr Wilson appeared on video link and pleaded not guilty to each charge at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. The court heard Mr Wilson, who wore glasses and a patterned jacket during the hearing, is currently in hospital. Bail conditions had been put in place at an earlier hearing and Judge Sally-Ann Hales KC ordered that they would continue. She told Mr Wilson he could not 'be in possession of any device that can access the internet' or contact Ms Broccoli directly or indirectly. He must also live and sleep each night in a location directed by the NHS, she said. His trial was set for July 19 2027, and Judge Hales added: 'I'm afraid that is the earliest date that the court can accommodate.' She granted that Ms Broccoli can give evidence behind screens 'given the nature of the allegations'. Mr Wilson is charged with acting in breach of the restraining order on April 1 and 19, May 19 and 25, June 30 and July 6 in 2022. He is also accused of doing so on March 10, April 12, 17, 20 and 22 in 2024. The 007 franchise had been controlled by members of the Broccoli family, either single-handedly or in partnership with others, since the first Bond film Dr No in 1962. Ms Broccoli and her half-brother produced the past nine Bond films, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Spectre and No Time to Die. They have been made CBEs and won the outstanding British film Bafta for 2012's Skyfall along with director Sir Sam Mendes. Amazon gained creative control of the British spy franchise following a deal which saw Eon Productions, run by Mr Wilson and Ms Broccoli, become co-owners with Amazon MGM Studios. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
