Christopher Nolan: "I'd love to direct a Bond film"

Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-nominated director behind Memento, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and long known to be a James Bond fan, has told BBC News that he’s keen to helm a 007 film in the future.

“I’ve loved the Bond films since I was a kid. For me, they’re always about the expansiveness of cinema.” – Christopher Nolan

Nolan’s latest film, Inception, is currently in cinemas, and it’s heavily influenced by 007, the director says. “The Bond influence on [Inception] was very intentional because, for me, growing up with the Bond films – they’ve always stood for grand-scale action.”

“[The Bond films have always] stood for the promise of being taken to some place bigger than you could have imagined. In dealing with the human mind and dreams, my mind naturally gravitates towards the Bond films as that sort of expression of cinematic potential. By the end of the film you feel that Inception could go anywhere and do anything.”

Deadline relays more from the BBC, in which Nolan reveals his desire to helm a James Bond film. “I’ve loved the Bond films since I was a kid. For me, they’re always about the expansiveness of cinema. The first Bond films set up infinite possibilities about the world they create. I’d love to do a Bond film.”

In particular, Nolan has cited On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – his favourite Bond film – as an influence on Inception.

Bond fans excited by the prospect of Nolan helming a Bond pic shouldn’t hold their breath, though. The director is next expected to tackle a third Batman film, reportedly due for release in July 2012. He has also been linked to a new Superman film.

Sam Mendes remains committed to directing the 23rd James Bond film, even though its development is currently suspended.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.

Charlie Higson in discussions over Young Bond's future

What does the future hold for Young Bond? James Bond fans may be one step closer to finding out today after Charlie Higson revealed via Twitter that he is meeting to discuss a number of his properties, including Young Bond, The Enemy and Monstroso.

Various meetings today to discuss the future of Young Bond, the Enemy, Monstroso & 1 with an academic to discuss the past -Randall & Hopkirk
– monstroso

The Dead, Charlie Higson’s sequel to The Enemy, will be published in September 2010. The book is the second in a proposed trilogy.

In May, Charlie Higson raised the possibility of a new trilogy of books set during James Bond’s Fettes years.

You can follow Charlie Higson on Twitter at @monstroso.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest Young Bond news.

Discuss this Young Bond news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world.

SilverFin – Literary 007 Coverage

Blood Fever – Literary 007 Coverage

Double or Die – Literary 007 Coverage

Hurricane Gold – Literary 007 Coverage

By Royal Command – Literary 007 Coverage

The Charlie Higson CBn Interview

The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II

CBn Reviews Young Bond #1: SilverFin

CBn Reviews Young Bond #2: Blood Fever

CBn Reviews Young Bond #3: Double Or Die

CBn Reviews Young Bond #4: Hurricane Gold

CBn Reviews SilverFin: The Graphic Novel

Bond 23 tabloid reports false, claim trade press

Last week’s report in the Daily Mirror claiming production staff on the 23rd James Bond film were told the film was “canned” prompted tabloid press around the world to forecast the death of the cinematic 007. This claim has now been discounted by several trade publications.

According to the Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Business blog, nothing has changed since Eon Productions’ April announcement that Bond 23 is “delayed indefinitely”.

Deadline is making similar sounds. According to the site’s source, “There is no new news. Development will resume once MGM is viable again, as Danjaq can’t go anywhere without them. So all bets are off. No idea when this will get resolved.”

Deadline claims both Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes remain committed to the next James Bond film.

Rumour site Gossip Cop also claims the report was false. According to sources apparently close to Daniel Craig, “The situation remains exactly the same as for the last many months. The filmmakers formally announced then that the current production of Bond 23 was being postponed due to the issues relating to the sale of MGM. Nothing has changed and production is only postponed, not cancelled.”

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.

Tabloid report: Bond 23 production "canned"

Reports that the 23rd James Bond film is in development purgatory have flared up again in the UK press this week after the Daily Mirror ran a story claiming the film’s production staff have been notified its development is suspended.

Eon Productions announced in April that Bond 23 had been “delayed indefinitely” thanks to MGM’s ongoing financial woes.

This week, the Daily Mirror quoted an alleged insider on the production who told the paper, “Members of the production crew have been told the Bond film has been canned. There is a lot of bad feeling as a lot of time, money and hard work has already gone into this.”

An Eon spokesperson told the paper, “We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage.”

Last June, it was reported that director Sam Mendes – whose involvement in Bond 23 has not been officially announced – remains committed to helming the next 007 picture.

The report has prompted other media outlets – including guardian.co.uk – to speculate over the future of the Bond film franchise. Given the unreliability of British tabloids, the Daily Mirror’s report ought to be taken with a grain of salt.

However, it remains clear that the uncertainty over MGM’s future is continuing keep Bond 23 from moving ahead. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio is set to seek a sixth extension on its debt and interest payments. The studio is expected to formally request the extension this week.

The trade paper reports that the studio is being pressured to sell its share of the rights to The Hobbit films. Studio executives are keen to retain the rights, but some lenders are pushing for them to be sold in a bid to raise capital.

The top bid for MGM – Warner Bros. with $1.5 billion – was rejected as being too low, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, the offer still stands.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.

Jeffery Deaver to deliver Project X manuscript by 30 October

An update on the United Agents blog – the literary agent for the Ian Fleming Estate – alerts James Bond fans to the news that the manuscript for Jeffery Deaver’s Project X will be delivered by 30 October.

Jeffery Deaver

Deaver, currently on tour in the United Kingdom, is in the process of outlining the novel, the first in a contemporary re-imagining of the literary 007.

The blog post also reveals that Project X has landed its first foreign publication deal, with Dutch publisher Unieboek. It’s anticipated the book will be published in over 30 countries following its release next May.

Offers are already coming in from publishers in Germany, France, Spain, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Korea.

Project X – working title only – will be published on 28 May 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest literary James Bond news.

Visit CommanderBond.net on…
Twitter | Facebook | MySpace

007 Stage fire court case continues

A brief update from the Telegraph today on the fire that destroyed Pinewood Studios’ world-famous 007 Stage in July 2006.

The ‘007 Stage’ ablaze at Pinewood Studios

The blaze was allegedly caused by oxyacetylene torches used to dismantle water tanks used during the filming of Casino Royale‘s Venice-set finale. The stage burnt down shortly after shooting of the movie wrapped.

The fire has resulted in an ongoing legal battle between Pinewood Studios and Casino Royale Productions. Pinewood claims the fire caused over £8 million worth of damage.

Defence court papers obtained by the Telegraph state, “It is denied that this work was actually carried out by Casino Royale [Productions]. Casino Royale had engaged First Imperial Services to dismantle the set … First Imperial had subcontracted the dismantling … to J Male & Son, who had in turn subcontracted the work to Downton Structures. It was Downton that was actually carrying out the cutting work.”

As a result of the blaze, the stage was completely demolished in August 2006 and rebuilt in 2007 in time for production to begin on Quantum of Solace.

The court case continues.

The 007 Stage previously burnt down in 1984 during filming of Ridley Scott’s Legend. The stage was rebuilt by January 1985, just in time for shooting to commence on A View to a Kill. The stage was renamed the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage in honour of the James Bond producer’s contribution to Pinewood Studios and the British film industry as a whole.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.

Activision reveals reasoning behind GoldenEye's Nintendo exclusivity

While reaction to last week’s E3 announcement of Activision’s GoldenEye remake has been mostly positive, one of the few thumbs-down given to the James Bond revival is its exclusivity to Nintendo’s Wii and DS platforms.

GoldenEye on Nintendo Wii

It didn’t taken long for VideoGamer.com to take the question to Brian Pass, one of Activision’s senior producers.

“There are a number of different reasons,” Pass explained. “One’s we have a partnership with Nintendo. It’s a great opportunity. This game was originally on the N64, so there’s the nostalgia factor for people that are Nintendo fans. So we wanted to partner with Nintendo for this.”

Pass continued, “The opportunity on the Nintendo Wii platform is huge. There’s roughly 12 million Wiis in North America. But it’s not really a console that a lot of shooter fans are playing on. So we wanted to offer them their own first-person shooter, that’s unique and exclusive to that console.”

“It belongs to the platform that it should be on, which is Nintendo.” – Eurocom primary producer Dawn Pinkney

The producer explained that the Wii remote and nunchuck controller has left first-person shooter fans cold, which is why GoldenEye will offer support for the Wii’s Classic Pro Controller.

“They don’t like using the pointing device,” Pass said. “Now they’ve got the Classic Pro Controller. This is dual analogue stick. It’s got the exact same layout you find on PS3 or 360.”

“You put this in a shooter fan’s hands and they instantly know how to play. We feel that the opportunity and the time is right. And partnering with Nintendo is a huge opportunity for us. We really want to tap in to the nostalgia for Nintendo fans, and take advantage of the opportunity presented by the platform.”

Eurocom’s Dawn Pinkney described it as unlikely that Activision’s GoldenEye would find its way to other consoles. “It belongs to the platform that it should be on, which is Nintendo.”

Activision’s GoldenEye will be released on Nintendo Wii this November.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest news on Activision’s GoldenEye.

Pre-order GoldenEye for Nintendo Wii and DS

GoldenEye on Nintendo Wii

Eager to get your hands on Activision’s revamped GoldenEye? James Bond fans can now pre-order the Nintendo Wii and DS versions of the game from Amazon.com.

GoldenEye on Nintendo DS

• Order GoldenEye for Nintendo Wii
• Order GoldenEye for Nintendo DS

The Wii version will retail for US$49.99, while the DS edition will sell for US$39.99. Both versions will hit shelves on 2 November 2010.

UK pre-order details are forthcoming.

Speaking of the DS game, while an announcement at E3 was noticeably absent, developers n-Space revealed on their Facebook page that news of the DS version will emerge next week. n-Space worked on a number of Call of Duty games for the DS console.

Eurocom is developing GoldenEye for the Wii.

Meanwhile, Activision has launched an official Facebook page and Twitter feed (@goldeneyegame) for GoldenEye. Both will keep you up-to-date on the latest GoldenEye news.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond gaming news.

David Arnold to score Activision's GoldenEye

Activision are pulling out all the stops to ensure their recently-announced re-imagining of the classic James Bond game GoldenEye lives up to the hype.

GoldenEye on Nintendo Wii

Several gaming sites – including ComputerAndVideoGames.com and Pocket-lint – are reporting that veteran 007 composer David Arnold will provide the soundtrack to the game. Arnold is the composer behind every James Bond score since 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies.

GoldenEye will mark Arnold’s first James Bond video game score. The composer will follow in the footsteps of Christopher Lennertz (From Russia with Love and Quantum of Solace), Sean Callery (Everything or Nothing) and Paul Oakenfold (GoldenEye: Rogue Agent).

The original GoldenEye featured a soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope, Graeme Norgate and Robin Beanland and was inspired by Eric Serra’s soundtrack to the film GoldenEye.

Arnold joins fellow 007 alumni Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench, as well as screenwriter Bruce Feirstein (the writer behind the films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is not Enough and the games Everything or Nothing and From Russia with Love).

What may be a sample of David Arnold’s GoldenEye score can be heard on the official website for the game, goldeneyegame.com.

Pocket-lint also reports that set designers from the Bond film series are also working on the game.

Meanwhile, the official Nintendo Magazine features Activision’s GoldenEye as its cover story this issue. The magazine features exclusive interviews and screenshots from the game.

Activision’s GoldenEye will be released on Nintendo Wii this November.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest news on Activision’s GoldenEye.

007.com website teases a 'new adventure' coming soon

Following the recent announcement that Activision will be remaking the legendary GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Wii, the official James Bond website, 007.com, has gotten a facelift to promote the forthcoming title.

However, CommanderBond.net forum members have also noticed a teaser towards the bottom of the site promising a ‘new adventure coming soon’ alongside what appears to be a blacked out video game box.

Unfortunately, no further information has been provided, so fans are left to wonder what this new 007-themed release may be. Bloodstone, perhaps?

Voice your opinion and ideas here on the CommanderBond.net Forums.