Definitely Maybe
20th July 2023
Christopher Nolan comments on James Bond directing possibility
By MI6 Staff
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British director Christopher Nolan, a self-confessed 007 fan and long-rumoured director option for the series has talked about the possibility of helming the next era of the James Bond series during his promotional tour for 'Oppenheimer.'
Interviewer Josh Horowitz asked: "Last time you said: When they need me, when the time is right, great! If not, you know, you've been very diplomatic about it."
"Not diplomatic, honest about it," Nolan said. "I love these movies. The influence of them on my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. There's no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films. It would be an amazing privilege to do one. At the same time, when you take on a character like that, or you're working within a particular set of constraints, and so you have to have the right attitude towards that. It has to be the right moment in your career or life when you can express what you want to express and really burrow into something within the appropriate constraints. You would never want to take on something like that and do it wrong. It's kind of the same responsibility I felt taking on Batman."
"I'd imagine you'd want to be involved in casting your Bond," Horowitz followed up.
"Well, everything... You wouldn't want to take on a film not fully committed to what you could bring to the table creatively," Nolan replied. "So, as a writer, casting, you know everything - the full package. I stand with my previous answer which is that you'd have to be really needed and really wanted in terms of the totality of what you can bring to the character, otherwise, I'm very happy to be first in line to see whatever they do. "
Up until recently, most Bond directors had less creative control than regular films due to strong producer control. That has relaxed somewhat in the last few films, starting with 'Quantum of Solace' when Marc Forster was allowed to bring in some of his own people (notably MK12 for the title sequence) that ousted series regulars. Sam Mendes also commanded more creative decision-making for 'Skyfall' and 'SPECTRE'. But producers giving more power to directors back-fired for Bond 25 when hiring Danny Boyle who brought with him his own writer John Hodge. The project was abandoned due to 'creative differences' and Cary Fukunaga was parachuted in to make what ultimately became 'No Time To Die' after $16m had been written off on Boyle's abandoned vision. Given the recent experience of the producers not being aligned with their director, it is perhaps unlikely that someone would be given free rein over the script, casting, and other aspects of a pivotal 'reboot' entry that someone of Nolan's stature would demand.
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