Thursday, March 28, 2024

James Bond In a New, Uncertain World: Producers, Including Star Daniel Craig, Choose Untested Director of TV, Indie Film

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James Bond is stepping into a new, uncertain world.

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who now make announcements with their star, Daniel Craig, have chosen an untested director from TV and indie films.

The new director of “Bond 25” is Cary Joji Fukunaga, known for the indie Oscar nominee “Beasts of No Nation” and the HBO series, “True Detective.” Fukunaga replaces Oscar winner Danny Boyle, with whom the trio could not see eye to eye.

Fukunaga is a daring choice, I guess, in that he’s known more for hype than a long resume. In addition to “True Detective,” he directed 10 episodes each this year of “The Alienist” and “Maniac” two well reviewed off beat series. His features, “Beasts” and “Sin Nombre,” are edgy and intimate, and not traditional action films.

Bond needs a director who will follow the script and answer to producers who are maintaining a legacy. Ironically, Boyle may have been too independent for them. Whether Fukunaga isn’t as well remains to be seen.

At the same, an odd date has been chosen for the untitled film’s release– February 14, 2020, not a Christmas or Memorial Day anchor, and five days after the newly announced 2020 Academy Awards, typically a slow time.

As for Adele coming back to sing the title track– at the rate things are going, that should be on track with the release of her next album considering the snail’s pace of her releases.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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