Hey folks, Harry here with the continuing drama of James Bond. No clue who is playing him, but Martin Campbell will be the M behind the scenes directing 007's footsteps. Personally- I prefered the first person shooter of GOLDENEYE to the film - mainly because Campbell rarely gives his movies a sense of grandeur or the dramatics kicked up where I'd like to see them. With CASINO ROYALE - I feel he's a bit out of his league... Had this story and adaptation been given to Quentin Tarantino... Martin Scorsese... or another badass... Oh well, this isn't bad news... getting Bond back into the world of Ian Fleming is a good thing - though.. notice nowhere in this press release do they even mention the original creator's name. Kinda ass if you ask me. Here ya go...
MARTIN CAMPBELL TO DIRECT CASINO ROYALE, THE 21ST JAMES BOND ADVENTURE
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the James Bond films, and MGM announced today that Martin Campbell will direct CASINO ROYALE, the 21st film in the 007 franchise.
This is Campbell’s second time as helmer of a James Bond film. In 1995 he directed the hit GOLDENEYE which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role of 007 with great success.
Wilson and Broccoli said:
“We are thrilled that Martin has accepted our offer to direct CASINO ROYALE. He is an extremely talented director and we believe he will help take our films in a new and exciting direction. He is currently finishing filming ‘Legend Of Zorro’, the sequel to ‘The Mask Of Zorro’, and will be joining EON Productions shortly to work on the development of the script with our writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.”
MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk said: “Martin is an incredibly exciting filmmaker. GOLDENEYE was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We’re thrilled to have him back to direct the newest Bond.”
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to England in 1966 and made his directorial debut on the popular TV series’ ‘The Professionals’ and ‘Minder’. He moved to America in 1986 to direct ‘Criminal Law’ and ‘Defenceless’. Following GOLDENEYE, he went on to direct ‘The Mask Of Zorro’, ‘Vertical Limit’ and ‘Beyond Borders’ and is currently directing ‘Legend Of Zorro’.
CASINO ROYALE will be released in 2006 and distributed world-wide by MGM. No decision has yet been made regarding casting for the role of ‘James Bond’.
