Published at: July 30, 2001, 1:34 a.m. CST by staff
Hey folks, Harry here with some good franchise news for a change!
Strong director Lee Tamahori is apparently being signed to direct the 20th installment of the James Bond series... the one that some say will be the last Pierce Brosnan edition, though Brosnan has recently said that he ain't going nowheres.
Lee Tamahori is only as good as his source material and lack of studio intervention can allow him to be. Unfettered by bungling suits and bean counters, Tamahori has turned out ONCE WERE WARRIORS and THE EDGE... but the bungling of an idiotic bunch of black socks MULHOLLAND FALLS failed miserably. And then when he took over ALONG CAME A SPIDER late in the game with a script he couldn't really touch... well, he made what worked brilliantly... but the ham-handed, terribly written ending was... unfortunately rancid source material.
Now the question has to be... who is writing BOND 20 and is it any good? We've heard rumors that the guys who wrote THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH were at it again... ugh. But I've also heard that they're not involved. The other thing is that Brosnan has really taken a hand in the shaping of the Bond Franchise (especially this one we hear), and wants this Bond to be the most realistic and surprising, in which case Tamahori is an excellent choice for director.
Now, I've often wanted a director like Wong Kar Wai or Ringo Lam to have a shot at BOND, and fortunately this time... we have a director that understands violence and takes it seriously. Who understands the coldness involved with it and the rage that can drive it. Lee Tamahori may very well be the best director yet attached to direct a Bond film... period.
Hopefully the studio and the Broccoli Family will support Tamahori in his decisions, and the directions he wants to take the film. Because he can really get the film and the character on the exact right track it needs to be on. Because Tamahori has been victimized by Hollywood Studios too often. And lastly, because we deserve a truly great Bond film!
