007 producer Michael G. Wilson recently sat down with the Yorkshire Post to discuss working on the James Bond series, including his personal favourites among other things.
‘Being producer of James Bond is as good as it seems,’ Wilson said in the video interview. ‘In fact it’s better.’
‘There are a lot of other characters like Tarzan, Superman and Batman who have been reinvented over the years, but in terms of a single production entity then yes I guess James Bond is unique. But you know, there has never been a moment when we’ve sat back and thought that’s it, this will run and run. I don’t even believe that now.’
The rather hostile reception to Daniel Craig being announced as the sixth James Bond in October 2005 only cemented the fact that both Bond fans and the general public take a great deal of interest in who will be portraying the British secret agent.
Wilson said: ‘Every time we recast Bond the character ends up being reinvented. It comes with the territory. They are all leading men who are appropriate to a specific time and place and their interpretation inevitably takes the film in a different direction.’
‘Roger Moore was certainly a change from Sean Connery,’ he continued, ‘and Timothy Dalton was a departure from Roger. There was a sense when we cast Pierce Brosnan that we were going back to the original vision and not everyone was happy about that.’
‘He may be a fictious character, but 007 has become a matter of public property and the public doesn’t like people messing with their vision of what Bond should be. I sympathise with them. They are our public and we don’t want to let them down.’
‘With Daniel he was pretty much an unknown in the role and I think people couldn’t visualise how he was going to play it. He silenced the critics with his performance and now many think he’s one of the best, if not the best Bond ever.’
Besides the casting issues, Wilson also brought up the point that a strong script is essential in moving forward to making a successful Bond film. After sharing the screenplay credit on five Bond films from 1981’s For Your Eyes Only through 1989’s Licence to Kill, Wilson then concentrated primarily on his producer duties for the following films, starting with 1995’s GoldenEye.
‘You can only write for so long and I knew my time would probably be better spent on other things,’ he said. ‘It’s just about impossible to find someone who can take on a whole script individually so instead we have a team of writers which Barbara [Broccoli] and I supervise.’
While he admitted he doesn’t have a favourite amongst the actors who’ve taken on the Bond role over the years, Wilson did admit that he did have his preferences when choosing between their various films.
‘In From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, Sean really established the whole spy genre. George Lazenby may have only done one film, but On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was one of the best Fleming stories. The Spy Who Loved Me with Roger was the first one I really worked full-time on and I think it showed him at his best. Then there’s The Living Daylights for Timothy and GoldenEye was Pierce’s best. Daniel has yet to complete his time as Bond, but at the moment Casino Royale is my favourite of his so far.’
As for what lies ahead for the series, Wilson reaffirmed his previous statements that it may be a while until Bond 23 hits theatres.
‘At the moment the third Daniel Craig movie is not even a glimmer in its mother’s eye,’ he said. ‘Filming Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace back to back took a lot out of time and energy so at the moment we are all just recharging our batteries.’
(Genuine response to this on a CBn thread : 'I think the series should end with Craig, but I'm not convinced it will. Still, I hope.')
"I’m looking for Commander Bond and not an overgrown stunt-man." - Ian Fleming
If the Gruesome Twosome keep doing things the way they are, and don't get the Bond films out of the crap hole they're currently in,that poster at CB may get their wish
007 producer Michael G. Wilson recently sat down with the Yorkshire Post to discuss working on the James Bond series, including his personal favourites among other things.
‘Being producer of James Bond is as good as it seems,’ Wilson said in the video interview. ‘In fact it’s better.’
‘There are a lot of other characters like Tarzan, Superman and Batman who have been reinvented over the years, but in terms of a single production entity then yes I guess James Bond is unique. But you know, there has never been a moment when we’ve sat back and thought that’s it, this will run and run. I don’t even believe that now.’
The rather hostile reception to Daniel Craig being announced as the sixth James Bond in October 2005 only cemented the fact that both Bond fans and the general public take a great deal of interest in who will be portraying the British secret agent.
Wilson said: ‘Every time we recast Bond the character ends up being reinvented. It comes with the territory. They are all leading men who are appropriate to a specific time and place and their interpretation inevitably takes the film in a different direction.’
‘Roger Moore was certainly a change from Sean Connery,’ he continued, ‘and Timothy Dalton was a departure from Roger. There was a sense when we cast Pierce Brosnan that we were going back to the original vision and not everyone was happy about that.’
‘He may be a fictious character, but 007 has become a matter of public property and the public doesn’t like people messing with their vision of what Bond should be. I sympathise with them. They are our public and we don’t want to let them down.’
‘With Daniel he was pretty much an unknown in the role and I think people couldn’t visualise how he was going to play it. He silenced the critics with his performance and now many think he’s one of the best, if not the best Bond ever.’
Besides the casting issues, Wilson also brought up the point that a strong script is essential in moving forward to making a successful Bond film. After sharing the screenplay credit on five Bond films from 1981’s For Your Eyes Only through 1989’s Licence to Kill, Wilson then concentrated primarily on his producer duties for the following films, starting with 1995’s GoldenEye.
‘You can only write for so long and I knew my time would probably be better spent on other things,’ he said. ‘It’s just about impossible to find someone who can take on a whole script individually so instead we have a team of writers which Barbara [Broccoli] and I supervise.’
While he admitted he doesn’t have a favourite amongst the actors who’ve taken on the Bond role over the years, Wilson did admit that he did have his preferences when choosing between their various films.
‘In From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, Sean really established the whole spy genre. George Lazenby may have only done one film, but On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was one of the best Fleming stories. The Spy Who Loved Me with Roger was the first one I really worked full-time on and I think it showed him at his best. Then there’s The Living Daylights for Timothy and GoldenEye was Pierce’s best. Daniel has yet to complete his time as Bond, but at the moment Casino Royale is my favourite of his so far.’
As for what lies ahead for the series, Wilson reaffirmed his previous statements that it may be a while until Bond 23 hits theatres.
‘At the moment the third Daniel Craig movie is not even a glimmer in its mother’s eye,’ he said. ‘Filming Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace back to back took a lot out of time and energy so at the moment we are all just recharging our batteries.’
(Genuine response to this on a CBn thread : 'I think the series should end with Craig, but I'm not convinced it will. Still, I hope.')
I don't really agree with MGW's suggestion that all the Bonds were incredibly different. It smacks of a defensive attitude to the new series they launched in 2006. I'm sure deep down he must realise that they've radically altered Bond and stripped him of the distinctive traits that made him stand out.
I don't really agree with MGW's suggestion that all the Bonds were incredibly different. It smacks of a defensive attitude to the new series they launched in 2006. I'm sure deep down he must realise that they've radically altered Bond and stripped him of the distinctive traits that made him stand out.
He and Babs know they've screwed up the Bond franchise beyond belief and I'm sure they've read some of what has been said so yeah,they would be defensive.But they'll continue screwing things up with Bond 23. *sigh*
Favorite Bond Movie: Octopussy From Russia With Love The Living Daylights On Her Majestys Secret Service Doctor No .... Ah heck all of them
Favorite Movies: Lawrence Of Arabia, Forrest Gump, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo, The Odd Couple, Zoolander, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape...many more.
Location: Well here obviously. At the moment of course
I don't really agree with MGW's suggestion that all the Bonds were incredibly different. It smacks of a defensive attitude to the new series they launched in 2006. I'm sure deep down he must realise that they've radically altered Bond and stripped him of the distinctive traits that made him stand out.
He and Babs know they've screwed up the Bond franchise beyond belief and I'm sure they've read some of what has been said so yeah,they would be defensive.But they'll continue screwing things up with Bond 23. *sigh*
Why do you even care?
You're not a real fan of Bond anyway.
One minute you like him, the next you don't.
The word fickle springs to mind.
Wilson just put his foot in his mouth ADMITTING Craig's just released film TBM is NOT his favorite of the two Craig did, and further makes his usual stupid premise that the public may now even think Craig is the best Bond ever! Where is he getting his ideas from? Is he now barren of gray matter?
Favorite Bond Movie: Octopussy From Russia With Love The Living Daylights On Her Majestys Secret Service Doctor No .... Ah heck all of them
Favorite Movies: Lawrence Of Arabia, Forrest Gump, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo, The Odd Couple, Zoolander, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape...many more.
Location: Well here obviously. At the moment of course
Favorite Bond Movie: Octopussy From Russia With Love The Living Daylights On Her Majestys Secret Service Doctor No .... Ah heck all of them
Favorite Movies: Lawrence Of Arabia, Forrest Gump, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo, The Odd Couple, Zoolander, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape...many more.
Location: Well here obviously. At the moment of course
Favorite Bond Movie: Octopussy From Russia With Love The Living Daylights On Her Majestys Secret Service Doctor No .... Ah heck all of them
Favorite Movies: Lawrence Of Arabia, Forrest Gump, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo, The Odd Couple, Zoolander, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape...many more.
Location: Well here obviously. At the moment of course
What happened to my tumbleweed piccie.
Those darned mods have been deleting my posts again, cos some of them have no sense of humour.
Typical.
It's alright for you know who to spam the forum *cough no names cough* with her spam, but heaven forbid a reference that dcinb had lost some of it's edge and a picture of tumbleweed will be tolerated.
Sounds like late 30's Germany.
I think Babs has been wearing the pants at EON for a while.Funny how she runs everything the way she does and Mikey-her older brother FCOL-just chimes in every so often.
Last edited by katied on Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Favorite Bond Movie: Octopussy From Russia With Love The Living Daylights On Her Majestys Secret Service Doctor No .... Ah heck all of them
Favorite Movies: Lawrence Of Arabia, Forrest Gump, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption, Vertigo, The Odd Couple, Zoolander, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape...many more.
Location: Well here obviously. At the moment of course
Maybe she doesn't like wearing skirts.
Had you thought about that.
I love the way some of you know so much about Eon. Maybe you're on the payroll.
Hmmmmmm
bjmdds wrote:Wilson just put his foot in his mouth ADMITTING Craig's just released film TBM is NOT his favorite of the two Craig did, and further makes his usual stupid premise that the public may now even think Craig is the best Bond ever! Where is he getting his ideas from? Is he now barren of gray matter?
He's afraid he'll get on Babs' bad side if he says something that goes against the EON status quo
