The Thought Of Directing JAMES BOND 24 Made Sam Mendes Feel "Physically Ill"

The Thought Of Directing JAMES BOND 24 Made Sam Mendes Feel "Physically Ill"

Skyfall hit $1 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the most successful instalment of all-time in the 50 year old franchise (not to mention one of the most critically acclaimed). So, why didn't Sam Mendes want to return to helm the follow-up? Read on for details!

News
By JoshWilding - Apr 30, 2013 05:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Action
Source: Yahoo! Movies UK


After the success of Skyfall, you'd think that Sam Mendes would have jumped at the chance to return to helm the next instalment in the franchise (especially as the studio would have surely offered him a huge pay rise). "Was I willing to go back into a room with a writer and start work on the same set of characters and the same scenarios as I've been working on for the last three years?" he said in an interview with The Guardian (via Yahoo! Movies UK). "The idea made me physically ill." That's understandable to some extent; after all, a lot of work goes into films such as these and no one can blame Mendes for wanting to move on to other projects. So, how does he deal with disappointed fans of the James Bond franchise? "I say to them, my life is not a democracy. It's not up for discussion'. What? Maybe I should go to one of the [Bond] chat threads and change my mind? I don't think that's going to happen." Ouch!

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A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

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Chaplin
Chaplin - 4/30/2013, 6:01 AM
I completely respect that! He owes nothing to no one. He made3 what i consider to be a revolutionary Bond film and an excellent one at that and if he wishes to abandon the franchise, at least for now, we have no say in that decision at all. The best of luck to you, Sam and i personally hope to see you direct another Bond in the future!
spiderclone
spiderclone - 4/30/2013, 6:03 AM
sounds like hes up his own arse, suppose money does that to you
lntrn8
lntrn8 - 4/30/2013, 6:05 AM
Skyfall was awesome! Great job Sam!
AmazingFantasy
AmazingFantasy - 4/30/2013, 6:07 AM
Directing big budget blockbusters is goddamn hard, taking both nolan and webb into considerration here, Sam did a great much too.

Great film.
PosingKyle
PosingKyle - 4/30/2013, 6:11 AM
This guy is just afraid that he won't be able to deliver again...it's all good Mr Mendes,is good to be afraid...but don't make it sound like you gre tired of the characters...I'm sure if the movie had done just OK he would have probably directed the next one as well.
I loved Skyfall, but this guy is afraid of his own movie.
TheExile117
TheExile117 - 4/30/2013, 6:12 AM
SKYFALL was one of my favorites from last year. It's a shame he won't be returning :-/
shamo
shamo - 4/30/2013, 6:15 AM
dudes a dick. their was a way of getting his point across without sounding like an asshole. he chose to do otherwise.
Fantine
Fantine - 4/30/2013, 6:22 AM
this happens all the time, director says he doesnt have time to do the sequel yet the sequel comes out before they go into post. Thats right Jon Faverau, Darren Aronofsky, Gary Rossm looking at you.
CavEl
CavEl - 4/30/2013, 6:24 AM
Nolan and Cavill when Craig is done...

Superman and James Bond...that would be like if Mark Hamill became the Captain of the Enterprise...too much power for one man.
FrankGarret
FrankGarret - 4/30/2013, 6:34 AM
I understand and respect what the guy is saying, but he's a right asshole in how he says it.
TheAbomination
TheAbomination - 4/30/2013, 6:53 AM
Here comes Nolan...
NewNameWhoDis
NewNameWhoDis - 4/30/2013, 6:58 AM
I'm over it. Skyfall may be one of the better Bond movies but its a long list and almost every one has a different director. That's part of the fun.

Also, he could probably afford to be a bit more diplomatic in his responses. That last bit is a little arrogant and doesn't make me give any more f a shit about watching a Sam Mendes movie than I did before. If you're gonna be a dick to the people who praise your work and made it as successful as it is than you can go F yourself.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 4/30/2013, 7:20 AM
Skyfall was awful. It made no logical sense whatsoever. I'm glad he's not coming back.
alanb
alanb - 4/30/2013, 7:29 AM
Jesus, some of the responses. It seems like some of you don't know anything about creating something artistically fulfilling and so throw shit on someone who has. In 'Skyfall', Mendes and his team worked [frick]ing hard to create his interpretation on the Bond character and the franchise, and so he gets criticized for arrogance because he wants to do more with his life than repeat themselves.
jj72
jj72 - 4/30/2013, 7:32 AM
Wow, the guy is brutally honest and he gets the hate. Glad he did't sugar coat his answer as most people would give the same old line that makes the industry happy.

If it were all about money, he would have signed on immediately for the next Bond as I'm sure Sony would love to see another billion dollar flick.
AC1
AC1 - 4/30/2013, 7:55 AM
Funny, isn't it? A director or an actor says they want a change of scenery, to try something new, after delivering something almost everyone liked, and they're being 'pretentious' or 'obnoxious' or 'up their own arse'.

Why should he change his opinion of a film he spent years making and is proud of? Because a couple of people didn't like it? Grow up. He's entitled to his own opinion, just as you're entitled to dislike his film.

This kind of reminds me of that thing with Henry Cavill the other day, when he said money was important. So many people flipped a bitch - why? Why should he do his job for free? He's part of a movie which will be enjoyed by millions, maybe billions; I think he deserves a nice pay-cheque for that. Acting is his job, and the stuff it involves doesn't come cheap. Sure, he may have worded it in a bit of an arrogant way, just as Mendes may have worded this statement arrogantly, but so what? They both worked incredibly hard on what they've made, yet there will always be ungrateful fanboys who demand more of them and wrongfully criticize them when really, they have no clue what they're talking about. I think they're both entitled to speak frankly without sugar coating or even worrying about offending, because it's a courtesy that wasn't afforded to them.
Logan5
Logan5 - 4/30/2013, 8:15 AM
@ACira - 4/30/2013, 7:55am

Totally.
RadicalDuck
RadicalDuck - 4/30/2013, 8:33 AM
@ACira - well said.
orpheus
orpheus - 4/30/2013, 8:53 AM
bunch of p-ssy Bond fans. Great movie, like it and shut up. Mendes gave his reason - don't make up some sh-t hidden motivation (scared, spoiled with money, elitist) because your feelings were hurt that he doesn't want to make another. Respect that he just doesn't want to. He delivered big time, that's enough.
alanb
alanb - 4/30/2013, 9:28 AM
And then this happens and then this happens and then this happens and then this happens ... It's like a child reciting a film when you've asked them about it. Do people know the difference between recapping a story and criticizing it? Because there is a difference.
alanb
alanb - 4/30/2013, 9:29 AM
Oh, wait! And then this happens and then that happened and it was SO STUPID! LOL! And then this happens ...
exe
exe - 4/30/2013, 11:26 AM
Skyfall is great and all but I didn't like that they copied Bond's backstory from Bruce Wayne's. Shame on you, Mendes.
shamo
shamo - 4/30/2013, 11:54 AM
get Nolan for every franchise.
AC1
AC1 - 4/30/2013, 3:53 PM
I hope Nolan does do a Bond film. Just one. Obviously not the next one, but maybe Daniel Craig's last. TDK has a James Bond vibe, as does Inception, and he's expressed an interest - I hope he doesn't end up as another Hitchcock, an acclaimed director who says he wants to do a Bond film and would be a perfect fit, but never gets around to doing it.
Plus, as we know Nolan has a penchant for collaborating with actors in multiple films, It'd be awesome if he brought Tom Hardy in - to play Blofeld.

Of course, if Nolan doesn't do it, then I think Craig's last film would be an awesome place for Sam Mendes to jump back in, if he wanted to.
AC1
AC1 - 4/30/2013, 4:25 PM
@fettastic some of the stuff you say makes me think you don't know much about the Bond character anyway. For example, you say he's 'cold' for commenting about the scotch after the girl is killed, as if it's not something Bond would do - Bond doesn't make personal attachments for one thing, so he wouldn't be upset. Even if he was upset, he would never indicate it to the villain, because he'd want to remain composed (this coldness might also intimidate the villain). Bond is also a notorious womanizer and even a misogynist who views women more as pleasures than as actual humans ever since what happened to him in Casino Royale - the only women he's ever seen as people (other than his family, who we know little about) are M, Vesper Lynd, Tracy (his wife who dies in the books and older films) and to an extent, Miss Moneypenny. Every other woman is just a means to an end. In fact, in many of the Bond novels (which Craig's portrayal has been very close to) Bond sleeps with women (usually working for the villain) to gain info, and then kills them himself. So Bond making that comment about the scotch is a very Bond thing to do. Having said that, when I watch that scene I think it's pretty apparent that Bond actually is upset (either at her death or at his failure to save her), but he's trying not to show it.

Silva plays all gay on Bond - Bond does it back, to show he's not uncomfortable, to try and use Silva's attempt at psyching him out against him, and if nothing else, to simply mock him.

Silva is not a Joker rip off. There are similarities, but Silva is like most other Bond villains - loads of them have signature deformities. Blofeld has the scar, Dr. No has robo-hands, Alec Trevalyn has a burned face, Le Chiffre weeps blood, etc. Silva's another in that list. As for his motive - it's pretty obvious; he wants revenge on M, in that he wants to humiliate her by making her seem ineffective, he wants to force her to admit that his capture was her fault, he wants her to take responsibility for abandoning him, and he wants to kill her.

Having said that, you also make some fair points about logic and plot holes I hadn't even noticed. The one I did notice was the list, which just randomly disappeared, but I figured the story shifted more towards Bond protecting M than Bond recovering the list. But the stuff I didn't consider, like the bullet in his shoulder for like a year, and I guess the bit with Silva getting caught for no apparent reason (although he is insane and obsessed with M, so it could just be that he wanted to taunt her). Then of course there are the blatant Nolan Batman rip offs - the convenient tunnel under Skyfall lodge, and I didn't realise how similar the assassination attempt scene was to the one in TDK.

Still, I really liked Skyfall. It seemed a bit fresh compared to the previous one which slugged along after Casino Royale, and I loved how it essentially blended aspects from the classic Bond movies with the current ones, such as the underground MI6 base, Moneypenny, M's Office, Q, etc. Also, as a character piece, it was great - especially as an exploration of the relationship between Bond and M. Plus, Javier Bardem made for a great villain. I'd say it was probably on a par with Casino Royale, or maybe slightly below, but probably in my top 5 Bond movies; a great addition to the series, and a great way to celebrate a character who has lasted half a century on the big screen.
alanb
alanb - 4/30/2013, 6:01 PM
@fettastic

No, I want you to HAVE AN ARGUMENT. Listing a series of examples and saying "and that was stupid" isn't an actual argument: it's an incoherent rant.
AUSSYACE
AUSSYACE - 4/30/2013, 10:39 PM
HONESTLY...This was easily the worst BOND Film ever...

How campy was that villian with that bloody silly wig all movie...It was hilarious...

He finally meets that babe at the party and then he goes off and gets her killed...

The storyline was absolutely pathetic and that wig...

WORST BOND MOVIE EVER...
alanb
alanb - 5/1/2013, 1:37 AM
"WHAT PART OF THAT IS SO DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND?"

The part that shows a COMPLETE MISUNDERSTANDING of the character and his arc in the film. After the first sequence, the character has a DEATH WISH, which is shown LITERALLY and METAPHORICALLY throughout the story. I bet you saw the drinking game as 'lulz, like sooo stupid, why doesn't he just kill the scorpion with a knife? Why didn't he just NOT DRINK AT ALL or go to another bar where there are no scorpions?' No, that isn't the point of that scene: it's to show his comfort with death. Without spying, he is lost and willing to risk his life to alleviate his boredom. When he returns to London, he looks like shit: he doesn't shave or bath himself. He doesn't care about his well-being at that point in the film, and is unwilling to alleviate his pain. THAT's why he doesn't cut out the bullet out of his shoulder. Did you not catch the opening titles - told from Bond's POV as he descends into spiritual purgatory - in which he is literally SHOOTING AT HIS OWN IMAGE? Did you think that moment was a mistake or something? Well, IT'S IMPORTANT.

Watching a film EXCLUSIVELY from the POV of "well I wouldn't do that, so it's STUPID" must be tiresome. I prefer to watch films by trying to understand THE CHARACTER'S motivation and drive, not acting petulant whenever someone DOESN'T DO SOMETHING I WANTED THEM TO DO. Sheesh ...
alanb
alanb - 5/1/2013, 7:24 AM
No, Bond doesn't have a death wish ... AT ALL. Bond's behavior is CONSISTENTLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY IN THE FILM and he is the HAPPIEST, MOST STABLE GUY IN THE WORLD.

*sighs*

Do you know what an ARC is? It is the way a character CHANGES and DEVELOPS over the course of the film. The fact that he plays a game in which a SCORPION COULD KILL HIM is actually important: with M or his job, he doesn't have a purpose in life, and he only regains his purpose with his 007 status. Note: Bond didn't get the bullet out of his body until AFTER THE SHOOTING TEST, where he couldn't kill as effectively as he used to. That's psychologically important, as is this exchange:

M: Where the hell have you been?
James Bond: Enjoying death. 007 reporting for duty.

Wait, did I not remember that scene correctly? Oh wait, I did: he said he was ENJOYING DEATH. Too bad, that line kinda shits on your "Um, Bond has A DEATH WISH? Wow!" criticism, doesn't it? And Bond was pissed because he felt BETRAYED by M. It wasn't because he was hurt: he hated the fact that she didn't TRUST him to do the job. He knew the risks (which are high in his position), which is illustrated by this exchange:

M: I made a judgment call.
James Bond: You should have trusted me to finish the job.

For someone who wrote a glorified recap instead of a piece of criticism you don't seem to have a very good memory of the film, huh? But, go on, keep calling me a "[frick]ing idiot" if you feel that's an acceptable recplacement for a coherent, well-informed argument. [SPOILER ALERT] It isn't.
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