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Wide ScreenChristopher Nolan really wants to make a James Bond movie
While promoting his third — and presumably final — Bat-flick "The Dark Knight Rises," filmmaker Christopher Nolan is talking a lot about what he'd like to do next. In light of the massive critical and financial success of his last two films "The Dark Knight" and "Inception" (not to mention the likely success of "The Dark Knight Rises"), just what the 41-year-old Nolan has up his sleeve is the subject of a great deal of speculation. Will the director finally attempt to tackle his long gestating Howard Hughes project? Or will he take on something a little more classic — something shaken and not stirred, perhaps?
In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, "The Prestige" director said that he's "serious about the prospect" of directing a James Bond film at some point in the future. Imagine "007 Rises," a hard-boiled and more realistic take on the famed British spy, in the vein of Nolan's other films. It's an amazing prospect, but 2006's Bond relaunch "Casino Royale" essentially already did what a Nolan movie would do, namely sapping the cheese factor and giving the character more of an edge. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a place for Nolan in this leaner and meaner Bond universe.
The interview is not the first time that Nolan has expressed interest in making a Bond movie. During the promotional tour for "Inception," many noted the similarities between that film's snowbound climax and scenes from the 1969 Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Nolan professed his love for the franchise and said that the resemblance was entirely intentional.
"The Bond influence on the film was very intentional because, for me, growing up with the Bond films, they've always stood for grand-scale action," Nolan told the BBC in 2010. He went on to say that he would love to direct a Bond movie someday, but until the recent Empire interview many thought the remarks were just idle fantasy.
The man does seem very serious about it indeed, adding that he's actually met with Bond's producers in the past to talk about the idea. "It would have to be the right situation and the right time in their cycle of things," he told Empire.
So far, the timing hasn't worked out in Nolan's or the Bond producers' favour, but when one of the top directors working today says that he wants to do something, he usually gets his way.
Nolan isn't the first high-profile director who's wanted a crack at 007, as both Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino have publicly toyed with the idea. Spielberg expressed interest in directing a Bond movie early in his career but was rebuffed by the series' producers. After finding blockbuster success, the "Jurassic Park" director later admitted that he would probably now be too expensive for the Bond producers to hire.
"Pulp Fiction" director Quentin Tarantino got a little closer than Spielberg, and was reportedly once in the running to helm the rebooted Bond. The famously outspoken director has even gone so far as to claim that he was the one who suggested they should base the reboot on author Ian Fleming's Bond novel "Casino Royale."
Since "Casino Royale's" release, franchise producers have seemed more open to the idea of letting established directors play in the world of Bond. "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") was not the obvious choice to take on an action-packed spy thriller, but then again, "Monster's Ball" filmmaker Marc Foster was also an unlikely pick to take on "Quantum of Solace." At this point, a Bond movie directed by a cerebral A-list filmmaker like Nolan would not be an out-of-sorts choice.
Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" will hit theatres on July 20 and the next 007 adventure, "Skyfall," is set for an October release.
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