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The 21st James Bond film is still on track
for a November 2005 release according to MGM chief
Chris
McGurk...
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Bond 21 Still On Track
20th April 2004
Despite the ongoing rumours about the future of Pierce Brosnan
as 007, the style direction of the 21st Bond film, and Hollywood
gossip of an MGM / Eon Productions bust-up, the next James Bond
movie
is still on track for a November 2005 says MGM chief Chris McGurk.
McGurk, who joined MGM as Chief Operations Officer and vice
chairman back in 1999, spoke to Variety this week in an attempt
to lay
some of the wild rumours to rest.
"Like any good production relationship between top-tier
producers and a studio, you're always going to have disagreements," McGurk
told Variety this week. "We had a lot of disagreements on
the last Bond ["Die Another Day"], and they all got
sorted out to everybody's satisfaction."
Jinxed 2003
2003 was largely spent working on the ill-fated "Jinx" spin-off
franchise, and some industry watchers expected Bond 21
to suffer a set-back because of the creative talents being
diverted towards Halle Berry's project.
Written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (who
now are in the process of penning Bond 21), the script
was well received by Halle Berry, but the project was
axed by MGM citing the reason that rival studios suffered
disappointing box-offices
for similar style films that year ("Charlie's Angels:
Full Throttle", "Lara
Croft 2").
Right: Bond 21 writers Robert Wade and Neal
Purvis |
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Despite the `Jinxed` set-back, the timetable
for Bond 21 is still on course. Purvis & Wade have been working
on the Bond 21 script since late February, and the writers
said
at the time they were working under the premise that Pierce Brosnan
would be returning for a fifth time.
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Creative Decisions
Recently, Brosnan has spoken publicly about
his status for Bond 21, openly admitting he has not been
approached
by the producers to sign yet, despite his desire to complete
a fifth and final film. "I certainly would love to do a fifth Bond and then bow
out, but if this last one is to be the last one, then so
be it", said Brosnan at a press junket for his latest
film "The
Laws of Attraction" last month.
Reports now claim Purvis & Wade
are writing for a "generic" Bond, until the casting
has been finalised.
"All creative decisions are mutual between the studio
and the producers", McGurk explained.
"They make recommendations
and both sides can say yea or nay. We're going to go through
the
same
process on this one". |
Bond 21 production is still scheduled to begin "early next
year" for a probable November 2005 release, McGurk says.
Decisions about a director, and who will play Bond, will be made "in
the next few months".
Related Articles
Brosnan
Speaks About 007's Future
Purvis & Wade
Talk Bond & Jinx
