Tag: MGM

Posted on in Film News, News

Christopher Nolan Calls Hypothetical Opportunity To Direct Next James Bond Movie “An Amazing Privilege”

Christopher Nolan‘s massive atomic bomb biopic “Oppenheimer” is out in theaters and it’s already gathering quite the following as the writer/director famously took the project to auction after exiting his longtime working relationship with Warner Bros. and the pricey R-rated drama landed at the feet of Universal Pictures. While Nolan is in an excellent position to keep developing original projects and putting each on to auction to get the best possible situation (theatrical windows, budget, casting freedom, and final cut) it looks like he’s still very much open to the idea of tackling James Bond.

While speaking with host Josh Horowitz on his fantastic podcast Happy Sad Confused (Listen below), the director was asked about his current feelings about potentially tackling the next incarnation of Bond as the looming reboot affectionately referred to as “Bond 26” or any future installment. This comes after years of expressing his love for the franchise and tempted interest in actually getting involved.

“The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. It would be an amazing privilege to do one,” Nolan told the podcast when Bond was brought up. “At the same time, when you take on a character like that you’re working with a particular set of constraints.”

“It has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express and really burrow into something within the appropriate constraints because you would never want to take on something like that and do it wrong.”

He continued, ““You wouldn’t want to take on a film without being fully committed to what you bring to the table creatively. So as a writer, casting, everything — it’s a full package. You’d have to be really needed and wanted in terms of bringing the totality of what you bring to a character. Otherwise, I’m very happy to be first in line to see whatever they do.”

As a fan of Nolan’s work, it’s extremely hard to watch his action-focused projects like “The Dark Knight Trilogy,” “Inception,” and “Tenet” without seeing the obvious influence the Bond franchise has had on him when it comes to bombastic blockbuster filmmaking.

Nolan isn’t the only one that has expressed a large interest in tackling the James Bond character over the years and it’s worth highlighting that French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (“Dune,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Sicaro”) stated that getting a crack at 007 was a big dream for him as well.

Despite various tabloid rumblings, EON Productions and MGM Studios (now owned by parent company Amazon) haven’t officially decided on either a director or the next actor to portray the iconic MI6 agent. Although, there had been some indication that Aaron Taylor-Johnson “might” be in the mix given he’s actually in the age range for the role (EON says they’re aiming for someone in their 30s ruling out a heap of longtime rumored “contenders”). Interestingly enough, Nolan and Taylor-Johnson have previously worked together on “Tenet” and a reunion wouldn’t be that terribly shocking.

“Oppenheimer” is currently in theaters and you can listen to that full interview with Nolan below.

Posted on in Film News

Jonathan Majors In Talks To Play Adonis’ Opponent In ‘Creed 3’ – Will Be Michael B. Jordan’s Directorial Debut

Michael B. Jordan is making the jump to director with MGM’s Creed III while continuing to play Adonis, the son of Apollo Creed from the iconic Rocky movies. The last two movies had Sly Stallone reprising Rocky for the spinoff, but has announced that he won’t be involved with this new film.

It looks like they’ve found an actor to play Adonis’ next opponent as Deadline reports that Jonathan Majors is currently in negotiations for the role. Majors got awareness thanks to roles in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, White Boy Rick, and HBO’s Lovecraft Country. He is officially is playing Kang The Conqueror in Marvel’s Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania as announced by Kevin Feige back in December.

It honestly wouldn’t hurt for Jordan and MGM to hire a seasoned actor to star opposite given that might be considered a weakness with the last two movies. It’s hard to really care about the actors who play Adonis’ opponents as they don’t have the same character that you’d expect.

Quantumania will begin shooting in a couple of weeks in the United Kingdom.

Jonathan Majors recently wrapped on the Korean War film Devotion, directed by J.D. Dillard.

Amazon recently acquired MGM Studios for a massive $8.45 billion.

The sport drama is set to be released by MGM on November 23, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Officially Delayed To October 8th

EON has officially announced that No Time To Die has been bumped from April 2nd to October 8th. A rumored fall delay had been making the rounds lately which has now been confirmed by the studio.

It looks like other studios are delaying their big films coming in the spring as well.

The cast will include Daniel Craig as James Bond, Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann, Rami Malek (Bohemian Rapsody) as a new villain named Safin (Dr. No?), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Felix Leiter, Ralph Fiennes (The King’s Man) as M, Christoph Waltz returning as Spectre’s Blofeld, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel) as Nomi aka the new Agent 007, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049) as Paloma, Ben Whishaw as Q, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: EON

Posted on in News

MGM Reportedly Exploring Sale – EON’s Partners On The James Bond Franchise

In a report coming from the Wall Street Journal, there are claims that MGM Holdings Inc. aka MGM Studios is now exploring the idea of a sale which includes their massive film library and involvement in the billion-dollar James Bond franchise (working with EON on the films as co-owners of the rights). Mentioning that the company is currently valued at $5.5 billion which could give you an idea of what their asking price might be.

MGM Holdings Inc., the movie studio behind the James Bond franchise, is exploring a sale, according to people familiar with the matter, betting that its library of content will prove attractive to companies pursuing growth in streaming video.

The company has a market value of around $5.5 billion, based on privately traded shares and including debt, some of the people said.

They don’t name potential suitors but allude to their valuation and attractiveness due to streaming services. Netflix and Disney are dealing with a crazy amount of debt which might put them out of the running. While Apple seems like a rational option, they recently backed-out on an offer to buy the exclusive rights to No Time To Die because MGM/EON asked too much, so those deep pockets have a limit. Not every streamer is going to have $5+ billion laying around when the pandemic has hit most entertainment companies hard.

I’m curious what this would mean for EON, who are traditionalists and have a controlling interest in the James Bond franchise and likely wouldn’t be terribly keen on turning their IP into some streaming film franchise. They’d likely want assurances that theatrical would still be on the table or it could turn into a messy legal fight, I would assume any sale would have to need EON’s blessing because the Bond stuff would be the more attractive aspect.

Here is how EON describes their relationship with MGM.

EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Wilson/Broccoli family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright to the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films.

We’ll have to wait and see to if things will materialize next year.

SOURCE: WALL STREET JOURNAL

Posted on in Film News

MGM Says ‘No Time To Die’ Is Not For Sale Despite Report of Talks With Apple and Netflix

A report from Bloomberg states that MGM has held talks with Netflix and Apple (Apple TV+) about taking the latest James Bond installment titled No Time To Die to streaming with a massive deal, but the studio is declining to comment on those talks pointing out that the film isn’t for sale and they’re committed to releasing the film theatrically.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. held discussions with Apple Inc. and Netflix Inc. about taking its new James Bond film directly to streaming, according to people familiar with the situation, but the studio says it’s committed to a theatrical release.

The film, “No Time to Die,” could fetch hundreds of millions of dollars in a potential streaming sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. MGM declined to comment on any talks, but said the film “is not for sale.”

A deal like that would be massive and I have to assume would be extremely pricey given how costly the production budget is to make one of these James Bond films. However, it might cap what the producers, EON, and MGM would end up making in comparison to a regular theatrical run and might not be terribly appealing.

UPDATE: Variety says they were asking for a massive $600 million which was too rich for the streaming companies.

However, multiple insiders at rival studios and companies said that a possible Bond sale was explored overtly, and believe that MGM was at least open to the possibility of unloading their crown jewel for a princely sum. The studio was said to be looking for a deal of roughly $600 million — a price tag that was deemed too rich for two of the free-spending streaming services.

The film recently moved to a theatrical release on April 2nd, 2021.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Director Cary Joji Fukunaga Interested In Making More Movies With The Next James Bond – Producers Also Keen For Reunion

While the final installment of the final Daniel Craig film in his era of the James Bond franchise with No Time To Die won’t be released until April 2nd, 2021, there is some possibly good news about director Cary Joji Fukunaga potentially returning in the future.

In the Wall Street Journal’s new No Time To Die coverage they were able to get some indication from both Cary and franchise producers that his return in the future could very well happen. They also mention he was courted by Disney for Marvel and Star Wars films.

Hypothetically speaking, Fukunaga would be interested in reuniting on another Bond film, or perhaps a series of films introducing the new 007.

In reality, though, Fukunaga’s future with Bond will depend on the film’s reception. 

FUKUNAGA: “I have never been able to predict how people react to something I’ve made. It could fly or completely fall. It doesn’t change how I view the film.”

Franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson also had kind words for Cary suggesting they’d like to work with him again.

BROCCOLI: “He’s a perfectionist, but that’s what you want. He far exceeded anyone’s expectations. He’s made probably one of the best Bond films ever…. He’s delivered a film on an epic scale, but it also has a tremendous, tremendous intimacy…. It’s a classic Bond movie but also a Cary Fukunaga film.”

WILSON: “He’s certainly someone we’ll work with again.”

This wouldn’t be a strange concept as Martin Campbell directed both GoldenEye and Casino Royale, covering two eras of Bond.

Bond 26 is indeed in development as Phoebe Waller-Bridge was previously linked as writing the script after tackling rewrites on No Time To Die. There have been plenty of rumors concerning the next James Bond actor but nothing has been made official and remain to be rumor/speculation until producers make an announcement. It means we’ll have to endure many more casting rumors for the foreseeable future.

Cary is a busy gent as it was recently announced he will direct three episodes of the Apple TV+ series Maters of The Air, the WWII show produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

SOURCE: WALL STREET JOURNAL

Posted on in Film News

Horror Flick ‘Candyman’ Bumped From October To 2021 By Universal

Universal Pictures has officially moved their new Candyman movie from Captain Marvel 2 director Nia DaCosta to unnamed spot in 2021 after a previous release date of October 16th. The move is likely due to the weak box office as theaters have slowly reopened and allows Candyman to have a theatrical release.

Nia also made the following statement on Twitter.

DACOSTA: “We made Candyman to be seen in theaters. Not just for the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories–how they shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it.”

“We wanted the horror and humanity of Candyman to be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushing Candyman to next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theaters, and share in that experience.”

The film has been called a “spiritual sequel” while I was able to dig up details about Candyman which includes them making the events of the original film canon in this new installment.

We’ll have to wait and see how long we’ll be expected to wait for the horror movie.

CANDYMAN – For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials. With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO’s Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.

SOURCE: UNIVERSAL

Posted on in Television News

‘RoboCop’ Co-Creator Ed Neumeier Developing Prequel Series Focused On OCP and Dick Jones For MGM

While the RoboCop direct sequel RoboCop Returns has been in some state of limbo since director Neill Blomkamp left the MGM film, it looks like co-creator Ed Neumeier is looking to get the ball rolling on an untitled prequel series set in that world. 

During an interview with Moviehole, Ed has revealed he is currently working with writers Dave Parkin and Rob Gibbs to develop a new series that will explore the origins of OCP the corporation that created RoboCop and the original film’s villain Dick Jones. 

NEUMEIER: “I’m working at MGM on it. It has all the cool stuff about RoboCop except no RoboCop. I’m working with these two writers, Dave Parkin and Rob Gibbs, who bought this idea to a TV producer friend of mine, who then brought it to me. The first time I heard it I knew it was a cool idea because I could see a lot of things you could do with it. It’s such an interesting character.”

“There’s the idea of doing things about business and law enforcement in the city of Detroit a minute-and-a-half in the future, it would be a way to do all sorts of stories about business and tech, Silicon Valley, corporations, snakes in suits, cops, all that. It’s a wonderful rich tapestry.”

“So we’ve been talking about it and I think we have an interesting story. It’s fun to work with a younger version of the Dick Jones we meet in RoboCop. He’s an actualized corporate predator [in the movie] but nobody necessarily starts out being the bad guy. So it’s going to be about the evolution of Richard Jones to Dick Jones, the story of OCP, and how the world moves into the future, how the corporate world behaves.”

However, as Ed points out MGM hasn’t officially signed off the project. 

NEUMEIER: “With any luck, if MGM is willing, if we can find the partners, if we can get this pilot made, if we can convince a bunch of people – it’s amazing how many people you have to convince – if that all works out maybe we’ll get a TV show up.”

At one point, Ed had teased a desire and development on a Starship Troopers sequel series with the original cast members, but there hasn’t been much in the way of updates on that recently. 

After MGM announced that Australian director Abe Forsythe (Little Monsters) would be replacing Neill Blomkamp on RoboCop Returns we haven’t really got much in the way of any updates on the movie.

SOURCE: MOVIEHOLE