Casino Royale!


Source: EON Productions LTD
February 3, 2005


"Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the James Bond films, and MGM announced today that Martin Campbell will direct Casino Royale, the 21st film in the 007 franchise.

This is Campbell's second time as helmer of a James Bond film. In 1995 he directed the hit Goldeneye which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role of 007 with great success.

Wilson and Broccoli said: "We are thrilled that Martin has accepted our offer to direct 'Casino Royale'. He is an extremely talented director and we believe he will help take our films in a new and exciting direction. He is currently finishing filming 'Legend Of Zorro', the sequel to 'The Mask Of Zorro', and will be joining EON Productions shortly to work on the development of the script with our writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade."


MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk said: "Martin is an incredibly exciting filmmaker. 'Goldeneye' was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We're thrilled to have him back to direct the newest Bond."

Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to England in 1966 and made his directorial debut on the popular TV series' The Professionals and Minder. He moved to America in 1986 to direct Criminal Law and Defenceless. Following Goldeneye, he went on to direct The Mask Of Zorro, Vertical Limit and Beyond Borders and is currently directing Legend Of Zorro.

Casino Royale will be released in 2006 and distributed world-wide by MGM. No decision has yet been made regarding casting for the role of Bond."

I'm not a huge fan of the Bond movies but this could be interesting if it's made a bit more hard edged and less comical than the previous offerings (they need to take a cue from the Bourne Identity movies). The original book has Bond on a mission to bring down an enemy spy by winning at the card tables the money he's embezzled from his spymasters. I remember at one point Bond is captured and tortured in a way that I can guarantee will not make it into the PG-13 film (think his knackers + a carpet beater!). Rumours are that Dougray Scott (baddie from Mission Impossible II and Soldier Soldier) has already been cast.

If they are smart, they will approach Connery. After all, Bond is supposed to be aging!

Bond is like Mikes cousin Adam!

Although, with all the amount of women Bond has had over the years, he must of got some kind of STD by now.

Nah... he has the ultimate immune system!

But hasn't all the aspect & plot points of Casino Royale (the book) been done & peppered into many other films already? (barring the carpet beater, of course). It would be more in name only, eh?

Depends if they decide to be purists to the novel or, as you say, borrow the name only. It may be tough for them to do that, though, as there was already a Casino Royale and Tarantino's been wanting to make it for years... With Connery!

The Bond films are, by and large, shit. This one will also be shit.

casino royale was already made wasnt it? a really dodgily crap movie that really wasnt accepted into the frnachise because...it were crap. loads and loads of people called james bond, woody allen of all people in it burping numbers for some strange reason.

I reckon they should just make a final Bond movie that has one of the original Bonds in it, Connery was good, but I really like Moore. Moore for Bond, yo.

Die another Day was the worst Bond film since Moonraker. Hoping for better stuff this time around.

As said above^ thats Tarantino's dreams fecked then.

I think Goldeneye was the best Brosnan Bond movie so here's hoping this will undo some of the hiding-behind-the-sofa horror of Die Another Day.

And Spielberg's. I don't get it. Loads of really talented people would love to do a Bond movie but they always hire some hack...

The guy scheduled for Casino Royale is the Goldeneye director so it should be vastly superior to Die Another Day. Mind you xXx was superior to Die another day.

Goldeneye wasn't that good, it was just good for a Bond film.