These are dark days for James Bond fans. It will likely be years before 007 returns to the screen, thanks to money troubles at MGM, Bond’s longtime studio, which has been up for sale since November. Even Daniel Craig seems to have moved on, signing up for the lead in a different potential franchise, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The last time the Bond series was put on this sort of “indefinite” hold was back in the early 1990s, after a series of legal battles (and Timothy Dalton) nearly wrecked the series. It took six years to get it up and running again. And in Hollywood today, six years is an eternity. “No franchise can afford to be away from screens for that long anymore,” says a former MGM exec. “You lose too much momentum. Even for Bond, it could be deadly.” Of course, Bond has defied death before — just ask Blofeld — so we’re not counting him out just yet. One possibility: “[MGM] should sell the Bond franchise for a billion dollars to some sovereign company in Abu Dhabi and promise to make Bond movies in Abu Dhabi from now on,” suggest one financial analyst familiar with the MGM sale. The name is Bond, Jamal Bond. We could live with that.
For more on the Bond franchise’s woes, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands August 6th.
random….
Thanks for not posting another crappy cover of a movie that will flop at the box office.
Hmm, though, so many Twilight-free weeks on the cover. It’s hard to fathom!
Don’t fret, Matt. There’s another DVD release on the horizon and two unneeded films to thankfully tie up the series.
I’m sure EW will come up with something to appease the tweens, twinks, and twats.
Don’t jinx us, Matt!
I dumped you because you’re shallow and ugly on the inside.
Like.
Robert Pattinson said he wants To play James Bond, do you think he is capable of saving the franchise ?
I’d rather the franchise die than have Pattinson take it over.
not too big of a fan of Miss Julia Roberts, huh-right!
re: the cover prior to this one
More pretty trinkets to trap
the rich ragheads with. Dubai, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, and so on are getting enticed then fleeced. Screw ‘em all.
Svetkey is just pissed that James Bond always comes out on top over the Russians in every way. Bond will return people, don’t get your underwear bunched up.
I don’t give a rat’s a$$ about James Bond, however I love Christina Applegate and there is an article about her in this week’s issue. Why not put her on the cover?
Bond will be fine, there are way too many good movies to choose from, and be discovered by movie/home viewers for it to fall to pieces. If Batman can be revived – anything can.
But I shall mourn the loss of Daniel Craig beating people up nearly naked by thinking about me and Javier Bardem doing stuff with the lights off.
Exactly, look at Tron. It’s been 28 years since it first came out and look how much hype the sequel has been getting.
Oh, 28 years!?! One of my first blind dates was to see Tron. Hard to believe it was that long ago!
I think when they revive the series, and someone will, they should go with another relative unknown, like Craig was before he became Bond. I nominate Max Beesley (Survivors, Torque). The only problem with Max is if it takes too long to get the series back.
Aw, I love Max Beesley! I’ve never really given thought to him as Bond, but he’d probably be pretty excellent.
I’m just glad someone else knows who Max Beesley is!
I just saw Survivors and my first thought is that Max Beesley would make the PERFECT JAMES BOND, he plays nasty and cruel characters so well and has so much charm too.
jamal bond?? hopefully, you are kiddding
Jack – I have to ask: Are you kidding? Do you really think they’re serious? It’s a joke. Whether funny or not is for the reader to decide, but it is most definitely, a JOKE.
A LAME joke. Pointless post by EW – par for the course.
It would be the best way to turn Bond into the villain, that’s for sure.
Thanks for the extra bonus racism, Nathan!
James Bond beds hot women
Jamal Bond beheads them
Eh, just isn’t the same…
@Tonie, not racist just realistic. ENough with changing classic characters ethinicity anyway (i.e., Sma Jackson as the black Nick Fury although calling that a classic character would be a stretch)
WTH? Marvel approached Jackson about modeling the character after him in the comics way before he signed on to Iron Man, after all that it was just a given.
no he is not dead. the same sort of thing happened in 1989 maybe we will just have to have a 6 year break and then it will come back.
LOVE james bond, thanks for putting him on the cover!!
At least it ended (for now) on an upswing.
Upswing? QoS was the worst Bond ever.
I find myself defending QoS all the time. It’s a transitional movie. They are setting up a new SPECTRE!
I did like it better the second time, and it is a good movie, but still the worst Bond ever.
I agree. Quantum of Solace was the worst. It’s the only Bond film I don’t have on DVD, and I have no plans to add it to the collection.
“Quantum of Solace” is worse than “A View to a Kill” and “Octop@ssy?
I will easily agree that even the worst Bond movie is still, for me, a good movie, but I think the worst would be A View To A Kill. I like Roger Moore, but he was clearly too long in the tooth at that point, if not a few earlier.
Bond has survived over 40 years, 6 actors, countless rip-offs and spoofs. I have no reason to doubt that this is merely a minor speed bump.
Worse than Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist named Dr. Christmas Jones (who apparently unlike the holiday “comes” more than once a year)?
I really enjoyed QoS. I wasn’t crazy about it the first time, however now I have come to love it. Anyone who thinks it was worse than Moonraker, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Octopussy, or Diamonds are Forever is kidding themselves. I put QoS in the top 10.
You guys have to be kidding me. Apparently, none of you have seen all of the Bond films. How about Licence To Kill or even A View To A Kill? Those are bottom of the barrel.
QoS was GREAT! I thought I would hate it but it was perfect. It was about how a young agent actually has to lose his identity and his life and his dreams and hopes and loves to be a 00 agent. Bond had to learn to dispose of his personal life in every aspect, which is why at the end he throws away the picture and walks off steely cold, ready to KILL. Loved it. thought I would not but hey…
I think you are all forgetting a stinky little floater named Moonraker.
actally, worst Bond film is MOONRAKER. By a LONG shot.
Yep, it doesn’t get much worse in the Bond library than the ridiculous A View To A Kill and the one-liner quips in the dialog. Tanya Roberts is awful and Grace Jones, while scary as a “woman”, is not the least bit intimidating as a henchman.
QoS is definitely much better than that schlock, if only because Craig is a better Bond than Moore (at least in the last 3-4 Moore Bonds).
/
I don’t think it’s entirely fair to judge QoS as a stand alone film. It was meant to ride off Casino Royale and lead into something else…
If QoS is a transitional movie, let’s hope it transitions into another actor playing Bond. Try Hugh Jackman; he can do just about everything.
I disagree. That dubious distinction would go to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
You obviously haven’t seen The Man with the Golden Gun. Or Moonraker. Or A View to a Kill.
You guys are all nuts. Anything with Timothy Dalton is the WORST bond ever. Grace Jones was excellent! Moonraker was one of my personal favorites. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan are still the best bonds. Craig’s ok, about the level of Moore.
Pretty sure anything with Brosnan (Goldeneye aside) or Moore (Live and Let Die aside) would be a better candidate for worst Bond ever.
Nope. you’re thinking of A View to a Kill or Octopussy or all but two of Roger Moore’s efforts. The bottom of the Bond series barrel.
What??? QoS is the second part of Casino Royale. My God man! Its one movie in 2 parts. Give it a break. Watch them back to back for a great set-up to what could have been-
A View to a Kill is AWESOME for the following reasons:
1) Christopher Walken as Max Zorin (machine gunning innocent civilians and laughing…brilliant!…muhahahaha)
2) Duran Duran lead song (great song – to quote Kevin Smith: the room will get moist)
3) Grace Jones!!!! (She’s wicked cool and just as iconic as Odd Job)
4) Tanya Roberts (drool)
5) Battle on the Eiffel Tower and the half FIAT car chase
6) Blimp battle on Golden Gate.
I just don’t get how one can knock this film. Pure entertainment.
Daniel Craig is the best bond ever!!!!! Much more realistic than any of the others and still smooth as silk. You have to watch QoS with Casino Royale. The only other great Bond was Sean. The others are non-starters to me.
I don’t find View to a Kill to be that bad. It’s just that Moore is unacceptably old by then. And big penalty for the fireturck chase, especially the idiotic drawbridge sequence. But I like Walken, Jones, and Macgee a lot.
You kidding me? Worst was On Her Majesty’s Secret Service closely followed by Never Say Never Again. (I liked it better when it was Thunderball)
Another vote for ‘A View to a Kill” as the worst Bond movie. QOS isn’t even close to the worst. I actually really like “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” just wish it had been Connery instead of Lazenby. I hope we get at least one more Bond film with Daniel Craig.
Anything that Denise Richards is awful, she’s a terrible actress. I can see why Charlie Sheen beat her up.
Loved QoS. It deserves a rewatch.
@MaryJane – your comment is so stupid I can only think it is an attempt at a joke. It fails dismally.
@edmonton girl, sorry but that comment from MaryJane cracked me up(in a sick sort of way!)
I think EdmontonGirl was right. As soon as I saw MaryJane’s post, I thought “Ick, uncalled for”.
Oops, Macnee, not Macgee.
you people are all morons, the worst Bond movie was by far Die Another Day, and as for the future, remember what it says at the end of every film “James Bond Will Return”. the franchise survived moonraker, timothy dalton, christmas jones and die another day, Bond 23 will arrive eventually
QOS sucked so bad, camera work was so quick cutting you couldn’t tell what was going on in some scenes. Thank you Paul Grengrass becasue of your two crappy directed Bourne flicks studios think people love the style. Some might but for the majority of people like to be able to decipher the action scenes in their movies without a headache.
“Ouantam of Solace” the worst Bond ever? Really? Even worse than “Moonraker”? Or “A View to a Kill”? Or “Diamonds are Forever”?
Really QoS is the worst Bond? Do you have amnesia? Or did you skip over Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough, and Moonraker? And those are just to name a few. The list of good bond movies much much shorter than the worst. QoS is the least worst of the worst.
Really? You think QoS was worse than License to Kill or the Living Daylights or anything with Timothy Dalton?!!
First time I saw Quantum of Solace I was extremely disappointed. Recently I watched it right after watching Casino Royale and I’m still disappointed. It was a better movie the second time around, but it just didn’t live up to the awesomeness that seemed promised at the end of Casino Royale (which was the best Bond of all time, hands down). Not to mentioned Casino Royale was just an amazing film period. I wish Martin Campbell had directed QoS. It probably would have been a much better film.
I think the Bond franchise will be absolutely fine. The biggest worry is ever seeing Daniel Craig, arguably the finest and most prescient Bond of all time, never play him again. Casino Royale was a modern classic and although Solace was a step down, a third Craig movie could have potentially put that film in a better light. Why can’t Sony step in again to bank-roll ASAP??
I agree — daniel craig and casino royale made me such a huge fan of 007. Quantum kinda sucked — so i hope they use this time to come up with something as good as casino.
Craig copied Dalton’s take on Bond. Sorry, but it had already been done, and by a much more appealing actor.
Craig like Dalton? You’ve got to be kidding. Daniel Craig’s take was mountains above the others. But credit for that should be given to the writers. They decided to go away from the gadget filled crap that had become the franchise and go back more closely to the novels. I’m going to be very upset if Craig isn’t back as Bond. He’s the best they’ve had.
Better than Sean Connery?
Ridiculous!
I wasn’t too happy when I heard that Brosnan was not going to be Bond anymore and that Craig was taking over,I was never impressed with anything I’d seen him in before. But I had to admit that Casino Royale made me change my mind, he was great! But in no way does he remind me of Dalton, who was so unappealing and un-charismatic, one has to wonder,what the hell were they thinking when he was cast as Bond? Even Lazenby was better than Dalton.
I gotta agree. I really enjoyed Craig as Bond. Didn’t think I would when he was first announced, but I thought he did a really good job. The most believable Bond so far IMO, (and I’m a huge Connery fan).
I’ve been reading the source novels and I think they’d do well to go back to those and try to make the movies a little more like the original material and not so super-hero over the top that it’s ridiculous. That’s why I liked Casino Royale so much. Yes it had hard to believe action sequences (which is necessary for a big screen version of Bond), but they didn’t seem as outlandishly over the top as earlier entries in the series.
I pose a question to you…If Craig and the last two Bonds were so great…MGM would not be trying to sell. Bottom line is Craig and the Last two Bonds were just plane CRAP. Craig was the most boring Bond I have ever laid eyes on. They put him in the movie and pretty much killed the whole franchise and the studio…WTF. Brosnan was the better playboy that fit the role.
Daniel Craig was the only Bond, besides Connery, that ever turned me on. The others were all too pretty and smug.
Uhh, this may be the dumbest post on here. MGM(or any studio) wouldn’t care if Craig and the last tow Bond’s were just “PLANE crap” (which they weren’t) as long as they made money(which they did). MGM has financial problems because of mismanagement, people buying the company and selling off its assets, and a slew of underperforming films(not Bond), among the other reasons.
hey idiot, you spelled ‘plain’ wrong, and for the record Brosnan sucked ass, yeah i said it
Don’t get made at me because the guy sucks. Craig just “plain” sucked. It wasn’t the actor, but the acting. He just doesn’t fit the bill. Both movies he starred in aren’t even worth mentioning. The only good part of Casino Royal was the beginning. And don’t get me started on the Quantum of Crap.
And part of managing your studio has to do with making good movies mr. pun-iverse.
Look, if you hate Daniel Craig and his movies, well, that’s your opinion. But to say that MGM just wants to sell Bond because they don’t like his movies, that’s just stupid. Even if they didn’t care for Craig, they damn sure like the money his films have brought it. Their problem is that none of their other films make that kinda money.
are you really gonna sit there and tell me that die another day or any of the brosnan movies are better than casino royale? because if you are then maybe you’d better have your head checked and god only knows what ian fleming would say about that
agreed! Criag is the best Bond ever, and if he only gets 2 films that would be a disappoint…Solace may not be the best Bond film, but Casino royale certainly is!
I wholeheartedly agree! I love Craig in the role and as the wife of a Bond fanatic, have had to endure almost every Bond film out there. Personally I enjoyed Dalton in the role though I don’t think the scripts for either of his films were well written. The worst Bond has got to be Roger Moore who seemed to play the role for laughs. The reason why I Love Craig in the role is he made it serious again and brought the franchise back to what I think it was envisioned to be which is the story of a British spy. It didn’t hurt that he and the lead actress in Casino Royale had amazing on screen chemistry as well.
Daniel Craig is the only Bond I do not like. He’s BORING.
His first movie had a great opening chase scene. EVERYTHING else was a bore.
And Casino Royale with Texas Hold ‘Em? Ugh. How *exotic*.
When your Bond movie has the SAME CONTENT as every gambling show on TV, it’s no longer special.
BRING BACK THE FUN!
BRING BACK THE GADGETS!
YOU ARE BOND, NOT BOURNE!
Finally, someone on this board that gets it. THANK YOU!!
I totally agree. It is what I have been saying since Casino Royale, Bond is suppose to be fun and not hyper realistic.
That’s what I’ve been saying too! When has Bond ever been grounded in reality? He was made to play out male fantasies and be this fun escape! Stop trying to make him serious!
You guys should just go watch the A-Team. :/
Have you even read a Bond novel or seen the first Connery movies were Bond defeats Smersh without gadgets. Craig’s Bond is more true than those two dolts who make wisecracks, the Saint and Remington Steel.
Have to agree. i didn’t buy Craig as Bond. Not for a second. Ruined the series for me, and I’m a long time fan. I hope it gets restarted at some point, with a different actor playing Bond. That said, I wish Craig luck in his future endeavors.
Perfect cover story. Not the same crap I can find on every other magazine. Looking forward to reading this. (And Lost DVD secrets too!)
“Timothy Dalton…nearly wrecked the series”.
Bull! Dalton was great! The Living Daylights is one of the best of the series. He was later topped by Craig and maybe even by Brosnan, but he buried Moore and Lazenby.
Dalton was amazing!! The Living Daylights is my favorite Bond movie. Dalton didn’t do anything to the series, except made it better with his amazing charm and acting skills!
Ditto on Dalton. He came the closest of all the actors to capturing how Fleming wrote the Bond character, and actually brought some dimension to the role.
I actually liked License To Kill over The Living Daylights.
It gave us Benicio del Toro.
License to Kill used to be my favorite because I really liked Del Toro and the guy that played Sanchez, but then I decided that I liked The Living Daylights better. LTK is now my 3rd favorite and TLD is my first favorite!! but both are amazing movies.
I grant that The Living Daylights is a little awkward to watch today, with him aiding the mujaheddin. But there you go.
Pffft!! Yeah, Timothy Dalton was sooo bad. Nonsense! Did you not see the past couple Roger Moore films. He was 65 years old, the camp was at an all time high. Dalton brought a seriousness and toughness to the role. The problem was License To Kill was released in the most crowded summer movie season ever and got buried in the U.S.. Batman, Indy 3, Lethal Weapon 2 all came out that summer.
I object to you dissing Moore and Lazenby. Granted, Moore went on way too long, but his first three were awesome (The Spy Who Loved Me was the best Bond ever). And why no love for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service? Go watch it again—it’s amazing.
I’ve seen it recently, still don’t like it. Maybe I’d appreciate Lazenby more if he’d been in more films. After all, as much as I dislike Moore, For Your Eyes Only is one of my favorites.
The fact is, if you’re going to rank them, someone has to be on the bottom. In my book, it’s those two.
I recently just watched OHMSS for the first time since 2006 and i thought i was going to hate it because i hated it the 2 other times i saw it, but i loved this movie!! maybe you just need to give it time and then it will be better.
Agreed. I can’t believe how these people on this post just don’t understand Bond. The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only (both Moore) were both excellent entries even if The Spy Who Loved Me started to get a bit crazy at the end. Also, stop hating on On Her Majesty’s Secret Service already, OHMSS is a classic.
Stop the hate on George Lazenby. Both Lazenby and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” have grown in estimations since the ridiculous, unjust greetings they received on released. Fresh rating of 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes now. It’s a key film in series, particularly for Bond’s character development. I’d put Lazenby well ahead of Moore, Dalton and Brosnan. Watch OHMSS again. It’s easily better than 90 percent of the series.
OHMSS rocks! And Diana rigg made up for no Sean.
Was good to show that Bond did marry, and why he swore to never do it again.
Seriously, EW, what is the Dalton beef? You’ve spent years slamming him as the all-time worst Bond but I actually find him better than Moore, not a joking kind but the hard-edged persona Bond needs.
Seriously. It’s so predictable. Is there a house rule to insert an insult into every James Bond article?
I’m glad I’m not the only one who bristled at that comment – Dalton was a great Bond. But he was ahead of his time. Audiences weren’t ready for that kind of tough, serious approach until the Bourne films and Daniel Craig came around. I still love Roger Moore as well, though; his light touch is much missed in this age of non-stop miserablism. As for the worst Bond ever? As much as QoS was a let down, it’s streets ahead of the dire Die Another Day. That one makes Moonraker look like a masterpiece! And there’s no way that there won’t be another Bond movie. I’m sure Craig will return; he’s in great shape and could conceivably play the character for another ten years if he wanted to. The break is a good thing in my mind; write a decent story this time, develop the script properly instead of just using it as a framework for some action set pieces. Also, the ghastly shaky-cam fad will have run its course and we can get back to the old-fashioned idea of actually being able to see the great choreography they spend so much time and money on.
It’s hard for me to choose between Moonraker and Die Another Day as the worst. Though DAD at least is fun as a reference scavenger hunt.
Can we just pretend that Die Another Day never happened?
Some people have an adoatptian to sleep requirement. It becomes evident as age progresses.. I routinely get between 3-6 hours of sleep, depending on what has taken place during the day. You may consider taking a nap before work.. making sure it is no longer than 30 minutes. Anything more will leave you groggy rather than bright and alert.
Watched Dr. No and From Russia with Love recently and could hardly stay awake! Very slow paced. I never noticed Connery until The Untouchables, and now I know why. He was too skinny and slaps women around. The two Dalton Bonds were fast-paced, exciting and romantic. I’ve yet to see anything more bad-ass than Dalton kicking out the windshield of a truck and crawling over the hood to get to the enemy. Craig was just copying Dalton twenty years too late. Dalton is the only Bond that makes me want to be a Bond girl.
you aren’t very intelligent are you.
Huh? Dalton rules but if you think Dr. No or From Russia With Love are boring then you shouldn’t be a Bond fan.
Agreed! Dalton is the least respected of the Bond actors, except maybe for Lazenby. He was a great Bond; OK, perhaps “License to Kill” isn’t as great as “The Living Daylights,” but even LTK is way better than the two middle Brosnan movies and all Moore flicks after “For Your Eyes Only.”
I only hope Craig isn’t shortchanged by the studio’s woes like Dalton was.
The biggest problem with Dalton wasn’t Dalton’s performance, but the lame, lame scripts he was given to work with. Same goes for Brosnan, who gave a wonderful performance in the role but only got two good films (“Goldeneye” and “Tomorrow Never Dies”) to work with; otherwise he was stuck with some of the lamest scripts of the franchise. Daniel Craig is a great actor, but if he’d had to star in “The Living Daylights” or “Die Another Day,” nobody would remember HIS Bond kindly either.
Dalton was excellent, he suffered from one of the worst ever Bond scripts, Living Daylights and the fact that it was written with Moore’s “wit” in mind; he also suffered a little from Licence to Kill not doing well in America, it was a sizeable hit around the rest of the world and it’s a shame we never got a chance to see a third film with him.
Oh and Goldeneye was utter garbage, a bad film and a less than average Bond film too. What people saw in it I’ll never know.
Dame Judi Dench asside of course.
agree! I need to give it another watch i’m sure, but goldeneye did nothing for me. It’s not a good sign when the videogame of the film is the real masterpiece.
Pah, Dalton sucked. I swear, there was a stick up his ass the entire movie. The Bond movies are not about being serious. If I wanted serius I’d go watch a Sundance movie or something.
serious*
Even for a traditionally over-plotted Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace” was a complete mess. At least “Casino Royale” made sense (and it didn’t have a ridiculous, meaningless title). A nice long break may be just what the franchise needs…
Agreed completely
I thought the major stumble “Quantum of Solace” took was that it tried to look like a Bourne movie. Bond movies have to tread a fine line between staying current and being classic. Tough to do, but I’m sure they’ll find someone eventually.
sigh… Quantum of Solace means ‘a measure of peace’. Bond was in transition after losing Vesper and was longing to make peace with it. The double-meaning is the introduction of the organization Quantum, which will fill the role that Specter did in the Connery years.
It was a good film on its own. Besides, the QoS was so laced with homage to previous Bond films, that if you didn’t enjoy it on those grounds alone, you are not actually a Bond fan.
“And in Hollywood today, six years is an eternity. “No franchise can afford to be away from screens for that long anymore,”
Last time I looked, rehashing old stuff is ALL Hollywood does anymore. Reboots, remakes, and sequels. If anything, Bond is probably too fresh.
That “six years” comment is belied by so many examples (Batman, Star Wars, etc.), that it’s like saying if we take milk off the market, no one will buy it if we bring it back a few years later.
Touche!
right on the money!
Peter’s right. Don’t blame Dalton. An actor can only work with what they’re given in terms of script and direction, and in those movies, that wasn’t much.
It’s like people blaming Clooney for the Batman thing (which he seems to take on himself, still).
That being said, Craig is/was an excellent Bond, Judy Dench was a fantastic M, and the decision to not make it all laser pens and exploding watches really, really worked.
Clooney loves to joke about “Batman and Robin” as he does for “Return of the Killer Tomatoes”. That allows him to keep a cool head and gently address criticism for his current projects as they can’t be as bad as “Batman and Robin”
I’d like the Bond movies to end on a note slightly better than Quantum of Solace, but it really feels like it may be over.
Never say never, again.
boo. I love Daniel Craig as James Bond: darker, broodier, tighter swim trunks and all!
If I never see him a 007 again, I will be extremely disappointed.
me too, i will probably cry if they declare that the Bond franchise is over. it will be like someone died!
Agreed…he is amazing, even if Quantum was a little disappointing.
And Dan C. has a beautiful rear end!
Bond is a guaranteed moneymaker. Those are like gold in Hollywood. He ain’t going nowhere.
Here’s to hoping Quentin Tarantion, Christopher Nolan, or Sam Mendes gets to tackle Bond down the road.
Wow, you really don’t get it. At all.
Get it? What it?
Get what, George?
I like Tarantino but he shouldn’t direct a Bond film. His style doesn’t fit the series.
look at some Adrian paul pictiures.
That is the solution to your problems!