James Bond is easily one of the most popular characters in cinematic history. The charming British spy agent has been showcased on screen several times. Sam Mendes-directed ‘Skyfall‘ is still considered to be one of the best films in the entire franchise.
The film, which had Daniel Craig as the 007 agent, has turned 10. Mendes recently talked about the struggle he had to go through to make the film as the franchise was on the cusp of a natural death. Let’s find out in detail what the director said.
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Sam Mendes Talks About Directing ‘Skyfall’
In 2010, as MGM was on the brink of bankruptcy, the third installment in Daniel Craig‘s James Bond series was put on hold. However, it was a blessing in disguise at that time.
As the film clocks ten years, director Sam Mendes gave an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “People forget these things very quickly, but MGM went bankrupt and the thought among the town at that time was: ‘Oh, it’s all over. They can’t afford it, that’s the end of Bond,’” he said.
“At a very early stage, there was a treatment — which was almost entirely ditched — but it ended with the death of M. And that was one of the things that hooked me in,” Mendes added.
He further said, “Everyone was feeling that, with Barbara and Michael’s willingness to handle the character that way, that one decision, in a sense, changed the entire franchise.”
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The film Acknowledged The Passage Of Time
Mendes said the halt worked in the film’s favor. “It acknowledged the passage of time, arguably for the first time ever, in the series“, he said. “It acknowledged that they are mortal, that they are going to age and probably die.”
Talking about shooting the film, the director called it a “tough shoot.” “It was a tough shoot. Skyfall was very hard,” Mendes said. “Partly of my own making, since we elected to shoot a lot of it in London and underground, with pretty grim conditions.”
“You have this sort of fantasy in your head about shooting a Bond movie that you’re going to spend days on some beach somewhere, but that was obviously not the case.”
The series concluded last year with ‘No Time To Die‘ with Craig retiring from the role. Since then, the search for the next Bond has been going on.
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