When you have a successful film, you want to keep the team together for the sequel. Unfortunately for the James Bond franchise, it looks as if Skyfall‘s team captain, director Sam Mendes, won’t be coming back for the film’s follow up.

Citing a number of projects already on his schedule, including two stage plays, Mendes told Empire that he would not be returning to take the British secret agent on another globe-trotting adventure -

It has been a very difficult decision not to accept [producers] Michael [G. Wilson] and Barbara [Broccoli]’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie. Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life, but I have theatre and other commitments, including productions of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and King Lear, that need my complete focus over the next year and beyond.

Well, this definitely flies in the face of previous reports that Mendes was “75 percent certain to return,” that circulated last month. When discussing that story, I did note that if he were to return for a new franchise installment it would have to wait until he finished with his two stage obligations.

So it’s a mixed bag for Bond fans. The next Bond installment won’t be delayed while Sam Mendes directs two plays, but it also means that Bond 24 won’t be directed by Mendes. Presumably the hunt for a new director is already underway.

With Skyfall‘s box office receipts now passing $1.1 billion, it is understandable that the producers of the James Bond franchise would like to replicate whatever magic the film had when assembling the production team for the inevitable next installment.

The most vital member of that team is undoubtedly director Sam Mendes, and according to the London Daily Mail‘s Baz Bamigboye‘s sources, that Mendes while the director “hasn’t firmly made up his mind about directing another Bond, I’m reliably told he’s ‘75 per cent’ of the way towards doing it.”

Purportedly, Mendes’s original reluctance to return to the franchise stemmed from the possibility that the producers were exploring the idea of making the next two Bond films one giant-sized connected adventure that would film back-to-back. Bamigboye states that such a plan would have amounted to a four-year commitment that Mendes was unwilling to make. But with that plan abandoned and Skyfall scripter John Logan having drafted “two treatment papers outlining a rough idea of the plot,” it seems as if Mendes is amenable to the smaller time investment.

It’s not as if Mendes is lacking for work. He currently has two upcoming stage productions hitting the London boards – Charlie And The Chocolate Factory opens in May and then King Lear at the National Theatre next January. of course, this would push a start date for a Bond film under his direction towards late 2014 and I don’t know if the franchise producers want to wait that long to get a follow up into theaters.

I will admit that I am sad to see that the idea to tell a two-film Bond adventure has been abandoned. Besides the cost-savingtaht I am sure the producers would welcome there is the opportunity to tell a really sprawling, epic Bond story. Hopefully, it is an idea that will get revisited in the future as it holds some great potential and the with the recent Casino Royale and Skyfall, it shows that the franchise is still open to try new things.

The latest James Bond adventure Skyfall is not only breaking overseas box office records for the franchise in its initial two weeks of release, but it is also the first Bond film to be released in the IMAX format.

As the film opens around the US this weekend, fans may be wondering what extra they will be getting for the IMAX upcharge tacked onto their ticket. IMAX has released a comparison of how the film will look in the traditional 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and the 1.90:1 ratio for the IMAX release. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

For IMAX purists, though, this is still a far cry from the format’s traditional 1.43:1 ratio screens and 70mm print projection. This is due to the film’s cinematographer Roger Deakins shooting the film with the Arri Alexa M digital camera rather than the bulkier IMAX film cameras as opposed to the IMAX sequences in The Dark Knight Rises and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which did use the cameras. Still, Deakins and Skyfall director Sam Mendes worked under the assumption that the film would be presented in both versions and framed what they shot accordingly.

Over its almost 90 year history, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, or MGM, has become a legendary name in the world of film. From film series ranging from The Thin Man  to Pink Panther  to James Bond series, from  movie musicals such as Singing in the Rain and The Wizard of Oz  to Best Picture Oscar winners such as Ben-Hur and Mrs. Miniver, MGM became known for classic cinematic fare.

Unfortunately, over the last several decades, MGM has become even more well known for its financial troubles. Year after year where box office bombs (Heaven’s Gate, anyone? How about Cutthroat Island?) outweighed box office successes and poor management decisions increased the studio’s debt. The once strong MGM entered a fight for its survival.

The years of financial struggle came to a head in 2009, as MGM CEO Stephen Cooper attempted to sell the studio to try and fend of bankruptcy. Even though MGM’s future looked bright–it still had rights to the newly rejuvenated Bond franchise, it had much talked about remakes of RoboCop and Carrie in the pipeline, and it owned a stake in the eagerly anticipated The Hobbit–and had a number of potential buyers, no deal could be reached for the sale. MGM’s  bankruptcy plan was approved on December 2, 2010.

As MGM entered bankruptcy, much of its operations came to a halt. Two films that were completed and set to be released–The Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn–were put on hold, and development on the next Bond film and The Hobbit was delayed.

Typically, this kind of hiatus could be fatal for a film. Movies put on the shelf often stay on the shelf, and if projects are delayed, you typically lose cast and crew who can’t afford to wait for the project to restart. However, in this case, time spent in limbo did a whole lot more good than bad.

The Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn were both scheduled to be released in 2010, but MGM’s financial troubles did away with that idea. By 2011, MGM was looking to sell distribution rights for the films. Cabin ended up at Lionsgate, a perfect fit for the horror homage/satire as the distributor is known for the horror films like Saw that Cabin was parodying. Red Dawn ended up at the relatively new FilmDistrict.

Both films had, at the time, young, unknown casts. This is where the delay helped because in between the time they were filmed and the time they were release, some of  the up and coming cast came up, so to speak.

Chris Hemsworth, who has a role in both The Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn, was a relatively unknown Australian soap opera actor when he shot those films. His biggest American film role was a cameo in the Star Trek revamp as Captain Kirk’s father. But in 2011, he starred in Thor, one of Marvel’s “Phase One” superhero films. Thor tripled its production budget in grosses worldwide and established Hemsworth as a burgeoning superstar in the making and a hunky heartthrob for the ladies.

Red Dawn one ups The Cabin in the Woods when it comes to the little known actor to superstar quotient as it also has Josh Hutcherson in its cast. Unlike Hemsworth, Hutcherson got his start in Hollywood as a child actor and has an extensive resume to his name prior to shooting the Red Dawn, including the successful Journey to the Center of the Earth remake. But his casting as Peeta Mellark in the highly anticipated The Hunger Games adaptation shot him into super stardom as well. Unless something highly unlikely happens, when Red Dawn opens on November 21, it will feature stars from the highest grossing (Hemsworth and The Avengers) and third-highest grosssing (Hutcherson and The Hunger Games) films of 2012 in its cast. If even part of the audiences for those films carry over to Red Dawn, it should be a hit.

Another way the release delay should help Red Dawn‘s grosses is that it allowed the filmmakers to change the villain of the film from China to North Korea. In the time between when the movie was filmed and when it will be release, foreign markets, especially China, have become vital for a film’s financial success. Red Dawn should do much better in China now that their country isn’t the one viciously invading ours.

MGM made sure to keep hold of their interests in the Bond franchise and The Hobbit as they progressed through bankruptcy. Both projects were affected by the delay, but they too came out of the ordeal better than they went into it.

Development had started on Bond 23, which we now know is called Skyfall, before MGM entered bankruptcy. Sam Mendes was picked as director and Peter Morgan was chosen to write the script. However, when the project became delayed, Morgan had to leave the project before finalizing the final script. Rumor has it that Mendes worked on the script to the film during the time production was unable to go forward, calling on writers such as Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan to build up the characterization in the script.

Another benefit of the delay is that the film will be released in November 9, 2012, 50 years, one month and four days after the Bond franchise began with Dr. No. The anniversary was covered in all forms of media, and Skyfall was mentioned prominently in every article and news feature about the golden jubilee.  If the film was released years earlier, it would not have received the boon of so much free publicity. (The Cabin in the Woods also benefited with a load of free publicity due to its being released the month before The Avengers. In the promotional blitzkrieg for that movie, of course starring Hemsworth and written and directed by Cabin‘s co-writer and producer Joss Whedon, interviews would often refer to the earlier film, raising awareness of the film among a possible target audience).

While Skyfall lost a screenwriter, The Hobbit lost a director in the delay. Guillermo del Toro was originally slated to direct the Lord of the Rings prequel, but had to drop out when MGM’s financial quandary prevented the film from being green lit before the window del Toro allowed in his schedule for the film elapsed. The director’s departure left MGM and co-producers Warner Brothers searching for a new director. Eventually, the powers that be picked the executive producer of the film to take over as director.

Normally, when a producer replaces a talented and experienced director such as del Toro, the film is doomed with no hope for improvement. However, this time around, with no offense meant towards the skill and ability of del Toro, the producer will be an obvious improvement. Why? Because that producer is Peter Jackson, the man who brought Tolkien to the screen with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, winning three Academy Awards for its final installment, Return of the King.

With Jackson at the helm, The Hobbit trilogy will have a sense of continuity with the world Jackson built with Lord of the Rings. Again, no slight meant to del Toro, a director I admire and respect, something would simply be missing without Jackson in the director’s chair.

We are witness to the impossible happening–four films whose quality and/or box office potential were magnified by a studio’s bankruptcy. Too bad what happened to MGM was a stroke of luck, or else many other studios would pursue bankruptcy as a sure-fire way to turn their fortunes around.

We’ve had a teaser trailer and a television commercial, and now here is the first two full-on trailers for the upcoming James Bond adventure Skyfall.

At first glance, it seems as if this third film of the Daniel Craig-starring rebooted franchise is bringing in some more elements from the previous five decades worth of films. We get to see Bond’s first meeting with the British Secret Service’s quartermaster, codenamed Q, this time being played by Ben Whishaw. But more intriguingly, the trailer reveals a plot point that is definitely lifted from one of Sean Connery’s Bond adventures. The trailer also provides our first good look at a bleach-blond Javier Bardem as the film’s villain, Silva.

What I find interesting in the two trailers – one for US audiences and an international trailer – is the way that they use much of the same footage but have different modes established at the beginning.

Skyfall opens in the US on November 9, though the lucky British get it on October 26.

Fortunately, Bond’s second appearance, in the form of a new commercial for the upcoming Bond cinematic adventure Skyfall. This new 30-second clip features some more action beats as shot by the Oscar winning cinematographer Roger Deakins under the direction of Sam Mendes than we got to see in the initial teaser trailer released back in May.

The film is due to be released internationally on October 26 and in the US on November 9.

Good morning. Let’s start the week off with a little game of word association.

Skyfall? Trailer.

That’s right. Sony has just released the first trailer for the latest installment in the James Bond franchise, Skyfall. The film is due to be released internationally on October 26 and in the US on November 9. While it does consist of mostly quick flashes of scenes, it does give us an idea of some of the visuals Sam Mendes, a director not necessarily known for action films, has in mind for the film.

There are not many rumors about the storyline for the upcoming James Bond adventure Skyfall, but their is one major one that seems to pop up now and then. If true, it would be a big moment and one that would be a first for the series.

Best For Film (via Bleeding Cool) is reporting this rumor again and this time it sounds like it is a little closer to being reality.

We have it from a fairly iron-clad source (a member of the Skyfall team) that there’s going to be a fairly momentous death in the next Bond film.

“We’ve just filmed M’s death scene. Judi Dench is leaving the franchise.”

This would definitely be a strong creative choice for a franchise that historically hasn’t taken too many detours from its established formula that would have a lasting impact on the series. In fact, outside of 2006′s reboot with Casino Royale, I think the only Bond film that really had a dramatic moment that impacted on the character in the long run was 1969′s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with the death of Bond’s hours-old bride Tracey. And that was more due to the source material of Ian Flemming’s original novel than it was a creative choice on the part of producers.

Given that Dame Judi Dench has had some reported health problems, this would give her an exit from the series that provides an in-story explanation for the change in actors in the role.

Skyfall hits theaters this November.

Each Bond adventure sees the suave secret agent making time with a beautiful woman or two and in the upcoming case of Skyfall, it may very well be three. In addition to Naomie Harris as and MI6 agent by the name of Eve (with the possible last name of Moneypenny) and Berenice Marlohe in the role of Severine, the production has just hired a third Bond beauty in the form of Tonia Sotiropoulou.

Bond fansite MI6 is reporting that the Greek actress will be appearing in the film’s pre-title sequence which is set for filming in Turkey in a few weeks.That she’ll only be appearing in that section of the movie may or may not be a spoiler.

Sotiropoulou had originally auditioned for the role of Severine last August, though she lost the part to Matlohe. On the suggestion of the casting agent, Sotiropoulou’s agent submitted her for consideration for the new, unnamed role and after an audition and meeting with director Sam Mendes last week she was offered the part.

I certainly hope that the real British Secret Service has better security for the things they guard than the production for the new James Bond adventure Skyfall does.

The film is currently in production in Turkey and a high school boy was able to infiltrate the set by borrowing a railway workers uniform and just walking on. He managed to record some rehearsal of a fight sequence on top of a train. (Presumably, this is the same sequence that the Indian government had a problem with last year, leading to the production to move location shooting to Turkey to begin with.)

The footage found its way to CNN’s Turkish division and that is the source of the news story embedded below.