We have Daniel Craig getting wasted at a party to thank for Sam Mendes directing Bond
Craig, who didn't have the go-ahead to do so, offered the job to Mendes at a Christmas party
Film Features Sam Mendes
Daniel Craig’s drunkenness has had an outsized influence on the direction of the James Bond films. Last summer we learned that a young Craig’s night out on the town with Mark Strong—and the massive hangover that followed—caused the latter actor to blow his audition for the role of a Pierce Brosnan era villain. Now, the former 007 has talked about how getting drunk with Sam Mendes at a Hugh Jackman-hosted Christmas party helped lead to the director heading up Skyfall and Spectre.
Craig told this story during an appearance on the most recent episode of Awards Chatter. While talking about his run as Bond, he brought up attending a Christmas party thrown by Jackman where he ran into Mendes. Craig, who says he “was definitely a little drunk” at that point, sat down for a drink with Mendes and started to realize he’d be a great candidate for directing the next Bond.
“It just became glaringly obvious to me sitting opposite him,” he says. “And so I just basically went, ‘I’m probably not supposed to say this, but do you want to direct the next Bond movie?’” Mendes said yes and, Craig remembers thinking right afterwards, “I’m in shit now.”
“I’m sure there is somebody I have to talk to about that before I go offering directors jobs,” he says. “It’s not my responsibility. But I was drunk! What can you say.”
He then called up producer Barbara Broccoli to tell her the news, thinking he was going to be in a lot of trouble, but she ended up being excited for the choice and Mendes, whether he enjoyed the experience or not, ended up taking the job.
Soon, presumably, Craig will sit down for another interview where he reveals more of his drunken powers, explaining how he accidentally signed onto his final Bond movie while five martinis deep or that, we don’t know, a long deceased relative invented the tuxedo.
[via IndieWire]
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52 Comments
British guy drinks! Stop the presses!
Pretty sure some people were drunk when they made No Time To Die.And, to be fair, Spectre before it.
In 2008 I was excited for Bond being once again fully-formed and ready to go after, well, Bond villains once again. But I couldn’t help be disappointed by Skyfall’s sudden clearing of the board. Looking back now, Skyfall would have been a perfect place for Craig to have left and another actor seamlessly drop in and fight Spectre and maybe a Blofeld that he didn’t share a box of cereal with as a kid.
I still see the actors that play Bond as anchors. The franchise has made wild tonal shifts between movies before, and they don’t always line up with the changing of Bond’s actor. So I was fine with Daniel Craig going from playing “Just Starting Out” Bond to “Grizzled, Deconstructed” Bond, and I would have been fine if he’d stuck around and they’d done something different after Skyfall. And yeah, I didn’t like that they made Bond and Blofeld brothers.
For sure, continuity has never really mattered in the Bond franchise. Treating Bond as a character frozen in time and without an arc is what has allowed actors to step in and out without ever re-booting (probably why some actors bored so quickly of the role). So even if No Time to Die hadn’t ended as it did, it would be almost unfair for any actor to be expected to follow Craig’s specific interpretation. It will be interesting to see how they restart, I just hope it’s less personal the next time out.
“…I would have been fine if he’d stuck around and they’d done something different after Skyfall. And yeah, I didn’t like that they made Bond and Blofeld brothers.”I’m still convinced that the only reason I’ve ever only seen Spectre -once- is because it was of the brother thing. I think of it as one of those good ideas on paper, yet when translated to the screen and also the whole mythology of Bond, it doesn’t work. At all.I actually consider Skyfall to be one of the best Bond films ever. It continues to work for me, and I’m sure I’ve watched it at least a dozen times.
They made No Time To Die while angry drunk. Spectre while silly drunk. Skyfall while sleepy drunk. QoS after shots. And Casino Royale while sipping the sort of single malt you only bring out on special occasions.
Brosnan’s ‘Die Another Day’ was the result of prison hooch.
It arguably was the toilet wine of Bond films.
And The World is not Enough must’ve been fueled by eggnog. Explains how they came up with that last line of dialogue.
Someone was on quaaludes when they made Quantum of Solace.
Spectre was garbage, but No Time to Die wasn’t that bad. I’d put it above Quantum of Solace but below Casino Royale and Skyfall
*sigh* I know “objectively” that NTTD is better than QoS, but Quantum is short. And I give it a lot of credit for that.
Daniel Craig: “If I risk it all, will you break my fall?”Sam Mendes: *laughs* “Yeah, sure buddy.”
Craig is still doing nothing to quash my incredible man-crush on him. And hey, we got Skyfall out of it, so not bad. (I’m not mentioning Spectre.)
He’s a good actor, but I hold an eternal grudge against Craig for stealing Rachel Weisz away from me.
You kind of outed yourself there, Darren.
Of course! When you rearrange the letters in dirtside, you get…Nope, doesn’t work.
Sidedirt?
Amateur. A drunk Daniel Craig would’ve made it work.
as you should. She is easy on the eyes as they say.
Comely.
le mot juste!
Wee!
As I understand it, Ms Weisz is of particular interest to many in the women-who-love-women category. So what I’m saying is, you have many lesbians you can commiserate with.
I got that already!
I see the pair of them as fantasy friends – they’d be great people to have in your social circle. Sadly I was briefly living quite close to them but only found out after I moved away. Then again, if I’d known, I could see a scenario where I’d be the recipient of a restraining order.
And people are wondering why he never wants to go to work. He just wants to sit home and stare at that all day.
“Now, the former 007 has talked about how getting drunk with Sam Mendes at a Hugh Jackman-hosted Christmas party helped lead to the director heading up Skyfall …”Craig’s a legend!“…and Spectre.”Craig’s a monster!
Barbara Broccoli? …..
She produces Bond.
All women associated with James Bond are contractually required to have a funny name.
Her assistant is a young lady named Happily Ridescock.
I’ll just leave this here. 🙂
Agnes Asparagus.
Well, at least it paid off for them.Skyfall is one of best Bond movies ever made.Too bad that they couldn’t capture the lightning in bottle again with Spectre, which ranks among the worsts. Mendes did proved his directorial chops again with 1917, which is quite a great WW1 film with niffy premise.
Skyfall is one of best Bond movies ever made.Justify your reasoning. It’s one of least shit Home Alone movies, I’ll give it that.
Spectre’s cold opening was one of the best, I think.
“Mendes did proved his directorial chops again with 1917″
Yeah, because Sam fucking Mendes needed to prove himself again after Bond.
I feel like it’s a personal failing that all those films just make me sleepy.
Across Hollywood, directors are adding “get drunk with Daniel Craig” to their to-do lists.
it should count as an official credit on your imdb profile.
This is as good a place as any to recall that Road to Perdition, which Mendez and Craig worked together before, remains a masterpiece.
Guys, I have a confession to make — I balled my eyes out at the end of No Time to Die. Now, keep in mind, I had just learned that one of my closest friends had just entered hospice (and is now gone), only 50 years old. So I was “already there,” you know? But I had to scoot my wife out of the theater quickly so no one there would think I was THAT broken up about the way things ended.
Craig was also drunk during the entirety of filming for ‘Knives Out’. Sober, his Southern accent is actually flawless.
then it’s not a Southern Accent
I once didn’t give my number to Sam Mendes. So,
That explains why the two Sam Mendes-directed Bond movies are the worst.
Whoa, Skyfall worse than Quantum of Solace? That’s piping hot.
I divide
Craig’s Bond movies into two categories. The ones where the villain’s giant
lair explodes at the end and the ones where this doesn’t happen. The first
category are always the weaker films.
We have Daniel Craig tripping balls at a drum circle to thank for Sam Mendes directing Heaven’s Gate II: Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back To The Ranch!
All he knows is that hoo-boy it is HAWT!