Many have been hoping the arrival of much-delayed Bond film No Time To Die will provide a shot in the arm to the pandemic-ravaged box office.
Daniel Craig’s last outing as Bond opens next week for Amazon-owned studio MGM. Ahead of its bow, Craig and producer Barbara Broccoli have been discussing the franchise’s past and future amid so much industry debate over streaming vs theatrical.
Broccoli told Sky in the UK: “We focussed on making the films for theatrical release and… I think that’s our position. [Amazon] certainly have told us that the films will be theatrical films in the future. And we’ll see what happens.”
Craig told the broadcaster he is grateful that Bond producers “held their nerve” to get his last 007 outing into cinemas rather than putting it online only.
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The actor said it was a “joyous thing” that the film will finally hit cinemas. “It would have been sad [to see it on a streaming service], and we got here and we’re going to actually get into the cinemas,” he said.
Last night in London, Craig took part in a BAFTA Life In Pictures event, where he discussed his career and his initial reticence to take on the Bond role. He recalled telling Broccoli: “I just said I can’t, I mean; I think you got the wrong guy. Thank you, flattering, but I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”
He continued: “I didn’t realise Barbara had already made up her mind. You know, if you know Barbara, that means she’s made up her mind. It was just odd. It was just kind of and genuinely, you know people used to say oh you must have always wanted to be James Bond. I went well, yeah, kind of as a kid I kind of thought about it. I want to be Spiderman as well, but I just thought it was never going to happen. And I never thought it would come on my radar. I just was like, I don’t know, that’s such an awful lot of pressure and God almighty, that’s just going to be such a kind of like a momentous thing. Am I ready?”
The Brit actor also reflected on his work with late filmmaker Roger Michell, who passed last week: “Working with Roger was like taking a long warm bath. It was just…he was just delicious.”