ISTANBUL — James Bond may be known as a suave ladies’ man with a license to kill, but the latest 007 movie “Skyfall” delves into the character’s troubled psyche, Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes said.
Mendes said he went back to the original novels written by author Ian Fleming to look at a more complex time in the British secret agent’s history, including his depression at being a killer, Sky News reported Monday.
“What Fleming created was a very conflicted character,” he told reporters in Istanbul, where the movie is currently shooting.
Mendes also said he could not have made such a movie without Daniel Craig playing the legendary super-spy.
“Some of those things are explored in this movie because Daniel as an actor is capable of exploring them, and I am interested in exploring them, too,” he said. “That was a big thing for me, having a Bond who I believed in, who I felt could take the character to a new level.”
The 23rd installment of the world’s longest-running movie franchise was delayed indefinitely last year as MGM encountered financial problems amid the global recession.
But Mendes and Craig — who returns for his third outing as Bond — said being on hiatus afforded them extra time to develop the character’s story arc, the report stated.
“The MGM delay allowed us the time to think about the story … and in that time, Daniel was able to articulate the areas that the character could go,” Mendes said. However, Craig added, “We weren’t supposed to talk to each other … There were all sorts of legal ramifications, but we did. You couldn’t shut us up about it. We were very excited.”
Mendes, who won an Oscar for “American Beauty,” also revealed the latest Bond movie would be a “thriller” but that there would be some “humor,” as well.
Craig is joined onscreen by Dame Judi Dench — who reprises her role as Bond’s boss M — along with fellow British actors Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes and Naomi Harris, Oscar winner Javier Bardem and French model and actress Berenice Marlohe as the Bond girl Severine.
“Skyfall” is due for release later this year.
To read more, go to Sky News.
