Caffeinated Clint
With “Skyfall” closing in on $300 million, without having even been released in the states (or Australia) yet, director Sam Mendes and writer John Logan can, well, pretty much do whatever the f*ck they want now.
According to Deadline, the duo have decided to tackle the ever-so trendy vampire genre next – but for TV.
The untitled drama, which Logan penned for Mendes to helm, has been (unfortunately) compared to “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman”.
It is described as an origin story set in the 1800s London in the vein of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which also was set in 19th century Europe, including London, and featured an assortment of fictional literary characters. The Logan/Mendes project features such characters as Van Helsing and Doctor Frankenstein as they hunt for vampires.
The show is being pitched to cable networks, suggesting we might be privy to some good cursing, fornicating corset-clad bloodsuckers.
But did I mention “Skyfall”!?
Wow.
‘Best bond film ever!’ impatiently cried the UK critics in their press write-ups fresh from being shown (before the rest of the world) the 23rd James Bond film. After checking out this beauty, you’ll likely find you’ll share the sentiment.
Daniel Craig’s first 007 venture, ”Casino Royale” was all-kinds of excellent, and presented Bond in a fresh, more-realistic and thankfully significantly-less cheesy way, but ”Skyfall” takes it even further – combining the successful elements of a James Bond film with an epic drama/thriller that might otherwise (had it not had ‘007’ on the poster – you know what the snobs at the Academy are like) have found itself a contender for the Oscars.
Sam ‘American Beauty’ Mendes has crafted an exciting, action-packed thriller that’s equal parts spectacle and heart-rending emotion. If it’s not the best Bond, it’s definitively going to be the most broadly appealing of the long-running series.
In it, Bond (Craig, proving to be one of the best assigned to the MI6 movie headquarters) finds himself in an odd spot when he’s accidentally shot by a colleague on a mission – and presumed dead. When he returns to London, alive and well (besides the odd bit of emotional scarring and mistrust), the former agent has to prove he still has what it takes to do his old job, while helping ‘M’ (Judi Dench) escape the greasy hands of an old enemy (a wickedly brilliant Javier Bardem).
The last quarter of the film takes place in a beautiful Irish mansion, complete with secret passageways and home-made booby traps, and it’s some of the most engrossing cinema you’ll see all year.
