Recently, news was traveling around the Internets that the new ‘Bond’ film was being put on hold due to the financial woes of MGM, there is now news that Sam Mendes – the director of American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and Revolutionary Road – is signing up to direct the still untitled movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is now being fast tracked, despite the issues with the movie studio.
Sam Mendes, whose closest action film effort has to be either Jarhead, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and Road to Perdition, starring Tom Hanks and current ‘James Bond’ Daniel Craig, has been a celebrated director since his debut with 1999’s American Beauty. Bond 23, which is being written by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) and ‘Bond’ series writers, Neil Purvis and Robert Wade is currently scheduled for filming sometime this year, with a hopeful release date of 2011.