Directing James Bond movies needs right attitude, says Christopher Nolan

Hollywood director Christopher Nolan is currently basking in the astounding success of his latest film ‘Oppenheimer’ which has received an overwhelmingly positive reception. Recently, Nolan while talking of his direction methods and what inspires him, shared that directing a James Bond film would be a “privilege”.

Speaking at the Happy Sad Podcast with host Josh Horowitz, he said: “To make any film, I think you have to have the right attitude. Like it has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express and really burrow into something within the appropriate constraints because you would never want to take on something like that and do it wrong.”

He continued, “The influence of those movies on my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. And so, there’s no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films, and you know, it would be an amazing privilege to do one.”

Taking on the iconic charming English assassin and spy would be indeed a tough task, and more so for Nolan whose own filming style is radically different from how the James Bond movies have been made. This is due to the director’s own focus on realism, and the Bond films that have come closest to being real are the Timothy Dalton movies ‘Living Daylights’ and ‘License to Kill’ in the ‘80s, which were not that popular at the time due to their own gritty realism, dark brooding nature and violence, though these days they are considered some of the finest Bond movies ever made.

“You wouldn’t want to take on a film not fully committed to what you bring to the table creatively. So as a writer, casting, everything, it’s a full package. You’d have to be really needed, you’d have to be really wanted in terms of bringing the totality of what you bring to a character. Otherwise, I’m very happy to be first in line to see whatever they do”, he added.

Nonetheless, Nolan has expressed his interest in directing a Bond film long back, as he had said that he deeply loves the character, and he would like it to have his own take on it. Just like it is with each and every character, Bond too would need reinvention as different directors have different approaches.