....Bond. James Bond.
"Official press release:
3 February 2005
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the James Bond films,
and MGM announced today that Martin Campbell will direct CASINO ROYALE, the
21st film in the 007 franchise.
This is Campbell's second time as helmer of a James Bond film. In 1995 he
directed the hit GOLDENEYE which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role of
007 with great success.
Wilson and Broccoli said:
"We are thrilled that Martin has accepted our offer to direct CASINO ROYALE.
He is an extremely talented director and we believe he will help take our
films in a new and exciting direction. He is currently finishing filming
'Legend Of Zorro', the sequel to 'The Mask Of Zorro', and will be joining
EON Productions shortly to work on the development of the script with our
writers, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade."
MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk said:
"Martin is an incredibly exciting filmmaker. GOLDENEYE was a wonderful movie
and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We're thrilled to have him back
to direct the newest Bond."
Born in New Zealand, Campbell moved to England in 1966 and made his
directorial debut on the popular TV series' 'The Professionals' and
'Minder'. He moved to America in 1986 to direct 'Criminal Law' and
'Defenceless'. Following GOLDENEYE, he went on to direct 'The Mask Of
Zorro', 'Vertical Limit' and 'Beyond Borders' and is currently directing
'Legend Of Zorro'.
CASINO ROYALE will be released in 2006 and distributed world-wide by MGM. No
decision has yet been made regarding casting for the role of 'James Bond'.
www.jamesbond.com
Mvh Zeki