Boyle to Direct Next Bond?!

The movieland rumor mill has been turning at warp speed yet again, this time getting every Slumdog Millionaire fan out there (and heavens knows there are a lot of us) signing up to purchase über-advanced tickets to the next 007 flick.

That’s right, tabloids and e-zines on both sides of the Atlantic had British director Danny Boyle lined up to direct the 23rd James Bond movie after his most recent hit claimed 8 Oscar gongs at the Academy Awards (including Best Director). According to UK paper The Sun, Barbara Broccoli (unfortunate name, yes, but no one bats an eyelid when you head up all things double-0-seven at EON Productions) approached Boyle to work his screen sorcery on Daniel Craig’s third go at Bond, James Bond.

According to an unnamed Sun source: “Danny is the man of the moment and he is being bombarded with offers from studios.

“He has been offered the chance to direct the 23rd Bond film by Barbara. The EON team love his vision and think that it would work perfectly for the new look of Bond.

“Danny has always insisted he is more interested in the film than the money.

“However, with Daniel Craig’s involvement and the way the films are now structured – with the emphasis on the characters and plot rather than gags and gadgets – it is right up Danny’s street.

“Everyone on the EON team thinks Danny would be a fantastic addition to the Bond family.”

It all sounds very promising, but this little piece if juicy intel leads to a dead end. Somehow people took “offered the chance to direct” to mean “will be directing,” but Entertainment Weekly cleared up the misunderstanding yesterday with an email from director of the day Danny, who wrote:

“I enjoy the Bond movies, always have and always will, but I have no plans to direct one. I don’t know who came up with the story, but please tell them I’m very flattered to be thought of!”

Hmmm…nothing like disinformation to get us all talking about (read: anticipating) the next spy blockbuster…(though to be fair, it’s not like we at the Dan Gordon Spy Club need any encouragement when it comes to talking about spy cinema).

Who do you suspect planted the story?

photos courtesy of www.baptisttwentyone.com and www.iwatchstuff.com