Spectre: 8 Things Sam Mendes Doesn't Want You To Know
Not even James Bond could have stopped this information getting out.
The James Bond series has been running for over 50 years, but in 2012 - with Skyfall - the franchise exceeded all expectations, breaking the bank to the tune of over $1 billion worldwide. Now, three years later, audiences are predictably clamouring for the next one.
Spectre, the 24th run around the block for James Bond, is due for release later this year, with director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig returning for their second and fourth run at the character respectively. But though November 6th is only four months away, early info about one of the most anticipated films of the year has already started leaking out to a fanbase eager for details.
Rumours have been flying, about how Bond's brother is secretly the villain, or how Quantum has actually become SPECTRE - a kind of Freemasons for the evil - but nothing has been confirmed. There are, however, some choice facts about the film that have somehow managed to make their way onto the last place they should have ever reached: the internet.
Director Mendes has been as tight-lipped about his latest Bond movie as he was his last one, but despite his - and studio Sony's - best efforts, you can now read on and find out eight things he doesn't want you to know about Spectre.
8. Production Was Extremely Turbulent
Anyone looking for Hollywood gossip last year could have done a lot worse than the Sony leaks info dump. Revelations included the fact that studio heads like to make racist jokes about Barack Obama, and that Sony sometimes hate their own movies (not even Sony's producers liked The Interview or Aloha), but nestled in there was the insider news that the Spectre crew were having a rough time putting the latest Bond movie together.
For starters, the film's screenplay was originally apparently so unsatisfactory that Neal Purvis and Roger Wade - veterans of the franchise - plus an uncredited Jez Butterworth were called in to tweak Skyfall writer John Logan's script with just weeks to go before cameras rolled.
Then there was also the little/gargantuan problem of the budget, which topped Skyfall's $200 million price tag to reach an enormous $300 million. Frantic emails from the Sony leak reveal execs from various companies trying to figure out ways to cut the cost - one month before filming was set to begin.