Sam Mendes calls working on Bond films an unhealthy way to work

March 9th 2020, 12:42pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Sam Mendes directed what is arguably the best Bond film in 2012's SKYFALL but the Oscar winning director is speaking out about his time with the franchise and it sounds like it wasn't the most healthy environment to work in.

During a recent profile with GQ about 007 actor Daniel Craig, Mendes talks about how the Bond franchise machine is an "unhealthy" way to work:

There has always been an element that Bond has been on the wing and a prayer. It is not a particularly healthy way to work

Mendes isn't entirely wrong about production issues while bringing a new 007 installment to the big screen. Mendes went through a tumultuous production on SKYFALL follow-up movie SPECTRE, which continued to have various script changes through the film shoot. Problems also arose on QUANTUM OF SOLACE, which started filming without a completed screenplay. The latest installment, NO TIME TO DIE, also went through its fair share of production issues and that curse has even plagued its post-production which recently saw the film getting pushed seven months from its April 10 release date due to coronavirus concerns.

This isn't the first time that Mendes has spoken out about his time with the franchise. Back in December, Mendes spoke with "The Sunday Times" and was pretty critical about getting involved with the films:

"When I think of them my stomach churns. It’s just so hard. You feel like the England football manager. You think, if I win, I’ll survive. If I lose, I’ll be pilloried. There is no victory. Just survival."

Mendes also pointed to the fact that Bond fans all over the world are hard to please because "everyone has their own version of it in their heads." Like any big franchise, there are certainly a vocal majority who speak up if they feel even the slightest thing is off with it so I can understand those frustrations. It's pretty interesting that the Bond films is what emotionally wrecked Mendes since he has worked on daunting films such as AMERICAN BEAUTY & 1917. Given how public some of the production woes have been across the more recent Bond films, it's not too surprising that getting to the finish line with them is no easy feat.

What are YOUR thoughts on Mendes' view of making the Bond films?