- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 June 2007 12.41 BST
The next James Bond film will be helmed by Marc Forster, a German-born director more associated with intimate dramas than high-octane action films, it was announced yesterday.
Forster will direct the 22nd 007 film, which is as yet untitled, from a script he and the Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis will develop. Their screenplay will be based on a draft by previous Bond collaborators Neil Purvis and Robert Wade. Haggis, Purvis and Wade shared writing credits on the latest Bond outing, Casino Royale, widely credited with having rejuvenated the 45-year-old franchise.
Forster's hiring could mean that Bond producers are looking to delve even more deeply into 007's psyche. Forster previously helmed a slew of critically acclaimed, Oscar-friendly films, including 2001's Monster's Ball, which won Halle Berry a best actress Academy award, and the Peter Pan story Finding Neverland, which saw Johnny Depp nominated for a best actor Oscar. He has just completed production on The Kite Runner, the film adaptation of the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini, which describes the changing friendship between two Afghan boys over several years of their country's tumultuous history.
"I have always been drawn to different kinds of stories, and I have also always been a Bond fan, so it is very exciting to take on this challenge," Forster said in a statement, adding that 007's latest direction opened up "a host of new possibilities" for him as director. As previously announced, Daniel Craig will don the 007 tuxedo again after receiving high praise for his tough and rugged blond Bond. Filming is set to begin in December at London's Pinewood studios. The film already has a precise date for release, November 7 2008.
