Mendes has high hopes for latest 007 adventure...
Alex Winehouse

15:44 25th October 2011

Bond 23 Sam Mendes is to tone down the action on the next 007 movie and concentrate on "characterful performances" in an attempt to land an Oscar.

Daniel Craig has previously stated his intention to bring more "emotional depth" to the James Bond role, and Mendes seems to be in agreement - starting with the prospectively-titled Skyfall.

A source close to the director told The Express: "There are growing rumours Sam Mendes is cutting out the action scenes and making it Oscar-friendly."

The report claims that all action scenes set to be filmed in India have been axed from the film, though sequences to be shot in Istanbul and Duntrune Castle in Scotland "are still there for the moment."

The source added: "This could be a disaster in terms of sales at box office. Given that this 007 needs to make at least £300million to break even, it may be a very high price to pay for an Oscar nomination."

Bond 23 is scheduled for release on October 26, 2012.

Fifty years of Bond theme tunes...

  • John Barry - Arranged Monty Norman's James Bond Theme, and composed the soundtrack to eleven Bond movies.

  • Matt Munro - Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme. From Russia With Love, 1963.

  • Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger. Goldfinger, 1964. Diamonds Are Forever. Diamonds Are Forever, 1971. Moonraker. Moonraker, 1979.

  • Tom Jones - Thunderball. Thunderball, 1965.

  • Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice. You Only Live Twice, 1967.

  • Louis Armstrong - We Have All the Time in the World. On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1968.

  • Paul McCartney and Wings - Live and Let Die. Live and Let Die, 1973.

  • Lulu - The Man With the Golden Gun. The Man With the Golden Gun, 1974.

  • Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better. The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977.

  • Sheen Easton - For Your Eyes Only. For Your Eye Only, 1981.

  • Rita Coolidge - All Time High. Octopussy, 1983.

  • Duran Duran - A View to a Kill. A View to a Kill, 1985.

  • a-ha - The Living Daylights. The Living Daylights, 1987.

  • Gladys Knight - Licence to Kill. Licence To Kill, 1989.

  • Tina Turner - GoldenEye. GoldenEye, 1995.

  • Sheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies. Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997.

  • Garbage - The World Is Not Enough. The World Is Not Enough, 1999.

  • Madonna - Die Another Day. Die Another Day, 2002.

  • Chris Cornell - You Know My Name. Casino Royale, 2006.

  • Jack White and Alicia Keys - Another Way to Die. Quantum of Solace, 2008.


Photo: Splash News/WENN