UPDATED: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Star Freida Pinto Is The Next ‘Bond’ Girl; Sam Mendes To Reinvent Genre
By The Movie God
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Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 8:13 pm
*Updated Below*
Last month it was announced that director Tarsem Singh had cast Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto in his upcoming Greek mythology film, War of Gods. If that wasn’t enough for the budding actress, she has now landed an always coveted role: the world famous Bond Girl.
Pinto has been cast as the female lead opposite of returning star Daniel Craig in the upcoming 23rd installment in the massive James Bond franchise, which has now entered its truly astounding 6th decade of feature films. This latest chapter in the adventures of the super-suave spy will be directed bySam Mendes, who is best known for fantastic films like American Beauty, Road to Perdition, and Revolutionary Road. Mendes has always been more of an awards-worthy film maker to date, and it looks like he’s ready to finally have a little fun with this new project.
Reports of Pinto’s casting indicate that Mendes is prepared to make the “most ambitious” Bond ever made, and that he wants to “reinvent the genre.” If this is true, especially considering his resume so far, Bond 23 could be a majorly intriguing project to follow.
The main question I would have is whether this new Bond and the aforementioned War of Gods have conflicting schedules or not. Gods is set to begin production next month, while Bond 23 is currently slated for a November 2011 release. With that amount of time until the next Bond is released, there should be plenty of time to make everything work, but in Hollywood, you just never know.
Also recently joining the cast as a UN worker is Olivia Wilde, who has also been rising steadily in popularity for a while now. Wilde has appeared in shows like The O.C. and movies like Alpha Dog and Turistas before breaking out on House and signing on to fanboy-favorite movies like Tron: Legacy and Cowboys & Aliens.
The new Bond is already well on its way, and currently has a first draft in fromThe Last King of Scotland, The Queen, and Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan turned in.
UPDATE: I assumed that a Yahoo! story would be legit, but according to Ace Showbiz, representatives of Pinto are denying that the actress has been approached, so we’ll see how it all plays out.
Not even a month ago, Pinto denied the rumors (and denied wanting to be a Bond girl) and suggested that not even her LA agents knew about the possibility of a role.
Either there’s been a gigantic change of heart or a faux quote is being circulated by the media.
“It is of course very flattering to even be rumored to be part of a Bond film but she has certainly NOT been approached for the role of the next Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig as yet,” Divya Tejuja, Pinto’s official representative, told the New York Daily News by e-mail Monday night.
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Not even a month ago, Pinto denied the rumors (and denied wanting to be a Bond girl) and suggested that not even her LA agents knew about the possibility of a role.
Either there’s been a gigantic change of heart or a faux quote is being circulated by the media.
My money is on the latter.
Comment by James Bond — March 22, 2010 @ 12:37 am
According to UPI, this article is false.
“It is of course very flattering to even be rumored to be part of a Bond film but she has certainly NOT been approached for the role of the next Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig as yet,” Divya Tejuja, Pinto’s official representative, told the New York Daily News by e-mail Monday night.
http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2010/03/23/Freida-Pinto-not-cast-as-Bond-girl/UPI-36891269354131/
Comment by Dr. Geek, Ph.D. — March 23, 2010 @ 3:28 pm