Sam Mendes is THE MAN...and he's directing James Bond

I just read that Sam Mendes is slated to direct the next James Bond movie with Daniel Craig returning in the titular role. This is EXACTLY what this franchise needed. I have long been a proponent of making solid franchises, like James Bond, into vehicles for directors.

Years ago Steven Spielberg wanted to do a Bond movie but the Broccoli family denied his request. So he turned his attention to some move about a professor that searches for old artifacts.

Imagine what Mr. Spielberg would have done with James Bond. I'm not sure if it would've been any good but it would've involved James Bonds parents getting divorced. I would've liked to have seen that movie.

Just as I would've liked to have seen Quentin Tarantino's version of the suave spy. He wanted to do a reboot of James Bond and gives himself credit for coming up with what ended up being Casino Royale. Of course he also gives himself credit for being the best screenwriter in the world...I guess it was just his acting that screwed up Dusk 'Til Dawn. Having said all that his James Bond would've been very interesting.

Bringing in the Auteur du Jour to an established franchise will always keep it fresh. It won't always be good, but you will always interesting. Especially if the Broccoli's give over full creative control.

Sam Mendes is a brilliant director. American Beauty was a deserving Best Picture Oscar winner, which is rare, and I think that his best work is Road to Perdition. Jarhead showed significant range (although I didn't like it). Revolutionary Road was brave (because it called for allowing Leo DiCaprio to have his way with his wife) and Away We Go has inexplicably been forgotten in many of this years Ten Best. He is exactly the kind of filmmaker that will give James Bond a fresh look.

Martin Campbell was also a great choice at the two times he was brought in to revive the franchise. He has swashbuckling down to a science. Marc Forster was an interesting choice for Quantum...but it didn't work. And that's the beauty of the franchise. Just kick him to the curb and bring in some new blood.

Other directors that would put an interesting spin on James: James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, Zack Snyder, Michael Mann, Chris Nolan. And what would you pay to see what the Cohens would do, or Matthew Vaughan?

All other franchises should follow suit. Hopefully the latest setback with Spider-Man will get Sam Raimi to reassess the need to make another superhero movie with the Jockey and the Hack. Give the franchise some new blood. Hire Joe Gordon Levitt, before he explodes, or someone younger and find an up and coming director, like the guy from District 9 (Neal Blumpkin is his name I think, which is REALLY unfortunate), Marc Webb, Joss Whedon or even Jason Reitman. Reitman would bring his whole teen angst-y-ness thing that is perfect for the teenage Peter Parker.

Holy Tangents, Batman! Batman, I almost forgot. Chris Nolan is the poster boy for rebooting franchises or keeping them fresh. Everything started with Batman Begins. Halloween, Terminator, Freddy Kruger, Superman, Star Trek, all of 'em tried to jump on the "reboot" bandwagon. Nolan was brave enough to hire a comic book geek to write a script that didn't have any of the '60s TV show baddies in it and not only breathed life into that franchise, that was on life support thanks to the nipple cladded Joel Schumacher days, but it also revolutionized the industry. Tarantino may have actually had the idea first, but Begins showed everyone that it could work.

Anyway, I applaud MGM and the Broccoli's for trying to keep it fresh. I just hope that George Lucas can learn something from this.

Look It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Madonna

Thank God Madge is around to tell us what we're doing wrong. Here's the thing Madonna needs to shut up. I really don't need to hear from Ms. Ciccone-Penn-Ritchie about morals, ethics, values, or principles. But to make matters worse today we also got to be scolded by Ethan Hawke, that bastion of virtue, as well.

I guess somebody needed to say something about the mistreatment of the Gypsies, who have been persecuted by the masses ever since Ian Fleming made them the focus of a storyline involving a British Spy and the Orient Express.

There is really nothing I enjoy more than hearing from the Material Girl. I mean she spends more than most countries annually trying to keep herself looking fit and fabulous. And for the record there is NO ONE on the planet that looks more tired. I think Desmond Tutu said it best when he said that she looks like she's been ridden hard and hung up wet. It might not have been Desmond but it was someone really impressive...I think. At any rate, at least she's still wearing creepy lingerie from the touring company of Cabaret.

However when it comes to matters of import, she is THE resource. Afterall she knows what it's like to be treated poorly, and she understands the nuances involved in ethnic rivalries and civil war. And there is nothing more impressive than hearing about those subtleties through an electronic vocal enhancer. Do YOU believe in Life after Love?

And let's hear it for Ethan Hawke. I mean talk about courage. This guy really has laid it on the line by supporting Madonna in her effort to rid the world of the bigotry involving the Gypsy community. Hawke knows a little something about the generalities associated with the Gypsies, afterall he has spent the majority of his adult life living down the very idea that he didn't shower because he was a slacker. Everybody knows that Mr. Hawke doesn't have the time to shower with all of the poetry, playwriting, angst riding, nanny banging, earnestness already on his plate.

So let me be the first to say thank you. Thank You Madonna for showing me that there is more to life than television, but it is important to own one for every room in your house. And thank you Ethan Hawke. Now I realize how pointless my life is because I don't understand what truly matters in life...the ability to go clubbing in New York with Jude Law and a truck full of college girls, bonus points if one of them is your nanny.

We are so lucky to have these philanthropists among us, I just wish I had them here with me to explain all of it to me everyday. It's my wish that everybody on the planet one day have the ability to hear Madonna's teachings and that, if she can find the time, she expand her view to include another downtrodden group to her fold. A people in need of a voice...the Amish.