Playing James Bond is no longer a dream come true for Daniel Craig — it’s an obligation. An incredibly well-playing obligation, one that comes with all the finest blown-up car parts he can sell on eBay, but this does not sound like a man who’s thrilled about slipping on a Tactleneck for another go-around: “It’s getting harder. But such is life. I’ll keep going as long as I’m physically able. I’m contracted for one more – but I’m not going to make predictions.”
Here’s a prediction: Craig is going to sign up for a limited TV series based on Jonathan Franzen’s impressively unsexy 2015 novel Purity.
Multiple bidders — including Showtime [and] Netflix — are in talks for a big commitment to a limited series starring Daniel Craig in an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel Purity, to be produced by Scott Rudin and written by Todd Field and Franzen. Rudin is said to have held a round of meetings with Showtime, Netflix, FX, and at least three other outlets earlier this week… Industry sources said producers were seeking a 20-episode order. (Via)
The British press took this story and ran with it (if Bond were a real person, the Mirror wouldn’t report on all the lives he’s saved; they’d condemn 007 for “boffing with every high-heeled tart he meets”). The Independent‘s headline: “Daniel Craig reportedly quits James Bond franchise for Purity TV series.”
There’s not a lick of truth in that — Craig could star in Purity, and still play Bond. He’s a double tasker. He can serve a man a Heineken, then kill him.
(Via Variety)
