Sam Mendes has achieved his share of dreams, what with that Best Directing Oscar for American Beauty. But it is his work directing Skyfall that may be his personal moment to remember as a lifelong fan of the James Bond series. When he got the gig, Mendes told Movie Fanatic in our exclusive video interview, emotions flowed.
“I was nervous and excited. I was a little bit scared because I thought this could go either way. I knew people would say, ‘Why him?’ But that’s why I did it. I needed a challenge,” Mendes said.
As an expert in all things Bond, Mendes also gave us his thoughts on why this spy has remained so relevant -- as so eloquently shown in Skyfall -- for fifty years despite the drastically changing socio-political world.
“There’s something astonishing about what’s happened to him. Michael Wilson, the producer, said something very important, the phrase 'if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…' I think what you have is fresher than ever -- amazing after 50 years.”