Whereas the 2025 Oscar nominees will not be a area you wouldn’t hook up with the present delay in James Bond motion pictures, I need to remind you all that Ralph “M” Fiennes is nominated tonight for Conclave. That’s not the principle cause 007 got here into tonight’s dialog although, and neither is it some type of stealth replace on what we find out about Bond 26. All of it got here right down to how the Academy delivered a musical tribute to the lengthy operating sequence, in honor of latest Governor’s Award winners Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
As a Bond fan, it was certainly a properly performed section that included Monty Norman’s basic theme tune, in addition to a trio of performances from modern Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye. However there’s one thing that’s bothering me within the wake of these spectacular efforts, and that’s the very selective playlist that ought to have sampled from every actor’s time within the tuxedo.
Look, I get it, the Oscars don’t want one other musical tribute to take up time. Belief me, I nonetheless bear the psychic scars of 2009’s ceremony paying particular tribute to musicals, simply so they may squeeze Mamma Mia! in there. On the similar time, we beforehand noticed 2022’s James Bond Oscar tribute making among the similar errors.
I need to commend Blackpink member Lisa for her rendition of “Dwell and Let Die,” in reality my drawback isn’t with any of the singers. However that music was already featured three years in the past, when the sixtieth anniversary of Commander Bond’s cinematic legacy was being celebrated. In order that’s one music that would have been substituted proper there.
Credit score should even be given to Doja Cat’s beautiful play on “Diamonds Are Perpetually,” and Raye’s “Skyfall” finale ending issues on fairly the excessive be aware. Nonetheless, I’m nonetheless aggravated that Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan’s catalogs have been neglected. It hasn’t been that lengthy for the reason that earlier James Bond tribute on the Academy Awards, so selection ought to have been the primary concern.
We’re at a dangerous pivot level in franchise historical past, and uncertainty over Bond 26’s tone reigns. Seeing Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli within the viewers tonight was a bit bittersweet, particularly if these rumored causes for Amazon-MGM’s $1 bil. deal become true. With different followers as on edge as I’m about what the long run holds, this efficiency may have served as a simultaneous tribute to the producers who’ve shepherded it alongside to this point, and the unsure street forward.
It will have been good to get a richer tribute to the entire James Bond actors who’ve crossed the gun barrel, however I do nonetheless admire what we acquired. Possibly by the point James Bond 26 goes into manufacturing, the Academy can provide the following 007 a heat welcome with one thing nearer to what I used to be anticipating.