Steven Knight names the first movie he fell in love with: “The experience of being in there”
On July 31st, Amazon Prime revealed that the creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, would be writing the next James Bond film, which will be directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Knight’s journey to this turning point in his career seems to have followed a natural trajectory. The Birmingham native and now-director and screenwriter has worked on a host of historic high-energy crime drama series, including A Thousand Blows, starring Lancashire-born Stephen Graham, SAS Rogue Heroes starring Jack O’Connell and the 2007 film Eastern Promise.
His shows are known for their raw energy and fleshed out characters, who he has described as men “who are probably not the easiest people to fit into conventional society”.
So, it makes sense that the first movie Wright ever fell in love with was Henry Hathaway’s 1969 version of the 1968 novel by Charles Portis, True Grit, which follows a similar theme, and has perhaps even been an inspiration for his later filmography.
The classic western stars John Wayne as the ageing one-eyed “tough guy” US Marshall Rooster Cogburn, who is enlisted by a 14-year-old girl named Mattie Ross, who is seeking revenge for her father’s murder. The two form an unlikely bond, and the film is widely considered Wayne’s best-ever work, having allowed him to show his full range as an actor and winning him his only Oscar.
True Grit won four Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for John Wayne’s performance as Cogburn. A later adaptation starring Jeff Bridges as Cogburn and Matt Damon as La Boeuf was released by the Coen brothers in 2010.
Speaking to The Hot Corn about his love of True Grit, Knight said he fell in love with the film when he first saw it with his dad, who would, albeit rarely, take him and his family to the cinema to see a western, which usually starred John Wayne.
“I think I fell in love with the film but also the experience of being in there,” he said. It’s easy to see parallels between the difficult and complex character of John Wayne and the likes of Wright’s own characters, such as Tommy Shelby, both misunderstood, disillusioned and imperfect but ultimately charming and compassionate towards those loyal to him.
Now the director is making the move to Hollywood, with the confirmation that he will be writing the next James Bond film, and is likely to imbue his version of James Bond with a similar character arc. The decision was announced after longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson stepped down earlier this year, who themselves will be replaced by Hollywood veterans Amy Pascal and David Heyman.
Variety has reported that the film could see a release date in 2028; however, a lead actor is yet to be confirmed by the franchise, with names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Callum Turner, and Henry Cavill currently being tossed around.
Knight told BBC 5 Live that he was “very, very excited and hopeful” after first being invited to pitch ideas, adding, “I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.”
