Cinematographer Roger Deakins has confirmed that he will be working alongside Sam Mendes on Bond 23. Deakins responded to a question on his own website in which he was asked whether a Hollywood Reporter article was correct in naming him as Director of Photography on Bond 23.
“Yes, I can say that I am doing the next ‘Bond’ film. It is early days and the film won’t shoot until November.”
Interestingly the article is about Deakin’s switch to digital photography thanks to advances in picture quality; previously he had preferred film thanks to its richness. However, his most recent film, Andrew Niccol’s Now, was shot on a $75,000 Arri Alexa digital camera and he told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m probably going to use Alexa on my next shoot – it seems very likely.”
The Arri Alexa can shoot at double the resolution of HD and although he has not confirmed on his website that Bond 23 will definitely be shot digitally, he told The Hollywood Reporter “What’s not to like? I think it has more range than film. It’s the color rendition that strikes me. Film also looks monochromatic versus Alexa. There is more variation in the human face than is being picked up on film.”
