Sam Mendes which began transmission in early 2013. In April 2016 he was named as the President of the Jury for the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. On 5 January 2010, news broke that Mendes was employed to direct the 23rd Eon Productions installment of the "James Bond" franchise. The film, "Skyfall", was subsequently released on 26 October 2012, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Bond films. Mendes had been employed as a consultant on the film when it was in pre-production, and had remained attached to the project during the financial troubles of MGM. The film was a major
James Bond the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), and the single most successful adjusted for inflation. In 1967 "Casino Royale" was adapted into a parody Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. Niven had been Fleming's preference for the role of Bond. The result of a court case in the High Court in London in 1963 allowed Kevin McClory to produce a remake of "Thunderball" titled "Never Say Never Again" in 1983. The film, produced by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm production company and starring Sean Connery as Bond, was not part of the Eon