Paul Verhoeven Calls Out James Bond Movies for Ditching Sex: There Was Always Sex in 007

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James Bond producers have yet to announce which actor will replace Daniel Craig as the new 007 following “No Time to Die,” but filmmaker Paul Verhoeven is probably more interested in whether or not sex scenes will come back to the long-running spy franchise. Verhoeven, who has crafted memorable sex scenes in films such as “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls,” expressed frustration to The Sunday Times over many of today’s Hollywood studio releases being completely sexless.

“It’s about crashing and blowing up,” Verhoeven said about studio films these days. “Sometimes these movies are fun, but the narrative tells you nothing about us now. I don’t see any other thought in Marvel or Bond movies.”

Verhoeven said “I’d go back to reality” with “cars that don’t leap up into the sky” if he were in charge of the next James Bond movie. While the director was a fan of Craig’s debut Bond movie “Casino Royale,” he was not a fan of Craig’s final Bond movie “No Time to Die.” The latter did not include any sex scenes.

“There was always sex in Bond!” Verhoeven said. “They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.”

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“Casino Royale” featured intimate moments between Craig’s Bond and Eva Green’s character Vesper Lynd, but “No Time to Die” did away with any romantic scenes featuring Bond and other characters. Bond is romantically linked in the film to Lea Seydoux’s Madeline Swann, but the two don’t have any intimate scenes together.

“No Time to Die” opened in theaters around the world last fall and grossed $774 million worldwide. The film was nominated for three Oscars earlier this year and won the Academy Award for original song. As for Verhoeven, the director delivered some more shocking sex scenes in his most recent afford, the lesbian nun drama “Benedetta.” The film debuted at Cannes last year and is now streaming in the U.S. on Hulu.

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