EXCLUSIVE: The actor chosen to play the next James Bond has got “to ooze sex appeal,” as well as the obvious stuff, like well, actually being able to act, says 007 casting director Nina Gold.

Plus, as this column noted way back, the successful applicant picked to take on Ian Fleming’s Commander Bond should be young enough to play him in three or four, or more pictures.

Although Gold’s deal with Amazon MGM has just been officially signed, she’s been keeping an eye out for potential heirs to Daniel Craig for quite a while. 

Craig, by the way, shot five pictures for Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson at Eon Productions: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die. 

Last month I saw Gold at a bunch of first night’s in London’s West End; one week we happened to be at three productions on consecutive nights. It’s no secret that casting directors all over check out creatures of the stage. That’s how the former Bond execs found Craig. For Broccoli, it was the combination of Craig’s work in Matthew Vaughn’s 2004 film Layer Cake (which also featured Ben Whishaw, the future “Q”), what she’d seen of him on stage in David Rabe’s Hurlyburly at the Old Vic and his performance opposite Michael Gambon in Caryl Churchill’s A Number at the Royal Court Theatre.

Gold politely nodded as I recited my stats at Charles Finch’s A Rabbit’s Foot Annual Filmmakers dinner, sponsored by Montblanc, at Fred L’Ecailler’s seafood establishment.

She kept on nodding when I mentioned David Shields who was so good in James Graham’s award winning play Punch which ran int the Nottingham Playhouse, the Young Vic and on Shaftesbury Avenue at the Apollo. And for good measure I threw in Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson who’s very much a theater animal having acquitted himself well opposite James Norton and Omari Douglas in Ivo van Hove’s production of A Little Life. Gold can check him out when he appears with Keira Knightley and Stephen Dillane in the stage adaptation of The Lives of Others in the fall. That’s about the time when Bond director Denis Villeneuve will evaluate Gold’s suggestions.

She joked that if I’ve cast Commander Bond by then, I should let her know!

Filmmaker Ira Sachs, in town for the the premiere of his competition film The Man I Love, joined in the conversation. However, his primary aim was to have his photograph taken with Gold because “she gave Ben Whishaw a big movie” break  in Jane Campion’s Bright Star. “Ben wants a photo of us,” Sachs explained.

Sachs directed Whishaw in last year’s Peter Hujar’s Day.

Others at the cocktails and seated dinner included Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso) and partner Wawa, an advocate for environmental justice. Jimoh also appears with Sophie Okonedo in Clarissa (also cast by Gold). Adapted from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs.Dallaway by brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri,cthe film plays Directors’ Fortnight today.

Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard were hob-nobbing with film festival chieftains Julie Huntsinger (Telluride), Daniel Battsek (New York), Alberto Barbera (Venice), Melita Toscan du Plantier (Marrakesh, and a Rabbit’s Foot honoree along with filmmaker Nadine Labaki). Director James Gray snuck in late, but then he is busy preparing for tonight launch’s of his latest picture, Paper Tiger, which is playing in competition.

I sat near Paris-based Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin who was telling me how she performed for Jane Fonda at soiree hosted by L’Oreal. Her latest album is out in October.

Barnaby Thompson, a fellow Brit, was at the very noisy table next to ours. I’m a huge fan of his documentary Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean which is playing in Cannes Classics. Diego Luna, here for special Cannes screenings of his Ashes movie, scooted across the restaurant to embrace Thompson. They worked together 20 years ago  on Oliver Parker’s Fade to Black. 

Thompson, well aware that Luna and I know each other, asks whether I knew that the actor-director was British? “Half a Brit,” Luna corrects. 

His mother was a British costume designer who died when Luna was a toddler. The boy was raised by his dad in Mexico. “But I can be very British when I want to,” he says putting on a Cockney accent. In any case, he supports Arsenal, which is fine by me!

Partying With The Club Kids

The dinner was lively and fun but the decibel levels were mere whispers compared to the music DJ Bobby Beethoven was blasting out at the after party for Jordan Firstman’s feature sensation Club Kid. The bash at Lucia Beach was packed from dance floor to the sea. 

Loved seeing Matty Matheson who plays Neil on The Bear. He tells me he’s in Cannes for the market where he’s been having meetings for the movie Grind which he executive produced.

I do a little cha-cha dance step to DJ Carly’s Gimme Strength, appropriate because it’s now 2 o’clock in the morning and strength is one thing I ain’t got. Then Marina Sena & Psirico’s Carnival plays and it gives me a shot in the arm. Bar staff are dancing atop a column attempting to pour champagne down a woman’s throat. 

Odessa A’zion does the sweetest thing and hands Firstman a posy of flowers. Takes him a millisecond to fathom who it is behind glasses and hair bunched up. Horror star Maika Monroe is with her beau Dalton Gomez. British producer and distributor Zygi Kamasa is involved with Monroe’s Cannes movie Victorian Psycho via his True Brit Entertainment.

There are a lot of Brit producers in town including Dominic Tighe, who’s trying to set up deals for his Giant Productions. Did a double-take when I saw Tighe because I used to cover him and his wife, the actress Katherine Kingsley when they used to grace the musical theater stage, but as we know, there’s always been a lot of cross-over between stage and screen. 

The BFI Is M.I.A.

Suddenly realized that I haven’t heard a word from the usually nice folk at the British Film Institute who notably did not invite me to their luncheon reception yesterday. Perhaps, it’s to do with the fact that they have no produced titles at Cannes this year although they did co-finance Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, which I happen to think is a bloody great film. The BFI and BBC Film should be shouting from the rooftops about this picture but not a word has been heard from either. Then again, I do hear from many in the international film community about how stand-offish the BFI and BBC Film can be. And Jeezus, don’t I know it.

Someone hands me an invitation to another party for later Saturday night that’s billed to go on until 5am. No way.