No Time to Die production thread

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  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,036
    octofinger wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    I wonder if Safin will take a page out of Blofeld’s playbook and print off some headshots of Craig’s important adversaries to elevate the final showdown LOL

    Sorry, still bitter about that poor, poor decision...

    Mendes is a skillful director and far too skillful for some of the crap that happened with SP. I sometimes wonder if he intentionally went overboard with stuff like the headshots, out of some sort of bitterness.

    It's really something, isn't it? When you actually type it out: "he pasted up photocopied headshots of actors from the last few films" . . . well, it sounds laughably awful.

    His heart wasn’t in it, unlike SF, so didnt really care in the end.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    edited March 2021 Posts: 4,247
    I wonder if Mendes missed Roger Deakins though. I know Deakins doesn't write scripts. But maybe if Deakins were to be with Mendes again, it might have spurred Mendes on to do something great. I look at 1917 and I can't believe it's the same man who directed SP.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    jake24 wrote: »
    Does anyone think we will get a final confrontation between Bond and Blofeld outside the prison exchange?

    I've wondered in general how much Blofeld may appear in this.
  • DeerAtTheGatesDeerAtTheGates Belgium
    edited March 2021 Posts: 524
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    jake24 wrote: »
    Does anyone think we will get a final confrontation between Bond and Blofeld outside the prison exchange?

    Yes, in a more serious Guy Hamilton/Tom Mankenwicz type of situation. They didn’t cast Christoph Waltz to waste him, in only one movie.

    There's no way they'll carry this storyline over to the next Bond so they'll have to wrap it up here.

    At the same time, I'm not sure if they want to close the door on Waltz' Blofeld completely. We have no idea what their thought process is for the series moving forward, or if they have thought of that at all. I get the feeling they don't have anything in place yet. So I think they might keep Blofeld alive to always have the possibility to bring him back if they want to.

    And, as others have said, I don't think he appears very much at all in this film. We know he puts Bond (back?) on Safin's track, with help of Madeleine and her backstory. But the film feels very Safin-focussed from that point on, culminating in the bunker/lair scenes.

    So my guess: either he gets killed after his one scene in London (which I'd find anti-climactic) or there's a quick shot of him escaping, again. I really can't see a climactic showdown with Bond happening. Also factoring in that Waltz was reportedly spotted on set for just a week.
  • fadetoblack7fadetoblack7 Chicago IL
    Posts: 60
    I can’t see Waltz returning for a different Bond actor.
  • edited March 2021 Posts: 565
    While I'd agree that Waltz probably won't come back, from a story line perspective, I'm sure they're going to have some kind of cliffhanger for Blofeld, most likely that he escapes.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Would be pretty foolish to end this one on any sort of cliffhanger, considering it's Craig's last and I'm sure the next era is a good four or five years out.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,889
    I think a conclusion that is vague, but implies that Bond is alive followed by a lingering shot of Blofeld in a dimly lit cell would work. Bond has won and Blofeld has lost.
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,006
    Of course it will be vague. Blofeld is too valuable/iconic a character to just definitively kill off because it’s Craig’s finale. They will use him again under a different actor at some point in the future. No doubt in my mind.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Once again, I feel it was pretty foolish introducing Blofeld in the fourth film of Craig's era. Would've been so much smarter saving him for the next era, but alas.
  • edited March 2021 Posts: 532
    Did Fukunaga say this film was taking inspiration from the YOLT novel or am I misremembering? Maybe Bond dispatches Blofeld at the end in a similar manner.

    Though I think it’s more likely we won’t get much more Blofeld than the scene shown in the trailer.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,889
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Once again, I feel it was pretty foolish introducing Blofeld in the fourth film of Craig's era. Would've been so much smarter saving him for the next era, but alas.

    I agree, seeing Blofeld imprisoned , SPECTRE destroyed, with no hope for freedom would offer a satisfying conclusion to the Craig era.
    I’m hoping that the next incarnation begins with a clean slate. ; of course Blofeld is always possibility; if he is, hopefully the character will be treated differently, with more mystery and buildup to his eventual reveal.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    talos7 wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Once again, I feel it was pretty foolish introducing Blofeld in the fourth film of Craig's era. Would've been so much smarter saving him for the next era, but alas.

    I agree, seeing Blofeld imprisoned , SPECTRE destroyed, with no hope for freedom would offer a satisfying conclusion to the Craig era.
    I’m hoping that the next incarnation begins with a clean slate. ; of course Blofeld is always possibility; if he is, hopefully the character will be treated differently, with more mystery and buildup to his eventual reveal.

    That's all I want, honestly, a completely disconnected and separate era where Bond is off on various, unrelated missions yet again. I'm sure after the success of the Craig era, however, we'll get anything but. I just hope this time, if they do want to weave a narrative thread through the entire era, they plan it from the beginning.
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    edited March 2021 Posts: 2,036
    If you have seen the Omega advertising, its not much of a surprise, but confirmation Bond had a gadget watch:

    https://007store.com/products/james-bond-q-branch-top-trumps
    Before Bond has a final confrontation with Safin, Q equips him with a new addition to his watch. It now includes the ability to emit a powerful electromagnetic pulse.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,548
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I wonder if Mendes missed Roger Deakins though. I know Deakins doesn't write scripts. But maybe if Deakins were to be with Mendes again, it might have spurred Mendes on to do something great. I look at 1917 and I can't believe it's the same man who directed SP.

    I seem to remember the following (I am too lazy at the moment to research all of it to be sure LOL):
    • The last draft of SP was delivered to Mendes in late summer in 2014 and he was not happy with it at all.
    • Significant revisions continued through Fall.
    • Jez Butterworth was brought on to continue revisions in early November, just a few weeks ahead of filming.
    • The film went into production in December without the script being done. Mendes wanted to delay filming but EON pushed on (I do believe that the lessons learned here were applied to NTTD, on which filming was delayed signifiantly as the script was still being revised)
    • Certain scenes and shooting locations were already established and couldn't be changed, as writers worked on revisions.
    • For some reason, perhaps contractually, the film's climactic scene had to take place on Westminster Bridge. Therefore, the writers were further limited in the third act.

    All of this, I am sure, really chafed Sam Mendes's arse, as he and the crew were attempting to top what they'd done with SF.
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,036
    @TripAces With regard to Westminster Bridge, they had already fully built the set. So had to use it.

    I believe a similar thing happened with NTTD, when Boyle was working on it, they had either fully or partially built a prison gulag set in Canada. But the whole thing was scrapped.
  • QsCatQsCat London
    Posts: 251
    Mallory wrote: »
    @TripAces With regard to Westminster Bridge, they had already fully built the set. So had to use it.

    I believe a similar thing happened with NTTD, when Boyle was working on it, they had either fully or partially built a prison gulag set in Canada. But the whole thing was scrapped.

    So that was why? Well it was a convincing set! I assumed it was shot on the bridge.
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,036
    QsCat wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    @TripAces With regard to Westminster Bridge, they had already fully built the set. So had to use it.

    I believe a similar thing happened with NTTD, when Boyle was working on it, they had either fully or partially built a prison gulag set in Canada. But the whole thing was scrapped.

    So that was why? Well it was a convincing set! I assumed it was shot on the bridge.

    Yep

    There are some photos of the sets here:

    https://www.andersonandlow.com/gallery.html?gallery=SPECTRE:+Sets&folio=Projects#/8
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited March 2021 Posts: 14,861
    It is a terrific set. I'm sure there's lots of mixing between the real location and the set but (other than the obvious like the road being damaged) I can't spot which is which.

    I think the Skyfall skyscrapers scene is sort of similar in a way: it didn't really occur to me that it was one massive set when I watched it.
  • ContrabandContraband Sweden
    Posts: 3,018
    Mallory wrote: »
    QsCat wrote: »
    Mallory wrote: »
    @TripAces With regard to Westminster Bridge, they had already fully built the set. So had to use it.

    I believe a similar thing happened with NTTD, when Boyle was working on it, they had either fully or partially built a prison gulag set in Canada. But the whole thing was scrapped.

    So that was why? Well it was a convincing set! I assumed it was shot on the bridge.

    Yep

    There are some photos of the sets here:

    https://www.andersonandlow.com/gallery.html?gallery=SPECTRE:+Sets&folio=Projects#/8

    I have the Westminster Bridge set stills if the link is dead
  • MalloryMallory Do mosquitoes have friends?
    Posts: 2,036
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  • ContrabandContraband Sweden
    Posts: 3,018
    mtm wrote: »
    It is a terrific set. I'm sure there's lots of mixing between the real location and the set but (other than the obvious like the road being damaged) I can't spot which is which.

    I think the Skyfall skyscrapers scene is sort of similar in a way: it didn't really occur to me that it was one massive set when I watched it.

    @mtm Ta-daaa...

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  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    Yeah it's great isn't it? You can start to see how these movies cost so much to make! :D
  • God damn. On the one hand it’s amazingly impressive. The sheer scale and authenticity of the sets are pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. On the other hand, I kinda like it when I can tell what a “set” is when they’re super distinctive ala Ken Adams’ work! These are so real you can hardly tell what’s location and what’s a set (of course it’s all to the benefit of the movie, and NTTD shows they still have it in them to build expressive sets).
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,889
    The problem with the end of SPECTRE isn’t what occurs on the bridge, it’s what transpires between the demolition of Blofeld’s base and the helicopter crashing.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    edited March 2021 Posts: 10,586
    talos7 wrote: »
    The problem with the end of SPECTRE isn’t what occurs on the bridge, it’s what transpires between the demolition of Blofeld’s base and the helicopter crashing.
    Am I the only one who actually likes the Thames/Westminster bridge stuff as it’s own sequence? It’s fairly stripped down for a Bond finale but there is something quite thrilling and climactic about it IMO. If the regrettable backstory of this incarnation of Blofeld had been replaced with something of more merit I can’t help but feel the scene would’ve worked better for audiences.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,889
    jake24 wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    The problem with the end of SPECTRE isn’t what occurs on the bridge, it’s what transpires between the demolition of Blofeld’s base and the helicopter crashing.
    Am I the only one who actually likes the Thames/Westminster bridge stuff as it’s own sequence? It’s fairly stripped down for a Bond finale but there is something quite thrilling and climactic about it IMO. If the regrettable backstory of this incarnation of Blofeld had been replaced with something of more merit I can’t help but feel the scene would’ve worked better for audiences.
    Exactly, the bridge sequence was fine.

  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    talos7 wrote: »
    jake24 wrote: »
    talos7 wrote: »
    The problem with the end of SPECTRE isn’t what occurs on the bridge, it’s what transpires between the demolition of Blofeld’s base and the helicopter crashing.
    Am I the only one who actually likes the Thames/Westminster bridge stuff as it’s own sequence? It’s fairly stripped down for a Bond finale but there is something quite thrilling and climactic about it IMO. If the regrettable backstory of this incarnation of Blofeld had been replaced with something of more merit I can’t help but feel the scene would’ve worked better for audiences.
    Exactly, the bridge sequence was fine.
    I also like the collapsing MI6 building and Bond shooting down the helicopter (as implausible as it may be) but I’m likely in the minority on that one.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited March 2021 Posts: 8,009
    The collapsing MI6 building is damn fine visual effects work, to its credit. If Bond had shot down the helicopter with something other than a PPK, it would have been pretty badass.
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