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I read Djibouti, so I might have been influenced by it. Not my favourite Elmore Leonard novel.
It could even be the plot for the pre title sequence, that M promotes a young Bond because she's lost agents through the leaking of their identities.
His first mission could be to keep say 002 safe and get them out of danger and then go to find the main villain, take them down
Could be a way of setting up the 00 section in this new era a bit more.
I think I suggested it before in this very thread: have a consultant criminal organisation (SPECTRE, a revamped SMERSH, or something new) be contracted at a high price to cripple the 00 section by killing its members.
The villain is the CEO of a massive renewable energy company and is regarded as a benevolent hero by the NGO-Industrial complex. He has speaking slots at Davos, magazine profiles, all of that. His newest project is the construction of a gargantuan nuclear power plant in North Africa (probably Sudan or something), designed to provide low-cost energy to the third world. Western media adores him for this and hails him as a savior of the Global South.
However, the mysterious death of a British national IAEA inspector leaving one of the CEO's sites leads MI6 to believe that more could be going on than meets the eye.
Eventually, Bond discovers that the villain is secretly a White Nationalist, and with the help of a sexy, brainy engineer, learns that there is a flaw in the reactor that will cause a catastrophic meltdown. Once captured by the villain, Bond berates him for constructing a device that will kill millions (through the explosion, fallout, and irradiation of crops and dwindling water supplies in the region) just for the crime of being born elsewhere.
The villain laughs. The meltdown is just the tip of the iceberg. The initial explosion isn't merely designed to kill people, though it certainly will. Chernobyl will look like a house fire compared to what he has in store. His real plan is to render the water supplies toxic, the fields fallow, and the air thick with poison, causing widespread starvation and forcing millions of third-worlders to migrate northward. As the immigrants flood Europe's borders, a race war will consume the continent, and Europa will be reborn in his white supremacist vision.
Bond races against time to prevent the meltdown. He and the villain battle in hazmat suits in the belly of the plant, culminating in Bond slashing open the villain's protective gear and leaving him to die of radiation sickness (in a final clash reminiscent of the end of Dr. No).
That said, I could definitely see it for Bond 28, a sort of Goldfinger/TSWLM for the new Bond actor. Of course, they can't plan that far in advance.
I don't think we've had an evil CEO since Greene in QOS. We haven't had one with any sort of gravitas since TWINE.
I can imagine it being a bit too overtly political for Bond (or at least Amazon's Bond!) But as said above I'm sure aspects of it could be a potential third film or fourth film in an actor's tenure. It reads like a dark version of TSWLM or GF, which I'm all about.
I think there's something to that idea. I think the villain and their motivation would have to be worked out - ie. who are they - a Scaramanga type assassin, or perhaps a Silva or Alex Travelyan type? (Perhaps they were even the previous 007/connected to the 00 section that way, which while not wholly original would be a twist on the 'agent turned rogue' trope we've seen in modern EON). There's also the question of why would they hate MI6 so much that they want to take down the 00 section.
I like it though. It hits Bond and M close to home and there's lots of dramatic potential there.
It's crazy that we were only talking about something similar to this as a possible plot for Bond yesterday
True, but so many were Goldfinger wannabe. Even their schemes were often similar. I like QOS, but I'm glad he was the only businessman antagonist during the Craig era.
Maybe they're just paid by not-Russia, or not-North Korea, or some undefined but implied to be Saudi potentate. I'm sure that if in real life someone had the means and the know-how to seriously hurt MI6, he'd find someone willing to pay him for his services.
I used AI to create some mock concept art/production stills for this idea while I flesh out a full screenplay.
Pre- Titles Sequence
Title Sequence
Dangerous,Adrenaliene-fueled Countryside Drive
The Briefing
Khan and Miller Talk Shop
Bond, M, and Tanner Meet at Blades
Bond Contacts Syren
Bond Meets Thorne
Tokyo Superbike Chase
Q Branch
Bond, Felix, and Syren in Dubrovnik
Icelandic Athena Facility
After the pre-title sequence, M admonishes Bond for his failure and criticises his ability to run operations. Bond finds the criticism unfair, but M isn't having it.
(Depending on the pacing of the film the next part can be omitted completely); Bond lapses back into his daily domestic life. We get the picture that he's bored and desperate for a redemption mission. He even asks Moneypenny to try and get him on a mission but she says no
M gives Bond a mission, but one he doesn't like as punishment, dealing with gun-running from the Balkans. His goal is to get the leader, Jack Spang, to fly to the UK so he can be arrested. Similar to the novel version of DAF, Bond poses as a freelance intermediary for a British gang, to negotiate a new weapons deal. His contact, the inventory manager, is a more straight adaption of Tiffany Case.
Bond feels bad about it, but he uses her to meet important pieces and discover the smuggling patterns of the organisation. He realises that there's a heavy shipment of military-grade explosives to Norway. It turns out this order was by Fraternite Internationale de la Résistance Contre l’Oppression (a hint at SPECTRE for future editions).
Bond, suspicious of the potential of the plan, ditches the planned operation (a scene with M's approval could be inserted to demonstrate a progression of trust) and offers for him and Tiffany to fly to Norway to help with the smuggling and act as security. Their client, a Largo-esque figure, plans to use the bombs on behalf of backers to sabotage Norwegian oil and gas production, which will allow them to not only capitalise in the markets, but increase the illegal flow of oil and gas into Europe. Bond thwarts this plan
In a Hamilitonian coda, Jack Spang flies out to Bond to get revenge. After his organisation's failure their credibility was destroyed and FIRCO (SPECTRE) worked to ruin his organisation. Spang captures Bond and gives him a beating (the novel's Brooklyn stomping), but Tiffany acts quickly and saves Bond. The film ends with Bond and Tiffany wrapped in an embrace.
Okay, so a few rough ideas inspired by my time here (and soon in Vienna):
-Bond starts on a routine mission about the theft and subsequent smuggling of art own by the Crown (maybe literally by the Royal family?). Things of really high value. Could be paintings, jewellery, even bottles of expensive spirits and wine.
-So far it seems that it's just a small network of crooks that got lucky, maybe helped by white collar criminals. But the British Government is afraid of a scandal and a public humiliation, and worry that this could lead to more: today it's art, tomorrow it could be state secrets.
-The investigation leads Bond to Austria, where he finds a mysterious and reclusive art dealer, who sells and buys to syndicates, kleptocrats and dictators. He lives in an Austrian castle or manor, in the Alps.
-It turns out said art dealer is behind it, but not merely as a middle man. He's using his money for something far larger and sinister. What I haven't figured out yet. But I'd like the idea of an art lover as a villain.
-My general idea is a Dr No in Austria, between Vienna, Salzburg and maybe Innsbruck, Graz and other places. Vienna has traditionally been a center of international espionage, so it's about time it's featured again in a Bond film.
-I'd imagine the main Bond girl to be an opera singer or maybe a musician. Someone the villains lusts after, but in a voyeuristic, impotent manner. Like Salieri in Amadeus in regards to Caterina Cavalieri: he can't have her, but he won't have any other man touch her.
So yeah. Don't know where I'm going with it, but they're my ideas anyway.
It's not very fleshed out - although it's longer than I thought it'd be. It's just a bit of fun. I'd like to think there's a good bit of Fleming and the recent films in there (not that you can get away from those with Bond).
Full transparency: I used ChatGPT, but only to help quickly come up with original character names before I got down to writing (ie. Seraphine, Lady Ares, and Lucia Valmorán, were generated using specific prompts), as well as ideas for locations. Everything else - the outline, the story/plot points, and even the title were not generated using AI.
***
Title: Phoenix Fire
Pre Titles Sequence:
In The Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, Commander James Bond heads a special ops mission to intercept a buy off involving a stolen piece of AI tech. The deal takes place in Club Péche, a high end member’s club and hub of illegal activities. The seller, Rafael, gives a hard drive with a copy of the tech - code-named ‘Phoenix’ - to his lover Fleu Rouge, a 26 year old sex worker at the club. During the deal, Rafael is killed by the shadowy female buyer who uses a concealed sleeve gun loaded with nerve gas. Bond and the team intercept the deal and Fleu escapes with the hard drive. The team are taken out by various traps set up by the buyer, but Bond chases her to the docks. She attempts to escape in a seaplane. Bond destroys the plane and the original hard drive, but the buyer survives.
Part One:
Five years later, British agent 008 is tasked with killing the buyer, now known as Seraphine. Seraphine has become one of the world’s most infamous assassins and is responsible for the deaths of several British operatives. 008 uses Fleu and her copy of Phoenix to meet Seraphine, posing as a rogue seller. Before he can take out his target, the assassin subdues 008 and retrieves the hard drive with the copy of Phoenix. She is about to kill Fleu, but she convinces Seraphine to spare her life in exchange for working for her. Seraphine agrees.
MI6 are sent a video of 008 being tortured and brainwashed. He reveals sensitive information about the 00 section, including the names of its operatives (save for one). He’s killed by Seraphine, who tells MI6 not to come after her or the information will be made public. With both his job and the future of the 00 section uncertain, M, decides to call in the only agent not mentioned in the video: James Bond, still in his first year as 007.
Bond returns from a mission to infiltrate and destroy a terrorist weapon facility in Kosovo, during which he is forced to brutally kill one of the men involved. He's briefed by M who asks him to undertake an off the books assignment to kill Seraphine before the information can be leaked. Despite his personal feelings about another cold blooded killing, Bond agrees to the job.
Part Two:
Bond retraces 008’s investigations, discovering he had an unknown contact. Text messages show repeated reference to 'Phoenix'. He discovers 008 was tacking down an arms dealer only known as Lady Ares based in Qatar. Bond learns the arms dealer regularly supplies Seraphine with new gen/AI weaponry.
Bond travels to Qatar and encounters Felix Leiter, his old friend and CIA agent. Leiter warns Bond that the CIA are trying to bring down Lady Ares and that he shouldn’t get involved. Despite this, Bond tells Leiter of the seriousness of his unofficial assignment. Leiter hints at the location of Lady Ares’ drop offs - a spot near the Katara Cultural Village, but tells Bond Seraphine is his only target. He’s not to directly approach Lady Ares or blow the CIA’s surveillance.
Bond disrupts the next drop off for Seraphine - a fingerprint encrypted briefcase. He disobeys Leiter's command and exposes the CIA’s surveillance team, purposely getting captured by Lady Ares’ men. He mentions Phoenix and is brought to the arms dealer - a woman named Sofia Moreau. Despite a cold front, she’s clearly fearful of Seraphine. Bond takes out Moreau's henchmen and holds the arms dealer at gunpoint, promising to let her flee the CIA if she helps him. Moreau states she’s never met Seraphine face to face, but confirms 008 contacted her posing as a rogue AI contractor. She doesn’t know what Phoenix is, but he wanted to make a deal with Seraphine for it. She agrees to contact the assassin and arrange another drop off of the briefcase. The two have sex, but Bond leaves while Moreau is sleeping, contacting Leiter with her identity.
The CIA become irritated at Bond’s interference and Leiter is forced by his superiors to send agents to follow the 00. Bond manages to lose them. He travels to the location of the alternative drop off which is near a mosque. Fleu appears to collect the briefcase and Bond, unsure if she’s Seraphine, contemplates killing her. He decides against it. He follows her to a classic car rally attended by British expats in the city.
Fleu drops off the briefcase to a disguised Seraphine. Inside is a Slaughterbot drone. Bond confronts Fleu and mentions 008, realising she was his unknown contact. He learns Seraphine’s target is a British diplomat attending the rally named Sebastian Reeve. Bond manages to disrupt the assassination and destroy the drone, causing an explosion and evacuation. A chase ensues with Bond and Seraphine commandeering vintage cars, but Seraphine escapes. Leiter and the CIA arrive, saving Bond from being arrested by police. Leiter tells Bond to leave the country within twenty four hours.
Seraphine attains camera footage from the rally and recognises Bond from Montenegro. She uses an AI uploaded with 008’s information and is able to uncover his identity.
Meanwhile, Bond tracks Fleu to an underground casino. It’s secretly operated by Seraphine. Fleu plays a role extorting wealthy clients as an escort. He finds Fleu, promising to protect her. Seraphine and her men arrive and a shootout occurs, but Bond and Flea flee the casino.
Fleu tells Bond how she acquired the Phoenix data. Bond remembers the mission in Montenegro. The AI was an experimental piece of technology made by British and American scientists in order to hijack enemy naval fleets in case of a war scenario. Fleu reveals that she was initially tracked down by the CIA, and from there was contacted by 008 and coerced into helping him under the threat of imprisonment for keeping the Phoenix.
Bond confronts Leiter, who admits it’s true. Both the CIA and 008 were working together, unbeknownst to M, and took a risk using Phoenix to bait Seraphine and Lady Ares. Both sides are cleaning up their messes. Leiter tells Bond he can’t help him, but to take out Seraphine and end the situation once and for all.
Fleu tells Bond Seraphine is based on a secret island in the Southern Mediterranean coast. She agrees to direct Bond to it in exchange for immunity.
Part Three
Bond and Fleu travel to the Southern Mediterranean coast. Bond contacts MI6 but they can’t guarantee Fleu’s immunity and state she’ll have to undergo a criminal trial. Bond lies to her and claims MI6 have approved her innocence. She directs Bond to Seraphine’s base.
The island turns out to be an abandoned British naval base with an underwater ‘city’ Seraphine has built. Bond tells Fleu to get out of the country, revealing what will happen if she gives herself over to the British. Before Fleu and Bond can part ways they are attacked by Seraphine’s men and captured.
The two are brought to Seraphine, who amicably tells Bond and Fleu her backstory. Born Lucia Valmorán, her Uncle died fighting for Argentina in the Falklands Conflict, which had a great impact on her Mother. Her Mother and Father owned an underground brothel in the years after the conflict, mainly catering for British soldiers. Her Father was abusive. Her penchant for killing came from an incident where her Mother poisoned Seraphine’s Father as well as several British troops in the brothel. Seraphine witnessed this as a child and subsequently dedicated her life to the pursuit of death, training in the Argentinian military before breaking off and forming her own career as an assassin. She eventually gained extraordinary wealth and notoriety through her killings.
Seraphine tells Bond despite being on opposing sides she sees them as similar. Both kill who they see as evil. She states that she plans to use Phoenix, programmed with much of 008’s revelations about British Intelligence, to cause an attack on British and American naval bases using their own weaponry. She states this will put an end to most militaristic power and will cement her legacy as a destroyer and liberator - the ultimate assassination as it were, not on an individual but an entire institution. Bond mocks Seraphine, calling her mad. This angers the assassin. He’s knocked out by Hex, Seraphine’s henchman.
Bond wakes up in the Pressure Dome, an AI controlled death maze. Bond faces the ordeals of the maze - tumultuous winds, robotic pincers, electrocutions etc, but manages to thwart the AI system. He crawls out through an air conditioning shaft. He reaches the control room and reprograms the Phoenix to redirect the hijacked British missiles to Seraphine’s island. He’s about to escape using one of Seraphine’s escape pods, but realises Fleu is still alive. For a moment Bond is torn, knowing he’s wounded and will likely be killed, but decides to rescue her.
Bond destroys a valve and causes a flood in the base. Despite being injured he kills most of Seraphine’s men, but is outnumbered. A US Naval ship headed by Leiter approaches and opens fire on the island, weakening its defences.
Bond frees Fleu and the pair head to one of the pods, however he spots Seraphine trying to escape and pursues her.
Bond traps the assassin, but realises he’s out of bullets. He takes a Fairbairn and Sykes knife from one of the bodies of the dead men. He tells Seraphine he’s going to complete his job. Seraphine puts her hands up, mocking Bond, but covertly aims her sleeve gun at him. Bond notices in time, thrusting the knife into the nerve gas cartridge. It explodes and poisons Seraphine, killing her.
Fleu helps a wounded Bond escape in time and the pair make their way to the Naval ship just before the missiles destroy the island.
Finale:
With M's job safe and the 00 section secure again, Bond is granted a month's leave to recover. Fleu’s immunity is guaranteed. He travels to Paris with Fleu, and the two talk about their future together, which is uncertain. They make love that night. Bond is unable to sleep and wanders to the bar for a drink while Fleu sleeps.
He encounters Hex, having survived the explosion and hell bent on avenging Seraphine. The two fight and Bond gains the upper hand. Before Bond kills him, Hex reveals that more of Seraphine's associates will be after them.
Bond contacts Station F and organises an MI6 evacuation crew. Fleu is still asleep. He leaves her a note and waits with his Walther PPK in hand before the MI6 van pulls up on the street below. Bond leaves the hotel and drives away in his Aston Martin, knowing he'll never see Fleu again.
I also think the whole naval aspect works a lot better here than some of the more gung-ho aspects of Bond in submarines or whatnot.
I wonder if there'd be a way to connect the whole torture and 00 exposure somehow later in the film though. The plot can't be too bloated of course but with the CIA watching Bond and ordering him and such, the failure of the 00 section earlier in the film could play a role.
Thanks for reading! Yeah, I can definitely see SF in there, although I had TMWTGG in mind (both the film and book). That and I guess I wanted to see how an AI scheme could work in a Bond film.
If I were giving myself notes, yeah I think I’d definitely agree about that last observation, especially with 008 being a bit of a questionable agent/failing and the CIA being involved (and of course Bond not knowing the extent of which until later). Anyway, it’s not a proper film treatment and is basically the equivalent of a rough draft. But there’s stuff that can definitely be fleshed out - probably Fleu could be expanded upon (I see her as a sort of Vivian Michel). I think I’d look again and make Bond’s change more apparent (the feeling I get is he goes from being overly cold and detached - more so than usual anyway - as a year one 007 to much more selfless by the end, probably to some extent based on his interaction with Seraphine. He could probably be a bit crueler to Sofia earlier on to emphasise that I guess, and perhaps he even disobeys some sort of order from MI6 to finish this job in that third act). Poor Hex is a bit inserted in there but plays a big role by the end so he’d have to be developed. Then there’s the usual stuff like developing more specific action sequences etc.
EDIT: gave it another once over/polish.
I guess if I had to be critical I'd say it could do with more of a hook perhaps, in a Friends-style way, what is this 'The One With..'? The One with the AI Navy controller? It's maybe a little nebulous perhaps. But it's a really fun Bond story as it is.
Thank you. Yes, I completely get that. I suppose it’s less about a single piece of AI being the hook, but is instead a Bond adventure which takes place in our modern world where AI is quickly developing. Seraphine’s MO is basically using AI equipment to commit assassinations. But yes, the caper could well be stronger. I guess to develop it I’d hypothetically try to do something more with the horror/idea of how 008’s information during his brainwashing - or heck, even his character traits (again, he seems a pretty nasty agent in how he treats Fleu) - can be uploaded into Phoenix to create a sort of AI doomsday scenario. Give that idea that he’s not only betrayed MI6 in life but is doing so beyond the grave/unwillingly. But it’s hypothetical ;)
Maybe it'd be fun to have a villain, or secondary villain who is dead and has been for a while, and yet is still a threat. Maybe they were even a goodie while they were alive but the version which has been programmed is a twisted version.
I feel with Bond they’re always falling back on tropes (the same but different. Hell, some Bond films pretty much have the same plots as previous ones). There are always ways to make it fresh though ;)