BOND SCRIPTS

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  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Dragonpol wrote:
    TheBondFan wrote:
    Pictures from the deleted ending:
    ldz8.jpg
    38xy.jpg
    4kqz.jpg

    Wow! Thanks for that. Are there any links to what the deleted ending was composed of and how it differed from the ending we ultimately got? If so, can someone please provide links?

    From memory, the scene was supposedly only about a minute long and it took place at Haines' house. The scene involved White, Haines and Bond. White has come to kill Haines, because his cover is blown and MI6 are on to him. Other than that, I've no idea how it ends. I assume White isn't killed, as Forster always insisted including the scene would have meant resolving the issue in the following film, similar to CR. I can only assume Haines either dies, or is apprehended and White, once again, escapes.
  • Posts: 4,400
    The QOS cut ending apparently was set as Guy Haines country estate. Haines and White would be having a conversation which would end in white attempting to kill Haines as his cover has been blown. But before White can pull the trigger, Bond jumps in and kills White. Haines is startled and asks Bond, "who the hell are you?" Cut to Bond saying the infamous line, or not saying it as the case may be. End credits.

    Here it here from Forster himself:
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    The QOS cut ending apparently was set as Guy Haines country estate. Haines and White would be having a conversation which would end in white attempting to kill Haines as his cover has been blown. But before White can pull the trigger, Bond jumps in and kills White. Haines is startled and asks Bond, "who the hell are you?" Cut to Bond saying the infamous line, or not saying it as the case may be. End credits.

    He doesn't mentioning anything about killing White? Killing White would surely not be a cliff-hanger? Haines is a peripheral character who they would take in for questioning, but that doesn't necessitate a direct sequel. The loose thread of Haines involvement does not seem like a logical step into another connected movie. Happy to be wrong, but I can't see it.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    RC7 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    TheBondFan wrote:
    Pictures from the deleted ending:
    ldz8.jpg
    38xy.jpg
    4kqz.jpg

    Wow! Thanks for that. Are there any links to what the deleted ending was composed of and how it differed from the ending we ultimately got? If so, can someone please provide links?

    From memory, the scene was supposedly only about a minute long and it took place at Haines' house. The scene involved White, Haines and Bond. White has come to kill Haines, because his cover is blown and MI6 are on to him. Other than that, I've no idea how it ends. I assume White isn't killed, as Forster always insisted including the scene would have meant resolving the issue in the following film, similar to CR. I can only assume Haines either dies, or is apprehended and White, once again, escapes.

    Sounds a bit like how Le Chiffre was killed, too, then. Interesting to hear of this as in all of the talk on QoS I had somehow missed this.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    From the MI6 website:

    The movie was originally intended to end with a one-minute sequence where 007 introduces himself to Mr Haines at his estate, setting up the next adventure. The gun-barrel sequence, uniquely positioned at the end of "Quantum of Solace", would have appeared after Bond dispatches Mr White for good. The scene was shot over one day on location in London on April 14th 2008.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Samuel001 wrote:
    From the MI6 website:

    The movie was originally intended to end with a one-minute sequence where 007 introduces himself to Mr Haines at his estate, setting up the next adventure. The gun-barrel sequence, uniquely positioned at the end of "Quantum of Solace", would have appeared after Bond dispatches Mr White for good. The scene was shot over one day on location in London on April 14th 2008.

    Do you agree that this doesn't necessitate a direct sequel? If anything there would be more mileage in using Kabira as the catalyst for a future adventure. Haines was about as peripheral as it gets. The only value is his connection to the government.
  • MrBondMrBond Station S
    Posts: 2,044
    Forster didn't like it because it would have ended to similar to CR. So instead of Bond just looking at his victim and present himself, he would have killed the victim.

    I remember when people said that White would shoot Bond and thus end the movie like the FRWL, the novel. That would have been a cliffhanger that the series wouldn't cope with.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    MrBond wrote:
    Forster didn't like it because it would have ended to similar to CR. So instead of Bond just looking at his victim and present himself, he would have killed the victim.

    I think the ending we got is more apt. Bond walking in and killing White would have been terribly tacked on, and dreadful. I'm very glad it was omitted in this case.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited August 2013 Posts: 13,350
    I do agree, the ending we had was far better. It felt like the natural conclusion. This scene doesn't.
  • MrBondMrBond Station S
    Posts: 2,044
    It would have looked quite ridiculous if we see Bond walk past the camera and we see Vespers necklace in the snow. And THEN another ending upon that.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    MrBond wrote:
    It would have looked quite ridiculous if we see Bond walk past the camera and we see Vespers necklace in the snow. And THEN another ending upon that.

    Indeed it would have, but I think this would have been an alternative ending to QoS rather than a double-whammy ending.
  • Posts: 2,400
    Love the CR script. "Masterpiece" is too humble a word.
  • SharkShark Banned
    edited August 2013 Posts: 348
    I'm still mad that Bassey and Eva Almer's submissions for the theme song were declined.

    That's because they were never entered for consideration. Both were composed in 2009. Arnold/Bassey's song was a development of the 6 note motif he used in the score, and the Eva Almer entry was advertised as 'rejected' to gain more Youtube hits, exploiting the public resentment towards the White/Keys song and QoS in general.
  • edited August 2013 Posts: 3,494
    Dragonpol wrote:
    MrBond wrote:
    It would have looked quite ridiculous if we see Bond walk past the camera and we see Vespers necklace in the snow. And THEN another ending upon that.

    Indeed it would have, but I think this would have been an alternative ending to QoS rather than a double-whammy ending.

    Agreed with everyone here. The producers made the right choice not to have two endings and by not tacking it on, QOS' ending as we have it allowed them to move towards a new adventure rather than having an almost mandatory 3rd sequel, and allowed for QUANTUM to be brought back at a later date should they choose. A very wise decision there, and a terrific ending that I rate among the very best in the entire series.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    Dragonpol wrote:
    MrBond wrote:
    It would have looked quite ridiculous if we see Bond walk past the camera and we see Vespers necklace in the snow. And THEN another ending upon that.

    Indeed it would have, but I think this would have been an alternative ending to QoS rather than a double-whammy ending.

    Agreed with everyone here. The producers made the right choice not to have two endings and by not tacking it on, QOS' ending as we have it allowed them to move towards a new adventure rather than having an almost mandatory 3rd sequel, and allowed for QUANTUM to be brought back at a later date should the choose. A very wise decision there.

    Agreed. The QoS ending that we do have reminds me rather of the poignancy of the OHMSS ending - and I don't say that at all lightly.
  • MrBondMrBond Station S
    Posts: 2,044
    Dragonpol wrote:
    MrBond wrote:
    It would have looked quite ridiculous if we see Bond walk past the camera and we see Vespers necklace in the snow. And THEN another ending upon that.

    Indeed it would have, but I think this would have been an alternative ending to QoS rather than a double-whammy ending.

    Agreed with everyone here. The producers made the right choice not to have two endings and by not tacking it on, QOS' ending as we have it allowed them to move towards a new adventure rather than having an almost mandatory 3rd sequel, and allowed for QUANTUM to be brought back at a later date should they choose. A very wise decision there, and a terrific ending that I rate among the very best in the entire series.

    I've heard that the ending with Mr. White were supposed to come after the scene with Kabira. Or was that just an alternative ending?
  • edited August 2013 Posts: 3,494
    Shark wrote:
    I'm still mad that Bassey and Eva Almer's submissions for the theme song were declined.

    That's because they were never entered for consideration. Both were composed in 2009. Arnold/Bassey's song was a development of the 6 note motif he used in the score, and the Eva Almer entry was advertised as 'rejected' to gain more Youtube hits, exploiting the public resentment towards the White/Keys song and QoS in general.

    I didn't know that about the Almer song, thanks for clarifying the situation there. I do know however that according to an Empire magazine interview conducted some years later, Arnold claimed that he did intend to develop the motif into a title song for QOS and was working on that when the MGM music department made another of their usual harebrained decisions in choosing the inferior product of a more popular artist. I may have quoted this article in a previous post, but it is out there to read and when I was trying to find it again, it seemed someone else may have brought this up over at B&B, which I couldn't reference because some site maintenance is going on at the moment.

    @MrBond- as far as I know it was an alternative ending and am unaware of any intentions to tack it on to the existing ending. I am only saying it would have locked them in to having a 3rd sequel instead of putting QUANTUM to the side for an unrelated film and allowing for more development of that concept.
  • MrBondMrBond Station S
    Posts: 2,044
    Well, the running time would be substantially shorter too if the ending just were supposed to be one minute.

    And, we wouldn't get the fantastic scene in the end that concluded Vesper for Bond.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    @MrBond- as far as I know it was an alternative ending and am unaware of any intentions to tack it on to the existing ending.

    If this is the case, I'd say we dodged a bullet. No pun intended. The Kabira scene is the best moment in QoS and I'm not being hyperbolic.

  • Posts: 4,400
    I suppose the original set-up was for a sequel to QOS to be more of a political thriller. As we go into Parliament and see how high-up Quantum's influence goes. Could the Prime Minister be involved for example? Maybe even higher-ups in the White House were on Quantum's payroll.

    I think this was the initial idea of where a third Daniel Craig Bond film would go. Part of me is also convinced that if Quantum does come back for Bond 24 this is exactly what the story will be. However, I think the plan was always to have a departure for DC's third film much like Connery with GF.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    I suppose the original set-up was for a sequel to QOS to be more of a political thriller. As we go into Parliament and see how high-up Quantum's influence goes. Could the Prime Minister be involved for example? Maybe even higher-ups in the White House were on Quantum's payroll.

    Yes, this seems like the logical progression from Haines.

    For me, that feels more Jack Ryan or even Bourne, not Bond. I'd be happy for them to avoid too much politicking. There's grounding the Bond films and then there's going over old ground. Bond should stick with unique threats IMO, you're only as good as your villain. Fleming knew this and you'd never have found Dominic Greene in a Fleming Book. They steered it back towards quintessential Bond territory with SF.

  • RC7 wrote:
    I suppose the original set-up was for a sequel to QOS to be more of a political thriller. As we go into Parliament and see how high-up Quantum's influence goes. Could the Prime Minister be involved for example? Maybe even higher-ups in the White House were on Quantum's payroll.

    Yes, this seems like the logical progression from Haines.

    For me, that feels more Jack Ryan or even Bourne, not Bond. I'd be happy for them to avoid too much politicking. There's grounding the Bond films and then there's going over old ground. Bond should stick with unique threats IMO, you're only as good as your villain. Fleming knew this and you'd never have found Dominic Greene in a Fleming Book. They steered it back towards quintessential Bond territory with SF.

    Agreed 100%. QOS was a nice change of pace with a subtle kind of villain and he could have been better if they filmed the Fields and Mathis scenes I've mentioned. But the series always thrives better with the more active types and the bigger threats and a memorable character like Silva is always welcomed. LeChiffre I think is about as subtle as it should get, but after all he was Fleming's creation.
  • Posts: 4,400
    I got around to reading Michael France's initial draft of GE, and I can say the film is a marked improvement on what is a rather shoddy first draft.

    The movie is a big bloated dull mess. The plot of the film is very much the same. But has little in the way of twists or big reveals; Bond finds out about the Goldeneye and realises that it must be disabled and knows that a Russian computer programmer is the only one who can do it. He then spends the first part of the script trying to find her and the second half trying to protect her. It's pretty thinly-scripted plot wise as there is no other real thrust moving the story along. Bond knows Trevelyan is a traitor from the outset and the actual mechanics of how the Goldeneye works are only hazily alluded to.

    Secondly, if people thought QOS was action-packed then they need to read this script there is a TON of action. The script is way to look at nearly 160 pages and is literally action scene upon action scene. Had this script been made it would have cost in excess of $200m and have been over 3 hours long. You start with a train chase (it's truly ridiculous, theres a moment when Bond rides his Aston on top of the train), then the attack on Seveneya, an action scene inside the KGB headquaters, a nuclear test site action scene, Russian safe house scene, plane getaway, ski chase with buzzsaw helicopters, horse chase through Russian streets, plane dogfight and it all culminates with the actual GE satellite fight but x100. France could fit this action over two films and the prods did - the whole middle section of the script found its way into TWINE.

    The script dosent feel like a Bond movie. It's very dull and humourless and if anything just comes across like a generic '90s action film. There is none of the traditional humour. Q has nothing to do. There is no Moneypenny. Bond never cracks a smile and spends the whole thing rather angry, the script was written as Dalton's 3rd film and France has completely misunderstood Tim's Bond. Here he has given the 'darker' Bond no personality.

    What is good is the Treveylan relationship. Here he is not 006, but instead an old M who also served as Bond's mentor. I'd love this idea to figure it's way back in the Bond films. Marina (not Natayla yet) is also handled well and her relationship with Bond is convincing. Xenia is criminally underused and I'm glad to see the prods and Campbell had the balls to ape up the character's sexuality as here she is rather limp. Other interesting grace notes include the inclusion of General Pushkin, M is still male and despite the script being titled 'GOLDENEYE' the words are never mentioned in the screenplay, instead the device is called 'The Tempest'.

    It's a weak script but it clearly had all the bare bones to be improved upon. Campbell really trimmed this fatty draft down and condensed it into a more succinct and effective film.
  • Posts: 4,400
    Here's an interesting article on the development of some Bond scripts:
    http://www.hmss.com/films/bondscripts/index.html

    Also check out Haggis giving an analysis on the scene he wrote for Bond and Vesper on the train; go to 5 minutes in:

  • http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Casino-Royale.pdf

    I just had a flick through and read the script for CR. The first thing that has to be said is that the script reads very well. Often when I was reading the scripts for GE, TND or TWINE I found myself getting bored and found the action stuff very hard to follow. This is not the case with CR, the thing reads very well and moves so quickly. The action is also briskly written which gives the piece real pace.

    Most interesting to me is how close the script is to the final movie. Most Bond scripts posted here vary massively from the finished product, the CR script however is pretty much 90% the same. Furthermore, many of the moments that are cut where obviously taken out as they are way too dark (even for CR). For instance Obanno talking about a boy killing his parents, Bond talking about how Vesper is too tiny and the bullets would go right through her, a scene where Obanno rape kisses Valenka and a moment where Bond hallucinates and sees Solange's dead body. Even reading it these felt like these were steps too far.

    Moreover, the stuff with Vesper is really great in the script, but a lot of the subtles and nuances carved by Haggis in their relationship are ditched after Bond is tortured and there are some really strange-eyerolling moments. I'm glad Campbell had the good sense to get rid of these scenes as they really weren't needed to sell the love story in the movie.

    The dialogue in the movie is also great, an interesting note however; Bond says 'dear' a lot. Also Bond talks a lot and it's clear that Craig came in and cut down Bond's dialogue; Craig's Bond is known for his mute nature. Mathis's casino commentary is also an exhausting device throughout the script and in the final film is toned down. Another nice thing about the CR script is that at times it fluctuates what Bond is credited as; sometimes he is called 'BOND' and other times 'JAMES'. He is only called James at his more human and emotional moments, something I don't think was a coincidence.

    The only problem I have with the script is actually the only problem i have with the film itself. The Casino scenes are so well written and so is the opening, but the whole Bahamas segment just feels like an obvious attempt to make a 'Bond film'. the rest of the script is subversive, new and refreshing. The Bahamas stuff just feels unnecessary and an obvious attempt at recreating the Connery glory days. Having said that the scenes are very much like something from a '60's Bond film which is no bad thing to aim for at all. However, the thing only really gets it's act together once Bond gets to Miami, otherwise the stuff with Dimitrios and Solange drags. This issue for me was just as much on the page as it was on the screen.

    Otherwise, Haggis has written a great script here. i think QOS has led to many fans rejecting him but I think his CR script was fantastic.
  • Posts: 157
    Here are some drafts courtesy of ‘Gravity's Silhouette’ and the defunct 007 Forever website.
    Some of the material was found by them in the Richard Maibaum archives at the University of Iowa.

    • Title: Papers of Richard Maibaum, 1932-1991.
    • Author: Richard Maibaum
    • Contributor: Cyril Hume 1900-1966 ; Michael G. Wilson 1942-
    • Subjects: American drama -- 20th century ; Film posters ; Motion picture actors and actresses ; Screenwriters -- United States ; Storyboards ; Television programs -- United States ; Television scripts ; Television writers ; Vehicles -- Models ; Amazing Mr. Williams (Motion picture) ; Bad man of Brimstone (Motion pictre) ; Bandit of Zhobe (Motion picture) ; Battle of bloody beach (Motion picture) ; Big clock (Motion picture) ; Bigger than life (Motion picture) ; Birthright (Play) ; Bride of vengeance (Motion picture) ; Captain Carey, U.S.A. (Motion picture) ; Chitty chitty bang bang (Motion picture) ; Coast guard (Motion picture) ; Cockleshell heroes (Motion picture) ; Day they robbed the bank of England (Motion picture) ; Dear wife (Motion picture) ; Diamonds are forever (Motion picture) ; Dr. No (Motion picture) ; For your eyes only (Motion picture) ; From Russia with love (Motion picture) ; Gemini contenders ; Ghost comes home (Motion picture) ; Goldfinger (Motion picture) ; Great Gatsby (Motion picture) ; Hell below zero (Motion picture) ; Hold back the dawn (Motion picture) ; I wanted wings (Motion picture) ; Jarrett (Television program) ; Kate Smith evening hour (Television program) ; Killers of Kilimanjaro (Motion picture) ; Lady and the mob (Motion picture) ; Licence to kill (Motion picture) ; Live, love and learn (Motion picture) ; Living daylights (Motion picture) ; Man with the golden gun (Motion picture) ; No man of her own (Motion picture) ; Middletown mural (Play) ; Moral entertainment (Play) ; Octopussy (Motion picture) ; On her majesty's secret service (Motion picture) ; O.S.S. (Motion picture) ; Ransom (Motion picture) ; Red beret (Motion picture) ; S.H.E. (Television program) ; Sainted sisters (Motion picture) ; See my lawyer (Play) ; Song of surrender (Motion picture) ; Spy who loved me (Motion picture) ; Stablemates (Motion picture) ; Tank force (Motion picture) ; Ten gentlemen from West Point (Motion picture) ; Their neighbor's wife (Motion picture) ; They gave him a gun (Motion picture) ; Tree (Play) ; Thunderball (Motion picture) ; Twenty mule team (Motion picture) ; View to a kill (Motion picture) ; We went to college (Motion picture) ; Zarak (Motion picture) ; James Bond films -- Articles ; James Bond films -- Clippings ; James Bond films -- Notes ; James Bond films -- Photographs ; James Bond films -- Scripts ; Motion pictures -- Articles ; Motion pictures -- Clippings ; Motion pictures -- Correspondence ; Motion pictures -- Notes ; Motion pictures -- Photographs ; Motion pictures -- Scripts
    • Description: The Richard Maibaum Papers: The personal papers series contains an actors file, biographical material on Maibaum, clippings and correspondence; the film projects series includes materials such as screenplays and treatments, many of which Maibaum co-authored with Cyril Hume, clippings, reviews and correspondence; the Stage project series has playscripts, clippings and correspondence; the television projects series features teleplays, treatments, clippings and production notes.
    The "James Bond" projects series is one of the largest sections. It features screenplays and treatments for thirteen "James Bond" motion pictures, many co-authored by Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson. Also included are clippings and articles written by Maibaum about "James Bond". The technical historical research series includes materials on specific projects, military and defence material and newspaper clippings.
    The collection also includes storyboards for the motion picture "A View to a Kill" and release posters for the two motion pictures "The Living Daylights" and "Licence to Kill". In addition, an assortment of plastic replica models of various vehicles featured in the films of Richard Maibaum, along with a detailed guide to the models, is included in the collection.
    Gift of Richard and Sylvia Maibaum, 1991.
    Materials open for research.
    • Format: 18.5 linear ft..
    • Language: English
    • Creation Date: 1932
    • Type: Archival Material

    Dr No

    OHMSS

    Diamonds Are Forever
    Auric Goldfingers brother, original climax at a salt mine or Hoover Dam and a more sadistic fight with Wint & Kidd

    LALD

    TMWTGG
    Retrieving the golden bullet from a plump Sadia, un-used gadget camera, Hip’s niece in the boat with Bond, the dual on the beach with the 2nd golden bullet

    TSWLM
    The Anthony Burgess concept with 008 and CHAOS, Egyptian museum battle later used in the Glass factory (MR), Q’s Russian Equivalent – ‘P’

    MR

    NSNA
    In Manhattan sewers with robot sharks

    AVTAK
    Pumping station spying with Q and SNOOPER

    TLD

    LTK
    Alternate pre-credit, different angle on the climax

    3rd Dalton Film

    Goldeneye
    Parachute scene similar to QoS?

    TND
    Fierstein's earlier version with the Harmsway’s and Sidney Winch

    TWINE
    Bond chasing the Cigar girl with a jet pack!

    Would love to see further info on the Goldeneye and Goldfinger drafts , are there links?
    I’ll also have to read through that QoS chaos page sometime soon, how they could get it so spectacularly wrong with such a strong foundation set in CR is still beyond me.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    These are great - thanks! :)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    These are great - thanks! :)

    Indeed they are! Thanks also from me!
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