No Time To Die: Production Diary

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  • SkyfallCraigSkyfallCraig Rome, Italy
    Posts: 630
    Italian newspaper says Italian director could be in the mix to direct
    http://www.jborbisnonsufficit.com/2017/07/31/is-an-italian-director-in-the-mix-to-direct-bond-25/

    We should change the topic title into:

    "Bond 25 Production Diary: Yann Demange spotted at EON HQ, Guy Ritchie spotted with Michael Wilson, Paolo Sorrentino is in the mix now, Daniel Craig had a good time working with Steven Soderbergh, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie also on shortlist, but wait, now the topic title becomes too long"

    :-D

    Ahahahahahahahah
    This could be a quite good movie title too.
    This newspaper is quite respected in Italy
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited July 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Personally, I feel Forster botched it. He had a personal style and clear take on it, but the final product felt disjointed and badly managed.

    His basic storytelling competencies should be questioned. Not only is the action badly stitched together (I still can’t tell you what happened in that plane chase) but the plot is woefully told.

    The runtime is a big issue as Forster is desperate to rush through the story with patchwork editing. Though I do enjoy the slightly more esoteric art-house feel to the movie. It’s an admirable misstep but after CR rejuvenated the franchise, it was clearly a move in the wrong direction.

    Mendes had a more stately, rich and auteur-ish take on Bond. Something that was equally as reverent as it was post-modern and subversive. It’s just a shame he came back for SP as he was clearly bereft of ideas.
    Perhaps you're being a bit harsh on Forster. He had limited time to pull it together and apparently used the action to mask a story that he considered a bit sparse (see below for an interesting interview he gave last year):

    http://collider.com/marc-forster-quantum-of-solace/#poster
    GetCarter wrote: »
    In fact, I'm sure many on here will be aware of "Antagony and Ecstasy", an indie movie review site that is still visitable even though the author has moved on.

    In any case, Timothy has written a review of every Bond film based on a particular formula. For those who haven't seen them, they are incomparable.

    One of the criteria is "lifestyle porn". The glitz, the glamor, the savoir faire that some Bond instalments excel at while others don't.

    I would argue that Mendes makes the appearance of understanding this crucial element, but his two entries are curiously devoid of true lifestyle porn.

    I will take DC hungrily eating caviar on toast after his poker win over any number of Mendes' artful compositions.

    Whoever next holds the megaphone needs to get out of Bond's head and into his lifestyle. The hotel bookings, the food, the casinos, the opera.

    This is what sets Bond apart from all the market competitors.

    Combine lifestyle porn with a tight spy thriller and winner, winner chicken dinner.
    I agree, although next time around he should keep his mouth closed while chewing.
    Sometimes, when I read all the criticism in here about Sam Mendes, I would guess people prefer to see him die.
    Not quite. Although I think SP is rubbish I want Mendes to have a long, healthy and happy life. I also wouldn't mind if he returned for one more, and would actually prefer it if Craig is back.
    For me, Bond should balance the drama and whatever themes that particular movie touches upon, with the entertaining blockbuster elements that Bond is so well known for - adding the lifestyle of the character (hotels, food, casinos etc.). This have not been done perfectly since CR.
    I agree.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,983
    Wait, since when is Sorrentino in the mix? Would certainly be the most gorgeous Bond movie, not sure how the action would fare though.
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    My friend saw a trailer for atomic blonde and assumed it was the new bond film and that bond had become a woman( he argued to me). So maybe we can find a way to make that bond 25 rumor news too?
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    My friend saw a trailer for atomic blonde and assumed it was the new bond film and that bond had become a woman( he argued to me). So maybe we can find a way to make that bond 25 rumor news too?
    He must have confided in Carver Media News Group.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,541
    DC was on the set of 'Youth' so he would definitely know and be familiar with Sorrentino's working methods.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    MI6-hq has made ADWEEK!!!!

    http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/james-bond/
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,541
    The Mirror story has been picked up by the Croatian media now.

    From @DNEVNIK.hr:
    #JamesBond arrives in Croatia - will it be filmed in # Dubrovnik? More in #DnevnikNoveTV at 19:15!
    bit.ly/2f1A8F8


    Anyone from Croatia able to watch the report?
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited July 2017 Posts: 4,585
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    The Mirror story has been picked up by the Croatian media now.

    From @DNEVNIK.hr:
    #JamesBond arrives in Croatia - will it be filmed in # Dubrovnik? More in #DnevnikNoveTV at 19:15!
    bit.ly/2f1A8F8


    Anyone from Croatia able to watch the report?

    In all honesty, I do believe there were legit reports last year about EON scouting Croatia. But that's all there was.
  • //action to mask a story that he considered a bit sparse (see below for an interesting interview he gave last year):

    http://collider.com/marc-forster-quantum-of-solace/#poster//

    I remember that interview. It reminds me of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

    It overlooks that a writer (Joshua Zetumer) *brought on by Forster when the strike ended* did do rewriting during filming. Apparently the interviewer didn't research deeply enough and Forster declined to volunteer that information.

    Again, not saying the strike didn't affect the movie. But it was more complicated than that, especially the emphasis on wind-earth-fire-water.
  • TripAces wrote: »
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    The Mirror story has been picked up by the Croatian media now.

    From @DNEVNIK.hr:
    #JamesBond arrives in Croatia - will it be filmed in # Dubrovnik? More in #DnevnikNoveTV at 19:15!
    bit.ly/2f1A8F8


    Anyone from Croatia able to watch the report?

    In all honesty, I do believe there were legit reports last year about EON scouting Croatia. But that's all there was.

    Yes, didn't some official representative of Croatia say EON had been scouting there? Really isn't farfetched, even without a director, an actor, a script, or anything, to be location-scouting that early on, just to get an idea of where you might set the next Bond film and what would be feasible shooting-wise.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited July 2017 Posts: 4,585
    //action to mask a story that he considered a bit sparse (see below for an interesting interview he gave last year):

    http://collider.com/marc-forster-quantum-of-solace/#poster//

    I remember that interview. It reminds me of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

    It overlooks that a writer (Joshua Zetumer) *brought on by Forster when the strike ended* did do rewriting during filming. Apparently the interviewer didn't research deeply enough and Forster declined to volunteer that information.

    Again, not saying the strike didn't affect the movie. But it was more complicated than that, especially the emphasis on wind-earth-fire-water.

    Forster had much to offer. Some fans didn't like the way he edited his action sequences, with so many jump cuts. It's all a matter of taste, but I liked it -- I would NOT like it if every Bond film were like that. But QoS had a different pace and flavor to it, and it fits well in between CR and SF. I thought the Bond/Mitchell chase and the Opera house shootout were excellent. And the Bond-Slate fight is one of the best ever, because of its brutality and brevity. It's Bond's greatest badass moment.

    The water motif was especially effective.
  • Posts: 3,164
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    It's actually SeaFire. According to The Mirror anyway.
    John Gardner's SeaFire caper by the villain (eco-terrorism, creating an oil disaster to apply a supposed remedy and claim victory plus a hero's crown) is a decent concept to pursue.

    I very much enjoyed your blog post on SeaFire from 7 August 2012, @Dragonpol. Very interesting the relations you report to World War II and even Dunkirk. And I work in the petroleum world, so all that background was great to see.

    ed09e103f1774df7280e8f642e3424d7--james-bond-a-fan.jpgb?b=RkSL2NSx4Vg3CLHP2XGvnw&cache=14916890571358564.jpg

    'Shocking thriller' is about right. Terrible, terrible book even by later era Gardner standards. After Win, Lose or Die there's only Death is Forever and parts of The Man From Barbarossa that hold up. Brokenclaw, Never Send Flowers, Seafire and Cold are all awful.

    Nice Pan cover mock up though.
    timmer wrote: »
    antovolk wrote: »
    Of course that torture scene was tacked on, they've been playing around with different takes on that scene all through production haha.

    Anyway the article does mention YOLT and if I had to guess that'll probably be the main inspiration for B25. Will be shocked if it isn't. And Shatterhand, as obvious as it is, is the perfect title.

    I'd be schocked as well if YOLT wasn't the main inspiration for SP.
    You and I and others were kicking this around as far back as the leaks thread in the pre-spectre days. It was clear that the new SP story was riffing on OHMSS. The "we have all the time in the world line " was eventually dropped, but it was there for a while.
    The potential for working with Fleming's original unused post-OHMSS continuity, found in YOLT & TMWTGG was very apparent, glaringly so.
    Nothing has changed really. The Shatterhand seeds were planted way back in the SP script-development days.
    There were even reports back then that both Waltz and Seydoux, had been tentatively asked to commit to a 2nd film.
    I think Seydoux's return has probably been scrapped as not needed, but I'd say Waltz is very much wanted.
    I think Eon has been committed to this approach all along, but it did require Craig continuing, so that needed to be firmed up, and my guess, is that that is being done, possibly for two films, which would make good business sense.
    An announcement will come, I think when the timing is opportune.
    Lock Craig in for two more films, on a schedule, and away you go.
    Shatterhand I would say is very very good bet for the new title. Dare I say lock? Not without some inside dope, but I'd be prepared to go banco on that.

    As for the Never Dream of Dying book, being an influence.
    That is out of left field. It's possible P&W might like something from the book, but there is no prior reportage of any substance to support this.
    As for the YOLT and TMWTGG elements, I think that's what we are looking at - elements, and working with the broad strokes - working with the Fleming story in a modern retelling.
    There will not be Tracy, but with Blofeld being revived in SP, and even Bunt, in early SP drafts, there is potential for any of Tiger, Dikko or Scaramanga being revived---Scaramanga if we are talking two more films in this arc.
    Kissy probably not. Tiger might be a stretch too, as they are both closely associated with the already done YOLT film, and were already portrayed pretty close to Fleming.
    However, with Fleming's Dikko and Scaramanga, there is opportunity to get closer to these original characters.

    Babs, MGW and P&W are all very conversant in Fleming, so they would know how to use these characters, and the Fleming storylines.

    The trouble is that without a Tracy figure you rip the heart and soul out of YOLT.

    If Madeline is just said to have left Bond or not even mentioned at all (as plenty of people seem to be advocating) then all you've got is Bond going to help out the Japanese government with an embarrassing problem.

    Blofeld is Tracy. Without her he's just another Bond villain and not even that good. In Fleming Drax, Goldfinger and Dr No are all far better than Blofeld, who despite appearing in three books makes less impact than any of them. His status as nemesis relies almost exclusively on the killing of Tracy.

    If they want to do YOLT they have to kill Madeline don't they because to have Bond choking him at the end screaming 'Die Blofeld, die' just because he killed Hannes Oberhauser (which didn't seem to bother Bond in the slightest in SP) or lured a few Japs to top themselves really doesn't work.

    Just one more reason SP's botched execution has left us in a seemingly inescapable predicament and, call me a cynic, I hardly think P&W are the screenwriting equivalent of a gadget from Q Branch to get us out of it.

    Yeah but there's still...Vesper. and of course Judi's M. Both of whom Blofeld so proudly took credit for killing off in SP.

    The beauty of the Craig era is the audience will have these things in mind. Truth is, I don't think they even need to kill Madeleine, it'd feel repetitive after Vesper and would just look bad to today's audiences who aren't well versed in the Bond past.
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    My friend saw a trailer for atomic blonde and assumed it was the new bond film and that bond had become a woman( he argued to me). So maybe we can find a way to make that bond 25 rumor news too?
    He must have confided in Carver Media News Group.

    Thats FAKE NEWS
  • edited July 2017 Posts: 17,779
    Yes, didn't some official representative of Croatia say EON had been scouting there? Really isn't farfetched, even without a director, an actor, a script, or anything, to be location-scouting that early on, just to get an idea of where you might set the next Bond film and what would be feasible shooting-wise.

    Wouldn't be surprised if Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were already working on B25 then, and that they were throwing ideas around at the time of the Croatia-scouting.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,292
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    It's actually SeaFire. According to The Mirror anyway.
    John Gardner's SeaFire caper by the villain (eco-terrorism, creating an oil disaster to apply a supposed remedy and claim victory plus a hero's crown) is a decent concept to pursue.

    I very much enjoyed your blog post on SeaFire from 7 August 2012, @Dragonpol. Very interesting the relations you report to World War II and even Dunkirk. And I work in the petroleum world, so all that background was great to see.

    ed09e103f1774df7280e8f642e3424d7--james-bond-a-fan.jpgb?b=RkSL2NSx4Vg3CLHP2XGvnw&cache=14916890571358564.jpg

    Thank you, @RichardTheBruce. Glad you enjoyed the article. It was something different from me.

    In case anyone is interested here is the article in question from my blog. Feel free to leave a comment here or there:

    https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/john-gardners-seafire-and-defence-of.html
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    Italian newspaper says Italian director could be in the mix to direct
    http://www.jborbisnonsufficit.com/2017/07/31/is-an-italian-director-in-the-mix-to-direct-bond-25/

    We should change the topic title into:

    "Bond 25 Production Diary: Yann Demange spotted at EON HQ, Guy Ritchie spotted with Michael Wilson, Paolo Sorrentino is in the mix now, Daniel Craig had a good time working with Steven Soderbergh, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie also on shortlist, but wait, now the topic title becomes too long"

    :-D

    Ahahahahahahahah
    This could be a quite good movie title too.
    This newspaper is quite respected in Italy

    I can confirm that "Il messaggero" is a reliable source, but I'm afraid jborbisnonsufficit is somewhat wrong. "Il messaggero" only reported that Sorrentino claimed he would like to direct a Bond film, not that he's in talks with EON.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    TripAces wrote: »
    //action to mask a story that he considered a bit sparse (see below for an interesting interview he gave last year):

    http://collider.com/marc-forster-quantum-of-solace/#poster//

    I remember that interview. It reminds me of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

    It overlooks that a writer (Joshua Zetumer) *brought on by Forster when the strike ended* did do rewriting during filming. Apparently the interviewer didn't research deeply enough and Forster declined to volunteer that information.

    Again, not saying the strike didn't affect the movie. But it was more complicated than that, especially the emphasis on wind-earth-fire-water.

    Forster had much to offer. Some fans didn't like the way he edited his action sequences, with so many jump cuts. It's all a matter of taste, but I liked it -- I would NOT like it if every Bond film were like that. But QoS had a different pace and flavor to it, and it fits well in between CR and SF. I thought the Bond/Mitchell chase and the Opera house shootout were excellent. And the Bond-Slate fight is one of the best ever, because of its brutality and brevity. It's Bond's greatest badass moment.

    The water motif was especially effective.

    That's exactly what I think about QoS! It's his own beast, and to be honest one of my favourite entries. I love how brutal it is and that's part of its charm. Now that I think about it, I think I first signed up for this forum (or its previous incarnation maybe) with the sole purpose of defending QoS, those were crazy days.
  • Sandy wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    //action to mask a story that he considered a bit sparse (see below for an interesting interview he gave last year):

    http://collider.com/marc-forster-quantum-of-solace/#poster//

    I remember that interview. It reminds me of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

    It overlooks that a writer (Joshua Zetumer) *brought on by Forster when the strike ended* did do rewriting during filming. Apparently the interviewer didn't research deeply enough and Forster declined to volunteer that information.

    Again, not saying the strike didn't affect the movie. But it was more complicated than that, especially the emphasis on wind-earth-fire-water.

    Forster had much to offer. Some fans didn't like the way he edited his action sequences, with so many jump cuts. It's all a matter of taste, but I liked it -- I would NOT like it if every Bond film were like that. But QoS had a different pace and flavor to it, and it fits well in between CR and SF. I thought the Bond/Mitchell chase and the Opera house shootout were excellent. And the Bond-Slate fight is one of the best ever, because of its brutality and brevity. It's Bond's greatest badass moment.

    The water motif was especially effective.

    That's exactly what I think about QoS! It's his own beast, and to be honest one of my favourite entries. I love how brutal it is and that's part of its charm. Now that I think about it, I think I first signed up for this forum (or its previous incarnation maybe) with the sole purpose of defending QoS, those were crazy days.

    Wonderful to see all of this QoS love. It trades places for me with CR as my favorite of Craig's, but has been winning for some time and is currently my series #4. There is so much right about QoS, I'm easily able to overlook the hyper-editing (which honestly only becomes problematic for me during the Palio chase—apart from that, I love it).
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,842
    John Gardner's SeaFire caper by the villain (eco-terrorism, creating an oil disaster to apply a supposed remedy and claim victory plus a hero's crown) is a decent concept to pursue.
    'Shocking thriller' is about right. Terrible, terrible book even by later era Gardner standards.
    Yeah, I singled out the villain's caper. Eco-terrorism ramped up from QUANTUM OF SOLACE to be a deadly threat instead of just holding assets is right on time these days.
  • SkyfallCraigSkyfallCraig Rome, Italy
    edited July 2017 Posts: 630
    Walecs wrote: »
    Italian newspaper says Italian director could be in the mix to direct
    http://www.jborbisnonsufficit.com/2017/07/31/is-an-italian-director-in-the-mix-to-direct-bond-25/

    We should change the topic title into:

    "Bond 25 Production Diary: Yann Demange spotted at EON HQ, Guy Ritchie spotted with Michael Wilson, Paolo Sorrentino is in the mix now, Daniel Craig had a good time working with Steven Soderbergh, Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie also on shortlist, but wait, now the topic title becomes too long"

    :-D

    Ahahahahahahahah
    This could be a quite good movie title too.
    This newspaper is quite respected in Italy

    I can confirm that "Il messaggero" is a reliable source, but I'm afraid jborbisnonsufficit is somewhat wrong. "Il messaggero" only reported that Sorrentino claimed he would like to direct a Bond film, not that he's in talks with EON.
    In the full article they say that in the rumors to direct alongside the famous 3+Nolan there is Sorrentino, and also that he said he would like it
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    John Gardner's SeaFire caper by the villain (eco-terrorism, creating an oil disaster to apply a supposed remedy and claim victory plus a hero's crown) is a decent concept to pursue.
    'Shocking thriller' is about right. Terrible, terrible book even by later era Gardner standards.
    Yeah, I singled out the villain's caper. Eco-terrorism ramped up from QUANTUM OF SOLACE to be a deadly threat instead of just holding assets is right on time these days.

    Yeah unlike the unoriginal boring simple plot of spectre which is just- Muh surveillance
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    edited July 2017 Posts: 10,591
    Here's your news rundown for July. Quite an eventful month:

    Official (statements from EON/MGM directly related to B25): ***
    Confirmed (fact-based items/statements from trusted sources): ***
    Uncertain (items from uncertain sources and/or with uncertain results): ***
    Debunked (items proven incorrect): ***


    July 2017
    ->While talking to Playboy, Christopher Nolan reaffirms his desire to helm a Bond film, but stresses that "it has to need reinvention, it has to need you."
    ->Eon Productions announce that they will soon begin work on The Rhythm Section, a non-007 spy thriller based on the four novel series by Mark Burnell. American actress Blake Lively is set to star as the film's protagonist
    ->The 25th James Bond film is officially confirmed for a US release on November 8th, 2019, with international dates as well as the cast & director to be announced at a later date
    ->This leaves only an untiled Disney live-action film as direct box office competition, although sequels to both Frozen and Wonder Woman are expected to provide B25 with stiff competition during the latter two months of '19
    ->Logan Lucky earns praise from critics and will soon begin its theatrical run.
    ->With Craig about to embark on his press tour, he will undoubtedly be faced with lingering questions regarding his future (or lack thereof) with the 007 franchise
    ->The New York Times reports that Craig's return is a done deal based on sources close to production
    ->Both BirthMoviesDeath and MI6-HQ stress the possibility of Broccoli and Wilson selling the franchise off post-B25, based on an unknown source close to production
    ->Deadline reports that Yann Demange (71), Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), and David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) are on the shortlist to helm the next film in the series, and have all allegedly had meetings with Broccoli and Wilson. Villeneuve may be out of the race due to scheduling conflicts having recently signed onto Dune
    ->According to Variety, Demange is the frontrunner and claims Warner Bros. is the closest to landing a distribution deal with MGM for B25
    ->Surprisingly, Logan Lucky will not have a press junket (despite numerous high profile actors appearing in the film) meaning that Craig will likely stay silent on the matter until his next film, Kings, premiers at the Toronto International Film Festival in September
    ->Craig will star in two episodes of a new Amazon Prime series, Comrade Detective, to air later this year. Interestingly, no developments have been made on Craig's other TV series, Purity, since the show was greenlit by Showtime last year
    ->James Bond Downunder reports that Yann Demange was spotted at EON House in London; comments from fans asking about Bond on Demange's Instagram are promptly deleted
    ->Mirror claims the next Bond film will be titled "Shatterhand" and will be an adaptation of Raymond Benson's continuation novel, Never Dream of Dying
    ->Benson denies ever speaking to journalists at Mirror; says the article is nothing more than a fabrication
  • QuantumOrganizationQuantumOrganization We have people everywhere
    Posts: 1,187
    jake24 wrote: »
    Here's your news rundown for July. Quite an eventful month:

    Official (statements from EON/MGM directly related to B25): ***
    Confirmed (fact-based items/statements from trusted sources): ***
    Uncertain (items from uncertain sources and/or with uncertain results): ***
    Debunked (items proven incorrect): ***


    July 2017
    ->While talking to Playboy, Christopher Nolan reaffirms his desire to helm a Bond film, but stresses that "it has to need reinvention, it has to need you."
    ->Eon Productions announce that they will soon begin work on The Rhythm Section, a non-007 spy thriller based on the four novel series by Mark Burnell. American actress Blake Lively is set to star as the film's protagonist
    ->The 25th James Bond film is officially confirmed for a US release on November 8th, 2019, with international dates as well as the cast & director to be announced at a later date
    ->This leaves only an untiled Disney live-action film as direct box office competition, although sequels to both Frozen and Wonder Woman are expected to provide B25 with stiff competition during the latter two months of '19
    ->Logan Lucky earns praise from critics and will soon begin its theatrical run.
    ->With Craig about to embark on his press tour, he will undoubtedly be faced with lingering questions regarding his future (or lack thereof) with the 007 franchise
    ->The New York Times reports that Craig's return is a done deal based on sources close to production
    ->Both BirthMoviesDeath and MI6-HQ stress the possibility of Broccoli and Wilson selling the franchise off post-B25, based on an unknown source close to production
    ->Deadline reports that Yann Demange (71), Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049), and David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) are on the shortlist to helm the next film in the series, and have all allegedly had meetings with Broccoli and Wilson. Villeneuve may be out of the race due to scheduling conflicts having recently signed onto Dune
    ->According to Variety, Demange is the frontrunner and claims Warner Bros. is the closest to landing a distribution deal with MGM for B25
    ->Surprisingly, Logan Lucky will not have a press junket (despite numerous high profile actors appearing in the film) meaning that Craig will likely stay silent on the matter until his next film, Kings, premiers at the Toronto International Film Festival in September
    ->Craig will star in two episodes of a new Amazon Prime series, Comrade Detective, to air later this year. Interestingly, no developments have been made on Craig's other TV series, Purity, since the show was greenlit by Showtime last year
    ->James Bond Downunder reports that Yann Demange was spotted at EON House in London; comments from fans asking about Bond on Demange's Instagram are promptly deleted
    ->Mirror claims the next Bond film will be titled "Shatterhand" and will be an adaptation of Raymond Benson's continuation novel, Never Dream of Dying
    ->Benson denies ever speaking to journalists at Mirror; says the article is nothing more than a fabrication
    Look out for news in Late August early September

  • edited August 2017 Posts: 4,622
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    It's actually SeaFire. According to The Mirror anyway.
    John Gardner's SeaFire caper by the villain (eco-terrorism, creating an oil disaster to apply a supposed remedy and claim victory plus a hero's crown) is a decent concept to pursue.

    I very much enjoyed your blog post on SeaFire from 7 August 2012, @Dragonpol. Very interesting the relations you report to World War II and even Dunkirk. And I work in the petroleum world, so all that background was great to see.

    ed09e103f1774df7280e8f642e3424d7--james-bond-a-fan.jpgb?b=RkSL2NSx4Vg3CLHP2XGvnw&cache=14916890571358564.jpg

    'Shocking thriller' is about right. Terrible, terrible book even by later era Gardner standards. After Win, Lose or Die there's only Death is Forever and parts of The Man From Barbarossa that hold up. Brokenclaw, Never Send Flowers, Seafire and Cold are all awful.

    Nice Pan cover mock up though.
    timmer wrote: »
    antovolk wrote: »
    Of course that torture scene was tacked on, they've been playing around with different takes on that scene all through production haha.

    Anyway the article does mention YOLT and if I had to guess that'll probably be the main inspiration for B25. Will be shocked if it isn't. And Shatterhand, as obvious as it is, is the perfect title.

    I'd be schocked as well if YOLT wasn't the main inspiration for SP.
    You and I and others were kicking this around as far back as the leaks thread in the pre-spectre days. It was clear that the new SP story was riffing on OHMSS. The "we have all the time in the world line " was eventually dropped, but it was there for a while.
    The potential for working with Fleming's original unused post-OHMSS continuity, found in YOLT & TMWTGG was very apparent, glaringly so.
    Nothing has changed really. The Shatterhand seeds were planted way back in the SP script-development days.
    There were even reports back then that both Waltz and Seydoux, had been tentatively asked to commit to a 2nd film.
    I think Seydoux's return has probably been scrapped as not needed, but I'd say Waltz is very much wanted.
    I think Eon has been committed to this approach all along, but it did require Craig continuing, so that needed to be firmed up, and my guess, is that that is being done, possibly for two films, which would make good business sense.
    An announcement will come, I think when the timing is opportune.
    Lock Craig in for two more films, on a schedule, and away you go.
    Shatterhand I would say is very very good bet for the new title. Dare I say lock? Not without some inside dope, but I'd be prepared to go banco on that.

    As for the Never Dream of Dying book, being an influence.
    That is out of left field. It's possible P&W might like something from the book, but there is no prior reportage of any substance to support this.
    As for the YOLT and TMWTGG elements, I think that's what we are looking at - elements, and working with the broad strokes - working with the Fleming story in a modern retelling.
    There will not be Tracy, but with Blofeld being revived in SP, and even Bunt, in early SP drafts, there is potential for any of Tiger, Dikko or Scaramanga being revived---Scaramanga if we are talking two more films in this arc.
    Kissy probably not. Tiger might be a stretch too, as they are both closely associated with the already done YOLT film, and were already portrayed pretty close to Fleming.
    However, with Fleming's Dikko and Scaramanga, there is opportunity to get closer to these original characters.

    Babs, MGW and P&W are all very conversant in Fleming, so they would know how to use these characters, and the Fleming storylines.

    The trouble is that without a Tracy figure you rip the heart and soul out of YOLT.

    If Madeline is just said to have left Bond or not even mentioned at all (as plenty of people seem to be advocating) then all you've got is Bond going to help out the Japanese government with an embarrassing problem.

    Blofeld is Tracy. Without her he's just another Bond villain and not even that good. In Fleming Drax, Goldfinger and Dr No are all far better than Blofeld, who despite appearing in three books makes less impact than any of them. His status as nemesis relies almost exclusively on the killing of Tracy.

    If they want to do YOLT they have to kill Madeline don't they because to have Bond choking him at the end screaming 'Die Blofeld, die' just because he killed Hannes Oberhauser (which didn't seem to bother Bond in the slightest in SP) or lured a few Japs to top themselves really doesn't work.

    Just one more reason SP's botched execution has left us in a seemingly inescapable predicament and, call me a cynic, I hardly think P&W are the screenwriting equivalent of a gadget from Q Branch to get us out of it.

    Yes Fleming's treatment of YOLT does rely on the death of Tracy.
    So I'm guessing a whole new story that borrows elements from the Fleming stories.
    The new story of course exists in the re-boot timeline.
    As Madeleine is not Tracy, killing her off at Blofeld's hand would be superfluous.
    I think this is why, the " we have all the time in the world" line was dropped, as it would invite Madeleine comparisons with Tracy.
    And as there is no comparison, it's probably a good thing it was dropped, which makes Swann, just another Bond girl that can be written out like so many others, so that we might get another fresh girl.
    I'm guessing the intent is to work with Fleming elements but within this new reboot context.
    I'm guessing, Blofeld as Shatterhand, Garden of Death, a reimagined Bunt ie in the leaked scripts, she wasn't ugly.
    As for what the actual broader story might be, who knows.
    But we've seen Fleming bits dropped into new film stories, out of original book context, before.

    When we might get an actual telling of Fleming's Blofeld trilogy, either as a period piece, or in a modern context, a la CR 06, who knows?
    I would love to see it done in a modern setting.
    Actually one could skip TB, just reference it as backstory, and then go full out on OHMSS, YOLT and TMWTGG bringing Bond full circle to where we find him at the end of Fleming's TMWTGG.
    This might be a neat way to launch another cinema re-boot, down the line, but if we get Shatterhand and Garden of Death in B25, which I think that we will, then that shelves a modern telling of the trilogy for the near future, as the core Fleming elements would be repetitive.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    @QuantumOrganization -- does this still include a two-pic conclusion??
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,327
    The thing I love about the two Mendes Bond films, is the fact that they have a slightly deeper meaning below the characters and storylines. If one only wants to have a plain, good Bond action blockbuster, then by all means go ahead and love that. But what Mendes gave to me, and perhaps a small minority in here who also agree with me, where movies that really say something about our geopolitical environment. Yes, the films had its flaws. For many in here the action wasn't up-to-par. And the way the characters were written and the drama surrounding them felt to many too contrived. But in all honesty, not so much to me. Perhaps it is that I have a weakness for drama in the first place. Many fans in here think that Bond is not a vehicle for that. I tend to disagree. Just like the press thought Bond should never marry after the premiere of OHMSS, I feel something similar with all the criticism with regard to SF and SP: Perhaps the Mendes Bond films age better after a few decades.

    Yes and no. SF had some interesting points to make about aging, but it was text, not subtext. In contrast, SP had the thuddingly obvious "The dead are alive."

    Get off my gunbarrel, Jack Handey!

    Blofeld is Tracy.

    Now, that would be a twist.
  • echo wrote: »

    Blofeld is Tracy.

    Now, that would be a twist.

    keanu.gif?resize=280%2C200
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,355
    Don't give Purvis and Wade any ideas. Do we need another Blofeld in drag? =))
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