No Time To Die: Production Diary

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  • Posts: 1,548
    I can't believe Fukanaga hasn't quit over creative differences yet!
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,382
    Just a thought of ending B25. It would never happen but the towards the end Bond receives a message from Strangways about coming down to Jamaica to do some fishing and how he has a matter to discuss with Bond regarding a mysterious island.

    Full circle
  • I can't quite pick a side in the "James Bond should/shouldn't" die argument. I'm open to anything. I just want them to tell us a good story about 007.

    It doubt it would be as simple as "Bond dies." (For real). Continuity plans aside, it would be an unsettling Bond experience for audiences at large, with the potential to generate massive confusion about the larger state of the franchise. Possible, indeed. And a great hook. But hardly a spoiler they'd be able to keep secret. It seems the least likely of possible scenarios to me.

    Now, what about Bond "dies". TDKR-style. An adaption of YOLT's literary ending or FRWL's, with enough coda/epilogue to make it clear he's actually survived. Albeit perhaps in a different state. That seems more likely. However, despite EON's penchant for borrowing influence from recent trends--Nolan's influence on Skyfall has been mentioned--TDKR was, to me, such a definitive take on this approach that I think they'd be hesitant to lift the mechanics directly.

    So, perhaps, the combination of influence and originality is a third option...
  • Just a thought of ending B25. It would never happen but the towards the end Bond receives a message from Strangways about coming down to Jamaica to do some fishing and how he has a matter to discuss with Bond regarding a mysterious island.

    Full circle

    Much as I love the masterpiece that is Skyfall ( :) ), I always felt there was a just-slightly missed opportunity in that final scene with M for an extra nod toward Bond's history.

    Your example was one of the two I thought could have worked spectacularly. Even a subtle "Jamaica went offline tonight" in the dialogue nodding toward the full-circling of Bond's continuity.

    Or:

    MALLORY
    Are you ready to get back to work?

    BOND
    With pleasure, M. With pleasure.

    MALLORY
    Good. Take a seat. And tell me everything you know about gold."
  • Goldeneye0094Goldeneye0094 Conyers, GA
    Posts: 464
    Just a thought of ending B25. It would never happen but the towards the end Bond receives a message from Strangways about coming down to Jamaica to do some fishing and how he has a matter to discuss with Bond regarding a mysterious island.

    Full circle

    I hate to say this but that actually sounds kinda genius
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,586
    Just a thought of ending B25. It would never happen but the towards the end Bond receives a message from Strangways about coming down to Jamaica to do some fishing and how he has a matter to discuss with Bond regarding a mysterious island.

    Full circle

    I hate to say this but that actually sounds kinda genius
    Beats Bond dying, that's for sure.
  • Posts: 11,425
    any reference to Jamaica is long overdue. every Bond should have at least one film set there IMO. it's Bond's spiritual home
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2018 Posts: 23,883
    jake24 wrote: »
    Just a thought of ending B25. It would never happen but the towards the end Bond receives a message from Strangways about coming down to Jamaica to do some fishing and how he has a matter to discuss with Bond regarding a mysterious island.

    Full circle

    I hate to say this but that actually sounds kinda genius
    Beats Bond dying, that's for sure.
    I quite agree.

    I'm pretty sure Bond won't die in B25. I doubt it will even be vague. I'm pretty certain EON know they've pulled that trick a couple of times before, including in SF. Moreover, it just won't have any impact whatsoever, because everybody knows Bond will be back. He's the most certain franchise character to return out of any of them, given the nearly 60 year onscreen history. So what's the point really, especially after the rumour has been exposed and has done the rounds.

    RE: the full circle return to DN in some way, shape or form, I'm not a big fan of that idea. It's been played out in other franchises, most notably SW (the prequels). They pretty much already did that in SF anyway.

    RE: a TDKR type ending - I'd argue that this is actually what they pulled in SP. Yes, I realize he wasn't thought to be dead or anything, but it was an ambiguous ending, which left things open to the imagination and interpretation. Would Swann be killed by Blofeld's minions? Has Bond left the force? Is he just on another overdue holiday? Etc. etc.

    So I'm curious to see what they'll do, but doubt it will be any of the above personally.
  • bondjames wrote: »

    RE: a TDKR type ending - I'd argue that this is actually what they pulled in SP. Yes, I realize he wasn't thought to be dead or anything, but it was an ambiguous ending, which left things open to the imagination and interpretation. Would Swann be killed by Blofeld's minions? Has Bond left the force? Is he just on another overdue holiday? Etc. etc.

    Agree. Very analogous to that already, even down to the vague dialogue: "I thought you'd gone...I have..."

  • Posts: 11,425
    any reference to Jamaica is long overdue. every Bond should have at least one film set there IMO. it's Bond's spiritual home
  • ^
  • The thing that worries me is that P&W are going back to their old script. Many of us assume that it is Shatterhand.

    As much as I would want Spectre/Blofeld to return, I'm really not interested in seeing Waltz or Seydoux back. Whilst I certainly enjoyed Spectre, I just don't think those characters are interesting enough to sustain my interest for a second time.

    I think the idea of a new Cold War and Bond going up against the Russians is much more interesting.

    Personally, I hope P&W are writing a new script that incorporates ideas from their treatment and Hodge's draft. Then I hope Fukunaga can be left to work on the script and overhaul it to his own tastes.

    I really want Cary's fingerprints all over the film as he's a terrific filmmaker. Though I've read some interviews with him recently were he suggested he much prefers bringing on other writers to develop his ideas.

    What do we think Fukunaga is doing today?
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,890
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    TDKR didn't felt like an ambiguous ending to me. Bruce left with Selina leaving his legacy in the hands of Blake. The whole point of the movie was "Batman can be anyone" so Wayne's decision to disappear faking his death seemed coherent with this whole theme, especially because fulfilled Alfred's desire to see him leaving a normal life leaving Gotham forever. Plus, Nolan films has been always conceived as a self-contained trilogy with a begin, a middle and an end.

    On the other hand SP finale was precisely conceived as a more ambiguous end that could've fit almost every possible further development. They even cut the "we have all the time in the world" final line to keep things even more "uncertain"...
  • Posts: 4,599
    We often forget that Bond is undercover and he is meant to blend in. I much prefer a low key ending where, after the mission is completed, he just walks away and disappears into a crowd. I know this is not traditional re older Bonds but, somehow with the more downbeat, dark DC Bond, it just feels right IMHO

    I don't think DC can pull off a "Keeping the British End Up" climax. It could be excruciating (although strangely in keeping with a post Brexit environment)
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    I agree that Waltz should be brought back so Blofeld can be redeemed. The script had many issues, but Waltz was perfectly cast as Blofeld. I, too, have no interest in Madeleine's character.
    Getafix wrote: »
    any reference to Jamaica is long overdue. every Bond should have at least one film set there IMO. it's Bond's spiritual home

    +1
  • edited September 2018 Posts: 832
    Waltz could have made a great blofeld, however that opportunity is already past. Bond 25 should have little connection to sp. Blofeld/ spectre can be reintroduced in 10 years. Hard separation, like qos- sf, yolt- ohmss, or avtak- tld.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2018 Posts: 23,883
    matt_u wrote: »
    TDKR didn't felt like an ambiguous ending to me. Bruce left with Selina leaving his legacy in the hands of Blake. The whole point of the movie was "Batman can be anyone" so Wayne's decision to disappear faking his death seemed coherent with this whole theme, especially because fulfilled Alfred's desire to see him leaving a normal life leaving Gotham forever. Plus, Nolan films has been always conceived as a self-contained trilogy with a begin, a middle and an end.
    Actually that's not really true. The Nolan Bat films were never originally devised as a trilogy. They made it up as they went along, which makes what he achieved with them all the more remarkable.

    They did in fact keep the last one ambiguous. There was for a time a chance that Bale could return, but he said he'd only do it if Nolan came back too, and that didn't happen. It's true that they brought in Blake, but once again it could have been as a future Robin for all we know. Things were kept vague. Moreover, Wayne was in hiding for 8 years prior anyway, as was Batman. He returned in the last one because of the League of Shadows and so one could argue that they left open the prospect that he could do so once again.

    If you go back and read the discussion on this thread from a couple of years ago (prior to Craig announcing his return), you will see that quite a few members saw the SP ending as similar to the TDKR finale, at least in terms of the ambiguous nature of his leaving with his girl to settle down to a life away from solving the world's problems after defeating the organization that caused him so much trouble.
  • edited September 2018 Posts: 4,599
    Within any story, when your hero rides off into the sunset with their heart throb, (whether it's on the back of a horse or in an an Aston) that is the fairy tale ending with the emphasis on ENDING. "And they all lived happily ever after." SP has done Bond no favours in this area.

    Hunt knew this in OHMSS and turned his back on the fairy tale ending and, instead, gave us one of THE most iconic scenes within the history of Bond and set things up for a superb next installment.
  • Posts: 2,107
    Getafix wrote: »
    any reference to Jamaica is long overdue. every Bond should have at least one film set there IMO. it's Bond's spiritual home

    Hear hear!

    And Naval uniform, worn by Bond.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,053
    talos7 wrote: »
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.

    I agree, he has said both he would and he wouldn't, he also said he wasn't Blofeld or the head of Spectre. He may very well return. I want him too, as he deserves redemption, as he is truly capable of doing it.
  • talos7 wrote: »
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.

    I thought Waltz gave such a blank performance in SP. He sleepwalked through the film and collected the cheque. I think it was clear that Mendes and Waltz wanted to do something more subtle and quieter with Blofeld (after the flamboyance of Silva in SF). But it just came across as limp and disinteresting.

    Madeleine as a character was woefully uninteresting, however Lea Seydoux did a terrific job. she made that character soulful and her performance was loaded with pathos. However, whatever that character had to offer has been utilised now. I feel there is nothing much left to say for Madeleine Swann.

    I don't want Fukunaga to deal with Mendes's leftovers.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    edited September 2018 Posts: 4,343
    bondjames wrote: »
    matt_u wrote: »
    TDKR didn't felt like an ambiguous ending to me. Bruce left with Selina leaving his legacy in the hands of Blake. The whole point of the movie was "Batman can be anyone" so Wayne's decision to disappear faking his death seemed coherent with this whole theme, especially because fulfilled Alfred's desire to see him leaving a normal life leaving Gotham forever. Plus, Nolan films has been always conceived as a self-contained trilogy with a begin, a middle and an end.
    Actually that's not really true. The Nolan Bat films were never originally devised as a trilogy. They made it up as they went along, which makes what he achieved with them all the more remarkable.

    They did in fact keep the last one ambiguous. There was for a time a chance that Bale could return, but he said he'd only do it if Nolan came back too, and that didn't happen. It's true that they brought in Blake, but once again it could have been as a future Robin for all we know. Things were kept vague. Moreover, Wayne was in hiding for 8 years prior anyway, as was Batman. He returned in the last one because of the League of Shadows and so one could argue that they left open the prospect that he could do so once again.

    If you go back and read the discussion on this thread from a couple of years ago (prior to Craig announcing his return), you will see that quite a few members saw the SP ending as similar to the TDKR finale, at least in terms of the ambiguous nature of his leaving with his girl to settle down to a life away from solving the world's problems after defeating the organization that caused him so much trouble.

    Let's put it this way. After the success of BB and TDK, Rises was conceived as an ideal thematic ending of Nolan's Trilogy. I never thought about a possible fourth Nolan film simply because Wayne's story arc was completely fulfilled in Rises. Maybe he'd do another one in 10 years, with a super old Batman. That's the reason why the ending didn't felt ambiguous to me. In SP was different, because Bond left on a similar OHMSS fashion plus the big baddie of his era was still alive. So to me SP finale felt far more open than Rises. I'd say that SP finale felt exactly like the TDK finale - even if the implications are obviously different - in which Joker was left alive and Batman decided to quit his "job".

    Given the fact that 25 will be 99,9% Craig's last, now I predict they'd go for a more Rises route than, for example, a Logan route.
    talos7 wrote: »
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.

    I thought Waltz gave such a blank performance in SP. He sleepwalked through the film and collected the cheque.

    Not my opinion. His performance was probably the most important reason why the character didn't felt like a complete waste. Even if the writing was lazy, he was able to perfectly handle all the deformations of Blofeld's twisted psyche. I largely spoke about this in the "Controversial opinions on Bond films" so I don't want to repeat myself.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2018 Posts: 23,883
    matt_u wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    matt_u wrote: »
    TDKR didn't felt like an ambiguous ending to me. Bruce left with Selina leaving his legacy in the hands of Blake. The whole point of the movie was "Batman can be anyone" so Wayne's decision to disappear faking his death seemed coherent with this whole theme, especially because fulfilled Alfred's desire to see him leaving a normal life leaving Gotham forever. Plus, Nolan films has been always conceived as a self-contained trilogy with a begin, a middle and an end.
    Actually that's not really true. The Nolan Bat films were never originally devised as a trilogy. They made it up as they went along, which makes what he achieved with them all the more remarkable.

    They did in fact keep the last one ambiguous. There was for a time a chance that Bale could return, but he said he'd only do it if Nolan came back too, and that didn't happen. It's true that they brought in Blake, but once again it could have been as a future Robin for all we know. Things were kept vague. Moreover, Wayne was in hiding for 8 years prior anyway, as was Batman. He returned in the last one because of the League of Shadows and so one could argue that they left open the prospect that he could do so once again.

    If you go back and read the discussion on this thread from a couple of years ago (prior to Craig announcing his return), you will see that quite a few members saw the SP ending as similar to the TDKR finale, at least in terms of the ambiguous nature of his leaving with his girl to settle down to a life away from solving the world's problems after defeating the organization that caused him so much trouble.

    Let's put it this way. After the success of BB and TDK, Rises was conceived as an ideal thematic ending of Nolan's Trilogy. I never thought about a possible fourth Nolan film simply because Wayne's story arc was completely fulfilled in Rises. Maybe he'd do another one in 10 years, with a super old Batman. That's the reason why the ending didn't felt ambiguous to me. In SP was different, because Bond left on a similar OHMSS fashion plus the big baddie of his era was still alive. So to me SP finale felt far more open than Rises. I'd say that SP finale felt exactly like the TDK finale - even if the implications are obviously different - in which Joker was left alive and Batman decided to quit his "job".

    Given the fact that 25 will be 99,9% Craig's last, now I predict they'd go for a more Rises route than, for example, a Logan route.
    Fair enough. I can see the differences between the two endings (SP & TDKR) but still believe they have a lot of similarities.

    The thing with the Craig films is we've already had two in succession which can serve as appropriate (even if not ideal) endings, at least imho. Namely SF and SP.

    So if EON really want to create some kind of Craig specific sendoff then I think they should ideally try for something which hasn't been done before. So ideally a) no deaths, even if equivocal; b) no heading off with the girl where nobody but a few know where he is; and c) no full 360's back to DN. What I'm saying is I hope they will surprise me should they attempt this. Otherwise just don't bother.
  • Posts: 2,107
    When the movie's out, of course we won't be hearing of miss Swann. It's been five years afterall!
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,494
    talos7 wrote: »
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.

    I thought Waltz gave such a blank performance in SP. He sleepwalked through the film and collected the cheque. I think it was clear that Mendes and Waltz wanted to do something more subtle and quieter with Blofeld (after the flamboyance of Silva in SF). But it just came across as limp and disinteresting.

    Waltz implied that he and Mendes had differing ideas for the character. Which is seemingly quite clear from the two different versions of the same speech used in the teasers/trailers.

  • talos7 wrote: »
    Waltz could redeem himself, he was horribly misused; Seydoux, on the other hand was miscast and should not be brought back.

    I thought Lea Seydoux was one of SP's strengths.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    edited September 2018 Posts: 2,541
    SharkBait wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    any reference to Jamaica is long overdue. every Bond should have at least one film set there IMO. it's Bond's spiritual home

    Hear hear!

    And Naval uniform, worn by Bond.

    Agreed, I said this on another thread as well that DC should wear that uniform at least once


    SP ending felt more like OHMSS ending than TDKR, BLOFELD was cast perfectly and can return imo, but seydoux need to be for a few minutes of scenes or come up in discussion that it didn't work out for her and bond rather than another Killing lover incident.
  • Posts: 12,243
    No one should have to deal with Mendes’s leftovers. As far as I’m concerned, the slate is clean, regardless of Craig still being in the role. It’s been years since SP, and given the series’ history, there’s no reason for them to feel tied to any previous continuity. It’d be unwise I think not to take advantage of that clean slate.
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