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Mr. Stockslivevan, Well if the rumor is true, it would be...007th heaven for Barbara Broccoli, and Daniel Craig. BB, would not have to cast a new Bond, and Craig could keep his franchise as he tries to find success outside of 007!
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!!!
(EDITED - Decided to to an admittedly very long main site article instead)
Oh god please be true. This would be the best Bond news of my lifetime second only to the original casting of Craig. Look, I feel privileged beyond words to have had my dream of Daniel Craig as Ian Flemming's JAMES BOND 007 come true. From July 2004 on, Craig was my absolute top fan casting pick above all other human males on the planet alive at that time. To have even ONE Craig BOND movie is enough to leave me with lasting joy more than enough to last the rest of my years, but the prospect of eight is more than I could have ever asked for, more than I could have begun to conceive. At 53? Craig will be better than ever. Mark my words. Ghost of Flemming, please may this come to pass!
And no offense to Moore, but I expect Craig to be in top shape when he is in his 50s, so I don't think the age thing will be an issue at all
100% agreed.
Originally Posted by S.D. Bob Plissken
They've already pretty much confirmed on more than one occasion that Quantum will return and be dealt with in Bond 24.
Where? I feel like it's only been fans who've kept saying that.
As for Wilson's quotes, wake me when a Bond producer in mid-production says something like "Man, I just don't know. I feel like we're going off a half-baked script, and to be honest I think we might have fucked up on our choice of director. *Sighs* Oh well, whaddaya gonna do?"
Where? I feel like it's only been fans who've kept saying that.
Practically every interview that Michael G. Wilson did right after Quantum of Solace and a few years beyond. I'll try and find some examples (Google is being a dick right now), but the intention always seems to have been to pull a "Goldfinger" with Skyfall and then return to Quantum in the film that follows. Will they actually end up doing that? Who knows. Even if they do, I severely doubt the organization will be completely destroyed. They seem to have every intention of keeping them around as the new SPECTRE.
EDIT - Still can't find anything. Maybe I'm just crazy. The only articles that I can find at the moment DO completely back up the idea that Skyfall was always intended to be a stand alone film. The only bits I can find at the moment that allude to a third "Quantum" film revolve around Forster talking about dropping the original final scene from Quantum (where Bond kills Mr. White) so that the filmmakers wouldn't be tied down to following up on that with another Quantum-centric tale.
Yeah, I think you might be misrembering (but happy to apologize if anyone from EON really said it). I really think it was fervent fan speculation about "coming back to wrap up Quantum." This was in response to EON saying Bond 23 would be a standalone.
The other unfortunate side effect of naming the organization Quantum is that any future movie dealing with them is a callback to what the movie they're now casually calling a misfire. That'd be bad business, continuity-obsessed fanboys aide. No one associates "Quantum" with Casino Royale, as they didn't have that name in play yet.
I also thought I read that the original ending of QoS had White shooting Bond, ending it cliffhanger style.
QUANTUM is a shadowy organization at the heart of world governments and a huge threat to MI6. It would be a terrible insult to the fans, and a damn shame for story telling, to just write them off as if that whole business got wrapped up between films. QOS made a big point that Mr White is still alive and at large. He's been the villain for two movies now. Phil, you think the series should just walk away from it now? It's crazy talk..
They will need to repackage the shit out of any such plot. As I said, any callback to QoS would be seen as a marketing mistake. They make these movies to make money, Kate.
Mr White was the big villain from CASINO ROYALE too, Phil. Call backs and franchise universes are all the rage. It's crazy to dump White and Quantum after they've been established in films that made gobs of cash and were loved by audiences (I know no one in real life who dislikes QUANTUM)
Mr White was the big villain from CASINO ROYALE too, Phil. Call backs and franchise universes are all the rage. It's crazy to dump White and Quantum after they've been established in films that made gobs of cash and were loved by audiences (I know no one in real life who dislikes QUANTUM)
The QUANTUM hoodies and desktop stationery sets are all the rage, it's true.
Do those exist for any other Bond film? Am I missing something? I'd get a QUANTUM pin if they made one, but otherwise these films don't lend themselves to such merchandising. The QUANTUM OF SOLACE game did pretty darn well though!
That was the initial rumor that appeared, but once more stills appeared and Forster even commented on the scene (which will supposedly show up on the inevitable SE of Quantum), it became clear that the scene played out as such.....
- Politician/outed Quantum member Guy Haines (who was mentioned, but not shown) arrives at his home to find Mr. White waiting to assassinate him.
- Bond appears and thwarts said assassination, killing Mr. White in the process.
- Words are exchanged................the end. Cue Gun Barrell sequence.
Or something to that effect. Anyway, it is Mr. White that is shot and (supposedly) killed, not Bond.
I also thought I read that the original ending of QoS had White shooting Bond, ending it cliffhanger style.
That was the initial rumor that appeared, but once more stills appeared and Forster even commented on the scene (which will supposedly show up on the inevitable SE of Quantum), it became clear that the scene played out as such.....
- Politician/outed Quantum member Guy Haines (who was mentioned, but not shown) arrives at his home to find Mr. White waiting to assassinate him.
- Bond appears and thwarts said assassination, killing Mr. White in the process.
- Words are exchanged................the end. Cue Gun Barrell sequence.
Or something to that effect. Anyway, it is Mr. White that is shot and (supposedly) killed, not Bond.
The movie would have benefited enormously from such a scene. The fact that it wasn't resolved means they will need to return to deal with White in a later film. I hope to see a big beefy QUANTUM directors cut one day, as unlikely as that may be. It kills me to have such amazing content excised for no reason
Kate,
Few if any regular movie goers remember Mr. White as the villain of CR. Most people think of Le Chiffre as the main bad guy of that film. With QoS, the main bad guy was the french dude, as far as regular movie goers are concerned. Relegating Quantum to a back seat isn't a bad idea. Not every property needs to be The Wire/BSG. Standalone adventures are great when well done. All of this continuity obsession really hurts movies more than it helps. Writers need change course when things don't work.
I think a Goldfinger outing for Craig isn't a bad idea at all. I wouldn't even mind if the villain's plans were less financial domination and more enrichment through destabilization of world markets. Hmmm...
JAMES BOND 007 WILL RETURN... TO SAVE THE EURO.
Kate,
Few if any regular movie goers remember Mr. White as the villain of CR. Most people think of Le Chiffre as the main bad guy of that film. With QoS, the main bad guy was the french dude, as far as regular movie goers are concerned. Relegating Quantum to a back seat isn't a bad idea. Not every property needs to be The Wire/BSG. Standalone adventures are great when well done. All of this continuity obsession really hurts movies more than it helps. Writers need change course when things don't work.
I think a Goldfinger outing for Craig isn't a bad idea at all. I wouldn't even mind if the villain's plans were less financial domination and more enrichment through destabilization of world markets. Hmmm...
JAMES BOND 007 WILL RETURN... TO SAVE THE EURO.
Your ideas intrigue me! I have stated here before I have zero problem with one or several stand alone adventures. However at this point for them never to pick back up the QUANTUM/White thread, it would be like America forgetting about Al Queda before Bin Laden had been found. White is still the big bad guy of the Craig films, only the third villain ever to appear in multiple BOND FILMS. If for no other reason than Jesper Christiansen was fantastic, it needs to be wrapped up
Just watched On Her Majesty's Secret Service for the first time since I was a little kid, so basically for the first time. I liked it quite a bit, and can see why it's both had a bad reputation for so long and has had a resurgence in interest this last decade.
It does start off slow. A fist fight on a beach is not the way to introduce a new Bond. Although it does establish Lazenby as more dynamic physically than Connery, it sets up a series of coincidences; Draco, the man that wants to have his daughter married off, just happens to be a mobster that can lead Bond to Blofeld? As well, Blofeld coming in about an hour into the movie is a mistake, as his threat is only hinted at and given little background so it's unclear why Bond is pursuing. This is a case that Bond is willing to quit MI6 for (which, btw, comes across as very bratty), and yet we're not shown why he's worth so much trouble. For a movie that assumes we've seen the first five movies, it takes a lot for granted like Blofeld seeming to not recognize Bond (even though they met face to face in You Only Live Twice).
Still, the second hour really picks up. Blofeld's scheme is ridiculously complicated but realized in an exciting fashion, and there's so much great action on that mountain. Lazenby pulls off suave, sophisticated Bond well and is believable as a spy but lacks the cold blooded charm that Connery and Craig bring to the role. He does show a vulnerable side, making me believe that he would fall for Tracy and even showing real fear during the scene at the ice rink. Speaking of Tracy, she's a great foil for Bond, as she has intelligence, wit, and can hold her own in a fight. Too bad she died, but action hero wives never survive into a sequel.
Definitely worth the wait, I'd rank it up there in the franchise.
Lazenby is nasty when he chokes that henchman with a ski. OHMSS gives me everything I want in a Bond movie plus a real romance and tragic ending. I love his "I'm not usually like this with women/your a picture in the firelight shtick. Bond has never layed it on so thick or been such a likable bastard.
I agree, the extended choking scene with the ski is quite brutal. There's just something about Lazenby...like, I can buy that he can run five miles and punch someone in the face, but he lacks the brusqueness of Connery and the calculating eyes of Craig. I'm definitely in the camp, however, that views OHMSS as a lost Bond classic, and of Bond's two true loves I'd take Tracy over Vesper.
For as much as I like Tracy, I prefer Vesper. As if I'm ever going to have to make that choice.
Naw dude. Tracy all the way. She's so much more capable than Vesper, and more active and Diana Rigg is gorgeous.
I initially hated OHMSS years ago. But now I (especially after reading the book) have come to love it. There are minor issues but that stems from the producers running the Bloefeld trilogy outta sequence. OHMSS should have come after Thunderball.
I still fully believe if Connery had starred instead of Lazenby, it would have been hands down, running away the best Bond film ever. Don't get me wrong, Lazenby plays a passable Bond. But there is just something off. Alot of the lines seem forced, where they would have been more natural with Connery. Plus as Stockslivevan mentiond pages back, OHMSS was the first novel Fleming wrote with Connery in mind as Bond. And damned if it doesn't translate in both places.
Also, I'm back to trudging my way through Diamonds Are Forever. Honestly, I'm not really digging it at all, and it's actually pretty boring. Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and Moonraker were such great books, but Diamonds Are Forever is the first book where I actually may have liked the movie better... Which isn't saying a whole lot.
It's my understanding that Diamonds Are Forever is basically just a reworked Bond-ified version of one of his earlier works, The Diamond Smugglers. I could be completely wrong about that though and don't really feel like looking it up at the moment.
It's my understanding that Diamonds Are Forever is basically just a reworked Bond-ified version of one of his earlier works, The Diamond Smugglers. I could be completely wrong about that though and don't really feel like looking it up at the moment.
Besides the introduction of Felix post-shark mutilation (complete with peg leg and hook hand), it's been kind of a bore.
Huh I really liked DAF, but then I love all the Fleming novels.
I've read the Diamond Smugglers. It's an attempt at journalism, though Fleming can't resist trying to paint his main informant, an ex-Service man who worked as a Private Investigator for a Diamond Combine, as a proto-Bond. It's also one of the most boring books I've ever read, even though the subject matter is fascinating. Haven't read Fleming's other non-007 books, but I suspect Bond was his Muse. Too bad he grew tired of him.
Also, I'm back to trudging my way through Diamonds Are Forever. Honestly, I'm not really digging it at all, and it's actually pretty boring. Casino Royale, Live and Let Die and Moonraker were such great books, but Diamonds Are Forever is the first book where I actually may have liked the movie better... Which isn't saying a whole lot.
Yeah I have like 60 pages left, so I'm just going to plow through it. I already have From Russia With Love so that will be all ready to go, but I also just bought a bunch of Hemingway I've never read so I haven't decided if I'm going to to go right into FRWL or take a break from Bond again.
I initially hated OHMSS years ago. But now I (especially after reading the book) have come to love it. There are minor issues but that stems from the producers running the Bloefeld trilogy outta sequence. OHMSS should have come after Thunderball.
I still fully believe if Connery had starred instead of Lazenby, it would have been hands down, running away the best Bond film ever. Don't get me wrong, Lazenby plays a passable Bond. But there is just something off. Alot of the lines seem forced, where they would have been more natural with Connery. Plus as Stockslivevan mentiond pages back, OHMSS was the first novel Fleming wrote with Connery in mind as Bond. And damned if it doesn't translate in both places.
People say that, and I've agreed, but the whole undercover bit with Bond as Sir Leggy Mountbatten or whoever and wearing the kilt would have been a stretch with Connery.
Mr Stocks:
Whenever I try to quote your post to reply, I get a board error. Please forgive the formatting of this post:
Given the situation it already was strange as it is. He and Honey are being pampered like VIPs so poisoning them after that wouldn't be the first thought because there's no reason to kill them and when they could have done that on the beach. In fact, I'm really not sure why they were drugged at all other than for Dr. No to creep into Bond during his sleep and examine him.
A fair point and I thought about this myself, but there would still be reasons to poison them after having taken the radiation off their bodies (in order to fake their accidental drowning deaths and draw suspicion away away from the island
At the very least a "Oh well, why not" kind of look should have accompanied that tea, or Bond should have looked at it suspiciously before sighing and simply drinking it
BTW: Dr No examining Bond in his sleep is extremely creepy
The way they capped off the PTS was certainly out of place, well handled, but out of place nevertheless. Doesn't ruin his first on screen reveal though. Still, it felt a lot like a left over of the Moore era. Given how Dalton plays Bond, I can't buy him doing that. But I do buy that the first thing he does when he sees the lady is demand the phone instead of cock his eyebrow.
I think in some ways, the end of a PTS introduction to a new Bond is almost as important as the beginning. It establishes what 007 is capable of and what kind of guy he is, right before we cut to the music. In GOLDENEYE, it had Brosnan pull off that insane plane escape, flying past the camera right as the chemical weapons factory went kablooey. In CR, it has Craig quipping that, yes, it was considerably easier to kill his second assassination target*
For me, to have Bond witness the deaths of his colleagues and then kind of blow all that off to chill on a yacht, was an extremely odd note to end the PTS right before the song. I like how he demands the phone, but then those concerns seem to slip from his mind
Hah I like it too. My mom makes frequent non verbal exclamations when watching movies, and I watched CR with her a few years ago and as soon as Bond ordered room service for one she let out a gasp of surprise, it cracked me up : P
Anyway, yes, no Bond film is perfect and there are moments that are considered questionable. If TWINE had been more consistent in quality I might have let a few of those things slide but it keeps fucking up.
Fair enough. I'm going to go through the TWINE info you posted and share my thoughts on the various changes, and how they may have helped the film
In the film, Bond goes to Bilbao, Spain to retreive King`s money. In the first draft, it was Havana. Most everything else in this scene stays faithful to the original script, except the name of the middle man is Karoush and he`s not a Swiss banker. Cigar Girl escapes in the same fashion, by knifing Karoush in the neck. Bond is not shot at nor saved by Renard as he is in the movie.
Renard saves him? I always thought it was Cigar Girl who had the gun across the street. Maybe I just wasn't watching it closely enough, because I always did wonder how she got over there so quickly
Anyway, IMHO as far as these particular details go, what we see in the film is superior to the first draft (in terms of SPAIN as a location, and the men being Swiss bankers)
I like the tin man line. I think they should have kept it! Though I'd have kept Renard in shadow, so it would be a mystery who she was talking to. That way the "I can protect you!" - "Not from him!" bit in the MDT sequence plays better
IMHO the entire cigar gift business should have been cut. It's kind of crass and I never really liked it
However, I think the Millenium Dome Tumble (MDT) is absolutely essential to the chase sequence, as I found it to be the most iconic moment from the entirety of TWINE. To cut it out would have been a huge error
Neither a jet pack or the boat is really a good idea though, both are too goofy and take too much time. They should have had a brief, full speed foot chase, Daniel Craig style, ending up at the hot air balloon in time for the MDT. That's how I'd have done things had I been in charge. I think a foot chase through London, Bond with his weapon drawn, would have been shocking and exciting in a way more super vehicle antics were not
I think it should have been included because it bolsters the idea that the DB5 is Bond's personal leisure vehicle. He used it in GOLDENEYE and TND, so TWINE should have had it too IMHO
I think the doctor should have been either a man or been given a normal name. Also, I think there should have been scenes of BOND in an MRI machine getting his shoulder imaged
I like that Q is kind of in the twilight of his career, and no longer concerns himself with field missions. He's just in the office designing gadgets. I think it made sense for Tanner and Charles to deliver that info dump
However R is an abomination and should never have been in the film
I think that her name is cool and it's info we should have learned
As for Renard: 1) I like RENARD THE ANARCHIST better than RENARD THE FOX. "The Fox" sounds far too generic, where as being known as "the anarchist" gives him a dangerous image and some insight into his politics 2) CLAUDE SERRAULT is a better name than VICTOR ZOKAS
The scene where Renard`s physical health is being discussed, i.e his inability to feel pain due to the bullet in his brain, in the first draft was left up to Tanner and M. In subsequent drafts and in the film, Dr. Molly Warmflash gives the medical breakdown on Renard.
This info would have been better delivered by M and Tanner, since Renard's injury was the result of a secret op involving another slain 00
I like Bond being assigned by M as straight up protection for Elektra, and the conflict this causes due to her suspicion of MI6 and her previous history with the agency. I like undercover Bond, but it wouldn't have made much sense here
OK, MORE ALTERNATE TWINE SCRIPT BREAKDOWN COMING SOON!
*IMHO those targets in CR didn't represent Bond's first kills, rather his first targeted assassinations for MI6
PART TWO OF MY RESPONSE TO MR STOCKS RE: TWINE ALTERNATE DRAFTS
In the first draft Elektra takes Bond by jeep through the oil fields along the Caspian Sea, rather than him driving in on his own with the BMW. In this scene she refers to Devil`s Breath, natural gas that`s been burning since before mankind. Bruce Fierstein later wrote in our first meeting with Renard by having him hold a meeting at Devil`s Breath, a meeting that was not scripted in the first draft.
I think I like the way it played out in the film, though I'd have preferred an extended introduction to the setting. More of Bond driving, looking around, maybe Bond arriving at the airport and getting feel for the flavor of the place
The jeep takes Bond and Elektra up to the mountains for them to ski along the pipeline in the first draft, rather than a helicopter. The Parahawks give chase in the first draft pretty much as they do in the film, with the key difference being that when Elektra and Bond collapse into the avalanche, Bond does not have an inflatable ski jacket.
I like that they're dropped off so high on the mountain it takes a helicopter to get them to the pipeline location (this helps show the audience what an ambitious project the pipeline really is) though I've come to dislike the parahawks. The whole sequence is kind of lifeless and the stunts are more silly than thrilling. I think a straight up ski chase (of the kind I've written about previously in this thread) would have been a better move
PS The inflatable jacket is dumb
I like Elektra's card draw, but I think it would have been good to show her involved with her oil pipeline, and show her ruthless business persona. It would have hinted that perhaps this woman had a greater strength than she let on. There is no reason she couldn't have been there to talk to pipeline folks, and then had her high stakes gamble once she meets up with Bond
In the first draft, Renard has a hawk that plucks out the eyeballs of his enemies. In the script, "Blue Eyes" refers to someone who had failed to kill Bond on the ski run. Renard whispers into the hawk`s ear and it lunges for "Blue Eyes", plucking out the eyeball. The talons of the Hawk draw blood on Renard`s hand, but he`s unable to feel it. This sequence, and the entire concept, were abandoned by the second draft. Look for it to show up in a future Bond film.
They were crazy to cut this out! Eyeball eating hawks? What kind of lunatic would cut out such gold? When you say that we should look for it to show up in a later Bond film, is that a joke? I hope not! I think Bond should face a villainous sheikh armed with a similar raptor
For pacing reasons it probably made sense to cut this
I like the scene where they're kissing with the ice, but that could have taken place on a yacht with out any major differences. In general I think the Yacht is a better idea, though I also like that we see her with both Bond and then later Renard at her mansion. Renard could have just shown up on a yacht later though without much needing to be changed
In the Purvis/Wade draft, Bond tells Elektra in bed that the amount of money Sir King paid for the stolen reports was the same amount as the ransom for Elektra when she was kidnapped. She then pulls out some papers of her father that show King Industries was involved in supplying equipment to move nuclear warheads for the Chechnyans. This is a major plot point in the movie that was not adequately clarified.
I'd have been fine with this plot point being explained a bit more, but as it was I think we learned enough to see that M wasn't thinking clearly about King, if she was so fond of someone buying stolen reports
I like the idea of CJ as a French Polynesian scientist better than CJ as Denise Richards, but I think the entire character should have been cut. She's pointless, and Bond could have disarmed that bomb in the pipeline (as well as delivered the exposition) with little trouble. Tanner could have helped him over the radio
The film is already packed to the brim with plot. Christmas was just a pointless distraction that took away from the Elektra/Bond dynamic
I do like undercover scientist Bond though, that was a wise inclusion
Later, when Bond enters the underground chamber, it is Renard that finds Bond and grabs him, not the other way around, as in the film. "Blue Eyes" helps Renard grab Bond, and "Blue Eyes" now has an eye patch. Renard headbutts Bond, breaking the skin and revealing the metal plate in his forehead. This scene was not filmed for the movie and much of the dialogue was subsequently changed.
I don't think Renard needed a metal plate (the surgery to cure him failed, so I don't think having a plate healed there under the skin would have made sense), but otherwise I'm kind of indifferent. I like that Bond was smart enough to get the drop on Renard with his under cover scientist bit, so maybe the film handled it best
If BLUE EYES had been in the movie, Bond could have gotten the drop on Renard, only to have BLUE EYES turn up behind him and then it's Bond who has been cornered
I think the Colonel should have confronted Bond on his ruse, after having survived the firefight. In my version, Christmas would not exist but we'd still get to see Bond use the robot to see Renard stole some nukes
The theft of the warhead was also intended to humiliate British intelligence, as they helped broker the deal to have the warheads moved to France. Hence the connection to Christmas Jones being French Polynesian. In any case, this whole line of plotting was dropped in subsequent drafts.
This dialog being included would help obscure Renard's true motive. It would seem that the point of the warhead theft was pure anarchy, rather than a plot to help a specific person
*Christmas Jones should not exist*
Bizarre, that's like something out of the finale of BLADE RUNNER
he helicopters then bear down on the caviar factory as they did in the film. The key difference in this set of events is that in the film, Bond and Christmas already know that Elektra is working against them and have already defused the bomb in the pipeline. After leaving the caviar factory and getting information from Zukovsky, Bond and Christmas head back to the terminus, which by this point, have been hit by Renard`s men. The bomb is in the pipeline.
Bond should have been alone, and he shouldn't have known Elektra was evil yet. He could have made the decision to remove half the plutonium in the pipeline bomb knowing that *something* wasn't right, but not that Elektra was specifically behind it
Otherwise they could have just reversed the timing of the two sequences and had Bond chase down the pipeline bomb after the factory attack. My preference is for this version of the timeline
Bond, Christmas and Zukovsky all end up in Istanbul trying to find the sub, Valentine`s nephew, Elektra and Renard. In this draft, Valentine`s nephew is named Yevgeny. He insists to Bond that if anything has happened to Yevgeny that he must be allowed to kill Elektra, not Bond.
Again, I'd drop Christmas from all this
I like the condensed version of events we get in the film. I don't like the cable car idea. Instead I'd maybe have had another brief foot chase. As for a steam bath, they already had that in GOLDENEYE
Pointless!
ELEKTRA (to Bond): "Cure me. Tell me why I should relent. Talk me out of it. Tell me the calvary`s on its way. All I see is one spy and a foolish girl, floundering in a city they don`t understand. You don`t know what i`m up to...and neither does M."
BOND: "One thing M knows is what your father told her about you."
ELEKTRA:"And what did my father tell M?"
BOND: "That his little girl was insane."
I love this dialog. It totally should have been in the film. It gives great insight into Elektra's family dynamic and her psychology. Plus, it's very cruel for Bond to tell her what her father said
If she'd not told Renard to dive, that would have been an extraodrinarily cold moment for Bond's character, to kill her because she refused to talk into a walkie talkie and tell Renard to stop. It makes logical sense, but it would have been an extremely dark action for Bond to take
I'm fine with either version ultimately, though as previously stated in another post, I'd have cut the dialog from their confrontation after Bond states that "I'm not going to ask you again". Everything else in that scene should have happened non verbally
The submarine sequence comes off in the film almost identically to the first draft. In the end, Bond and Christmas have a tryst in a fishing boat. It was changed to a Turkish rooftop by the time filming began.
I like Bond in the hotel room, he should have been on the phone with MI6, drinking a martini on the balcony. He could have then sat back to watch the fireworks and think things over
It would have been a classy ending IMHO
Well OK Mr Stocks, I had fun going through all that. Thanks again for sharing the TWINE behind the scenes info with me! 
I dunno why your so hung up on the Millenium Dome. I would have killed off the boat chase and the cigar girl entirely. Just have Bond get injured in the blast and have the PTS end with him standing or lying in the ruins looking out on to the Themes.
I dunno why your so hung up on the Millenium Dome. I would have killed off the boat chase and the cigar girl entirely. Just have Bond get injured in the blast and have the PTS end with him standing or lying in the ruins looking out on to the Themes.
I think it's a visually spectacular, iconic stunt. I think it is as big a 'wow' moment as I could imagine for the last Bond film of the 20th century. Bond gets absolutely wrecked, falling from a great height and undergoing a bone breaking tumble down the side of none other than the Millenium Dome. It was 1999 after all, and the shot of Bond desperately hanging on for his life on the side of that massive celebratory structure, right as we cut to the title song, is just one of my all time favorite BOND moments
It is to my memory the first PTS where Bond loses and loses big. He manages to catch up to his target, but his target has no faith in Bond or MI6's ability to offer protection. Bond has lost because he has no credibility, and he's forced to undertake a desperate tumble in order to survive the balloon explosion
It is great because it's a real character moment for him in that way, IMHO
But read my post above, I stated I'd have cut out the boat chase too. I don't like it. All they needed was a brief foot chase to the nearest hot air balloon. That Bond would be running around on foot in an English city, gun drawn, would have been a great way to show the situation had gotten out of hand and the stakes were through the roof
So pretty much the Moonraker ending....the book version that is. I like it.
People say that, and I've agreed, but the whole undercover bit with Bond as Sir Leggy Mountbatten or whoever and wearing the kilt would have been a stretch with Connery.
I can see Moore nailing it. Also Bond's your an inspiration/ picture yourself in the fire routine would have played to Moore's strength's as Bond. His Bond was the most charming smooth taker of the bunch.
I can see Moore nailing it. Also Bond's your an inspiration/ picture yourself in the fire routine would have played to Moore's strength's as Bond. His Bond was the most charming smooth taker of the bunch.
Yeah honestly I have a better time imagining Roger doing On Her Majesty's Secret Service than Connery. For whatever reason I just can't imagine Connery playing Bond as a vulnerable character, especially You Only Live Twice/Diamonds Are Forever era Connery where he looks old and bloated. I'm glad we got Lazenby and not Roger though because Lazenby is a much better fighter than Bond, and I think he handled the more emotional elements of the story quite well.
I've got OHMSS to thank for getting me into reading the books as a kid. The TV rotation for Bond pictures was purely Moore, though I'd recently been converted to full-on Connery fan by seeing NSNA in the theater. Around that time OHMSS popped up on the local PBS station for some reason and I watched it with my Dad. I was flabbergasted: Hey, that's not James Bond! Why is wearing a skirt? Why is Kojak in this movie? What the hell-- now Bond's getting married! Holy shit-- now she's dead!
And unlike the downer ending for "Empire", there was really no closure available, unless you counted the pre-title sequence for FYEO, and I didn't put that together till later. Pretty depressing. My Dad assured me that Bond did get his revenge on Blofeld, and presented me with the Fleming paperbacks he'd read while in the Army in the early-60s. I still have them.
So it wouldn't really bother me if they just summarily dropped the QUANTUM thing in the new films. The series has never been big on continuity, the handling of the "Blofeld Trilogy" being the case in point. If only OHMSS hadn't flopped and they'd kept Lazenby around longer, we could have at least seen a satisfactory resolution.
OHMSS didn't flop. It underperformed, but it wasn't a bomb. Hell, I don't think ANY official Bond movie has ever really come close to flopping. Also, they fully intended on keeping Lazenby around. It is George (via an idiotic agent) who wrongheadedly quit the franchise after one film.
Had he stayed on, you can bet that Diamonds Are Forever would have been a MUCH more personal revenge tale about him tracking down Blofeld.
OHMSS didn't flop. It underperformed, but it wasn't a bomb. Hell, I don't think ANY official Bond movie has ever really come close to flopping. Also, they fully intended on keeping Lazenby around. It is George (via an idiotic agent) who wrongheadedly quit the franchise after one film.
Had he stayed on, you can bet that Diamonds Are Forever would have been a MUCH more personal revenge tale about him tracking down Blofeld.
I just read the story of Ronan O'Rahilly. Surely he goes down as one of the worst agents of all time. Bond was more popular than ever at the time, so his predictions for the future of the franchise are especially strange in that context
I think everyone at the time, both in the industry and the press, just assumed that franchise would die a quick death after an entry or two without Connery.
In the making of disc for OHMSS Lazenby says he thought movies like Easy Rider where the future of movies and Bond with his short hair and suits would soon be dated. Clearly he was wrong.
He also still states to this day that he should have at least finished out his contract and made three films. Still, while he never became a star after his single turn as Bond, he still managed to have a decent career. It's not like he disappeared into obscurity.
Speaking of OHMSS, I just popped it in. Nothing like a (partially) Christmas-set Bond flick to keep things festive around the holidays!
I think everyone at the time, both in the industry and the press, just assumed that franchise would die a quick death after an entry or two without Connery.
Fair enough, though it still doesn't seem like a logical prediction to make, that ditching his contract and wronging the producers would win him a bigger and better career. I was just reading about how Lazenby broke the news about quitting Bond on Johnny Carson the night before the premier of OHMSS, while apparently appearing bearded and bedraggled before a national audience. Shockingly unprofessional behavior, certainly unBond like
Anyway, I am going to take your X-Mas OHMSS idea, SD! I have not seen the movie in years and it's as good a time as any to reevaluate it
PS Have you guys seen this? Daniel Craig as Ian Flemming's JAMES BOND 007 in EQUALS
That reply kind of sucked.
And I really just love when dudes try to outline what they think the complex feminist movement is like, and how they should handle themselves! What a guy!
Wow, I feel like that reply from your friend must have been in response to a different ad than the one I watched.. I did not see M as berating Bond, or trying to humiliate him. I thought it was a fairly straightforward chat between superior and employee, with M saying "007, despite the fact there is respect and equality between the two of us in our professional relationship here at MI6, you might want to consider these facts about the wider world", for no other motive than it would make her 00 agent a more educated and thoughtful person. M has been far harsher with Bond before ("sexist, misogynist dinosaur"), and here I thought here she was just being a bit humorous and truthful with him about his attitudes and behavior in the context of the struggle for women's rights, not castigating him for them. Given Dench's past statements in GOLDENEYE, it seems disingenuous for your BOND expert friend to suggest she was being especially vicious in the PSA
As for trying to humiliate him by making him dress in women's clothing, I must have missed M giving that command. I took the transition to be one that took place in Bond's head, where he is considering that he might have a difficult time being as confident and suave were he not coming at life from a position of male privilege
IMHO this ad isn't about blaming anyone in MI6, least of all Bond. The very fact he is standing at attention for his female superior suggests there is some praise worthy progress in the agency. I get the feeling that the point of the ad is that for a series that often celebrates certain male power fantasies in the name of good fun, it's not a bad idea for both the fans and Bond's character to acknowledge the reality facing women across the globe
PS IMHO the events of this ad are cannon, and take place between QOS and SKYFALL
EDIT: also his comment that the BOND FILMS "have not held their former luster for some time" is odd given the way Daniel Craig has made two of the best Bond films ever
Wow, I feel like that reply from your friend must have been in response a different ad than the one I watched.. I did not see M as berating Bond, or trying to humiliate him. I thought it was a fairly straightforward chat between superior and employee with M saying "007, despite the fact there is respect and equality between the two of us in our professional relationship here at MI6, you might want to consider these facts about the wider world", for no other motive than it would make her 00 agent a more educated and thoughtful person.
As for trying to humiliate him by making him dress in women's clothing, I must have missed M giving that command. I took the transition to be one that took place in Bond's head, where he is considering that he might have a difficult time being as confident and suave were he not coming at life from a position of male privilege
IMHO this ad isn't about blaming anyone in MI6, least of all Bond. The very fact he is standing at attention for his female superior suggests there is some praise worthy progress in the agency. I get the feeling that the point of the ad is that for a series that often celebrates certain male power fantasies in the name of good fun, it's not a bad idea for both the fans and Bond's character to acknowledge the reality facing women across the globe
PS IMHO the events of this ad are cannon, and take place between QOS and SKYFALL
