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Ultimate Bond : The Remakes


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#1 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 06:49 AM

Welcome to Ultimate Bond : The Remakes!

This is a fan fiction thread that speculates : What if, for Bond 23, EON finally runs out of inspiration and/or decides that sticking to Fleming is the way to go. And with the 50th anniversary of Bond in 2012, they go back to where it all began, with a remake of Dr. No.
But, we're not just talking a shot-for-shot remake here. The relatively low-key first Bond adventure also has to be updated and expanded to be a $200 million modern blockbuster to thrill today's audiences. Think what EON did with Casino Royale - they kept the basic characters and skeleton of Fleming's plot, but updated and expanded the narrative to make it current.

So, we're going to figure out how Dr.No works today. We can use scenes from the film, we can use unfilmed material from the original novel (who's up for Craig tussling with a big CGI squid?), and we can make up completely new scenes, subplots, and characters etc. We also need to consider that Dr.No is the followup to Quantum of Solace, which presumably means that Dr.No is now working for QUANTUM. Using QUANTUM will give us a nice arc through DN-FRWL-GF-TB-OHMSS-YOLT, if we get that far. As this is (hopefully!) the first of many remakes, it'll be a free form kind of thing and a little bit experimental, and I'm sure we'll iron out the cracks for the next round.

Here is what what we're starting with :

James Bond : Daniel Craig
M : Judi Dench

BASIC PLOT - A British official named Strangways is murdered; James Bond investigates the death, which leads him on the trail of the mysterious Dr.No, who is secretly plotting to...?

OTHER CHARACTERS

These are the basic characters who must be in the film. For casting these characters, rather than just leaving it to whoever posts first, we can take several suggestions on each, and let the final decision be a group consensus sort of thing. Along with casting them, we can work on how these characters are to be updated for modern times. (e.g. rather than Strangways being a bit of an old duffer, we can make him a double-0 who is killed in a brutal fight, etc)

DR.NO - (unlike the original, the actor should be generically "Asian" in appearance!)

HONEY RYDER -

QUARREL -

STRANGWAYS -

FELIX LEITER (We can either keep Jeffrey Wright, or open it up to recasting)

PROFESSOR DENT (or equivalent) - a sort of associate/henchman of Dr.No whom Bond will be spying on. We can make him more of a dangerous character than the original (I'm thinking Craig can have one of his signature Brutal Fights with this guy!)

Other Characters:

MR. WHITE - Jesper Christensen (We may or may not need White for this film)

SECONDARY BOND GIRL - Can either be a Miss Taro type, or someone completely new.

Q - (if needed)

MONEYPENNY - (if needed)

Three (blind) assassins - ? We probably don't need 'name' actors for these parts, but I'm thinking they should be reworked into more dangerous killers than three old shuffling men.

LOCATIONS

Instead of using just Jamaica, we will open it up for more of a globe-trotting feel. I'd like to keep Jamaica in there somewhere to acknowledge the original, but we'll need a couple of other locales, plus a PTS location. So :

PTS LOCATION -
LOCATION 1 -
LOCATION 2 -
FINAL LOCATION - Location of Dr.No's secret lair -
+ Jamaica

PLOT IDEAS

PTS - We will need an entirely new PTS. It should somehow tie in to the main storyline.

We'll also need at least three major action scenes before the final showdown. These can be based on existing scenes from the movie or novel, or they can be completely new ones. We want a Daniel Craig sort of feel to them, so no melting ice castles or grabbing a Sumo wrestler's buttocks, please!

ACTION SCENE 1 :
ACTION SCENE 2 :
ACTION SCENE 3 :
CLIMACTIC ACTION SCENE : Bond confronts Dr.No in his secret lair, etc.

We will also need to figure out what Dr.No is doing, exactly. "Toppling" is a bit out of date, so we'll need a modern equivalent. Ideally it should be something involving space, satellites, shuttles etc.

Finally, OTHER STUFF.

Post whatever other ideas you have for Dr.No. subplots, things Bond should do, does he need gadgets, a car, etc. We will also need a director and title singer.

Here's my first contribution, to give you an idea of the kind of updating we're doing. A little background I came up with on the new Dr. No, this does not have to be set in stone, but just some ideas in making the character more modern, e.g. I changed his nationality to represent a country that's more of a current trouble spot than China/Germany:

Hyun-woo No was a top North Korean scientist with a brilliant mind who was appointed the chief scientific advisor to the NK government at age 25. However, frustrated by his country's backward policies and lack of resources, he attempted to defect to another country where his talents could be more useful. Before he could escape, he was caught, and Kim Jong-Il had Dr.No's arms cut off - if he would not work for North Korea, he will not be able to work for anyone else.
No left the country anyway, and spent the next decade collaborating with top scientists in various countries developing the world's first fully working cybernetic arms, which he now uses. As soon as he was finished, he vanished without a trace, rumored to be working on a top secret new project...

#2 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 07:29 AM

Good thread, dino!

I have a couple ideas regarding the plot and more specifically Honeychile Rider. This post in the "Bond-like news" thread caught my eye as something that could be worked into this "Dr. No" remake. We could make Honey a black market shell poacher to keep in line with the moral ambiguity of the Craig Era Bond girls.

Also, I vote we keep Wright as Leiter. If we make it all the way to "LALD", there could be some fabulous payoff with Bond seeing his longtime partner and friend maimed at the hands of the villainous Mr. Big, played by, perhaps, Chewitel Ejiofor? ;)

#3 David Schofield

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 04:09 PM

I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.

#4 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 06:26 PM

I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.

I can understand why you disapprove of the idea of EON actually resorting to remaking the classics, but as this is a fan fiction thread, I'm not exactly sure what your comment contributes to the discussion.

#5 terminus

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 06:49 PM

Good thread, dino!

I have a couple ideas regarding the plot and more specifically Honeychile Rider. This post in the "Bond-like news" thread caught my eye as something that could be worked into this "Dr. No" remake. We could make Honey a black market shell poacher to keep in line with the moral ambiguity of the Craig Era Bond girls.

Also, I vote we keep Wright as Leiter. If we make it all the way to "LALD", there could be some fabulous payoff with Bond seeing his longtime partner and friend maimed at the hands of the villainous Mr. Big, played by, perhaps, Chewitel Ejiofor? ;)


I agree on Felix.

Perhaps, if it is decided to evolve Honey into a black market shell poacher, perhaps we could tie it in with Doctor No having a legitimate business cover for his operations as an exotic shell exporter - I would have suggested that the public face of the company be the new incarnation of Dent, but I'm not sure this is the direction that dino wants to take that character in.

Perhaps the public face of the company could be the secondary girl?

#6 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:13 PM

Are we going to be doing any sort of proforma, at all?

#7 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:26 PM

I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.


Phew, I was up all night wondering what David Schofield would think of this thread. Thanks for letting us know your opinion, David Schofield!

#8 terminus

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:30 PM

Are we going to be doing any sort of proforma, at all?


Not as I understand what dino said in the first post. It's a bit more like how we did Warhead 2010, if I understand correctly. Butt dino can correct me if I'm wrong.

#9 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:31 PM


Good thread, dino!

I have a couple ideas regarding the plot and more specifically Honeychile Rider. This post in the "Bond-like news" thread caught my eye as something that could be worked into this "Dr. No" remake. We could make Honey a black market shell poacher to keep in line with the moral ambiguity of the Craig Era Bond girls.

Also, I vote we keep Wright as Leiter. If we make it all the way to "LALD", there could be some fabulous payoff with Bond seeing his longtime partner and friend maimed at the hands of the villainous Mr. Big, played by, perhaps, Chewitel Ejiofor? ;)


I agree on Felix.

Perhaps, if it is decided to evolve Honey into a black market shell poacher, perhaps we could tie it in with Doctor No having a legitimate business cover for his operations as an exotic shell exporter - I would have suggested that the public face of the company be the new incarnation of Dent, but I'm not sure this is the direction that dino wants to take that character in.

Perhaps the public face of the company could be the secondary girl?


No that sounds fine to me. Dr.No will need a legitimate front business, like he had bird dung harvesting(!) in the book. So it looks like : "the majority of abalone species are found in cold waters, off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere."

Presumably then one of these areas will be where Dr.No now hangs out.

#10 David Schofield

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:32 PM


I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.


Phew, I was up all night wondering what David Schofield would think of this thread. Thanks for letting us know your opinion, David Schofield!


Well, hey, you know, you start a thread and I guess therefore you're looking for opinions about it. I hadn't noticed the bit where mine was excluded...

But if you must come up with silly ideas then be prepared to be told they are, and react with a bit more maturity.

#11 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:39 PM



I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.


Phew, I was up all night wondering what David Schofield would think of this thread. Thanks for letting us know your opinion, David Schofield!


Well, hey, you know, you start a thread and I guess therefore you're looking for opinions about it. I hadn't noticed the bit where mine was excluded...

But if you must come up with silly ideas then be prepared to be told they are, and react with a bit more maturity.

Not sure what this has to do with maturity. We're starting a discussion that's more or less a "what if?" the Bond series started today instead of 1962 and how the original few films would be changed for contemporary times. It's not meant to be a slap in the face to the classic films at all. Maybe we'd all be talking about other things but since there's not much going on in the Bond world right now, what's wrong with trying to have a little fun?

#12 terminus

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:40 PM



I can only say that the thought of taking Bond out of period and remaking one of the early 60s films with the lesser talents who would have to be involved leaves one more that queasy.

If EON need to remake any of the classics, they should give up and admit the show's over.

Sorry.


Phew, I was up all night wondering what David Schofield would think of this thread. Thanks for letting us know your opinion, David Schofield!


Well, hey, you know, you start a thread and I guess therefore you're looking for opinions about it. I hadn't noticed the bit where mine was excluded...

But if you must come up with silly ideas then be prepared to be told they are, and react with a bit more maturity.


I don't want the legacy of Ultimate Bond descend into an argument.

I'm not sure if you understand - but the thread wasn't actively acting for opinions on whether EON _SHOULD_ remake the older films, it's a thread in the _fan fiction_ section postulating that, if they did, how they would want them to be done. In that sense, your input wasn't helpful at all - in the grand scheme of Ultimate Bond, this was about people collaborating to produce a communal vision of what a remake could be like.

#13 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:45 PM


Are we going to be doing any sort of proforma, at all?


Not as I understand what dino said in the first post. It's a bit more like how we did Warhead 2010, if I understand correctly. Butt dino can correct me if I'm wrong.


Yeah I was thinking more of a Warhead style free for all. But in the first post I did call for locations, casting, action scenes etc. Post as many ideas as you have, Mr.Blofeld, and we'll start filling fields in. I held back on filling those in myself to let others have a go; I'm guessing our only other player will be tdalton, so hopefully he'll have a few contributions.

#14 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:48 PM

I'm guessing our only other player will be tdalton, so hopefully he'll have a few contributions.

I'm sure Captain Tightpants will be back, and SamKevlar will probably pop in once in a while, as well. :)

#15 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:51 PM


Phew, I was up all night wondering what David Schofield would think of this thread. Thanks for letting us know your opinion, David Schofield!


Well, hey, you know, you start a thread and I guess therefore you're looking for opinions about it. I hadn't noticed the bit where mine was excluded...

But if you must come up with silly ideas then be prepared to be told they are, and react with a bit more maturity.


I was not really looking for opinions, I was looking for participants. Admittedly this is strictly a niche thread, I'd be surprised if more than 3 or 4 people are willing to play. But I've got my mature cap on now, and here is my official Mature Response :

I hereby acknowledge that David Schofield does not approve of the Ultimate Bond : The Remakes thread.

#16 terminus

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 08:53 PM

No that sounds fine to me. Dr.No will need a legitimate front business, like he had bird dung harvesting(!) in the book. So it looks like : "the majority of abalone species are found in cold waters, off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere."

Presumably then one of these areas will be where Dr.No now hangs out.


Awesome :D Glad you like.

#17 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:07 PM

I'd also like to propose that for the scene in which Dent slips the tarantula into Bond's bed, we go the Fleming route and have him use a giant centipede.

#18 tdalton

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:10 PM


I'm guessing our only other player will be tdalton, so hopefully he'll have a few contributions.

I'm sure Captain Tightpants will be back, and SamKevlar will probably pop in once in a while, as well. :)


I've got a couple ideas that I'll post a bit later today. Been focused on watching the NFL playoffs this weekend, so I haven't had as much time to post. I've got a few possibilities for casting the Honey Ryder character as well as a couple more ideas I'll post in a couple hours. :)

#19 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:15 PM



I'm guessing our only other player will be tdalton, so hopefully he'll have a few contributions.

I'm sure Captain Tightpants will be back, and SamKevlar will probably pop in once in a while, as well. :)


I've got a couple ideas that I'll post a bit later today. Been focused on watching the NFL playoffs this weekend, so I haven't had as much time to post. I've got a few possibilities for casting the Honey Ryder character as well as a couple more ideas I'll post in a couple hours. :)

Good to hear, t! :D

#20 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:19 PM

So we have some basic ideas forming then :

Dr.No, while secretly working on his Evil Scheme, runs a semi-legitimate abalone harvesting business, with a man named Dent as the public face of the operation. Dent had Strangways killed for looking in to the operation a little too closely.

Honey Ryder can be an environmentalist protesting against the harvesting of abalone.

Oh WOW, I started looking for islands off the coast of South Africa as locations for the new Dr.No's lair/Crab Key, and I came up with this beauty :

Bouvet Island
http://atlasobscura....e/bouvet-island

This would really be flipping the original Dr.No on it's head, swapping a sunny, tropical island for a freezing, harsh, remote locale.

#21 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:31 PM

Very interesting idea, dino. However I actually envisioned Honey as a black market shell poacher, but if it's more conducive for the development of the story to give No/Dent that role, then that's fine with me. :)

#22 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:33 PM

Perhaps the Vela incident, which happened close to Bouvet Island, could be connected to Dr. No, then? ;)

That'd put Dr. No pretty high in the age category; he'd have to be at Bouvet for more than forty years as a Quantum outpost. Perhaps the long years and the isolation drove him mad?

#23 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:40 PM

Perhaps the Vela incident, which happened close to Bouvet Island, could be connected to Dr. No, then? ;)

That'd put Dr. No pretty high in the age category; he'd have to be at Bouvet for more than forty years as a Quantum outpost. Perhaps the long years and the isolation drove him made?


Yeah I did notice that Vela incident too, and yes it would have to make Dr.No a bit too old. We can make Dr.No a bit older if need be, but he'll have to fight with Craig at the end so we don't want to see Craig beating up some old geezer...

#24 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:40 PM

It'll be interesting to see who's cast as No. We haven't had an "aged" villain since Kamal Khan. Even Carver was just a few years older than Pierce at the time of "TND".

#25 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 09:46 PM

Very interesting idea, dino. However I actually envisioned Honey as a black market shell poacher, but if it's more conducive for the development of the story to give No/Dent that role, then that's fine with me. :)


Oh I'd forgotten about that. OK scratch the environmentalist angle then, her being a poacher works fine. We just needed a reason for her to be on the scene. Presumably then she's a rival to the Dent/Dr.No business?

It'll be interesting to see who's cast as No. We haven't had an "aged" villain since Kamal Khan. Even Carver was just a few years older than Pierce at the time of "TND".


I did do a cursory search into "Korean actors", and after sifting through a disturbing amount of effeminate/androgynous types, I came across this dude :

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496932/

He's only 40 (or 42 in 2012), but that'd put him at the same age as Craig if that's the way we want to go. He was in GI Joe and appears to have the fighting skillz, so he's a possible candidate.

#26 terminus

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 10:04 PM

Perhaps Honey could be reinvented as a South African too, or any other African nationality.

We were discussing before about Doctor No having a sort of cybernetic arm - perhaps, in order to use an older actor, we could have him using a robotic respiratory and circulatory system - so an artificial heart and an artificial set of lungs? I don't mind if we go with a cybernetic arm, but it never hurts to consider some of the alternatives.

#27 coco1997

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 10:07 PM

We'll have to see who t has in mind for Honey before we decide to change her heritage.

I have an interesting casting idea in mind for Pussy Galore when we get to "GF", though it might be a controversial choice.

#28 dinovelvet

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 10:08 PM

Perhaps Honey could be reinvented as a South African too, or any other African nationality.

We were discussing before about Doctor No having a sort of cybernetic arm - perhaps, in order to use an older actor, we could have him using a robotic respiratory and circulatory system - so an artificial heart and an artificial set of lungs? I don't mind if we go with a cybernetic arm, but it never hurts to consider some of the alternatives.


Possibly, but the idea is to keep the film (relatively) real-world and gritty, so having, essentially a cyborg as the villain is getting a bit out there into MR/DAD territory! What does everyone else think?

#29 tdalton

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 10:27 PM

We'll have to see who t has in mind for Honey before we decide to change her heritage.

I have an interesting casting idea in mind for Pussy Galore when we get to "GF", though it might be a controversial choice.


I'm still debating between about 5-6 choices I've come up with. I'm not sure it really matters what Ryder's nationality is. I dont remember there being too much made about it in the film, and she's a fairly minor character in the grand scheme of the original film.

I can sympathize on your second point. I've got what's surely going to be controversial casting suggestion for Solitaire if we make it to LALD.

#30 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 09 January 2011 - 10:28 PM

Speaking of DAD territory, how about this actor as Doctor No? ;)