Bond 24 script being reworked....by Purvis and Wade?!
#1
Posted 27 June 2014 - 05:42 AM
Bad news...apparently John Logan's Bond 24 script is in need of some major tweeking...thus Purvis and Wade have been hired to rewrite the script to give it some "punch", according to our trusty Daily Mail correspondent Baz Bamigboye. As a result it looks like the start of filming has been delayed til December..D'oh!! Still, I'd rather they'd take their time in getting the script solid than risk another Quantum of Solace situation.
#2
Posted 27 June 2014 - 07:50 AM
why bring back the same writers again.....why not hire some new one? I don't believe there any truth to it....P and W has move on from Bond so.....
#3
Posted 27 June 2014 - 08:53 AM
I don't really know who Baz Bamigboye is, but I've heard many times around here that he's a rather reliable source for Bond news, so I'll trust this report. This is rather concerning, as there are some very troubling things in the report with regards to the contents of Bond 24, More focus on the Bond/M relationship and the need to add more witty exchanges between Bond and Moneypenny. Those are two things that Bond 24 needed to get away from after Skyfall, especially given how poor Purvis and Wade are at writing such "witty" exchanges.
I was rather looking forward to a Bond film penned exclusively by an Oscar-nominated writer. While it's obviously a bit premature to pass judgment on anything Bond 24 at this point, I would be lying if I said that my enthusiasm for it at this point hasn't decreased significantly.
#4
Posted 27 June 2014 - 09:42 AM
Hmm i can only say to add: LOL
That is all. Thank you.
#5
Posted 27 June 2014 - 09:51 AM
Good news is that they get rid of Logan, but having Purvis and Wade back is terrible...
From Charybe to Scilla...
#6
Posted 27 June 2014 - 10:52 AM
The kind of thing that happens all the time in the movie business, so I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised about this, if true. And this columnist, unlike some tabloid "hacks" has been fairly accurate in the past. I guess bringing back Messrs' Purvis and Wade means the film makers at least have a "tried and tested" partnership working on the re-write. How that turns out come the film's release next year, well we will have to wait and see, but it doesn't suggest to me any great shift from the style of the previous Craig movies.
#7
Posted 27 June 2014 - 01:33 PM
Logan is obviously too busy writing the scripts for the next series of Penny Dreadful at the moment to do the rewrites himself.
For better or worse, Purvis and Wade know their way around a Bond script, and both Eon and Mendes have worked with them before. So it makes sense for them to bring them back.
I dare say Logan will cast his pen over the Bond script again at some point, anyway.
#8
Posted 27 June 2014 - 02:49 PM
#9
Posted 27 June 2014 - 02:58 PM
I guess we'll be in for a healthy dose of trust issues between Bond and the new M as well as some terribly suggestive exchanges between Moneypenny and Bond, along with overly long action sequences.
But seriously, this will be the film where we'll get a better picture as to what Purvis and Wade are capable of as Bond writers. They've written two of the worst films in the franchise and then been attached in one way or another with the generally above-par Craig films. What their contributions to Casino Royale through Skyfall were have been debated over and over again around here, but now that they're the ones doing the script polish, we might get a better insight into what was theirs and what was the contribution of Haggis and Logan over the last three films.
As much as I trash Skyfall, though, I'll have to say that I really hope that this next film resembles it more than Casino Royale. If Purvis and Wade revert the films back to Casino Royale's penchant for endless action sequences that do little to push the narrative forward, I'll be disappointed, even though I consider Casino Royale to be far superior than Skyfall.
#10
Posted 27 June 2014 - 04:31 PM
I think that what we've learned is that when Purvis and Wade try to do things on their own (i.e. TWINE, DAD, QOS) the result always ends up rather poorly.. when they collaborate with others i.e. Paul Haggis on Casino Royale and John Logan on Skyfall, we get phenominal results. So just in my own opinion, no need to really panic just yet as John Logan's work is still very much involved. However, if P&W start adding too many corny Die Another Day-esque lines just to appease the humorless whiners like John Cleese, then we may be in trouble..
#11
Posted 27 June 2014 - 04:35 PM
This is very interesting news, as Purvis & Wade said that Skyfall was their last script.And they usually write the first drafts and not subsequent ones, so they must finally feel like they're being appreciated by getting called in
I'm personally not impressed by 'Oscar-winning' so it doesn't bother me that Logan is on board anyway.
Edited by DavidJones, 27 June 2014 - 04:37 PM.
#12
Posted 27 June 2014 - 04:38 PM
I think it would be rather difficult to determine exactly who did what on Quantum of Solace. Haggis was involved to some degree, as were P&W, as well as Forster and Craig doing what sounds like some fairly extensive work on the script while they were filming.
The fact that a polisher is needed isn't the big concern here. As has already been said, it happens quite frequently. But it's the choice of polishers that is a bit perplexing. P&W are a bit like Raymond Benson, in that they can be very good at coming up with interesting story ideas, but struggle in other areas. For P&W, that area is dialogue, yet they're being asked to come in and polish in that area, and to add some banter between Bond and Moneypenny and to help flesh out the new Bond/M relationship. That's just not their strength as screenwriters. If there are some serious problems with the story, it might not hurt to have them take a look at it and take a swing at rewriting it, but another writer should also have a look at as well before filming begins.
#13
Posted 27 June 2014 - 05:01 PM
It's interesting but agree with all those who say it's of no real concern.
Logan has done first draft, P&W, with their familiarity with EON, give it a go-over, and if Mendes/EON feel it needs more work, it might go back to Logan, or even someone else. That's how it works in the movie business!
Logan did say that he enjoyed the process working on the SF script, so creatively everyone might feel at home with the same principals all involved again. I don't think there's any way at all to speculate as to how it all might end up. I agree that P&W have been responsible for a couple of clunkers (and so was Dick Maibaum so it happens....) but they also had a part with some good ones.
I will say this - with Mendes involved from the start, any plot issues that appear that we might not like, then I suspect it should be Mendes bearing responsibility rather than P&W.
I take all the fun out of speculating, don't I.....?
#14
Posted 27 June 2014 - 05:09 PM
Well I hope the movie is good after they are done with it. I would rather them rewrite the script and fix it up then to put out a movie that sucked.
#15
Posted 27 June 2014 - 05:38 PM
#16
Posted 27 June 2014 - 05:51 PM
#17
Posted 27 June 2014 - 06:09 PM
I have no problem with Purvis and Wade (and it must be very satisfying for them to be brought in to rewrite someone else for a change, especially Mendes´ buddy).
But if this story really is true I hope it will not derail the whole film.
It all depends now on the relationship between Mendes and Logan. If the EON buddies Purvis & Wade deliver a draft that works for EON but not for Mendes - he might even decide to drop out, too.
However, if Mendes agreed that Logan´s draft did not work out well enough, things could get back on track.
The whole thing would definitely explain why Logan, in his most recent interview, said that he would not be interested in returning for script duty after BOND 24 and 25 because he had the feeling that with these big budget extravaganzas "he´d been there done that".
Which to me sounds a lot like someone feeling pretty insulted and maintaining that he has lost interest in that kind of movie anyway.
#18
Posted 27 June 2014 - 06:43 PM
#19
Posted 27 June 2014 - 06:45 PM
It all depends now on the relationship between Mendes and Logan. If the EON buddies Purvis & Wade deliver a draft that works for EON but not for Mendes - he might even decide to drop out, too.
That would be a shame if it were to come to that. EON spent all of that time waiting for Mendes, so it would be a shame if the "polite turmoil" behind the scenes is them not letting Mendes and Logan do the work that they were brought on to do. EON has a lot of goodwill on their side after Skyfall, why not use that in order to experiment with the franchise a bit and to let respected filmmakers like Mendes and Logan craft a Bond film from scratch. Surely it couldn't have been worse than the scripts for The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day that they allowed to go into production.
#20
Posted 27 June 2014 - 06:50 PM
#21
Posted 27 June 2014 - 09:00 PM
Maybe the producers and Sam Mendes thought they could bring something to the story. Maybe they've come up with good ideas.
#22
Posted 28 June 2014 - 12:12 AM
#23
Posted 28 June 2014 - 01:39 AM
#24
Posted 28 June 2014 - 05:05 AM
Agreed with all of the above.Logan is obviously too busy writing the scripts for the next series of Penny Dreadful at the moment to do the rewrites himself.
For better or worse, Purvis and Wade know their way around a Bond script, and both Eon and Mendes have worked with them before. So it makes sense for them to bring them back.
I dare say Logan will cast his pen over the Bond script again at some point, anyway.
I'm surprised but not particularly alarmed. Purvis & Wade certainly made some missteps in their time, but they've also contributed a lot of good, plus know Bond inside out.
#25
Posted 28 June 2014 - 05:22 AM
They do know Bond inside out, but at this point in the franchise, it's really time for a new perspective. P&W do bring some strengths to the table, but if the reported areas of concern with the current script are accurate, those are areas that are probably P&W's biggest weaknesses as screenwriters.
#26
Posted 28 June 2014 - 05:23 AM
I don't think it true.........the script should be ready to go by now
#27
Posted 28 June 2014 - 08:40 AM
In all honesty, despite my loathing of DAD, I don't see this as a bad thing. P&W have some good ideas as far as story and action goes. Just keep them away from dialog.
#28
Posted 28 June 2014 - 12:33 PM
Its in variety so it seems to be confirmed.
In all honesty, despite my loathing of DAD, I don't see this as a bad thing. P&W have some good ideas as far as story and action goes. Just keep them away from dialog.
The original report suggests that they're being brought on primarily to work on dialogue, focusing on the Bond/M relationship as well as the "witty repartee" between Bond and Moneypenny and to focus on putting more jokes into the script.
#29
Posted 28 June 2014 - 01:14 PM
It seems they're taking John Cleese's advice!
#30
Posted 28 June 2014 - 07:57 PM
God, I hope not. There's a big difference between 1970 John Cleese and 2014 John Cleese.