41 replies to this topic

[quantumofsolace]

Mark Gatiss

the guardian 1 may 2015
http://www.theguardi...2015-television

his whole career, at the moment, he says, is “fulfilling the dreams I had when I was eight.” Are there any left? “James Bond,” he says without any doubt, and given his track record, it’s surely a matter of time before he gets the call. The combination of writing and acting is, he says, a dream scenario

Edited by Vauxhall, 11 September 2015 - 12:03 AM.

[DavidJones]

Thanks for posting.

[rubixcub]

Since I first started watching "Sherlock", I have approved of the idea of his involvement.

 

Dave

[Royal Dalton]

I don't know if this has been mentioned already, but there's a new programme on the BBC iPlayer called 'Premium Bond', with Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet discussing each of the Bond actors and their films.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-matthew-sweet

[larrythefatcat]

I don't know if this has been mentioned already, but there's a new programme on the BBC iPlayer called 'Premium Bond', with Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet discussing each of the Bond actors and their films.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...d-matthew-sweet

 

I wish I could easily watch this in the US... dang iPlayer!

[glidrose]

Gatiss would have been good for the Brosnan era, but IMHO he seems all wrong for the Daniel Craig era.

[rubixcub]

Future Bond writers thread?

 

Perhaps not the right place for it, but with Jez Butterworth getting screen credit, reports of dissatisfaction with Logan's first draft, and P&W being brought in relatively late in the game after having announced they were done with Bond, does anyone else think Butterworth will get the gig to write Bond 25 from page one?  I'm inclined to think changing of the guard, esp. if his other film out this year, true-life crime thriller "Black Mass" with Johnny Depp (as infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger), is a success.

 

Dave

[Vauxhall]

I'll change the thread to be more generally about writers.

If SPECTRE is a success, I predict a Purvis & Wade story and core script, with credited polishing from Butterworth.

Certain leaks implied P&W saved the script and EON owe them, although of course only they know what the relationship is like now.

[Harmsway]

I'm with you on that, Vauxhall. P&W and Butterworth will likely be the writers on the next film.

[JohnnyWalker]

They might bring in Drew Pierce sometime.

[SecretAgentFan]

I'll change the thread to be more generally about writers.

If SPECTRE is a success, I predict a Purvis & Wade story and core script, with credited polishing from Butterworth.

Certain leaks implied P&W saved the script and EON owe them, although of course only they know what the relationship is like now.

 

I wonder how it must feel for P & W to always get called in because they are reliable - but then they get rewritten or polished by the "serious theatre"- or "Oscar"-writer.

 

Sure, it´s hard to get a script through on your own in the blockbuster business, and Bond will definitely pay well for them.  But after "Skyfall" I got the feeling, especially during interviews in that time, that P & W were grinning through clenched teeth when journalists asked them about John Logan´s work.  They also stressed that it was time for them to do something else.  

 

It must have been very satisfying to be called back because Logan did not deliever.  But to be polished again, this time by Butterworth... well, that must sting.

 

I guess if Mendes does come back for one final Bond film (no given) with Craig, he might reach for the same combination.  If not - the next director will bring in his/her favorite to re-write.

[Royal Dalton]

I think that was a time issue, really. Butterworth was already polishing the script before Purvis and Wade had completed their final draft.

[tdalton]

It'll most likely be P&W and Butterworth on the next one, but EON really should look into bringing in new writers the next time around.  It's time for some new ideas and a new voice for the franchise.

[Harmsway]

They tried reaching out to new writers with Haggis and Logan. In both instances, things didn't really work out well when they tried to retain them.

Finding a go-to Bond screenwriter is about as hard as finding a go-to Bond novelist, it would seem.

[tdalton]

They need to try again, though.  The status quo has started to become stale and new writers would help lend a new voice to the franchise.

[Harmsway]

Well, Craig will be gone after Spectre or the film following that, and then they'll be looking for a new direction. I wouldn't be surprised to see some new names at that time.

I nominate Bryan Fuller. An excellent writer with sensibilities perfectly suited to Bond.

[tdalton]

I wouldn't be surprised to see new writers after Craig leaves following SPECTRE, but at the same time it's not like it would be the first time they carried over writers (or the first time they'd carried over P&W) from one tenure to another.  

 

I do think that P&W get a bad rap in the fan community, but after writing half of the Brosnan films and presumably all of the Craig films, it's time to go in a different direction.  

[SecretAgentFan]

Well, Maibaum stayed on for many actor´s tenures - and I´d say he was one of the best Bond writers.

[Odd Jobbies]

I'm guessing that when Craig leaves Nolan will direct with an actor he's had a say in choosing (because of the Bondian Inception i'm guessing Hardy would be his first choice).

 

The Nolan brothers Chris and Jonathan will write.

[Dustin]

Sorry, I don't really see Nolan doing Bond. With all his success I still think there is less actual substance to his films than the scale suggests., they often feel blown out of proportion. He might have been a better choice for the Brosnan years. I'm not at all sure Nolan would have to add anything of significance to Bond.

[graric]

Sorry, I don't really see Nolan doing Bond. With all his success I still think there is less actual substance to his films than the scale suggests., they often feel blown out of proportion. He might have been a better choice for the Brosnan years. I'm not at all sure Nolan would have to add anything of significance to Bond.

 

Have you seen much of his earlier work? Because honestly I find that he is a much stronger director when working on a smaller scale (and think Memento, his second feature, is still probably his strongest peice of filmmaking, and has plenty of substance to it's story.)

 

If he was to make a Bond film, I would hope the scale would be reigned in compared to his recent work (Inception, Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar), and having producers as hands on as the Broccoli's could really help reign in some of Nolan's worse impulses.

[Marcin]

 

Sorry, I don't really see Nolan doing Bond. With all his success I still think there is less actual substance to his films than the scale suggests., they often feel blown out of proportion. He might have been a better choice for the Brosnan years. I'm not at all sure Nolan would have to add anything of significance to Bond.

 

Have you seen much of his earlier work? Because honestly I find that he is a much stronger director when working on a smaller scale (and think Memento, his second feature, is still probably his strongest peice of filmmaking, and has plenty of substance to it's story.)

 

If he was to make a Bond film, I would hope the scale would be reigned in compared to his recent work (Inception, Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar), and having producers as hands on as the Broccoli's could really help reign in some of Nolan's worse impulses.

 

That's why, apart from superb Memento, his greates film is, in my opinion, The Prestige. Perfect form and substance (for a blockbuster, that is). 

If in fact Nolan was given a chance to direct a Bond movie, he'd probably insist on doing it his way. And I'm not sure if it's a good idea in this case. I'm a fan of Nolan's work (except for the Batman Trilogy, which was quite uneven) and I think he's one of the most imaginative film makers in Hollywood, but I'm not sure were would he go with Bond. 

[Orion]

I do adore Nolan as a director, Inception is possibly my favourite film with it's tech noir qualities, loving Bond references and heavy Escher inspirations, so would be at least curious to see what he'd do with Bond HOWEVER I do question whether his very hands on approach would gel with EON given their more producer led manor to making films.  

[Marcin]

If Bond movies were still released every two year I guess it'd be easier for all of us to be open to experiments. Curious? Definitely!

[Orion]

If Bond movies were still released every two year I guess it'd be easier for all of us to be open to experiments. Curious? Definitely!

I agree, just look at how certain corners of the media reacted when Casino Royale was announced, and that was a relatively minor change in tone.

 

Though back to Gatiss, another favourite of mine (Sherlock is easily my favourite TV series and Gatiss other works are brilliant), but I don't see him actually wanting the writers job though, time consuming as it is, which would take away his time for acting. However I can definitely see him joining as a cast member, he would fit very comfortably with the Whitehall home team.

[Syndicate]

Maybe these scriptwriters can do it for future Bond movies.

Lionel Wigram

Christopher McQuarrie

André Nemec

William Goldman

Kurt Wimmer

Eric Warren Singer

[SecretAgentFan]

McQuarrie would definitely get my vote!

[glidrose]

Maybe these scriptwriters can do it for future Bond movies.

William Goldman

Goldman is 84 and hasn't written in years.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I know I certainly wouldn't oppose to Christopher McQuarrie, love his work as a director and screenwriter. Jack Reacher was a very well made action/thriller, and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is by far the best spy film I've seen in a long time (I think it's better than Craig's last two Bond films, personally). Would EON give him both duties as director/screenwriter, or one or the other. Either way I'd be fine. He did some rewrites for Edge of Tomorrow (Which Jez Butterworth co-wrote with his brother, John-Henry) after Cruise introduced him to the project during filming for Jack Reacher.

[Harmsway]

McQuarrie is a bad fit. He's focused on story/plot, and that's not what should drive a Bond film.

We need someone who knows how to write/shape stories that capture the Fleming blend of exoticism, pleasure, humor, violence, and surrealism. None of those things are McQuarrie's strong point.