24 replies to this topic

[bryonalston]

When I first heard that Prague and South Africa were being scouted as possible locations for CR, I immediately did some research to see anything in current events that would link to two together. I might have found some statistics that can link together with the basic plot of Casino Royale:

An international terrorist known only as "The Number" is renowned for his involvement in many illegal activities spanning the globe. Hardly anything is known of him by any of the secret service agencies around the world. His current project is expanding a chain of brothels which he started in Eastern Europe, to the west, including France and The U.K. His secret H.Q. is located in Prague, the richest city in eastern Europe. He runs the business under the front of being a legitimate chain of hotels, which he launders the money through. He has also been known to blackmail his more prominent clients. Even though this business is successful, he doesn't make enough of a profit to fund his expansion into Western Europe, so he embezzles a large sum of money from his bosses, a large crime syndicate that he works for which has its hands in many operations around the world. Their HQ is located in South Africa, which is known as being the "Crime Capital of the world," since after 1994, its border control laws have become less strict, allowing many crime organizations to operate there with ease.

He knows that it's only a matter of time before they will find out about the scheme, so he travels to various casino's in France to win enough money to buy him some time. By the time James Bond is brought into the picture, he has already won a great deal of money from various casino's in France. At Casino Royale, he meets his match when Bond causes him to lose. The movie then continues as it did in the book, following it faithfully, only updating it for 2006. The only thing that should be changed is Vesper Lynd's character, giving her a much stronger role and persona (she is pretty worthless and weak in the novel.) The torture sequence would be just as brutal as it was in the novel as well (only without the below-the-waist nudity,) This time, he would be tortured on a train to Prague, which is derailed by masked assassins from the crime syndicate. They kill 'The Number' and release James Bond.

He wakes up in a hospital in Prague, beaten badly. He escapes, does some investigating into the brothels and their affiliation with 'The Number,' etc. His investigation, along with Vesper, leads him to South Africa, where he discovers that the brothels are actually being used as a pipeline to smuggle various diseases through their prostitutes. The prostitutes are brought to South Africa, where they are killed, and the diseases which they bring are then stockpiled and modified. (A good idea could be a modified form of Smallpox, a highly contagious virus.) James discovers that this organization plans on contaminating the leaders of various countries at a G8 summit being held in Johannesburg. (This idea is similar to the one in the Benson novel "TMWTRT") The virus has been weakened, so that the symptoms do not begin to show up for a longer period of time than usual. This way, the leaders can go back to their countries and infect all of their citizens (unless certain ransom demands are met, of course.) 007 finds out that the leader of this SPECTRE-like organization is none other than Blofeld (long shot...but isn't 100% impossible, but then again, it isn't 100% possible either.) Blah, blah, blah.

How else do you think the British Secret Service, Casino Royale in France, Prague, and South Africa could be related plausibly?

[zencat]

Nice theory, bryonalston. Good work.

However, how can we be sure CR is going to be set in Prague at all? They could just be using the studio there. Moonraker was shot largely in Paris, yet it was not a location in the film.

[Bond_Bishop]

that would be a good movie !

[stromberg]

Some good stuff there, most of it would work very well, maybe with a few modifications (the casinos, as anexample, don't need all to be located in France, except of course for the final one, Casino Royale). I especially like the train idea.

But I'm not really fond of the "diseases" part, seems a bit weak to me and too far fetched. Better and less complicated ways to achieve such a goal.

The connection to South Africa, Blofeld, I'm fine with that. But the virus thing? I wouldn't buy it, and I guess a lot of people wouldn't, either.

But still: good work.

[hrabb04]

Insert 6th grade type one liners and you will have an instant EON Bond

[bryonalston]

Thanks. I do think that the diseases part is a bit far-fetched, but I couldn't think of anything else. Also, I do agree that they might not set the film in Prague, since M:I3 is supposed to be in Prague also and is set for a 2006 release date. Two spy films in the same year with the same location could easily spell disaster.

[Bond Bug]

Not bad at all. Sounds a little bit like a cross between OHMSS and one of those Flint movies with the girls plot. All those brothels might be a bit too seedy for a Bond movie. Maybe their diseases should be in hairspray! Also can we really have Bond bedding prostitutes? What about if they were performers, perhaps dancers or acrobats, performing at his hotels, a select few offering extra services, like assasination or seduction? Very good work Bryon.

[Spoon]

I HIGHLY doubt the film will actually be set in Prague. Do you think all these films are shooting there lately because they're all going to be set in the Czech Republic?? It's just really cheap to film there, that's all.

[luciusgore]

Prague could be doubling for Los Angeles. They shot "Seed of Chucky," a film entirely set in Hollywood, in Romania.

[JB_007]

Good Research, could be an interesting storyline if they do it acording to your research.

[bryonalston]

I what other ways do you think the plot from CR could be expanded? The book itself was more like a short story than a full length novel, and would probably only take up about 30% of the movie if adapted faithfully. In what other ways would you expand the story (if you had the choice?)

[Sam Fisher]

Why not hold a contest for the CBn member to construe the best plot of Casino Royale?

[bryonalston]

That's a great idea. Let the games begin!!!

Try to use as much detail as possible. Try and think of current events or plausible, down to earth plots that would seem relevant in a year and a half.

[Jack Bauer]

Sounds good enough, if not a little complicated.

[Pussfeller]

That would be cool, although I'd nix the Blofeld bit. I think the villain should be a French citizen of Eastern European origin, as in the novel. I like the idea of Prague being a location, but I doubt it will actually figure in the plot. As Spoon said, Prague is popular because it's cheap to film there.

[bryonalston]

I would say that Goran Visjnic could play Le Chiffre (I would prefer for him the be referred to as 'The Number,' it just sounds better) because since he resembles Bond so much, he could truly be his equal. However, that whole idea has been exhausted in GE (as well as a lot of other practical ideas that would be very useful in CR.)

Otherwise, I can't think of anyone else to play Le Chiffre (I have the image of Peter Lorre in my mind) Here are my top three choices (in no specific order:
1. STEVE BUSCEMI: For some reason, I could picture Steve Buscemi in the role (but only if Le Chiffre wasn't the main villain, but turned out to be some subordinate for a greater organization.)
2. WILLIAM H. MACY: If William H. Macy's wasn't typecast as such a loser, I would cast him (since he played a character with similar goals in 'Fargo' and received an Oscar Nomination for it.)
3. JOE PESCI: Why not Joe Pesci? He's played a classic villain before in 'Goodfella's', he's short, so why not have him play Le Chiffre? Again, I would only cast him if Le Chiffre was a subordinate (remember, Le Chiffre does work for an organization, so shouldn't that organization's leader be the villain?)

Edited by bryonalston, 27 June 2005 - 06:52 AM.

[bryonalston]

Since YOLT hasn't been faithfully adapted yet, then why not use the storyline for the second half of CR? Think about it:

Bond has been tortured, had the woman he's proposed to turn out to be a spy, only to end up killing herself, and doesn't know who the villain who is behind Le Chiffre is. He could be in a state of dismay after he has recovered, so M sends him on an "impossible" mission to South Africa to hunt down a mysterious doctor Shatterhand, who is believed to be a member of the same organization that Le Chiffre was apart of. James later realizes that he is the leader!

The story could include the Garden of Death, the sea-side castle and the suicide theme. The villain should be given a central plot to implement though.

[Pussfeller]

That's an interesting idea, but very ambitious. It would have to be paced differently than the average Bond film, but if done well, it would be very good. Shatterhand would have to be very charismatic and interesting, with good dialogue, in order to sustain the plot. I doubt Purvis and Wade could pull that off.

[hcmv007]

Very cool plot bryonalston.

[bryonalston]

Thank you. A much simpler sub-plot could be to have Le Chiffre attempt to burn down/blow up all of his brothels/hotels in order to collect the insurance money. As you well know, this would be inspired from the novel TSWLM, and Ian Fleming stated that no part of the novel could be used, but for years, EoN has adapted parts of various novels, including TSWLM (i.e., Jaws) and not gotten sued for it. I feel that after Bond has thwarted Le Chiffre's plans and is being tortured on the train, Le Chiffre could at least mention to Bond that all of his efforts were in vain, and that he has arranged for all of the brothels to be the victim of arson, so that he'll collect the insurance money and pay off his debt's and destroy all evidence of his crimes.

Edited by bryonalston, 19 July 2005 - 01:18 AM.

[Pussfeller]

That would be a cool subplot.

[bryonalston]

Are there any other unused Fleming source materials or short stories that could be used as possible subplots or characters? I was just flipping through the 'Bedside Companion' and Le Chiffre's organization could be the Spangled Mob (even though the name sounds a little cheesy, this could be a nod to DAF where Bond said that he wanted to go to South Africa.)

Also, if the PTS shows Bond's initial missions, in addition to the two assassinations which are described in the book, they could use Bond's mission in 'FAVTAK' as a third one, afterall, three times are a charm. In case you don't know, Bond's mission in FAVTAK was to, while on a motorcycle, ambush and assassinate a sniper who has killed another agent. These three missions would work well together: a clean kill (sniping from an adjacent skyscraper), a brutal stabbing, and an assassination on a vehicle (which will probably be upgraded to a motorcycle chase.)

[Triton]

What about the space station in the last act?

[bryonalston]

Do you think upgrading (or downgrading?) to a motorcycle chase is overkill? The whole point of the PTS is to get the adrenaline flowing, and to get the movie started off with a bang. Bond turning a motorcycle around and shooting someone seems a little anti-climactic, don't you think?

[JCH]

Hey bryonalston, nice idea. Definitely workable. As a matter of fact, it has a lot of similarities with a plot idea I posted almost 2 years ago. I think the two of us could sit down and combine our ideas into something that would work really well. I posted my idea below so you could read it, since you posted yours. Keep up the good work.

[quote]A series of terrorist activities occur around the globe.  The primary terrorist activity is the destruction of American/British pharmaceutical research centers.

When the British government receives an anonymous note stating that this mysterious terrorist organization has planted devices containing an airborne disease in Brussels (or wherever)