17 replies to this topic

[terminus]

You're stuck with Daniel Craig as Bond, you're stuck with Casino Royale as the title and the basis for the plot, you're stuck with a 2006 release - the rest is up to you, what do you do?

How do you convert the plot of the novel into the movie? Who do you pick to portray the villain, the girls, the allies? Where do you set it? What is the villains scheme?

Please don't turn this into a Daniel bashing thread - if you don't like the rumoured plot of the movie, if you don't like the reboot concept, then this is where you can express your creative side and say how you would have done it.


CASINO ROYALE '06

REBOOT ? No, I don't think we need a reboot - we could easily change the tone of the Bond movies without needing the reboot, witness the transition between Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only as an example of this.

Here, we're combining unused elements of You Only Live Twice (the island castle, the garden of death, the disgruntled citizens) and the plot of Casino Royale (terrorism financed by gambling) - you could even postulate that the role of Valerie could be rebranded Gala Brand creating a link to Moonraker too.


Daniel Craig ... as ... James Bond

Judi Dench ... as ... M
Samantha Bond ... as ... Moneypenny
John Cleese ... as ... Q


THE GIRLS No reboot - so Vesper's not the girl who made Bond who he is, but she needs to be at least the modern Tracy and needs, therefore, to be played by an actress of considerable gravitas. Monica Bellucci could be too old (she is four years older than Craig), Audrey Tautou could be too young, Angelina Jolie is too Hollywood - let's settle on Bellucci, for Vesper at least.

Bellucci plays Vesper - an amalgamation of the characters of Vesper and Le Chiffre, this Vesper is a treacherous French woman who runs a terrorist organisation and aquires funds from fixed high stakes baccarat games in the titular casino. MI6 makes the foolish assumption that Le Chiffre is a man since the 'face' of the organisation is a disposable Russian thug named Valentin Lorre.

Tautou, although considered and rejected for the part of Vesper because she was too young and seemed too nice, wins the part of the secondary Bond girl, Valerie Mathis. Tautou's Mathis is just a female version of Rene Mathis, the character named after the Bond Girl in the 1956 television adaptation of the novel - she's on loan to Bond from the French Secret Service and she isn't the 'sacrificial lamb' she initially appears to be, it's she who Bond ends up with at the end of the movie.

THE VILLAIN Vesper is now the villain, as mentioned above. However, MI6 assumes that Le Chiffre is Valentin Lorre - since he is a muscle bound former Soviet Spetsnaz (the role is played by a handsome unknown in the physical mould of Jason Statham, since Statham is too young to have been a Soviet soldier, maybe Dolph Lundgren) of dubious French/Russian ancestry and muddied ties to the terrorist organisation in question. Valentin is, in turn, unearthed as the henchperson - but later becomes the true villain when he assasinates Vesper on behalf of the terrorist organisation who feel she has become decadent and betrayed them.

THE PLOT

A terrorist act is perpetrated on British soil by the terrorist organisation, Bond returns from Jamaica to chaos at MI6 and is handed the assignment by M.

Bond rails against the mission, he considers it unworthy of his talents but M doesn't care - and sends him down to Q Branch for the requisite equipment (a device that allows him to tag cards with invisible dye that can only be seen when using special sunglasses, a souped up Aston Martin Vanquish and a sonic wave emitting ring) before he heads off to the South of France where he meets up with Valerie who resists his charms.

Valerie briefs Bond further - the man who runs the terrorist organisation has been codenamed Le Chiffre by the French, he is a Russian/French soldier and a formidable baccarat player and he has pocketed several million at various casino's within the last month. Valerie has managed to arrange a place at the baccarat table for Bond in a game with Le Chiffre that night - to which Bond replies that he is nervous, his card skills are a little rusty. But, that night at the baccarat table, Bond encounters 'Le Chiffre' and beats him by a wide margin - the man is furious and must be removed by security guards at the casino. Bond, watching the scene, is taken onto a moonlight balcony by a beautiful woman and the two share a meal - she apologises for her boyfriends actions, introduces herself as Vesper and, as an apology, she gives herself to him for the night. Bond and Vesper romance, he reasons that if he can get to her, she can get to him and then he, in turn, can reach Le Chiffre - but some thugs for hire later try to drive Bond and Valerie off the road and when Bond heads to meet with Vesper, she's been kidnapped!

Bond and Valerie discover that Vesper has been taken to Japan, so they head to Japan (in the spirit of the Moore movie, the MI6 field office has a secret location) where Bond encounters a savage Japanese teenage assasin (Chiaki Kuriyama) before making his way to a remote castle on an island off the coast of Japan, where Le Chiffre has lured disgruntled Japanese teenagers to so as to build his own mindless terrorist army. Bond and Valerie make the eventual discovery that Vesper is the true mastermind behind the terrorist attack from the opening and that Valentin is just the 'face' of the organisation - after Valentin is fatally wounded, Bond and Valerie race to stop Vesper who claims she has a bomb at the United Nations. 'She Lies !' screams Valentin, blasting Vesper with his own shotgun - before taking on Bond and Valerie. Bond eventually takes out Valentin in the castles Garden Of Death, blows the castle up and escapes, with Valerie on a luxury speedboat moored at the island.

[Harmsway]

I have to say it, my ideal CASINO ROYALE is pretty much the one they're making, same cast (perhaps minus Dench) and screenplay. So I guess I don't have a whole lot to contribute to this thread.

[Publius]

Not my cup of tea, but interesting just the same.

Mine would in all honesty probably be similar to the one we're getting, based simply on the reviews I've read of the script and teasers I've seen. It would still be a reboot, still add on to and modernize the novel, the plot of which is otherwise left intact.

Changes I'd make to that? Different M, definitely a male. Different writers, don't trust P&W, maybe just give it to Haggis outright. End the movie with the infamous line, if that's not already the case. Anything else I'd have to see the acual film, but I have a feeling it shouldn't be too much more.

[Harmsway]

Different M, definitely a male.

You see, I initially thought that, but the role of M in CASINO ROYALE definitely suits a female M. I can't imagine the role being anywhere near as effective with a male presence, ala Bernard Lee.

End the movie with the infamous line, if that's not already the case.

Spoiler

It's not, but I think you might change your mind about that once you see how it actually works out.

[Publius]

Different M, definitely a male.

You see, I initially thought that, but the role of M in CASINO ROYALE definitely suits a female M. I can't imagine the role being anywhere near as effective with a male presence, ala Bernard Lee.

Interesting. I've always found Dench's M could have been replaced by a man and not hurt the last four movies any, if not improved them (fabulous actress, just not my idea of M). So to have an M not just written as a female, but better for it, would be something to see.

Hope you're right about the finale and that it works on screen as well as it may look on paper. You and I seem to either have identical or polar opposite tastes, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Harmsway]

Different M, definitely a male.

You see, I initially thought that, but the role of M in CASINO ROYALE definitely suits a female M. I can't imagine the role being anywhere near as effective with a male presence, ala Bernard Lee.

Interesting. I've always found Dench's M could have been replaced by a man and not hurt the last four movies any, if not improved them (fabulous actress, just not my idea of M). So to have an M not just written as a female, but better for it, would be something to see.

Well, I agree about the last four movies. I've never particularly liked Dench's M, and flat-out hated her in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. But M isn't written the same way in CASINO ROYALE that she was in the Brosnan flicks, and the way it reads, I was surprised by how effective it actually is.

Hope you're right about the finale and that it works on screen as well as it may look on paper. You and I seem to either have identical or polar opposite tastes, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Of those who have read the script, I haven't met a single person upset with the ending. If executed as well as it reads, it will be as iconic a moment as the franchise has ever produced.

[DaltonCraig]

I'll take what's coming...

[DamnCoffee]

I wouldn't change anything about CR06 - its fine the way it is

[Loomis]

I have to say it, my ideal CASINO ROYALE is pretty much the one they're making, same cast (perhaps minus Dench) and screenplay.

Same here. If pushed.... well, you might be able to twist my arm into scrapping the origin story aspect, or at least downplaying it and leaving the viewer to decide how much of a beginner Bond is. I see no reason why the story and the importance of Vesper couldn't work with the 37-year-old Craig playing a, erm, non-beginning Bond.

There's one thing and one thing only that I'd like to change: I'd like Barry to do the score (oh, and, okay, one more: title song by Ian Brown). Then it would be perfect.

[Mr_Wint]

- No reboot!
- Replace Judi Dench with a male M.
- Tom Wilkinson as Le Chiffre (and let him be a truly memorable villain)
- Change poker to baccarat.
- Replace Chris Cornell with someone who is a little more mature and serious.

[spynovelfan]

Set in the early 1950s, CASINO ROYALE tells the story of Bond's first mission in the Double-O Section. Apart from brief scenes in Stockholm, New York and London, it is set completely in a slightly faded resort in northern France.

James Bond: Daniel Craig


Le Chiffre: Constantine Gregory


Vesper Lynd: Emilia Fox


M to be played by someone looking like a slightly younger Bernard Lee. No Q - Moneypenny has one line, and is thus set up for the next film. The last line of the novel is kept, but I'd also set up and follow through in the next film with the hunting down Smersh idea Fleming had but didn't use. I'd aim for something like L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

[Auric64]

I have to say it, my ideal CASINO ROYALE is pretty much the one they're making, same cast (perhaps minus Dench) and screenplay.

Same here. If pushed.... well, you might be able to twist my arm into scrapping the origin story aspect, or at least downplaying it and leaving the viewer to decide how much of a beginner Bond is. I see no reason why the story and the importance of Vesper couldn't work with the 37-year-old Craig playing a, erm, non-beginning Bond.

Bravo, Loomis, I couldn`t have said it any better.

Best

Andy

[Loomis]

Set in the early 1950s, CASINO ROYALE tells the story of Bond's first mission in the Double-O Section. Apart from brief scenes in Stockholm, New York and London it is set completely in a slightly faded resort in northern France.

James Bond: Daniel Craig


Le Chiffre: Constantine Gregory


Vesper Lynd: Emilia Fox


M to be played by someone looking like a slightly younger Bernard Lee. No Q - Moneypenny has one line, and is thus set up for the next film. The last line of the novel is kept, but I'd also set up and follow through in the next film with the hunting down Smersh idea Fleming had but didn't use. I'd aim for something like L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

Excellent. And I'm sure they considered this route. It'd take a heck of a lot of panache to pull off properly, of course, but the artistic rewards would be incalculable.

Of course, it wouldn't - except in chronology - be a true prequel to the zany Technicolor action adventure that is 1962's DR. NO. Not that it needs to be, of course.

[spynovelfan]

Excellent. And I'm sure they considered this route.

Oh, they can't be that bonkers, surely.

If I could get him (and I'd hope my Tom Stoppard script might do the trick), I'd have Anthony Hopkins as M. He looks rather like Bernard Lee, I think.

[Loomis]

He looks rather like Bernard Lee, I think.

Vaguely. Wonder whether this is why he was Ethan Hunt's M in M:I-2. Probably not, but ya never know.

Off-topic, but when - if - Dench steps down, I hope they'll get either Matt Lucas or Roshan Seth for M.

[DamnCoffee]

Matt Lucas!!

[spynovelfan]

Sometimes I wonder about you, Loomis, I really do.

Matt Lucas would be far better as Bond. Here he is in a still from a short alternative version of AVTAK he did with Brigitte Nielsen as May-Day:

[Mister Asterix]

I have to say it, my ideal CASINO ROYALE is pretty much the one they're making, same cast (perhaps minus Dench) and screenplay. So I guess I don't have a whole lot to contribute to this thread.

[mra]I