82 replies to this topic

[byline]

If I understand correctly, Tarantino is not a member of the Director's Guild of America, and Eon would not hire someone who is not a DGA member. Tarantino would have known that, so he's just spinning his wheels . . . publicly, as usual.

[Bucky]

If I understand correctly, Tarantino is not a member of the Director's Guild of America, and Eon would not hire someone who is not a DGA member. Tarantino would have known that, so he's just spinning his wheels . . . publicly, as usual.

i believe that is true but he might have been able to do it if eon hadnt bought the rights to everything fleming wrote. or if he had a specific idea for casino royale that he was developing and pitched it to them he might have been able to do that. not being a member of the director's guild i believe means that studios cant hire you to do projects that they have been working on for a while. im sure his status however was probably not seen as desirable for eon though as he is nowhere near the directors they usually hire.

[triviachamp]

After 'Pulp Fiction', I tried to buy the rights to CR, who were held by Ian Fleming's heirs. But along came the Broccolis and grabbed the rights to everything that Fleming had ever written.

Didn't Fleming's heirs not have the rights to CR as it was in limbo between Sony and MGM?

[byline]

i believe that is true but he might have been able to do it if eon hadnt bought the rights to everything fleming wrote.

I'm pretty sure that triviachamp is correct, that Eon acquired the rights to "Casino Royale" at a relatively late date because of legal wrangling between Sony and MGM. That's why it's only now that they were finally able to do a film based on that novel: CBn article

I'm not sure of the exact timeline, but it seems to me that Tarantino was looking to buy the rights to "Casino Royale" before Eon bought them, but they beat him to it, and that's what he's been complaining about ever since: CBn article

Edited by byline, 10 July 2007 - 05:33 PM.

[Loomis]

As I understand it, even if Tarantino had managed to acquire the rights to CASINO ROYALE, he would not have been able to make a film of it (unless he changed the name of the protagonist from James Bond to something else), given that Eon has sole rights to any and all use of the character on film (or TV).

This is also what prevents an organisation buying the Young Bond books and filming them. Or the Gardner novels, and so on.

Of course, this wasn't true when NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN was made - I gather that it's a relatively recent legal development that essentially means that James Bond as a motion picture character is under the control of Eon for all time. And it begs the question: why didn't a McClory type attempt to start a rival Bond franchise based on CASINO ROYALE, the way McClory himself tried to exploit the THUNDERBALL property?

Perhaps someone could clear all this up.

ETA: I'm reminded of an old thread:

http://debrief.comma...showtopic=11668

[triviachamp]

. And it begs the question: why didn't a McClory type attempt to start a rival Bond franchise based on CASINO ROYALE, the way McClory himself tried to exploit the THUNDERBALL property?

Perhaps someone could clear all this up.

Because the rights were in limbo. http://www.ianflemin...ent/000263.html

[Mister Asterix]

. And it begs the question: why didn't a McClory type attempt to start a rival Bond franchise based on CASINO ROYALE, the way McClory himself tried to exploit the THUNDERBALL property?

Perhaps someone could clear all this up.

Because the rights were in limbo. http://www.ianflemin...ent/000263.html

Ah yes, there is the complete story. Thanks, tc.

So United Artist acquired half of the rights to Casino Royale when QT was four. I wonder if he was as much of a cry baby then?

[jaguar007]

QT wanted to make CR so badly because it was a book already written and he has been out of story ideas for quite a while.

[triviachamp]

he has been out of story ideas for quite a while.

Tarantino had story ideas?

[erniecureo]

The three most overrated directors:

Quentin Tarantino
John Woo
David Lynch

At least Lynch and Woo don't throw tantrums.

[Trident]

I was never too fond of the prospect of Tarantino directing Bond. I somehow always felt the outcome would resemble something in the line of DAD and I didn't feel comfortable with that one to begin with. Multiply the references and self-references of DAD to the point of caricature wouldn't have done any better. And the only way to top these would have been to have a gigantic hammer folding from the hood of Bond's car and smashing the villain's henchmen to pulp. CR directed by Tarantino would have meant a 2006 remake faithful to 67's Feldman take remixed with Shaw-Brothers-Hong-Kong action and a measure of Hammer-Studio's Dracula style for the villain's lair.

Do I prefer the CR we have seen last year? You bet!

[Flash1087]

The three most overrated directors:

Quentin Tarantino
John Woo
David Lynch

At least Lynch and Woo don't throw tantrums.

Aw, you're killin' me, Smalls! Tarantino I agree with, but Woo and Lynch? Give me Hard Boiled or Fire Walk With Me over either part of Kill Bill or most of Pulp Fiction any day.

[Solex Agitator]

Be nice! David Lynch is a saint!

[RazorBlade]

The three most overrated directors:

Quentin Tarantino
John Woo
David Lynch

At least Lynch and Woo don't throw tantrums.

QT doesn't throw them either. He was slinging but not throwing a tantrum IMHO.

Lynch is a cinematic genius who is underated if anything. Don't call him a bad director just because digging his films isn't your bag.

John Woo was brilliant at one point in his career but has fallen down.

The most overrated directors are
Michael Bay- just look at the $$$ he's given to ruin perfectly good movies. And can he please choose a shot and stick with it.
Simon West- ditto and it's always nice to understand the story of your movie first before starting filming.
James Cameron- in many ways a great filmmaker but a tryant on the set. Both he and Michael Bay throw tantrums on the set when they don't get their way. Bay to show everyone he's self actualized and in charge of his environment and Cameron if a crew member needs a bathroom break.

[Bon-san]

Man, people sure like to bludgeon Tarantino.

In his defense, Michael Wilson did publicly state multiple times that 'Casino Royale is unfilmable.' So, perhaps QT thought to himself, 'I disagree.' And proceeded to get miffed when Eon eventually did put it to film.

He does lay the tantrum on a bit thick. Whatever. He's a movie geek. I got to talk with him at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years back and he was a riot. Some of his films are, too.

I can forgive him for it. I think his films rock. Kill Bill II was just fair. But overall, he makes interesting stuff.

He's upset with Eon. He's got company on the order of the tens of thousands!

[Loomis]

I got to talk with him at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years back and he was a riot.

Really? What did you talk about?

[dinovelvet]

I got to talk with him at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years back and he was a riot.

Really? What did you talk about?

I'm going to take a wild guess that the subject was...movies.

[Bon-san]

I got to talk with him at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years back and he was a riot.

Really? What did you talk about?

I'm going to take a wild guess that the subject was...movies.

Yes. Mostly, I just listened. If he wasn't on speed, he has a 'special' nervous system.

I got him talking on the subject of Jackie Brown. I praised the film as perhaps his best, and he was off and running. "Robert Forster's in' mad rad, dude. I'd been wanting to work with that guy like ing forever. And Pam, well you know I wanted that COFFY to come through big time, but older, you know. [two more minutes on blaxploitation stuff with which, at the time, I was not very conversant--lots of Gordon Parks riffing]

Somehow I managed to fire off an inquiry in regards to working with Michael Keaton: 'Dude was a ing madman. Love that dude.' [Three minutes of Batman riffing ensue--I couldn't get a straight answer as to his favourite cinematic Batman]

I really wanted to ask him about filming the rear-romp scene with Bridget Fonda and Deniro, but somehow we're [i.e., 'he's'] talking about the Delfonics. And then, suddenly, we were at the front of the line for whatever it was we were waiting to see.

Somewhere in there I did manage to interject a query as to whether he'd ever considered tackling a Bond film, and he gave me a bug-eyed look and fairly spat out 'Dude, it would be so ing sweet.'

He's a force of nature. He's bigger (taller, heavier, meatier) than he looks on the screen.

I enjoyed it. It'd be great to sit down with a bottle of wine and just let him blather on for hours. It's first-rate entertainment.

[Loomis]

And then, suddenly, we were at the front of the line for whatever it was we were waiting to see.

Tarantino was queueing? Like a regular guy? Not bad for one of the handful of directors in this world whose face is recognisable to the average Joe, never to mind to film geeks attending ComicCon. When, presumably, he could have been shepherded everywhere by bodyguards and just swanned into wherever he wanted to be with no need to queue. I've always had a lot of respect for Tarantino, and now I have even more.

Somewhere in there I did manage to interject a query as to whether he'd ever considered tackling a Bond film, and he gave me a bug-eyed look and fairly spat out 'Dude, it would be so ing sweet.'

Interesting. I always assumed he was simply stirring things when he talked about wanting to do Bond, but evidently not. I love the way you describe his reaction, Bon-san - I can just picture it.

[erniecureo]

QT doesn't throw them either. He was slinging but not throwing a tantrum IMHO.

Lynch is a cinematic genius who is underated if anything. Don't call him a bad director just because digging his films isn't your bag.

Free speech, dude. I thought Dune was unwatchable, and Blue Velvet to be childishly heavy-handed. Is Lynch the antichrist? Nope...but I think he's overrated.

John Woo was brilliant at one point in his career but has fallen down.

One word: "Windtalkers."

The most overrated directors are
Michael Bay- just look at the $$$ he's given to ruin perfectly good movies. And can he please choose a shot and stick with it.

I agree that Bay's films are torturous to watch. Is he overrated? Only if someone rates him highly in the first place. Nobody I know does that.

Simon West- ditto and it's always nice to understand the story of your movie first before starting filming.

Michael Bay wannabe. 'Nuff said.

James Cameron- in many ways a great filmmaker but a tryant on the set. Both he and Michael Bay throw tantrums on the set when they don't get their way. Bay to show everyone he's self actualized and in charge of his environment and Cameron if a crew member needs a bathroom break.

I have no problem with his films, and that's the criteria of a good director (for me). I don't care if he dresses like a chicken while he directs, or eats with his hands, or doesn't bathe. Are his films good? Yes. The rest is just personality stuff. It's like saying Sean Penn's not a good actor because he's a dork. Who cares?

And I'd agree with Bon-San that Jackie Brown is his best film--thanks mainly to Elmore Leonard, not QT.

But hey, if we all agreed all the time, this forum'd be a pretty boring place, wouldn't it? :-)

[Johnboy007]

Man, people sure like to bludgeon Tarantino.

In his defense, Michael Wilson did publicly state multiple times that 'Casino Royale is unfilmable.'

For some reason this quote and thread just popped into my mind.

What exactly is the context for this quote? Is it possible he meant that Casino Royale was unfilmable because of rights issues (I don't know the time frame for this quote) or because he didn't believe the material was good enough?

Or both?

Or am I totally grasping at straws?

[stamper]

OK, Casino Royale by Tarantino.

- The cocktail scene (Vesper) would have started the movie and would have be a 17mn long conversation between Bond and Vesper.

- The movie would have come out in two 125mn parts.

- Tarantino cameos as one of the Baccarat players.

- 39 mn will be spent trying to explains the rules of baccarat, interrupted by one decapitation of the Le Chiffre Girl Friend by Pam Grier playing the african rebel.

Please add some more.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Here's my favorite Quintin Tarantino bit:



And here's my favorite Quintin:

http://content.answe...tin_Collins.jpg

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 06 August 2007 - 04:28 PM.