43 replies to this topic

[JimmyBond]

Well, Tamahori himself confirmed he reworked the finale of DAD from an assault on a Beach fortress to a airplane exploding. Unless we see the script we'll never know if the original finale was better.

[doublenoughtspy]

I agree the Purvis & Wade interview is interesting, and I also agree they need to watch OHMSS again - Bond is giving up the service for Tracy.

I'm not sure why you have a problem with their response about Haggis' work Judo - I think it's good they point out what they wrote versus what he wrote and can't speak for him.

I think it must be very difficult for script writers to discuss "script polishers" with any sort of candor.

Eon brought in British writers like Berkeley Mather, Paul Dehn, and Simon Raven to punch up Maibaum's work - I know he complained that Dehn's work on Goldfinger was "too Englishy".

I asked Bruce Feirstein to sign a Goldeneye script at a convention but he refused to because it wasn't a draft he had anything to do with - and that was understandable.

Re: Tarantino and CR. He was speaking publicly about doing CR in 1997 - maybe even earlier. P&W didn't enter the Bond orbit until 1998 (1st draft of TWINE is June 18, 1998 - their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though.)

[Loomis]

their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though

What do you mean? That they were initially asked to work on just the PTS for TWINE? That the boat chase was originally earmarked for TND or a Wai Lin film? That P&W originally came to Eon's attention after writing the boat chase as a sort of pitch to show what they could do with Bond?

[doublenoughtspy]

their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though

That P&W originally came to Eon's attention after writing the boat chase as a sort of pitch to show what they could do with Bond?

That one. From what I've been told.

[spynovelfan]

their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though

That P&W originally came to Eon's attention after writing the boat chase as a sort of pitch to show what they could do with Bond?

That one. From what I've been told.

How fascinating. Must have been bloody good, because whenever I have (fleetingly) thought about writing screenplays that feature any action, I've stopped right there. It just seems futile, somehow! 'An amazing boat chase goes on for 15 minutes: it's very exciting. Bond crashes into lots of things. Cigar Girl winks at him. Then it's exciting a bit more. I dunno - work it out on the day, chaps! Just put Bond in a fast boat and see what the set provides. Right, now onto the next scene...'

Probably why I've not yet written any Bond films and Purvis and Wade have, then.

[RTomZ]

Paul and I wanted to thank everyone on this board for the very kind things said about HMSS. He and I are indeed very happy and proud of the result. HMSS has been a passion of ours since 1997, and for it to be recognized as an informative and fun website is very gratifying. Your comments especially make it all worthwhile. Even my very-hard-to-impress son Mike (he's a college senior) said the new HMSS issue was "decent." The highest praise he can bestow, so I was quite relieved.

If you have not yet, take a look at the HMSS Editorial which explains our long absence. http://www.hmss.com/editorial/0501/ Paul and I have been a bit overwhelmed with the positive response to the latest issue, and it has stoked us to publish more regularly. Our plan is to produce new issues bi-annually (but don

[Judo chop]

I'm not sure why you have a problem with their response about Haggis' work Judo - I think it's good they point out what they wrote versus what he wrote and can't speak for him.

I think it must be very difficult for script writers to discuss "script polishers" with any sort of candor.

I have no problem with it at all. I'm not saying they should have danced around the topic or lied about it. I just meant to say that I observe a little excessive bitterness in there. I could be wrong about that, of course. Lots of subtleties get lost in text.

The P&W response to Haggis' addition of the "Penny" retort could have come off more complimentary than it did if, in fact, they felt like complimenting him. It doesn't seem like they did.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not completely judging them for that either. You are right that there would naturally be a sensitive nerve. Being a semi-pro musician, I often find it hard embrace suggestions that mean to 'improve' a part I already had written.

[dinovelvet]

I think this is an historic moment: the first ever piece of news about the content of the JINX script. Not that "a fairly down-to-earth espionage picture" tells us all that much (although it indicates that the screenplay was, staggeringly enough, closer to that of CASINO ROYALE than to that of DIE ANOTHER DAY), but it's a veritable torrent of information compared to the previous total silence from all quarters (even from the uninformed rumour mongerers of fandom).

Considering how close the completed JINX script came to being filmed (with Stephen Frears directing, which suggests a perhaps surprising level of quality about the project), and considering how voracious us Bond fans are for info, it's odd that next to no details have been unearthed about this enterprise, this effective lost Bond film sans Bond.

Yes this interview certainly puts a whole new spin on the Jinx project, with a tantalizing mention that it was a down-to-earth, gritty espionage project. The assumption up until now was that it would be something like DIE ANOTHER DAY meets TOMB RAIDER with a bit of CHARLIE'S ANGELS thrown in, and it seems that wasn't the case at all. I wonder if the script, or even a plot summary, will ever surface. There's the possibility that EON have clamped down on anyone talking about it because they may want to use some of the plot and/or action sequences in a future Bond film. Who knows - maybe JINX featured a parkour scene and a collapsing Venice palazzo. As it stands, this script is something of a holy grail of Bond-dom.

[dinovelvet]

their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though

That P&W originally came to Eon's attention after writing the boat chase as a sort of pitch to show what they could do with Bond?

That one. From what I've been told.

I don't know about that - the boat chase isn't even in the first draft. Bond uses a jetpack to chase after the cigar girl.

[ACE]

their boat chase scene was making the rounds a little earlier though

That P&W originally came to Eon's attention after writing the boat chase as a sort of pitch to show what they could do with Bond?

That one. From what I've been told.

I don't know about that - the boat chase isn't even in the first draft. Bond uses a jetpack to chase after the cigar girl.

Yes, but there was a chase down the Thames (even if it is not a boat chase per se) in the first draft.

How Neal Purvis and Robert Wade got the James Bond writing gig is explained in great detail in The World Is Not Enough Companion by Iain Johnstone
and
Story And Character - Interviews With British Screenwriters by Alistair Owen

It seems their script of Plunkett And Macleane was read by Danjaq development executive Simon Matthew who brought the pair to the attention of MGW and BB. In November 1997, they had a first initial meeting where they were asked what Bond could do next. P&W returned a couple of weeks later with a list of ideas and titles which were critiqued by MGW and BB and an MGM/UA executive (Jeff Kleeman?). They were then asked if they would write in the US from January 1998. Remember, MGW and BB (who was inspired to use the Caspian Sea oil setting after having seen an ABC Nightline documentary on the region on a plane in December 1997) have enormous input on the script. There is also a store of unused ideas from previous scripts which also comes into play. TWINE features significant (but recontextualized) contributions from Michael France's original GoldenEye script.

I agree, the excellent Her Majesty's Secret Servant interview does unearth unknown facts about the fascinating Jinx project and CR itself. Historically, the Jinx project in the Bond canon was a very interesting cul-de-sac. I'd love to know who conducted the interview and when.

[Loomis]

I think this is an historic moment: the first ever piece of news about the content of the JINX script. Not that "a fairly down-to-earth espionage picture" tells us all that much (although it indicates that the screenplay was, staggeringly enough, closer to that of CASINO ROYALE than to that of DIE ANOTHER DAY), but it's a veritable torrent of information compared to the previous total silence from all quarters (even from the uninformed rumour mongerers of fandom).

Considering how close the completed JINX script came to being filmed (with Stephen Frears directing, which suggests a perhaps surprising level of quality about the project), and considering how voracious us Bond fans are for info, it's odd that next to no details have been unearthed about this enterprise, this effective lost Bond film sans Bond.

Yes this interview certainly puts a whole new spin on the Jinx project, with a tantalizing mention that it was a down-to-earth, gritty espionage project. The assumption up until now was that it would be something like DIE ANOTHER DAY meets TOMB RAIDER with a bit of CHARLIE'S ANGELS thrown in, and it seems that wasn't the case at all. I wonder if the script, or even a plot summary, will ever surface. There's the possibility that EON have clamped down on anyone talking about it because they may want to use some of the plot and/or action sequences in a future Bond film.

Or perhaps it'll serve as the building blocks for a spinoff featuring the leading lady of BOND 22. I'm not being flippant - I get the feeling that JINX was commissioned not so much because Eon felt Berry's character was absolutely amazing, but because they'd long wanted to make a spinoff with a female lead and Jinx provided an adequate opportunity (and a bankable star). I gather that a Wai Lin film was considered in the wake of TOMORROW NEVER DIES, and it may be that there were even shortlived plans for a Christmas Jones movie. Okay, you're laughing, but Denise Richards was a reasonably big name, while her character in TWINE dresses vaguely like Lara Croft, and you can't tell me that there isn't scope for an action/adventure series about a globetrotting physicist (think distaff Indiana Jones - hey, she's even got the surname!) who's always trying to render nukes safe while various shady organisations are always trying to grab them and sell them to terrorists. Heck, with P&W apparently in "gritty, realistic espionage" mode for the past few years, CHRISTMAS JONES in 2000 or 2001 could actually have stolen a march on THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. Here's the teaser trailer:

A terrorist training camp. Two shady-looking men in suits are led past a group practising firing assault rifles and into a tent.

Inside the tent, someone brushes sand away, revealing a trap door. This is opened and the men are led down some steps.

The men watch as a crate is opened in the underground lair. It's a nuke.

TERRORIST: This is what you ordered, yes?

BUSINESSMAN: It is. But not all we ordered.

TERRORIST: I know. There's more. I believe we've delivered on our promise, gentlemen.

More crates are opened. More nukes. Loads and loads of 'em.

BUSINESSMAN: Wow. Looks like Christmas is here already for us.

At which point Christmas Jones (for it is she) bursts out of a crate, aiming a machine gun at the bad guys.

CHRISTMAS JONES: You got that right!

[ACE]

Would Jack Wade pop up and holler, "Hey, Chrimbo?"

[stromberg]

Or perhaps it'll serve as the building blocks for a spinoff featuring the leading lady of BOND 22. I'm not being flippant - I get the feeling that JINX was commissioned not so much because Eon felt Berry's character was absolutely amazing, but because they'd long wanted to make a spinoff with a female lead and Jinx provided an adequate opportunity (and a bankable star). I gather that a Wai Lin film was considered in the wake of TOMORROW NEVER DIES, and it may be that there were even shortlived plans for a Christmas Jones movie. Okay, you're laughing, but Denise Richards was a reasonably big name, while her character in TWINE dresses vaguely like Lara Croft, and you can't tell me that there isn't scope for an action/adventure series about a globetrotting physicist (think distaff Indiana Jones - hey, she's even got the surname!) who's always trying to render nukes safe while various shady organisations are always trying to grab them and sell them to terrorists. Heck, with P&W apparently in "gritty, realistic espionage" mode for the past few years, CHRISTMAS JONES in 2000 or 2001 could actually have stolen a march on THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. Here's the teaser trailer:

A terrorist training camp. Two shady-looking men in suits are led past a group practising firing assault rifles and into a tent.

Inside the tent, someone brushes sand away, revealing a trap door. This is opened and the men are led down some steps.

The men watch as a crate is opened in the underground lair. It's a nuke.

TERRORIST: This is what you ordered, yes?

BUSINESSMAN: It is. But not all we ordered.

TERRORIST: I know. There's more. I believe we've delivered on our promise, gentlemen.

More crates are opened. More nukes. Loads and loads of 'em.

BUSINESSMAN: Wow. Looks like Christmas is here already for us.

At which point Christmas Jones (for it is she) bursts out of a crate, aiming a machine gun at the bad guys.

CHRISTMAS JONES: You got that right!

***shudders***

The worst thing about this: I know you're being dead serious

[DaveBond21]

Interesting interview.

It was interesting that they thought M was a different person, when Judi Dench said it was the same character.