15 replies to this topic

[Vanya86]

Just a few rough ideas I've put together using unused titles and story elements from Fleming.

Property of a Lady
To start with this is my favourite of the unused Fleming titles and I think elements of story have potential. The Fabergé Egg and Sotheby's side of the plot was used in Octopussy, but the idea of using the sale of antiques to pay off a double agent hasn't. Given that Quantum's money supply was shown to be tainted in QoS and the organisation has a number of double agents on their payroll this is certainly something they could play with.

The Spy Who Loved Me
With the exception of a steel-toothed villain the plot was completely unused in the film of the same name. Unused, but unusable? I would say no. With a little tweak to the story Vivienne Michael is taken hostage by two operatives working for Quantum and Bond arrives tracking them. I'd like it if Vivienne could be kept on as lead Bond girl and Horowitz and Morant could stay around as henchmen to the main villain.
And I am aware of the original terms of sale for the book rights, but it's fun to speculate.

The Hildebrand Rarity
A bit trickier, especially since Milton Crest was used in Licence to Kill. The Seychelles is still a nice setting and Bond could certainly meet a marine biologist there who is definitely not Milton Crest. Although rather than a fish, I was thinking that the Hildebrand Rarity could be some form of antique in his possession, tying the plot with my Property of a Lady idea.

Live and Let Die
Again, mostly already used, but the villains financing operations through the smuggling of gold coins does tie in with PoaL ideas too. 'Mr Big' could be seen as Quantum's replacement for Le Chiffre. I've also been considering something happening to Felix, obviously not a shark mauling, but something serious enough to put him in the hospital.

From a View to a Kill
Another unused plot. The theft of information is pretty relevant today and I'm sure they could do something with the ideas of dispatch bikers.

You Only Live Twice
The Garden of Death could make an exciting climax, and Shatterhand (Blofeld's alias) could work as the main villain, and in fact the title.

Moonraker
A lot of plot points have been used in the films of Moonraker and Die Another Day, but many of the characters (Gala Brand, Ronnie Vallance, Willy Krebs) and the actual missile have not. It could work, Quantum are supplying a terrorist organisation or rogue state with materials and personnel to build an offensive missile. And within the context of the film the character of Krebs could easily be upgraded to lead villain.

There are others, such as a showdown in a reconstruction Wild West town (Diamonds are Forever), fighting a giant squid (Dr. No) and Bond saving the worlds sugar (The Man with The Golden Gun) which we'll never see and I think is for the best.

So, which ones have have potential for Bond 23?

Edited by Vanya86, 11 November 2008 - 01:54 AM.

[d21089]

I'd like to see The Man with the Golden Gun brainwashing somewhere along the line

[tdalton]

I'd like to see The Man with the Golden Gun brainwashing somewhere along the line

I would like to see that as well.

I also think that all of the elements in the original post in the thread could be used to make great Bond films at some point down the line, especially Fleming's The Spy Who Loved Me (I think that the story would work very well as a pre-title sequence) and the unused elements of You Only Live Twice.

[Quantumofsolace007]

Just a few rough ideas I've put together using unused titles and story elements from Fleming.

Property of a Lady
To start with this is my favourite of the unused Fleming titles and I think elements of story have potential. The Fabergé Egg and Sotheby's side of the plot was used in Octopussy, but the idea of using the sale of antiques to pay off a double agent hasn't. Given that Quantum's money supply was shown to be tainted in QoS and the organisation has a number of double agents on their payroll this is certainly something they could play with.

The Spy Who Loved Me
With the exception of a steel-toothed villain the plot was completely unused in the film of the same name. Unused, but unusable? I would say no. With a little tweak to the story Vivienne Michael is taken hostage by two operatives working for Quantum and Bond arrives tracking them. I'd like it if Vivienne could be kept on as lead Bond girl and Horowitz and Morant could stay around as henchmen to the main villain.
And I am aware of the original terms of sale for the book rights, but it's fun to speculate.

The Hildebrand Rarity
A bit trickier, especially since Milton Crest was used in Licence to Kill. The Seychelles is still a nice setting and Bond could certainly meet a marine biologist there who is definitely not Milton Crest. Although rather than a fish, I was thinking that the Hildebrand Rarity could be some form of antique in his possession, tying the plot with my Property of a Lady idea.

Live and Let Die
Again, mostly already used, but the villains financing operations through the smuggling of gold coins does tie in with PoaL ideas too. 'Mr Big' could be seen as Quantum's replacement for Le Chiffre. I've also been considering something happening to Felix, obviously not a shark mauling, but something serious enough to put him in the hospital.

From a View to a Kill
Another unused plot. The theft of information is pretty relevant today and I'm sure they could do something with the ideas of dispatch bikers.

You Only Live Twice
The Garden of Death could make an exciting climax, and Shatterhand (Blofeld's alias) could work as the main villain, and in fact the title.

There are others, such as a showdown in a reconstruction Wild West town (Diamonds are Forever), fighting a giant squid (Dr. No) and Bond saving the worlds sugar (The Man with The Golden Gun) which we'll never see and I think is for the best.

So, which ones have have potential for Bond 23?

a couple your missing


The Hildebrand Rarity
Fleming states the reason Bond is there to check on the secruity measures of a possible base being built there. I think This line alone could be devloped quite nicely into a plot



Apart from that there are a few locations Like Rome and Northern England that have been unsued

Character names Like Gala Brand, Fidel Barbery, and Phillip Masters.


that's all i can think of now.

[Mr Twilight]

This thing have been up for discussion earlier and I say now as i said before: YES! I love the ideas. YOLT is my favorite book and I would LOVE to see it on screen. It has potential to be a superb movie.

[Roebuck]

The Spy Who Loved Me
With the exception of a steel-toothed villain the plot was completely unused in the film of the same name. Unused, but unusable? I would say no. With a little tweak to the story Vivienne Michael is taken hostage by two operatives working for Quantum and Bond arrives tracking them. I'd like it if Vivienne could be kept on as lead Bond girl and Horowitz and Morant could stay around as henchmen to the main villain. And I am aware of the original terms of sale for the book rights, but it's fun to speculate.

About the only recyclable element would be

Spoiler

Bond’s shoot out with the thugs in the burning hotel,

and that’s already been covered.

[Scrambled Eggs]

Of those, the only one I would really love to see is The Garden Of Death.

Also, the ending of YOLT could be used. An amnesiac Bond setting off into the unknown after a word in a newspaper sparks something.

In fact, it wouldnt be that hard to just film YOLT properly whilst changing a few names and things.

One other thing, perhaps not something Fleming intended, but Kingsley Amis thought that Scaramanga could have a bit of a man crush on Bond. That could work.

So, here's the movie:

Bond is sent to Japan to help the Japanese secret service track down a contract killer, codenamed Risico. Bond befriends Risico (played by, erm... Clive Owen?) who starts getting a bit over familiar. Risico learns Bond's true identity but after a series of not at all jason Bournelike action sequences Bond escapes and at some point teams up with a Japanese agent who may or may not be named Tiger Tanaka and a hot Japanese chick (Zhang Ziyi annoying her homeland once more).
Bond discovers that Risico is employed by Quantum whose head honcho lives in a castle on an island, in his backyard he has all sorts of exotic killer plants and things.
Bond sorts Quantum out once and for all after random tortures, explosions and things but loses his memory. Camille, stil searching for a purpose in life, sets up home with James on an island. M publishes his obit and pours her heart out to new secretary Miss Moneypenny. Bond, after horrific flashbacks, has his memory jogged and Camille agrees to allow him to head off in a boat to rediscover who he is....

[Sir James Moloney]

YOLT has many angles to explore. The Garden of Death and the Japan angle would bode well with Daniel´s Bond and that final battle with the baloon escape would be awesome. The trainig and preparation for the island raid would also be a nice touch. Fleming had a couple of these preparations for battle in the books but we´ve never seen it on film. Bond, on a beach, running, swimming, St. Jorge preparing to slay the dragon. THAT would be cool

Edited by Sir James Moloney, 10 November 2008 - 08:46 PM.

[Vanya86]

I'd like to see The Man with the Golden Gun brainwashing somewhere along the line

It's an interesting thought but potentially quite tricky, brainwashing is bordering a little on the sci-fi. I do see the dramatic potential, but it would only really work with another case of one film being a direct continuation of the previous one. Bond disappears at the end of one film and then re-emerges at the beginning of the next and attempts to kill M.

I also think that all of the elements in the original post in the thread could be used to make great Bond films at some point down the line, especially Fleming's The Spy Who Loved Me (I think that the story would work very well as a pre-title sequence)

I was thinking more act 1. Bond talks about a mission involving an assassination attempt on a defector, which I think could form the basis of the pre-title sequence. Following these events he ends up at the motel tracking the Quantum operatives (Horowitz and Morant).

The Hildebrand Rarity
Fleming states the reason Bond is there to check on the secruity measures of a possible base being built there. I think This line alone could be devloped quite nicely into a plot

I'm not so sure, it does seem pretty low level work for Bond to be doing given the events of the last two films. And I'm pretty sure in the book Bond was there on holiday, although I don't have a copy to hand so I can't verify that.

About the only recyclable element would be

Spoiler

Bond’s shoot out with the thugs in the burning hotel,

and that’s already been covered.

I disagree. I think that Vivienne Michael has potential as a Bond girl (just give her a good reason to stay with Bond) and Horowitz and Morant could work as hired killers (as long as they act a little more professionally, given that they were just goons in the novel). The basic set up of the novel could serve as the first act of the next film, acting as a set up for the main plot and villains. As you said,

Spoiler

a shoot out in a burning hotel(although why anyone is discussing Bond 23 when they haven't seen 22 is a mystery to me)

has just been done but there's much more to be taken from the book and other ways to resolve it.

Of those, the only one I would really love to see is The Garden Of Death.

Also, the ending of YOLT could be used. An amnesiac Bond setting off into the unknown after a word in a newspaper sparks something.

In fact, it wouldnt be that hard to just film YOLT properly whilst changing a few names and things.

One other thing, perhaps not something Fleming intended, but Kingsley Amis thought that Scaramanga could have a bit of a man crush on Bond. That could work.

So, here's the movie:

As I said before, the only way the amnesia/brainwashing plot would work is with a two film story ark, and since this has just been done then it's maybe best not to do it again so quickly.
I'd say the biggest problem I have is that YOLT dealt with the death of Blofeld and SPECTRE, I don't think they should be getting rid of Quantum just yet. We need at least one film to get to know the boss (Shatterhand?) before we get to that stage. Also, you seem to have restricted the action a bit to one country.
You have some good ideas, but maybe now isn't the best time to use them. Maybe a film or two down the line.

And finally, my brining together of a few of the ideas I've been throwing round. This is how I envisage Bond 23:

Property of a Lady
Pre Title Sequence: A Quantum member has come to the CIA with information. Felix Leiter has been charged with the defectors security and has enlisted Bond's to aid in the transfer to a safe house in Montreal. However the operation has been compromised, the defector is killed and the Quantum hit men escape.

Plot: The two escaped Quantum operatives, Horowitz and Morant arrive at an isolated motel in French Canada where they take the owner Vivienne Michael hostage while they secure the area for a rendezvous with their superiors.

Meanwhile Bond and Leiter are debriefed on the mission's failure, Bond follows a lead and head's north.

Horowitz and Morant are joined in the motel by two more Quantum members, Maria, a double agent, who provided them with details of the opening operation, and her mysterious handler Mr. Sanguinetti. The defector was going to use his knowledge of Quantum's operations in Indonesia and it's deal with local terrorist cells to buy his freedom, but the leak has been dealt with. The next stage of the operation is discussed. Believing Quantum's money supply to be tainted Maria has demanded payment in the form of a valuable antique, The Hildebrand Rarity(a mermaid statue made by a German artist, it is the only surviving piece from a set), currently in the possession of a wealthy marine biologist based in the Seychelles who is on Quantum's payroll. The double agent and her handler leave for Indonesia (meeting Mr White along the way) while Horowitz and Morant are ordered to lie low and wait for further instructions.

Bond arrives at the motel and is able to identify the hit men. He takes note of Vivienne's cries for help and ultimately saves her, but in doing so allows Horowitz and Morant to escape, but believing that Bond and Vivienne are dead.
Bond then travels to Seychelles to recover the statue, and then onto Indonesia with Vivienne in tow. He plans to use the antique to draw out the double agent and Vivienne is the only person who can identify her......

Congratulations on making it to the end. Thoughts and comments are well received.

[Roebuck]

About the only recyclable element would be

Spoiler

Bond’s shoot out with the thugs in the burning hotel,

and that’s already been covered.

I disagree. I think that Vivienne Michael has potential as a Bond girl (just give her a good reason to stay with Bond) and Horowitz and Morant could work as hired killers (as long as they act a little more professionally, given that they were just goons in the novel). The basic set up of the novel could serve as the first act of the next film, acting as a set up for the main plot and villains. As you said,

Spoiler

a shoot out in a burning hotel(although why anyone is discussing Bond 23 when they haven't seen 22 is a mystery to me)

has just been done but there's much more to be taken from the book and other ways to resolve it.

Vivienne’s back-story is what elevates her from the usual damsel in distress. It’s frankly too convoluted to be worth weaving into the plot of a Bond movie(although you can argue the punting couple in FRWL is a homage).

Have you considered adding Moonraker to your list? Bond’s imagined assault on the missile silo could perhaps be worked up into something.

[Vanya86]

Vivienne’s back-story is what elevates her from the usual damsel in distress. It’s frankly too convoluted to be worth weaving into the plot of a Bond movie(although you can argue the punting couple in FRWL is a homage).

Have you considered adding Moonraker to your list? Bond’s imagined assault on the missile silo could perhaps be worked up into something.

I think a character like Vivienne would be a refreshing change of pace. The majority of Bond girls of recent years have been fellow agents, or at least been in the 'community'. In contrast she's a civilian, a perfectly ordinary person who gets caught up in Bond's world. Obviously bits and pieces of her background can be worked in, but that's the angle to approach the character from.

Moonraker is an odd one. A lot of plot points have been used in the films Moonraker and Die Another Day, but many of the characters (Gala Brand, Ronnie Vallance, Willy Krebs) and the actual missile have not. It could work, Quantum are supplying a terrorist organisation or rogue state with materials and personnel to build an offensive missile. And within the context of the film the character of Krebs could easily be upgraded to lead villain. I'll go back and edit this into my original post.

I don't want to turn this into a casting thread, but I came across this guy and he's more or less exactly how pictured Krebs. The actor in question is Jackie Earle Haley, a great actor, Oscar nominee and will next be seen staring in Watchmen. He has the potential to be an interesting Bond villain.

And while we're on the subject (I know what I said), I'd like to see the beautiful and talented French Canadian actress Caroline Dhavernas as Vivienne Michael.

[Gri007]

I have always been fond of seeing a villian with a stingray fish stuffed down his throat a rather iconic ima ge for a Bond film. Could be on par with the Golden Girl image

[Quantumofsolace007]

I have always been fond of seeing a villian with a stingray fish stuffed down his throat a rather iconic ima ge for a Bond film. Could be on par with the Golden Girl image

Agreed.

A couple of points


1 while bond checking out if a base is secure seems lowlevel if u combine it with From a view to a kill's short story you have something like this


After an agent carrying plans to build a military bases is killed in a hit and run. Bond enters the scene to see what's really going on.


u can do the same thing combining unused bits of live and let die and Property of a lady.

Edited by Quantumofsolace007, 14 November 2008 - 10:24 PM.

[JB007VesTrace]

This is how I envisage Bond 23:

Property of a Lady
Pre Title Sequence: A Quantum member has come to the CIA with information. Felix Leiter has been charged with the defectors security and has enlisted Bond's to aid in the transfer to a safe house in Montreal. However the operation has been compromised, the defector is killed and the Quantum hit men escape.

Plot: The two escaped Quantum operatives, Horowitz and Morant arrive at an isolated motel in French Canada where they take the owner Vivienne Michael hostage while they secure the area for a rendezvous with their superiors.

Meanwhile Bond and Leiter are debriefed on the mission's failure, Bond follows a lead and head's north.

Horowitz and Morant are joined in the motel by two more Quantum members, Maria, a double agent, who provided them with details of the opening operation, and her mysterious handler Mr. Sanguinetti. The defector was going to use his knowledge of Quantum's operations in Indonesia and it's deal with local terrorist cells to buy his freedom, but the leak has been dealt with. The next stage of the operation is discussed. Believing Quantum's money supply to be tainted Maria has demanded payment in the form of a valuable antique, The Hildebrand Rarity(a mermaid statue made by a German artist, it is the only surviving piece from a set), currently in the possession of a wealthy marine biologist based in the Seychelles who is on Quantum's payroll. The double agent and her handler leave for Indonesia (meeting Mr White along the way) while Horowitz and Morant are ordered to lie low and wait for further instructions.

Bond arrives at the motel and is able to identify the hit men. He takes note of Vivienne's cries for help and ultimately saves her, but in doing so allows Horowitz and Morant to escape, but believing that Bond and Vivienne are dead.
Bond then travels to Seychelles to recover the statue, and then onto Indonesia with Vivienne in tow. He plans to use the antique to draw out the double agent and Vivienne is the only person who can identify her......

Congratulations on making it to the end. Thoughts and comments are well received.

I would love to see this if this movie were to be made!!!

Edited by JB007VesTrace, 15 November 2008 - 06:52 AM.

[Vanya86]

I have always been fond of seeing a villian with a stingray fish stuffed down his throat a rather iconic ima ge for a Bond film. Could be on par with the Golden Girl image

Death by fish has potential, but I doubt it will ever rival the 'golden girl'. The death of a middle aged wife beater can never have the same impact as the death a pretty girl.
But they should keep it in mind for the future.

while bond checking out if a base is secure seems lowlevel if u combine it with From a view to a kill's short story you have something like this

After an agent carrying plans to build a military bases is killed in a hit and run. Bond enters the scene to see what's really going on.

u can do the same thing combining unused bits of live and let die and Property of a lady.

That could work, Bond investigating a mysterious death or a security breach could certainly justify his presence.

However, I think I pretty much covered PoaL and LaLD in my first post. I suppose you could combine them, but I prefer to peruse Property of a Lady separately.

I would love to see this if this movie were to be made!!!

Thanks very much, all it needs now now and ending.

[MR. BOND 93]

You Only Live Twice
The Garden of Death could make an exciting climax, and Shatterhand (Blofeld's alias) could work as the main villain, and in fact the title.

Moonraker
A lot of plot points have been used in the films of Moonraker and Die Another Day, but many of the characters (Gala Brand, Ronnie Vallance, Willy Krebs) and the actual missile have not. It could work, Quantum are supplying a terrorist organisation or rogue state with materials and personnel to build an offensive missile. And within the context of the film the character of Krebs could easily be upgraded to lead villain.


So, which ones have have potential for Bond 23?

I like these two.