1531 replies to this topic

[terminus]

Would it be possible, perhaps, for 'Sebastian' to be one of the New York hoodlums in the pre-titles sequence? It would mean his gangster past is taken into account and it would give him prior screen-time before his eventual reappearance in Chicago - of course, the fact that Bond recognises him would be one of the reasons to doubt who he is. Perhaps Bond doesn't see 'Damien Blanc' until he gets brought into the room and tells the FBI/CIA and 008 that the person they have in custody isn't the person they're looking for - 'Maybe not,' says the FBI/CIA operative replacing Felix, 'But he's the best lead we've got'.

It would, however, set him up as involved in gun running and involved with the Casamance rebels.

[tdalton]

Would it be possible, perhaps, for 'Sebastian' to be one of the New York hoodlums in the pre-titles sequence? It would mean his gangster past is taken into account and it would give him prior screen-time before his eventual reappearance in Chicago - of course, the fact that Bond recognises him would be one of the reasons to doubt who he is. Perhaps Bond doesn't see 'Damien Blanc' until he gets brought into the room and tells the FBI/CIA and 008 that the person they have in custody isn't the person they're looking for - 'Maybe not,' says the FBI/CIA operative replacing Felix, 'But he's the best lead we've got'.

It would, however, set him up as involved in gun running and involved with the Casamance rebels.

That's fine with me, although I still wonder if it's enough screen time to establish him as the supposed villain. I think taking that idea and coupling it with a scene or two later on in the first half of the film with Woods' character doing something villainous would go a long way towards accomplishing what I think it is that we both want to see happen with the character.

My thinking all along, and I think it got lost a bit early on because I didn't really put it out there but kind of took it for granted as having already been a part of the collective thought process, was that Quinn is thought to be the henchman of the piece, with her appearance at the Oak Ridge facility being her equivalent of one of Bond's early-film battles with the likes of Jaws or whoever (although on a much heightened scale, as I think that sequence would be much more intense than any of those sequences were it actually put on film). Then, with "Blanc" taking up the usual screen time for a villain in the first half of the story, his reveal later as a fraud is shocking both because he's established to the audience as the villain, but also since there's such a huge star in the role that it would be unthinkable that he has no real control of anything that is going on. That then makes way into Quinn being the actual villain, and Marcus being the henchman of the piece.

[terminus]

I think if we remove the piece in the scenes with Mr White juxtaposed with Bond's return to MI6 wherein Mr White says 'I believe we need the services of Monsieur Blanc' - and if we don't show who he's speaking to, it would possibly work, especially if we never referred to him in the PTS by a name. I think giving the character TOO MUCH to do in the first half of the movie would proove as likely to upset the audience as not giving him anything to do - and then letting Quinn loose in the first half of the movie, as you have suggested, playing the 'henchman' role before being revealed c. Chicago that she is the one in charge and that she was the one that Mr White was speaking to, would amplify that idea.

[tdalton]

I think if we remove the piece in the scenes with Mr White juxtaposed with Bond's return to MI6 wherein Mr White says 'I believe we need the services of Monsieur Blanc' - and if we don't show who he's speaking to, it would possibly work, especially if we never referred to him in the PTS by a name. I think giving the character TOO MUCH to do in the first half of the movie would proove as likely to upset the audience as not giving him anything to do - and then letting Quinn loose in the first half of the movie, as you have suggested, playing the 'henchman' role before being revealed c. Chicago that she is the one in charge and that she was the one that Mr White was speaking to, would amplify that idea.

I agree, although what I'm suggesting isn't something where he gets much more to do than he already does. Maybe we just get a shot of him eliminating someone or maybe we see a part of a conversation between him and Quinn that is presented to the audience as making Woods' character in charge (perhaps they're discussing the kidnap attempt on Mercedes at Oak Ridge) when he actually isn't. I think having Blanc discussing the kidnap with Quinn could lend to the idea that he's in charge early in the film without giving him too much to do.

Whatever is decided at this point, I'm fine with. The character is really more the product of the group at this point anyway, so I think that, after having stated my case for what should or shouldn't happen to the character, that the group really should decide his ultimate use within the story. Going forward, I think I might just stick with the Goodnight and Quinn characters and let everyone else have at it on the proforma. I do have some ideas for UB27, but I really need to re-evaluate them to ensure that they don't complicate things in a similar way that they currently are in this treatment. I don't think they will, but I also didn't think I'd muddle up this particular project as much as I did either, so I'm going to have to re-evaluate those suggestions before I consider submitting them. I do have, however, clear arcs in mind for Goodnight and Quinn that I hope to integrate into UB27 and UB28 if they turn out to be good fits for the project.

[terminus]

With that said, I'll try and redraft chrisno1's outline for presentation as the final product tonight - we just need an agreement on a title, though!

And then I can post the altered UB27 proforma tomorrow.

[coco1997]

I'm pretty fine with "KALEIDOSCOPE".

[terminus]

Any other votes on the title?

[coco1997]

I think the fact that three of us back the title (you, chrisno and myself) should count for something, since I don't think anyone agreed on any title earlier on.

[tdalton]

Any other votes on the title?

I'll cast my vote for terminus' earlier suggestion of RISICO.

[terminus]

So I'm guessing it's a toss-up between Kaleidoscope and Risico atm.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I'm still going with WhiteFire, even if it is a futile gesture, at this point...

By the way, it was a topless bar, not just a bar; also, for some strange reason, I was imagining it as a reenactment of the AVTAK titles (sans skiing, of course), complete with garish colours to distract Bond.

Also, how about a momentous reveal for a certain character (either Marcus, Sebastian, Mr. White, Quinn, etc.), along the lines of this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-MXlqC8YeE

[terminus]

Will make the changes to the bar to describe it as you've mentioned it. In my draft I had a singer singinging the movie's themetune, so the scene was an homage to LALD.

[The Shark]

Who's the cinematographer/DP and editor for this, or haven't we chosen them yet?

[SamuelKevlar]

I'd go with Kaleidoscope for this one.

[terminus]

Who's the cinematographer/DP and editor for this, or haven't we chosen them yet?

Kar Wai Wong is director, I believe.

[chrisno1]

Sorry, I've been at work this afternoon and evening and missed all this conversation.
Terminus, I hope you haven't finished your draft yet!
I think tdalton has hit it on the head when he says the original idea for the Sebastian character hasc hanged beyond recognition from his original outline. If we try to fiddle with it now, by giving him more scenes etc, we'll just create more problems for the synopsis.

If Sebastian / Blanc appears in the PTS, Bond will already know him and the interrogation scene will need a different slant. Of course, this could have benefits but it will involve another re-write of some length. It would also mean the Goodnight character becomes almost defunct to the scenarion, so we really ought to remove her, which I'm not sure you guys would want as you seem to be building her regularly into the ongoing saga.

I'd vote for a cast change. It is the simplest and most effective way of bringing the scenario to a conclusion. James Woods is a great actor who would make a great villain, but he needs a wider background than this cameo. We could just give it to any old soak, how about GORDON CLAPP, who played the neurotic Medavoy on NYPD Blue? He'd make a nervous actor!

Chris

[tdalton]

Also, how about a momentous reveal for a certain character (either Marcus, Sebastian, Mr. White, Quinn, etc.), along the lines of this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-MXlqC8YeE

I really like the look of the scene in that video, Mr. Blofeld, and I like the idea of doing a reveal like that for a character if possible. Also, I've got an idea for a scene in the next project that would take place in a place that looks similar to that kind of setting (but without the music and the lady in the window), and I think that a similar reveal could be in store for that scene as well (hopefully a slot will still be open in the proforma for the creation of the character once the sequence is written in).

[terminus]

Nope - not finished it yet. Was struggling to make the changes I wanted to, actually.

[tdalton]

Sorry, I've been at work this afternoon and evening and missed all this conversation.
Terminus, I hope you haven't finished your draft yet!
I think tdalton has hit it on the head when he says the original idea for the Sebastian character hasc hanged beyond recognition from his original outline. If we try to fiddle with it now, by giving him more scenes etc, we'll just create more problems for the synopsis.

If Sebastian / Blanc appears in the PTS, Bond will already know him and the interrogation scene will need a different slant. Of course, this could have benefits but it will involve another re-write of some length. It would also mean the Goodnight character becomes almost defunct to the scenarion, so we really ought to remove her, which I'm not sure you guys would want as you seem to be building her regularly into the ongoing saga.

I'd vote for a cast change. It is the simplest and most effective way of bringing the scenario to a conclusion. James Woods is a great actor who would make a great villain, but he needs a wider background than this cameo. We could just give it to any old soak, how about GORDON CLAPP, who played the neurotic Medavoy on NYPD Blue? He'd make a nervous actor!

Chris

Pretty much agreed. I think the character could be salvaged to some degree of his original form if he's given a scene or two earlier in the film, but I think that recasting is a way to go as well. I had in mind a villain for either UB27 or UB28 that perhaps James Woods could be saved for, which would be a bigger part. I also think that, in keeping with the type of character that Sebastian/Blanc was supposed to be once the character was changed into the form that he is now, someone like Eric Roberts would be a solid replacement for Woods (I was actually going to suggest Roberts for the role I described earlier in this post in UB27 or UB28, so perhaps that could now go to Woods if I'm able to make that selection when the time comes.

Edited by tdalton, 24 October 2010 - 11:18 PM.

[chrisno1]

Eric Roberts is fine. A bit meaty for a small role, but I'll go with it.

[tdalton]

Eric Roberts is fine. A bit meaty for a small role, but I'll go with it.

I was thinking mainly of an actor who could combine a whole bunch of different elements simply into his persona without having to have much screen time to get that done. Looking at the types of characters that Roberts has played lately (namely his turn in THE DARK KNIGHT), he brings the baggage of many of those kinds of roles to the project, so he's got that already built in in a way that would allow for him to have that presence without having to have much screen time. Also, he's a lesser known name than James Woods, so it's not a case of having a big star come in for what basically amounts to a cameo. It's a small role (as it currently stands) that would be more in line with his part in THE DARK KNIGHT, wherein he plays a (somewhat) important part without having a ton of screen time.

[chrisno1]

I get your drift, and you're right about Mr. Roberts in THE DARK KNIGHT, I guess I'm looking at it from the POV of the role becoming reduced and (effectively) altered. Esp if we stick with the actor angle and do away with the gangster angle, I don't think we need such a depth of performance.
But I'm happy to go with Roberts; Sebastian was your baby after all.

[tdalton]

I get your drift, and you're right about Mr. Roberts in THE DARK KNIGHT, I guess I'm looking at it from the POV of the role becoming reduced and (effectively) altered. Esp if we stick with the actor angle and do away with the gangster angle, I don't think we need such a depth of performance.
But I'm happy to go with Roberts; Sebastian was your baby after all.

I think that with the casting of Roberts we wouldn't even have to distinguish whether or not the character is an actor, a gangster, or whatever else (I've always seen him as a gangster, but the character has undergone name changes, changes in whether or not he's actually real, etc. to the point that it's certainly possible that different people see him as different things at this point). I think that by casting Roberts, you're letting the audience make up their minds as to what he actually is, which may be a good thing at this point since he's seemingly something different to different people. Based on his work in films such as THE DARK KNIGHT, people might make the leap to thinking the character is a gangster if they want to make that connection, or they may just see him for what the story at this point portrays him as, which is someone posing as Damien Blanc. What the "audience" sees in this case would be completely up to them, although I see the character as having the backstory that I've come up with for him, but that would be something that would be left completely open to interpretation.

[The Shark]

Who's the cinematographer/DP and editor for this, or haven't we chosen them yet?

Kar Wai Wong is director, I believe.

Yes, Kar Wai Wong is the director. Don Davis is the composer - But who is the cinematographer and editor?

[terminus]

Don't think we've been putting them into the proforma. I can add the field for the next round if you want?

[Mr. Blofeld]

But who is the cinematographer and editor?

Christopher Doyle and William Chang; they're his usual collaborators in those spots.

[coco1997]

Eric Roberts is a great idea. Loved him in "The Dark Knight".

[terminus]

And he was The Master too! Hurrah!

[terminus]

Well - this ought to be the final version of the treatment. I've put THR into the '007 WILL RETURN' section as I really do want to push it as the title of the next installment - and then I will post the proforma for UB27 later tonight.

NEW YORK CITY

The gun barrel opens in New York City, in a gambling den & burlesque club located in an abandoned subway junction. James Bond has infiltrated a meeting between a group of Russian underworld thugs and Senegalese rebels. Their leader is addressed, but not seen, as General Ndene. The rebels are planning to purchase weapons from the thugs and have brought a case load of Senegalese diamonds. Bond is assisted by a burlesque dancer called Rusty (who is a CIA mole) but his identity is uncovered via an anonymous picture text sent simultaneously to the thugs and the rebels - from their friend, Monsieur Blanc. The deal is temporarily halted and Bond is forced to drink a spiked cocktail. Rusty uses her burlesque act as camouflage to help Bond escape. There is a gun battle and Bond is shot. He makes it to the subway and collapses in a pool of blood.

The camera centres above, looking directly at Bond's body at 90 degrees; it begins to spin as it descends. With each revolution becoming more violent, it now resembles a rotating board from a standard circus knife-throwing act. Here this blurred impression begins to morph into Bond wandering through a nightmarish landscape of beautiful and simultaneously hideous women, flowers, giant frogs, scorpions, skulls with roses in their mouths, conch shells and skeletons playing cards--all various morbid, yet colorful imagery, of course derived from the classic Fleming first edition covers...

CB.n PRESENTS

DANIEL CRAIG
as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007

in

CBN MEMBERS'
KALEIDOSCOPE

Ashley Greene
Natalia Paris
Eric Roberts
Melanie Laurent
Jackie Earle Hailey

Dita Von Teese
Michael Rady
Daniel Bruhl

Jeffrey Wright
Emily Blunt
Jesper Christensen

and Timothy Dalton as M
"KALIEDOSCOPE" sung by Pink
"KALIEDOSCOPE" composed by Pink and Don Davis

Titles Designed by RKCR/Y&R + Traktor

Soundtrack by Don Davis

Directed by Kar Wai Wong
Cinematography and Editing by Christopher Doyle and William Chang

Written by Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom & Skip Woods with David Wolstoncroft

As the credits draw to an end, the nightmarish landscape lessens we segue to...

BARCELONA

Bond is recuperating in Barcelona after the events in New York; this is enforced leave and Bond is unable to enjoy it. His attitude changes after a chance meeting with Lucia Rojos, a beautiful salsa dancer, in a cafe. After he saves her from being pick-pocketed, she insists on returning the favour, inviting him to dinner and giving him a dancing lesson. Bond is finally saved from the tedium and boredom of a mundane life. A romance begins and we see the usual montage of local flavour shots and stolen kisses. For the first time since his encounter with Vesper, he ponders leaving the service and living a normal life. Bond visits her apartment in a village outside the city and they make love for the first time on the balcony. Lucia sees his fresh bullet wound and he tells her it is from another time. “Life is a kaleidoscope, James, you have to accept everything in it,” she tells him.

Several weeks (perhaps months) later, Bond has decided to officially tender his resignation from the service and live with Lucia. He has purchased an engagement ring and two tickets on a new rail link between Barcelona and Paris. He intends to propose in Paris on New Years Eve.

Lucia is overjoyed at the trip to Paris (but is unaware that Bond plans to propose to her) and talks about it with her brother, Cesar - a man who she believes is in a mundane profession, but is actually a member of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (commonly known as ETA). The organisation at large is demilitarising, but Cesar’s faction has developed ties with a mysterious paramilitary organisation. Part of these ties includes shipping covert terrorist weapons through Catalonia to the Basque separatists.

Uncomfortable with his faction’s aims, Cesar has made contact with a member of the intelligence community (it would be suggested later, but not stated now, that the contact is Mary Goodnight, this can be done through a phone call where Cesar is obviously speaking to a woman) and arranged for a sample of the weapons to be delivered to Paris, including a briefcase that conceals a remote controlled gun turret. Knowing that he will undoubtedly be watched, Cesar asks his unwitting sister to take charge of the package and convey it to Paris where a friend (the intelligence associate) will pick it up. Lucia agrees, although Bond is suspicious of Cesar, who appears extremely nervous.

Boarding the train in Barcelona, Lucia and Bond believe they are starting a romantic break - unaware that Cesar has been caught. We briefly witness the end of Cesar’s torture and his execution by the ETA faction he represented. The briefcase, the ETA leader comments, must be stopped from reaching Paris or else the weapons shipment channels will be uncovered. Members of the ETA faction set about trying to recover the briefcase by using an armoured truck to derail the train in a pass in the Pyrenees. They board the train. During the ensuing chaos, Bond realises the attack was set-up to retrieve the briefcase. As Bond fights the ETA attack unarmed, killing two men, the stricken carriage’s coupling snaps and slides off the track towards the river below.

As the carriage begins to sink into the water, Bond turns his attention to the rescuing the other passengers. The ETA force seems to disperse. Bond can’t see Lucia, who is trapped in the carriage and he returns to rescue her. When emergency vehicles arrive, divers enter the carriage, but only recover the suitcase device. They surface next to a dinghy and hand the suitcase over to the people in it. We clearly see that the handsome olive skinned man in the dinghy is wearing a man's silver ‘Q’ ear-stud. He speaks on a mobile, re: the briefcase "Yes, sir, the weapon has been recovered - we're in the clear ..."

Due to the events on the train, Bond realises that he can never leave his job behind - and can never live a normal life. So that he doesn't harm Lucia, he must walk out of her life. While she lies being tended to by the emergency service, he dials the number for Universal Exports on his mobile phone.

MI6

Bond enters MI6 H.Q. and demands to be returned to active service; this unending enforced sabbatical must end. M eventually agrees for Bond to be assessed by James Molony, the service's medical officer.

Cleared for field duty, Bond is given a simple mission - to prevent the abduction of Mercedes Baines, a computer programmer of extreme interest, who has been threatened in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

INTERCUT WITH MI6

Mr. White is seen standing in front of a picture window speaking on a phone - outside the window appears to be a lush tropical landscape. In the discussion, he explains that 'Our endeavors in the Far East have proven to be an embarrassment, our finances have been damaged - we need to recoup our losses. One option remains open to us - the services of Monsieur Blanc ...'

As the phone is hung up, the lush tropical landscape changes to a frozen tundra - it becomes clear that we have no idea where we are, that the 'picture window' is a floor to ceiling digital picture frame.

OAK RIDGE

Bond arrives in Oak Ridge at the ORNL where he seeks out Mercedes Baines, a beautiful computer programmer who is working on LEGION, a next level computer system, more advanced than the ORNL's own Jaguar. Mercedes is wearing the 'Spark Suit', a bioelectric garment needed to power the supercomputers developed at Oak Ridge. Bond is impressed with Mercedes knowledge and, despite their frosty encounter, he convinces her to accompany him to a safe house. As they leave, the sprinklers go off and the power is cut; chaos erupts as people flee labs and attempt escape. Bond realizes this is a trap and tries to seek out the threat - which turns out to be a beautiful woman (whom we will come to know as Quinn).

There is a cat and mouse chase through the white walled corridors and tree lined avenues of the campus. Bond uses an electrical burst from the spark suit that Mercedes is wearing to delay “Quinn’s” pursuit. Just as Bond thinks they have escaped in his Lotus Elite, “Quinn” unfolds the covert briefcase (the one from Barcelona), which reveals a high powered long range rifle mounted on a tripod. She shoots the tyres on the Lotus and, out of control, the car crashes. The airbags save both Bond and Mercedes. Campus ambulance teams are quickly on hand, and Bond is separated from Mercedes, who is abducted by “Quinn’s” team.

Bond has a difficult conversation with M via Skype where his suitability for active duty is questioned again. Bond gives a description of “Quinn.” A face recognition scan identifies her, but MI6 has no official details. She is however of interest to the CIA. Bond asks if Felix Leiter is still working for the CIA. “Funny you should ask that, he wants to talk to you – something about LEGION.”

SIERRA NEVADA

Bond and Felix Leiter are in an electro-glider traversing the Sierra Nevada. Leiter has information on Quinn, a French national who, after her rebellious teenage years was sent to a military school to straighten out. After graduation, she enlisted in the armed forces and was deployed to Afghanistan as a part of the US-led operation within that country. She was part of a convoy that was attacked while on a routine mission, was the only one to survive and was taken captive, or never found, and presumed dead by her superiors.

The electro-glider lands at a remote luxury bungalow, positioned on a prominent hillside. As they land Felix mentions it looks like rain. They are here to meet Professor Banks, Mercedes' mentor, who is being held under house arrest. It was Banks who first helped Mercedes work on a method to hack the world's online banking system using LEGION. However, Banks sold this information to Quantum. His contact was man called Monsieur Blanc. Bond and Felix believe the man to be Damien Blanc, the world's foremost cyber-criminal who is on every "Most Wanted" list around the globe.

When Banks heard about the death threats to Mercedes he came to the CIA for protection. Bond got to Mercedes before the CIA. Worse, Banks knows Quantum has constructed a second LEGION computer somewhere in Chicago, but they need Mercedes’ expertise to power it.

During the interview it has started to hammer with rain, a precursor to an electrical storm. This should make a very atmospheric cloying scene as we learn some of Quantum’s plot. Because of the noise from rain, no one hears the approach of a helicopter. Suddenly the house is bombarded with gunfire. Banks is shot. Bond recognises the strange shaped gun the assassin is using. It is Quinn with that damned suitcase! Bond and Felix give chase in the electro-glider, flying over a power station and into a field of electricity pylons. The glider crashes, but Bond and Felix are alive.

CHICAGO

After landing at O’Hare Airport, Bond says he hasn’t eaten since Oak Ridge. It is a snowy winter’s night. Leiter takes Bond to “the best hot dog stand in the world.” Bond isn’t so sure and tosses it in a trashcan whilst Leiter stuffs his down. The vendor isn’t the best because of the quality of food; his stand is positioned outside the Hot Dog strip bar. The two agents go into the bar to take the stress off their minds. At the bar, Felix solicits one of the women and goes into a corner booth, the lights dimming as the show begins. Another dancer comes out to distract Bond, asking for a drink and a good time. Unseen by Bond, Felix’s dancer activates a lever and his seat disappears into the wall. Bond’s has bought an erotic dance from his girl; the music is a rendition of the movies theme tune - the stage dancers writhe on stage under ultraviolet light and multicoloured glow-in-the-dark make-up and lip balm, ribbons placed strategically to protect their dignity (it's like the 'A View To A Kill' titles).

Dance finished, Bond finds Felix’s empty booth. An electronic device showing a binary-coded message replaces him, slowly decrypting to reveal Felix's location. Bond immediately jumps into action, calling up the CIA, MI6 and Chicago authorities. Stunned, the CIA man (Wolkovsky) asks what Bond was doing in Hot Dog. Didn’t they know who owns it? There is a homing transmitter sewn into Leiter's coat which pinpoints his location before the decrypting message.

INTERCUT BONDS LAPDANCE &THE EARLY SEARCH SCENES WITH...

Felix being dragged away a group of nasty thugs and beaten to pulp. He’s blindfolded, bundled into a van and taken to the shores of Lake Michigan. Quinn rips off Leiter's pants; after telling him he should have known that "Monsieur Blanc owns all the brothels around the Great Lakes”, she tells her goons to drag him to the lake...and wait.

Bond is frantically driving to the lake side location. Bond finds Leiter’s coat wrapped around a log caught on a sandbar. The final portion of the message decrypts, revealing Leiter to be several hundred feet to the north of where Bond is. Bond runs to Felix, but it's too late; Leiter's legs are completely frostbitten under the ice, and his body core temperature is dangerously low. As the Illinois state police rush to the scene, Bond finds a note stuffed into Felix's shirt: HE COULD HAVE USED SEA LEGS.

TRUMP TOWER, CHICAGO

Marcus oversees the construction and operation of a duplicate of LEGION. Mercedes is working under extreme duress, powering the computer with the spark suit. We also learn that Quinn and Marcus are having a physical relationship.

The emblem on the electronic device is for the Trump Tower. Bond, with permission from MI6 and the CIA visits the tower as part of a survey team monitoring the Tower’s green energy potential (a possible reason to include a cameo by Donald Trump). Bond notices there is massive power use on the sixtieth floor. Visiting it, he is very suspicious of Marcus, who wears a ‘Q’ ear stud.

That night, Bond and a team of Navy SEALS infiltrate the sixtieth floor and discover the duplicate LEGION. In the ensuing fire fight, Mercedes is rescued and the computer destroyed, but Marcus and Quinn escape. One man is rescued. He claims to be one 'Damien Blanc.'

Blanc is taken into custody. Interrogated by Bond, a CIA agent (David Wolkovsky) and Mercedes, it becomes apparent the man is not Damien Blanc. He is unfamiliar with the specifics of any scheme a mastermind might have set into motion, details which the real Damien Blanc would know, assuming he is behind it all.

There is a visitor for Bond. It is Mary Goodnight, agent 008, sent by M to Chicago. She has been investigating a cyber-attack that had severely damaged certain pillars of the European economy. She had narrowed the investigation down to Switzerland, where the evidence pointed to a man named Damien Blanc. In Zurich she was able to detain a man she believed to be Blanc. It turned out that he wasn't, for very same reason the man Bond has in custody turned out not to be him. After making inquiries with other European intelligence agencies, she discovered three more ‘Damien Blancs’ in custody. Within days of these confirmations, however, the prisoners once thought to be Damien Blanc turned up dead.

Returning to the interrogation, Bond threatens ‘Blanc’ for mutilating Leiter. Under pressure, ‘Blanc’ admits he’s only an actor, called Sebastian Dragonpol, hired at great expense to play at being Damien Blanc. But what he does know is enough to help Bond and Mercedes to piece together what Quinn and Marcus were doing. Sebastian knows that Marcus and Quinn had regular contact with a group of Senegalese rebels; he even met a man called General Ndene. Sebastian had to convince him he was the head of an organisation called Quantum as that was the only way the General would accept Marcus as genuine. Mercedes realises the duplicate LEGION was used to siphon money from the world's bank accounts in order to fund the rebels.

As Bond, Wolkovsky, Mercedes and Goodnight are wrapping up the interrogation the power in the building goes out, leaving them in the pitch-black. Bond knows what is about to happen, having already experienced it in the Oak Ridge facility. Wolkovsky helps them navigate through some secret tunnels out of the building out onto the city streets. He gets them into a car and begins driving. As they're getting away, the back window of the car shatters and Sebastian slumps forward dead.

CUT TO AN EXTERIOR SHOT OF THE ROOF OF A HIGH-RISE BUILDING...

Quinn stares through the scope of the sniper's rifle, confirming that she had eliminated the target. She takes the weapon apart and puts it back into its case, which she had had designed to look much like a regular suitcase. She exits the building, phoning Marcus while walking to inform him that another Damien Blanc had outlived his usefulness.

DAKAR, SENEGAL

The foursome travel to Senegal. Mercedes reluctantly has to come as she is the only one with the skills to return the money to the original accounts. They are in helicopter gunships, tracking down the head quarters of General Ndene on up a river delta, accompanied by a troop of Senegalese soldiers. They arrive at a luxurious, but abandoned resort, designed by the Haus of Gaga specifically for this film. This is the power base for the Casamance rebels. Marcus, Quinn and Ndene are toasting their success; Mister White is present via Skype.

A battle between the helicopter gunships and the rebels ensues, during which Bond and Mercedes disembark and make it to the interior. They are cornered by Marcus and Quinn. During the helicopter battle outside, one of the gunships is hit and falls into the resort, damaging the building. This gives Bond the opportunity to fight Quinn and Marcus. Mercedes now the opportunity use her know-how of the LEGION programme to transfer the funds back into the proper accounts.

Meanwhile Bond has been thwarted. Quinn and Mercedes have him at gunpoint, speaking about how you must accept everything in life and death. “Like a kaleidoscope,” muses Bond. General Ndene, enraged by Quantum’s spectacular failure, charges in and shoots Marcus in the shoulder. Quinn kills Ndene. More chaos from outside shatters the building and Bond is buried.

Mercedes finds Bond’s half buried body and pulls him free. “It’s done,” she says, “Do you still want to destroy LEGION?” “Yes.” As we leave the scene, the resort is exploding in massive fireball after massive fireball.

THE GRENADINES

Marcus emerges from a bungalow and watches as Quinn emerges from the ocean. Marcus talks to her about how beautiful the beach and bungalow are and about how much he's enjoying himself after the hectic events of the previous few days. He suggests leaving the spy game and taking refuge in the bungalow forever, forgetting Quantum and just living together as a normal "retired" couple, enjoying life in the Caribbean.

Quinn becomes uncomfortable, which Marcus begins to pick up on, but ignores. She tells him that she can't leave the spy game, stating that there's still a lot of work to do. She flees the conversation and takes refuge inside the bungalow. Marcus reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small black box, making sure that its contents are still inside. He makes his way into the bungalow, calling out for Quinn. He hears the sound of a gun being cocked.

"I told you not to get involved with the people I work for," she says shakily. She finds herself having trouble completing the job that she knows has to be done to preserve the anonymity that she has worked so hard to protect for several years. Marcus tells her that he loves her. She pauses for a moment, for the first time seriously contemplating leaving Quantum behind and going on the run. She then tells him, "You can't run from us. We're everywhere."

CUT TO AN OUTSIDE SHOT OF THE BUNGALOW...

Quinn emerges from the bungalow, which is bathed in the light of a setting sun at this point. She stands there, looking out at the waves crashing up on the beach, her eyes welling up. She drops to her knees, burying her head in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. She drops the small black box that she had found on Marcus. It's open, and in it is a beautiful diamond ring.

CATALONIA; A VILLAGE

Bond is talking to Felix Leiter as the latter tests his new prosthetic legs. Felix is recovering well. When he asks what Bond is doing, 007 replies “Looking after unfinished business.”

We see Lucia Rojos buying some fruit in a marketplace. James Bond, standing alongside his parked Lotus Elite on a road above the village, is looking at her through a sniper scope. He watches as she returns to her apartment. She walks onto the balcony, where she and Bond first made love, and sees a little black box. There is a note which reads “Life is like a kaleidoscope.” The box contains a diamond engagement ring. Bond shuts away the sniper scope gets into the Lotus and drives away, leaving behind the pretty village, the bluest of blue skies and the sun, continuing to shine on this scene of everyday life. The screen fades slowly to black.

JAMES WILL RETURN
in
THE HILDEBRAND RARITY

[Mr. Blofeld]

I still don't like that title; it's neither Fleming-esque nor Bond-esque in the slightest...