772 replies to this topic

[coco1997]

...Well?

[dinovelvet]

In tdalton's defense, the changes were really a group effort and I'm sorry to see you apparently disapprove. There was some discussion a few pages back as to why Rio was chosen, Nambutu was introduced in "Casino Royale" and I was the one to suggest Boston since we had just used NYC in "Goldfinger". I assume you're not against replacing locations, as we added both South Africa and Bouvet Island to "Dr. No", but I can understand your shock at seeing essentially all the locations reimagined.

Considering that we only used the location from Dr. No for the short PTS sequence with the rest of the film being relocated to a different continent entirely, I find this a rather odd and particularly unfair criticism to make of our remake of Live and Let Die.

The thing about Dr.No is that its story will work in pretty much any location, as long as you're using a coastal area with a nearby island. Jamaica doesn't contribute anything specific that's tied to the basic story - we could have Dr.No taking place anywhere from Tasmania to Chile to the Aleutian islands to Scotland if we so wished.

Live and let die on the other hand is specifically tied to Harlem as part of the character and tone of the story; you can't just move it to any city. It's about what Harlem represents and how a white agent like James Bond is useless in trying to crack it. Since we have a black actor playing Felix, we could have some very interesting sequences where Felix is the cool, Bond-like figure and Bond himself kind of becomes HIS sidekick for a while. Having Felix actually do stuff and not just show up for his usual near-cameo would add some pathos and weight to later on the film when Felix gets maimed. I'm not quite sure why Rio is being used as a substitute, as its not a particularly 'black' city (only 11% of the population apparently). Yes there are street gangs and drugs there, but that's also true of say, Cardiff.
For the second half of the film, EON were right to dump St. Petersburg as a location though. It's not a particularly Thrilling City, the switch to New Orleans works perfectly as it's a much more vibrant and colorful place.

The only alternative to Harlem I can think of as appropriate would be Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, which would nicely tie in with the voodoo angle.

Similarly there are other stories that are tied to certain locations - Goldfinger and Fort Knox, because of what Fort Knox represents symbolically and literally; Japan in YOLT, which dictates all the eccentric ideas and details in the story. Others like Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, The man with the golden gun, and probably OHMSS can all be moved to different parts of the world and still work with Fleming's basic plot.

The basic concepts of the novel and the film are there.

I see some parallels with the film, but I reslly don't see anything of Fleming in there. Where is Mr.Big running Harlem and following Bond's every move with surveillance? Bond and Felix investigating Big's nightclubs? Where's the train ride with Bond and Solitaire trying to escape from Mr.Big's crew? The Robber, a villain who has never been put on screen by EON? Bond scuba diving and escaping a barracuda attack? Trying to blow up Mr.Big's ship with a climax in shark-infested waters? And again, the character of Solitaire now bears no resemblance at all to the novel.
My original mission statement was to re-adapt Fleming's novels into a modern context, like EON did with Casino Royale. They managed to keep the characters and through-line of the novel intact, while beefing it up in terms of action and subplots. The Live and Let Die drawn up here is exactly what EON did in 73 - throw out everything except character names and some basic window dressing scenes that sort of resemble a couple of things from the novel.

The shark scene was to remain, as was the scene with Bond and Solitaire dragged across the reef. And the overall plot, while different from both the film and the novel, started out as a combination of the two plots but then taken into a more modern context.

Inserting individual scenes like Felix being maimed and the keel-hauling don't really represent what Live and let die is about, as evidenced by both of those scenes showing up in completely different Bond films.

Well now that I've successfully soured the party, I wonder what to do now. Is anyone still wanting to play, and do OHMSS etc?

[Mr. Blofeld]

You're the boss of this thread, dino; are you saying the whole treatment, as we have it now, should be scrapped and redone to be closer to the novel?

[dinovelvet]

You're the boss of this thread, dino; are you saying the whole treatment, as we have it now, should be scrapped and redone to be closer to the novel?

Hmm, I really don't want to come across as a 'boss', telling everyone how it has to be done, otherwise it basically just becomes me writing my own fan fiction while accepting a couple of contributions from others.

I had actually written my own treatment for a LALD remake for something to do on a plane, but its a bit egomaniacal of me to now say hey mine's better, we're doing it this way instead!

So in the spirit of group collaboration, let's either finish up LALD the way it was going (or abandon it if no-one wants to finish), and move on to OHMSS which I'm sure people will have interesting ideas for without changing the novel/film too radically (as it pretty much works perfectly as-is, right?)

[Mr. Blofeld]

I had a couple of interesting casting ideas, for that...

[dinovelvet]

I had a couple of interesting casting ideas, for that...

Well since the thread is temporarily stalled, let's hear them, then!

[coco1997]

I had a couple of interesting casting ideas, for that...

I would prefer to put LALD on hold and move onto OHMSS. I have some cool ideas I'd like to share. We don't necessarily have to finish LALD first since it's not directly connected to OHMSS.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Well since the thread is temporarily stalled, let's hear them, then!

All right, then...

- Milla Jovovich as a younger, more physically threatening Irma Bunt

- Thekla Reuten as Tracy

- Diego Abatantuono as Marc-Ange Draco

- Bill Paterson as Sir Hilary Bray

- Imogen Poots as Ruby Windsor

- Til Schweiger as Yaroslav, a SPECTRE goon

- August Diehl as Horak, another SPECTRE goon

- Danny Horn as Phidian

- Simon Kunz as Sir Hilary Bray's cousin

[coco1997]

Well since the thread is temporarily stalled, let's hear them, then!

All right, then...

- Milla Jovovich as a younger, more physically threatening Irma Bunt

- Thekla Reuten as Tracy

- Diego Abatantuono as Marc-Ange Draco

- Bill Paterson as Sir Hilary Bray

- Imogen Poots as Ruby Windsor

- Til Schweiger as Yaroslav, a SPECTRE goon

- August Diehl as Horak, another SPECTRE goon

- Danny Horn as Phidian

- Simon Kunz as Sir Hilary Bray's cousin

I'm not sold on that Tracy casting, but the rest I can definitely see. I do like the idea of making Bunt a more physically appealing character--I think dino proposed we make that change for Rosa Klebb when we tackled "FRWL" before we decided to use Tilda Swinton.

[terminus]

I was going to suggest Charlize Theron for Irma Bunt, but done up with prosthetics just like she was in Monster.

[dinovelvet]

Well since the thread is temporarily stalled, let's hear them, then!

All right, then...

- Milla Jovovich as a younger, more physically threatening Irma Bunt

This would add something interesting. I was going to suggest we go with a younger/more attractive Bunt, as it'd be a bit weird if Peter Serafinowicz was hanging around with some old bag - though on the other hand that would give Blofeld a weird perversion! So Milla fits the bill and would add a secondary attractive Bond girl to the mix. And with Milla adept at action, she would presumably now join in the ski chases and such. (And does this mean Bond would now sleep with Bunt? )

- Thekla Reuten as Tracy

I know her from In Bruges, but I think with this particular role, we need to aim high. This is supposed to be the love of Bond's life, remember (well, apart from Vesper), so I'm thinking of a strong and acclaimed actress who would be a good match for Craig and who could capture the wounded but strong-willed Tracy. Drum roll for....Kate Winslet?

- Diego Abatantuono as Marc-Ange Draco

It's a pity EON already used Giancarlo Giannini, as he'd be an obvious choice for Draco. But this bloke seems to fit the bill, unless anyone else knows of a major middle-aged Italian star we're overlooking?

- Bill Paterson as Sir Hilary Bray

OK, I guess.

- Imogen Poots as Ruby Windsor

I think she might be too good-looking to play Ruby! She's probably going to be mentioned as a potential lead Bond girl in the rumor mill for the next couple of films once she becomes a little well-known. Holliday Grainger maybe?

- Til Schweiger as Yaroslav, a SPECTRE goon
- August Diehl as Horak, another SPECTRE goon

I can see Schweiger as a main henchman type. I don't know if we're actually using the name SPECTRE though.

- Danny Horn as Phidian

I actually have no idea who the actor or the character is.

- Simon Kunz as Sir Hilary Bray's cousin

What is this role?

[coco1997]

I'm going to go ahead and post the outline I put together for "OHMSS". Mind you, most of these ideas aren't mine, rather they are taken from the "Making of OHMSS" book which features a treasure trove of discarded ideas and early concepts for that film's various scripts. As with terminus' initial outline for "GF", feel free to use or throw out whatever you wish:

"OHMSS"

MI6 – Bond complains that the search for Blofeld should be handled by the missing persons bureau or Interpol. M is displeased with Bond’s lack of progress in finding Blofeld and so 007 resigns by slapping an envelope with a resignation letter down on Moneypenny’s desk. Moneypenny tells Bond that he can’t quit because she has money on him in the office pool regarding who will bed his secretary Mary Goodnight first, and she switches the resignation to a short vacation request.

Afterward, we see Bond at his flat in London with Goodnight, looking through want ads in a newspaper. Moneypenny arrives at Bond’s flat and bring him the news that the vacation request has been granted. She sees the telltale signs of Bond’s female company and leaves before there are any misunderstandings.

South Africa/Italy – Bond first meets Tracy when she overtakes him when they are waterskiing. Bond tries to keep up with her but Tracy’s boat driver cuts across Bond’s tow line and he ends up head over heels in the water.

Bond later rescues Tracy from embarrassment at the Chemin de Fer table. She invites him up to her room afterward for his reward but the next morning, she wants him out, which Bond resists at first.

That evening, Bond is watching Tracy on the beach and prevents him from committing suicide. As he rescues her, two men jump Bond, and during the fight, Bond slits one of their throats and quips, “Don’t try to yodel.” A rubber boat then comes toward them that Bond believes is the coast guard, but it turns out to be the enemy. Bond and Tracy are forced aboard, and when the boat almost reaches the jetty, Bond rips it open with his knife that had been hidden in his shoe, and fights his captors and rescues Tracy, where they swim under the dock to avoid gunfire.

Three other henchmen arrive on the scene, led by Che Che, and they capture Bond and Tracy and bundle them into a car and then drive towards a deserted area and a large transport truck. Bond is forced into the back of the truck where he is able to surprise his captors, disarm them, and make it through towards the front of the vehicle.

Once inside, he meets Draco di Vicenzo, the head of the Camorra crime syndicate, telling Bond that the first two men on the beach were rivals who intended to kidnap Tracy. He thanks Bond and offers a million pound dowry for marriage, which Bond declines but asks for the whereabouts of Blofeld. Draco gets on the phone for the information, and Bond then heads to Tracy’s compartment in the transport. He gives her the name of a psychologist’s clinic in Davos where she can get help. Draco comes back with information that Blofeld is posing as Balthazar de Bleuville and that a lawyer in Switzerland may have more details.

Bond takes the information to M, and suggests that he pose as a Herald from the College of Arms to get close to Blofeld. M isn’t convinced it will work but gives Bond the go ahead.

College of Arms – Joining Sir Hilary Bray is his assistant, a man named Phidias, whom Bond discovers has bugged Bray’s office and is actually working for Blofeld. Bond makes a quip about Greeks bearing gifts and chases Phidias from the College to St. Paul’s and the Old Bailey and then to a Cable Office, where Phidias tries to get off a message to Blofeld that Bond intercepts, and finally the chase ends when Phidias is run over by a post office trolley. His death is covered up sneaking his body into a temporary morgue where victims from a recent train crash are stored.

Bond, now in disguise, flies to Zurich airport where he meets Irma Bunt and Blofeld, who takes off his lab hood to reveal that he doesn’t have ear lobes. Bond promises that the research will start right away. Bond is then taken away for a doctor’s examination.

One of the allergy patients, Ruby, is taken with Bond and whispers to him that he should visit her room later. Bond uses a gadget to open the automatic door to her room and visit Ruby for a late night tryst. Afterward, he asks her about the clinic and how she got there. She gives him the details along with information about the man with a limp that gives the girls their allergy shots. After some convincing, Ruby gets Bond a hypodermic needle with the man’s fingerprints on it.

Bond then attempts to get the needle to his contact Campbell by sending it down the bob sled run. Bond is discovered and fights the guard, knocking him out and then using the guard as the delivery method by putting the needle in the man’s pocket and sending him down the icy slide.

Bond later meets Campbell at the cable car station where Campbell tells him that the fingerprints belong to Gaston Lastrade, a bio-warfare expert. Campbell offers Bond a grenade disguised as ski equipment, but Bond declines. Bunt takes note of their conversation from afar and sends a guard to follow Campbell. Once Bond returns to Piz Gloria, he heads to Ruby’s room later that evening where Bunt and the guard are waiting for him.

When Bond is taken to Blofeld, we see that Campbell has been captured and is in bad shape, with hypodermic needles around him filled with blue liquid. He’s been given truth serum and has revealed Bond’s true identity. Bond lets Blofeld talk while he inches nearer to Campbell’s hidden grenade, threatening everyone with its destruction.

Taking control, Bond disarms the guards and sits Blofeld down and subjects him to the same truth serum given to Blofeld. Blofeld describes the plot and his ransom demand, one hundred billion pounds in gold, but refuses to reveal where the girls will strike. As the serum wears off, Bond fires his Walther at Blofeld and darts out the door, however, Blofeld is wearing a bulletproof vest.

Bond makes his way out of the complex by using the grenade to open one of the doors. Once he reaches the exterior of Piz Gloria, guards fire at him while he makes his getaway on skis. Bond kills one of the guards by stabbing him with a ski pole and another is killed in the blade of a snow plow. Bond continues firing and an avalanche wipes out his remaining pursuers.

Once Bond has reached the alpine village of St. Moritz, he spots Blofeld’s logo on a station wagon and hides amongst the skijoring horse races of the annual White Turf festivities. He finds Tracy who barely recognizes him because of his disguise. They take off in Tracy’s Ferrari Four, pursued by two guards in a station wagon. They get far enough ahead that Bond is able to switch a detour sign, that when missed, sends the SPECTRE station wagon over a cliff where it bursts into flames.

In the aftermath, Bond proposes to Tracy by the side of the road after the car runs out of gas, but their joy is short-lived as SPECTRE comes after them in a truck with a mounted search light. Bond shoots into the air to start an avalanche, which pushes him into a wooded area without Tracy.

Back at M’s office, the MI6 chief talks to Geneva and the UN. Next we see Bond arriving back at Piz Gloria with a briefcase—the UN has agreed to meet Blofeld’s demands, and he’s very happy that they’ve sent Bond to get the documents signed. Bond inquires about Tracy but is told that she died in the avalanche. Bond then activates a detonator hidden in his cuff links and the cable car explodes, which signals the UN to begin their assault on Piz Gloria. This is a BIG battle. Think Dream Level 3 of “Inception” with camouflaged snowmobiles, machine gun-equipped Humvees, etc. During the battle, Tracy is found amongst the captives and Bond goes to find Blofeld.

After the assault team has reached Blofeld’s office, they see him escape, which leads to Bond chasing him on a bobsled run but the pursuit ends when Bond is injured by Blofeld’s grenade. Bond crawls over to the body of Blofeld, who turns out to be his henchman Grunther in disguise.

London – M is on the phone to Bond explaining that Blofeld’s girls have all been picked up. Bond returns to his hotel room with Tracy where he calls Draco who is elated by the news and offers his future son in law a million pounds, but Bond tells him to tear up the check.

Afterward, Bond and Tracy visit a beauty salon, where Bond gets his hair dye removed and Tracy gets her hair done for the wedding. Bond and Tracy then get married inside Draco’s transport truck, with Felix as best man, in front of M, Moneypenny, Tanner, Draco and his men. Bond asks M to be the godmother of his future children and assures Moneypenny that she will find her “double-0 man” someday, too.

Once on the road in Tracy’s Ferrari, the newlyweds are overtaken by Blofeld and Bunt in a Maserati from which Blofeld fires his automatic pistol at their car. The Ferrari swerves off the road and crashes into an embankment. Bond regains consciousness and finds his face smeared with Tracy’s blood then wipes Tracy’s hair away to see the bullet hole in her forehead.

[Mr. Blofeld]

- Danny Horn as Phidian

I actually have no idea who the actor or the character is.

He's Sir Hilary Bray's assistant, secretly working for SPECTRE as a plant in the College of Heralds, whom Bond finds has planted a bug on Bray's desk; he then chases him out of a window, down past St. Paul's Cathedral, and into the postal service area, to his death -- which subsequently has to be covered up by Bond and MI6, in order to divert suspicion.

- Simon Kunz as Sir Hilary Bray's cousin

What is this role?

In the original novel, Piz Gloria is not closed to the public; certain areas are used as "chic" sight-seeing places, and it's at one that Bond's cover is nearly blown when a cousin of Sir Hilary comes up to him with some confusion -- Bond has to rapidly improvise to get out of it, and he does.

[dinovelvet]

Some of these are good and usable (the legendary deleted rooftop chase scene for example), but a lot of these are kind of dated '60s concepts (the sexism of the Moneypenny/Goodnight bet just doesn't really fly in the year 2011), and Blofeld asking for 100 billion pounds is a bit Austin Powers. Remember we are trying to update it so its relevant to today. But yes some of it we can definitely work with. I also need to flip through the novel today as there were a couple of interesting unused bits that I wanted to get in.

I was going to ask if we still wanted to keep the whole thing taking place in the Alps or move it to another mountain range entirely. Thoughts?

[coco1997]

He's Sir Hilary Bray's assistant, secretly working for SPECTRE as a plant in the College of Heralds, whom Bond finds has planted a bug on Bray's desk; he then chases him out of a window, down past St. Paul's Cathedral, and into the postal service area

Yep. I can definitely see this scene recreated as a prototypical Craig era "CR"/"QoS" foot chase.

[dinovelvet]

He's Sir Hilary Bray's assistant, secretly working for SPECTRE as a plant in the College of Heralds, whom Bond finds has planted a bug on Bray's desk; he then chases him out of a window, down past St. Paul's Cathedral, and into the postal service area

Yep. I can definitely see this scene recreated as a prototypical Craig era "CR"/"QoS" foot chase.

Indeed, but we'll have to be careful not to repeat the CR/QOS chases and do something a little different to it. Not sure what, exactly.

Anyway, regarding the beginning, Fleming starts with Bond visiting Vesper's grave at Royale-les-Eaux. I'd like this to be the first scene, but since CR 06 moved her death to Venice, should that be where her grave is? We could then have Bond encountering Tracy and the subsequent beach fight scene.

As for Blofeld's new scheme with his 'Angels of Death', one idea I had was that he could be using brainwashing, drugs, and hypnosis to turn the 12 girls into suicide bombers, ordering them to strike at 12 different cities around the world simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve (accounting for different time zones!) unless his demands are met. I think it's more exciting than his plans to destroy cereal from the original.

Also, regarding Bond's "disguise", does it really work in this day and age for Craig to start talking funny and slap on a pair of glasses and then suddenly nobody recognizes him? I think we need to overhaul the whole disguise issue or dump it completely, somehow.

We'll also need casting for Campbell if we're giving him a bit more to do in this OHMSS, so a Brit junior agent type...?

Bond slits one of their throats and quips, “Don’t try to yodel.”

Bloody hell, that's a bit grim, isn't it?

[coco1997]

Anyway, regarding the beginning, Fleming starts with Bond visiting Vesper's grave at Royale-les-Eaux. I'd like this to be the first scene, but since CR 06 moved her death to Venice, should that be where her grave is? We could then have Bond encountering Tracy and the subsequent beach fight scene.

I like this idea a lot. And it reminds me of a nifty idea I came up with that could be a touching homage to "CR": Bond saves Tracy from committing suicide, but she's already consumed a lot of water and Bond has to resuscitate her. The scene would be very reminiscent to Vesper's death, with Bond trying desperately to revive her, only this time, he succeeds.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about Winslet as Tracy. I agree we need a big name actress, but she might be a bit too recognizable, and perhaps a bit too old, for Tracy.

As for Blofeld's new scheme with his 'Angels of Death', one idea I had was that he could be using brainwashing, drugs, and hypnosis to turn the 12 girls into suicide bombers, ordering them to strike at 12 different cities around the world simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve (accounting for different time zones!) unless his demands are met. I think it's more exciting than his plans to destroy cereal from the original.

Another solid idea.

Also, regarding Bond's "disguise", does it really work in this day and age for Craig to start talking funny and slap on a pair of glasses and then suddenly nobody recognizes him? I think we need to overhaul the whole disguise issue or dump it completely, somehow.

Agreed. The idea is a bit hokey. It treads into Clark Kent/Superman territory.

Bloody hell, that's a bit grim, isn't it?

I don't know...It definitely sounds like something I can picture Craig saying.

[dinovelvet]

Anyway, regarding the beginning, Fleming starts with Bond visiting Vesper's grave at Royale-les-Eaux. I'd like this to be the first scene, but since CR 06 moved her death to Venice, should that be where her grave is? We could then have Bond encountering Tracy and the subsequent beach fight scene.

I like this idea a lot. And it reminds me of a nifty idea I came up with that could be a touching homage to "CR": Bond saves Tracy from committing suicide, but she's already consumed a lot of water and Bond has to resuscitate her. The scene would be very reminiscent to Vesper's death, with Bond trying desperately to revive her, only this time, he succeeds.

Yes we can definitely include that.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about Winslet as Tracy. I agree we need a big name actress, but she might be a bit too recognizable, and perhaps a bit too old, for Tracy.

I did take note of her age; I thought it'd be appropriate for Tracy to be closer to Bond's own age than the usual 20something he ends up in bed with! Do you have casting suggestions for her?

Bloody hell, that's a bit grim, isn't it?
I don't know...It definitely sounds like something I can picture Craig saying.

Yeah, but Bond slitting a guy's throat? Seems a bit excessive. Maybe he can punch whoever in the windpipe instead.

[coco1997]

I did take note of her age; I thought it'd be appropriate for Tracy to be closer to Bond's own age than the usual 20something he ends up in bed with! Do you have casting suggestions for her?

No one in particular, though it might be nice to go with an Italian actress this time, given her background.

Speaking of Tracy, this reminds me--One of the other unused ideas from the "Making of" book had Tracy actually being one of Blofeld's Angels of Death, with her allergy being to champagne. Would it be too radical of an idea to institute this idea into our remake?

[dinovelvet]

I did take note of her age; I thought it'd be appropriate for Tracy to be closer to Bond's own age than the usual 20something he ends up in bed with! Do you have casting suggestions for her?

No one in particular, though it might be nice to go with an Italian actress this time, given her background.

Speaking of Tracy, this reminds me--One of the other unused ideas from the "Making of" book had Tracy actually being one of Blofeld's Angels of Death, with her allergy being to champagne. Would it be too radical of an idea to institute this idea into our remake?

I think it might be a bit of a weird coincidence for Bond to meet Tracy and her turning out to be connected to Blofeld. Then again its quite a coincidence that her father is someone who can find Blofeld for Bond. I guess its possible if someone can think of a way to implement it.

Anyway in the interest of sparking some movement into the thread, here's a PTS I wrote :

GUNBARREL SEQUENCE

We are in a small cemetary. The background vista reveals the familiar cityscape of Venice, Italy. A man seen from the waist down approaches an unremarkable gravestone. He bends over and brushes some overgrown grass out of the way, revealing the name etched on the stone :

"Lynd, Vesper"

The man bends down and places a seashell on the stone; we see that it is JAMES BOND. He glances wistfully at the city behind him for a moment, and leaves the cemetary. Crossing the road towards his parked Aston Martin, Bond almost has to dive out of the way as a red Ferrari comes out of nowhere, swerving all over the road. Bond catches a glimpse of a striking woman at the wheel, a determined look on her face.

About to yell an obscenity, Bond is distracted by a second car zooming past him, this one containing two thuggish looking men. Puzzled and intrigued by this encounter, Bond gets into the Aston and follows.

Bond catches up with the men and pulls up alongside, where he now sees the passenger loading a pistol. That's all Bond needs to know; as they approach a bend, Bond pulls a PIT maneuver and sends the other car hurtling into a ditch. He continues onward, stopping as he catches sight of the Ferrari parked at a deserted beach.

Bond gets out and sees the woman running towards the sea. He drops his jacket and gun, and runs after her as she wades into the surf, completely disappearing into the water. Frantically, Bond runs into the crashing waves, struggling as he drags her out and back on to the beach.

The woman is unconscious. This moment striking a grim chord with Bond, he administers CPR, getting more and more desperate until suddenly the woman coughs, sitting up and spitting out water.

Bond - Are you alright? You could have killed yourself!
Tracy - I would have, if you hadn't interfered.
Bond - You're welcome!

Before she can respond, a gun is shoved into Bond's face. The two men from the car are standing over them. One man grabs Tracy and hauls her away as the second man tells Bond to get up. Bond grabs a handful of sand as he gets to his feet. The goon raises his gun to Bond's head, and Bond immediately hurls the sand in his face. Bond rushes in and knocks the gun from the man's hand. The two men grapple, rolling into the waves. The man swings a piece of driftwood; Bond catches it, and headbutts the goon, dropping him with a hook to the jaw.

Bond runs after the other man, who drops Tracy and surprises Bond with a flurry of krav maga moves. The ensuing fight is brutal; with Bond momentarily stunned, the man grabs a huge rock and raises it to crush Bond with it. Bond springs up, and with the man's two hands occupied, punches him in the throat. The man collapses, clutching his windpipe. "Don't try to yodel", remarks Bond.

As he brushes himself off, Bond hears the roar of the Ferrari's engine. The woman vanishes around a corner without a trace. Bond watches as she leaves, puzzled as to what exactly just happened.

He says to nobody in particular : "This all seems very familiar".

TITLE SEQUENCE BEGINS

[coco1997]

Great work, dino.

There was an explanation in the book as to how Tracy was set up with being part of Blofeld's girls. I'll give it a read through tonight before bed and post my findings tomorrow.

[dinovelvet]

I guess it could be done that Bond discovers Tracy's allergy when he takes her out to dinner, and seeks out a cure for it, coming across a mysterious "allergy clinic" looking for female volunteers. This would be weird and coincidental of course, but no more so than in YOLT where Bond just happens to be sent to the exact country where Blofeld is hiding out.

[coco1997]

I guess it could be done that Bond discovers Tracy's allergy when he takes her out to dinner, and seeks out a cure for it, coming across a mysterious "allergy clinic" looking for female volunteers. This would be weird and coincidental of course, but no more so than in YOLT where Bond just happens to be sent to the exact country where Blofeld is hiding out.

That could definitely work.

[coco1997]

Just curious, dino, what other ideas from that outline I posted stand out as ones you'd like us to use?

[dinovelvet]

I guess it could be done that Bond discovers Tracy's allergy when he takes her out to dinner, and seeks out a cure for it, coming across a mysterious "allergy clinic" looking for female volunteers. This would be weird and coincidental of course, but no more so than in YOLT where Bond just happens to be sent to the exact country where Blofeld is hiding out.

That could definitely work.

But thinking about it, it pretty much destroys the reason for having all the College of Arms and Draco scenes.

As for the other ideas, I like incorporating the Campbell character more, as he was a bit of a non-entity in the original film, and Bond stabbing someone with a ski pole The idea of a much bigger scale battle at Piz Gloria sounds good. We can work in other stuff from that list too, depending if anyone else wants to throw anything in...

[coco1997]

Personally I really like the idea of a waterski chase between Bond and Tracy. I also love the idea of Bond interrogating Blofeld, the White Turf skijoring bit and the alternate take on Tracy's death scene.

[coco1997]

Regarding re-locating the Piz Gloria stuff, I'm not so sure about it. I think Piz Gloria is one of those iconic Bond locations that's so intimately tied to its film. However, if someone has another idea that could be just as memorable in mind...

[dinovelvet]

I'm fine with keeping the action at Piz.

Does anyone else have any contributions to make towards the story or scenes they'd like to see etc?

[coco1997]

I was talking with Mr. Blofeld earlier and he suggested Jacky Ido as Che-Che.

We also still need to decide who's playing Tracy, but the rest of the cast looks complete.

In terms of changing locations, I found it interesting that Fleming was originally going to have Bond save Tracy from humiliation at the chemin de fer tables at a casino in South Africa. But given we just used South Africa in "DR. NO", it might be redundant to use it again, here.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Actually, I think the whole "allergy to champagne" thing was a ruse, to get closer to Piz Gloria and Bond -- I don't think it was actually meant as an actual allergy by Maibaum.