772 replies to this topic

[Mr. Blofeld]

No; the plot to YOLT integrally has Bunt with Blofeld at the castle. I can see that being done in '71 to account for Steppat, but Milla Jovovich is still alive; there's no need to kill her character off so early in the story -- not when she's required to demonstrate Blofeld's madness later in the plot.

[dinovelvet]

No; the plot to YOLT integrally has Bunt with Blofeld at the castle. I can see that being done in '71 to account for Steppat, but Milla Jovovich is still alive; there's no need to kill her character off so early in the story -- not when she's required to demonstrate Blofeld's madness later in the plot.

I agree with Mr.Blofeld, I think Bunt's presence is needed in the second half of YOLT. But we can get to that later. Does anyone have any contributions for the next section of OHMSS before I tackle it?

[coco1997]

No; the plot to YOLT integrally has Bunt with Blofeld at the castle. I can see that being done in '71 to account for Steppat, but Milla Jovovich is still alive; there's no need to kill her character off so early in the story -- not when she's required to demonstrate Blofeld's madness later in the plot.

I agree with Mr.Blofeld, I think Bunt's presence is needed in the second half of YOLT. But we can get to that later. Does anyone have any contributions for the next section of OHMSS before I tackle it?

Not specifically--I assume I don't need to remind you that the rooftop chase between Bond and Phidian should be included.

[coco1997]

No; the plot to YOLT integrally has Bunt with Blofeld at the castle. I can see that being done in '71 to account for Steppat, but Milla Jovovich is still alive; there's no need to kill her character off so early in the story -- not when she's required to demonstrate Blofeld's madness later in the plot.

Not necessarily. We're not following these stories exactly how Fleming wrote them, after all. We've already made (in my opinion) a pretty radical move by combining Bunt and Ruby's characters into one. Besides, the role that Bunt played in Fleming's book could be filled by our own version of Helga Brandt.

In every fan fic I've read that deals with Bond post-OHMSS, he's always depicted as a broken and useless agent, both emotionally and physically. I think we should get away from this and have Bond fully capable from the start, which I feel is why we need a PTS that showcases 007 doing something violent and possibly overly destructive whilst still getting the job done.

[tdalton]

No; the plot to YOLT integrally has Bunt with Blofeld at the castle. I can see that being done in '71 to account for Steppat, but Milla Jovovich is still alive; there's no need to kill her character off so early in the story -- not when she's required to demonstrate Blofeld's madness later in the plot.

Not necessarily. We're not following these stories exactly how Fleming wrote them, after all. We've already made (in my opinion) a pretty radical move by combining Bunt and Ruby's characters into one. Besides, the role that Bunt played in Fleming's book could be filled by our own version of Helga Brandt.

In every fan fic I've read that deals with Bond post-OHMSS, he's always depicted as a broken and useless agent, both emotionally and physically. I think we should get away from this and have Bond fully capable from the start, which I feel is why we need a PTS that showcases 007 doing something violent and possibly overly destructive whilst still getting the job done.

Couldn't agree more.

Plus, using the proposed PTS could go in the opposite direction and show Bond as a useless agent at the other extreme, not because he's moping around or physically unable to perform his job, but rather because he's a bit overzealous with his job. He's already a violent man, but maybe he becomes more violent, takes greater and unnecessary risks, etc. The PTS that you've proposed, at least in the way that I'm imagining it, would rival the very best of the actual PTS sequences we've actually seen on screen.

[dinovelvet]

I've continued up to the break-in scene, which I attempted to make a bit more up-to-date with the technology and added a little bit of action, followed by Bond visiting M's home, which of course she's none too thrilled about!

SICILY

Bond arrives at Draco's estate, where a large party is being held. He is shown in and joins Draco and Tracy. In much the same way as the original, Tracy tells Draco to tell Bond what he wants so they can get rid of him. Draco informs Bond that Blofeld has apparently been in contact with Gumbold, a lawyer in Geneva. Bond chases after Tracy and...romance ensues with a montage etc.

GENEVA

Nighttime. Gumbold closes his office for the evening and leaves. Across the street, Bond and CAMPBELL, a junior agent, are watching through night vision glasses. They cross to Gumbold's building using a rope line, climbing onto the roof. They break in and descend to Gumbold's floor. Bond switches his night vision goggles to infrared and detects laser tripwires. Nimbly stepping over them, they make it to Gumbold's office and...an alarm goes off.

Campbell : Pressure sensitive floor. That wasn't in the blueprints!
Bond : Good. It means this Gumbold has got something worth protecting.

The two agents duck into a large room filled with server racks. They leave the door open as five security guards, all with guns drawn, follow them into the maze-like room. They split up, Bond quickly and quietly taking down two of the guards. Campbell takes another down, and gets into a struggle with another. The last guard aims his gun, as Bond drops from one of the server towers, kicking his gun away and putting him in a sleeper hold. They go back to Gumbold's office and Campbell hacks into his computer, copying files onto a USB drive.

LONDON

M's apartment. We're in the middle of a PARTY! M and her husband entertain guests, all in formal wear. As M listens to an anecdote, she and we hear a familiar voice..."also with a thin slice of lemon peel". M turns to see Bond at the bar, dressed in a tuxedo, ordering a drink.

She approaches him angrily.

M - I don't recall adding your name to the guest list, Bond.
Bond - I took the liberty of inviting myself, ma'am.
M - How did...? Oh, Moneypenny.
Bond - Don't blame her. I came here tonight because this couldn't wait - I've found him.

Wearily, M ushers Bond into her study.

Bond plugs the USB drive into a large flatscreen on the wall. He shows her Gumbold's emails from a "Comte Balthazar de Bleuville". Bond claims it is Blofeld, using Gumbold as a mediator seeking recognition for his title via the London College of Arms.

M tells Bond to inquire at the College in the morning. "Now stop taking advantage of the free bar and get out of here!". Bond drains his drink and leaves.

LONDON - THE COLLEGE OF ARMS

TBC.

[coco1997]

Awesome work.

How about a certain Mr. Lazenby as M's husband?

[dinovelvet]

Awesome work.

How about a certain Mr. Lazenby as M's husband?

Ouch! I did consider doing a meta-gag in the PTS with Lazenby standing next to Craig as Tracy drives away, saying something like "Never mind mate, same thing happened to me too".

[coco1997]

Ouch! I did consider doing a meta-gag in the PTS with Lazenby standing next to Craig as Tracy drives away, saying something like "Never mind mate, same thing happened to me too".

[coco1997]

Dino, how did you feel about using the skijoring White Turf scene I mentioned in the initial outline I posted?

[Mr. Blofeld]

Not necessarily. We're not following these stories exactly how Fleming wrote them, after all. We've already made (in my opinion) a pretty radical move by combining Bunt and Ruby's characters into one. Besides, the role that Bunt played in Fleming's book could be filled by our own version of Helga Brandt.

Wait, when did we combine Bunt and Ruby? That's not what I intended by suggesting Jovovich; she's gotten rather angular with age, rather than a model-esque look -- she'd be a fair sight prettier than Steppat, true, but still rather off-putting, so not a Ruby.

Also, I thought dino's whole point was to get as close to the novels in the modern Craig era as we possibly could; that's why the completely revamped LALD was put on hold, remember?

[coco1997]

Wait, when did we combine Bunt and Ruby? That's not what I intended by suggesting Jovovich; she's gotten rather angular with age, rather than a model-esque look -- she'd be a fair sight prettier than Steppat, true, but still rather off-putting, so not a Ruby.

This was decided on the previous page.

And what do you mean by 'angular'? You say this as though it's an undesirable thing.

Also, I thought dino's whole point was to get as close to the novels in the modern Craig era as we possibly could; that's why the completely revamped LALD was put on hold, remember?

Partially true. I believe the idea is to get some of the films closer to the source material when possible, but that doesn't mean we're not taking some artistic license in order to make the stories more distinct from the original novels and films.

[Mr. Blofeld]

And what do you mean by 'angular'? You say this as though it's an undesirable thing.

This: http://wvs.topleftpi...jovovich_01.jpg

Also, I thought dino's whole point was to get as close to the novels in the modern Craig era as we possibly could; that's why the completely revamped LALD was put on hold, remember?

Partially true. I believe the idea is to get some of the films closer to the source material when possible, but that doesn't mean we're not taking some artistic license in order to make the stories more distinct from the original novels and films.

I know that... but we only ought to do that when there's no other option, or if Fleming's original seems too outdated or not exciting enough -- what threat would a modern Le Chiffre pose, for example, if his only scheme was funnelling money into a string of French brothels?

[coco1997]

This: http://wvs.topleftpi...jovovich_01.jpg

I'd still take an angular Milla Jovovich over Grace Jones any day of the week.

I know that... but we only ought to do that when there's no other option, or if Fleming's original seems too outdated or not exciting enough

I respectfully disagree. Countless other fan fic writers have written stories that were essentially straight adaptations of Fleming. There is a way to make our stories fresh, contemporary and unique while staying in the spirit of Fleming. If we're just adapting fifty year-old books into treatments, where is the fun in that?

[dinovelvet]

Not necessarily. We're not following these stories exactly how Fleming wrote them, after all. We've already made (in my opinion) a pretty radical move by combining Bunt and Ruby's characters into one. Besides, the role that Bunt played in Fleming's book could be filled by our own version of Helga Brandt.

Wait, when did we combine Bunt and Ruby? That's not what I intended by suggesting Jovovich; she's gotten rather angular with age, rather than a model-esque look -- she'd be a fair sight prettier than Steppat, true, but still rather off-putting, so not a Ruby.

Also, I thought dino's whole point was to get as close to the novels in the modern Craig era as we possibly could; that's why the completely revamped LALD was put on hold, remember?

We came up with the idea that Bunt would have been placed undercover by Blofeld amongst the other girls, to monitor their progress and make sure their brainwashing is all going according to plan, etc. I think this will make for a nice twist, no?

And yes my idea was to re-adapt the novels, using CR 06 as a template - keep the basic storyline and characters but allowing for new subplots and characters etc. (For example, with YOLT coming up, I can see expanding the sort-of-irrelevant 'Magic 44' subplot into an action setpiece, but we'll get to that later).

It's tougher to do OHMSS though as it's a very specific storyline, so there's not a whole lot you can change while keeping it as Fleming's tale. But at the same time you don't want to just write out a summary of the original film/novel with just a few Craig-esque moments thrown in.

Altering Bunt in this way is something I think can work while staying within her character - if anything it'll make her more evil.

[coco1997]

Agreed on all points, dino.

As for my idea to kill off Bunt in the PTS of "YOLT", what do you think of developing Helga Brandt's character a bit to fill the role Bunt played in the book?

[Mr. Blofeld]

Why not use an altered version of The Living Daylights the short story for the PTS -- or even From a View to a Kill? If nothing else, it'd prove Bond's "recklessness", while not depriving us of a necessary cast member...

[coco1997]

Why not use an altered version of The Living Daylights the short story for the PTS -- or even From a View to a Kill? If nothing else, it'd prove Bond's "recklessness", while not depriving us of a necessary cast member...

Matt, there's no need to be a dick and -1 me just because I have a dissenting opinion from your own.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Two points:

1. I don't like the character of Helga Brandt.

2. I don't think Irma Bunt should be killed off so early in the film.


Two further points:

1. Why not make Helga an Angel of Death who escaped? That gives Bond something to do for the PTS; someone to work out his frustrations upon.

2. I can't wait to get to the Garden of Death sequence...

[coco1997]

Two points:

1. I don't like the character of Helga Brandt.

2. I don't think Irma Bunt should be killed off so early in the film.

Just because you don't like her character, that doesn't mean we should completely forget about her.

And you just proved, rather ironically, how painless it is to make a point without immaturely resorting to -1 someone.

[dinovelvet]

IIRC, Helga Brandt wasn't in the novel at all, was she?

I suspect she was only put in YOLT so there'd be at least one white Bond girl.

I suppose I should be getting on with this OHMSS stuff in the meantime...!

[coco1997]

IIRC, Helga Brandt wasn't in the novel at all, was she?

I suspect she was only put in YOLT so there'd be at least one white Bond girl.

I suppose I should be getting on with this OHMSS stuff in the meantime...!

True, she was not. Although, I presume we will be using Anya Amasova once we get to "TSWLM", though, and she's not a Fleming character.

And yes, I do look forward to the next part of "OHMSS"!

[dinovelvet]

OK I've used and modernized the proposed chase scene (obviously a 'post office trolley' doesn't really work anymore!) :

LONDON - THE COLLEGE OF ARMS

Bond arrives at the College under the guise of investigating his own heritage. Inside, he is introduced to the eccentric Sir Hillary Bray. With his assistant, Phidian, Bray shows Bond his family's coat of arms, bearing the inscription 'The World is Not Enough'. Bray ushers Phidian outside and tells Bond that Blofeld has asked him to come to his residence at Piz Gloria in St.Moritz in person to verify his documents.

Bond suggests that he goes in Sir Hillary's place, and Hilly agrees. As they talk, Bond hears a creaking noise outside the door. He motions for Hilly to keep talking as he sneaks over to the door. He yanks it open to find Phidian standing outside, holding up a cellphone to record their conversation. Phidian quickly topples a suit of armour onto Bond. Bond shoves it out of the way but Phidian has bought himself a few seconds, he runs for the stairs.

Bond gives chase as Phidian runs onto the roof. (We see everywhere around is decorated for Christmas). From there, he leaps on to the health club next door. Phidian eventually slides down a ladder and runs to St. Paul's Cathedral. He bursts inside and sprints to the exit on the other side, interrupting a service. Bond follows right behind him. Phidian bumps into a priest, who slips and almost drops a bottle of wine, but Bond catches it, handing it back to him saying "Not while I'm on the job, thanks Father".

The pursuit leads out onto Tower Bridge (yes I know I'm being a little loose with London geography here, but that's the EON way!). Phidian crosses it just as the drawbridge is starting to raise. Bond sprints up the rising drawbridge and sails through the air, just catching the other side. It immediately starts to descend again, Bond in danger of being crushed as the two halves of the bridge meet, but he manages to pull himself up just in the nick of time and slides down the other side, immediately picking up the chase again.

The chase turns on to...where else...Bond Street. Phidian shoves his way through the throng of Christmas shoppers, into a tube station entrance. He and Bond run down the escalators, onto a platform. A train is approaching; Phidian attempts to cross the tracks to the other side, but he trips and the train slams straight into him. Bond takes Phidian's phone from him as the man lays dying, and quips "Mind the gap". He leaves as a crowd gathers.

MI6

M and Bond are in a briefing room, analyzing the cellphone. They discover that 'Phidian' had only been at the College for a couple of months, and his fingerprints from the phone reveal him to be on an old watchlist of possible QUANTUM associates. "Definitely one of Blofeld's", remarks Bond.

Tanner enters and informs them he's arranged with the police to declare the death to be an accident. M agrees to send Bond to Piz Gloria; they look up a website advertising the place as an "allergy clinic seeking volunteers for an experimental treatment, females only".

"Females only? Definitely worth a look, then.", notes Bond. M rolls her eyes and tells him to go and find out what Blofeld is up to.

ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND

TBC

[coco1997]

Nicely done, dino.

So how are we going to handle Blofeld not recognizing Bond when he arrives at Piz Gloria?

[dinovelvet]

Nicely done, dino.

So how are we going to handle Blofeld not recognizing Bond when he arrives at Piz Gloria?

Good question. Did they officially meet in our version of Goldfinger? I know there was some kind of car chase but it seems a bit ambiguous. I know we had that scene at the end of FRWL, but Bond and Blofeld were too busy going in opposite directions to even look at each other!

I presume Blofeld was so arrogant that he wouldn't have even looked at Bond's dossier, considering the meddling of one meager British agent to be beneath him. Maybe we can plant that idea back in FRWL. Anyway I'll be writing it as if Blofeld doesn't recognize him, unless anyone has other ideas.

[Mr. Blofeld]

In the YOLT novel, it's Bunt who recognizes Bond in his Japanese disguise, and, even then, only as "that Englander spy", so it's not like down-on-his-luck and mad-as-a-cat Blofeld is going to have any great mind for faces...

[dinovelvet]

In the YOLT novel, it's Bunt who recognizes Bond in his Japanese disguise, and, even then, only as "that Englander spy", so it's not like down-on-his-luck and mad-as-a-cat Blofeld is going to have any great mind for faces...

Indeed. So I'm just going with the notion that Bond and Blofeld have not met, so he won't recognize him, and Craig won't have to put on a silly voice. And on that subject, I don't think it's a good idea for Craig to walk around wearing "Japface" in a modern YOLT

[coco1997]

I don't think it's a good idea for Craig to walk around wearing "Japface" in a modern YOLT

Very good point.

[coco1997]

By the way, this is the car I'd like to see Tracy drive (and die in): the Ferrari Four

[Mr. Blofeld]

Understandable... except, sans for the blue eyes (and, of course, the accent), Craig could make a rather convincing Japanese person: