772 replies to this topic

[Mr. Blofeld]

Tiger takes complete control of Bond; the morning after the game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors", he takes Bond into his confidence about Shatterhand -- after that, Dikko isn't seen until the final chapter, and Tiger envelopes Bond in Japanese culture.

We could cut down on the whole "envelope in Japanese culture" thing, make it into a montage... but, then, we'd lose our title line.

[coco1997]

I thought Dikko was going to be a traitor?

[Mr. Blofeld]

I still want him to be loyal... how about Matsui Fujiwa, a cipher clerk under Tiger? He's not in the book, but it'd be a nice throwback to Thunderball, the movie.

"Blackmail of the double agent Matsui Fujiwa. Unfortunately, only 40 million yen; all the man had!"

[coco1997]

I still want him to be loyal... how about Matsui Fujiwa, a cipher clerk under Tiger? He's not in the book, but it'd be a nice throwback to Thunderball, the movie.

"Blackmail of the double agent Matsui Fujiwa. Unfortunately, only 40 million yen; all the man had!"

There's no real payoff to whether Dikko is loyal or not, though. By the end of the book, he's basically an afterthought. Making him a traitor isn't nearly as controversial as, say, what Benson did with Draco in "Never Dream of Dying".

[Mr. Blofeld]

There's no real payoff to whether Dikko is loyal or not, though. By the end of the book, he's basically an afterthought. Making him a traitor isn't nearly as controversial as, say, what Benson did with Draco in "Never Dream of Dying".

Why should there be payoff; why should there even be a question of loyalty, to begin with? If it's to be more faithful to the novel, Dikko doesn't do anything bad; his views might be incendiary, but he's a lovable rogue who thinks Bond's a "pommy poofter" -- what not to like?

[coco1997]

I can see both sides.

I just don't want to complicate things for dino if he's already sorted things out in his head.

[dinovelvet]

I haven't written anything in stone. I do agree though that Dikko is essentially useless after he's introduced Bond to Japan. So why not send him off with a bang rather than let him just disappear when the story is done with him?

[Mr. Blofeld]

Well... he's essentially an honest man, one whom Bond can share a drink and some geishas with; I'd hate to see it shown that he was lying under the table the whole time.

[coco1997]

I haven't written anything in stone. I do agree though that Dikko is essentially useless after he's introduced Bond to Japan. So why not send him off with a bang rather than let him just disappear when the story is done with him?

I agree completely.

I've also beenk thinking of how we can use the Skybike:

* Tiger informs Bond about the location of Blofeld's "Garden of Death"
* Tiger introduces Bond to the Japanese Q, who unveils the "Skybike"/Little Nellie to him.
* In a role reversal of the original film, Bond's reaction to the Skybike is dismissive and one of amusement, until the Japanese Q/Tanaka demonstrates its surface-to-air capabilities.
* Bond takes to the skies and scopes out the area above the Garden of Death, but a creepy, dense fog prohibits him from identifying anything of note.

[coco1997]

Any idea when the next bit is coming, dino?

[dinovelvet]

Any idea when the next bit is coming, dino?

Tomorrow...I'm going to go ahead and use Dikko as a traitor, since there seems to be little purpose to even having him in the film otherwise, and anyway it seems the vote is 2:1 in favor of doing so , so I'll be working out an action/chase scene using the Floating Gardens and maybe working in some other Osaka landmarks too. Aquarium, anybody? Can/should we have Bondian hijinks in an aquarium? The recent Blood stone game had a shootout inside one.

And yes the skybike stuff seems sound enough...

[coco1997]

Great, I look forward to it.

I'm glad we agreed on an acceptable way to adapt the otherwise 'outlandish' idea of Little Nellie into the gritty, revenge-driven Fleming story.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I'm cool with that.

[coco1997]

Any progress, dino?

[dinovelvet]

Any progress, dino?

Only in my head, so far

I'm trying to work out something that escalates from a minor scuffle into a huge action scene, like in CR where Bond following Demetrios leads to the Miami airport sequence. In fact I was thinking of doing something involving Osaka's Kensai airport, which is literally an island. Seems to me that an airport that's separated from the mainland would be a prime target for a terrorism hit...?

[coco1997]

Indeed it does! Your mention of the airport piqued my curiosity so I looked it up and yes, that would be the perfect setting for a major action sequence.

[coco1997]

Y'know, I was thinking: If we're going to have Colonel Sun be the one to orchestrate the capture and brainwashing of Bond after "YOLT", maybe we could take a detour after "TMWTGG" and follow that one up with "Colonel Sun"?

That is, if everyone else is interested in tackling that story.

[dinovelvet]

Wait, wait. You guys totally overlooked the "boogiemen" option of sea creatures arising from the Sea Of Japan and getting Bond.

Or was that already done in DAD

Hmm, yes a BOND VS GODZILLA is just the kind of exciting new direction the series needs

Y'know, I was thinking: If we're going to have Colonel Sun be the one to orchestrate the capture and brainwashing of Bond after "YOLT", maybe we could take a detour after "TMWTGG" and follow that one up with "Colonel Sun"?

That is, if everyone else is interested in tackling that story.

I really don't remember too much about the story other than M gets kidnapped and taken to Greece, and Bond gets metal spikes shoved in some uncomfortable places...

[coco1997]

I suppose it's not worth pursuing if not enough participants are familiar with the story. But maybe Mr. B, tdalton and myself can work something up...?

I know tdalton has some good ideas for "TSWLM", though, so we can follow "TMWTGG" up with that one.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I have a friend who can probably supply me with a detailed synopsis...

[coco1997]

I have a friend who can probably supply me with a detailed synopsis...

Sounds good.

[coco1997]

How are we going to introduce Kissy? I forgot how she was utilized in the book.

[Mr. Blofeld]

She's introduced at the village; Bond doesn't marry her, but instead lives with her for a few days -- she falls in love with him (unrequitedly, of course), and he helps her go pearl-diving with her pet comorant, David.

[dinovelvet]

THE NEXT DAY

The observation deck of the Floating Gardens Observatory. Some light construction is going on, as, in amongst a crowd of tourists, Bond carries a suitcase of money; Tanaka and several of his agents blend in with the crowd of tourists to make sure everything goes smoothly. A man named FUJIWA approaches Bond and hands him a flash drive. Bond hands over the suitcase; both men inspect their goods, and, satisfied that he has the original copy of the files, Bond allows him to leave. As Fujiwa disappears into the crowd, Bond's phone begins to vibrate; he looks at the screen to see "2...1..."; instinctively, he throws his phone over the side and it EXPLODES.
Tourists scream and scatter everywhere. Tanaka's men chase after Fujiwa, but he draws a machine pistol and drops two of them before they can fire. Tanaka fights his way through a crowd all surging in the opposite direction while Fujiwa is joined by more goons who open fire. As they head for the stairs, Bond runs and slides down a bridge/pipe (the diagonal thing seen in the photo here.) He shoots a gunman on his way down, sending him plunging down the 40 storey abyss.
Fujiwa and his goons make it to an elevator. Bond shoots another one as the doors close, separating them. As the elevator descends, Bond looks around and spots a winch being used for construction. He clips it onto his belt and JUMPS over the edge, effectively abseiling down the side of the building.
As they descend, Fujiwa blasts at Bond from the glass elevator; Bond fires back, but is distracted as he's about to smash into a window washing rig halfway down the building; unable to stop, Bond kicks off the surface of the building and avoids the rig entirely as a man on the window washer looks at Bond incredulously, and then looks at a bottle of sake in his hand.
The elevator reaches the bottom and Fujiwa and his remaining two men get on motorbikes. As they tear off into afternoon traffic, Bond crashes into a food stall , as he picks himself up, he brushes a live wriggling octopus off his shoulder, handing it back to the vendor. He runs to a parked...

TBC

[coco1997]

Good work, Dino. Are we going to be able to work that bullet train into this chase?

[dinovelvet]

Good work, Dino. Are we going to be able to work that bullet train into this chase?

I was going to use the train as part of the travelogue when Bond goes to the more remote part of Japan

[coco1997]

Good work, Dino. Are we going to be able to work that bullet train into this chase?

I was going to use the train as part of the travelogue when Bond goes to the more remote part of Japan

Works for me.

[Mr. Blofeld]

It'll be used as the framing device for a lengthy sort-of montage sequence, then? I'm cool with that, but I hope you've got a copy of the novel on hand when you're writing it, dino...

[coco1997]

Any updates, dino?

[coco1997]

?