772 replies to this topic

[Mr. Blofeld]

It would definitely be odd to see Daniel Craig go up against Peter Serafinowicz with poofy frosted hair and a droopy black mustache... but worth it, if only for that indelible exchange before Bond finally kills Blofeld.

[coco1997]

Can I ask to what extent we're going in fleshing out these treatments? It seems as though this has a great deal more dialogue than the last one and previous UBs. Not saying that's a bad thing, was just curious.

[terminus]

I think that if someone has the idea for a lot of dialogue, then they should go for it - it's always good to have a bit more of an idea on how a scene might play out.

[terminus]

All right, since we seem to be doing some forward planning, I'll share with you an idea that came to me a few days ago:

We all know that DAF was a waste of what should've been a revenge-themed follow-up to OHMSS. We also know that Irma Bunt was Tracy Bond's true killer. However, due to Ilse Steppat's death shortly after the release of OHMSS, her character was not brought back for DAF or any future Bond films out of respect. This is what I propose: Once we get to YOLT, Bond will be quite aware that Bunt was the one who killed his wife and hence he'll be going after both her and Blofeld, but his vengeance will be driven more towards the former than the latter. Shatterhand (or whatever alias we choose to use for the character) will actually be Bunt, not Blofeld. I believe dino wrote a treatment a few years ago that utilized this very idea.

I have to agree with coco's thoughts here - in part, at least - given that in our version of FRWL, we have Blofeld overthrowing Quantum's council because of the plan to eliminate one specific operative. To paraphrase Blofeld's own words '(they) are above seeking vengeance on one man', thus it would make sense for Irma Bunt to be operating alone when it comes to the assasination of Tracey (and, presumably, the attempted assasination of Bond).

If that happens, then perhaps we could feature Bunt in YOLT, even if only in the PTS - and possibly using Raymond Benson's short story 'Blast from the Past' in some fashion (maybe relocated to Australia and using the giant rats of Crumpers Dick from Pearson's Biography).

[dinovelvet]

Can I ask to what extent we're going in fleshing out these treatments? It seems as though this has a great deal more dialogue than the last one and previous UBs. Not saying that's a bad thing, was just curious.

It's up to whoever's writing that bit. For that scene I did, I just wanted to show the tension that immediately arises between Blofeld and White/Klebb. Obviously the more action-heavy scenes probably don't need much dialogue to flesh them out.

[dinovelvet]

Has anyone got ideas for what happens when Bond and Tatiana leave the train? I presume they are trying to get out of Russia over the China (or Mongolia) border with some element of QUANTUM in pursuit. The three boats chase and helicopter attack of the original are a bit dated and low-key by today's action standards.

On another note, I watched FRWL again and I've never realized before that a lot of what happens in the first half is just a waste of time! The whole bombing-of-Kerim's office/underground periscope/gypsy camp/killing Krilencu sequence doesn't have anything to do with the main plot, which doesn't really begin until Tatiana shows up in Bond's bed.

[tdalton]

Sorry for the delay. I know I promised a bit more of the outline today, but I had some unexpected things come up today that took priority. Will post a bit more of it soon, however.

EDIT: The Moscow sequence is coming along, slowly but surely.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 04:17 AM.

[tdalton]

On another note, I watched FRWL again and I've never realized before that a lot of what happens in the first half is just a waste of time! The whole bombing-of-Kerim's office/underground periscope/gypsy camp/killing Krilencu sequence doesn't have anything to do with the main plot, which doesn't really begin until Tatiana shows up in Bond's bed.

I'm going to go ahead and post what I've got for the Moscow sequence leading up to the heist (I've still got to figure out how to pull that off, so if anyone has any ideas, feel free ), but I've tried to incorporate Krilencu in a small way that ties in a bit more with the plot than it did in the original.



MOSCOW

Bond steps off the plane in Moscow and meets a young Turkish man at the terminal. They exchange code words, after which the man, identified as the son of Kerim Bey. Bey escorts Bond to the car and proceeds to take him to his father’s safehouse on the outskirts of Moscow.

In the car, Bond notices that they are being followed, the suggestion of which is brushed off by Bey’s son, which he says is a common occurrence and a part of the way things are done (they follow us, we follow them)

At the safehouse, Bond is introduced to Ali Kerim Bey, MI6’s man in Moscow. He and Bond share a drink while Bey informs Bond that he thinks that he is wasting his time in Moscow.

BOND: That may be true, but if we have the opportunity to gain valuable information on Quantum, then we must take the risk.
KERIM-BEY: The woman has made arrangements to meet you at the Bolshoi Theatre tonight. She has a private box, which is where she will meet you.

Later that night, Bond waits patiently in Tatiana’s private box at the theatre, noting that she is late. He sits through the first half of the performance, leaving at intermission when Tatiana does not show.

Bond leaves the theater and is attacked in the alley by a group of thugs. He fights them all off, killing all but one of them, whose face Bond gets a good look at.

He requests Kerim Bey to meet him, which he does at a bar not too far from the theatre. He informs Kerim Bey about the attack, and describes the man to him. Kerim Bey immediately recognizes the man as Krilencu (Nestor Carbonell), informing him that he knows where to find him.

Kerim Bey takes Bond to a run down section of Moscow, leading him into an apartment building. They make their way up to the room in which Krilencu takes up residence, break-in, only to find Krilencu’s body lying dead on the floor. The cause of death was strangulation.

When Bond returns to his hotel room, he finds that the door is unlocked, causing him to retrieve his pistol from its holster and enter the room cautiously. He makes his way into the bedroom of the suite to find a woman lying in his bed.

BOND: You must be Tatiana Romanova.

She nods.

BOND: My name is Bond…
TATIANA: I know who you are.
BOND: Do you have the information on Quantum?
TATIANA: Yes, but not here. It’s in a safe in my office. You can take me there in the morning.

The next day, Tatiana takes Bond and Kerim Bey to her office building in the heart of Moscow. She hands over the documents to him, at which point the building’s security alarm is triggered. Bond instructs Kerim Bey to get the girl to safety, fearing that Quantum has discovered her betrayal and has come to eliminate her.

Bond steps out into the hall to survey the situation and is attacked from behind and is knocked unconscious.

Bond awakes in a pitch-black room with a single overhead light providing the only sliver of light.

UNKNOWN: One of my men is dead thanks to you.
BOND: I don’t follow.
UNKNOWN: Mr. Krilencu was a trusted member of my organization.
BOND: I didn’t kill him. He jumped me in the alley behind the theatre, and I did go to see him with the intention of killing him, but someone beat me to it.
UNKNOWN: That’s a shame. Although it was a long shot, I had hoped that Mr. Krilencu could persuade you to leave Moscow and return to London.
BOND: Why? Who do you work for?
[silence]
UNKNOWN: You might as well know, I am a member of the organization you know as Quantum. What you will find out, if you look over the documents the girl has given you very closely, is that they will be of no use to you. They’re simply bait to attract you in a plot of revenge by the Quantum leadership.
BOND: Why are you telling me this. How do I know I can trust you?
UNKNOWN: You can’t.

Bond is knocked unconscious again, and awakes when he’s dropped on the doorstep of Kerim Bey’s offices.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 06:13 AM.

[dinovelvet]

I don't know if I'm entirely on board with the idea of Blofeld kidnapping Bond only to let him go afterwards. It's a bit of an old Bond/Austin Powers routine that I'm not sure works in the modern era any more. It would make perfect sense for Blofeld to just kill Bond, thus proving himself to the rest of the Quantum heads.

My original idea was that Blofeld would be more of a behind-the-scenes manipulator, never directly confronting Bond (hence they won't recognize each other at the Albert Hall finale). I thought perhaps Bond could come across an anonymous note simply stating something like "The information you stole is useless. Find the real goods at...<insert location>. If you need proof, run a trace on the name Dieter Kronsteen". Bond would then tell Tanner to look up the name, and Tanner would immediately come across a photo of Mr. White, spurring Bond on to get hold of the real files.

Blofeld himself would barely be seen again until the finale, much like CR only had White popping up very briefly.

What do others think about this aspect?

[tdalton]

I don't know if I'm entirely on board with the idea of Blofeld kidnapping Bond only to let him go afterwards. It's a bit of an old Bond/Austin Powers routine that I'm not sure works in the modern era any more. It would make perfect sense for Blofeld to just kill Bond, thus proving himself to the rest of the Quantum heads.

My original idea was that Blofeld would be more of a behind-the-scenes manipulator, never directly confronting Bond (hence they won't recognize each other at the Albert Hall finale). I thought perhaps Bond could come across an anonymous note simply stating something like "The information you stole is useless. Find the real goods at...<insert location>. If you need proof, run a trace on the name Dieter Kronsteen". Bond would then tell Tanner to look up the name, and Tanner would immediately come across a photo of Mr. White, spurring Bond on to get hold of the real files.

Blofeld himself would barely be seen again until the finale, much like CR only had White popping up very briefly.

What do others think about this aspect?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure about any of the outline I've written to this point after reading it back. Apart from the PTS and the scene that you wrote, I think that it's pretty bad upon a second reading. Making an attempt at doing this really gives me an appreciation for the numerous treatments produced by both yourself and terminus over the course of the last few months.

EDIT:

The thought behind him kidnapping Bond was that Blofeld would have confidence that, especially when armed with the information regarding Quantum's trap, Bond would be able to deal a final death blow to the Quantum leadership, crippling to a point where Blofeld would have an easy time performing a hostile takeover. Basically, the idea was to make it so that Bond was basically tricked into working for Blofeld over the course of the film.

With that said, I think your point is a good one as well.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 06:39 AM.

[coco1997]

I can see both points of views. However, I'd like to hear what terminus has to say on the matter, as well as what he thinks about the outline thus far.

[tdalton]

as well as what he thinks about the outline thus far.

I think that regardless of what direction we end up going with the project (as well as who actually ends up being the one to write it, be it me, dinovelvet, terminus, or whoever), this particular version of the outline with the exception of the Quantum meeting scene should be completely scrapped. I already know if I'm the one that ends up finishing it, that I'm going to scrap almost all of it and begin again.

The big problem is, as dinovelvet already said earlier in the thread, is that it's very difficult to adapt something in which a lot of the preliminary action really has little to nothing to do with the main plot.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 07:37 AM.

[Harry Fawkes]

I will get down to reading this fine work as soon as I have finished writing CHARM THE DEVIL. I've browsed through most of it and it seems really entertaining. Good job all of you.

Harry Fawkes

[tdalton]

Just wanted to clarify my comments regarding the outline. The only dissatisfaction I have with it is with my own contributions to it (i.e. how the good ideas that everyone has come up with have been tied together, the ideas that I've added to it, etc.), and I didn't want anyone to think that I was trashing any of the ideas that they had put forward because I've liked all of the ideas that have been put into this and it certainly wasn't my intention for anything that I said to come across that way, and apologies if it did. My dissatisfaction is entirely with my own contributions, not anyone else's.

EDIT:

How about this as a way to tweak what we currently have and make it a bit better in terms of the outline. I was thinking maybe about taking an approach from Casino Royale and start the main part of the film with Bond on a completely different assignment where he's aggressively going after some Quantum interest and somehow pulls up short. Maybe this is a mission that they view as having the potential to severely hinder Quantum's global influence, and it turns out that Quantum is a few steps ahead of Bond at every turn. We could cut back and forth between this and Quantum making their plans regarding the FRWL plot. After Bond fails the mission, it would give both him and M a bit more incentive to take the bait regarding the information that Tatiana is going to provide them. I think that this, or something else along these lines, would help in terms of streamlining the first half of the story which, as has already been pointed out, little to nothing of consequence to the main story actually happens. Perhaps this could include beefing up Krilencu's part in the story, with Bond identifying him as a key figure in Quantum's organization somehow, and after Bond's failure to capture or kill him in the failed mission, Blofeld could then offer him up as something of a sacrificial lamb to Bond later on in an attempt to get him to deviate from the course that Quantum has put him on in terms of their trap.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 04:33 PM.

[terminus]

I suppose it would allow us to slide in Istanbul as the location for Bond's encounter with Krilencu somehow.

And then we just attach the Moscow/Siberian Express/Beijing sequences at the end.

[tdalton]

I suppose it would allow us to slide in Istanbul as the location for Bond's encounter with Krilencu somehow.

And then we just attach the Moscow/Siberian Express/Beijing sequences at the end.

That's kind of what I was thinking. A big part of the problem with my current outline is that Krilencu just kind of shows up and disappears, as I was trying to mirror the film to some degree, but given how we've set this one up, the parts of the film directly leading up to Bond and Tatiana getting on the train just do not work. That's why I think that we should take the CR approach (something that I never thought I'd be all that much in favor of) and tack some kind of introductory mission onto the beginning of it to setup the plot.

With all of that said, my apologies for perhaps coming off as being somewhat irritable or whatever. The decision to criticize my own outline wasn't in response to anyone's comments regarding it, but rather my own dissatisfaction that I felt when I was reading over it to try to incorporate or change things based on group discussion, as I felt really bad about the very low quality of what I'd put out there. For a first effort for myself in a project that has had pretty high standards to this point, I didn't feel good about it at all, and that's kind of where that came from. Once again, apologies to all, and I'm going to go ahead and get this thing finished and then probably hand the reigns back to those that have successfully steered this project for the past several months and go back to being heavily involved in the casting and character development areas that I've had more success in.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 06:42 PM.

[coco1997]

Yeah, don't be too hard on yourself, t. I'd be the first to admit that I wouldn't be very good at all at writing up an entire treatment (I'm much better at contributing ideas) so I'd rather see the actual connect the dots in the hands of dino and terminus, as they seem to have a real knack for it. I know terminus is somewhat preoccupied with writing his own script at the moment so I'd be hesitant to ask him to finish the treatment so we can move on to "Goldfinger", but seeing as you want to finish it yourself, I guess it would be nice to have you see it through to the end.

I have a feeling once we finish "FRWL" and move onto the more 'fun' Bond films, beginning with "Goldfinger", people will be more inspired to participate.

[tdalton]

I have a feeling once we finish "FRWL" and move onto the more 'fun' Bond films, beginning with "Goldfinger", people will be more inspired to participate.

I'm hopeful for that as well. The more "fun" films will hopefully be just that, a lot of fun, once we get to them. Actually, given the much more straightforward nature of the plot of LALD coupled with the ridiculous amount of horror and action movies I've watched over time, that would have probably been the better project for me to dip my toe into the treatment business with, rather than a film that basically runs for an entire hour before it actually begins. (which was something I had never noticed before until it was pointed out by dino, and yet it truly fascinates me that they were able to pull that off and still make a truly great spy thriller).

EDIT:

I'm going to spend quite a bit of the day working on an outline, which I hope to have finished sooner rather than later. I'm not going to try to pin myself to a timeframe like I did with the last attempt, but suffice to say I hope I finish it sooner rather than later so we can move on to the next one.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 07:05 PM.

[tdalton]

After re-thinking the plot progression to a point, here's a bullet-pointed look at what I've come up with. If it's satisfactory, I'll go ahead and start fleshing it out into a treatment, or we can make whatever changes need to be made before heading into that process. This is a bit more detailed than our usual bullet-point outlines, but hopefully that will make it easier to quickly form a final treatment if this turns out to be close to what we decide to go with.

A couple of points. I do need to find a way to get Grant a bit more involved here. Also, the videotape subplot is something that we can get rid of if it doesn't work. I'm not sure if it does or not, to be honest.

I've also got to work Moneypenny into the proceedings as well. Also, if there are any ideas that we had settled on that I've neglected to include, let me know.

PTS- MOROCCO

• Grant stalks a fake Bond down into an old cistern, killing him in brutal fashion. Klebb appears from the shadows to inform him that Quantum will come calling when the time is right.

ISTANBUL

• Bond is on the trail of a man named Krilencu, who MI6 believes to be something of a Le Chiffre-type character, who is suspected of trying to organize a major attack against European interests in the area. As Bond goes further and further into his investigation, he finds that Quantum is always one step ahead of him, and Krilencu ultimately pulls of the attack.
• With Quantum having successfully staged an attack against the Europeans' interests in the region, M and Bond realize that Quantum may not be as close to destruction as they had once thought.

STATUE OF LIBERTY
scene plays out exactly as written by dinovelvet

• Quantum has their meeting, establishing Blofeld as the newest member of the organization's leadership council.
• Klebb details the organization's plan to humiliate and then assassinate Bond
• Blofeld objects to the plan.

LONDON

• M informs Bond that a Russian woman named Tatiana Romanova is willing to turn herself in to MI6 in return for high-level information about Quantum and a safe passage away from the organization.
• Both Bond and M suspect it to be a trap, but understand the necessity to get ahead of Quantum again.

MOSCOW

• Bond is met by Kerim Bey's son at the airport. Bey drives him to see his father at his safehouse.
• Along the way, Bond notices that they are being followed, but is informed that this is how things are done in Russia ("they follow us, we follow them")
• Kerim Bey informs Bond that the woman has arranged a meeting for Bond at an abandoned church just beyond the outskirts of the Moscow city limits.
• When Bond arrives, he is greeted by a group of thugs instead, led by Krilencu. Bond dispatches Krilencu's thugs, but Krilencu gets away.
• Kerim Bey informs Bond that he knows where to find Krilencu, as he is someone they had been keeping tabs on since his arrival in Moscow. He agrees to take Bond to the location later that night.
• Bond returns to his hotel room to find Tatiana in his bed. After dialogue similar to that in the original film, they make love, and it is revealed that they are being videotaped by Klebb and Grant behind a two-way mirror in the wall.
• Later that night, Bond sneaks out to meet Kerim Bey, who takes him to Krilencu's location. When they get there, they find Krilencu dead, with a note pinned to his chest. The note claims that the information Tatiana is set to give up is not of any use. The note is inscribed with the Q logo used by the Quantum organization.
• Bond goes back to Tatiana and convinces her to give up the location of the safehouse where he can get some useful information about Quantum, using Krilencu's death as leverage to convince her that Quantum will eventually kill her too once she is no longer of use to the organization.
• Bond goes to the safehouse, breaking into it and retrieving the information in a slightly more violent Ocean's 11-style break-in.

LONDON

• Videotape of Bond's romantic interactions with Tatiana have been leaked to the government, causing M's superiors to demand Bond's recall from the assignment, which M verbally agrees to do, but never follows through with. (NOTE: I think that this is different from the usual trust issues that have come up in previous films because there is actually video proof that Bond may be playing for the other side, and it goes along with trying to publicly humiliate Bond before Grant attempts to dispose of him later on.)

TRAIN

• Bond, Tatiana, and Kerim Bey board a train for China in attempt to get away from the Russian authorties who are trying to hunt them down following the heist at the Russian safehouse.
• On the train, Kerim Bey is killed by Quantum agents who have snuck aboard, but not before Kerim Bey has dispatched them as well.
• The train stops in Mongolia, where Red Grant boards the train posing as Captain Nash, the man that has been sent to retrieve the stolen information from Bond to send back to London.
• Grant joins Bond and Tatiana for dinner, where Bond discovers that Grant is an imposter after he makes the wrong wine selection.
• Bond and Grant fight to the death in the train car. Grant is defeated.
• Quantum agents that boarded the train in Mongolia begin closing in on Bond and Tatiana after Grant's death, causing them to make a daring escape from the train while it is still moving. They walk to the nearest town, steal a car, and then drive to Beijing.

BEIJING

• Bond and Tatiana get off the train and enjoy a day of relaxation before deciding to make their way back to London.
• While in Beijing, Bond is informed by M that he's under investigation for the videotape that has been leaked. Bond realizes that the only way to clear himself is to get Tatiana back to London alive to show that she has turned herself over to MI6.
• While walking near the Hai River, they are ambushed by Quantum agents.
• Bond and Tatiana commandeer a speedboat and try to flee the Quantum agents, who are not far behind them. A high-speed boat chase ensues, which results in Bond killing the Quantum agents in a massive explosion.

LONDON

• Bond brings Tatiana to MI6.
• M goes through the information that Bond has retrieved from the safehouse, which has been deciphered by Major Boothroyd's team in Q Branch.
• It is revealed that within the information is a list of Quantum leadership, their locations, etc. All 12 members of Quantum are listed, with photos, except for Blofeld, who is shown by name only, no photograph, with the rest of his information taken out.
• While Tatiana and M have a private discussion, Bond is sent a tip regarding Mr. White's whereabouts, which is the Royal Albert Hall. Bond rushes there, in a scene that is intercut with images of Quantum leadership members being assassinated.
• When Bond arrives, he brushes past a man that we recognize as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who we see displaying a sinister grin as he walks off into the night.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 08:33 PM.

[coco1997]

Everything looks good to me, t. I know dino mentioned something earlier about perhaps 'beefing up' the boat chase with Bond and Tatiana against the Quantum agents, so maybe he could elaborate on this. Other than that, it's all come together quite nicely.

[tdalton]

Everything looks good to me, t. I know dino mentioned something earlier about perhaps 'beefing up' the boat chase with Bond and Tatiana against the Quantum agents, so maybe he could elaborate on this. Other than that, it's all come together quite nicely.

Thanks

I'm currently drafting it up, which will hopefully be finished tonight or sometime early tomorrow, then we can move on to the next one if everyone's happy with the finished product.

Also, we need a title song performer and a director (unless we just want to use the BOND 23 team again).

[terminus]

Excellent revision of your outline, tdalton.

Perhaps we could leave Kerim Bey and 'Penny in Moscow (with them escaping in some other manner, not putting all of their eggs in one basket, so to speak - they go west whilst Bond and Tania go east). Bey's son's role in the treatment above could be expanded and taken over by 'Penny - and I'd like to see her and Bond having some sort of romantic interlude somehow.

And if we're back in London at the end of the film for the scenes with the information being decrypted, perhaps we could drop in the line with Bond recommending Moneypenny be transferred to London into the segments.

Furthermore, perhaps Bond has also given Bey the real information - he's turned the game back onto Quantum and Blofeld, so they go after him to try and eliminate him and secure the information whilst Bey and 'Penny slip out of Russia and into Eastern Europe?

Re: title song performer, after we've had Chris Cornell, Jack White and Alicia Keys and Brandon Flowers (in Doctor No), perhaps we could take a slight change of pace and move towards someone like Michael Buble - but Michael Buble is a bit too predictable. I'd suggest an artise called 'Plan B' (aka Benjamin Drew), he's an English singer who does a mix of soul, R&B, hip-hop and rock - but you need to listen to his album 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' if you want an idea of what he could be like singing the same themetune: a bit like Matt Munroe but with a modern R&B/hip-hop sort of twist.

Therefore, my suggestion is 'Plan B' for the themetune.

[dinovelvet]

Shouldn't Grant be the one to kill Kerim? Otherwise he's just some undeveloped bloke who shows up to fight Bond out of the blue. I'd also like to rework the actual fight rather than just staging a fight scene in the train cabin, otherwise it'll just be compared unfavorably to the original Connery/Shaw fight (I'm really pretending this is a real movie, aren't I!)

And what happens to Rosa Klebb?

[tdalton]

Shouldn't Grant be the one to kill Kerim? Otherwise he's just some undeveloped bloke who shows up to fight Bond out of the blue. I'd also like to rework the actual fight rather than just staging a fight scene in the train cabin, otherwise it'll just be compared unfavorably to the original Connery/Shaw fight (I'm really pretending this is a real movie, aren't I!)

And what happens to Rosa Klebb?

I can shake up the fight scene a bit. Maybe spread it out so that it takes place in different places in the train (something similar to the fight sequences in NSNA and DAD)? Or maybe it's something that turns into something of a gunfight/fistfight as they basically ransack the train. This could also be what gives Moneypenny and Kerim Bey (if we decide to keep him alive, which terminus alluded to) the opportunity to sneak off the train.

I'm also going to give Grant something to do in Istanbul along with Krilencu in order to flesh out his character some. I'm thinking maybe Krilencu is someone who takes his marching orders from Blofeld (maybe Blofeld brings him on board in a similar way to how Le Chiffre appeared to have some kind of working relationship with Mr. White), while Grant would be somebody who is loyal to and take his orders from Klebb, White, and the other nine members of the leadership council while being somewhat wary of Blofeld (or, more likely, he doesn't even know who Blofeld is). I'm thinking that maybe the leadership council has assigned both Grant and Krilencu to the assignment in Istanbul, with Krilencu taking the lead as perhaps the plot could be the something cooked up by Blofeld. As the plan would end up being successful, it could help lead him to think that he's better than the rest of the Quantum leadership (even though he would certainly think he was anyway) since he'd actually successfully completed a mission whereas the others had failed time and time again at the hands of Bond.

When Bond arrives in Moscow and encounters Krilencu again, Grant could get wind of the fact that Blofeld has sent Krilencu to try to dissuade Bond to give up on the plan and return to London, which could prompt Grant to kill Krilencu himself. After that, Blofeld could arrive for a meeting with Krilencu to discuss his failure to get Bond to return to London, only to find him dead, at which point he would pin the note about the information being useless to Krilencu's chest.

I did forget to include Klebb's demise. I'll put that somewhere in the Beijing timeline in the treatment.

EDIT: Also, good points terminus. I'm currently just getting started on writing out the Istanbul segments of the actual treatment, so I've got plenty of room to work in the idea of Moneypenny and Bey going one direction while Bond and Tatiana go the other way.

The revision that I posted is supposed to be something along the lines of the bullet-point outlines we've generally done in the past, so there's definitely still time to add things in, throw things out, and swap things around as deemed necessary.

Also, any ideas as to what Krilencu could actually be up to in Istanbul? I left it kind of vague by saying "European interests". I would figure him to be involved in some kind of attack along the lines of what Le Chiffre was trying to do in CR, although maybe on a slightly larger scale.

Edited by tdalton, 25 January 2011 - 11:20 PM.

[coco1997]

Are you going to include the 'chop' and jetpaack as part of the heist scene?

[terminus]

Also, any ideas as to what Krilencu could actually be up to in Istanbul? I left it kind of vague by saying "European interests". I would figure him to be involved in some kind of attack along the lines of what Le Chiffre was trying to do in CR, although maybe on a slightly larger scale.

Something to do with the Suez Canal perhaps - a base of operations (and whose to say we couldn't go to Egypt and use the canal itself - sort of the way that CR used the Bahamas/Miami in the first half, before the segue to the events of the novel in the second half). I suggest this, but worry that it would need to be rationalised and connected to the main plot of the film - somehow - and I think I've hit upon a connection that would allow us to keep the main bulk of the rest of the movie: the events in Istanbul/Egypt are Blofeld's 'audition-piece' for membership of the senior council; therefore, the operation must, by and large, succeed.

I'd also suggest that, in dino's dialogue, Blofeld goes to call Mr White by his real name in the lift (I thought about suggesting he call him 'father', but thought the eventual killing scene would be a bit too Star Wars) but gets reprimanded - 'You fool, even here, our real names are not safe - the men and women around that table would not hesitate to use it against you ...' Which, to me, makes sense - I doubt Quantum members would reveal their real names when usernames were to hand.

Here are my suggestions for bringing all of our ideas together:



Morocco - Grant stalks a fake Bond, killing him brutally (though, instead of this being a fake Bond, perhaps it could be a minor intelligence official from a random country). Klebb is impressed at his abilities and says that Quantum may have need of his services in the future.

Istanbul - Bond is on the trail of a man named Krilencu, who MI6 believe to be attempting some sort of terrorist atrocity against global interests - it is revealed that he is plotting to detonate explosives (but not nukes) along the Suez Canal, perhaps irrevocably decimating global shipping. Krilencu's organisation, at this point not yet revealed to be Quantum, always seems to be one step ahead of the secret agent and, despite a jaunt to Port Said in Egypt, Bond dispatches Krilencu, but is unable to stop the terrorist atrocity.

MI6/Quantum Stronghold - M and Bond realise that the atrocity in the Suez Canal might be the work of Quantum, not as crippled as they had previously believed it to be. In contrast, they are welcoming a new member to their fraternity - a man of Belgian descent named Ernst Stavros Blofeld, the man responsible for the coordination of the attack on the Suez Canal. He objects to Klebb's plan - but finds himself overruled by majority consensus: Klebb's plan is put into motion - with the message to MI6, supposedly from Tatiana Romanova, being sent.

Moscow - Bond is met by Moneypenny, the assistant to the Head of Station for MI6 in Moscow, who drives him to the organisations cover location - the business premises of the Moscow Office of Universal Exports. Bond notices they are being followed - but 'Penny explains this is not unexpected. Kerim Bey, the Head of Station (a British-Turk), has arranged a meeting between Bond and Tania in a church but Bond is ambushed by thugs - he dispatches them, but their leader gets away. Bey reveals that the leader of the thugs is a man called Kronsteen - a former Russian special services thug. Bond wants to track Kronsteen down and Bey agrees to help. Bond meets with Tania in his bedroom (we do not meet Grant yet - he is offscreen for the entire first chunk of the movie) and later finds Kronsteen dead, with the reveal that the information that Tania is passing to him is fake and the location of the real Quantum safehouse. This note is revealed, to the audience but not to Bond, to have been sent by Blofeld. In a slightly more violent Ocean's 11-style break-in, Bond, Kerim Bey, Moneypenny and Tania break into the safehouse and steal a massive amount of data on the organisation -

Trans-Siberian Express - Bond and Tania move to flee Moscow on the train, pursue by the Russians who have also been alerted to Tania's status as a Quantum operative, with Kerim Bey and Moneypenny heading west via other means. The train stops in Mongolia, where Red Grant boards the train posing as Captain Nash, the man that has been sent to retrieve the stolen information from Bond to send back to London - this is the first time that we see Grant after the PTS and we spend some time building up his character: we must believe that Bond believes he is actually who he claims he is, which makes the dinner scene even more tension filled - until the wrong choice of wine is made and Bond reveals that he knew who Grant was all along. Bond and Grant fight to the death in the train car. Quantum agents that boarded the train in Mongolia begin closing in on Bond and Tatiana after Grant's death, causing them to make a daring escape from the train while it is still moving. They walk to the nearest town, borrow a plane, and cross the border into China and land in Beijing.

Beijing - Bond and Tania enjoy a day of relaxation before making their way back to London - but Bond discovers about the tape that has been leaked (by Blofeld, it would seem) and he knows that he must get Tania back to London so she can defect, prooving that he himself was not planning to defect. The delivery of the information from the safehouse in Moscow by Kerim and Moneypenny (Bond never had the info on the train, it is revealed) having failed to convince the Ministry of Defence about his allegiances (perhaps Blofeld has planted fake information in the data suggesting Bond was defecting?). Whilst driving along the Hai River on the way to the airport, Bond and Tania are attacked, their car is crashed and they must comandeer a speedboat to escape.

London - Bond brings Tatiana to MI6, where she explains her intent to defect - the information is decoded and is shown to be useful: but the leadership have all been killed by the time that Bond or another MI6 member arrives to kill them. Bond learns about Mr White's location - and arrives to find him dead during the Last Night of the Proms.

[coco1997]

Excellent work, terminus.

[dinovelvet]

Yes I think we've just about nailed it...though I think we're short-changing Rosa Klebb just a little! How about we give her a proper send-off with additional nods to the novel :

Having escaped their pursuers in Beijing, Bond checks in to the Peninsula Hotel with Tania, under the name Mr and Mrs David Somerset. Not wanting to risk going out, they order room service. It is quickly brought to the room by a tall thin man. As Bond signs the bill and turns his back on the server, a female voice says "That's a considerable tip, Mr. Bond. I'm sorry my reward for you won't be as generous". Bond whirls around to see the server is Rosa Klebb! He reaches for the gun in his waistband but it gets stuck as he tries to draw it; Klebb lunges with a high kick, slashing Bond's arm with a dagger in her shoe. Bleeding, Bond struggles to defend himself; Tania jumps in and defeats Klebb with her martial arts skills (Hey we didn't hire Katherine Winnick for her good looks! Well, yes we did, kind of). She ends up killing Klebb with a serving knife. A weakened Bond, having watched the whole thing, mutters "I got a kick out of watching that". (Ouch).

And continue on to London...

[coco1997]

I also think we should cast Kronsteen, now that we've decided to make him and White separate characters.

[tdalton]

Are you going to include the 'chop' and jetpaack as part of the heist scene?

Absolutely.

Yes I think we've just about nailed it...though I think we're short-changing Rosa Klebb just a little! How about we give her a proper send-off with additional nods to the novel :

Having escaped their pursuers in Beijing, Bond checks in to the Peninsula Hotel with Tania, under the name Mr and Mrs David Somerset. Not wanting to risk going out, they order room service. It is quickly brought to the room by a tall thin man. As Bond signs the bill and turns his back on the server, a female voice says "That's a considerable tip, Mr. Bond. I'm sorry my reward for you won't be as generous". Bond whirls around to see the server is Rosa Klebb! He reaches for the gun in his waistband but it gets stuck as he tries to draw it; Klebb lunges with a high kick, slashing Bond's arm with a dagger in her shoe. Bleeding, Bond struggles to defend himself; Tania jumps in and defeats Klebb with her martial arts skills (Hey we didn't hire Katherine Winnick for her good looks! Well, yes we did, kind of). She ends up killing Klebb with a serving knife. A weakened Bond, having watched the whole thing, mutters "I got a kick out of watching that". (Ouch).

And continue on to London...

Sounds like we're pretty much on the same page with this one. I was definitely going back to something along the lines of the novel to finish off Klebb. And you're right in that we also need to give Tatiana something like this to do, especially with the casting of Winnick in the role).


Also, regarding terminus' suggestions, I haven't had a chance to read through them yet, but will shortly, and will look to incorporate them into the treatment.