50 replies to this topic

[Odd Jobbies]

Thanks for the update, Bryce - mouthwatering stuff!

 

The non-reliance on CGI is wonderful news, but the 'hint of sexual tension' with Monepenny has me a little worried.

 

With the talent they're throwing at it these days - the additions of Fiennes and Whishaw elevating the film's class way beyond what we've been used to for a few decades - i found Harris to be the weak link. Her overloaded delivery turned just about every line into a cutesy innuendo of almost Carry-On film proportions.

 

SF's dialogue crackled nicely with understated wit for the most part. The Silva/Bond innitial meeting - the 'seduction' interrogation being some of the wittiest writing in the whole franchise. But Harris seemed to throw everything on the bonfire hoping to leave us in no doubt whatsoever that all  of her lines were in reality "Please shag me, James."

 

I'm hoping this time around we either see them shag so it's visceral rather than tediously cute, or preferably Mendes can tone her delivery down a few notches so that the perfect dry, understated tone of Fiennes, Whishaw and Craig aren't sabotaged by Carry-On Harris doing her best Barbara Windsor act.

 

Hopefully this time it's indeed just a hint  and not the equivalent of a swanee-whistle whenever they share a scene.

[Marcin]

'The Pale King'?? Ooh exciting.

By the way, I've been wondering whether "The Pale King" has any specific meaning in English? All I know is that it's the title of the last novel of David Foster Wallace. Or do you think it's just a cool nickname? My English is far from perfect, hence the question.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Probably just a cool nickname.

[Robinson]

 

'The Pale King'?? Ooh exciting.

By the way, I've been wondering whether "The Pale King" has any specific meaning in English? All I know is that it's the title of the last novel of David Foster Wallace. Or do you think it's just a cool nickname? My English is far from perfect, hence the question.

 

Perhaps he's related to the Thin White Duke?

 

 

??????

[Major Tallon]

To answer your question directly, Marcin, the expression "Pale King" has no particular significance in English, though it does in the "SPECTRE" script. 

[DamnCoffee]

I don't really understand how 'The Pale King' has been teased? From what I gather the only footage released at cinema con was of Bond and Moneypenny and a few action shots. I'm confused as there's been no mention of 'The Pale King' in any of the summaries, so I don't understand what the tease is exactly. Even though it's all over the headlines. 

[Marcin]

Thank you all for your comments on "The Pale King" issue!

 

I don't really understand how 'The Pale King' has been teased? From what I gather the only footage released at cinema con was of Bond and Moneypenny and a few action shots. I'm confused as there's been no mention of 'The Pale King' in any of the summaries, so I don't understand what the tease is exactly. Even though it's all over the headlines. 

 

It looks like there was only one footage, but some summaries are more detailed than others ("The Pale King" was mentioned in Cinema Blend article). 

And some details are quite suprising (I was not aware of the fact that the action in SPECTRE takes place immediately after Skyfall).

Unless, of course, some summaries are.. inaccurate.

[Shrublands]

Thank you all for your comments on "The Pale King" issue!

 

I don't really understand how 'The Pale King' has been teased? From what I gather the only footage released at cinema con was of Bond and Moneypenny and a few action shots. I'm confused as there's been no mention of 'The Pale King' in any of the summaries, so I don't understand what the tease is exactly. Even though it's all over the headlines. 

 

It looks like there was only one footage, but some summaries are more detailed than others ("The Pale King" was mentioned in Cinema Blend article). 

And some details are quite suprising (I was not aware of the fact that the action in SPECTRE takes place immediately after Skyfall).

Unless, of course, some summaries are.. inaccurate.

 

Some have made a bit of a mistake there, they have put 2 and 2 together and made 5. They have assumed that the funeral in question is the old M's, it is not.

[Guy Haines]

Mention has been made somewhere here about a funeral, and we are assuming it was that of a former regular character in the series. I agree with Shrublands above - I'm not convinced. Remember the rooftop scene at the end of SF? "Her will was read today. She left you this". Wills are subject to probate law, and can take weeks if not months to sort out. (And tend to be finally resolved sometime after the funeral of the deceased.) I suspect it is someone else's funeral that has been referred to.

 

Neither am I convinced that, unlike CR and QoS, the stories for  SF and Spectre end and start within days or even hours of each other.

[Shrublands]

Mention has been made somewhere here about a funeral, and we are assuming it was that of a former regular character in the series. I agree with Shrublands above - I'm not convinced. Remember the rooftop scene at the end of SF? "Her will was read today. She left you this". Wills are subject to probate law, and can take weeks if not months to sort out. (And tend to be finally resolved sometime after the funeral of the deceased.) I suspect it is someone else's funeral that has been referred to.

 

Neither am I convinced that, unlike CR and QoS, the stories for  SF and Spectre end and start within days or even hours of each other.

 

Yes, I agree with all of this.

Also, we know that the funeral in question is in Rome. It says so in the CinemaCon clip and we know it was filmed in Rome. Why would Dench's M be being buried in Rome? It's obviously someone else. 

[Marcin]

Good to know, Shrublands. That part didn't add up completely.

[stromberg]

Mention has been made somewhere here about a funeral, and we are assuming it was that of a former regular character in the series. I agree with Shrublands above - I'm not convinced. Remember the rooftop scene at the end of SF? "Her will was read today. She left you this". Wills are subject to probate law, and can take weeks if not months to sort out. (And tend to be finally resolved sometime after the funeral of the deceased.) I suspect it is someone else's funeral that has been referred to.
 
Neither am I convinced that, unlike CR and QoS, the stories for  SF and Spectre end and start within days or even hours of each other.

Not certain if you stay away from spoilers or not. If you do, you're on dangerous grounds in the spoiler forum. If you don't: thought it was general knowledge who's funeral it is.

[Shrublands]

It's a little bit confusing. Some reports are saying that the CinemaCon footage shows that Spectre must take place just after Skyfall.
When you look into the reason why they think this, it's this mistake regarding the funeral.
 
Also, the bit in the CinemaCon footage where the ambiguity is, is also the bit that the journalist have been asked not to talk about, i.e. who it is who mentions the funeral. 

Also, when we talk about the whole thing, we need to be carful to avoid anything that might have originated in the Sony leaks. 

As I say, confusing. 
 
Anyway, it's... 

Spoiler

Marco Sciarra's

...funeral.

 

We know that from the information released by Eon in Mexico in conjunction with the CinemaCon footage. 

[Odd Jobbies]

 

'The Pale King'?? Ooh exciting.

By the way, I've been wondering whether "The Pale King" has any specific meaning in English? All I know is that it's the title of the last novel of David Foster Wallace. Or do you think it's just a cool nickname? My English is far from perfect, hence the question.

 

Could be a chess reference. 'Pale' also calls to mind The Four Horseman. I'm guessing it's the SPECTRE code name for Blofeld, whomever that is revealed to be. For all we really know it could well be an unannounced actor who'll make a surprise appearance as the one with no earlobes at the very end (a'la Connery in Prince Of Thieves).

 

Maybe a mirror image of the final scene of CR, when we finally heard Craig say 'Bond, James Bond'. Only here we'll have Blofeld holding Bond captive and announcing his true name, 'Blofeld, Ernst stavro Blofeld. Of that reveal could just as easily be made by Watz, or Scott.

[Matt_13]

There is no way they cast Scott as Blofeld. I'd be stunned if he even turned out to be a traitor, I feel like that would be too obvious.

[Call Billy Bob]

There is no way they cast Scott as Blofeld. I'd be stunned if he even turned out to be a traitor, I feel like that would be too obvious.

Agreed. With Sherlock being as popular as it is, and with him returning in Series 4, I'm fully expecting Denbigh to be either a straight good-guy or a reluctant one.

[Odd Jobbies]

I wouldn't dismiss the idea out of hand. Scott's a lauded new talent, who'd be easier and cheaper to sign to a multi-picture deal, which is surely necessary for Blofeld. And while you might see it as an obvious twist, i'm sure the cinema going masses will not.

 

I love Waltz and hope that he is Blofeld, but we'll see.

[SecretAgentFan]

I´m most curious whether SPECTRE will show signs of the "Fourth Film"-theory (Connery´s THUNDERBALL, Moore´s MOONRAKER, Brosnan´s DIE ANOTHER DAY), turning the films into more spectacle, less story-oriented.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I never viewed Thunderball as more spectacle and less story-oriented. Sure it's my all time favorite Bond film, but I've always thought it was much better than Goldfinger (which I find to be a little overrated). I think it's the best of the Four Films.

[tdalton]

I´m most curious whether SPECTRE will show signs of the "Fourth Film"-theory (Connery´s THUNDERBALL, Moore´s MOONRAKER, Brosnan´s DIE ANOTHER DAY), turning the films into more spectacle, less story-oriented.

 

I certainly hope that they avoid falling into this trend with SPECTRE.  Given the talent on board, I would hope that they'd be aiming for a solid, engaging story rather than simply relying on the spectacle to drive the film home.  

[Guy Haines]

I don't think the "fourth film" cycle might be so much about spectacle over substance as settling into a routine that works - and trying to repeat the success of a very successful third film. By the time of Goldfinger the Bond film template was set - why upset it by letting Thunderball differ from it, beyond taking the action for much of the film underwater? (That said, weren't the producers concerned about filming OHMSS after Thunderball, thinking the audience would regard it as "Thunderball on skis"?)

 

"Moonraker" - a similar destroy the world to save it storyline from its immediate predecessor, save that its climax is in space and someone remembered to bring along some humans to repopulate the world after Drax has "saved" it.

 

I suppose my fourth film argument doesn't quite work with Brosnan's "Die Another Day". "TWINE" was successful, but not in the sense that, say, TSWLM was very successful compared with TMWTGG and had to be replicated with MR. DAD was more a "Bond is back after three long years" film. It was different is some ways from the previous Brosnan films but it didn't seem to build on what they had achieved. More "you know the name, you know the number" in a film slightly dafter in parts than usual.

 

Which brings us to SF and Spectre. SF was a massive success critically and commercially. A largely similar team from the director onwards is working on Spectre. The bar has been raised. They want to repeat the massive success of SF. One difference though from what might seem the routine replication of the predecessor's success in the previous eras is, of course, that from what we've gleaned from the early trailer, there's a link between the two films, and probably the two films before SF. Before it was about "bigger and better" than before. Here we appear to have added the element about continuity between the Craig films, and I think one reason for this, as I've argued elsewhere on Cbn threads, is that the Craig Bond films appear to be not only "James Bond films" but films about the character James Bond as well - each one so far has taken the character from raw beginnings as a Double 00 - but not a youth - to the agent he is now. But with the stuff in the trailer about a "secret" it seems there's at least one more element about this James Bond not yet in place. I wonder? Will this fourth James Bond film "about James Bond" be the one when we get the final article?