SPECTRE - Bond 24

[Rhom]

Thought I'd go ahead and start a topic with the news that Sam Smith has been tapped to record the title song.

I like him and think he will make another memorable entry. Thought it was interesting that Craig wanted Adele again. She did awesome with Skyfall... But how do you top that?!!? And I like that the franchise has had very few repeat artists for the title songs.

With the essential reboot of the franchise (yet with an old Bond...) at the end of Skyfall; I'm eager to see what they do and if they pick up with QUANTUM/SPECTRE again.

[Veltigar]

Lol, I was listening to some of his music recently and I said to a friend of mine 'If that Sam Smith fellow manages to stay in the picture for a few years, they'll definitely ask him to contribute a song to a Bond movie'. This is a little earlier than I expected, but he certainly has a lot of potential. His voice and style fit the new Bond imo.

[Fez]

With the essential reboot of the franchise (yet with an old Bond...) at the end of Skyfall; I'm eager to see what they do and if they pick up with QUANTUM/SPECTRE again.

The reason they used Quantum was because the name SPECTRE was caught up in a rights battle for the past few decades. That litigation was finally settled last than a year ago, and the fact that the studio even bothered to do that suggests to me that they do want to bring SPECTRE back into the series. Personally, I think it'd be awesome if Blofeld was the villain again.

Regardless, I'm pretty sure the final scene of Skyfall meant that the next movie will be a more traditional Bond film; in that it starts with him getting a mission from M, and then the movie is him attempting to complete that mission with the assistance of Q, et al. I've loved all three of Craig's movies, even Quantum of Solace, but none of them have used that formula, and I miss it.

[denstorebog]

What happened to the rumor that Bond 24 would end on a cliffhanger that led into Bond 25?

[drawkcabi]

How many Bond books did Flemming actually write? Are there still books out there by him that haven't been made into movies or are all the movies now remakes or new stories that are built upon the Bond franchise?

I know Thunderball was made twice, once as Never Say Never Again because by some quirk they got around the copyright or there was no copyright at the time, but MGM or whoever are doing the "legitimate" Bond films and have the copyrights, anyone indications there will be remakes of the older films up ahead or new reimagined versions at least? I heard that the end of Skyfall could be a good lead in to a new Dr. No film.

I always thought the Bond song spoof/tribute, "Too Much" done by the Spice Girls for their movie would have been good enough to be an actual Bond song.

[Fez]

How many Bond books did Flemming actually write? Are there still books out there by him that haven't been made into movies or are all the movies now remakes or new stories that are built upon the Bond franchise?

Fleming wrote 12 Bond books, and all of them have been made into movies. However, some of them, like Moonraker, have very little in common with their movie version, and a more faithful filmed adaption would be an entirely fresh experience. He also wrote a bunch of short stories, but none of the movies have anything to do with them beyond using the name sometimes, like Quantum of Solace, which is just about Bond attending a dinner party in Bermuda.

Everything from Octopussy onwards have been almost entirely new material.

[drawkcabi]

Fleming wrote 12 Bond books, and all of them have been made into movies. However, some of them, like Moonraker, have very little in common with their movie version, and a more faithful filmed adaption would be an entirely fresh experience. He also wrote a bunch of short stories, but none of the movies have anything to do with them beyond using the name sometimes, like Quantum of Solace, which is just about Bond attending a dinner party in Bermuda.

Everything from Octopussy onwards have been almost entirely new material.

Thanks!

Funny, it wasn't until Octopussy that I actually started getting into Bond movies and watching each as they came out.

And they never made Casino Royale until Craig? I mean I know there was the Peter Sellers one, but did they ever use much of that book's material in a different Bond film?

[BastardlyRock]

some of them, like Moonraker, have very little in common with their movie version

A more faithful adaptation of MR would be very welcome, such a great novel. The same goes for The Man With the Golden Gun, imho, a superb book that was pretty much scrapped for new material in the movie of the same name. :(

[BastardlyRock]

Thanks!

Funny, it wasn't until Octopussy that I actually started getting into Bond movies and watching each as they came out.

And they never made Casino Royale until Craig? I mean I know there was the Peter Sellers one, but did they ever use much of that book's material in a different Bond film?

There was an American made for TV version....

http://www.jamesbondwiki.com/m/page/The+Original+Casino+Royale

[fuseprime]

I personally enjoyed SMERSH more than SPECTRE as far as evil organizations go. However, I thought Blofeld was an amazing antagonist.

Among my favorite Bond novels were, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesy's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice.

The novels are definitely worth reading, since they really show that Bond is human, and not always some super calm and collected secret agent.

[Fez]

And they never made Casino Royale until Craig? I mean I know there was the Peter Sellers one, but did they ever use much of that book's material in a different Bond film?

Nope, they couldn't, the rights had been sold when the Sellers movie was made, and Eon, through MGM, didn't get them back until 1999. I don't know for sure, but I assume they wanted to use it as the introduction to a new Bond, which is why Pierce Brosnan didn't get to do it.

Personally, while I think it'd be a lot of fun if they remade something like Dr. No, I'd prefer if they either did closer adaptions of the books that weren't really followed, or just made up of new material. The old movies are amazing (at least Connery's are, I can't stand Roger Moore) and I could just watch them anytime I want, let's see something new.

[Jaxom 1974]

Well, as the first three were the reboots getting us up to Dr. No, I'm okay if we start some remakes...

[Howdyphillip]

All I know is that I hope someone realizes that Idris Elba is the real Bond before it is too late.

[WarGalley]

I love the way they've done the Quantum organization so far and hope the next movie continues with it being part of the larger villain's plot. I thought Silva should have had ties to Quantum to explain how he was able to muster up the small army, helicopters, resources etc that he had, perhaps in exchange for the information he stole.

Well, as the first three were the reboots getting us up to Dr. No, I'm okay if we start some remakes...

Is this official and do you have a source?

[KiDisaster]

All I know is that I hope someone realizes that Idris Elba is the real Bond before it is too late.

I've been saying this for so long. Craig is fantastic but I kinda hope he quits after the next one and Idris can get a few Bond films in before he's too old. He would be so perfect for the role.

[Veltigar]

Nope, they couldn't, the rights had been sold when the Sellers movie was made, and Eon, through MGM, didn't get them back until 1999. I don't know for sure, but I assume they wanted to use it as the introduction to a new Bond, which is why Pierce Brosnan didn't get to do it.

I was watching a documentary about the Bond movies yesterday and apparently, the reason why they let Pierce Brosnan go is that they didn't think that his version of Bond was right for the post 9/11 age. To whimsical and over-the-top. They wanted a more grounded Bond this time and Casino Royale was the best story to start with for this new type of Bond.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

All I know is that I hope someone realizes that Idris Elba is the real Bond before it is too late.

It is already too late. If they were going to go in that direction it would have been for Casino Royale.

[Fez]

Well, as the first three were the reboots getting us up to Dr. No, I'm okay if we start some remakes...

I prefer the timeline of Casino Royale->Quantum of Solace->Dr. No through Die Another Day->Skyfall.

Obviously the Bond timeline is all sorts of a mess, but the central conceit has always been that 007 is one man and that he's done all these things. There is some connective tissue, like Tracey getting occasional references in later movies, and his personal car (not the one's Q gives him) retaining modifications from previous films. You could argue that CS and QoS represent a complete reboot, but he was too beaten down in Skyfall; that movie only makes sense if you think that he's been on lots and lots of missions since the end of QoS. Maybe they were other missions, but we already have missions in the form of all the other movies.

[drawkcabi]

I was watching a documentary about the Bond movies yesterday and apparently, the reason why they let Pierce Brosnan go is that they didn't think that his version of Bond was right for the post 9/11 age. To whimsical and over-the-top. They wanted a more grounded Bond this time and Casino Royale was the best story to start with for this new type of Bond.

I'm glad, I didn't care for any of the Brosnan movies after Goldeneye, and that movie I liked despite Brosnan. As a kid I loved the Roger Moore Bond films, I thought he was fantastic as Bond. But when I saw Dalton on The Living Daylights, it totally blew my mind how good a serious Bond could be. When they went with Brosnan it was like taking a step back to Moore, and while I will always love the Moore films, I didn't want more (heh) of after only 2 pictures with the "serious" Bond.

Then Craig came along and the franchise was great again. :)

[fuseprime]

Nope, they couldn't, the rights had been sold when the Sellers movie was made, and Eon, through MGM, didn't get them back until 1999. I don't know for sure, but I assume they wanted to use it as the introduction to a new Bond, which is why Pierce Brosnan didn't get to do it.

Personally, while I think it'd be a lot of fun if they remade something like Dr. No, I'd prefer if they either did closer adaptions of the books that weren't really followed, or just made up of new material. The old movies are amazing (at least Connery's are, I can't stand Roger Moore) and I could just watch them anytime I want, let's see something new.

I don't like the Roger Moore movies at all. None of his movies resemble the original novels. Perhaps character names, but that's pretty much it. His movies were cheesy, and besides Die Another Day, they are IMHO, the worst Bond movies.