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What it needs is an interesting backstory or a history.
If they're going to remake it, don't make Bond a celebrity.
Give the villain a solid, reasonable motivation to kill Bond, not just knowing him elsewhere because he's a famous British Assassin, provide a strong and deep connection.
Eh, didn’t they try to do that with Blofeld in Spectre, and look how that turned out.
That's more of a familiar connection, what connection I'm talking about was like that in FRWL, with how SPECTRE planned a set up against Bond, because:
A.) He killed Dr. No, SPECTRE wants revenge
B.) More believable for them to do that, since they're a part of Bond's world (Iron Curtain and Military Intelligence).
I don't dislike that, but I also don't mind him being known as the best British assassin by Scaramanga; I guess it's not impossible he may know. After all, in TLD, MI6 have a list of the best KGB assassins and that doesn't seem too far fetched in that film. Gregory Beam knows Bond by sight in QoS too, and by NTTD we have Logan Ash fanboying over him.
Perhaps what would have helped is Andrea telling us she went through Scaramanga's files or something to find Bond.
Again, in those examples, there's a deep connection and all in a same circle:
MI6 had the list of the KGB agents (Intelligence to Intelligence).
Logan Ash was close to Felix Leiter and was also an agent, so that's not surprising.
And Gregory Beam was also in the Intelligence Unit.
But Scaramanga, Tiffany Case, they're out of the circle, far from Bond's world, so knowing him that well (and personally) again, for me, was a bit out of depth.
I suppose one can argue Bond and a villain like Scaramanga (at least in the film) would travel in similar circles. I actually think Bond having a reputation works better in TMWTGG than it does in DAF (as you yourself said, why would Tiffany Case automatically know who Bond is?) There's also a sense in TMWTGG that Bond's reputation is by name predominantly, to the point where he feels he can convincingly impersonate Scaramanga without fear of being caught.
The whole killing of Fairbanks is such a weird and underused plot point in that film. We only learn of it through dialogue, and Bond himself doesn't seem to have much feeling towards it. When I was young and first watched the film it actually confused me as I kind of naturally assumed the gangster in the PTS was 002 (which to me even then made no sense, and it took another viewing later to clarify). That's a missed opportunity too I'd say. Not only would Scaramanga be more likely to know who Bond and the 00 section is through this connection, but actually seeing a fellow 00 die at Scaramanga's hand would help bring the story more full circle and establish how dangerous Scaramanga is in the sense he's able to kill a highly trained agent (and not just some lower grade hoodlum). A stronger sense of Bond or even M feeling... well, something at the news of this fellow agent's death, or at least a sense of how it's impacted the security of the 00 section would have helped.
It is indeed handled strangely. I think it's always disappointing when the villain of the film seems to have little interest in the thing he's stolen or is attempting to use.
Scaramanga isn't out of his circle: he's ex-KGB and is an international assassin.
Tiffany, yes: but we're not talking about her.
Yes, that's neater; although I guess the killing of a fellow 00 is a conceit rather over-used in the films.
Indeed, and as I've said a few times before, he's not actually doing anything wrong! :)
I couldn't find another answer other than the possibility of Fairbanks telling Scaramanga about Bond, like what Bond did in Goldfinger when Auric was about to kill him on that laser table when Bond pointed out 008 replacing him.
Maybe that's what Fairbanks did? He'd pointed Bond to Scaramanga ("007 would replaced me if you kill me!"), hence, there's the 007 codename engraved on the bullet? Then Scaramanga went on to do a research about Bond, that's why he knew his name?
But again, what's his intention for wanting to kill Bond? (Did he expected Bond to handle the Solex Agitator mission that Fairbanks failed to accomplish?)
But again, if looking on the events of the film, Scaramanga just wants to have Bond killed as his achievement because he knew Bond as a well skilled assassin just like him.
It's a tricky plot point to use I guess. Really there's a limited amount of emotional connection Bond can have to his fallen comrade (we've presumably never seen this character and Bond interact, and Bond is a relatively stoic character about death anyway). The best you can do is convey how much dissaray it brings to the 00 section in general, which isn't something we've necessarily seen from films in the past and again could have been interesting to see in TMWTGG (or indeed a future Bond film if they decide to use this plot point).
I suppose he's murdered someone to attain it, but it's not exactly a consequential scheme really, is it? You're right, strictly speaking having the Solex isn't him doing anything 'wrong' per say. Which is a bit of a problem for a Bond film.
Come to think of it, how does Goldfinger in that film know what the 00 section is? I haven't seen the film in ages so I might be wrong, but why would he know Bond's number even if he now knows for sure he's a spy?
As much as I love Fiona, I don't think she would have worked as the main baddie: she's better as a femme fatale and a female assassin/henchwoman. Fleming's villains are usually deformed male "monsters" or (less often) sexually neutral/gross women. Distorted father or mother figures. Fiona doesn't fit that mold. Beside you have her the main villain, you take away the cat and mouse game that leads to her death.
But, we have Elektra in TWINE. Indeed.
I think the book TMWTGG would've worked today (in this modern time), really.
Goldfinger was told by a Chinese agent if I'm not mistaken. Bond's opposite number so to speak.
Yes, I thought Higson's tack in the new book that the latest 00 to be killed was in a relationship with Moneypenny actually worked quite well: it's someone we care about so we feel the connection more. It's a sort of shorthand hack, but it works.
Yes, the murder marks him out as a bad lot, and he is indeed not a nice guy, but equally that murder is kind of none of Bond's business! :)
Well he's working with the Chinese, isn't he.
Yes it's true. Whereas I get the feeling he's more genuinely fond of Lisl, and they have a more romantic affair, brief though it is. You don't see Bond walking hand in hand on a beach the morning after with many of his conquests.
Do you? I don't think that scene needs to end in her death necessarily.
Fleming's villains are normally like that, yes; but she's just more interesting to watch than dull old Largo, so I'd go with what's better onscreen than what normally happens in some books.
Andrea lures out Bond to kill Scaramanga. Scaramanga doesn't flinch when he sees Bond standing near the Gibson meeting with Hip. You would think he would wonder why Bond is now involved in the Solar plot. But it doesn't seem to change how he handles it. Until he kills Andrea. Which I am still trying to figure out how he hit that shot with a full stadium and no one hears the shot or notices anything.
The more I think about it, the film is pure outlandish fun and really embraces the craziness, but there is a more serious film with more interesting space to explore. I maintain it to be one of the biggest wasted opportunities. Why did EON want to rush out a production after LALD. It almost killed the series!
To be fair, Bond was wearing a natty tweed sports jacket: somehow he manages a quick change! Maybe he pops behind Al Capone or something :D
Good point about the waxwork though, I'd forgotten that. I guess Bond just has the rep as the greatest assassin in the world next to Scaramanga, so he has him down as his greatest rival. As he shows in the film, he has no animosity towards Bond and is quite happy to let him go at the kickboxing show.
A villain who respects and almost reveres Bond is a nicely new spin. As 007HallY pointed out and I hadn't really spotted before, Silva is the next villain to come from this angle. Interestingly he also appears to be attracted to Bond slightly (if we accept he's not just trying to rattle 007), which is what Kingsely Amis suggested Scaramanga should do in his notes for the book of TMWTGG.
Yeah I agree, there's good stuff in there which the series doesn't really do in other entries, but the film squanders it for the solex stuff. I'd love to see someone rewrite it.
I think the blame for that is more on United Artists than EON. UA was impressed by footage reels of Live and Let Die that they immediately greenlit the production of TMWTGG before LALD even released.
I think the sequence has absolutely to end with her dying to be fully impactful. As for Largo I never found him dull, but maybe it's because TB was my very first Bond movie. In any case, the rivalry between him and Bond would be lost, and Domino would take a serious back seat. And I looove Domino,,perfect modern damsel in distress.
I think I just find the interactions between her and Bond sizzle with tension, and she comes across as a really formidable enemy who sees right through him, whereas Connery and Celi may as well not be in the same room when they have their scenes together.
I think Domino is very pretty, but perhaps slightly vacant. I am glad these bits work for you though- I'm jealous!
I find Thunderball a missed opportunity to make a follow-up to Goldfinger. Audiences loved the gadgets and wit, outlandish enemies and fantastical lairs and sets in GF, but TB didn't seem to register those and went a bit more pedestrian with its plot and embellishments.
I never thought of Trevelyan being a recurring villain in PB's era! That would have worked. If EON was going to make TWINE second, Elektra could have been a bigger villain as she knew M. Ironically, this was before M started getting more screen time. If Alec, Elektra and even Janus' plans got more well known, then TND could be the third film. Elliot Carver could get more ambitious starting to make bigger plans for Carver Media by having possible sources with each villain. And then TND could happen as planned, with some more minor adjustments, including other's ideas. I still think Alec could come back in the future, with a Harvey Dent into Two-Face type of story for a two or three movie arc.
I also think having a lot of Fleming available to him was helpful. The way he talked to and about certain actors and other writers was both disrespectful and unprofessional. More often than not, an actor is only as strong as the script that they're given. His scripts can be proof. Even Purvis and Wade don't go out of their way to bash others for poor work. They are there to write, they do it, and let someone else usually write. But they are at least decent to others, in terms of professionalism. That's arguably the reason EON keeps hiring them back.
As for other missed opportunities, I have quite a few, across all Bond media.
Movies:
EON not going after the rights to film Colonel Sun. They clearly have a liking for the novel, as shown over the recent years.
Not giving SC or PB more creative control, they could have left the series on better terms.
Giving DC way too much creative control, he didn't really have great ideas.
A faithful adaptation of DAF, with Jack Palance, Vincent Price or Cliff Robertson as the Sprang Brothers.
Peter Hunt not just directing DAF following OHMSS, but a faithful adaptation of LALD, with Felix getting fed to a shark.
Not having David Hedison as Felix Leiter lead the boat chase after Bond in LALD.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, Oliver Reed or Malcolm McDowell not playing a villain or an MI6 regular.
Martin Campbell not directing QOS or filming DC's second film back to back with CR for a 2007 release, a one in a millennium chance.
Marc Forster being allowed to direct a Bond film without being a Bond fan, writer's strike or not.
EON not letting Kevin McClory co-produce films with them about films with Blofeld and SPECTRE. The rights could have come back sooner.
Blofeld not being a villain in TSWLM or OP, and either Donald Pleasence or Telly Savalas coming back as Blofeld in either movie.
Gert Frobe not coming back as Goldfinger in DAF or OP.
Having Michael Madsen play Felix Leiter in GE and DAD. Joe Don Baker was distracting, and Jack Wade might as well have been Felix despite LTK.
Q should have been in Leiter's and Wade's roles in TLD and TND.
Not having Faye Dunaway play Octopussy, she never really did a full-on blockbuster.
Not having Wai Lin and Jinx get spinoff movies, or better yet one big movie for both to star in.
Video Games:
Not letting Sir Roger Moore and John Cleese come back in their roles for Agent Under Fire as intended. Interesting missed pair-up for comedic moments.
James Bond 007 for GameBoy should have been brought to the N64 and PS1 consoles. With the same story and characters, as Goldeneye 007 was big at the time.
007 Legends not getting delayed and more time to develop more in the storyline missions.
Sean Bean not coming back as Alec Trevelyan in GE Reloaded.
Cancelling TND: The Mission Continues, pulling the movie's plot into the game and releasing it on the Nintendo 64 as well.
Cancelling Goldeneye Rogue Agent, and moving the villains of Pussy Galore, Goldfinger, Oddjob, Dr. No, Xenia (voiced and modeled after Famke Janssen) and Scaramanga (voiced and modeled after Sir Christopher Lee) to a more polished and a bigger story version of FRWL with Sir Sean Connery. There could still be the villain rivalry story arc. Keep the FRWL characters and set in the 60s.
Everything or Nothing not getting a novelization by Raymond Benson or Bruce Feirstein. With Nikolai Diavolo getting a backstory with Max Zorin making an appearance. Also, how Diavolo met with Dr. Katya Nadanova and Jaws. Plus other characters getting short backstories.
Books:
Raymond Benson not getting to write a Bond Short Story collection like he wanted.
IFP not having at least one adult Bond novel between 2002 and 2008.
Devil May Care not following Colonel Sun in the original timeline. It was the 40th anniversary of the book, it makes sense.
Carte Blanche being a one-off novel. Kim Sherwood could have followed it with her Double-0 trilogy, same with OHisMSS.
Having villain spinoff stories set in the present day, namely Blofeld, Scaramanga, Goldfinger and Treveylan and some of their associates.
Most of my other missed or poor opportunities have already been shared.
Maibaum was a talented writer and responsible for hits and misses. I believe he understood the character of James Bond. He wrote for 3 different Bond actors and seemed to be somewhat able to hit the right notes for the actor. He wasn't perfect.
You have some great thoughts on that list. May I ask why you thought Gert Frobe coming back to play GF in OP was a missed opportunity or was that a mistype? I know they looked at bringing him back for DAF. Never heard of him returning for OP.
I’ve seen an interview where he’s highly critical of Roger Moore’s Bond, and saying that a film like “For Your Eyes Only” didn’t work because they didn’t have someone like Connery playing the part. It may have been the Starlog interview but I may be mistaken.
Not perfect films, but oh so entertaining. YOLT was my first real disappointment. I think for the first time a Bond film felt silly, as in SPECTRE's Jaws-like space ship and a Blofeld who never quite posed the threat of earlier villains. The history of the series has been uneven, some Bonds more engaging than others.
For me the missed opportunities were too often abandoning Fleming's material for stories that barely resembled the novels. Sometimes those very loosely adapted screenplays improved things. For example, I thought LALD presented a better developed Solitaire, even though some scenes from the novel were abandoned and show up later in FYEO and LTK.
Yes I do recall that bit. It was in a Starlog interview, he also said that lines were put into the film that neither him or Wilson wrote. The fact that Moore didn't wish to do the kick of the car and suggested that instead the dove pin be the cause of the car tumble tells me he may have been right. Moore was not a "blunt instrument", though I do give me credit for doing the scene as written!
I do think the pin thing is a bit more cinematic and ironic than just the kick would be though; I like it!
It's very similar to Bond chucking Killifer his case of cash as he dangles over the sharks in LTK: the dramatic irony of him being killed by the thing he brandished or coveted. And that the car is de-stabled by the few grams it weighs (and Bond knows that it will be!) is nice movie lyricism. But we get the kick as well anyway, so it's the best of all worlds!
Maibaum actually wrote for 4 Bond actors, actually. Three of them twice! I think he was a bit hypocritical to call out LALD for drugs when he used the same thing (using LALD the book as a reference, to boot), for LTK.
As for Goldfinger in Octopussy, I read it in Some Kind Of Hero (2015). It was meant to be a cameo with Gert Fröbe coming back. This was not long before he died, in real life. Sorry for the late reply @thedove I always enjoy your threads.