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Yes, my thoughts exactly. We can only hope Purvis and Wade will bring something decent to the table, but I'm more curious about what Boyle/Hodge were working on that will now not be finished (in it's intended form)/used.
Maybe the two of them could collaborate with Horowitz going forward. Then there could be the possibility of his novels being the basis of future movies.
That would be really fantastic!
What is surprising is the news that Eon want to go back to their concept. Which is most unusual. This surely adds more fuel to the fire that Bond 25 will be delayed to 2020? Especially as Craig is busying himself with other projects, and other studios close in on the November 2019 date.
For me the real confirmation of 2020 is the fact that no director has been announced. Eon have lost a month of pre-production time looking for a helmer….
I suspect we'll get a director announcement alongside a new date in the new year.
Bit disappointing but if that's what it takes to get the film out on time, fair enough. I don't hate them, they've got a decent track record imo, they've written some great Bond films. But fresh talent would have been nice, a new take on things. Least they're reliable though.
What's interesting is how it says they're going back to their treatment, which we all assumed would have been a Spectre sequel. Whether it is or not, how can they do that if work had already started on Hodge's film (sets being built and all that)? Just scrap it and start again?
The reporting on this hasn't really been consistent so it's difficult to ascertain where the real truth lies. I think most will agree that the initial impression that they conveyed was that Boyle was doing a new treatment (semantics about what 'original' means aside). After all, the dynamic duo's names weren't even mentioned for the May announcement (and they could readily have been included), even though they were noted for the July 2017 one.
I suppose a 'delay' at this stage will be dependent on whether they have their director (at least in principle, even if not formally announced for whatever reason).
How do you know that Purvis and Wade aren't constantly writing their scripts within the constraints (the tropes you mention) put on them by Eon itself? Chances are that's exactly what happens, in the main. Plus, most of the Bond scripts in which they've been involved have been kicked-off by them and polished by others or ends up a result of their own contractually-obliged on-set rewrites, meaning what ends up on the screen isn't often what P&W originally envisaged.
Fundamentally, screenwriters aren't solely - or often even primarily - responsible for the regurgitation we all experience in the storytelling of modern blockbusters. In the end, it's the people who put up the cash who are most responsible. Because it's their money that's being spent and they're the ones who hire and fire - so it's them who put demands on everyone creative who works beneath them (directors included, of course).
Can you sack yourself?
Yep it's pretty obvious that when they'll hire the director the script will be polished again.
Back in the days Skyfall was meant to be P&W last contribution to the franchise. 6 years later they're still here. Plus, there's even a chance that B25 it's goin to be the first movie since Die Another Day credited solely to them.
Now they are supposedly bringing back the original duo after all - the ones upon whose base the Hodge/Boyle script was (at least based on retcon announcements arguably on par with Brothergate) supposedly based.
One wonders if they were the writers that Boyle/Hodge didn't want involved, perhaps fearing the Logan SP debacle, where reporting indicated that they were called into repair things. These guys, for better or worse, seem to be fixers as much as they are the go-to team.
I, personally, can’t wait for a plot of Bond going rogue, MI6 in crisis, and This Time It’s Personal™️ . It will be so fresh and original.
This time they're no fixers. They're developing a script based on their own (already well developed) treatment. I didn't expect that, given the fact that Skyfall was meant to be their last Bond and that in Spectre they were called late in the game just to re-write the third act.
They didn’t he quit he walked away how many times do you have to hear it before you believe it
The question remains, was it the right thing for Boyle to do...
However, I'm certain that, originally, it was reported that P&W had actually handed in a script before Hodge came on board (for him then to polish this script, while massaging in a golden idea).
We know EoN has been looking for a new director.
This is kind of just reporting on stuff that was brought to our attention weeks ago.
As far as a delay, I think the expectation is a delay in shooting, but the release dates will be met.
However, as the Colonel suggested today: if a director is hired and s/he wants more work to be done-- then yes, expect that delay.
But until that happens, it's safe to assume that EoN, MGM, Universal want this out on the dates they reserved-- if they thought this target was impossible to hit, they would have already called for a delay (with or without a director).
As Colonel has said before: EoN gets cagey at times like this, so I'm taking a very passive acceptance of what we've known for quite a while:
1/the script's still moving ahead as reported week and weeks ago
2/the search for a director is still active
3/if the Powers-That-Be thought the release dates were impossible to hit, they would have pulled the plug and made the announcement already. But that time is not yet here.
4/Speculation on my part: if number 3 is remotely true, I'd gather that the director they're looking for would be agreeable to the release deadlines.
He was always going to be a bit of a risk and a wild card, and I assume (hope) the producers and the actor who apparently brought him in realized that. If not, they arguably should have. It was a roll of the dice. Them's the breaks.
Well, if confirmed this is huge difference. At least to me the common feeling was that EoN was goin to polish and work on Hodge's script, not goin 100% back to P&W first treatment.
Given the fact that when a director will come aboard they'll need some extra re-work on the script - unless they hire someone just to shout "action"! on set - maybe the best option would be a director able to take charge of all the extra writing duties.
1/P&W write a script.
2/Boyle and Hodge come aboard to polish that script with a new idea that's massaged into this script.
3/The producers want polishers to polish this draft.
4/B&H bolt
5/The hunt for a new director
6/P&W's back on board. I find it hard to believe they're going back to a page one re-write. It makes no sense at all.
7/Speculation: if the producers, MGM, Universal didn't think they could hit their target dates, they would have pulled the plug-- giving them breathing room, and no rush to find a director.
8/But they haven't pulled the plug, and they are making great efforts to hire their new director.
9/More Speculation: if they haven't pulled the plug because all of the Powers on this film (including the new distributors), think they can hit release dates, I assume they will hire a director who is also agreeable to these deadlines.
10/they don't find an agreeable director, they now can't hit target dates, they pull the plug, and revamp their search for a director and carve out a new release date.
What impact that will have on the ultimate creative and artistic vision remains to be seen. Boyle was arguably a victim of these two elements being in some conflict.