The biggest missed opportunities in the Bond franchise

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  • edited April 2019 Posts: 2,918
    Mifune as Tanaka would have been incredible, but he might have overshadowed even Connery. Plus the climax would have to be rewritten to show him killing several hundred of Blofeld's men single-handed.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Mifune would have been great.
    Similarly, I'd still love Ken Watanabe in a Bond film - villain or ally, but it'd have to be a big enough role, of course. Not too late for that (Viggo Mortensen, too).

    For me re past films:
    1) Connery (or Roger, preferably Sean) in OHMSS. Definitely. That's mainly the big "should have been" for me.
    2) Timothy deserved one more Bond film.
    3) Pierce deserved one more Bond film.
    4) A different composer than Conti for one of my fave films, FYEO.
    5) Ditto for GE, different composer.
    6) Belucci should have been in TND or any Bond film in the '80s/'90s.
  • Posts: 678
    Milla Jovovich as a femme fatale Bond girl
    Jason Isaacs as a Bond villain


  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    The entirety of DAD.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Fun fact: Martin Grace was originally slated to perform the bedroom stunt with Grace Jones, but he called in sick that day.

    So did Bill Weston, Richard Graydon, Bob Simmons and the entire stunt team.

    Haha, this made me laugh. Which is a shame for them, I hear Grace Jones is a nice lady.

    Seriously??
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    suavejmf wrote: »
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Fun fact: Martin Grace was originally slated to perform the bedroom stunt with Grace Jones, but he called in sick that day.

    So did Bill Weston, Richard Graydon, Bob Simmons and the entire stunt team.

    Haha, this made me laugh. Which is a shame for them, I hear Grace Jones is a nice lady.

    Seriously??

    Now, now. I'm sure she's nice when she's asleep. ;)
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,590
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    suavejmf wrote: »
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Fun fact: Martin Grace was originally slated to perform the bedroom stunt with Grace Jones, but he called in sick that day.

    So did Bill Weston, Richard Graydon, Bob Simmons and the entire stunt team.
    Haha, this made me laugh. Which is a shame for them, I hear Grace Jones is a nice lady.
    Seriously??
    Now, now. I'm sure she's nice when she's asleep. ;)
    Having a nice sleep in when she's meant to be on the set!
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited April 2019 Posts: 4,638
    This is in regards to the future of the franchise, from many forms of entertainment.

    Adapt the other books rather than have Purvis and Wade give us an "original" screenplay. They said all they have on Bond. Kick them out the door! All these supposed writers on Bond 25 should be enough of a sign for them to stop using them! Have Anthony Horowitz adapt his books for the big screen.

    As for books, enough with the drug plots for the villains. Three of the last five books have done this in one way or another. Somebody should also try writing the Hugo Drax short story that Fleming originally planned to write. Anthony Horowitz, perhaps?

    Have Charles Helfenstein and Andrew McNess write more books on the making of and close looks on individual Bond films in the future. Their work was phenomenal! Same with Oliver Buckton, rumor he maybe doing Goldfinger next.

    Dynamite Comics should use Blofeld and other classic characters in their run at some point. They've already used Goldfinger and Oddjob.

    Lastly, they should release Goldeneye 25 for all major consoles. Something for more fans to join in on the world of James Bond.

    Sorry for the rant, just some things that I thought about.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Toshiro Mifune declining to take the role of Tanaka.
    mifune_3201.jpg

    Wow, really? Talk about a gigantic missed opportunity there, that would have been brilliant.
  • RemingtonRemington I'll do anything for a woman with a knife.
    Posts: 1,534
    Not having standalone films after QOS.
  • Posts: 678
    A chase in a container park

    324455_800x600_crop_59323c83f3d4e.jpg
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Toshiro Mifune declining to take the role of Tanaka.
    mifune_3201.jpg

    Wow, really? Talk about a gigantic missed opportunity there, that would have been brilliant.

    Yes, he chose to rather do John Frankenheimer s Grand Prix.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,638
    The Daily Express not doing some of John Gardener's early books. They feel like they were written as comic books and not as novels at times.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    Not having Surrender as the title song in Tomorrow Never Dies. At least it featured in the film.

    I'd say the same for KKBB and No good about goodbye, but the stories for them is different
  • Posts: 4,044
    w2bond wrote: »
    Not having Surrender as the title song in Tomorrow Never Dies. At least it featured in the film.

    I'd say the same for KKBB and No good about goodbye, but the stories for them is different

    David Arnold really got messed around with his title songs. Surrender got shifted as Sheryl Crow was popular at the time. He got no chance for DAD as Madonna wanted her own creation. Then his Solace theme never got started due to the delays with Amy Winehouse.

    I think TWINE and YKMN were both good enough to prove he should have done all of those and woven the themes through the scores.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    vzok wrote: »
    w2bond wrote: »
    Not having Surrender as the title song in Tomorrow Never Dies. At least it featured in the film.

    I'd say the same for KKBB and No good about goodbye, but the stories for them is different

    David Arnold really got messed around with his title songs. Surrender got shifted as Sheryl Crow was popular at the time. He got no chance for DAD as Madonna wanted her own creation. Then his Solace theme never got started due to the delays with Amy Winehouse.

    I think TWINE and YKMN were both good enough to prove he should have done all of those and woven the themes through the scores.

    How involved was he in those songs?
  • Posts: 4,044
    w2bond wrote: »
    vzok wrote: »
    w2bond wrote: »
    Not having Surrender as the title song in Tomorrow Never Dies. At least it featured in the film.

    I'd say the same for KKBB and No good about goodbye, but the stories for them is different

    David Arnold really got messed around with his title songs. Surrender got shifted as Sheryl Crow was popular at the time. He got no chance for DAD as Madonna wanted her own creation. Then his Solace theme never got started due to the delays with Amy Winehouse.

    I think TWINE and YKMN were both good enough to prove he should have done all of those and woven the themes through the scores.

    How involved was he in those songs?

    He wrote Surrender as a title song before it got relegated to the end. He had an idea for a DAD song that I can’t remember, was it “I Will Return”? But then Madonna came on board with her own people. He did the instrumental for QOS as a potential title song but never completed it as Mark Ronson was hired to work with Amy Winehouse, who were then replaced by Jack White. He only put lyrics to it much later.

    So he only ended up with 2 out of 5 title songs.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    vzok wrote: »
    w2bond wrote: »
    vzok wrote: »
    w2bond wrote: »
    Not having Surrender as the title song in Tomorrow Never Dies. At least it featured in the film.

    I'd say the same for KKBB and No good about goodbye, but the stories for them is different

    David Arnold really got messed around with his title songs. Surrender got shifted as Sheryl Crow was popular at the time. He got no chance for DAD as Madonna wanted her own creation. Then his Solace theme never got started due to the delays with Amy Winehouse.

    I think TWINE and YKMN were both good enough to prove he should have done all of those and woven the themes through the scores.

    How involved was he in those songs?

    He wrote Surrender as a title song before it got relegated to the end. He had an idea for a DAD song that I can’t remember, was it “I Will Return”? But then Madonna came on board with her own people. He did the instrumental for QOS as a potential title song but never completed it as Mark Ronson was hired to work with Amy Winehouse, who were then replaced by Jack White. He only put lyrics to it much later.

    So he only ended up with 2 out of 5 title songs.

    @vzok Sorry I mean TWINE and YKNM. Obviously there was collaboration in terms of song integration into soundtrack, but what about actually producing and writing the themes? I understand Don Black wrote TWINE but more likely Arnold was involved in the whole process as well...?

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited April 2019 Posts: 18,281
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    The Daily Express not doing some of John Gardener's early books. They feel like they were written as comic books and not as novels at times.

    I think that the Daily Star (who were doing the Bond strips by that stage) had plans to do Gardner's books as well but it seems to have fallen through., for whtever reason.

    They stopped doing the Bond strips altogether not long after that. Some of the artwork for the boards has been released. You can see these few completed boards online.
  • Posts: 4,044
    I think David Arnold worked with Don Black exactly the same way that John Barry did. David wrote a tune and sent it to Don. He then wrote the lyrics based on that and working to the movie title and synopsis. I certainly heard a Don Black interview where he said he thought for a couple of weeks as to what line should follow TWINE.

    I didn’t hear much about YKMN, but it sounded more like David Arnold and Chris Cornell spent time in the studio together, so maybe more collaborative.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    vzok wrote: »
    I think David Arnold worked with Don Black exactly the same way that John Barry did. David wrote a tune and sent it to Don. He then wrote the lyrics based on that and working to the movie title and synopsis. I certainly heard a Don Black interview where he said he thought for a couple of weeks as to what line should follow TWINE.

    I didn’t hear much about YKMN, but it sounded more like David Arnold and Chris Cornell spent time in the studio together, so maybe more collaborative.

    I hope it returns to that in bond 25
  • More screen time given to Whitaker. Shame John Glen cut the end 30 seconds whilst Pushkin meets with Whitaker. Whitaker gets the last word instead of Pushkin.

    Maybe someday we will see a complete work print of TLD but that's just a big wish.

    I also agree that having Surrender as the title song for TND could have been the opening choice.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,436
    This may have already been discussed. What do you think would have happened if Pierce had assumed the role in TLD? Would it have worked? According to Michael Wilson the script was written more with him in mind. Do you think Pierce could have pulled it off?

    If Pierce takes the role, does Dalton ever get considered or become Bond? Could Pierce been Bond from TLD all the way thru DAD?

    Not sure if that's a missed opportunity. However I can tell you that Brosnan was better known then Dalton in 1986 and I think would have generated more dollars in the American box office. Dalton wasn't as well known on this side of the Atlantic. So maybe it was a missed opportunity.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    edited April 2019 Posts: 13,818
    I hadn't considered these points.

    I think Brosnan is built up by GoldenEye in 1995. With The Living Daylights at the time of 1987, that could have played as very lightweight stuff more in the Roger Moore vein than it was. And with Licence to Kill, that's less suited to Brosnan so they may have developed something else entirely.

    But then the court battles and delay to a third film. Surely Brosnan would be all about continuing in the role. But would they consider re-re-revisiting an offer to Dalton. A game-changer.

    That would actually be an awesome opportunity to further modernize the Bond character, more than what was tested during the 90s. And without the shortcuts they applied to Dalton in the 80s.

    It piles on that at 70-something Timothy Dalton still looks the part today. Who knows how many missions he could have completed.

  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,436
    Good thoughts @RichardTheBruce GE was more special cause we had to wait so long to get it. Yes, you are correct no way LTK gets made with Brosnan. That story and script were tailored to Tim's portrayal of Bond. I actually think Brosnan looked too young in 86 to be considered for the role.

    Can you imagine Dalton is Bond from GE through to DAD, they may have let him tackle CR. Now that's a cool thought. I think GE was written for Dalton in terms of some of the scenes and dialogue. Geez a Dench M and a Dalton Bond. Now that's a missed opportunity. Poor Dalton got to play against Brown and I think while he's a fine actor the dynamic between Dench and Dalton would have been great to see.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,818
    There's no messing with the timestream, let me say.

    I proposed elsewhere as prepared for greatness as Timothy Dalton was, the filmmakers sold him short. So his presence improved the films he was in, but they are what they are.

    Later they modernized the franchise with Brosnan in the 90s and played with themes they'd focus on later. Progress.

    I admit if Dalton had been on board when the rights to film Casino Royale came available, that would have complicated things. They may have changed the story to fit their Bond at the time (as I thought they would for Brosnan), filming it as Bond late in his career questioning his profession. It still works, but it diminishes the original Fleming story.

    So I'm very comfortable with how Bond film history played out. My favorite Bond actor is Dalton and I'll always have him. I enjoyed the Brosnan era. And I'm relishing Casino Royale and every Craig Bond film after. This is an exceptional time to be a Bond fan.

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