COLONEL SUN MOVIE SCENARIO
chrisno1
LondonPosts: 3,634MI6 Agent
Following some PM feedback about my Icebreaker treatment, I had some requests to post my efforts for Colonel Sun and For Special Services.
So here I go......
NOTES
I am well aware that this treatment bears uncanny resemblance to some elements of DAD and GE. I first put this down on paper in about 1994, so it predates those movies, though I have updated it several times since. I'd just returned from a holiday in Cyprus and loved the island and thought it would make a great setting for a Bond film, similar to FYEO. The political situation in Cyprus is always in the news over there and they are almost proud of the fact that Nicosia is the "world's last divided city".
The best things about Markham’s Colonel Sun are the torture scene, the kidnapping of M and the Greek atmosphere. I have included all three in the scenario, but it differs dramatically elsewhere:
1. I transferred the climatic action to Cyprus, using the divided country as a basis for an invasion story, as was later used in DAD.
2. This necessitated the creation of a batch of new villains, Vidar and Akan most prominent among them.
3. I liked the Niko Litsas character, but felt he didn’t contribute much to the story, so I have relegated him behind Ariadne as the action develops.
4. M has already been kidnapped once in TWINE, so instead I envisaged Bond visiting his old boss, who has now entered politics, and pursuing the kidnappers as a personal vendetta.
5. The plot needed some expansion and updating, but I did remain faithful to the original concept of Markham’s novel, having Bond as a stooge for the villains’ assassination plans.
6. There is very little action in Markham’s novel, so I introduced a whole section at a Turkish military base in East Cyprus which would be cinematically exciting as well as explaining some of the plot. There are also chases and fights in Cyprus and in Athens.
7. I had to lots of problems with the role of Colonel Sun in the story and invented the revenge element as I couldn’t think of any reason why Bond is picked out to be involved in the plan. I envisage him as being a detestable, precise, organised man, more of an automaton than a human, which I felt would make Doni’s betrayal more believable to an audience.
8. I have taken quite a few geographical liberties with locations also: there is no such place as the Castle of St Paul and St Barnabus, Geronisos Island is in Western Cyprus and is actually a bird sanctuary, Camlibel has no military base and of course there is no secret passage from the Acropolis to anywhere!
9. I also included some Fleming story elements: the knitting needles tipped with poison (peacock pins), gypsies and a Q-branch suitcase from FRWL, the stingray tailed corrector (the sjambok whip) from THR, Bond’s love of golf from GF, Bond playing roulette from DAF, Bond deliberately missing his intended shooting target from TLD and (sort of) brain washing from TMWTGG. The pre-title sequence is also reminiscent of the original teaser ideas for TB.
10. Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad job, but I consider the climax at the castle to be
underwhelming. If I am honest, this is one that could go back to the drawing board.
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE READ!
COLONEL SUN
SYNOPSIS BY CHRIS STACEY
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY ROBERT MARKHAM
FEATURING IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND
MAIN CHARACTERS
James Bond
Ariadne
Colonel Sun
Niko Litsas
Zachary Vidar
General Maqbal Akan
Gordienko
Doni
De Graff
SUPPORTING ROLES
Su-Lim
Costas, the taxi driver
M
Moneypenny
Q
Bill Tanner
Admiral Sir Miles Meservy
Yanni
Luis Aris
Tzimus
Petras
Arenski
Lohmann
Tony
Luisa
Captain Forrester
PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE
HOTEL SOFITEL RAJA ORCHID, KHON KAEN, THAILAND
A fleet of limousines deliver guests for a masked ball. Inside James Bond, wearing a plain half-face mask, sips champagne and surveys the crowd. He spies a beautiful oriental woman, whose elaborate mask resembles a peacocks tail feathers. This is Su-Lim, the enemy agent he has been searching for. He introduces himself and they share a waltz. She compliments him on his dancing; Bond has a proposition for her.
In a hotel suite Bond opens a bottle of Chateau Latour. They are both aware of each other’s mischief and exchang some cryptic dialogue. They kiss, cautiously at first, then passionately. At this point Su-Lim knees Bond in the groin. Su-Lim tears away her dress and a dangerous fight begins during which the hotel suite is wrecked. The feathers in Su-Lim’s mask are poisoned needles and Bond avoids the tips; he eventually uses one of the needles himself after trying to restrain her. Su-Lim tires and seems to go into seizure. Bond rips open her dress and removes the microfilm from her brassiere. There is a knock at the door; it is security.
Tony watches the hotel from the rooftop of the building opposite. As the security burst into the room, Tony fires a grapping iron and wire, which shatters the window and fixes into the far wall. Bond uses it to escape from the hotel, abseiling down the wire to the gardens below. He strolls confidently to the hotel entrance, where a Rolls Royce driven by Tony pulls up. Bond sits in and they drive away, mission accomplished. Tony asks if she was a good dancer; Bond reples that his technique left her breathless.
CREDITS
KAZAKHSTAN, THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
The control centre focuses on the launch of the communications satellite code-named Icarus. We are introduced to Zachary Vidar the diamond magnate who is part-funding the project.
Once launched Icarus settles into orbit and reveals a series of solar panels which will power the communication systems the satellite contains.
SUNNINGDALE GOLF COURSE
Bond plays a beautiful drive up the 18th hole. Bond has beaten Bill Tanner again, this time for £100 and a drink in the 19th. Tanner asks Bond to say hello to Sir Miles.
QUARTERDECK, RESIDENCE OF ADMIRAL SIR MILES MESERVY
It is dusk as Bond slows his Aston Martin outside his former superior’s home. There is an ambulance in the driveway. Bond performs a reconnaissance of the mansion. He enters through the scullery and finds Sir Miles’ manservant dead. As he steps into the hallway, Petras places a revolver to his temple. Bond is taken to the living room where he is shocked to see a haggard Sir Miles propped up in a chair, De Graff and Arenski standing over him administering a drug. The arrival of Bond distracts them and Sir Miles launches himself off the chair, preventing the needle injecting the entire dose. Bond engages the three men in combat and during the tussle he receives the rest of the dosage. Bond escapes through the patio doors. He runs across the ornamented gardens and into the woods, with Petras in pursuit. Bond is tiring and just manages to hide inside a huge growth of wild bracken before passing out. Petras can’t find him.
Disguised as an international team of emergency doctors, De Graff and his team arrive at Heathrow Airport, with Sir Miles strapped onto a stretcher.
Back at Quarterdeck, Bond recovers. He walks back to the house. He calls Tanner from the security phone in his Aston Martin.
Forensic staffs search the mansion. The ambulance has been traced and the “doctors” travelled on an Aris Air Freight plane to Athens.
M’S OFFICE
M doesn’t like the set up. Sir Miles is at the forefront of the Icarus Project; the go-ahead of Icarus only succeeded once a secret deal had been brokered to allow the military to install a laser, whose task in times of war would be to destroy the communication centres it monitors. Sir Miles is one of five people who have the access codes. There is no clear reason why Sir Miles’ kidnap and Icarus should be linked, but it is a possibility. Bond argues that the trail is too clear, as if they wanted Sir Miles to be followed. M agrees and the Greek authorities have been notified. The Greeks are on high alert because of the Nicosia Peace Conference. She understands Bond has a certain affection for her predecessor, but will not counsel a direct operation. Tanner mentions that Bond has one week’s official leave due to him. M suggests he visit Q Branch before he leaves; there may be something waiting for him.
Q is testing a variety of gadgets, most of which go spectacularly wrong. Bond obtains a new Rolex, containing a satellite-controlled personal tracer which though useful, will only work for sixty minutes; it also has a self destruct mechanism and can tell the time. Bond also collects a suitcase with plenty of hidden compartments and a cigarette lighter which also doubles as a flame thrower.
ZACHARY VIDAR’S VILLA, GERONISOS ISLAND, CYPRUS
Dawn. A motor launch approaches the quayside. Sir Miles Meservy is escorted off the boat by his captors and led to the main reception room. The villa is opulent and spacious. He is greeted by Colonel Sun Liang -Tan and Zachary Vidar. Sir Miles is defiant; Sun explains he will soon have the Admiral squirming for leniency and requests that he be taken to his locked quarters. Sun learns that James Bond is heading to Athens. He smiles wickedly; this is excellent news. Sun and Vidar enter the living quarters, where a harem of escort women is waiting. Sun considers the women with a calculating eye and chooses the Albanian, Doni. The remaining girls are shared between De Graff and his men. Sun takes Doni to his room and produces a sjambok leather whip, flexing it.
ATHENS
Bond arrives at the airport. Tzimus is watching him. Bond notices him, but instead talks to Costas, a taxi driver, who offers his services. Bond is driven to the Hotel Grande Bretagne, during which he notices the battered Ford driven by Tzimus. Costas takes evasive action they lose the tail. Pleased with his work Bond retains Costas’ services.
At the hotel, Bond asks the receptionist to make an appointment at Aris Air Freight. Costas has waited for Bond; he offers Bond a packet of excellent Turkish cigarettes. When they reach the office building, Bond spies the battered Ford some way down the road. He will make his own way back; Costas can meet him at the hotel at 8pm.
Bond, disguised as an investigator from Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, learns from Luis Aris that the flight from London was chartered by Zachary Vidar, the diamond magnate. They have had a long standing arrangement; Aris Air has been transporting his equipment from the Far East to Europe for over two years. Bond takes the flight information and leaves through the rear exit of the building, avoiding the battered Ford and Tzimus.
Bond uses the slim line lap top in his suitcase to communicate with Moneypenny. Vidar is a Cypriot who used his father’s wealth to gain influence with the Turkish government. He is also known to have connections with government figures and oligarchs in Russia, from where he obtains his industrial diamonds.
THE VILLA
Colonel Sun enters Sir Miles’ room. Sun ignores his outbursts, explaining that within a few hours he will have the information he requires. With Lohmann, Sun begins careful torture preparations.
ATHENS
That evening, Costas drops Bond at the Rodos casino where he tries his luck at roulette. A beautiful lady dressed in a startling green gown, suggests he try his luck on green. Bond wins handsomely and follows the woman. He buys her a drink and she introduces herself as Ariadne Alexandrou.
After dinner Ariadne drives Bond to the Acropolis. He notices the battered Ford in the car park. They admire the view from the Parthenon; opera music from the open air Herodus Atticus theatre can be heard. Bond kisses Ariadne and thanks her for a wonderful evening. It is business before pleasure; he knows their meeting was not an accident and wants to know who she works for and why Tzimus is following him. Before she can reply they are both attacked by three men. There is a fight and the attackers are despatched. Ariadne runs away and Bond follows thinking she is escaping. Instead she presses a control button on the canopy of a spotlight; the base slides away to reveal an illuminated shaft with ladder rungs. Bond follows her down the shaft.
In the Herodus Atticus theatre, first Ariadne and then Bond appear from a trap door on the stage, and exit amid some chaos. Ariadne has the edge on Bond and is already revving her Ferrari when he reaches the Acropolis car park. Two cars pursue them out of the car park and there is a high speed chase through the streets of Athens during which both cars meet explosive ends.
Ariadne drives to an industrial park and a warehouse delivery door opens for them. She introduces Bond to Gordienko and Tzimus, her Russian superiors in Athens. They also have all the information regarding the Aris Air flights and Zachary Vidar, but Bond is still more interested in the kidnapping of Sir Miles. Gordienko explains that Vidar has donated millions of pounds worth of diamonds to the Icarus Project; but they are industrial diamonds from North Korea, not his usual Russian suppliers. The Russians have for some time been concerned about Vidar’s recent switch of allegiance to the Asian state. It is well known that North Korea is looking to make espionage inroads in the West. Gordienko reminds Bond he recently assassinated one of their agents in Thailand. Bond is surprised; he thought Su-Lim worked for the Chinese. Gordienko chuckles; so did the Chinese. They view a host of images relating to Vidar’s contacts: one of them is General Maqbal Akan, Head of the Armed Forces in Turkish Cyprus, while another is Colonel Sun Liang - Tan, a high ranking Korean official. Gordienko produces a computer disc. His team recently infiltrated one of Akan’s bases in Camlibel, North Cyprus, and stole this information. Intrigued, Bond lights one of his Turkish cigarettes, but Gordienko takes it from him, asking who gave it to him. He crushes the cigarette, revealing a tiny tracing bug. Suddenly the warehouse wall explodes, killing Tzimus. There is a gun battle between the Russians and the dark kitted attackers, during which all the Russians are killed. Bond and Ariadne snatch the disc and escape on foot, with some of the attackers in pursuit, Bond shoots two of them dead, Ariadne the other and they finally escape after Ariadne steals a pizza delivery boys moped.
Ariadne takes Bond to Gordienko’s safe house where they view the stolen CD. It contains details of a proposed invasion of Western Cyprus. Ariadne is confused; Akan has been at the forefront of the reconciliation process. Bond thinks the answers may be at the military base in Camlibel. Ariadne knows a man who can help him, but for now it is pleasure before business. They make love.
THE VILLA
Sun receives news of Bond’s escape from De Graff. He is frustrated and picks up a sjambok, which he wields at Doni.
PAPHOS, CYPRUS
In Kato Paphos harbour, Bond and Ariadne find the Altair, an old fishing vessel manned by Niko Litsas and his son, Yanni. Litsas is an old fashioned anarchist, who has been in prison for terrorism, smuggling and murder. He and Gordienko have been in partnership for many years selling secrets to one another about the Turks. He helped Gordienko gain access the Camlibel base, but considers it too dangerous now; there are many new security measures. Reluctantly he agrees to help, in memory of his Russian friend.
As the Altair sails along the coast, Litsas points out Geronisos Island which is Vidar’s residence, bought with Turkish blood money. As they pass by a helicopter rises from the rear of the villa and heads in land.
At dusk, Bond is preparing his equipment from the compartments in his suitcase. He and Ariadne share an intimate moment at the prow of the Altair as it enters Morfou Bay.
Bond is kitted out in scuba equipment and dives overboard. He hasn’t been gone long when the Altair is menaced by a Turkish gun boat, but Litsas is charming and is allowed to retreat back into safer waters.
CAMLIBEL MILITARY BASE, TURKISH CYPRUS
Bond hides his diving equipment by the beach and proceeds on foot towards Camlibel. Once at the base he uses an electronic device that replicates ohm pulses, so the monitors do not realise the fence has been breached. He sees a Cobra helicopter and recognises it as the one from the villa. Bond knocks out a guard and steals his uniform. This enables him to sneak around the compound, observing battle preparations. There is a meeting being held in one of the hangers and Bond listens to Akan and Vidar instructing a squadron leader on disguising plastic explosives and a pressure detonator underneath some roof lintels; everything must be ready in one night, after the inspection and before the arrival of the delegates. Suddenly Bond is apprehended by soldiers. He is presented to General Akan and Vidar, who have already found his scuba equipment. Vidar wishes Bond had been more co-operative in Athens; he really is making a nuisance of himself. Bond claims a full scale invasion of Cyprus would provoke international outrage; why is Akan risking his reputation on such a heinous act? Akan laughs: there is always a secret behind every smile; the closer a man gets to one’s enemies the easier it is to deceive them.
Bond is taken to the cell block where he offers to light a soldier’s cigarette and uses the flame thrower function to start a fight, despatching the four guards quickly and viciously.
Escaping from the prison, Bond spills some fuel from the depot and lights it with the flame thrower, hoping it will ignite the store rooms. He seizes Vidar’s Cobra helicopter and escapes. Akan orders his men to pursue him. Vidar reminds him Bond is needed alive; Akan doesn’t care.
Bond is pursued by three cobras. There is a helicopter dogfight at dawn; Bond destroys two of his tormentors and spies the Altair below him. His cobra is hit and he is forced to crash land in the sea. The remaining cobra sweeps low across the Altair and Litsas fires a flare into the open **** pit; unable to see, the pilot crashes into a cliff face. Bond is pulled to safety, but the gunboat returns to menace them. Yanni produces two ancient limpet mines. The captain boards the Altair and argues with Litsas. Bond and Ariadne fix the mines to the gunboats hull and the vessel is ripped apart by an explosion. Litsas and Yanni kill the boarders.
PAPHOS
Convinced there will be an invasion, Bond wants to contact M. Departing from Litsas, Bond and Ariadne head for the British Consulate. They have not gone far when their path is blocked by Petras and Arenski. There is a chase through the market squares, some stalls are overturned, some fighting takes place; thinking they have escaped Bond hails a taxi. Bond asks for the British Consulate. Too late he realises the driver is Costas, who shoots them both with tranquilizer darts.
THE VILLA
Bond recovers in a functional room. Doni enters with a clean suit; he is invited to join the Colonel for dinner. Bond passes comments about the scars on her back.
At dinner Bond is reunited with Ariadne and Sir Miles. Colonel Sun holds court; he explains that Bond is merely a pawn in a much bigger game. The Koreans have been waiting to flex their muscles beyond East Asia and the Pacific and Vidar’s proposal was a perfect opportunity: the capture of Western Cyprus by the Turks and an unobstructed window of commerce, trade and influence into Europe. Vidar gloats; Sir Miles has graciously delivered the codes for control of Icarus and Akan’s invasion will be a success. All that is required now is the catalyst for an invasion to take place – a terrorist atrocity at the Nicosia Peace Conference, formulated by a rouge British agent. All Bond has to do is co-operate – and Sun will guarantee that co-operation, by tearing the very essence of free will from Bond’s body.
Bond is tortured by Sun, including being intimately pleasured by Doni while Sun drives needles into his ears. At the end of the torture, Sun uses hypnosis to ensure Bond’s co-operation.
Bond is thrown back into his room. Sun orders Doni to run him a hot bath; he is tired and it has been dirty work While Sun reclines in his hot tub, Bond is secretly visited by Doni, who administers anti-hypnosis. She explains she is a gypsy; her mother taught her many secrets. Bond wants his watch back and Doni promises to try to get it for him. She returns to Sun and begins to soak his back; Sun questions where she has been, and she replies that she thought the Colonel needed to recuperate alone as he must be exhausted. Sun claims not be so exhausted and kisses her viciously.
Later that night, Doni slips from Sun’s room and meets one of the other escort girls, Luisa. Luisa helps distract one of the guards, allowing Doni is able to steal Bond’s watch from the torture room. When she returns to Sun’s room and slips into bed beside him, his eyes flicker open, but he makes no comment.
NICOSIA, WESTERN CYPRUS
The following morning, the delegates start arriving at the Archbishop’s Palace for the Peace Conference.
THE VILLA
Bond, acting a little distracted, Ariadne and Sir Miles are waiting with Sun and Vidar at the helipad. Doni arrives at the last moment, asking to accompany them, Sun denies this, but she manages to offload the watch to Bond.
THE CASTLE OF ST. PAUL AND ST. BARNABUS, MESAORA PLAINS
The helicopter lands in the castle and Sun leads the captives to a control centre, an exact replica of the one seen earlier in Kazakhstan. There is a closed circuit television screen showing the opening proceedings in Nicosia.
Bond is led away by De Graff and the two of them make a journey to Nicosia. De Graff asks Bond several questions about the Conference schedule, which Bond answer’s accurately, including the time of the photo call after lunch. Bond activates the tracer on his watch.
(In London, Tanner reports they have got a signal on Bond’s tracer.)
Sun and Vidar activate the Icarus project, using the first of Sir Miles’ codes.
(In orbit around the earth, the Icarus solar panels reverse themselves into a diamond coated screen and the snout of a laser protrudes from the bulk of the satellite.)
NICOSIA
Bond and De Graff enter an apartment building overlooking the Archbishop’s Palace. A high velocity sniper rifle is placed awaiting Bond’s use. Looking through the sniper sight Bond can see the high explosives hidden in under the canopy of the Palace which will detonate from his shooting.
(In London, Bond is traced to Nicosia. The device fixes Bond’s exact position and M despatches the marine’s commander, Captain Forrester.)
The delegates appear for the photo call. Bond casually removes his watch, saying it will disturb his aim, while secretly activating the self destruct mechanism. At the last moment, Bond suggests he would get a better aim from another window and moves aside. The watch explodes; De Graff is seriously wounded, and Bond shoots him dead. Alerted below the delegates begin to panic; Bond shoots at the detonator, whispering “good bloody luck to you all”, and the plastic explosives destroy most of the front of the palace.
(In the Castle Sun and Vidar appear satisfied; Sir Miles is crest-fallen. Sun activates Icarus.)
(General Akan mobilises his Brigades from Camlibel.)
Bond is found by Captain Forrester just before the Military Police. He is whisked away past the chaos outside the palace to a mobile communications van where he is able to briefly communicate the situation to M. It is confirmed that Icarus is primed. M sanctions an assault on the castle.
(The Icarus laser starts to destroy military communication centres across the border and Akan’s troops start to invade the controlled zone.)
THE CASTLE
On the battlements, Arenski can see six Viking helicopters approaching. As he watches the marines open fire and battle is joined.
Despite this sudden turn of events, Sun is remarkably calm. Sir Miles and Ariadne suggest that perhaps Bond was a better match than expected. Sun believes Bond must have had help.
The marines are taking control of the Castle walls and begin to infiltrate the rooms below. Bond has made rapid progress by abseiling down an internal wall. He reaches the control centre and explodes a grenade which stops Sun killing Sir Miles. The villains flee, taking Ariadne with them. Bond persuades the technicians to stop the Icarus laser. Sir Miles gives them the deactivation codes.
(Akan, seeing the laser disappear, fears the worst and calls off his attack.)
The battle continues and we see the deaths of Petras, Arenski and Lohmann. Meanwhile, Sun and Vidar, with Ariadne, are escaping in their helicopter,
Bond meets the Marine Captain, who has received word of Colonel Sun’s escape. Bond knows exactly where they are heading.
THE VILLA
Bond, Niko Litsas and Yanni are in the Altair watching the villa. They have counted seven men, including Sun and Vidar; the escort women seem to have disappeared. They use a tiny dingy to enter a cove on the island and then ascend the winding track up the steepest side of the rock face.
Ariadne is goading Colonel Sun about his failure. Someone is watching from the gardens outside. It is General Akan, who explains his position is untenable now. Akan raises his gun to shoot, but Sun is too quick and kills him with a throwing knife.
Bond has infiltrated the villa. He discovers the mutilated bodies of Doni and Luisa in the torture room and breathes an apology. On entering the corridor, he is surprised by Vidar, who, holding him at gunpoint, takes him to meet Sun. Meanwhile Litsas and Yanni engage the other guards in hand to hand combat.
Bond learns that Sun’s plan was partly motivated by revenge; Su-Lim was his lover. Sun is about to shoot Bond, but, from outside, Litsas throws a knife and it strikes his shoulder. Vidar shoots at Litsas, wounding him, but this allows Bond to fight him; Ariadne attempts to fight with Sun, but the Korean is too strong, slaps her aside and staggers towards the helipad. Ariadne picks up Sun’s fallen revolver and shoots Vidar. Bond engages Sun in hand to hand combat which ends with Sun toppling over the edge of the cliff. Sun clings to the edge of the cliff with his one good hand; Bond stamps on it and Colonel Sun falls silently to his death on the rocks below.
THE ACROPOLIS; ATHENS
A moonlit night. Bond and Ariadne embrace as they admire the view. They agree that Athens will always have a place in his heart.
CLOSING CREDITS
So here I go......
NOTES
I am well aware that this treatment bears uncanny resemblance to some elements of DAD and GE. I first put this down on paper in about 1994, so it predates those movies, though I have updated it several times since. I'd just returned from a holiday in Cyprus and loved the island and thought it would make a great setting for a Bond film, similar to FYEO. The political situation in Cyprus is always in the news over there and they are almost proud of the fact that Nicosia is the "world's last divided city".
The best things about Markham’s Colonel Sun are the torture scene, the kidnapping of M and the Greek atmosphere. I have included all three in the scenario, but it differs dramatically elsewhere:
1. I transferred the climatic action to Cyprus, using the divided country as a basis for an invasion story, as was later used in DAD.
2. This necessitated the creation of a batch of new villains, Vidar and Akan most prominent among them.
3. I liked the Niko Litsas character, but felt he didn’t contribute much to the story, so I have relegated him behind Ariadne as the action develops.
4. M has already been kidnapped once in TWINE, so instead I envisaged Bond visiting his old boss, who has now entered politics, and pursuing the kidnappers as a personal vendetta.
5. The plot needed some expansion and updating, but I did remain faithful to the original concept of Markham’s novel, having Bond as a stooge for the villains’ assassination plans.
6. There is very little action in Markham’s novel, so I introduced a whole section at a Turkish military base in East Cyprus which would be cinematically exciting as well as explaining some of the plot. There are also chases and fights in Cyprus and in Athens.
7. I had to lots of problems with the role of Colonel Sun in the story and invented the revenge element as I couldn’t think of any reason why Bond is picked out to be involved in the plan. I envisage him as being a detestable, precise, organised man, more of an automaton than a human, which I felt would make Doni’s betrayal more believable to an audience.
8. I have taken quite a few geographical liberties with locations also: there is no such place as the Castle of St Paul and St Barnabus, Geronisos Island is in Western Cyprus and is actually a bird sanctuary, Camlibel has no military base and of course there is no secret passage from the Acropolis to anywhere!
9. I also included some Fleming story elements: the knitting needles tipped with poison (peacock pins), gypsies and a Q-branch suitcase from FRWL, the stingray tailed corrector (the sjambok whip) from THR, Bond’s love of golf from GF, Bond playing roulette from DAF, Bond deliberately missing his intended shooting target from TLD and (sort of) brain washing from TMWTGG. The pre-title sequence is also reminiscent of the original teaser ideas for TB.
10. Overall, I don’t think it’s a bad job, but I consider the climax at the castle to be
underwhelming. If I am honest, this is one that could go back to the drawing board.
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE READ!
COLONEL SUN
SYNOPSIS BY CHRIS STACEY
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY ROBERT MARKHAM
FEATURING IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND
MAIN CHARACTERS
James Bond
Ariadne
Colonel Sun
Niko Litsas
Zachary Vidar
General Maqbal Akan
Gordienko
Doni
De Graff
SUPPORTING ROLES
Su-Lim
Costas, the taxi driver
M
Moneypenny
Q
Bill Tanner
Admiral Sir Miles Meservy
Yanni
Luis Aris
Tzimus
Petras
Arenski
Lohmann
Tony
Luisa
Captain Forrester
PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE
HOTEL SOFITEL RAJA ORCHID, KHON KAEN, THAILAND
A fleet of limousines deliver guests for a masked ball. Inside James Bond, wearing a plain half-face mask, sips champagne and surveys the crowd. He spies a beautiful oriental woman, whose elaborate mask resembles a peacocks tail feathers. This is Su-Lim, the enemy agent he has been searching for. He introduces himself and they share a waltz. She compliments him on his dancing; Bond has a proposition for her.
In a hotel suite Bond opens a bottle of Chateau Latour. They are both aware of each other’s mischief and exchang some cryptic dialogue. They kiss, cautiously at first, then passionately. At this point Su-Lim knees Bond in the groin. Su-Lim tears away her dress and a dangerous fight begins during which the hotel suite is wrecked. The feathers in Su-Lim’s mask are poisoned needles and Bond avoids the tips; he eventually uses one of the needles himself after trying to restrain her. Su-Lim tires and seems to go into seizure. Bond rips open her dress and removes the microfilm from her brassiere. There is a knock at the door; it is security.
Tony watches the hotel from the rooftop of the building opposite. As the security burst into the room, Tony fires a grapping iron and wire, which shatters the window and fixes into the far wall. Bond uses it to escape from the hotel, abseiling down the wire to the gardens below. He strolls confidently to the hotel entrance, where a Rolls Royce driven by Tony pulls up. Bond sits in and they drive away, mission accomplished. Tony asks if she was a good dancer; Bond reples that his technique left her breathless.
CREDITS
KAZAKHSTAN, THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
The control centre focuses on the launch of the communications satellite code-named Icarus. We are introduced to Zachary Vidar the diamond magnate who is part-funding the project.
Once launched Icarus settles into orbit and reveals a series of solar panels which will power the communication systems the satellite contains.
SUNNINGDALE GOLF COURSE
Bond plays a beautiful drive up the 18th hole. Bond has beaten Bill Tanner again, this time for £100 and a drink in the 19th. Tanner asks Bond to say hello to Sir Miles.
QUARTERDECK, RESIDENCE OF ADMIRAL SIR MILES MESERVY
It is dusk as Bond slows his Aston Martin outside his former superior’s home. There is an ambulance in the driveway. Bond performs a reconnaissance of the mansion. He enters through the scullery and finds Sir Miles’ manservant dead. As he steps into the hallway, Petras places a revolver to his temple. Bond is taken to the living room where he is shocked to see a haggard Sir Miles propped up in a chair, De Graff and Arenski standing over him administering a drug. The arrival of Bond distracts them and Sir Miles launches himself off the chair, preventing the needle injecting the entire dose. Bond engages the three men in combat and during the tussle he receives the rest of the dosage. Bond escapes through the patio doors. He runs across the ornamented gardens and into the woods, with Petras in pursuit. Bond is tiring and just manages to hide inside a huge growth of wild bracken before passing out. Petras can’t find him.
Disguised as an international team of emergency doctors, De Graff and his team arrive at Heathrow Airport, with Sir Miles strapped onto a stretcher.
Back at Quarterdeck, Bond recovers. He walks back to the house. He calls Tanner from the security phone in his Aston Martin.
Forensic staffs search the mansion. The ambulance has been traced and the “doctors” travelled on an Aris Air Freight plane to Athens.
M’S OFFICE
M doesn’t like the set up. Sir Miles is at the forefront of the Icarus Project; the go-ahead of Icarus only succeeded once a secret deal had been brokered to allow the military to install a laser, whose task in times of war would be to destroy the communication centres it monitors. Sir Miles is one of five people who have the access codes. There is no clear reason why Sir Miles’ kidnap and Icarus should be linked, but it is a possibility. Bond argues that the trail is too clear, as if they wanted Sir Miles to be followed. M agrees and the Greek authorities have been notified. The Greeks are on high alert because of the Nicosia Peace Conference. She understands Bond has a certain affection for her predecessor, but will not counsel a direct operation. Tanner mentions that Bond has one week’s official leave due to him. M suggests he visit Q Branch before he leaves; there may be something waiting for him.
Q is testing a variety of gadgets, most of which go spectacularly wrong. Bond obtains a new Rolex, containing a satellite-controlled personal tracer which though useful, will only work for sixty minutes; it also has a self destruct mechanism and can tell the time. Bond also collects a suitcase with plenty of hidden compartments and a cigarette lighter which also doubles as a flame thrower.
ZACHARY VIDAR’S VILLA, GERONISOS ISLAND, CYPRUS
Dawn. A motor launch approaches the quayside. Sir Miles Meservy is escorted off the boat by his captors and led to the main reception room. The villa is opulent and spacious. He is greeted by Colonel Sun Liang -Tan and Zachary Vidar. Sir Miles is defiant; Sun explains he will soon have the Admiral squirming for leniency and requests that he be taken to his locked quarters. Sun learns that James Bond is heading to Athens. He smiles wickedly; this is excellent news. Sun and Vidar enter the living quarters, where a harem of escort women is waiting. Sun considers the women with a calculating eye and chooses the Albanian, Doni. The remaining girls are shared between De Graff and his men. Sun takes Doni to his room and produces a sjambok leather whip, flexing it.
ATHENS
Bond arrives at the airport. Tzimus is watching him. Bond notices him, but instead talks to Costas, a taxi driver, who offers his services. Bond is driven to the Hotel Grande Bretagne, during which he notices the battered Ford driven by Tzimus. Costas takes evasive action they lose the tail. Pleased with his work Bond retains Costas’ services.
At the hotel, Bond asks the receptionist to make an appointment at Aris Air Freight. Costas has waited for Bond; he offers Bond a packet of excellent Turkish cigarettes. When they reach the office building, Bond spies the battered Ford some way down the road. He will make his own way back; Costas can meet him at the hotel at 8pm.
Bond, disguised as an investigator from Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, learns from Luis Aris that the flight from London was chartered by Zachary Vidar, the diamond magnate. They have had a long standing arrangement; Aris Air has been transporting his equipment from the Far East to Europe for over two years. Bond takes the flight information and leaves through the rear exit of the building, avoiding the battered Ford and Tzimus.
Bond uses the slim line lap top in his suitcase to communicate with Moneypenny. Vidar is a Cypriot who used his father’s wealth to gain influence with the Turkish government. He is also known to have connections with government figures and oligarchs in Russia, from where he obtains his industrial diamonds.
THE VILLA
Colonel Sun enters Sir Miles’ room. Sun ignores his outbursts, explaining that within a few hours he will have the information he requires. With Lohmann, Sun begins careful torture preparations.
ATHENS
That evening, Costas drops Bond at the Rodos casino where he tries his luck at roulette. A beautiful lady dressed in a startling green gown, suggests he try his luck on green. Bond wins handsomely and follows the woman. He buys her a drink and she introduces herself as Ariadne Alexandrou.
After dinner Ariadne drives Bond to the Acropolis. He notices the battered Ford in the car park. They admire the view from the Parthenon; opera music from the open air Herodus Atticus theatre can be heard. Bond kisses Ariadne and thanks her for a wonderful evening. It is business before pleasure; he knows their meeting was not an accident and wants to know who she works for and why Tzimus is following him. Before she can reply they are both attacked by three men. There is a fight and the attackers are despatched. Ariadne runs away and Bond follows thinking she is escaping. Instead she presses a control button on the canopy of a spotlight; the base slides away to reveal an illuminated shaft with ladder rungs. Bond follows her down the shaft.
In the Herodus Atticus theatre, first Ariadne and then Bond appear from a trap door on the stage, and exit amid some chaos. Ariadne has the edge on Bond and is already revving her Ferrari when he reaches the Acropolis car park. Two cars pursue them out of the car park and there is a high speed chase through the streets of Athens during which both cars meet explosive ends.
Ariadne drives to an industrial park and a warehouse delivery door opens for them. She introduces Bond to Gordienko and Tzimus, her Russian superiors in Athens. They also have all the information regarding the Aris Air flights and Zachary Vidar, but Bond is still more interested in the kidnapping of Sir Miles. Gordienko explains that Vidar has donated millions of pounds worth of diamonds to the Icarus Project; but they are industrial diamonds from North Korea, not his usual Russian suppliers. The Russians have for some time been concerned about Vidar’s recent switch of allegiance to the Asian state. It is well known that North Korea is looking to make espionage inroads in the West. Gordienko reminds Bond he recently assassinated one of their agents in Thailand. Bond is surprised; he thought Su-Lim worked for the Chinese. Gordienko chuckles; so did the Chinese. They view a host of images relating to Vidar’s contacts: one of them is General Maqbal Akan, Head of the Armed Forces in Turkish Cyprus, while another is Colonel Sun Liang - Tan, a high ranking Korean official. Gordienko produces a computer disc. His team recently infiltrated one of Akan’s bases in Camlibel, North Cyprus, and stole this information. Intrigued, Bond lights one of his Turkish cigarettes, but Gordienko takes it from him, asking who gave it to him. He crushes the cigarette, revealing a tiny tracing bug. Suddenly the warehouse wall explodes, killing Tzimus. There is a gun battle between the Russians and the dark kitted attackers, during which all the Russians are killed. Bond and Ariadne snatch the disc and escape on foot, with some of the attackers in pursuit, Bond shoots two of them dead, Ariadne the other and they finally escape after Ariadne steals a pizza delivery boys moped.
Ariadne takes Bond to Gordienko’s safe house where they view the stolen CD. It contains details of a proposed invasion of Western Cyprus. Ariadne is confused; Akan has been at the forefront of the reconciliation process. Bond thinks the answers may be at the military base in Camlibel. Ariadne knows a man who can help him, but for now it is pleasure before business. They make love.
THE VILLA
Sun receives news of Bond’s escape from De Graff. He is frustrated and picks up a sjambok, which he wields at Doni.
PAPHOS, CYPRUS
In Kato Paphos harbour, Bond and Ariadne find the Altair, an old fishing vessel manned by Niko Litsas and his son, Yanni. Litsas is an old fashioned anarchist, who has been in prison for terrorism, smuggling and murder. He and Gordienko have been in partnership for many years selling secrets to one another about the Turks. He helped Gordienko gain access the Camlibel base, but considers it too dangerous now; there are many new security measures. Reluctantly he agrees to help, in memory of his Russian friend.
As the Altair sails along the coast, Litsas points out Geronisos Island which is Vidar’s residence, bought with Turkish blood money. As they pass by a helicopter rises from the rear of the villa and heads in land.
At dusk, Bond is preparing his equipment from the compartments in his suitcase. He and Ariadne share an intimate moment at the prow of the Altair as it enters Morfou Bay.
Bond is kitted out in scuba equipment and dives overboard. He hasn’t been gone long when the Altair is menaced by a Turkish gun boat, but Litsas is charming and is allowed to retreat back into safer waters.
CAMLIBEL MILITARY BASE, TURKISH CYPRUS
Bond hides his diving equipment by the beach and proceeds on foot towards Camlibel. Once at the base he uses an electronic device that replicates ohm pulses, so the monitors do not realise the fence has been breached. He sees a Cobra helicopter and recognises it as the one from the villa. Bond knocks out a guard and steals his uniform. This enables him to sneak around the compound, observing battle preparations. There is a meeting being held in one of the hangers and Bond listens to Akan and Vidar instructing a squadron leader on disguising plastic explosives and a pressure detonator underneath some roof lintels; everything must be ready in one night, after the inspection and before the arrival of the delegates. Suddenly Bond is apprehended by soldiers. He is presented to General Akan and Vidar, who have already found his scuba equipment. Vidar wishes Bond had been more co-operative in Athens; he really is making a nuisance of himself. Bond claims a full scale invasion of Cyprus would provoke international outrage; why is Akan risking his reputation on such a heinous act? Akan laughs: there is always a secret behind every smile; the closer a man gets to one’s enemies the easier it is to deceive them.
Bond is taken to the cell block where he offers to light a soldier’s cigarette and uses the flame thrower function to start a fight, despatching the four guards quickly and viciously.
Escaping from the prison, Bond spills some fuel from the depot and lights it with the flame thrower, hoping it will ignite the store rooms. He seizes Vidar’s Cobra helicopter and escapes. Akan orders his men to pursue him. Vidar reminds him Bond is needed alive; Akan doesn’t care.
Bond is pursued by three cobras. There is a helicopter dogfight at dawn; Bond destroys two of his tormentors and spies the Altair below him. His cobra is hit and he is forced to crash land in the sea. The remaining cobra sweeps low across the Altair and Litsas fires a flare into the open **** pit; unable to see, the pilot crashes into a cliff face. Bond is pulled to safety, but the gunboat returns to menace them. Yanni produces two ancient limpet mines. The captain boards the Altair and argues with Litsas. Bond and Ariadne fix the mines to the gunboats hull and the vessel is ripped apart by an explosion. Litsas and Yanni kill the boarders.
PAPHOS
Convinced there will be an invasion, Bond wants to contact M. Departing from Litsas, Bond and Ariadne head for the British Consulate. They have not gone far when their path is blocked by Petras and Arenski. There is a chase through the market squares, some stalls are overturned, some fighting takes place; thinking they have escaped Bond hails a taxi. Bond asks for the British Consulate. Too late he realises the driver is Costas, who shoots them both with tranquilizer darts.
THE VILLA
Bond recovers in a functional room. Doni enters with a clean suit; he is invited to join the Colonel for dinner. Bond passes comments about the scars on her back.
At dinner Bond is reunited with Ariadne and Sir Miles. Colonel Sun holds court; he explains that Bond is merely a pawn in a much bigger game. The Koreans have been waiting to flex their muscles beyond East Asia and the Pacific and Vidar’s proposal was a perfect opportunity: the capture of Western Cyprus by the Turks and an unobstructed window of commerce, trade and influence into Europe. Vidar gloats; Sir Miles has graciously delivered the codes for control of Icarus and Akan’s invasion will be a success. All that is required now is the catalyst for an invasion to take place – a terrorist atrocity at the Nicosia Peace Conference, formulated by a rouge British agent. All Bond has to do is co-operate – and Sun will guarantee that co-operation, by tearing the very essence of free will from Bond’s body.
Bond is tortured by Sun, including being intimately pleasured by Doni while Sun drives needles into his ears. At the end of the torture, Sun uses hypnosis to ensure Bond’s co-operation.
Bond is thrown back into his room. Sun orders Doni to run him a hot bath; he is tired and it has been dirty work While Sun reclines in his hot tub, Bond is secretly visited by Doni, who administers anti-hypnosis. She explains she is a gypsy; her mother taught her many secrets. Bond wants his watch back and Doni promises to try to get it for him. She returns to Sun and begins to soak his back; Sun questions where she has been, and she replies that she thought the Colonel needed to recuperate alone as he must be exhausted. Sun claims not be so exhausted and kisses her viciously.
Later that night, Doni slips from Sun’s room and meets one of the other escort girls, Luisa. Luisa helps distract one of the guards, allowing Doni is able to steal Bond’s watch from the torture room. When she returns to Sun’s room and slips into bed beside him, his eyes flicker open, but he makes no comment.
NICOSIA, WESTERN CYPRUS
The following morning, the delegates start arriving at the Archbishop’s Palace for the Peace Conference.
THE VILLA
Bond, acting a little distracted, Ariadne and Sir Miles are waiting with Sun and Vidar at the helipad. Doni arrives at the last moment, asking to accompany them, Sun denies this, but she manages to offload the watch to Bond.
THE CASTLE OF ST. PAUL AND ST. BARNABUS, MESAORA PLAINS
The helicopter lands in the castle and Sun leads the captives to a control centre, an exact replica of the one seen earlier in Kazakhstan. There is a closed circuit television screen showing the opening proceedings in Nicosia.
Bond is led away by De Graff and the two of them make a journey to Nicosia. De Graff asks Bond several questions about the Conference schedule, which Bond answer’s accurately, including the time of the photo call after lunch. Bond activates the tracer on his watch.
(In London, Tanner reports they have got a signal on Bond’s tracer.)
Sun and Vidar activate the Icarus project, using the first of Sir Miles’ codes.
(In orbit around the earth, the Icarus solar panels reverse themselves into a diamond coated screen and the snout of a laser protrudes from the bulk of the satellite.)
NICOSIA
Bond and De Graff enter an apartment building overlooking the Archbishop’s Palace. A high velocity sniper rifle is placed awaiting Bond’s use. Looking through the sniper sight Bond can see the high explosives hidden in under the canopy of the Palace which will detonate from his shooting.
(In London, Bond is traced to Nicosia. The device fixes Bond’s exact position and M despatches the marine’s commander, Captain Forrester.)
The delegates appear for the photo call. Bond casually removes his watch, saying it will disturb his aim, while secretly activating the self destruct mechanism. At the last moment, Bond suggests he would get a better aim from another window and moves aside. The watch explodes; De Graff is seriously wounded, and Bond shoots him dead. Alerted below the delegates begin to panic; Bond shoots at the detonator, whispering “good bloody luck to you all”, and the plastic explosives destroy most of the front of the palace.
(In the Castle Sun and Vidar appear satisfied; Sir Miles is crest-fallen. Sun activates Icarus.)
(General Akan mobilises his Brigades from Camlibel.)
Bond is found by Captain Forrester just before the Military Police. He is whisked away past the chaos outside the palace to a mobile communications van where he is able to briefly communicate the situation to M. It is confirmed that Icarus is primed. M sanctions an assault on the castle.
(The Icarus laser starts to destroy military communication centres across the border and Akan’s troops start to invade the controlled zone.)
THE CASTLE
On the battlements, Arenski can see six Viking helicopters approaching. As he watches the marines open fire and battle is joined.
Despite this sudden turn of events, Sun is remarkably calm. Sir Miles and Ariadne suggest that perhaps Bond was a better match than expected. Sun believes Bond must have had help.
The marines are taking control of the Castle walls and begin to infiltrate the rooms below. Bond has made rapid progress by abseiling down an internal wall. He reaches the control centre and explodes a grenade which stops Sun killing Sir Miles. The villains flee, taking Ariadne with them. Bond persuades the technicians to stop the Icarus laser. Sir Miles gives them the deactivation codes.
(Akan, seeing the laser disappear, fears the worst and calls off his attack.)
The battle continues and we see the deaths of Petras, Arenski and Lohmann. Meanwhile, Sun and Vidar, with Ariadne, are escaping in their helicopter,
Bond meets the Marine Captain, who has received word of Colonel Sun’s escape. Bond knows exactly where they are heading.
THE VILLA
Bond, Niko Litsas and Yanni are in the Altair watching the villa. They have counted seven men, including Sun and Vidar; the escort women seem to have disappeared. They use a tiny dingy to enter a cove on the island and then ascend the winding track up the steepest side of the rock face.
Ariadne is goading Colonel Sun about his failure. Someone is watching from the gardens outside. It is General Akan, who explains his position is untenable now. Akan raises his gun to shoot, but Sun is too quick and kills him with a throwing knife.
Bond has infiltrated the villa. He discovers the mutilated bodies of Doni and Luisa in the torture room and breathes an apology. On entering the corridor, he is surprised by Vidar, who, holding him at gunpoint, takes him to meet Sun. Meanwhile Litsas and Yanni engage the other guards in hand to hand combat.
Bond learns that Sun’s plan was partly motivated by revenge; Su-Lim was his lover. Sun is about to shoot Bond, but, from outside, Litsas throws a knife and it strikes his shoulder. Vidar shoots at Litsas, wounding him, but this allows Bond to fight him; Ariadne attempts to fight with Sun, but the Korean is too strong, slaps her aside and staggers towards the helipad. Ariadne picks up Sun’s fallen revolver and shoots Vidar. Bond engages Sun in hand to hand combat which ends with Sun toppling over the edge of the cliff. Sun clings to the edge of the cliff with his one good hand; Bond stamps on it and Colonel Sun falls silently to his death on the rocks below.
THE ACROPOLIS; ATHENS
A moonlit night. Bond and Ariadne embrace as they admire the view. They agree that Athens will always have a place in his heart.
CLOSING CREDITS
Comments
On the CommanderBond forums, another posted created his own outline for "CS." His, however, was written as a follow-up to "LTK" and as such Bond was on bad terms with MI6 in the beginning before he embarks on his next mission. It would be cool to find a way to include that in your story, since many rumors circulated that "CS" would have been the 'in-between' film after "LTK" and before "Goldeneye."
I never knew that. Certainly could be possible, my scenarios do get regular updating! But I always see them as being of the present time rather than in any sequencial order with the actual movies.
My hope is that someone at Eon actually reads these pages and gets a few bright ideas!
I still dont understand why CS and the Gardner / Benson novels have never had film options taken on them.
And do read CS, its a good novel, though if you read the thread about it in the JBLiterature forum, there is plenty of mixed opinion and some of it might put you off.