That's not my point. Bond movies should set itself apart from MI, not copy it. (But the Bond movies could learn from the spectacular stunts and sense of fun)
I'm very sceptical to using current real world events in Bond movies, but sometimes my brain goes in that direction anyway:
The Russian Wagner Group recruited hardened criminals from prisons. They were promised freedom after six months of fighting in Ukraine. But that's if they survived, and since these penal units were essentially used as bullet catchers the losses among these recruits from prison were extremely high. But some of them survived anyway and are now let loose on civilian society. We're talking about murderers, psycopaths and rapists, some probably from Russian mafia, who now has six months of military experience of the worst kind. That sounds like modern Bond movie henchmen to me. I doubt the scriptwriters will go there, and I'm not sure I want them to. But in LTK a henchman was ex-Contras, probably because he was too violent even for them.
Definitely modern Bond henchman material, would provide a real menacing threat and a henchman you would like to see receive their comeuppance from Bond.
A lot will depend on how dark and brutal they want to take Bond's world, or if they want to keep it a bit lighter.
It occurred to me today how fresh Purvis and Wade were at screenwriting when they first got hired by EON. They had only written the screenplays of Plunket & Macleane and a low-budget (I belive) years earlier. If I remember correctly they mentioned in an interview that they were Bond fans. The Bond producers invited them to an interview where they were asked to submit some ideas. Basically the two writers we're hired on the bases of promising talent and knowledge of the Bond movies and books. Could it be that future screenwriters will be relatively fresh and unknown too? I understand Purvis and Wade are still involved, but I'll bet there will be more than two writers on Bond26.
The Israelis have developed man-portable and even hand-held radars that can see trough walls. The Camaro Xaver range can see through walls and see the shape of the room, how many people are in it and where they are and even if they're breathing. Artificial Intelligence is used to do this. These radars are used by special forces, police anti-terror units, fire departments and rescuers after natural disasters. The radiation is comparable to a mobile phone. The largest model can be carried by one man and works from a distance to up to 100 meters.
i think a gadget like this would fit into the world of James Bond, but Q-branch technology needs to be a step or two ahead. I imagine larger screens, better images and the gadget itself being disguised as something else. Maybe a radar unit that looks like a tablet computer?
Deep sea mining is a hot topic. A lot of very valuable minerals like diamonds and gold can be mined under the sea. So can less known, but very valuable minerals like zinc and manganse. This type of mining is very controversial because of the destruction to life in the sea. The rich life at the bottom of the sea was something Ian Fleming was very fascinated by. Imagine a villain who secretly and illegally mines the seabed in maybe the Arctic or near the Great Barrier Reef. The surface ships are explained away by saying they're just doing scientific research. He/she may do it to get enough of a mineral needed for some evil plan or simply to get the money for the great plan.
The plot has echoes of Octopussy (the short story) and the movie FYEO. Look at these machines. Imagine a diver (Bond?) trapped on the seabed in front of one of these machines, frantically trying to get away in time. It would be a very tense and spectacular scene:
A key place to start a James Bond plot is thinking what's on people's minds, what they're worried about. What do you think that is? This can easily become political, and neither the Bond producers nor us want to create political debate around this.
Is it natural disasters? This has to in some way be controlled or started by humans, because saving people who are victims of an earth quake is no Bond movie. As we saw in QoS, a drought is too slow. Stopping a villain from starting a tsunami is much more fitting for Bond.
There is also artificial inteligence, but that fits better for a thriller or sci-fi movie. Climate change is a big worry for many, but this can easily go wrong as a plot device. We don't want Bond to be blowing up car factories or surfing tsunamis. What can work is the control of new trade routes or (as mentioned above) rare minerals in the Arctic.
There is hybrid warfare, false flag operations and regime change around the world. The "nice" thing about this idea is is that all major powers feel this is something the other powers are doing and it's a bad thing. What can work is a multinational company going for regime change in some country. The USA thinks it's the Russians, the Russians think it's the Americans and so do the Chinese.
The Northeast and Northwest Passages will become important in the future, and if a conflict starts in the Arctic those sea-lanes will probably be at the heart of it. Having a naval component will sett new Bond movies apart from all recent movies.
Wagner leader Prigozhin's palace just got raided, or at least one of his palaces. Isn't it strange how all of Putin's friends are billionairs and squeaky clean, but the moment they fall out with him the police raid them and - shock - they turn out to be corrupt criminals! 😂
The palace was perfect for a Bond villain, including piles of cash and weapons, sledgehammers, a stuffed crocodile and photos of severed heads in the closet (at least according to the police).
Wigs, guns and gold.
Selfies of Prigozhin testing out disguises.
In a couple of disguises Prigozjin looks a lot like Sash Baron Cohen in The Dictator! 🤣
Apparently the police also found a number of passports. "A normal person doesn't have that many passports" says Russian journalist Eduard Petrov to Russia-1.
I have some thoughts on how the latest Mission Impossible movie may impact Bond26. The Bond producers and writers have tried to find what the public worries about and what's on their minds when making a movie. IM: Dead Reconing Part 1 (and one assumes part 2) uses Artificial Intelligence as the main villain. Given how many years has gone by since the movies must've been written I think they hit the mood in 2023 very well. Because of the strikes in Hollywood Part two of Dead Reckoning will be released next summer. In my very amateur opinion Bond26 can at the earliest come in 2025, a year later. While MI can't have a monopoly on using AI as a major plot point, but II don't think Bond can do this a year or two after the main competitor has done this - twice.
Bond26 should focus on something else people will worry about in 2-3 years. What? National sovereignity, invasions and hybrid warfare may be the answer. But this is very topical now much because of the war in Ukraine. Will this war still be going on in 2-3 years? Hopefully not, but maybe.
I have an idea for a plot about these topics: What if a multinational company and not another country tried to take over a country? I think it's a safe bet people will still worry about the power of multinational companies in a couple of years. The company and it's owner(s) wants the resources of the country, but also other assets. With the control of a country they can issue diplomatic passports to criminals, terrorists and others, much like the tiny and very poor Pacific nation of Nauru did before 9/11. The country can also become a banking hub where people can hide their money and launder it. Rich people on the run can even live in the company-run country if they have to. This plot will fit very well with the idea of having a company in the security sector working for the villain. A company with a mercenary army, bodyguards, computer experts (hackers) and surveilance experts. A multi-national company can own their own security company..
I guess the country in question will have to be a made up country like Istimus, San Monique or Nambutu. A fictional island nation seems practical. This can also offer a good excuse to have Bond work with the Royal Navy again, something we never really saw in Craig's movies. The above idea can also be combined with my idea of using deep sea mining in the story. A part of the motivation for EvilCorps to take over Fake-island is to get access and full controll over large deposits of gold, diamonds and other important resources off the coast of Fake-Island.
I've recently read 'Live And Let Die' again - the original book, in a facsimile of the first edition issued some years ago by The Danbury Mint. A definite highlight is Bond's perilous swim to Mr Big's island. It strikes me that, although we've had memorable underwater sequences in TB, TSWLM, FYEO, NSNA and LTK, the sheer brilliance and excitement of Fleming's descriptions of Bond's sea swims on a mission - all the exoticism and danger of coral reefs, barracudas, octopi, etc - haven't been fully recreated in the cinema yet. I should stress that I'm referring specifically here to Fleming's focus on marine life, as opposed to (human) enemy action. (I'd argue that the cinematic element of the past which has come closest to Fleming's distinctive and acute sense of the exoticism and menace of the sea itself is John Barry's moody and evocative score for TB.)
Perhaps the time is right to revisit this area in a new Bond film and to make judicuous uses of CGI to enhance the choreography and intimacy of underwater scenes and sealife visually - in ways perhaps not previously possible with earlier film technologies (pioneering and impactful though they were in their day).
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
I don't know if this is in the news outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, but it reminds me of Skyfall when the list of MI6 agents is stolen and leads to agents being found and killed.
Underwater mining equipment can be used for drilling too. This technology can of course be used to start tsunamis, but this can easily get too similar to AVTAK.
It's not a plot idea, but I have an idea. I'd like EON to do something new and unusual with a Bond car. Imagine 007 working undercover or shadowing someone and the a new supercar would be completely wrong. Bond could use an old and "reasonably prized car", but there's a twist. The old (I'm thinking from the 90's or even the 80's) car is actually heavily re-buildt by Q branch. The engine noice is actually from loudspeakers and the car runs on a powerful and fast electric engine. Of cource the breaks, chassie etc. are calibrated for high speeds. There are other surprises too. When you press the "eject" button the cassette player a small consealable pistol comes out instead of a cassette. . Many of the switches and buttons activate modern features one would expect (or not expect) from a car from the Q branch. it would be cool to see bond in a cheap car again (FYEO , GE) and at the same time do something new with car gadgets. Maybe they could use a SAAB 900 Turbo as a tribute to John Gardener's "silver beast"! If course Bond will use a modern supercar in much of the movie, the undercover car is just for a couple of scenes, like the 2CV and Lada in FYEO and GE.
How would you feel about a female movie star as Bond villain? Maybe Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson? Jolie has only played a villain in family movies and I don't think Johansson has played a villain at all. I say bring it on, but not in Bond26. The Bond actor needs to get famous in the role first.
Comments
Having Henry Cavill as a main villain? I need to watch Mission Impossible to see how he would fare as a villain here.
He was good in Mission Impossible.
Better as a villain I'd suggest. As a leading man Cavill does nothing for me and his age counts against him for longevity
This would be a mistake after Fallout.
Yeh, he wasn't great in that, but I'd rather have a naff baddie than a naff Bond
That's not my point. Bond movies should set itself apart from MI, not copy it. (But the Bond movies could learn from the spectacular stunts and sense of fun)
Out of curiosity, has anyone heard he he is/did get off the landing pad? An aircraft carrier-style catapult? Or simply being lifted off by helicopter?
I have no idea.
I'm very sceptical to using current real world events in Bond movies, but sometimes my brain goes in that direction anyway:
The Russian Wagner Group recruited hardened criminals from prisons. They were promised freedom after six months of fighting in Ukraine. But that's if they survived, and since these penal units were essentially used as bullet catchers the losses among these recruits from prison were extremely high. But some of them survived anyway and are now let loose on civilian society. We're talking about murderers, psycopaths and rapists, some probably from Russian mafia, who now has six months of military experience of the worst kind. That sounds like modern Bond movie henchmen to me. I doubt the scriptwriters will go there, and I'm not sure I want them to. But in LTK a henchman was ex-Contras, probably because he was too violent even for them.
Definitely modern Bond henchman material, would provide a real menacing threat and a henchman you would like to see receive their comeuppance from Bond.
A lot will depend on how dark and brutal they want to take Bond's world, or if they want to keep it a bit lighter.
I agree. This type of henchman clearly belongs in a darker Bond movie.
So, if he becomes the villain, his name shouldn't be i.e. October Sleeper?
It occurred to me today how fresh Purvis and Wade were at screenwriting when they first got hired by EON. They had only written the screenplays of Plunket & Macleane and a low-budget (I belive) years earlier. If I remember correctly they mentioned in an interview that they were Bond fans. The Bond producers invited them to an interview where they were asked to submit some ideas. Basically the two writers we're hired on the bases of promising talent and knowledge of the Bond movies and books. Could it be that future screenwriters will be relatively fresh and unknown too? I understand Purvis and Wade are still involved, but I'll bet there will be more than two writers on Bond26.
The Israelis have developed man-portable and even hand-held radars that can see trough walls. The Camaro Xaver range can see through walls and see the shape of the room, how many people are in it and where they are and even if they're breathing. Artificial Intelligence is used to do this. These radars are used by special forces, police anti-terror units, fire departments and rescuers after natural disasters. The radiation is comparable to a mobile phone. The largest model can be carried by one man and works from a distance to up to 100 meters.
i think a gadget like this would fit into the world of James Bond, but Q-branch technology needs to be a step or two ahead. I imagine larger screens, better images and the gadget itself being disguised as something else. Maybe a radar unit that looks like a tablet computer?
Smaller models have shorter range.
Deep sea mining is a hot topic. A lot of very valuable minerals like diamonds and gold can be mined under the sea. So can less known, but very valuable minerals like zinc and manganse. This type of mining is very controversial because of the destruction to life in the sea. The rich life at the bottom of the sea was something Ian Fleming was very fascinated by. Imagine a villain who secretly and illegally mines the seabed in maybe the Arctic or near the Great Barrier Reef. The surface ships are explained away by saying they're just doing scientific research. He/she may do it to get enough of a mineral needed for some evil plan or simply to get the money for the great plan.
The plot has echoes of Octopussy (the short story) and the movie FYEO. Look at these machines. Imagine a diver (Bond?) trapped on the seabed in front of one of these machines, frantically trying to get away in time. It would be a very tense and spectacular scene:
The recently re-elected president of Sierra Leone is Julius Bio. There's a good villain name ...
Interesting ideas, and would get Bond in a wetsuit again!
A key place to start a James Bond plot is thinking what's on people's minds, what they're worried about. What do you think that is? This can easily become political, and neither the Bond producers nor us want to create political debate around this.
Is it natural disasters? This has to in some way be controlled or started by humans, because saving people who are victims of an earth quake is no Bond movie. As we saw in QoS, a drought is too slow. Stopping a villain from starting a tsunami is much more fitting for Bond.
There is also artificial inteligence, but that fits better for a thriller or sci-fi movie. Climate change is a big worry for many, but this can easily go wrong as a plot device. We don't want Bond to be blowing up car factories or surfing tsunamis. What can work is the control of new trade routes or (as mentioned above) rare minerals in the Arctic.
There is hybrid warfare, false flag operations and regime change around the world. The "nice" thing about this idea is is that all major powers feel this is something the other powers are doing and it's a bad thing. What can work is a multinational company going for regime change in some country. The USA thinks it's the Russians, the Russians think it's the Americans and so do the Chinese.
twofour said:
the control of new trade routes or (as mentioned above) rare minerals in the Arctic.
___________________________________________
this is something I worry about!
and would be an excuse for some serious naval content, something we really havent had since the Roger Moore era
The Northeast and Northwest Passages will become important in the future, and if a conflict starts in the Arctic those sea-lanes will probably be at the heart of it. Having a naval component will sett new Bond movies apart from all recent movies.
Wagner leader Prigozhin's palace just got raided, or at least one of his palaces. Isn't it strange how all of Putin's friends are billionairs and squeaky clean, but the moment they fall out with him the police raid them and - shock - they turn out to be corrupt criminals! 😂
The palace was perfect for a Bond villain, including piles of cash and weapons, sledgehammers, a stuffed crocodile and photos of severed heads in the closet (at least according to the police).
Wigs, guns and gold.
Selfies of Prigozhin testing out disguises.
In a couple of disguises Prigozjin looks a lot like Sash Baron Cohen in The Dictator! 🤣
Apparently the police also found a number of passports. "A normal person doesn't have that many passports" says Russian journalist Eduard Petrov to Russia-1.
Jevgenij Prigozjin for Bond villain!
I have some thoughts on how the latest Mission Impossible movie may impact Bond26. The Bond producers and writers have tried to find what the public worries about and what's on their minds when making a movie. IM: Dead Reconing Part 1 (and one assumes part 2) uses Artificial Intelligence as the main villain. Given how many years has gone by since the movies must've been written I think they hit the mood in 2023 very well. Because of the strikes in Hollywood Part two of Dead Reckoning will be released next summer. In my very amateur opinion Bond26 can at the earliest come in 2025, a year later. While MI can't have a monopoly on using AI as a major plot point, but II don't think Bond can do this a year or two after the main competitor has done this - twice.
Bond26 should focus on something else people will worry about in 2-3 years. What? National sovereignity, invasions and hybrid warfare may be the answer. But this is very topical now much because of the war in Ukraine. Will this war still be going on in 2-3 years? Hopefully not, but maybe.
I have an idea for a plot about these topics: What if a multinational company and not another country tried to take over a country? I think it's a safe bet people will still worry about the power of multinational companies in a couple of years. The company and it's owner(s) wants the resources of the country, but also other assets. With the control of a country they can issue diplomatic passports to criminals, terrorists and others, much like the tiny and very poor Pacific nation of Nauru did before 9/11. The country can also become a banking hub where people can hide their money and launder it. Rich people on the run can even live in the company-run country if they have to. This plot will fit very well with the idea of having a company in the security sector working for the villain. A company with a mercenary army, bodyguards, computer experts (hackers) and surveilance experts. A multi-national company can own their own security company..
Thoughts? Ideas?
I guess the country in question will have to be a made up country like Istimus, San Monique or Nambutu. A fictional island nation seems practical. This can also offer a good excuse to have Bond work with the Royal Navy again, something we never really saw in Craig's movies. The above idea can also be combined with my idea of using deep sea mining in the story. A part of the motivation for EvilCorps to take over Fake-island is to get access and full controll over large deposits of gold, diamonds and other important resources off the coast of Fake-Island.
I've recently read 'Live And Let Die' again - the original book, in a facsimile of the first edition issued some years ago by The Danbury Mint. A definite highlight is Bond's perilous swim to Mr Big's island. It strikes me that, although we've had memorable underwater sequences in TB, TSWLM, FYEO, NSNA and LTK, the sheer brilliance and excitement of Fleming's descriptions of Bond's sea swims on a mission - all the exoticism and danger of coral reefs, barracudas, octopi, etc - haven't been fully recreated in the cinema yet. I should stress that I'm referring specifically here to Fleming's focus on marine life, as opposed to (human) enemy action. (I'd argue that the cinematic element of the past which has come closest to Fleming's distinctive and acute sense of the exoticism and menace of the sea itself is John Barry's moody and evocative score for TB.)
Perhaps the time is right to revisit this area in a new Bond film and to make judicuous uses of CGI to enhance the choreography and intimacy of underwater scenes and sealife visually - in ways perhaps not previously possible with earlier film technologies (pioneering and impactful though they were in their day).
I don't know if this is in the news outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, but it reminds me of Skyfall when the list of MI6 agents is stolen and leads to agents being found and killed.
The list is never recovered. Perhaps in Bond 26 he could be sent to get it back at long last?
Underwater mining equipment can be used for drilling too. This technology can of course be used to start tsunamis, but this can easily get too similar to AVTAK.
It's not a plot idea, but I have an idea. I'd like EON to do something new and unusual with a Bond car. Imagine 007 working undercover or shadowing someone and the a new supercar would be completely wrong. Bond could use an old and "reasonably prized car", but there's a twist. The old (I'm thinking from the 90's or even the 80's) car is actually heavily re-buildt by Q branch. The engine noice is actually from loudspeakers and the car runs on a powerful and fast electric engine. Of cource the breaks, chassie etc. are calibrated for high speeds. There are other surprises too. When you press the "eject" button the cassette player a small consealable pistol comes out instead of a cassette. . Many of the switches and buttons activate modern features one would expect (or not expect) from a car from the Q branch. it would be cool to see bond in a cheap car again (FYEO , GE) and at the same time do something new with car gadgets. Maybe they could use a SAAB 900 Turbo as a tribute to John Gardener's "silver beast"! If course Bond will use a modern supercar in much of the movie, the undercover car is just for a couple of scenes, like the 2CV and Lada in FYEO and GE.
How would you feel about a female movie star as Bond villain? Maybe Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson? Jolie has only played a villain in family movies and I don't think Johansson has played a villain at all. I say bring it on, but not in Bond26. The Bond actor needs to get famous in the role first.
Given the present war in Ukraine, I am guessing the Russians would be left out.