Roger Michell Cites Script
Moore Not Less
Posts: 1,095MI6 Agent
From MI6.
Director Roger Michell cites script as reason for pulling out of Bond 22
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4783
Even before Casino Royale had been released, news was breaking about the forthcoming production of the 22nd Bond movie - due out on November 7th 2008.
One of the biggest stories was Roger Michell ( "Notting Hill", "Venus") who was rumoured to be directing Daniel Craig's second outing as 007, and later confirmed in October 2006 that he had pulled out of the film for "creative differences" with producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Talking to HIT this week, Michell confirmed that he was offered to helm Bond 22 - but despite the fact that he would have liked to have worked with his old friend, Daniel Craig - he ultimately passed on it, because he didn't like the script.
"We couldn't find a way of making us all happy with the script. It's been through various drafts, but I just decided to say no before I got too far into it", Michell says. "As far as I know, it's absolutely up for grabs at the moment".
Back in January, Michell said that he "got into a bit of a panic at the prospect. At that time, the film was due to start shooting in January, and I just felt this terrible pressure of scrambling to get a script together with the clock ticking. To go into a film like James Bond when you don't really know what's happening would be a recipe for hell."
Director Roger Michell cites script as reason for pulling out of Bond 22
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4783
Even before Casino Royale had been released, news was breaking about the forthcoming production of the 22nd Bond movie - due out on November 7th 2008.
One of the biggest stories was Roger Michell ( "Notting Hill", "Venus") who was rumoured to be directing Daniel Craig's second outing as 007, and later confirmed in October 2006 that he had pulled out of the film for "creative differences" with producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Talking to HIT this week, Michell confirmed that he was offered to helm Bond 22 - but despite the fact that he would have liked to have worked with his old friend, Daniel Craig - he ultimately passed on it, because he didn't like the script.
"We couldn't find a way of making us all happy with the script. It's been through various drafts, but I just decided to say no before I got too far into it", Michell says. "As far as I know, it's absolutely up for grabs at the moment".
Back in January, Michell said that he "got into a bit of a panic at the prospect. At that time, the film was due to start shooting in January, and I just felt this terrible pressure of scrambling to get a script together with the clock ticking. To go into a film like James Bond when you don't really know what's happening would be a recipe for hell."
Comments
Resetting the release date, having more time to work on the script makes sense. Sort of a, calm down everybody. Wasn't this--Michell on board, Michell stepping off and the release date reset--all reported while CR was still in production? Not surprised EON got all excited about Bond 22, seeing the rushes coming in from CR. Patience, 007.
Of course, I'm forever being surprised...
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Thank you, Hardy. Indeed, the sky is not falling, so there isn't any reason for us to act like Chicken Littles. Look at it this way -- at some point, someone looked up from their copy of Die Another Day and said: "Wow -- This is perfect. Let's start shooting right away!!!"
In other words, Michell is saying this sounds too much like hard work.
We should never trust a crossdresser/prostitute to make the final call ever again!
As much as I think that the producers could have hired a better writing team, Purvis and Wade did give us "The World Is Not Enough." I have to give em' props for that.
Still, no objections to bringing in another script polisher.
-Roger Moore
I have no objections to a script polisher. And I certainly would not object to Paul Haggis returning. Is he available for Bond 22?
Right guy but wrong post, GM. :v
Indeed. In fact, being the senile old bugger that I am, I can remember when the rumours of TWINE's scriptwriting process were doing the rounds. The general feeling at the time, if I recall, was that Purvis & Wade's excellent work was going to be ruined by the hack Bruce Feirstein, who was at that time, evil in screenwriter form. How things change, eh?
@merseytart
Thats the guy who gave us everything or nothing, by far the best Brosnan Bond outing (take that TND!)
(Sorry, blue!)
:chortles:
The 8 months before filming are a lifetime away. I feel sorry that there were differences of opinion over the script, but I too remember the troubles long before P&W came onboard ... TND was a very troubled script but it made a halfway decent Bond film.
(Although in saying that, P&W ran out of ideas during TWINE ... CR relied on Fleming's genius, my recommendation for P&W would be to throw all of their concepts out of the window).
Quite right. Following CR (a Fleming adaptation) is going to be tough enough, IMRO. I certainly hope they're not going to turn their back on source material now, simply because all the titles have been used...
My hope is that they would dig through the Fleming books---beginning with LALD---for unused elements (the broken finger, the parking garage violence, a fortune in lost pirate treasure, etc) and build upon what they find...of course, it's probably too late for that
Still, it's very early in the game for #22, and my optimism, re: CR was rewarded far too handsomely to abandon it now...
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I think we also have to remember that before CR, P&W and the whole Eon team had to conform to the almighty Formula. That can be a straitjacket sometimes. You either have to take a square peg of an idea and force it into the round hole, or never allow yourself the creativity to even think in terms of square pegs at all: the formula was limiting in terms of what was and wasn't acceptable in a Bond film. Hopefully, that's gone now. Given those built-in limitations, P&W's pre-CR outings may not -- I emphasize the "may" not -- reflect what they can actually do when unfettered by tradition.
If we're looking for a film title in Fleming's chapters, things like...
The Undertaker's Wind
The Eye that never sleeps
The Bleeding Heart
The nature of love
...spring to mind
But with Fleming chapter titles, some work perfectly as Film titles, others not as much, others wouldn't work at all.
Say--where did the topic of this thread go?
But can't you imagine the Weird Al take-off on the title song...if only I had that Alternate Reality Time Travel Machine!
As for the script? Well, it's a bit normal for directors to drop a project because they can't get the script to conform with their vision. Not a biggie, IMO...and it doesn't mean the script is bad, like HB mentioned. It simply means that it isn't another 'Notting Hill' (thank goodness!)
Best Fleming chapter title, ever. Please use it.
@merseytart
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I'll agree with this.For years the Bond films pretty much adhered to a strict formula.Casino Royale departed from that in many ways.In spirit and tone it harkens back to the earlier character driven Bond films like From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.However, I doubt that this change in style can be attributed entirely to Paul Haggis' polishing of the Purvis/Wade screenplay.
I know that whenever I think who'd be the very best man to work on a script for a James Bond film, the creator of "Who's The Boss" and "The Facts of Life" and the co-creator of Lone Wolf McQuade--er,I mean,"Walker, Texas Ranger"--immediately leaps to mind....:v
Seriously,Eon's apparently happy with what P&W have done for them and they seem to trust these writers to continue contributing to the series--or they'd have long since replaced P&W.I can't imagine Purvis and Wade's screenplay for CR was somehow so inept that it required extensive revisions by another hand--even if he'd recently won an Academy Award.Haggis himself has said that what he did with the CR screenplay wasn't a radical overhaul of Purvis and Wade's work, and I'm inclined to believe him.
Let's be fair.Writing a James Bond movie that'll please as many people as possible can't be an easy task for anyone.
Anyway,hopefully Mr.Michell didn't expect to get one of those special credits like "A Film By..." with Bond 22 because that's never going to happen with a James Bond movie.These are all producer motion pictures.There's only one star at Eon-and that's the James Bond character.
In all honesty,I suspect that Bond 22 simply turned out to be a bigger and much more involved project than Mr.Michell had originally anticipated and that's the reason he departed.
I for one remember that it was Michael Wilson who wanted the films to go more back to basics at the beginning of the Dalton era. As I understand it he wanted to tell the story of Bonds first days in the service (much as CR has done) so I think we should remember that a Bond script has input from all sorts of sources.
I also agree that writing a script that pleases everyone is impossible. (As a quick peruse of this site and the various opinions therein demonstrates!)
My guess is that whoever does come on board to replace Mr Michell will probably also bring some kind of script doctor too (a la Richard Donner bringing in Tom Mankiewicz to Superman).