Mr. White's Organization...
Colonel Shatner
Chavtastic Bristol, BritainPosts: 574MI6 Agent
OK, in Casino Royale LeCheif was not really the bosshead and was merely a money who answered to a wealthy businessman, Mr. White, a person who does not seem to be his own boss either. Who or what does he really work for?
I heard rumours that the syndicate he represents could be SPECTRE...
I heard rumours that the syndicate he represents could be SPECTRE...
'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...'
Comments
As for it being SPECTRE - I don't know. Legally it very well could be. And with no more Vev McClory lurking out there, they could easily bring them back. But one of the strengths of Casino Royale was that it didnt look back on what the series had done before. After all, one of the complaints of the Brosnan era was all that it seemed to do was remind us of what had been done before.
Therefore, the Bond team may be thinking up a whole new organisation.
Good question. My understanding is that McClory has given his rights back to EON, and hence its theirs to do with as they will - legally at least.
Everytime Bond hit a success, there was McClory wanting in. After Goldfingers success - there he was. When Bond became big again in the late 70s - thats when he started doing his remake. When Bond was quite late 80's early 90's he wasnt trying to make a picture then. After GoldenEye - wanting to do another remake. When that fell through he sued the producers claiming that the Bond success was all his idea, and deserved royalties. All when Bond was riding high.
IIRC, the rights to Thunderball etc reverted back to the Fleming family when McClory passed away; the rights did not go to Eon/Sony. However, the Fleming estate would obviously pass the rights to use characters etc back to the people who have successfully made James Bond films for forty odd years.
Blofeld and SPECTRE were always a legal grey area anyway. SPECTRE were used in the films before the TB court case, and they continued to be used by Eon in YOLT, OHMSS and DAF with no protest from McClory. It was only when there was a conflict between Blofeld appearing in both TSWLM and McClory's Warhead in the mid 70s that it became an issue; and even then, Eon tried again by putting SPECTRE in early drafts of Octopussy, so I don't think there was ever a definitive answer to this - it was more a case of lawyers circling and so Eon backed down. Add in the fact that Blofeld in NSNA has a white Persian cat, which is totally an Eon creation, and it becomes even more complex!
I don't think Mr White will be working for SPECTRE, for the simple reason that I think the filmmakers are still keen to keep the series tied together thematically; they don't seem keen on the idea of remaking earlier films, and SPECTRE and Blofeld seem to belong quite nicely to the Sixties and Seventies. I would say that the new organisation will be like John Gardner's BAST or Raymond Benson's Union - SPECTRE-like, but different.
@merseytart
I do think it could...but I tend to agree with jetset, as I'm getting the vibe they want to 'do their own thing' with the Craig-Era Bond, and they're not in a hurry to pick up some of the previous era's trappings (Moneypenny and Q come to mind).
Whatever this new 'organization' turns out to be, I'm confident it will be sufficiently devious, ruthless and threatening to the stability of the Free World...and it could very well take all five of Mr. Craig's outings before it's ultimately resolved :007)
In other words, I think it could be quite cool B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
IMO, it would be awesome if there was a continuing storyline through all 5 of Craig's movies involving the secret organization. -{
Keep them apart to avoid danger of thrush...;%
-Roger Moore
I believe Sony exchanged them for the rights to Spiderman
SPECTRE but proabaly will not use that name.
At the end of the novel Casino Royale Bond declares a personal war against SMERSH. When Thunderball debuted the Soviets of SMERSH were replaced with SPECTRE and Blofeld.
I think we'll see Bond ferreting out and destroying this new threat in the next film or two. (I hope they don't drag it out too long.)
Then 007 will be able to take on other targets.
Bond doesn't need a particular organization just a target. It doesn't have to be SPECTRE and shouldn't be.
Of course, all this became moot when Sony bought MGM - if only they'd know at the time they could have saved themselves a lot of money!
@merseytart
They would keep the name (The Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) but it would have few of the Austin Powers style trappings of the 60s and 70s (but they could get away with having a Thunderball style conference room or a update of Dr. No's Crab Key compound).
But if SPECTRE will not return, we could have a similar organization that is trying to forge a new world order and could be more similar to Cold Winter's Grey Wings cabal, a secret society led by a visionary ex-RAF officer inspired by H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come.
Grey Wings holding court in their Swiss conference chamber, discussing how they could save the world from MAD.
Could be...but I hope there's more to it than that. I'd like to see a desire for anarchy as a motivating force---and ultimately, power over others...which of course circles back to money, in a way, but I'd like this mysterious 'organization' to recognize money for the tool it is, re: funding grander ambitions :v
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
And that cutscene has got a great quote that could also brilliantly encapsulate the nature of SPECTRE‘s role in world affairs, with the aloof mindset that Dr. No, Largo, and Blofeld had towards the rival superpowers:
"Flags and nations meant nothing to Grey’s Wings, they took a broader view. The enemy was, quite simply: everyone…"
The leader of the Grey Wings, Sir John Grey, viewing nuclear war simulations within the bowls of his command centre, a place that wouldn't look out of place in a James Bond movie. Sir John Grey seems somewhat similar villain to Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Hugo Drax (you can see the emblem of his organization, a winged "G", while Blofeld's symbol was a octopus).
Maybe we could make the boss of Mr. White's organization similar to Mr. Linderman from Heroes? I like the later Craig movies to be more overtly sci-fi in tone, but much better written and more grounded in reality than DAD.
I was thinking the organisation could be more like that of SD-6 in American show Alias. Ron Rifkin's character, Arvin Sloane, was very much a modern day Blofeld and could work well in Craig's grittier Bond films.
And Iain Banks' Business could a decent inspiration for a modern SPECTRE as well - headquatered in Switzerland, founded in Roman times, and leb by a elaborate executive hierarchy.