Bruce Feirstein-naming a Bond film

cbdouble07 · January 2008

http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=5837

I don't know if this is well known or not but I thought it was interesting. Bruce Feirstein talks about the process of naming a Bond film and talks about the creation of his hotly debated TND. Interesting that they couldn't decide between Dies and Lies and finally went with Lies only to have a typo make it Dies.

Loeffelholz · February 2008

A right shame, that---as I've said many times before, 'Lies' is classic. 'Dies' is... well... 8-)

Barbel · February 2008

Interesting article, thanks for that.

Harry Palmer · February 2008

Thanks for the link.
I'm dismayed (but hardly surprised) to learn that a writer in the Bond-film series hadn't heard of the title "Quantum of Solace" before and had to go look it up. What kind of a professional is he?

Lies is effectively not as bad as dies, but still nothing to be proud of.

"The first 16 films from Dr. No through Moonraker" is, I take it, just a typo, and not simply a sign of ignorance.

As for that classy disclaimer -- "(Forgive the aside here, but when I was writing the films, I couldn’t type those last words without laughing. I used to joke that I had a computer macro that automatically inserted the phrase into the scripts)" -- a decent writer would have worked around it (FRWL; FYEO; TLD; LTK...) or not taken the job in the first place.

Still waiting for that great American novel by Bruce Feirstein.

Napoleon Plural · February 2008

I must admit I was always puzzled by Feirstein being called upon to do a Bond flick. He was a writer for Vanity Fair, not a cinema scribe as far as I know.

He banged on about this joke he wanted included, about how M would say that not every villain has a hollowed-out volcano in the 1990s, and was disappointed it didn't ever make the cut. A likeable enough guy, just typical of the American who can put himself across really well and get the job despite not really being all that qualified.

I was glad when Purvis and Wade took over TWINE, though subsequent efforts imo put them in that creaky dialogue bracket along with Feirstein.

highhopes · February 2008

I don't like "lies" really, anymore than "dies." Actually, if he was going to lift a title from a classic Beatles song, he should have stuck with Tomorrow Never Knows, which might have worked, given that, if I recall correctly, the bad guy manufactured tomorrow's news -- though admittedly, it's a stretch and I suppose "lies" sort of makes same point in another way.

The only thing I like about Die Another Day is the title, actually. because it takes a common aphorism and dramatically turns it on its ear ala Fleming and Live and Let Die and You Only Live Twice.

Barbel · February 2008

highhopes wrote:

if he was going to lift a title from a classic Beatles song, he should have stuck with Tomorrow Never Knows.

Happiness Is A Warm Gun springs to mind. And since it's Bond, perhaps Ticket To Ride

. It's an ever-changing world in which we're living, of course.

Napoleon Plural · February 2008

Printer's Devil might have worked.

Loeffelholz · February 2008

highhopes wrote:

I don't like "lies" really, anymore than "dies." Actually, if he was going to lift a title from a classic Beatles song, he should have stuck with Tomorrow Never Knows, which might have worked, given that, if I recall correctly, the bad guy manufactured tomorrow's news -- though admittedly, it's a stretch and I suppose "lies" sort of makes same point in another way.

I guess I'm out there alone in my liking Tomorrow Never Lies...it's a nice double meaning, to my mind---First of all, it's the classic journalistic conceit; 'All the news that's fit to print,' etc., the 'Tomorrow' paper being touted as some pillar of truth. On the other hand is the more existential: What happens tomorrow, happens. Since we don't know for sure, from today's perspective tommorrow cannot possibly lie to us.

Compared to that, Tomorrow Never Dies strikes me as just...well...stupid. One might suspect that they'd tacked on 'Dies' just to have the word 'Die' in the title...naah, couldn't happen :v

I've never really bought the 'typo' explanation. Producers can---and frequently do---change anything in a script or film that they want, from the title through the end credits. Someone in the decision-making process must have decided not to correct it after the release was sent out. Too bad.

Can't quarrel with Tomorrow Never Knows as a title, of course. I've got a script for which that song would be perfect playing over the opening credits, but I'm sure no producer would want to pay the freight on that one

highhopes · February 2008

Barbel wrote:

highhopes wrote:

if he was going to lift a title from a classic Beatles song, he should have stuck with Tomorrow Never Knows.

Happiness Is A Warm Gun springs to mind. And since it's Bond, perhaps Ticket To Ride . It's an ever-changing world in which we're living, of course.

I do like Happiness Is A Warm Gun. Run For Your Life, too.

Loeffelholz · February 2008

highhopes wrote:

I do like Happiness Is A Warm Gun. Run For Your Life, too.

Two of my favourite Beatles titles...Eon really should look to the Fab Four for help with titles when the Flemings run out :007)

Barbel · February 2008

I want to tell you, I've got a feeling you can't do that.

highhopes · February 2008

Take a bad film, and make it better

Barbel · February 2008

It's getting better all the time!

Harry Palmer · February 2008

"Not half the man" (I used to be)

Willie Garvin · February 2008

There's a shadow hanging over me...

(At least Eon didn't use the title an editor suggested to John Gardner for his first 007 continuation novel:Bond Strikes Back!)

Barbel · February 2008

Willie Garvin wrote:

There's a shadow hanging over me...

Yesterday always lives...

Bruce Feirstein-naming a Bond film

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