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Script writers come and go, the rumour mill churns
on possible directors, and producers hint at Pinewood
Studios base for the
22nd James Bond
film in
2008. MI6 wraps up all the latest news...
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Bond 22 Pre-Production Diary (2)
23rd May 2007
Shooting on Daniel
Craig's second outing as 007 is not scheduled
to start until January 2008, but many developments are already
well underway. MI6 keeps you up to date with the latest coverage
of Bond
22 - due out 7th November 2008.
Licence To Script
With Neal Purvis and Robert Wade completing
work on the first draft script for Bond 22 (they
handed it in to producers in early April) and departing
the production to work on "Barbarella" for director
Robert Rodriguez, attention turned to Oscar winner Paul
Haggis who polished the duo's script for Casino Royale. Daniel
Craig himself confirmed this week that the script was yet
to be completed, and that "we have to make the
next one, I think, better than the last one to keep people
happy."
Although initially
cagey about his possible involvement in late March,
Haggis has now officially
confirmed that he is onboard to complete work on
the shooting script. The LA Times reported that Haggis
has additional projects lined up as producer, director
and/or writer, so the Bond producers must have dangled,
shall we say, very seductive creative and financial incentives
for him to return to the Bond juggernaut.
A few weeks ago, Purvis and Wade confirmed
earlier MI6 reports that elements
of the Bond 22 script may be influenced be as-yet untapped
nuggets from original Ian Fleming short stories.
Although most of the literary canon has been plundered
for film scripts, there are a few passages still to be
exploited. |
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Purvis & Wade said "there's a few morsels
but you'd have to say the carcass has been pretty stripped. There
are still a few details from the short stories that it would
be nice to use." When asked specifically, the duo ruled
out "Risico" and "Property of a Lady" from
the short stories up for grabs. These have both been previously
used in "For Your Eyes Only" and "Octopussy" respectively.
So does this mean 007 will visit New York again?
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Above: Writer Paul Haggis (left), rumoured director Marc Forster
(right) |
Directorial Merry-Go-Round
Before
coming onboard Bond 22 in the script department, Paul
Haggis also revealed that he was offered the job of directing Daniel Craig's second outing as 007, but turned
it down. Last year, director
Roger Michell ("Venus")
and screenwriter Ted Griffin ("Ocean's Eleven") were
briefly attached to the Bond 22 project.
According to the latest rumours, four
helmers recently met producers to pitch for the Bond 22 directors
chair:
Marc Forster, Tony Scott, Alex Proyas, and Jonathan Mostow. Marc
Forster has emerged the rumour-mill favourite. Forster is best
known for helming "Finding Neverland" (2004). His recent
directorial credits also include "Monster's Ball" (2001), "Stay" (2005)
and "Stranger Than Fiction" (2006).
The buzz is that news will break within the
next few weeks on who ultimately secured the job. As the shooting
schedule (January start) and release date of Bond 22 (November)
is very similar to the previous outing, it would be fair to point
out
that Martin
Campbell
was
announced as director of Casino Royale back on 3rd February
2005, almost four months ahead of the current Bond 22 timeline.
Bond To Return Home
Bond 22 is yet to announce its production base,
although producer Michael
G. Wilson spoke glowingly about Pinewood Studios in a recent
radio interview to commemorate the opening
of the newly
rebuilt 007 Stage. When asked if they would base Bond 22 at Pinewood,
Wilson said "we hope we'll be making it at Pinewood. We did work
in the 007 Stage for Casino Royale, but we were in the Czech
Republic for the most part. But this time around (Bond 22) we
hope to get back in to Pinewood and be in familiar surroundings
on our old stomping ground again. It's nothing really to do with
Pinewood, it's the exchange rate - which is very very high (currently
2 US Dollars to 1 Pound Sterling). London is one of the most
expensive cities in the world, especially when you're bringing
actors in from outside the country. So, it's a tough call, but
it's nothing that anyone in the film business really controls."
MI6 can reveal that plans are moving ahead to
base Bond 22 at Pinewood despite the exchange rate issue, and
a return to the Czech Republic (as used in Casino Royale) is
unlikely although Barrandov Studios did put in a strong bid.
Bond Girl Rumour Ticker
Australian
actress Abbie Cornish... Turkish
kickboxer Fulya Keskin... Pop
singer Jamelia... Dutch
actress Carice van Houten... Singer
Amy Winehouse... Mary
Kate and Ashley Olsen...
(tabloid silly season begins)
Briefing
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (Eon
Productions), QUANTUM OF SOLACE was released in the
UK on October 31st 2008 and is directed by
Marc Forster. Principal photography started on January
3rd
2008 at
Pinewood Studios and around the UK, and foreign locations
including Italy, Panama, Chile, Peru and Austria.
Paul Haggis completed the script based on a first draft
screenplay developed by regular scribes Neal Purvis & Robert
Wade, with later polish by Joshua Zetumer. The story
is a direct continuation of the events of Casino
Royale. 007 faces off against
villains Mathieu Amalric (Dominic Greene), Anatole
Taubman (Elvis) and Joaquin Cosío (General Medrano).
Olga Kurylenko (Camille) and Gemma Arterton (MI6 Agent
Fields) play the Bond Girls. Dame Judi Dench (M), Jeffrey
Wright (Felix Leiter) and Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis)
reprise their roles as Bond's allies. It is British
actor Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond,
following his debut film Casino Royale released November
16th 2006.
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