During its 2007 strike, the Writers Guild of America produced featurettes about its members. One was about Tom Mankiewicz (b. 1942), whose credits include three 1970s James Bond movies, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun.
Mankiewicz also did the final shooting scripts for two Christopher Reeve Superman movies with the vague credit of “creative consultant.” He’s also part of a clan of writer-directors who’ve had an impact on everything from Citizen Kane to All About Eve to the script for the pilot of Ironside.
Mankiewicz gets a mixed reaction among 007 fans. His scripts ramped up the humor compared to previous films. Two examples: Blofeld in drag in Diamonds, and the presence of Sheriff J.W. Pepper in Live And Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun.
Still, in interviews for extras on 007 DVDs, the screenwriter comes across as articulate, with a gift for amusing anecdotes. So here’s a look at his WGA video:
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: 007 screenwriters, Diamonds Are Forever, James Bond Films, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, Tom Mankiewicz, WGA | Leave a comment »
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