What does ‘James Bond will return’ mean for Bond 26?

A former image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

It’s inevitable. After the Daniel Craig version of James Bond was killed in No Time to Die, the Bond character will return somehow at some time.

But how?

Some possibilities follow.

Eon starts over — again: In Craig’s debut as Bond, Eon Productions did a reboot. That is, the series started all over again.

Since No Time to Die, Craig has claimed it was always his intention that his version of Bond would die in the end. Whether true or not, that’s how Craig’s five-film tenure played out.

Here is an excerpt from a Craig interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“Two things, one for myself and one for the franchise,” Craig said. “One, for the franchise, was that resets start again, which [the franchise] did with me. And I was like, ‘Well, you need to reset again.’ So let’s kill my character off and go find another Bond and go find another story. Start at [age] 23, start at 25, start at 30.”

However, until Eon shows its cards, there are other possibilities.

The code name theory rears its head: The code name theory refers to a way to explain how different actors (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, etc., etc.) portray a character named “James Bond” while each actually is different.

The one time this notion was used occurred in the 1967 Casino Royale spoof. There was one “real” James Bond (David Niven) with multiple agents being designated as “James Bond.”

Hard-core Bond fans mostly despise this idea. But there are general movie fans who argue it’s a wonderful idea. Until Bond 26 gets sorted out, you can expect more of this stuff.

In fact, the Screen Rant website already has come out with a version of this notion.

One potential option for Bond 26 is to continue directly from the ending of No Time To Die. MI6 would be in mourning over the loss of James Bond, but international villainy waits for no one, and a replacement must be found. This new “James Bond” would then be recruited to replace Daniel Craig’s version, with explicit references to how their predecessor died saving the world from Safin and the Heracles weapon. This scenario would help preserve a semblance of continuity between James Bond movies, and also allow EON to think outside its usual box when casting Daniel Craig’s replacement.

We pretend the Craig era never happened: Eon’s Bond series had a very loose continuity from 1962-2002. When Sean Connery first departed the series in 1967, Bernard Lee’s M, Lois Maxwell’s Moneypenny and Desmond Llewelyn’s Q remained. Connery came back in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever but Lee, Maxwell and Llewelyn remained.

Roger Moore came aboard in 1973, with Lee and Maxwell still present. Llewelyn came back as Q for Moore’s second outing in The Man With the Golden Gun.

With Bond 26, what happens with the Craig supporting cast? You could have Ralph Fiennes’ M, Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny and Ben Wishaw’s Q without any mention of the Craig version of Bond.

Conceivably, you pick up with the incredibly loose continuity of the 1962-2002 movies. Let’s move on, chaps.

Or not. Who knows?

Dr. No script Part II: Bond memes make their debut

Jack Lord and Sean Connery during Dr. No filming

Adapted from a 2014 post. Continuing the blog’s look at a January 1962 Dr. No script provided by collector Gary Firuta.

Bond, having bested Sylvia Trench (or Trenchard, depending on which page of the script you’re reading), gets ready to exit the casino. Bond invites Sylvia for golf and dinner, similar to the finished film with a few differences in dialogue.

On page 13, Bond enters the office. He says, “Hi….Moneypenny….” as he enters. There is no mention of him throwing his hat on the hat rack. The dialogue is again very close to the final version of the movie. Stage directions specify that she “takes in his appearance with mock admiration” as she says, “You never take me out look like that James….” She has a “deep sigh” and says, “You never take me out, period.”

Bond replies, “I’d take you out tomorrow, only I’d have me courtmartialled for illegal use of Government property.”

After Bond enters M’s office, there’s a description. “He is a man in his middle fifties, well-sel up, with some of the Navy about him.” M and Bond discuss the situation in Jamaica before Major Boothroyd enters to give Bond his new gun. Boothroyd “is a short, slim man, with snady (sic) hair.” When Boothroyd produces the Walther PPK he is “producing gun and shoulder holster from case with professional pride.”

As in the finished movie, Bond tries to sneak out his old Beretta from the office but M stops him. “They catch each others’ eyes. They really understand each other perfectly. BOND GOES.”

The intrepid agent goes back to his flat and gets a surprise in the form of Sylvia in Bond’s pajama tops. She is practicing chip shots “into the bowler hat which is laying on the floor by foot of bed.”

The rest of the scene plays out as in the finished film, but there’s an extra. As Bond and Sylvia make out, there’s this stage direction: “CAMERA PANS DOWN to take in his toes curling inside silk evening socks and her bare ones on tiptoe. The golf club drops onto the carpet; as his tie foins it, we….. FADE OUT.” (Note: it says “foins” rather than “joins” in case you’re wondering.)

Bond takes a BOAC flight to Jamaica, rather than PanAm, as in the film. He is met by a chauffeur, who says, “I’m Mistuh Jones, suh…chauffeur from Government House. Ah been sent to get you.” Bond even calls him “Mistuh Jones” in return.

007 calls Government House. Playdell-Smith takes the call. “Put him through, Miss Taro.” After talking with Bond, Playdell-Smith wraps up the call and says “(off-screen to SECRETARY) Thank you, Miss Taro. I’ll call when I want you.”

Meanwhile, at the Kingston airport, another figure takes in the scene: “a tall thin HATCHET-FACED MAN (FELIX LEITER).”

Bond and Jones depart the airport, followed by Leiter and a “humourous-looking, intelligent CAYMAN ISLANDER (QUARREL).”

The British agent, as in the film, loses his pursuers and gets Jones off alone to interrogate him. He still addresses him as “Mistuh Jones.” After Bond bests Jones in a fight, Jones commits suicide rather than reveal who he’s working for. Jones says, “The….hell with you….” before he dies.

With nothing else to do, Bond drives to Government House. “THE CHAUFFEUR’s body is propped up realistically in the back seat.” When he arrives, the agent utters a witticism to A UNIFORMED GUARD similar to the finished movie.

BOND
(indicating CHAUFFEUR)
Watch him. Make sure he doesn’t get away.

GUARD
(briskly)
Yes, sir.

He does a double take as he sees the DEAD MAN.

TO BE CONTINUED

How Operation Kid Brother was ahead of the Bond films

Operation Kid Brother had tropes that would later appear in the Bond films.

I finally finished off watching Operation Kid Brother/OK Connery/Double Double 007. It turns out the Italian production starring Sean Connery’s brother, Neil, provided the path that the Eon-produced James Bond film series would follow.

–Assistant Maxwell (Lois Maxwell) isn’t just a helper for Commander Cunningham (Bernard Lee). She goes out into the field and shoots guns. This is a preview of agent Eve (Naomie Harris) in Skyfall, who revealed to be Moneypenny at the end of the film.

–There’s a ship of female operatives overseen by Maya Rafis (Daniela Bianchi). But those women aren’t just decoration. They can fight. In fact, fight in a manner similar to the Octopussy women in Octopussy (1983).

By the end of Operation Kid Brother/OK Connery, Maya Rafis and her women operatives have switched sides to the cause of good. Dr. Neil Connery (Neil Connery) uses his powers of hypnotism to make Commander Cunningham forget pretty much everything.

The movie ends with Dr. Neil Connery and Maya Rafis sailing off with all the women operatives. It’s implied that Dr. Neil Connery will be even busier than James Bond (George Lazenby) was at the top of Piz Gloria in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Neil Connery, footnote to ’60s spy craze, dies

Neil Connery in a lobby card for Operation Kid Brother

Neil Connery, younger brother of James Bond star Sean Connery and a footnote to the 1960s spy craze in his own right, has died.

His death at age 83 was reported on social media by two James Bond fan sites, 007 Magazine and From Sweden With Love. The latter site then published a detailed obituary.

Neil Connery was signed to spy in his own spy movie, Operation Kid Brother, also known as OK Connery.

The 1967 Italian production was released by United Artists, Bond’s home studio in the 1960s and ’70s. It featured five actors who had been in the Bond movie series (Daniela Bianchi, Adolfo Celi, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Anthony Dawson).

In an example of originality, Neil Connery’s character was dubbed Dr. Neil Connery. His IMDB.COM ENTRY lists 11 accting credits.

Before James Bond movies were shown on American television, Operation Kid Brother was shown in prime time on NBC. Years later, the film got the Mystery Science 3000 treatment, where a man and “robots” comment on the proceedings. Here it was called Operation Double 007.

James Bond, the Doctor Who fan

Thunderball poster in 1965

As it turns out, James Bond was a bit of a Doctor Who fan.

The Writing Bond feed on Twitter (@BondWriting) posted a Sept. 19 tweet with an image from the script of Thunderball dated Jan. 19, 1965.

The image is from the scene where Bond (Sean Connery) returns to MI6 and goes to M’s office. Moneypenny tells Bond that M isn’t in the office and that every 00-agent in Europe has been rushed in and are in the conference room.

In this version of the script, Bond replies: “The Daleks have taken over!”

The Daleks (per Wikipedia) are ” a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The Daleks were conceived by science-fiction writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The Daleks, in the shells designed by Raymond Cusick.”

Admittedly, this slipped by me at the time I first read the script years ago. So I consulted my copy of the 1965 Thunderball script.

On that copy, the Bond-Moneypenny exchange is dated March 3, 1965. But the Daleks line from Bond is still there.

In the final film, Connery’s line appears to be dubbed and becomes, “Somebody’s probably lost a dog!” Look around the 0:14 mark of the clip below.

The Thunderball script is credited to American writer Richard Maibaum and English writer John Hopkins. My guess (and it’s only that) is that Hopkins supplied the Dalek reference.

Rise of the ‘Scooby Gang’ in 007 films

SPECTRE publicity still featuring part of the fan-dubbed “Scooby Gang,” Tanner (Rory Kinnear), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw).

There’s a fan-generated 007 nickname that has gotten traction these days.

That would be the “Scooby Gang.” It’s shorthand for how supporting characters in the Eon Production film series join Bond out in the field. It’s based on the cartoon series Scooby-Doo, where the Scooby Gang of young people and a dog go out and solve mysteries together.

“Scooby Gang” was used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, referring to the cartoon show.

Formerly, Bond was a lone-wolf. M would give 007 the mission. Q would provide some gadgets and Moneypenny would flirt before Bond departed the office.

That’s been changing for a while. In 1989’s Licence to Kill, Q (Desmond Llewelyn) goes rogue, as Bond (Timothy Dalton) has. He not only brings along some gadgets, he acts as 007’s assistant.

After Judi Dench came aboard as M in 1995’s GoldenEye, her character’s screen time expanded. That process started with 1999’s The World Is Not Enough where M’s kidnapping is a major aspect of the plot.

Finally, with 2012’s Skyfall, we got a rebooted Moneypenny (now with a first a name, Eve) who we initially see as a field agent. Also, the Judi Dench M scores more screen time than before because she’s a mother figure for both Bond (Daniel Craig) and the villain Silva (Javier Bardem).

In 2013, there was an early indication the Scooby Gang would come together in SPECTRE.

“Naomie Harris is getting more  of the action in the next James Bond film, which starts shooting next year,” Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail wrote in a story published on Sept. 12 of that year.

Director Sam Mendes, Craig, and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are all big fans of Naomie’s and don’t want her to be too desk-bound, as other Moneypennys have been.

‘The idea formulating in Bond-land is for Naomie to be much more of a sidekick to James, and for her to get out and harm the bad guys,’ an executive close to the production told me.

Meanwhile, Judi Dench/M perished at the end of Skyfall and was succeeded by Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), who has his own impressive military background.

By the end of SPECTRE, M, Moneypenny, Q (Ben Whishaw) and Tanner (Rory Kinnear) are all out in the field helping Bond. And, thus, the Scooby Gang nickname was born. It has appeared on 007 message boards and elsewhere on the internet.

Now, there has been recent fan speculation/questioning whether Fiennes can return to play Mallory/M because of other acting jobs.

In the “old days,” few fans wondered about the availability of Llewelyn, Bernard Lee or Lois Maxwell. The actors only had a few days of work and the focus was on Bond. Llewelyn was absent from Live And Let Die, but most of the publicity and fan attention was on Roger Moore’s debut as 007.

We’ll see what happens next. Meanwhile, here’s an amusing tweet from Phil Nobile Jr., former writer for Birth. Movies. Death and now editor of a new incarnation of Fangoria magazine. He’s a big 007 fan and has written extensively about Bond films in the past.

Judi Dench filmed her M scenes in three days once upon a time. Just ease off the Scooby gang shit https://t.co/xqZ2vHiIlq

— Phil Nobile Jr. (@PhilNobileJr) May 6, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Eon’s new normal (cont.): Q’s comments analyzed

Publicity still of Ben Whishaw with Daniel Craig in Skyfall

So, this week, actor Ben Whishaw, Q in the two most recent James Bond movies, made a few comments to Metro which were deemed news about Bond 25.

“I haven’t had an update for a while. I would imagine, I think they have a release date for next year, so I think by the end of this year we have to have started filming something,” Whishaw was quoted by the website. “Although it has gone strangely quiet, but that’s often the way it goes.”

This was analyzed by Birth. Movies. Death (“Q Is Standing by for BOND 25“) and Screen Rant (“Ben Whishaw Expects Bond 25 To Begin Filming Later This Year“).

And, yes, it was news, at least of a sort. Neither Eon Productions (which makes Bond movies) nor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (which controls half of the 007 franchise) have said a whole lot for months. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. In the land of a news blackout, a nugget becomes news.

It’s another reminder about Eon’s new normal. The Bond franchise has franchise has transitioned from being a film series to more like occasional events not on a set schedule.

In the 1970s, even 1980s, it probably wouldn’t have been much of a story if Desmond Llewelyn, the longest-serving film Q, commented about an upcoming film.

Imagine in that time period if Llewelyn said, “I guess they’re getting ready. They have a release date. So they’d have to start filming something before too long.” That wouldn’t have been a blip.

Also, consider this line from the Screen Rant story: “Whishaw may have confirmed his involvement, but there is still no news as to whether Ralph Fiennes (M) or Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) may be joining him.”

In the 1970s, the equivalent would have been: “Llewelyn may have confirmed his involvement, but there is still no news as to whether Bernard Lee (M) or Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny) may be joining him.”

In those days, it’s not a question a lot of people would have been asking. The show was James Bond and whoever was playing him. Connery is back! (Diamonds Are Forever) Who will be the new Bond? Can Roger Moore make it as the new Bond? (Live And Let Die)

This isn’t a complaint. The world is as it is. And Eon’s new normal is what it is.

Our modest proposal for 007 Twitter quizzes

Image for the official James Bond feed on Twitter

The OFFICIAL JAMES BOND TWITTER FEED has been doing occasional quizzes about the Bond film series of late.

One such quiz was took place May 15 and the question was who played Moneypenny the most times in Bond films.

Not the most difficult quiz, given the correct answer was Lois Maxwell at 14, with Samantha Bond the next highest at four followed by Caroline Bliss at two and Naomie Harris at one (going up to two when SPECTRE comes out in November).

On June 12, there was another quiz. Compared to the Moneypenny question, the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 is narrower, but Bernard Lee is the only actor to play M with double digit appearances at 11 while Judi Dench is runner up at seven.

Who has played M the most number of times in the Bond films? pic.twitter.com/NhDrr3KrW8

— James Bond (@007) June 12, 2015

We mused about this on Twitter and a reader suggested these quizzes may well be aimed at those with only a passing knowledge of James Bond. So perhaps the intent is to make Bond more accessible to a broader audience.

With that in mind, here are some suggested future quizzes for the James Bond feed on Twitter:

What actor has played Q the most times in the Bond films?

a) Desmond LLewelyn b) Peter Burton c) John Cleese d) Ben Whishaw

What is James Bond’s code number?

a) 007 b) 86 c) 99 d) 008 e) $6.2 billion

James Bond has a license to do what?

a) kill b) fish c) drive d) print money at the box office

Lois Maxwell and James Bond by the numbers

The official James Bond Twitter feed offered up this quiz on May 15:

Who’s played Moneypenny the most times in the Bond films? pic.twitter.com/0eddzUKhuf

— James Bond (@007) May 15, 2015

Spoiler alert: It’s Lois Maxwell (1927-2007). We have no idea how many fans got the answer wrong. Regardless, the quiz got us to thinking about a few numbers related to her long run as Moneypenny.

NUMBER OF JAMES BOND FILM APPEARANCES: 14

YEAR OF FIRST 007 APPEARANCE: 1962

YEAR OF LAST 007 APPEARANCE: 1985

PERCENTAGE OF EON-MADE MADE 007 FILMS WITH MAXWELL IN CAST: 58% (includes SPECTRE, still in production, in the calculation, or 14 divided by 24).

PERCENTAGE OF ALL 007 FILMS WITH MAXWELL IN CAST: 54% (includes 1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again in the calculation, or 14 divided by 26).

MISCELLANEOUS TRIVIA: Maxwell will still have appeared in at least half of Eon-made Bond films until Bond 29 is produced. At a rate of one movie made every three years, that would be in 2030.

How did SPECTRE’s budget get so high?

Many entertainment websites (including this blog) have written about how the Mexican government may have helped shape a sequence in SPECTRE in return for $20 million in incentives, something the TAX ANALYSTS WEBSITE REPORTED EARLIER THIS MONTH.

The Cinema Blend website in its story on the subject added a question about SPECTRE’s $300 million-plus budget: “Why is the budget that high to begin with?” Skyfall had a reported budget of $200 million.

Sam Mendes, at the Dec. 4 media event for SPECTRE said the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios was “where budgets go to die.” The comment took on a whole new meaning after hacking of internal Sony Pictures emails revealed the budget was on pace to exceed $300 million, making the 24th James Bond movie once of the most expensive of all time.

Cinema Blend poses a good question. Here’s an attempt at a partial answer. What follows is by no means definitive or comprehensive.

More locations: With 2012’s Skyfall, the first unit only went to one location: Turkey. The second unit went to Shanghai to film exteriors but the first unit used Pinewood Studios and U.K. locations in place of the Chinese business center.

With SPECTRE, the crew is traveling more. The OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE said, “The locations for SPECTRE include Pinewood London, Mexico City, Rome, Tangier and Erfoud, Morocco. Bond is also back in the snow, this time in Sölden, Austria as well as Obertilliach and Lake Altaussee.” Already, there has been filming in Rome and Austria.

Some of the principals probably got a big raise: In November 2012, as Skyfall was on its way to a worldwide box office of $1.1 billion, THE INDEPENDENT reported star Daniel Craig would be paid 31 million pounds (or almost $46 million at current exchange rates) to play 007 in Bond 24 (now SPECTRE) and Bond 25 combined.

According to that article, Craig received 1.9 million pounds for Casino Royale, 4.4 million pounds for Quantum of Solace and 10.7 million pounds for Skyfall.

Meanwhile, Skyfall director Mendes initially said the thought of directing another Bond movie made him “physically ill.”

Nevertheless, Eon Productions wanted Mendes back, to the point of being willing to push back production so the director could participate in some stage projects. With Skyfall’s box office, it’s likely he got a big raise also. Money has a way of calming upset stomachs.

Bond movies now have pricier casts: Under Albert R. Broccoli, Eon was willing to pay big money for its Bond but supporting actors — particularly those with the M, Moneypenny and Q roles — were paid modestly.

In the 21st century, the likes of Ralph Fiennes (a two-time Oscar nominee), Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw are paid better adjusted for inflation than Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn. Meanwhile, Skyfall had an Oscar winning actor (Javier Bardem as Silva) and SPECTRE has another (Christoph Waltz as Oberhauser).

All of this is, at best, a partial explanation. SPECTRE’s budget exceeds the estimated outlays of Marvel’s The Avengers ($220 million) and The Dark Knight Rises ($250 million), movies with extensive special effects.