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United Artists Releasing, as part of its push to get No Time to Die as many awards as possible. had posted online a PDF of the movie’s final script.
Naturally, the blog has questions.
What was the name of Bond’s boat in Jamaica?
Happenstance. That would appear to evoke a passage from the Goldfinger novel.
Goldfinger said, ‘Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago. “Once is Happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.”‘
Admittedly, it slipped by me that Bond’s boat was named Happenstance. Did No Time to Die have boats named Coincidence and Enemy Action?
How does the script describe Bond’s life in Jamaica?
Here’s how:
EXT. DECK – BOND’S HOUSE -DAY
He visibly relaxed, walking at an island pace. A Bond we’ve never seen before.
How does the script introduce Paloma (Ana De Armas)?
Like this:
Bond sees a woman in an elegant BLUE DRESS leaning against the counter sipping a drink: PALOMA
Bond approaches, ready for flirtatious banter. She looks up —
BOND
Paloma?
PALOMA
You’re late. Vamos
How does the script describe Bond’s death?
EXT. ROOF OF OLD CONTROL ROOM
Bond arrives at the roof. He has a view to the water and Madeline’s island in the distance. INTERCUT with Madeline.
BOND
Madeline. You have made the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She’s perfect because she came from you.
MADELINE
Oh God! The vial. You’ve been poisoned?
(snip)
Long contrails of smoke streak from the distance to dozens of white points of light, moving faster and faster toward him.
The missiles break into clusters as they spread for maximum effect. Bond knows he has only milliseconds. He seems to find peace. Breathes in deeply, finding some quiet before —
A massive wave of explosions ripple towards Bond in a strobing and flashing cloud of light.
Robert Wade, left, and Neal Purvis. (Paul Baack illustration)
United Artists Releasing, which distributed No Time to Die in the U.S., has made a version of the movie’s script available as part of a push to get awards for the Bond film.
UAR has put a PDF of the script online. It’s described as a final script. That suggests it reflects the final version of the movie seen in theaters, pay-per-view, and home video.
As a result, there are likely no clues as to which writers (the credited Neal Purvis and Robert Wade team, director Cary Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as well as the uncredited Scott Z. Burns) contributed what.
Still, for those who collect Bond scripts, there are interesting tidbits in the stage directions.
For example, there is this passage when the movie switches from a young Madeline Swann to an adult one.
EXT. GROTTO ON THE SEA, ITALY – DAY
SOUNDS OF OCEAN WAVES CRASHING
Madeline breaks the surface of the water as if Safin was pulling her out –
She gasps but is frozen — opens her eyes, he is gone. It was just a vision.
BOND stands like Adonis on a lido overlooking the sea. She turns, feeling his eyes on her.
BOND
You okay?
Madeline smiles, burying the past trauma. She’s been dealing with this for years.
United Artists Releasing is a joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bond’s home studio, and Annapurna Pictures.
No Time to Die, in the U.S., at least, becomes available in video on demand (VOD) starting Nov. 9, a little more than a month after its U.S. release.
Gadzooks. That seems awfully fast. Naturally, the blog has questions.
What prompted this?
We don’t really know. Online ads about the VOD debut appeared on social media on Friday. The Screen Rant entertainment news site picked up on that and did a story. United Artists Releasing, a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Annapurna Pictures, which is handling U.S. distribution of No Time to Die, confirmed the news.
More generally, the amount of time that movie theaters have the exclusive right to show movies, is coming down. But, with No Time to Die, people thought the time period would be 45 days. Perhaps even more. In the U.S., it’s not playing out that way.
Is this good news or bad news?
For people still hesitant to return to movie theaters because of COVID-19, it’s good news. They’re getting to see the movie sooner than they expected.
For the studios involved, especially MGM, Bond’s home studio, it’s not good. They were probably hoping for a higher U.S. theatrical box office before the movie went to VOD.
Where, and for what price, will No Time to Die be available on VOD?
We don’t know a whole lot more yet. Amazon Prime this weekend is telecasting a five-minute preview of No Time to Die. (h/t MI6 James Bond website). Presumably, there will be other outlets. We’ll know more over the next few days.
UPDATE: MGM confirmed the price will be $19.99 for 48-hour rental on major platforms.
What else does this move indicate?
The move reinforces how No Time to Die, in the U.S., has lagged other markets, at least on a per capita basis. The U.S. accounts for between 20 percent to 25 percent of a Bond movie’s global box office. So far, with No Time to Die, the U.S. box office is about 22 percent of the global take.
Will No Time to Die disappear from U.S. theaters now?
Not necessarily. With 2015’s SPECTRE, the film continued to play at some theaters even after going to home video. However, it is possible the move to VOD will cause fewer screens to be available for No Time to Die.
Any other thoughts?
It’s a reminder that changes in the movie business — brought on by the rise of streaming and other factors — are accelerating.
No Time to Die will debut in the U.S. on video on demand Nov. 9, Screen Rant reported.
The entertainment news site said that United Artists Releasing confirmed the VOD date. United Artists Releasing, a joint venture between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Annapurna Pictures, is handling distribution of No Time to Die in the U.S. Universal is in charge of international distribution.
Earlier, Screen Rant writer Cade Onder shared a screenshot of a YouTube ad via Twitter.
God damn that was quick, No Time To Die is going to VOD on Tuesday, November 9. pic.twitter.com/dpxAlASgMa
Studios have moved to reduce the time that films are available only in theaters. Warner Bros. this year has been debuting films simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service.
In the U.S., Oct. 8 was No Time to Die’s official release date, although there were Oct. 6 showings at Imax theaters and Oct. 7 preview showings at theaters generally.
The 25th James Bond film has had a U.S. box office of almost $137 million as of Nov. 4, according to Box Office Mojo. The film’s global box office is about $610.4 million.
Movie attendance generally has been held down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus also spurred three delays in the release of the Bond movie from spring 2020 to fall 2021.
In pre-pandemic times, 2012’s Skyfall generated a U.S. box office of $304.4 million while 2015’s SPECTRE scored $200.1 million in the U.S.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists Releasing (the MGM-Annapurna joint venture that distributed No Time to Die in the U.S.) are inviting people to screenings of No Time to Die in Los Angeles and New York as part of a push to get the 25th James Bond movie Oscar nominations.
The Los Angeles screenings are today (Nov. 5), Nov. 12, Nov. 13 and Nov. 15. The New York showings are Nov. 14, Nov. 18 and Nov. 24.
The invitations include “FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES” including:
BEST PICTURE: Michael G. Wilson, p.g.a, Barbara Broccoli, p.g.a. (That’s Producers Guild of America)
BEST ACTOR: Daniel Craig
BEST DIRECTOR: Cary Joji Fukunaga
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Purvis, Wade, Fukunaga, Waller-Bridge
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Malek, Waltz, Wright, Fiennes, Whishaw, Magnuson
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Seydoux, Lynch, Harris, de Armas.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST EDITING
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
BEST SOUND
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (listing only Hans Zimmer, not Steve Mazzaro, his co-composer)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
This is the summary of the movie included in the invitations:
Daniel Craig concludes his five-film portrayal of James Bond in NO TIME TO DIE, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Joining forces with his MI6 team (Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris) and a new generation of agents (Lashana Lynch and Ana de Armas), Bond faces the highest stakes of his espionage career confronting a global threat devised by Safin (Rami Malek) that has estranged his beloved Dr. Madeline Swann (Lea Seydoux) and emotionally explores the sacrifices of heroism. The adapted screenplay is by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The original song “No Time to Die” is written and sung by Billie Ellish.
We’re a month away from No Time to Die being released in the U.K. It appears the 25th James Bond film is done with delays and ready to confront the COVID-19 pandemic head on. Naturally, the blog has questions.
What’s the movie’s global box office going to be?
In the pandemic era, the movie with the largest global box office total is F9: The Fast Saga at about $704 million. Can No Time to Die match or exceed that? Naturally, Bond fans think so. But box office totals depend on more than hard-core fans.
What are the marketing dynamics?
To begin with, it’s a three-headed monster.
–You have Eon Productions, which makes the movies. Eon’s Michael G. Wilson said in 2015 that the company really manages the marketing. The distributors just execute Eon’s plan.
“We create it, they execute it,” Wilson said at that time.
–You have Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bond’s home studio, which foots the bills. No Time to Die is being distributed in North America by United Artists Releasing, a joint venture of MGM and Annapurna Pictures.
–You have Universal, which is distributing the film internationally. Supposedly, Universal was selected because of its track record, which included turning The Fast and the Furious series into a $1 billion per film juggernaut per film prior to COVID-19. In that case, Universal ran the whole show. Now it’s dealing with another studio and a strong-willed production company.
On Aug. 24, Vulture, the arts website of New York magazine, had a story about the difficulty in scheduling movies amid COVID-19. It quoted someone it identified only as ” a person with knowledge of business practices at Eon.
“They’ve lost so much money by moving [No Time to Die]; the marketing has gotten stale,” this person says. “The Broccolis care more about the U.K. than anything — making it a big hit in the U.K., a decent hit in the U.S. and the rest of the world.” (emphasis added)
If true, it’d be interesting to know what MGM/United Artists Releasing thinks about that. It’d also be interesting to get the view of Universal, responsible for a lot more than just the U.K.
Anything to be on the lookout for?
The marketing is gearing up. Some commercials have run recently. Assuming there isn’t another delay (there have been five to date), we’ll be getting to judge the marketing efforts for ourselves.
Respect, a movie about the life of singer Aretha Franklin, got off to a show start at the U.S. box office.
The film, made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released by United Artists Releasing, is estimated to produce $8.8 million in its opening weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box office data.
Respect originally was scheduled to be released in 2020. MGM looked to the film to generate Academy Award nominations. But Respect was pushed back to this month because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Respect is being shown only in theaters and is on more than 3,000 screens. The same applies to Free Guy and Don’t Breathe 2, which also debuted this weekend. Respect was No. 4 this weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.
MGM and United Artists Releasing (MGM’s joint venture with Annapurna Pictures) have the same theater-only opening strategy for No Time to Die. The 25th James Bond film is scheduled to come out Oct. 8 in the U.S.
Here’s how Exhibitor Relations summarized Respect’s opening weekend box office.
UA's Aretha Franklin biopic, RESPECT, belted out $8.8M at the box office opening weekend.
Saddled with a $55M budget, this film better have one heck of an encore.
There’s no telling how signficant this is but the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. ran a No Time to Die spot during the network’s coverage of the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
The spot ran between 9:45 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. eastern time.
There wasn’t any new footage (or if it was new it was significiantly different) compared with earlier trailers. For example, star Daniel Craig delivers his “Bond, James Bond” line to a security screener at MI6 who clearly doesn’t know who the former agent is.
Because this is part of the North American release, the spot had an Oct. 8 date for the movie’s debut. The U.S. and Canada release is being handled by United Artists Releasing, the joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Annapurna Pictures. The movie is getting an earlier release (as things stand now) in the U.K. and other countries where Universal is handling distribution.
There are some new tea leaves to read regarding motion pictures and COVID-19. Nothing definite, certainly not in connection with No Time to Die. But a few items to keep in mind.
Falling moviegoer confidence: The Hollywood Reporter said a late July poll indicates that confidence among moviegoers has lessened as the new delta variant of COVID-19 spreads.
An exerpt:
The results of a late July poll on moviegoing confidence levels were alarming. The National Research Group survey, closely watched by studios, showed that the overall comfort level had tumbled from a pandemic-era high of 81 percent to 72 percent in the span of just three weeks amid the delta variant. Moms appeared to be the most concerned about taking a trip to the multiplex, with their comfort index tumbling from 75 percent to 59 percent.
The story, by Pamela McClintock, references how the family film Clifford the Big Red Dog has been delayed from a planned September release. It raises questions whether other movies may also get delayed.
A notable comic book movie starts slow: Warner Bros.’s Suicide Squad debuts this weekend. It is available both in theaters and on HBO Max. It’s directed by James Gunn, who helmed two Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel. It’s essentially a do-over for the group of villains forced to work for the U.S. government. It also follows Birds of Prey, another Warners-DC comics film.
Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box office data, said on Twitter that film’s Thursday night preview shows were nothing special.
WB's THE SUICIDE SQUAD barricaded the box office with $4.1M in previews last night–that's nearly identical to BIRDS OF PREY, which went on to debut with a disappointing $33M.
— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) August 6, 2021
Of course, it’s still early.
UPDATE (Aug. 8): Things didn’t go so well.
WB's $185M THE SUICIDE SQAUD debuted with $26.5M this weekend, or, in other words, just $3M more than MORTAL KOMBAT earlier this year.
I know, I know…blah, blah, blah, pandemic…blah, blah, blah, rating.
Make no mistake. Heads will roll. Big changes coming for DC.
— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) August 8, 2021
There’s another MGM movie about to come out: That would be Respect, a film about the life of singer Aretha Franklin (1942-2018).
At one point, MGM viewed Respect as a way to get Oscar nominations. But then COVID-19 caused the studio to delay from late 2020 to the Aug. 13 weekend.
Like other MGM films (including No Time to Die), it is distributed in North America by United Artists Releasing, MGM’s joint venture with Annapurna Pictures. Respect is being shown “only in theaters,” just like No Time to Die.
h/t to David Zaritsky, via Morten Steingrimsen, who flagged The Hollywood Reporter story to my attention.
No Time to Die has become one of the longest soap operas in the history of the Eon Productions James Bond film series. But how did it get that way?
What follows are some key events and dates. All of them helped shape outside perspective of the production.
July 24, 2017: Both Eon and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announce that Bond 25 will be released on Nov. 8, 2019. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are onboard as writers.
At this point, MGM had no way of distributing the film. As it turns out, MGM was working to get back into distribution. But that wouldn’t be firmed up for some time. MGM and Annapurna would form a joint venture, later called United Artists releasing, for U.S. distribution. Eventually, Universal would be picked for international distribution.
In any case, the announcement creates the expectation Bond 25 would be out in fall 2019.
Aug. 15, 2017: Daniel Craig, on CBS’s The Late Show, says he’s returning as Bond in the new movie. The July 2017 announcement didn’t specify who was playing Bond.
Craig’s appearance helps create the impression of momentum. The Bond film machine is stirring.
Oct. 31, 2017: MGM and Annapurna announce their joint venture. Bond 25, for now, is not part of the deal. (It would become part of it later.) But again, the news creates the image of momentum.
February 2018: Entertainment news outlets report that Danny Boyle is a contender to direct Bond 25. Ultimately, it turns out Boyle and his writer, John Hodge, have a competing idea for the film and Hodge is working up a script. If that idea gets approved, Hodge is in the director’s chair.
Boyle confirms all this in March.
May 25, 2018: Official announcement is made that Boyle is directing and Hodge is writing Bond 25.
It’s a new day. Now, that’s what you call momentum.
Aug. 21, 2018: Danny Boyle, we hardly ye. He’s out, according to a new announcement. (It later becomes clear Hodge is gone, too.) Now, that’s what you call slamming the brakes on momentum.
Sept. 20, 2018: Bond 25 has a new director, Cary Fukunaga. It also has a new release date, Feb. 14, 2020, according to an official announcement.
That’s a mixed bag, but at least work is moving ahead.
Feb. 15, 2019: New release date is announced, now April 2020. The news was a bit of a letdown to Bond fans who had started their “one year to go” countdowns the previous day.
April 25, 2019: Eon conducts a livestream event in Jamaica ahead of the start of the production of Bond 25. There are some technical hiccups. There’s still no title. But, hey, filming is starting at long last.
We’re on our way now. What could go wrong?
May 22, 2019: Eon confirms Daniel Craig suffered an injury and will have ankle surgery. It’s not the firm time Craig has gotten hurt. Eon says the April release date is still in effect.
June 4, 2019: There’s an explosion at the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios. No serious injuries but the optics weren’t the best.
007 Stage after the June 4, 2019 incident.
Aug. 20, 2019: Bond 25 gets a title — No Time to Die. This helps re-establish momentum and anticipation. A title helps things seem more real. A movie is actually coming.
Oct. 25, 2019: Eon announces filming has concluded. Whatever bumps took place, the movie is done. Anticipation builds.
Over the next few months, the first trailer comes out, an expensive ad appears during the Super Bowl and plans for a world premiere get announced.
Then, on March 4, Bond 25/No Time to Die is delayed to November 2020. This week, it was delayed again to April 2021. In both cases, the actions stem from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has slammed a lot of industries, including the film industry.
The point of bringing all this up is that Bond 25 has had 1) a lot of ups and downs and 2) had those ups and downs for an extended time.
As a result, if fans are feeling a little whipsawed, there’s good reason.
The movie is sitting there, presumably secure and ready to be shown. When that happens, anticipation will build yet again. But nobody should blame fans for feeling a little uneasy at this point.
The Spy Command 