Plot and title ideas for Bond 22
Number24
NorwayPosts: 21,804MI6 Agent
There are allready topics were this is being duscussed, but they have titles like "Bond 22 is Risico?". This can be confusing or missleading so I started this topic. The topic title doesn't mean that you can't post just a title or plot suggestion, it's just that we often have some ideas about what kind of title a story should have. Please avoid silly parody suggestions like "Kill another golden day so it dies forever"!
My first title suggestion is "Come to me, death".
It has the word Death in it, but it's still not too typical and tired. To me, the title suggests a death threat or a death wish, both highly appropriate for Bond 22.
My first title suggestion is "Come to me, death".
It has the word Death in it, but it's still not too typical and tired. To me, the title suggests a death threat or a death wish, both highly appropriate for Bond 22.
Comments
Whatever the title is, it should have Fleming's sense of irony and imagination. The more tedious titles are the ones that speak directly to the plot without being memorable. "Die Another Day" is one of those titles. Bleah.
Shorter, dumber titles are in today, as they fit on a marquee and stay in the minds of the masses better. "Risico" was rumored as a possible title, and it could work. But I'm for remaking all of the Fleming books, with plots and characters closer to what Fleming conceived (but with a little of Richard Maibaum's sensibilities). In that sense, whatever the next book is in the series could easily be the title of the next film.
The Hildebrand Rarity (Song: The Hildbrand Rarity... I dunno!)
Shortly after a failed assassination attempt by a mysterious hitman/woman (think along the lines of From Russia with Love novel ending) in the tropics, Bond recovers aboard the fishing yacht Wavekrest with the wealthy, misogynistic, fisherman Milton Krest (yes, they'll have to change the names due to LTK) who wishes to capture the Hildebrand Rarity.
Bond later discovers that despite the man's claim of trying to find the rare fish, what Krest truly wants is to transport a secret cache of gold from an adjacent island back to the rebel faction who tried to assassinate him.
A Whisper of Love, A Whisper of Hate
"The Revenge of One", "The Ruthlessness of Retribution" or something similarly dramatic but relevant to CR.
I agree, that would be a totally acceptable title, as it has a similar ring to OHMSS. Meaning it could be ne of the best bond movies, obviously slightly differing from OHMSS, as i thought it was a mix between best bond movie yet worst bond, if you understnd what im getting at.
http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=4873
I can certainly see how Vesper and her algerian boyfriend could work in terms of Quantum Of Solace;
"Bond, following a mission in Cuba, is stuck at what seems a boring dinner with the governor of Jamaica and his dull guests. However, Bond eventually leaves very interested, realising that there is more to the world than his spying. The governor told him a story of a man who once worked for him and got married, but shortly after his wife had a well-known affair making him the laughing stock of Bermuda’s British community. But the governor’s old friend managed to ruin her socially and financially before divorcing her and leaving the island. The story ends with a nice twist when Bond discovers the identity of one of the dinner guests."
This could certianly be altered by Purvis and Wade for Bond22.
"A whisper of love, a whisper of hate" is much more fitting but too long. I also think Bond will be more hatefull than loving this time round, so "A whisper of hate" sounds right.
But what will motivate the villans? If you look at the real life conflicts of today, three topics are or will be common: religion, the politics of identity and energy/climate changes. The energy angle has been done by Brosnan in TWINE. Climate change isn't good story material (as proved by DAD ...) The politics of identity is a fancy way of talking about ethnic clensing, civil wars and rasism. This could be used in a Bond film. Religion has never been used in a Bond film, and the time is ripe. Religious fanatics are setting much if the political agenda in places like the middle east, India and the US.
Here is an idea that probably is too conventional (ticking bomb, stopping a major war), but still sounds good to me. The villan is an american TV evangelist (Richard Gere? Paul Newman?)with ties to the White House. He actually agrees with bin Laden on three issues:
- the jews are evil
- there is a war on between christianity and islam
- a lot of good can come out of a well placed bomb!
He also believes that the Messiah can't return until the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. This is not unheard of in extreme christian circles, a genuine consern of Israel and not motivated by any warm feelings towards then jews. The plan calls for the the two mosques behind the wailing wall to be removed. Those are among the most sacred places for muslims, so it must be done by a large bomb. This plan is guaranteed to start a major war in the region.
I can also imagine Bond teaming up with the Mossad and palestinian secret service. The cooperation between the israelis and the palestinians is purely pragmatic and in no way grounded on warm and fuzzy feelings.
Imagine Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek (half libanese) playing the two agents. I have also imagined a nun to be Bond's leading lady... Outragous? Definately! I imagine a nun who is out to stop the villan for personal and religious reasons. She only breaks her vows of non-violense and chastety because of the extreme situation (she kills villans and beds Bond in the end) Imagine a poster with a nun(Monica Bellucci or Rose McGovan?) in a blood stained habit and brandishing a gun. Film title: "A Blessing in Disguise". Other titles could be "A Curse in Disguise" or "Fury of an Angel".
Have I gone mad?
Possibly, but is the ideam any good?
From Fox News (and, for that matter, from SkyNews): "The new Bond film is blantantly anti-Bush and anti-Christian! Who'd have thought even 007 would buy into the liberal Hollywood agenda?"
From Evangelicals: "Once again, Christian fundamentalists are being depicted as wild-eyed fanatics who resort to insane tactics to bring about the Second Coming. Boycott Bond!"
From the Anti-Defamation League: "Using an anti-Semitic character in a dumb action film is highly offensive. Don't they know how serious an issue is anti-Semitism? Jewish people are really dying because of hatred and intolerance, and now we've got a James Bond movie cashing in on that suffering."
From Iran: "The Islamic terrorists in this film constitute the greatest insult to the Iranian people since 300. This movie is a declaration of war against us and all of Islam!"
EON managed to avoid controversy in Casino Royale by making the terrorists pretty generic--the Africans seem more interested in politics than faith, and M even describes the bombmaker Bond kills at the embassy as "not a true believer"--and I'm sure they'll continue along that line.
Mind you, Spectre had some villainous objective in mind as a McGuffin (excuse to get the plot going). Wasn't convinced about the CR organisation, all smoke no fire. But they could still use the war on terror/axis on evil as a backdrop.
Only problem is, we are in a 1950s scenario regards Iran and until recently China. Craig's Flemingesque Bond fits with that, as the novel's Bond took on Smersh, but the films just won't go in that direction... I suppose they can allude to it, though.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I guess they could just say the the villan is well conected politically, leaving the rest to the imaginations and opinions of the audience.
May I also point out that muslims are the victims of terrorism in this plot, wich is a nice change. There are also christian, muslim and jewish heroes in this story. Bond is perhaps more of an agnostic - he goes to wedding and funerals but isn't a true believer.
But your critique (or warnings?) are still real and well argued.
If they were gonna focus at all on Bond going after the big bad who done him and his woman wrong, then a title that refers to the villian would be nice. I prefer DRAGONHEAD (and, aren't they looking in Asia for settings???)
I wish they could get away with it. Personally, I'd love to see Bond tackle radical Islam, and be aided by a Muslim who's angered by the co-opting of his/her religion---an Arab 'Darko Kerim,' if you will...too bad a distinction can't be drawn. It's a growing problem for Europe, and---inevitably---the states as well. One can only wonder how long a theology of medieval intolerance will go unanswered (because of political correctness, fear of offending, etc) as it gathers strength...right where we live.
Scary stuff; it's a good thing we weren't afraid of offending the Communists...
I'd say they're nearly due for another 'one word' title; as a Flemingist, I'm still stubbornly holding out hope for 'Risico,' despite denials from the Powers That Be...
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Yes, radical islam is a good topic. But avoid the "Bond against islam" angle, the western politics in the region has often been both greedy and incompetent, and this should be reflected.
Also, let's not forget there are struggles within islam, for its soul.
Muslim heroes are also important, but don't make them into "uncle Toms". They should have their own interests in mind, like everyone else.
It could fit the plot I suggested, since the Mossad and palestinian agents are Bond's (and eachothers) opposite number. There are two problems with that title.
-Most non-english speaker don't know what it is ment by it.
-It doesn't sound threatening or alluring
... I must be my own worst enemy:p
Indeed the whole film would be all about how islam is not a violent religion. Come on people it's clear as day it is so just be honest.
The Algerian Boyfriend of Vesper is told by the organisation behind LeChiffre that Bond's to blame for her dead. He wants revenge and is willing to work with the organisation.
In this context 'Property of a Lady' can stand for the Algerian Boyfriend.
Since Bond 22 is going to be a sequel to CR, you have to somehow keep the link with CR IMO.
But I think people also are tired of the oversimplistic world view of the Bush administration too, so they mustn't go too far in the other direction either.
Well, I don't want to get into a political bit here but Islamic terrorists are Islamic terrorists, the same way the IRA is the IRA, no matter who is President/Prime Minister.
1)I don't think that a Bond film is well-equipped enough to handle the complexities of such an issue (nor IMO should it be.) Many people will argue that there are no complexities; that the issue is of good verses evil. However I disagree with this, as while the issue of fighting terrorism might be simple, the methods used are not. I, and perhaps many others, have problems with some of the methods currently being used, and I would be uncomfortable if a Bond film 'hit too close to home.' There was one scene in which CR did concern me (the treatment of Mathis), but since the film wasn't attempting to be hyper-realistic by utilising a real-life terrorist organisation, I didn't really have any problems with it.
Basically, what I'm saying is, I don't want to feel uncomfortable with the things that Bond does; that is not why I go see a Bond film. There is nothing wrong with a film examining the complexities of the whole issue, however I would argue that this should not be a Bond film.
2)I would love for a Bond film (or any other film) to have a Muslim character who is not a terrorist/is not accused of being a terrorist and whose faith does not become his/her driving focus/entire identity.
3)There is no way that a Bond film can win. Obviously, it will need to walk a fine line between villifying an entire faith and people, and coming off as 'too-PC.' I don't know if it can do it.
BTW, if we are going to have a discussion on a Bond site about possible plot points for the next Bond film, would it be possible if people could desist from making comments like this?
But if you read my "A blessing in disguise" plot idea, you will find it goes on in that world but has a very different angle. The palistinian agent would be from Fatha and not be motivated by religion or be suspected of terrorism.
I also agree that islamic terrorism is islamic terrorism no matter who the president of the US is. My point was that most people don't by into Bush's oversimplistic world view ("You are with us or against us") anymore, and it ashould be more gray areas. But let's not make this a discussion about politics or religion.
I have an idea for a scary henchman: a serial killer! Picture the "love child" of Red Grant and Jack the Ripper working for the Organisation.
A man who kills purely for pleasure, but lets his employer select (some of) his victims. In exchange the Organisation pays him and protects him from the police. The way he kills can't be too graphic, but perhaps beheadings could work if they scripted and shot it the right way?
I have never read any Bond novel not written by Ian Fleming, so I have no idea how good or bad they are. I will admit to being biased here, but as mentioned before in this thread, there are still unused elements from Ian Fleming's novels, and personally I would like to see them exhausted before we move on to other material. For instance, The Spy Who Loved Me has not been used (the film of the same name bears no resemblance to the novel), neither has Moonraker, although it can be argued that some elements of the book has been used in Die Another Day, although that film was so poorly executed that it doesn't do the book any justice.
I think we can do another Moonraker just as the book is written. The book is arguably Fleming's best work, and with all elements incorporated into one film - the British hero with a dark past that he hides behind his amnesia, Bond's chance meeting followed by a mysterious death at Moonraker HQ, Bond's assignment to investigate alongside Gala Brand and finding something fishy but can't point it out until finally Drax discovers Gala's truth and arrests them both - I see no reason why this can't turn out to be a good film.
"Magic 44" B-)
EDIT: My 4000th post!
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I have no title ideas, but I quite like taking it from a chapter in an existing book.