Special double meaning in QofS

Willie Garvin

From Entertainment Weekly,
Fall Movie Preview,Special Double Issue-#1007/1008-August 22/29,2008.
Page 80.

Quantum of Solace preview
by Benjamin Svetkey

Looks like there's more to that mouthful of a title than meets the eye.Along with being the name of an obscure Ian Fleming short story,QUANTUM is the new SPECTRE-like organization James Bond will fight in this latest 007 adventure.

As for what QUANTUM stands for,the acronym is still under construction."If you think of something,let us know,"jokes longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.

Loeffelholz

I think that's pretty cool, actually...I trust that QoS won't see the end of the organization---sounds like a good long-term enemy for Craig's tenure...and perhaps beyond B-)

If it actually turns out to be an acronym, it'll be interesting to see if they can pull it off without being trite. I expect it's more likely along the lines of just a name, in and of itself; sounds vaguely ominous.

emtiem

Not really brand new news- we've known this for quite a while: hence the Q pin badges.

Willie Garvin

emtiem wrote:

Not really brand new news- we've known this for quite a while: hence the Q pin badges.

Gee,I guess I'm late to the party, because this info really was all new to me."Q badges"?

Hmm...I was kind of hoping that these SPECTRE-esque Bad Guys would honor traditon and return to wearing those discreet and easy to conceal octopus rings from the 60s.

Think of all the money Eon could save--they probably have a warehouse full of them just gathering dust.;)

emtiem

Willie Garvin wrote:

Gee,I guess I'm late to the party because this info was all new to me."Q badges"?

Yeah- if you have a look at the publicity photos of Almaric he's often wearing a little q lapel pin:

http://uk.movies.ign.com/dor/objects/826378/quantum-of-solace/images/quantum-of-solace-20080404020742635.html

Loeffelholz

I'd forgotten all about those 'Q' pins...no wonder they don't have the gadget-master in this one, either---too many Q's!

Like I said, I like 'Quantum' for an organization name---'quantity' or 'amount' can mean quite a lot of things when one has nefarious objectives... :v

Colonel Shatner

Continuing on after having my thread humiliatingly locked...:s

If Quantum is going to be the SPECTRE of the new millennia, what is their ultimate goal and how did they come to be? Could it have initially been a collection of holding companies that increasingly got more militant and clandestine to secure it's business interests?

Their plan in Quantum of Solace

involves backing a rogue general in taking over his country somewhere in Latin America, so they could take over the water supply, which is rather lucrative in any Third World hellhole, and remember in CR they had dealings with Obanno, a powerful African warlord, because he may have been sitting on a diamond mine (conflict diamonds are BIG business in Africa).

In the trailer I briefly spot a soldier in urban tactical gear (which includes a gas mask); could this be an enemy operative (hinting at a paramilitary nature of the new organisation which is comparable to SPECTRE's) or an SAS man sent by the MoD after Bond?

I like the 'Q' lapels, but it is a shame that Mr. White and Le Chifre didn't wear any. And 'quantum' means small or minute, perhaps hinting at the subtle nature of the syndicate.

Loeffelholz

Colonel Shatner wrote:

Continuing on after having my thread humiliatingly locked...:s

Not to worry, Colonel...your thread was merely Hardy-smacked^TM---happens to the best of us...

Unless I miss my guess, we'll learn a bit more about Quantum in QoS...but hopefully not everything, since I'd like to see this organization be more of a long-term threat, like its SPECTRE counterpart of the '60s.

Colonel Shatner

Loeffelholz wrote:

Unless I miss my guess, we'll learn a bit more about Quantum in QoS...but hopefully not everything, since I'd like to see this organization be more of a long-term threat, like its SPECTRE counterpart of the '60s.

I hope Quantum is an ongoing villain organization for a few more movies yet, but I'm mildly disappointed that it is not THE SPECTRE from the 1960s and the post Connery movies were lacking something with mostly bland, unimaginative villains coming and going, with no sense of fun or importance in too many cases (except with Jaws and a handful of others).

Although to be fair both Blofeld and SPECTRE were starting to become parodies of themselves by the time of YOLT, Blofeld's plan to get an aristocratic title in OHMSS was nonsense even by Bond standards, and Blofeld with hair and in drag in DAF? No, just no. Also the endless decades long bickering between Kevin McClory and the other franchise runners sullied the water too much, so an original organization similar to SPECTRE was perhaps the best move.

I wonder how Quantum could remain hidden for so long in a heavily connected, digital age, where an aggressive America has demolished a remote country to get to some terrorists hiding there.

Loeffelholz

Well, in all fairness, Blofeld's desire for an aristocratic title came straight out of Fleming's book; for me, it's one of those things that's oddball enough to ring true.

As for how Quantum could remain 'hidden' in the modern digital age...seems to me that, with lapel pins and all, they're not terribly worried about being found---which, to my mind, makes them all the more unsettling...

It's like all those crackpot conspiracy theories about the Freemasons, the Skulls or the C.F.R. secretly running the U.S. Presidency and all other bastions of power in the world: Hide in plain sight...nobody will believe it... :v

I miss the old SPECTRE as well...but it looks as if Quantum is poised to take up the mantle with a certain amount of style B-)

Dan Same

Colonel Shatner wrote:

Blofeld's plan to get an aristocratic title in OHMSS was nonsense even by Bond standards

I loved that plan. ;% I thought it suited Savalas's elitist Blofeld (the best of the post-FRWL/TB Blofelds IMO) brilliantly.

I'm not sure what I think of this as I think that having a title which features multiple meanings, could be either subtle and ambigurous or extremely clunky and messy. Hopefully it will be the former.

BTW, Loeff, considering all of the terms you have now created, have you considered getting patents? )

Colonel Shatner

Loeffelholz wrote:

Well, in all fairness, Blofeld's desire for an aristocratic title came straight out of Fleming's book; for me, it's one of those things that's oddball enough to ring true.

But it seems jarring, self-indulgent and anti-climatic to me for some reason. Sometimes you can be too slavish in adapting a book for the big screen; some of Fleming's ideas did not work and already seemed out of date by the time of the late 1960s to 1970s.

As for how Quantum could remain 'hidden' in the modern digital age...seems to me that, with lapel pins and all, they're not terribly worried about being found---which, to my mind, makes them all the more unsettling...

It's like all those crackpot conspiracy theories about the Freemasons, the Skulls or the C.F.R. secretly running the U.S. Presidency and all other bastions of power in the world: Hide in plain sight...nobody will believe it... :v

But many of these kinds of organizations (including religious groups) still come under a degree of public scrutiny and seen with great mistrust by many, even if they can wield a lot of power and wealth. They struggle to keep within the boundries of legality (most of the time, anyway) and can succumb to organizational entropy where their secrecy or inherent structure works against them.

I miss the old SPECTRE as well...but it looks as if Quantum is poised to take up the mantle with a certain amount of style B-)

Maybe Quantum would be an improvement, but we have no idea why they're suddenly rolling things into motion, unless it is all towards a big Master Plan (with their plot in QoS being a facet).

Loeffelholz

Dan Same wrote:

BTW, Loeff, considering all of the terms you have now created, have you considered getting patents? )

Funny you should mention that...I am seriously considering doing a blog here about the ever-growing Glossary of Loeffelholz Terms and Utterances^TM

Loeffelholz

Colonel Shatner wrote:

Sometimes you can be too slavish in adapting a book for the big screen; some of Fleming's ideas did not work and already seemed out of date by the time of the late 1960s to 1970s.

Perhaps...but certainly not in this case, IMRO. The case you cite (OHMSS) is essentially the inciting incident for the story, and works very well.

The percentage of Fleming's ideas that 'don't work' strikes me as fairly small, in the grand scheme of things, though many might disagree. His greatest feat, to me, was in creating the template for a hero that can be adapted to the times. Each of his books---and each of the films that followed---is of its own time, and that's how I appreciate them.

Colonel Shatner wrote:

But many of these kinds of organizations (including religious groups) still come under a degree of public scrutiny and seen with great mistrust by many, even if they can wield a lot of power and wealth. They struggle to keep within the boundries of legality (most of the time, anyway) and can succumb to organizational entropy where their secrecy or inherent structure works against them.

Well, they don't have the advantage of being purely fictional B-) An organization like Quantum would be able to quash most scrutiny before it ever becomes public :v

Colonel Shatner

Loeffelholz wrote:

Perhaps...but certainly not in this case, IMRO. The case you cite (OHMSS) is essentially the inciting incident for the story, and works very well.

I can see why getting an aristocratic title would appeal to Blofeld's overweening vanity, but being his only goal? I don't think the tone of the movie would've been adversely affected if it was an conventional extortion scheme, even Karl Stromberg's plan had a more meaningful goal, as equally mad as it was.

Well, they don't have the advantage of being purely fictional B-) An organization like Quantum would be able to quash most scrutiny before it ever becomes public :v

Well Quantum so far likes to take direct action mainly through third parties like Obannon, Dimitrios, and (in QoS) General Medrano, which is a semi-credible explanation for the relative secrecy of Quantum amongst the intelligence community.

darenhat

Willie Garvin wrote:

From Entertainment Weekly,
Fall Movie Preview,Special Double Issue-#1007/1008-August 22/29,2008.
Page 80.

Quantum of Solace preview
by Benjamin Svetkey

Looks like there's more to that mouthful of a title than meets the eye.Along with being the name of an obscure Ian Fleming short story,QUANTUM is the new SPECTRE-like organization James Bond will fight in this latest 007 adventure.

As for what QUANTUM stands for,the acronym is still under construction."If you think of something,let us know,"jokes longtime Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.

I remember reading this sometime back and laughing because the BS that Michael Wilson was spouting about how they didn't have a title and that it was determine that "Quantum of Solace" fit so well with the script and decided to use it. Wasn't that convenient? That the script just happened to have an organizaton called Quantum and Fleming just happened to have a short story called Quantum of Solace. Fleming must have been reading their minds!

Loeffelholz

Colonel Shatner wrote:

Loeffelholz wrote:

Perhaps...but certainly not in this case, IMRO. The case you cite (OHMSS) is essentially the inciting incident for the story, and works very well.

I can see why getting an aristocratic title would appeal to Blofeld's overweening vanity, but being his only goal? I don't think the tone of the movie would've been adversely affected if it was an conventional extortion scheme, even Karl Stromberg's plan had a more meaningful goal, as equally mad as it was.

Let's not forget that Blofeld's ultimate goal was biological terrorism, using the girls as 'carriers'. The stuff about wanting to prove himself a de Bleuchamp was the fatal flaw that led the British Secret Service to his door. Like I said, to me it works because of its offbeat nature.

Colonel Shatner

Loeffelholz wrote:

Let's not forget that Blofeld's ultimate goal was biological terrorism, using the girls as 'carriers'. The stuff about wanting to prove himself a de Bleuchamp was the fatal flaw that led the British Secret Service to his door. Like I said, to me it works because of its offbeat nature.

Whinging for a aristocratic title still seemed to be a silly demand even if the ultimatum was credible enough, but then again SPECTRE as an organization was likely not the same since the volcano fiasco in YOLT, and a thrice soundly defeated Blofeld was perhaps losing touch with reality.

I hope that Quantum does not revolve around a single easily parodied supervillain like SPECTRE did, but just be a close knitted consortium of businessmen, scientists, and mercenaries of various stripes who all somehow have a common goal. Mr. Greene could be part of a council of thirteen, his plan contributing to a greater Master Plan.

Maybe we could give Quantum a more dignified exit that SPECTRE was robbed of due to McClory's antics, with maybe the organization proper getting destroyed in perhaps two movies time and having a downbeat, relatively low key ending with Bond tracking down the last of Quantum's leaders (like in the original novilization of YOLT).

Loeffelholz

I agree; that would be very cool.

Colonel Shatner

I'd say the plan in QoS seems mundane:

But then again taking over the water supply for an entire country is significant and you can f**k over everybody living there, but it could also be taken over for more extraordinary or sinister reasons (maybe the water could be processed by Quantum into heavy water for their own H-bomb project or the water has other unusual properties that has a military application).

I'd say Quantum's plan is pretty similar to Eliot Carver's (make deal with military command, gain exclusive business rights in his country after assisting his coup d'etat).

Loeffelholz

Currently, it seems as if it's all about money...but enough money becomes something significantly more, doesn't it? Quantum wants to engineer regime change, and manipulate heads of state. Once the game gets to that level, the stakes become very high.

To me, Quantum is simply a SPECTRE for our time, taking a more oblique path to its goal---perhaps all the more dangerous because of the strategic patience it appears to be employing---as opposed to the more direct (tactical) way that Blofeld worked (stealing nukes, capturing spacecraft). It's a fine distinction between the two, but IMRO an important one.

Colonel Shatner

Yes, I agree that SPECTRE's modus operandi is more flashy than Quantum's, with SPECTRE toppling or hijacking space rockets while deploying literal armies of henchmen in bright uniforms (like Cobra from G.I. Joe), but I agree that Quantum's subtlety and slowness in manipulating the military leaders of Third World nations to gain key resources somehow seems more disconcerting.

Agent Wade

I propose a notion that will probably never even be heard by the powers that be. If . . . and I say this with strong emphasis on the "if." There has never been such a big "if" as there is now. This "if" is visible from the orbiting international space station. That's how big this "if" is.

IF Quantum along the road is somehow finally thwarted by Bond as a means for not wanting to keep ramming the same deer with a Hummer, it would be wise to be on the assist of another organization that has been until now sitting in the big bad organization's shadow.

I had the idea when I was watching OHMSS when Draco was boasting about how grand his syndicate was when Bond reminded him that SPECTRE was yet larger still.B-)

Colonel Shatner

Well in the original draft of Diamonds are Forever Draco was going to take advantage of Bond killing Blofeld by absorbing a leaderless SPECTRE into his Unione Corse, while The Spy Who Loved Me had a early script where politically motivated terrorists toppled SPECTRE's original money driven leadership, then assumed SPECTRE's vast assets for their own radical ends.

Perhaps this is how Quantum ends, either taken out by competitors or have rival Quantum leaders turn against each other? A collapsed Quantum could still be a problem with surviving cells or Quantum assets seized by smaller crimelords posing an international threat.