007 Gets the Million Dollar Baby scribe

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AndyDursin
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007 Gets the Million Dollar Baby scribe

#1 Post by AndyDursin »

Well this can only be viewed as a welcome change of pace from Neil Purvis and Robert Wade (any reason why Eon kept going to them AND Bruce Fierstein? Scripts haven't been an ally for Bond lately!).
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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- Expect the next James Bond, whoever he may be, to display lots of residual guilt, angst and existential agita, because "Million Dollar Baby" and "Crash" writer Paul Haggis is coming on board.

The Oscar nominated scribe has signed on to do a rewrite for "Casino Royale," the upcoming 21st installment in the James Bond franchise.

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson originally enlisted Neal Purvis and Robert Wade -- screenwriters on "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day" -- for the first crack at adapting Ian Fleming's 1953 novel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Haggis is taking the next shot for director Martin Campbell ("GoldenEye").

MGM and Sony can take as much rewriting time as necessary, because the franchise is missing a leading man. Just about every actor in the business (with the possible exception of Rob Schneider) has been mentioned as a potential Bond.

"Casino Royale" was previously adapted in spoof form for a 1967 feature. The novel, Fleming's first Bond caper, finds 007 battling Le Chiffre and playing a mean game of baccarat.

Haggis is a generally busy man these days. He adapted James Bradley's "Flags of Our Fathers" for Clint Eastwood's next film and is attached to a number of projects as a writer-director, including "Honeymoon With Harry" for New Line and "Death and Dishonor" at Warner Bros.

Carlson2005

#2 Post by Carlson2005 »

But sadly, they still have the same producers, which is the real problem. All of the writers on the Brosnan films so far have tried to deliver something better only for EON to get cold feet and fall back on the formula. Haggis' hiring is probably not much cause for rejoicing as he's most likely being hired to turn it into something more formulaic and American-centric.

But that's just the incurable optimist in me speaking :lol:

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#3 Post by AndyDursin »

Carlson2005 wrote:Haggis' hiring is probably not much cause for rejoicing as he's most likely being hired to turn it into something more formulaic and American-centric.
But could it have been any more American-centric than the last couple of films?

I STILL cringe at the awful CGI in DIE ANOTHER DAY -- specifically that hideous ice chase, which began the downward spiral of that movie's second half.

Carlson2005

#4 Post by Carlson2005 »

Apparently Purvis and Wade cringe at that too: their original setpiece was said to be a bit more credible, but, so the Bond Boys say, Lee Tamahouri convinced the producers to go the cgi route. A shame, because there are some great ideas in the first half that are swamped by the past Bond film references and the oh-sod-it-let's-just-use-the-old-Diamonds-Are-Forever-space-weapon-thing-again second half.

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#5 Post by AndyDursin »

Carlson2005 wrote:Apparently Purvis and Wade cringe at that too: their original setpiece was said to be a bit more credible, but, so the Bond Boys say, Lee Tamahouri convinced the producers to go the cgi route. A shame, because there are some great ideas in the first half that are swamped by the past Bond film references and the oh-sod-it-let's-just-use-the-old-Diamonds-Are-Forever-space-weapon-thing-again second half.
Absolutely Trevor! The first half had one of the strongest set-ups in any Bond film (or at least any "modern" 007 adventure), with characters that were actually established. Too bad it went downhill after that, though it's still entertaining.

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#6 Post by Eric W. »

At least the kind of logic that went into the ending of Million Dollar Baby will be in a much more appropriate environment.

I loved Million Dollary Baby, but the way the ending of it was setup just defied too much logic for my tastes. Very atypical of Clint Eastwood.

mkaroly
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#7 Post by mkaroly »

[quote="AndyDursin
I STILL cringe at the awful CGI in DIE ANOTHER DAY -- specifically that hideous ice chase, which began the downward spiral of that movie's second half.[/quote]

The liability in DIE ANOTHER DAY for me that spoiled it was Hallie Berry- she cannot act. She looked awkward holding a gun, and her one-liner in her big fight scene made me want to puke. I think she was the only Bond girl in recent memory who I wanted to see lose a fight.

ANYWAY, whoever ends up writing it needs to make the head villain a bit more evil- Elektra from TWINE was incredibly nasty, but she wasn't the main villain! The main guy had potential but they never really made him "evil" enough. Then they'll write for a stronger main villain but a weak second-in-command....BRING BACK SPECTRE! :)

I'd really like to see something along the lines of a main villain who is Bond's evil "twin", equal but evil. Then give Bond a strong woman and give the villain an equally strong second-in-command. Maybe that's dumb, but that's what I'm hoping for.

I liked MILLION DOLLAR BABY for the plot point concerning the letters- I think that spoke more volume about Eastwood's character than anything else. And it was mysterious and dark and I could see him doing the same type of thing for Bond- but for Pete's sake, giv us some decent villains this time out (and no Jinx, please! UGH!!)

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#8 Post by AndyDursin »

The liability in DIE ANOTHER DAY for me that spoiled it was Hallie Berry- she cannot act. She looked awkward holding a gun, and her one-liner in her big fight scene made me want to puke. I think she was the only Bond girl in recent memory who I wanted to see lose a fight.
You thought she was worse than Denise Richards? Michelle Yeoh? I'm not a huge Halle fan but I didn't think she was half as inept as Denise Richards was in WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Yeoh was pretty stiff too, except for when she was karate-chopping the picket fences :lol:

mkaroly
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#9 Post by mkaroly »

AndyDursin wrote:
The liability in DIE ANOTHER DAY for me that spoiled it was Hallie Berry- she cannot act. She looked awkward holding a gun, and her one-liner in her big fight scene made me want to puke. I think she was the only Bond girl in recent memory who I wanted to see lose a fight.
You thought she was worse than Denise Richards? Michelle Yeoh? I'm not a huge Halle fan but I didn't think she was half as inept as Denise Richards was in WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Yeoh was pretty stiff too, except for when she was karate-chopping the picket fences :lol:
Yes- Halle was weaker than Richards...besides, Richards' character was offset by Elektra somewhat. And I didn't mind Michelle Yeoh...she wasn't bad. Halle was bad compared to those two. Seriously, I haven't watched the DAD DVD because I can't stand Berry- I think she ranks up there with Julia Roberts and Rene Zellweger as the worst actresses in film history. Sorry- I'll even take that cello chick from TLD than Berry- and that cello chick was WEAK! :)

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#10 Post by AndyDursin »

mkaroly wrote:
AndyDursin wrote:
The liability in DIE ANOTHER DAY for me that spoiled it was Hallie Berry- she cannot act. She looked awkward holding a gun, and her one-liner in her big fight scene made me want to puke. I think she was the only Bond girl in recent memory who I wanted to see lose a fight.
You thought she was worse than Denise Richards? Michelle Yeoh? I'm not a huge Halle fan but I didn't think she was half as inept as Denise Richards was in WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Yeoh was pretty stiff too, except for when she was karate-chopping the picket fences :lol:
Yes- Halle was weaker than Richards...besides, Richards' character was offset by Elektra somewhat. And I didn't mind Michelle Yeoh...she wasn't bad. Halle was bad compared to those two. Seriously, I haven't watched the DAD DVD because I can't stand Berry- I think she ranks up there with Julia Roberts and Rene Zellweger as the worst actresses in film history. Sorry- I'll even take that cello chick from TLD than Berry- and that cello chick was WEAK! :)
You're tough Michael, you're tough! :shock: :D

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#11 Post by Eric W. »

Denise Richards is a joke. She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.

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#12 Post by AndyDursin »

Q-BanditZ wrote:Denise Richards is a joke. She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.
Let's not forget she was so bad even in STARSHIP TROOPERS that they had to remove several of her "romantic" scenes.

And even Dina Meyer blew her away in that movie......sigh, poor Dina....never could follow up the success of that performance! She WAS good in that one! :D

mkaroly
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#13 Post by mkaroly »

AndyDursin wrote:
Q-BanditZ wrote:Denise Richards is a joke. She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.
Let's not forget she was so bad even in STARSHIP TROOPERS that they had to remove several of her "romantic" scenes.

And even Dina Meyer blew her away in that movie......sigh, poor Dina....never could follow up the success of that performance! She WAS good in that one! :D
I know I was rough on Hallie Berry, but I'll still take Richards' "no acting" to Berry's attempted acting. Maybe I'm weird- who knows?

Was Dina Meyer the redhead in that film? Diz? Her "death scene" acting was okay- not great, but okay. I did hate Richards in that film- but then again, I was hoping that everything would die in a big apocalyptic blast at the end of that one.....

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#14 Post by AndyDursin »

mkaroly wrote:
AndyDursin wrote:
Q-BanditZ wrote:Denise Richards is a joke. She couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.
Let's not forget she was so bad even in STARSHIP TROOPERS that they had to remove several of her "romantic" scenes.

And even Dina Meyer blew her away in that movie......sigh, poor Dina....never could follow up the success of that performance! She WAS good in that one! :D
I know I was rough on Hallie Berry, but I'll still take Richards' "no acting" to Berry's attempted acting. Maybe I'm weird- who knows?

Was Dina Meyer the redhead in that film? Diz? Her "death scene" acting was okay- not great, but okay. I did hate Richards in that film- but then again, I was hoping that everything would die in a big apocalyptic blast at the end of that one.....
Halle DID win an Oscar for MONSTERS BALL, and I do think she's given solid performances -- typically in non-genre fare. I know you're not a fan Michael but I do believe you're in the minority if you think Denise Richards is a better actress my friend :)

Yes that was Dina. Death sequence aside, her shower scene was extraordinary however ;) I also found her very appealing in that movie -- much more than Richards, who came off like a cold fish.

mkaroly
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#15 Post by mkaroly »

[quote="AndyDursin
Yes that was Dina. Death sequence aside, her shower scene was extraordinary however ;) I also found her very appealing in that movie -- much more than Richards, who came off like a cold fish.[/quote]

I think Richards' character was supposed to be cold fish (but not THAT cold)- Dina is very attractive- that's for sure!!

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