My Crime Beat Column: An Open Letter To Barbara Broccoli, Producer of the James Bond Films - Remake 'Moonraker' & Hire Aidan Turner As Bond

Dear Barbara Broccoli,

Your late father, Albert R. Broccoli, was a great man and film maker. He gave the world a wonderful cinematic portrayal of Ian Fleming's iconic character, James Bond. His films have entertained millions around the world for many years. And you and your brother have continued that fine tradition.

I became a Bond fan when I saw the first Bond film, Dr. No, in 1963 when I was a young boy growing up in South Philadelphia. The early Bond films led me to Fleming's novels and I've been a Fleming aficionado ever since. I've reviewed Bond novels and written extensively about Ian Fleming and James Bond.

With press reports that actor Daniel Craig is giving up the Bond role, may I make three suggestions regarding the next Bond film?

First, hire Aidan Turner for the role of James Bond.

If you reread the novels, you'll note that Turner fits the physical description of Bond that Fleming gives the character.

Having watched And Then There Were None, I and many others saw Turner play a Bond-like role. The cool, tough and tuxedo-clad character was almost an audition for James Bond. And Turner nailed it, in my view.      

Second, remake Fleming's Moonraker.

Moonraker was one of the worst Bond movies. Although it was a profitable, well-made, amusing and light-hearted film starring an amusing and light-hearted Roger Moore as Bond, it was not a true James Bond thriller in my view.

A new Moonraker film should be more faithful to Fleming's great thriller than the 1979 film, although I understand that you would want the film to be set in contemporary times.

Sir Hugo Drax, a rich, crooked megalomaniac with wild hair, is a villain for our times.

And as there are still some World War II veterans alive these days, you could portray the villain as an elderly man and keep intact the WWII background Fleming gave the character (which I won't divulge here and spoil the plot).

I'd like to see Drax portrayed on the screen with the hair style, huge mustache, scarred face and circus ringmaster look that Fleming described in the novel.

Drax, if you recall, was a wealthy Englishman who wanted to "give back" to the United Kingdom by personally financing a rocket - the "Moonraker" - that would make the Brits equal to the superpowers.

The country loved the guy. His rags to riches story was dramatic and inspiring.

But there is a problem, M tells Bond.

Drax cheats at cards.

Looking to avoid a scandal and curious to know what this Drax fellow was all about, M assigns Bond to investigate him.

And the trouble begins.

Lastly, the next film should go back to portraying Bond as the British government's "blunt instrument" who goes on assignment, meets girls, eats and drinks well, kills guys, and saves the world.

I'd like to get past the back stories of Bond's life in recent films and just move on with the action, characters and the thrilling plot from Ian Fleming's Moonraker novel.

I hope my suggestions are helpful.

Regards,

Paul Davis
www.pauldavisoncrime.com

Note: You can read two earlier Crime Beat columns on Ian Fleming and James Bond and my Counterterrorism magazine piece on Fleming's WWII service via the below links:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/11/my-crime-beat-column-happy-anniversary.html

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/06/casino-royale-revisited-film-that.html

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2011/11/look-back-at-30-assault-unit-british.html

Welcome Us Back, Mr. Bond: Producers Announce That 'SPECTRE' Will Be The Name Of The Upcoming James Bond Film.

MI6, the James Bond web site, not the British intelligence service, offers a look at the Bond film producers' press release regarding the upcoming James Bond film. The title of the film will be called SPECTRE.

SPECTRE, the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, is the international criminal organization created by Ian Fleming in his James Bond novel Thunderball. The organization was run by the mad, evil genius Ernst Stravo Blofeld, who appeared in the next two Fleming thrillers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice. SPECTRE was the principal villain in the early Bond films.   

PRESS RELEASE: James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007.

SPECTRE begins principal photography on Monday, December 8, and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.

Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond's sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

You can read the rest of the press release via the below link:

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/bond-24-spectre-title-announcement

You can also read Ryan Smith's piece in the Daily Mail and watch videos of the Bond film announcement via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2860541/Daniel-Craig-set-joined-star-studded-cast-anticipated-James-Bond-movie-Spectre-sleek-new-Aston-Martin-unveiled.html

And you can read my Crime Beat column on the Ian Fleming and the James Bond phenomenon via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/06/casino-royale-revisited-film-that.html

Yahoo Movies: 25 Things We Learned About 'Skyfall' And The Future Of James Bond

Orlando Parfitt at Yahoo! Movies offers a piece on the film Skyfall and the future of the James Bond films.

To mark the DVD release of ‘Skyfall’ (out now), Yahoo! Movies was invited to travel from London to Edinburgh aboard the magnificent 'Skyfall' train.

When we weren’t marvelling at the ‘Skyfall’ seat covers, we chatted to producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, and star Naomie Harris.

With the film now done and dusted at cinemas (it did okay), we felt safe to discuss why they killed off a main character and introduced some new (actually old) ones. We also got some candid answers on Oscar and BAFTA snubs, as well as tantalising tidbits on the future of the franchise.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/25-things-we-learnt-about-the-origins-of-skyfall-and-the-future-of-bond--132513731.html 

Film Producer Barbara Broccoli On New James Bond Film and Daniel Craig As Bond

Liz Haggard at the British newspaper the Evening Standard talks to film producer Barbara Broccoli about the new James Bond film Skyfall and her leading man, Daniel Craig, who portrays Ian Fleming's iconic character, Bond, James Bond.

As with The Dark Knight Rises, with its scenes of bloated bankers and a nascent Occupy movement, she believes Skyfall has a lot to say about contemporary evil.

“It’s extraordinary Ian Fleming wrote the books 60 years ago. It feels like we’re in the right groove now for what he had to say about how real villainy is coming from individuals — not just political states, but individuals who are wielding all sorts of treacherous plans on the earth.”

Of course Broccoli was instrumental in casting Craig in the first place. “One of the things about Daniel is he’s let us into Bond’s inner life, we see and feel him from a much more intimate place. In the books you get a look into his inner conflicts and fears and anxieties, but it’s very hard to put that on the screen without making him look neurotic as a leading man. A lot of the books focus on accidie — this revulsion he had for his profession; it’s not easy killing people. He fell completely in love with Vesper and she betrayed him, so he realises, from that point, he can never be susceptible to a relationship again.”

That loneliness fuels Bond’s hedonism. “He has this voracious appetite for life; he’s going to drink and eat and have sex because he doesn’t know in the next moment if he’s going to be killed. The black humour is his way of dealing with death, he laughs in its face.”

You can read the rest of the piece and watch the film's video trailer via the below link:

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/barbara-broccoli-i-thought-james-bond-was-a-real-person-until-i-was-seven-8052861.html?origin=internalSearch