Posted in: Movies | Tagged: Blofeld, entertainment, james bond, sony, sonyleaks, spectre

When Blofeld Was A Woman In Spectre – Sony Leaks…

Wikileaks.org has posted the leaked Sony e-mails. At Bleeding Cool, we have been reading a few.

Once upon a time, the film was nicknamed Bond 24 or B24. It would later be called Spectre. But along the way it went through a number of changes,

In October 2013, Sony's Hannah Mingella was writing,

Here are my first thoughts. There's so much I love. Great locations and opportunities for signature action. Some strong twists and turns. The idea of a "last mission" feels like it's a good hook but hard to tell from the outline how this plays out from Bond's pov and where the emotional resolution lies (but that's all tied to the ending decision). A few minor notes below and then a bigger question about Blofeld's plan…

Opening – is it odd to have M in the field? I like it but does it fit the stature of his position?

Is this Bond's last mission? It's a great hook for the movie.

Love the old school book code. Love bringing Blofeld back.

Interesting idea to create tension between Moneypenny and Tanner. Old and new MI6.

Great idea to team Bond up with Charlotte King (female CIA agent) and to go undercover as husband and wife.

Love the idea of "smart blood" and "bio-espionage".

Always love a new Aston.

Love the setting of Rome and the "death mask ball"

Great twist when Callo turns the conversation back to Bond and then Charlotte turns on both of them.

Love the paranoia. A mole at MI6. Moneypenny under suspicion.

What sends Bond to Mr White?

Q helping Bond is great.

Parkour on skis is cool. As is Bond giving Charlotte a wound to her face further turning her into a cool Bond villain.

Love going from cold and snow to hot and exotic Tangier.

Love bringing all these threads together. Very satisfying.

Love "stop him… the man who killed the people we love".

How did Tanner add onto Q's "smart blood" without Q knowing? Can it be remotely accessed?

So here's the big question – what was Blofeld's big plan? Blowing up the Nato event and causing the blackout doesn't seem that much worse than prior villain plots. If we're pulling all the threads together and saying this was all part of a bigger play then we need to know what that was and how all those moments led to this… and if he was the villain behind the last three movies but we never knew that then I wonder how hard we have to work to get the audience to remember/rethink the past and attribute all their (and Bond's) animosity towards him. He has to be a serious threat in this movie – with a big enough plan for Bond to thwart – to help support his uber villain status.

Can't wait to hear how the showdown re: the ending plays out tomorrow!

With Sony's Doug Belgrad replying,

I agree with Hannah…a lot of big ideas that are exciting and fun and great opportunities for romance, action and plot reversals.

Here are a few thoughts as you discuss with Sam, John and those in the bubble:

Love the idea that their is a mole in MI-6 and it turns out to be Tanner.

The idea that Blofeld was involved with the plots and villains of each of the last 3 movies is interesting…right now it feels like a bit of a stretch.  John will have to pay careful attention to connecting the dots in a strong way for this to be truly convincing.

I'm just repeating what HM has said, but it's the area that probably needs to most attention:
The Blofeld reveal and who he turns out to be is underwhelming.  He feels like the African version of the bad South American General from QOS.  Well, maybe not as small potatoes as that, but not exactly the overlord who reigns over all these evildoers.  He's a little bit too willing to get his hands dirty, perhaps.  More significant, it's not quite clear to me what Blofeld's plan is and why it's so important to stop him now.  In addition to this, I have other unresolved questions, like who "outed" Blofeld in the first place and why.   Since the whole opening action bit leads to deciphering the book code (fantastic!) which yields, "Blofeld" it would be nice to get these answers.  Why did they have to go to so much trouble to deliver his name is such a complicated manner?

In the aftermath of the Rome car chase, Bond and Charlotte kill Callo's guards without provocation.  Why?  Didn't they initiate the confrontation?  Giving John the benefit of the doubt that he will make this clear and convincing in the script, but usually Bond kills in self-defense or on a specific "licensed" mission.  If necessary, Callo and Bond can have a one on one moment/conversation which doesn't require the body count.

Not quite sure, even by the end, why Charlotte is trying to kill Bond.  It gets awkward when Leiter tells Bond that she leads some CIA black ops team and a bit later Leiter is fighting side by side with James to kill someone from his own agency!  Although I like the potential and fun of Bond meeting his Black Widow match, it just doesn't seem believable yet.  It seems "au courant" to rip the CIA for being just as bad as the people they're out to stop and maybe that's the idea for Charlotte.  But I don't find the Charlotte behavior satisfyingly explained.

Finally, a lot of the character conflict for James is working out stuff from prior movies (doesn't that seem familiar?).  We should be sure that we know what this story is about for him.  Is it just about avenging the deaths of people from prior movies who were close to him?  That may not be satisfying enough in and of itself.

By March 2014, Barbara Brocolli, part of the group that own and control the Bond works, wrote,

We are sending over two copies of the script today for you and Amy. Sam and John have agreed to this under duress as we have all discussed major changes and given notes which we have attached ..please bear in mind that the opening seq is going to be completely rewritten as we don't think that it works ..please do not circulate this draft as it is not

Sony exec Elizabeth Cantillon replied first, telling everyone,

You all have hard copy.  Turned in under duress by Sam & Logan who wanted to keep working but Brocs knew it was time.
Barbara sent their notes which are in script.  Their notes are really spot on and I wouldn't read them until after you've read script.
It's a good start but will need a considerable amount of work… As per usual…
MGM guys reading tonight.

Then to Barbara,

Was just sitting down to email you but can't get keyboard on iPad to work so forgive iPhone sloppiness.
In short yes it needs lots of work. First the good:
the idea that allies are being picked apart creating paranoia and suspicion is great but inconsistent throughout – trust no one, you're off the grid oh and here's your CIA partner who has a whole apparatus around her… Still it's a great theme and that villain exploits it and takes advantage is right idea. Modern.
Don't know if we need diamond mine thing though. Confusing with the new iteration. Also similar to Silvas lost city. Do love the tease of the cat if we can make it work. Also love wrapping her up to protect her from sun. Maybe don't need mine story for that though.
Love eyeball cam and that set piece.
Not sure what we get from moneypenny injury.
Tanner as traitor is good but not very well plotted and don't know what he's doing in hotel set piece but to turn out lights. That he feels discarded and makes a play to secure his future is also really good.
Charlotte makes no sense I'm afraid. Not enough to say she's American black ops. Security is now handled so much by corporations – Halliburton, Blackwater – maybe something to that?
Kaja too. Not working yet. And have no clue how she ends up in bridge. Don't think we need it even.
Third act, as you said, needs overhaul. Why does Blofeld need to go to London to make a phone call. And tracking location, keeping her on phone etc is sorta silly.
I don't know who bond is killing in opening and it disturbs me that he's just an assassin.  Without understanding the set up It's too similar to Skyfall too.  And it seems to inadvertently lead to the plot. Again, moneypenny wounding not sure.
And I leave this to you guys but the fuselage set piece strains credulity.
There is some wonderful dialogue though esp between Bond and Blofeld. And Like the repartee with Charlotte.
Like Q as hostage.  There's good writing in individual scenes it's just the plot isn't hanging together or building towards the 3rd act.
Maybe there's just too much going on?
Tanner traitor
MP hurt
Bond solo
Charlotte black ops traitor
Security council meetings
Dumping nuclear waste
Spectre
Blofeld arms trader diamond mines Africa
Plutonium
Kaja love story
Mr White
Felix
Maybe simplify…
Mixed bag not terrible
It's just about time to fix because you already know all this…
Happy Mothers Day to you!
Xxo

With Elizabeth telling others

its way worse than this now that ive read it ….the last draft was actually better…beside being not good its a sloppy mess

Indeed, lots of people wanted to chime in. MGM's Jonathan Glickman saying,

Blofeld as a woman is idiotic unless Meryl Streep does It. Doesn't even make sense in any world of reality – that's a tail wagging the dog here.

I love you so don't get neurotic —  i need to make sure we are all in sync here re creative notes, so let's please talk before sending anything specific – I need to hear from GB and Amy as well – that's why my email was so nonspecific – I think we may need to be firm re  some plotting so we don't remain on wild goose chase to get story right. We are five months behind as to when we were supposed to have a script.

The female Blofeld didn't last long. By July, Sony's Amy Pascal was asking

How is it ? I can't have any more surprises today

To Elizabeth's reply,

It's not that different. For all the drama if turning it in… it's built around the set pieces they've prepped and it's called Spectre… And a new guy is Blofeld.

Not sure how much different it will ever be. Now they have to write so we can at least try to make good scenes.

By Auust, Tabitha Shick of MGM had questions,

In advance of tomorrow's meeting, please see an overview of our conversation attached and included below. Per our conversation, I phrased all of the topics as questions. This document includes the broad strokes but please let me know if you want to expand it to our page notes too.

BOND

·         What is it about this mission that makes Bond decide that it's time to walk away in the end? Does this mission test his nerve and put him on edge? Given our theme is about surveillance and Bond already has suspicions of a mole, let's consider whether Bond wonders if SPECTRE is watching him too.

·         We previously discussed the idea that M suggests to Bond that he's going crazy and "cracking up." Can we consider adding that scene into the first act after the Mexico City sequence? This conversation would go a long way in helping establish Bond's paranoia and kick off his story.

SPECTRE

·         If C becoming the head of the NINE EYES is the equivalent to Osama Bin Ladin controlling the Five Eyes, how can we make C's impending leadership feel like an ultimate evil that has to be thwarted? As an idea, if SPECTRE is a secret agency comprised of the world's most reprehensible terrorists, perhaps we can reveal that the controlling heads of every foreign territory are these terrorists in disguise – all of whom comprise SPECTRE. To complete Blofeld's plan to control the world's security, perhaps the UK is the final seat and Blofeld intends to fill it with C. If we like this idea, the trajectory of the plot would become Bond uncovering these details and preventing C/Blofeld from taking power.

·         To this end, can SPECTRE be a smaller group comprised of very important individuals as opposed to a large mafia-type agency?

C

·         C's position within the British government is tricky to distinguish from M's position, so however possible, can we make it clearer what C's agenda is, and how this differs from M's and MI6's? It seems that M and C have a repetitive conversation about surveillance throughout the movie and it's not easy to understand their opposing viewpoints.

·         Since we have so many competing agendas and characters to follow, we wonder if it doesn't simplify things for us to reveal that C has been Blofeld in disguise. With that said, we also wonder whether this role couldn't be played by Christoph Waltz.

M

·         Can we give M more agency throughout the movie so that we are left wondering whether M is secretly a bad guy? We liked the idea from previous conversations that M's activities caused suspicion and while we don't want him to be Blofeld, if possible can we blur the lines a bit so that it's not clear whether he's a good guy or bad guy?

MADELINE

·         We love the reveal that Madeline killed a man when she was 12 and we wonder if we can make this a bigger part of her character. Can we consider that Madeline turned into a jaded and dark person after this incident and she's been with Blofeld essentially ever since? Further to this, can we consider that when she meets Bond, she pretends to be the shrinking dove, and she takes Bond to Blofeld on the pretense of wanting to avenge her father, but in a twist, she reveals her backstory and that she's been in league with Blofeld the whole time? If we make her the woman who feels equivalent to Bond, and who needs saving, Bond will have the opportunity to redeem himself by saving her in the way he could never save Vesper.

MISC

·         Considering that Tanner and Moneypenny play less active roles in this movie, do we need both? Tanner feels like the easiest to lose. Moneypenny exists merely to service Bond's requests so without adding page count, can we beef up her subplot so that it feels like she's playing a role equal to the what we've seen in previous movies?

·         Lucia and the SPECTRE Rome meeting feel a bit clunky. Can we tie Lucia to this meeting more directly somehow? If we consider that SPECTRE is now a smaller group comprised of less than a dozen people, would it make more sense for Bond to use Lucia as a way to enter the meeting? Or perhaps she wears a bug while he watches from the shadows? To this end, can we substitute the man who crawls on the floor over broken glass for something more clever (if this is even still necessary)?

·         Since Blofeld's "God of Chaos" story gives us an introduction to the philosophical idea of what SPECTRE is can we expand his story so that it gives a clearer indication of how chaos is meant to benefit the bad guys? In other words, Blofeld's story simply tells us how the God of Chaos created chaos, but it does not tell us how the God benefited from it thus the story doesn't help us understand SPECTRE's ultimate goal and what's at stake.

·         Before C and M discuss the NINE EYES on page 53, can we establish what it is? Though a lot of people will draw the parallel between our fictional group to the real one, it feels necessary to set up which countries are in it and what its purpose is.

·         As Bond pieces together the information about SPECTRE, can we pick a scene where he finally connects all of the dots? Originally we wondered if it made the most sense for him to figure out SPECTRE in Mr. White's secret room at L'Americane, but if we make Blofeld's orchestration of the NINE EYES the big twist reveal, can we plot out what details Bond uncovers and what he thinks he's found so that the end truly feels like a twist?

·         It seems that Mr. White has been on SPECTRE's kill-list for many months, so what is the urgency to kill him now? If we beef up Madeline's backstory and tie her dark past more directly to her father, should we consider that Blofeld's reason for killing Mr. White connects to Madeline somehow?

And in October, Jonathan was a lot happier, at least with Barbara, saying,

Just finished. For what it's worth, I think first 100 pages are fantastic — it's fun, emotional and the major logic issues have been rectified.  And the relationship with Madeline is terrific.

You guys set me up for a let down on climax so I was not surprised.  The old MI 6 can and should work emotionally and as a great location  , but the current connection between Bond and Oberhauser feels a bit superficial and some logic issues – why would a governmental  intelligence agency be supported by private industry?  Also –  We've already witnessed many horrible acts of terrorism, the finale should be about the biggest one yet that allows SPECTRE to profit the most. They should need the combined resources of all the intelligence agencies to pull it off. Surely there is something more pressing than suppressing one document.  SPECTRE has taken over MI6, shouldn't the finale should be both about stopping Stockman in a way that let's Bond take it back?

I'm know you are already way ahead of me  on all of this and I am sure you all will  come up with a worthy conclusion to the superb first 100 pages.

And Elizabeth concurred,

i agree with jon
the first 100 or so pages are wonderful.  madeleine is now a real character worthy of bond.  the threads of the plot all link together nicely and the dialogue is crisp and fun.  the mafia meeting better with stockmann intro.  really really good.  it gets rough at the lair because i want to know what bond thinks he's walking into, want to know if anyone is concerned for Q.
stockmann's agenda in 3rd act to retrieve some remnant from the analogue world that he couldn't master even with his digital prowess is a good notion but can't be the only thing.  like jon said, he's created such mayhem and is so powerful this needs to be some sort of culmination of that since the plan was obviously in the works before bond and madeleine showed up.  i love that m, q, moneypenny, tanner and bond all work together to defeat the stockmann plan and all in the shadow of the broken mi6.  more can be done to make this satisfying.  bond has no family but he actually does and they care about a common thing – queen and country, and they care about one another.
i don't think the madeleine piece is working completely in this section and miss that he saves her from drowning and because he does, they have the possibility of a life together. (bookend with vesper obviously)
certain that you guys are ahead of us.  the script is really taking shape and can be a great next chapter for bond.  look forward to seeing you on monday.    xxo  ec

And to the rest of Sony, Elizabeth was equally positive,

sharing the first round of correspondence from jon and me with barbara and michael.we will work on more specific bullet points but wanted to respond to them quickly.doug, i'm glad you thought it was better.  it is especially in the part jez worked over.  finally seems like they've found the right tone and given bond and madeleine something to do.  now to work on villain and the mi6 subplot which is better but still flat and the 3rd act has good ideas but rough, rough, rough.  happy to talk through with you guys before meeting on monday.see you soon on the skype… my first skype ever!  not sure i should be admitting that…   ec

With Amy Pascal telling her,

Agree completely but wow I love the Bentley driving through the desert and the house and dressing sceneNot sure in flowing it all story wise once we get back to londonEither -/-I'm gonna read the last 30 again

Though Hannah Mingella had other issues,

This is by far the best draft I've read. I agree with all your notes and the general feeling that the first 100 pages are in great shape. That said, some of the questions I have about the third act may well have repercussions for the first couple of acts in requiring additional set-up and pay-offs. I'm coming to the conversation in the dark since I haven't been privy to all the creative conversations up until this point. Some of these thoughts may or may not line up with the intention and thinking driving the work being done so take what's useful….

 

L'Americain

 

This is the point in the script where I start to have a lot of questions. Can we make it more clear that Mr White doesn't give Bond the coordinates before he kills himself because he wants the insurance policy that Bond will go get Madeleine. Additionally it would help if Mr White has promised Bond that L'Americain will lead him to the head of Spectre. Without this set-up it seems like a huge leap for Bond and Madeleine to decide to follow these coordinates without knowing whether this is what Mr White intended them to find or what it will lead them to. They seem quite happy venturing into the unknown and equally happy getting into the car at the station when they arrive. Doesn't Bond want to go into this situation with more knowledge of what he's walking into? And why does he take Madeleine with him? Does he really believe she'll be safer by his side than secured in a safe house somewhere? Isn't she a liability? In general it would be helpful to understand more of his plan/thinking at this point?

 

Q

Bond doesn't seem particularly worried about what has happened to Q. Once Q has gone missing wouldn't he feel the need to tell Moneypenny and potentially send for help? Or does he believe that if he follows the clues he will find Q at these coordinates? Also, why doesn't M or Moneypenny realize Q has gone missing?

 

Stockmann

The revelation that Spectre is run by Stockmann – a man still thwarted by the feelings of jealousy he has harbored since he was a young boy desperate for the affection his father showed to Bond – makes Stockmann feel like a petulant kid and somewhat disturbingly links an incredible amount of death and destruction to Bond. Since the idea Bond shared a "father" with Stockmann is introduced so late in the story it doesn't carry the emotional weight desired. By making this a personal attack against Bond it somehow makes the overall threat and ambition of Spectre feel small. Did Stockmann only put all of this in place once Bond became a "00" as a way to taunt him? Was it really all in service of brotherly jealousy?

 

Furthermore, Stockmann is so clearly established as weak and sickly he doesn't seem to be a particularly dangerous threat. Given that, how can we make the final showdown more satisfying? For example, do we need to bring back the threat of the bomb on the boat going down the river? Some imminent threat Bond can thwart.

Finally, burning down Skyfall felt like some kind of emotional resolution for Bond in having to go home and confront his past in order to move on. This new piece of history feels somewhat revisionist. We have had no awareness that this chapter of his life existed or haunted him in any way so it feels like a cheat as opposed to an extension of an emotional journey begun in the last movie.

 

Nano-Blood

The idea of the nanotechnology injected into Bond's blood is very cool. However, it doesn't pay off in a particularly interesting way. It simply seems to help Q locate Bond. It seems like a missed opportunity for Bond to use the technology himself – for example, if he was to tag someone else with his blood could it work as a way to trace someone else… for example, Q or Madeleine or even Stockmann? Also, presumably M and Moneypenny know Q was ordered to give Bond this implant so why haven't they used it to trace him? Or C for that matter? The idea of how invasive but also powerful this is could be mined for more drama and inventiveness and betrayal. Also, when Bond goes to see Q at the end of the movie is he asking to have the nanotech deactivated? Or has he just gone to ask for the car? If he really is planning to go off the grid then this is a loose end.

 

Moneypenny

Much is made of Moneypenny helping Bond but it's hard to tell what she really contributes to the mission. Did Moneypenny find and remove the file Stockmann is looking for? How did she even know that was what she was looking for if she did? Given that she spends most of the movie at her desk and Q is now in the field it would be great if she could play a more significant role in supporting Bond.

Bond

If this is the movie that resolves the last three films then the emotional significance of that idea for Bond seems only lightly served at best. He finds the Vesper tape but never watches it. He appears to fall in love again for the first time since Vesper but there's no real emotional vulnerability there – why this girl? Why now? When he leaves with her at the end of the movie and throws his gun in the river has he gone for good or is this just a well earned vacation as is so often the ending of a Bond film. Does he feel some sense of completion that he finished the last mission M/Judy left for him? It's hard to know what significance any of these final gestures carry.

While Amy Pascal emails notes to herself, so no need to turn off the caps lock.

BOND SAVES MADELINE
Q GETS TO HIS HOTEL ROOM AND IS APPREHENDED
THEY GO TO A BAR AND THEN HIS ROOM AND SEE THAT Q ISNT THERE

DIDNT BOND KNOW THE ORGANIZATION MEETING HE WAS AT WAS \SPECTRE
WHY DID THEY AKE Q
WHY DID Q OCME TO AUSTRIABOND CALLS
MONEYPENNY AND SHE IS INTERESTED BY M
BOND ASKS ABOUT LAMERICAN
M FIRES AND REHIRES MONEYPENNY
SHE TELLS M THAT TBOND THINKS THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THE ATTACKS IS CALED SPECTRE
IN TANGIERS THEY GO TO THE HOTEL AND FND THE SECRET STASH
SHE FALLLS ASLEEP
BOARDED UP ROOM ANS STASH
FINDS FPHOTO OF HANS AND VESPERA ND MAP OF THE HOUSE IN HTE DESERT

WHY DOES HE THINK WHITE WAS GOING HTERE TO KILLS BLOFELD IT NEVERSA YSAS THAT TND THEY

MONEY PENNY FINDS A PHOTOT OF THE PLATOON LES SPECTRES DE PIERRE STANDING BEFORE A MRURALOF THE OCTUAPUS AND THE WORLD

THEY BOARD AN OLD TRAIN HINX IS THERE HE GIVES HER A GUN
M MOVES TO THE FORGIGN OFFICE
C TELLS THEM SA CAME ABORD AND VOTED HIM BOSS AND HE WIL ABSORB MI6 OPERATIONS
TEHY HAVE A SEXY DINNER
FIGHT IN THE DINING CAR WTIH HINX
THEY HAVE SEX

MONEY PENNY TELLS M THE NAME OF THE OTHER MAN ALIVE IN THE PHOTO

BENTLEY PICKS THEM UP AND BRINGS THEM TO THE HOUSE INT HE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT
BOTH ROOMS AND CLOTHERS
TEHY MEET HIM FOR DINNER
SHOWS THEM HIS OPERTATIONS CENTER WHERE ALL THE CHAOS OF HTE WORLD IS
SHOWN

THEY TAKE BOND TO A SOLAR FURNACE
IS HE SCARED OF A DOCUMENT THAT WOULD BE RELASED A PASSPORT WITH HIS FINGERPROINTS SHOWING THAT HE URDERED HIS FATHER
WHY DOES HE SAY ALL HTE PEOPLE WERE WORKING FOR HIM
Q IN CELL NEXT TO BOND WHY DID THEY BRING HIM THERE TO THE DESERT FROMT HE ALPS
HE WATCH EXPLODES AND THEY ESCAPE

BACK IN LONDON IRMA AMDELINE ET ALL ARRIVE AT TGHE GALA EECEPTION BUT GO TO THE FIND THE DOCUMENT BOND SAID WAS GOING TO BE RELEASED

DOESNT MAKE SENS ETHAT HE WANT TO GO LOOK FOR THE DOCUEMTN

M LEAVES AND IS PICKED UP BY BOD
TANNER CALLS
BOND SAYS TELL HIM YOU WILL MEET HIM A T Q BRANCH
THEY ARE TRYING TO BREAK INTOT THE NEW SECURITY BUILDING
ITS IN THE FARADAY CAGE RIGHT UNDER THEIR NOSES
M IS SUPPOSE TO GET Q INTO THE VORTEX AND IRMA REALIZES TEHY HAVE THE DOCUMENT
M ARIVES AT GALA
BOND COMES TO SAVE MADELINE

Actually, on October 13th, she doesn't feel a need to turn that off, when talking to others,

YOU GUYS HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB ON THIS DRAFT.  THERE ARE SO MANY MEMORABLE CLASSIC SCENES…."STOCKMANN'S"  INTRODUCTIONSWATHED IN BANDAGES CONNECTED TO A DRIP…CHOOSING SCARRIA'S REPLACEMENT ALL THE WHILE KNOWING BOND IS THERE WATCHING, THE OLD BENTLYPICKING UP MADELINE AND BOND IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, THE SCENE WHERE BOND AND MADELINE MEET AND THEN THE SCENE ON THE TRAIN…SO GREATTHE FIRST SCENE WHERE M CHEWS OUT BOND AND ALL OF MI6 IS LISTENING…I COULD GO ON AND ON. BRAVO TO YOU GUYS
I KNOW YOUR MEETING IN THE MORNING AND THERE WERE A FEW THINGS I THOUGHT ID MENTION. IM PRETTY SURE WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AND YOU AREALL MORE THAN AWARE THERE ARE A FEW ISSUES LEFT TO TACKLE CREATIVELY.  SO WHAT FOLLOWS ARE SOME GENERAL THOUGHTS ALTHOUGH IM SURE YOU GUYS WILL GET INTO ALL OF THIS AND MORE
I GUESS THE NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO MAKE SURE WE SERVE BONDS STORY…SO THAT IF HE REALLY WALKS AWAY AT THE END OF THE MOVIE THROWS HIS GUN AWAY INT HE RIVER AND DRIVES OFF INTO THE DISTANCE WE FEEL WE HAVE EARNED IT.  PRESUMABLY WHEN MONEYPENNY SAYS TO HIM GET A LIFE THAT IS WHAT ON SOME LEVEL THE MOVIE IS ABOUT. NOW THAT HE HAS GOTTEN  RID OF HIS MAIN ENEMY ….THE ONE WHO IS BEHIND THE VILLAINOUS PLOT OF THE THREE PRIOR MOVIES HE IS FREE TO MOVE ON.  THE LINKS BETWEEN LE CHEIFFE AND GREEN AND SILVA AND M'S DEATH AND VESPERS DEATH ALL BEING TIED TO A LITTLE BOY WHO GREW UP HATING BOND BECAUSE HE BELIEVED HIS OWN FATHER PREFERRED JAMES TO HIMSELF IS A CHALLENGE WORTH FIGHTING FOR BUT WE ARENT QUITE THERE YET.  ITS A FANTASTIC IDEA TO TIE HANNS OBERHAUSER MURDER  INTO THE BLOFELD LEGEND…BUT IT DOESNT 100 PERCENT WORK YET.  EMOTIONALLY THE IDEA THAT FRANZ FELTHE HAD NO LIFE AND IT WAS JAMES FAULT SO HE SPENDS THE REST OF HIS LIFE MAKING SURE JAMES  ALSO HAD NO REAL LIFE  IS REALLY PROMISING BUT WE HAVE TO REALLY BELIEVE IT AN DBE ABLE TO CONNECT THE DOTS TO THE OTHER MOVIES.
WE ALSO DONT WANT TO UNDERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECTRE ORGANIZATION WITH HIS DESIRE TO DESTROY BONDS LIFE. THEY HAVE TO BE ONE AND THE SAME BUT WE DONT WANT TO HAVE HIS PERSONAL ATTACK AGAINST BOND SOMEHOW MAKE THE OVERALL THREAT OF AND AMBITION OF SPECTRE FEEL SMALL. DID WEH ONLY PUT ALL OF THIS IN PLACAE ONCEBOND BECAME AN 00  AS A WAY TO TAUNT HIM.  HIS DESIRE FOR ULTIMATE POWER PERHAPS GREW OUT OF HIS CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES BUT HIS AMBITION HAS TO BE FOR MORE THAN GETTING EVEN WITH BOND
THE FIRST 100 PAGES OF THE SCRIPT MOVE LIKE LIGHTENING AND ARE INCREDIBLY EXCITING  BUT WHEN YOU GET TO THE IDEA THAT ITS ALL ABOUT A DOCUMENT ….A PASSPORT WITH HIS FINGERPRINTS ON IT …FRANZ OBERHAUSER WHOIS WANTED FOR MURDERING HIS FATHER….IT FEELS TO SMALL… WE NEED SOMETHING THAT BOND STOPS FROM HAPPENING THAT IS IS BIGGER THAN WHAT HAS COME BEFORE IT….IT CANT BE ABOUT FINDING SOMETHING INT HE FILE IT HAS TO BE ABOUT SOMETHING HE IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH THAT BOND CAN THWART.  WASNT THERE SOMETHING HE WAS  PLANNING BEFORE BOND AND MADELINE  SHOWED UP IN THE STORY
THE SMART BLOOD STORY FEELS LIKE A MISSED OPPERTUNITY. ITS SUCH A GREAT IDEA THAT MI6 CAN TRACK BONDS WHEREABOUTS, HIS EMOTIONAL STATES, HIS STRESS LEVEL HIS ALCOHOL  INTAKE…ITS SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD DO MORE WITH IT THAN HAVE Q FIND HIM IN AUSTRIA AND REFUSE TO HELP FRANZ FIND BOND LATER IN THE STORY.  WE ALSO SET UP THIS IDEA THAT Q GIVES BOND 48 HOURS BEFORE HE STARTS TRACKING HIM AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD USE THAT DRAMATICALLY AS WELL
THE WAY YOU HAVE WEAVED IN ALL THE IMPORTANT CONTEMPORARY ISSUES ABOUT SURVEILLANCE(INSTALLATION THE CAMERAS IS GREAT)MAKE STHE WHOLE STROY REALLY RELEVANT .  BUT THERE IS ALOT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE CONFLICTS BETWEEN MI5 AND MI6 AND THE JIC AND GCHQ AND THE NINE EYE ORGANIZATION AND ITS A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE FOLLOWING…ARE WE TO BELIEVE THAT MI5 WANTS TO MERGE WIRH MI6 OR JUST GET RID OF THE 00 PROGRAM AND IS THAT REALISTIC AND WHAT ARE WE SUPOSE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE BUILDINGS…..I KNOW YOU EXPLAINED IT TO US IN THE LAST MEETING BUT I FIND MYSELF STILL TRYING TO EXPLAIN IT TO MYSELF AFTER READING THE SCRIPT
Q SEEMS TO GET A LITTLE LOST HERE.  HE SHOWS UP IN AUSTRIA TO TELL BOND HE MUST COME BACK TO LONDON WHICH SEEMS A BIT FARFETCHED AND THEN WHEN HE IS KIDNAPPED BOND SEEMS TO ALMOST FORGET ABOUT HIM UNTIL THEY MEET UP IN THE SOPLAR FURNACE JAIL INTHE DESERT….BY THE WAY WHY DO THEY KIDNAP Q  ? BECAUSE HE FIGURES OUT WHAT SPECTRE IS?
I HAVE A FEW PICKY NOTES LIKE BOND GOES ALL THE WAY TO ROME TO FIND OUT WHO THE PALE KING BUT ACTUALLY FINDS IT OUT FROM MONEY PENNY DOING RESEARCH BACK AT MI6. AND WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT BOND REALLY NEEDS MADELINE TO GO TANGIERS WITH HIM TO FIND L'AMERICAN AND WHY MR WHITE DOESNT TELL HIM WHAT IT IS HE IS LOOKING FOR.    ALSO WHY HAVE THE VESPER TAPE IS BOND IS NOT GONNA LOOK AT IT ….ARE WE THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE DYING TO KNOW WHATS ON IT……
BUT ALL IN ALL REALLY FANTASTIC GUYS….CANT WAIT TO TALK SOON

With Sam Mendes reassuring people,

Hi amyThanks for the notes. I agree with all. Just so you know, this was an incomplete draft, released before it was ready so that production could budget/schedule etc. Our work basically stopped half way through the desert scenes. So much of this is already done. Speak soonSam x

And Elizabeth saying,

good notes and all focused on the areas that need the most attention.we're going in…will report back…one thing that troubles me but maybe i'm the only one… in the 3rd act, bond is helped by his whole mi6 crew, including new m… he's not really rogue ever in the story because he's got loyalty and support from q and mp… if the theme is family, bond has one in this story… he may have lost mum but the others rally on is behalf… then he chucks it all… chucks the family… am i overthinking?

Maybe making mi5 ok for them. Restoring the 00. It needs to be clear tho that he leaves them this gift.

Hannah Mingella replying,

I don't think you're overthinking it – Q, M and Moneypenny take great personal and professional risk in order to help Bond in this movie. He needs to acknowledge that fact even if he ends up leaving…

And Elizabeth rolling up her sleeves and getting dirty,

ow's the view?? mexico good. maybe we'll get more money.

pg. 12: better with m and c – biggest shakeup in british intelligence – but the privatizing of the mi5 facility is still wonky

pg. 34: what do we see of blofeld in the rome meeting?

pg. 45: C's agenda at the summit better more clear

pg. 51: mr white scene is way too long, way too expositional

pg. 55: scenes with M & C after summit are very good and synthesize the theme of the movie

pg. 79: good scene with Bond & Q – he knew me – the tentacles of the octopus of spectre extended to knowing that bond was at the rome meeting
do we ever seen that iconography again in the movie? it's in the opening scene and it's the way into the meeting but is it a motif?

it's good that bond gets the coordinates and knows he's going to kill the bad guy. he must know that it's the leader from the rome meeting. has he put together all the various photographs? does he have a suspicion?

pg. 104: love that it's blofeld who throws vesper up in his face rather than using the tape to remind us of her

pg. 106: the BLUFFING idea only gets introduced in the scene with blofeld. it seems like a new idea and probably needs some sort of weaving in earlier in the script
this scene is also way too long and expositional – he was insane and killed a doctor and escaped a mental institution and joined the legion, he was a sickly kid who resented the orphan, he murdered his father, he played poker with hazelnuts – it's too many ideas in one character's scene

pg. 110: draw attention to the absurdity of one file, one piece of paper that eluded blofeld and can trip him up – if we're going to use that – we must tie it into the theme of technology and make it work for us – otherwise it's just dopey

pg. 114: this begins the 3rd act – cuttiing between mi6, the new facility, q's lab

if blofeld is on a quest to find the piece of paper it makes no sense that he sends irma to the file cabinet. bond said he was going to release the information if mad was killed so why would it be sitting in a file?? instead he maybe should be going after MP (i know this undoes the architecture). once he sends irma – giving her 5 minutes! – why does he just give up?

its' awesome that m, q, tanner and mp work together to bring down C and expose blofeld but the "meanwhile" action for bond is simply fighting henchmen in many overblown and familiar sequences – helicopter, elevator shaft, netting. he's trying to save the girl but there must be a more dynamic set piece to come up with that doesn't involve myriad henchmen and irma while BLOFELD is in another location.
that's why maybe mp needs to be involved. the piece of paper ends up being nothing since they ultimately turn the technology on C and blofeld

and the killing of blofeld with a final shot to the head? i dont' know. seems brutal even for bond.

doesn't seem like gun in the river is anything now. maybe that's ok. it certainly doesn't read like he's hanging it up

What makes it through to the finished version, of course, is anyone's guess… we're not running the scripts here, though I'm sure other folk will. Just thought you might enjoy a little of the journey….

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