Sometimes wishes really do come true in the movies. After March’s depressing (to me, at least) announcement that writer Peter Morgan was returning to the biopic well once more with a third take on Tony Blair, these were the exact words I wrote:
I’d love to see his evident grace and wit as a dramatist put to work on something loose and fictitious — perhaps even more genre-based.
Well, somebody somewhere listened to me (okay, probably not), and voilà — Morgan will be co-writing the 23rd film in the James Bond franchise. Collaborating with now-regular Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Morgan will essentially be taking Paul Haggis’s place as the prestige talented drafted in to class up the joint.
Some are excited about the move, seeing it as an upgrade of sorts. Seeing as I find Haggis (who did a perfectly respectable job on “Casino Royale”) and Morgan roughly equal in stature and skill, I can’t say I’m similarly moved — but then, the sheer dreariness of “Quantum of Solace” single-handedly sent Bond films back into the realm of things I don’t really care about, until shown otherwise. (Theme song excepted, of course — for some childhood-based reason, I’ll always care about the song, even after three straight busts.)
I digress. Anyway, the new film will apparently center around Afghanistan, so I guess you could speculate that Morgan will bring some political currency — but we all know the setting of any Bond film is almost always incidental. The Telegraph’s source suggests that the addition of Morgan is intended to reverse the widely perceived problem that “Solace” was “all action and no talk.” Oh, Morgan knows talk, all right.
Let’s just hope he can bring some wit into the bargain — for me, the last two Bond films were both stifled by an all-round humor deficiency. That was hardly surprising with Haggis on board, but maybe Morgan can bring a little dry British cheek to the enterprise. In the pantheon of unlikely Bond scribes, he’s no Roald Dahl, but he’ll do. And if this keeps his mind off writing “Tony Blair IV: The Brown Years,” then I’m all for it.
Comments
11 responses to “Peter Morgan to join Bond team”
This is great news. Didn’t you like Casino Royale? I thought it was a great slow-moving luxurious entertainment. But Quantum Of Solace was a head-ache inducing film.
I love what Craig is doing with the role, he deserves a better script than Quantum. But sheesh Afghanistan, I hope they come up with a good plot, or it could end up like Body Of Lies or Rendition. I hope they can get Kevin Macdonald for directing.
I did like “Casino Royale.” Probably not as much as most people did, but I thought it was a solid, beautifully crafted ride. I just miss the tongue-in-cheek bounce of vintage Bond — I don’t see why it couldn’t mesh with the new model.
I liked Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale quite a bit… Although I do agree with Guy that a little humor (at least a little dry British wit) would do fine with the new Bond movies.
Sounds like good news. Like most people I loved Casino Royale, but was a bit disappointed with Quantum. I don’t think it was a bad movie, just flawed and nowhere near as good as the first. I’m still gonna be very excited for the next film.
Danny Boyle is the next step.
Can’t see what would be in it for Boyle.
I read that Boyle was actually offered Bond 23 but declined saying that it was not the direction he wanted to take in his career now.
Its not like I want Boyle to do Bond 23 but there’s no reason for him to decline. Blockbusters don’t become untouchable after winning an Oscar. And gosh its not like Boyle is some great master or something, he’s just okay apart from Trainspotting and fluked out with his last film.
Perhaps, simply, the chance to do something different. After all, hasn’t Boyle been doing something different his entire career? This guy has put his oar into all kinds of genres.
I see your point, but Bond films allow precious little room for filmmaking personality. No director has ever put an individual stamp on one — it’s too much a producer-oriented franchise.
And Red_Wine: If you think “Shallow Grave” and “28 Days Later” are “just okay,” we’re on very different pages there.
Royale was great and Solace is underrated. Adding Morgan to the mix only upps the anticipation for me
Solace is indeed underrated. I thought it was a very intelligent film, but not really Bond. Then again, neither was QOS. Classic Bond simply ain’t compatible with the current trends and politics anymore, it’s become an antuiqity that had to be reivinted, and it has been so, very properly. Indeed the humor is lacking, but the classic humor simply won’t fit in today’s post-modern society.