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Supposed leaks about Bond 23's storyline have been
sparked by rumours of Rachel Weisz's connection to
Sam Mendes... |
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Bond 23 - Rachel Weisz Sparks Rumours
4th April 2010
Despite MGM's dire financial
situation and uncertain future holding up green-lights on new
projects,
several reports have indicated that EON Productions are
busy working on early pre-production of Bond
23, with a first draft script completed by Neal Purvis,
Robert Wade and Peter Morgan. Sam Mendes is understood
to be active on the project as a 'consultant', rather than
director, to avoid any complications with ownership changes
at MGM.
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British actress Rachel Weisz was first
linked to the upcoming
James Bond film, the 23rd in the official series,
last week when Cinema Blend reported that she was being
considered for a major role.
But according to the source,
she would not take on the traditional Bond Girl part,
rather the head of the mysterious organization 'Quantum'
that have been behind the plots in both of Daniel Craig's
two outings as 007 so far.
"Weisz is actually friends with Daniel
Craig (in fact they’re working together on the
upcoming movie Dream House) and in the past she had a personal
relationship with would-be Bond 23 director Sam Mendes."
"She
has before expressed real interest in doing a Bond movie
with Craig. So why not give her something substantive
in the movie, something that won’t reduce her to
being 007’s latest conquest? Why not let her play
the villain? Our source says that’s exactly what
they’re discussing behind the scenes of Bond 23.
In fact, they’re considering Weisz to play the head
of Quantum." |
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The story was quickly cast off as unlikely by
many long time fans cynical of internet rumours,
but an interesting development took place a couple of days later
that added to the intrigue. An established Rachel Weisz blog
ran more details behind the rumour, including some basic detail
about the film's plot.
The blog operated by Josh Mason, a 'long time
friend and fan' of Rachel, passed on more details about the story. "The
working title is The Property of a Lady. Some elements of the
original
story are
used
for the screenplay - among other things the name Maria Freudenstein
for the villainous role - and the auction (Fleming wrote the
story for Sotherby's magazine The Ivory Hammer). This auction
will be
seen in the pre-title sequence. It is a clandestine international
auction that takes place during a conference in the United Nations
headquarters in New York - a sequence similar to the opera scene
in Quantum of Solace."
"They turn the usual Bond story upside
down. Typically
007 chases a megalomaniac and restrains him from taking over
world domination in the end. This
time Bond
has to learn just in the beginning that Quantum already has world
domination. That also defines the title: The property
of this lady is the whole world. And of course Quantum does it's
best to go to war against Bond and MI6, with disturbing means. "They
really shock the audience this time", the source said. This
film will be the swan song for Judi Dench's
M. One
of the screenplay's topics is supposed to be genetic engineering
and
the swine flu."
Shortly after the 'leak' was posted,
a supposed legal threat was made to remove the information. The
long-running blog has now been removed and the author's profile
deleted.
Meanwhile, the British press have reported that
would-be Bond 23 director Sam Mendes has caused some post-split
ripples with Kate Winslet over his contact with ex-girlfriend
Weisz. The Daily Mail reported yesterday, "As soon as Kate
and Sam split,
he was
on the phone asking Rachel if she
was interested in doing [Bond 23]. Rachel has always
been persona non grata in the Winslet-Mendes household, and Kate
went
ballistic
when she heard that Sam wanted
to hire her. Sam has wanted to work with Rachel for ages, but
Kate would not allow it. Although they ran in the same Hollywood
circles, they avoided each other."
Daniel Craig is currently enjoying a break in New York, after
completing filling on "Dream House" in Oakville, Ontario
in Canada with his co-star... Rachel Weisz.
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In recent months, Daniel Craig has said
he expects filming
to start in late 2010, indicating a tentative release
window of late 2011. Dame Judi Dench has been told to hold
her diary for early 2011 to film her scenes as MI6 chief
M.
Bond 23 is being written by regular Bond
duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, and "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon" scribe
Peter Morgan. Daniel Craig will play 007 for the third time,
with Dame Judi Dench returning as MI6 chief 'M'. David Arnold
will compose the score for his sixth 007 movie. Producers
Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have yet to confirm
a director, although Sam Mendes is understood to be in a holding
pattern. |
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