It needed to be delayed until after the writers strike had ended. Releasing in 2009 would have done t wonders.
I really donāt think so. More time is just more time to overthink. Even if Foster afterwards said that editing had not enough time it was all PR bull. They wanted to edit it this way. And every editor would tell you they can edit any sequence in a short amount of time - unless people step in and rethink everything again and again.
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On behalf of editors, thanks for the faith. But I have to say that some rushes take far longer than others. The more accurate title for an Editor is all too often Damage Controller. And of course the worse the rushes the more proliferous the notes that follow.
Iām guessing that QoSā writing-as-they-shoot scenario due to the strike meant there were plenty of half baked rushes that needed a little damage control.
Too much time to write a movie is probably a bad thing, but not enough time is no better and by all accounts the strike cut their time short.
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Agreed, but I donāt think that the professionals involved in QOS delivered rushes that had to be saved.
EON knew what Foster and his team were after, and the dreaded āBourneā-comparison was not something that happened because they were rushed. It was intended. And for my personal taste, it still holds up as an interesting visual experiment that indeed differs from āBourneā in having an own rhythm and not the hectic, jerky, only impressionistic quality that seems to be GreengrassĀ“ only option.
Scriptwise, QOS did not suffer from the writersĀ“ strike, IMO. It suffered from the pressure EON put themselves under after they had managed to get an Oscar writer polish CR. Now they thought Haggis was the important ingredient for a respectable Bond film - and then Haggis delivered a weird draft with Bond and Vesper having a child. And then Forster demanded another complete rewrite. That makes three different perspectives on one script, shortly before the strike happened. IMO that was a clear producersĀ“ mistake. They should have decided on a story. And when Haggis proposed his take they should have said no. The same goes for Forster.
More control of a director will lead to smoother productions.
I know there is this mentality trying to push the myth of āa difficult set will produce a better filmā. But that is just not true, only trying to put lipstick on a pig. From my experience the less trouble a film had the better it came out.
That QOS turned out to be still a good film is just proof for EONĀ“s professionalism which even allows for a problematic production. But I guess they would love to have less hassles. Maybe thatās why they decided to part ways with Boyle.
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When I re-watched it recently I found the dialogue that jarred most was Judi Denchās. It seemed a bit false for her character, like pronouncement rather than conversation.
The scenes that really work are amongst the best in the franchise, ( Opera scene is one that springs to mind ) which Iām not sure would have been improved by extra time.
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I think much of the Bourne inspired stuff works, itās just the major set pieces that came unstuck.
Indeed! But itās different for different filmmakers. Some thrive in tranquility, such as Eastwood, while others on tension, such as Peckinpah and Friedkin (firing a shotgun behind Ellen Burstyn to get the shock-response he wanted). And without the absolute madness of the Apocalypse Now shoot (see the fabulous Heart of Darkness doc) would we have gotten one of the greatest movies ever made?
Different strokes for different folks. But maybe itās the the best filmmakers who know how to prepare for and cultivate the environment they need for individual scenes, rather than a one size - one approach fits all. Kubrick was a stickler for detail and process, yet he threw that to the wind to let Sellers improvise at will on the Strangelove shoot.
Sorry to go off topic slightly, but director MO is a fascinating arena.
Back on topicā¦
Personally, for all the reasons stated above, I like the director to own the story, rather than the producers hand them one. For me it makes a better movie, but itās a more complex way of working in that preĀ£production will take longer to reach something everyoneās happy with. Given that time and a little luck the results are worth the wait (imho).
But perhaps some of the lessor scenes couldāve met that oneās high bar.
Perhaps , but the lesser scenes problems, were imo , down to script, not execution. So a dialogue āpolishā ( is that what itās called ) prior to filming, which couldnāt happen because of the writers strike, had they waited, perhaps the visceral energy of the film would have been lost.
For me the visceral energy is hampered by a vague, hopscotch plot, which the dialogue and action need to exposit. Too often bemusement at these lapses pulls one out of the action and mis en scene making the visceral merely stuff moving.
As for the major set pieces āvisceralā is the best compromise an editor has when the geography isnāt covered sufficiently.
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See; From Russia With Love
The weirdest being her strange heel-turn in a matter of about 15 seconds when Bond subdues an entire elevator of guards and insists on continuing his mission. If she was just going to defy her orders and trust him anyway, then why all the theatrics? That was something that could have changed.
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I thought it was Vesperās child that Bond finds out about. Or do I have my facts crossed?
If Danny Boyle really wanted to kill Bond this title is one giant middle finger to him, thatās fo sho
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Yes exactly that , very underdeveloped
I actually had the same thought yesterday.
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Mind you, up to now nobody has any proof of this. It was merely a rumour played by the tabloids in their ongoing campaign and attributed to both Boyle and Eon - meaning here Broccoli and Craig - depending on who was their whipping boy of the day. For all we know it could have been made up by a so-called journalist or just overheard at the pub.
I really hope that Boyle elaborates on his version of the film one day - preferably not too long after NTTD is released.
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I havenāt much hope; most likely all sides are kept in check by non-disclosure agreements. We may only learn more once they - Boyle, Broccoli, Craig, whoever else - publish their memoirs.
Not going to happen. Bridge burning publicly with ANYONE is a very bad idea when you are in a freelance profession for one simple reason - would you hire someone whoāll bad mouth you if you disagree?
youāre both quite right