"Skyfall" at 10 - 9 Nov, 2022

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I find the article interesting for 2 reasons:

  1. Mendes seems to indicate that the script for Spectre was a step down from Skyfall. You don’t say.

  2. The scrapping of the idea of Bond and Silva teaming up in the middle of SF because he felt Bond partnering with another alpha male wouldn’t work is interesting because it provides some insight as to why we didn’t get more of Felix Leiter, which I know many of us wish we had…

10 years though, huh? Tempus fugit…

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It’s also interesting to point out that Mendes brought in Logan for basically two scenes which Mendes had the idea for.

Also, finding out that this idea for Bond and Silva teaming up does not work is no surprise. What a waste of development time. And deciding that M‘s death is a major thematic idea for this film, so late in the game, also tells me that Mendes came to this project with no real vision. He seems to be one of those directors who take a lot of time wrestling with ideas presented to him, and then gradually finding his way through those.

Granted, he is a fine director. But for writers he must be a nightmare, demanding them to write drafts after drafts, with no clear throughline.

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I came away from the article with the opposite impression - that the death of M was a part of it it from the beginning…

“At a very early stage, there was a treatment — which was almost entirely ditched — but it ended with the death of M. And that was one of the things that hooked me in”

I’m becoming more and more convinced that you helped write Deadpool and came up with the idea of listing the writers as the “real heroes” in the credits.

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You’re right. Still, what I meant to say is that the idea of P&W to kill off M (not that surprising since Dench wanted to retire from that role) showed that Mendes did not come to the project with a clear idea by himself. He apparently was persuaded to make a Bond film (by Craig and probably a look at his accounting) and needed a lot of time to develop this idea further.

I do know directors who come to a project with lots of ideas and move quickly forward, with no torturing of the writer to just „try things out“ in dozens of drafts… before getting in a yes man writer they know.

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That is really the most accurate and funny takedown I deserve!

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But I am still a big fan of all of your commentary on here!

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I shuddered when you said that…

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