Robert Wade Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If anything can make you forget the disappointment of Quantum of Solace, it's the news that James Bond 23 has taken the first big steps into production. No, that's not casting Bond girls or plotting explosions, but writing the script. Not surprisingly, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have looked again to the cream of Britain's film crop and hired a man who's gotten some attention at the Oscars lately: Peter Morgan. Few of his scripts have gone wrong (The Other Boleyn Girl is one mark on an otherwise impeccable record .. and even then, it's not that bad) and he'll definitely lend a lot of gravitas to the project. A lot.

Morgan won't be penning 23 solo, however. He's got some old hands in
Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (the pens behind both Quantum and Casino Royale), who are returning to the franchise ... and well, so long Paul Haggis. I guess he's taking the fall for Quantum.

So, now to find that new director. Rumors swirled that Danny Boyle had been offered the job, but that was quickly shot down by Boyle in an e-mail to EW. While it's always possible he could duck in once the script is done, we need to look to the rest of the United Kingdom ... and possibly to Morgan himself, who is about to make his directorial debut with The Special Relationship.

I know that Eva Green should play Barbarella. You know that Eva Green should play Barbarella. Now our dream might be one small step closer to reality. Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who vaulted to the A-list with the runaway success of Casino Royale, have dropped two new pieces of news -- they've finished the script for their next film, 'Bond 22,' and they've been hired to write ... Barbarella! The hiring of Purvis and Wade for Barbarella is mentioned in an announcement to the trades that Dino De Laurentiis has finished sewing up the rights to the remake and is ready to move forward with the project. Another component to the deal is that the French comic series that inspired the original Barbarella will be reissued in conjunction with this new film.

Now here comes the less-than-exciting part. In making the announcement, the producers saw fit to point out that the new Barbarella will be totally different from the original -- instead of being a "kittenish sexpot," the new Barb will be a "free, modern gal who survives in a futuristic world through her intelligence, survival skills and sexuality." Um, can we take a vote on that? I can't be the only person who is bone-tired of the 'ass-kicking female' era and wants desperately to return to the 'kittenish sexpot' era. Still, I'm holding out hope. I have faith in Dino, so to sum up, here is what he wants you to know about the movie -- try to imagine it being said in that Dino accent: "Barbarella is the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine: smart, strong, funny and sexy. I'm excited to reintroduce Barbarella to a new generation of moviegoers."

Well folks, you can chalk this one up as today's most bizarre rumor: According to the James Bond-related website MI6, writer-director Richard Curtis is now writing the screenplay for Bond 22. Not only that, but they also claim regular Bond scribes, Neil Purvis and Robert Wade, have been dropped after punching out scripts for The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and, most recently, an early draft of Casino Royale.

Add to that the recent news of director Richard Michell quitting Bond 22 over "creative differences", and it appears something is not quite right in 007 land. Out of all the names to circle the latest Bond film (which is due to be released on May 2, 2008), Richard Curtis is definitely the most, um, interesting. Here we have a guy that's made a name for himself off a slew of comedies (Bean, The Black Adder) and romantic comedies (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones' Diary, Love Actually) -- is it stupid of me to think Bond 22 is a strange project for him to take on?

Assuming this information is correct (which, of course, is a big assumption), does this mean Curtis will also direct the film? Keep in mind Curtis also wrote Notting Hill, which Roger Michell directed -- perhaps that connection is what's fueling this news.

[via IGN]