Over several decades in Hollywood, no one excels at multitasking better than acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Despite having a lot on his plate, the filmmaker still finds a way to successfully pitch other projects. Take an example from the time when Tarantino already had a couple of sequels and spin-offs in hand, and yet pitched a James Bond film.
Talking to the veteran actor Pierce Brosnan about the possibility of directing a James Bond movie, Quentin Tarantino pitched his idea of a Casino Royale remake. Way before Daniel Craig starred in the project, Tarantino had plans for a better version; which unfortunately ended up in the trash due to a misunderstanding.
Quentin Tarantino Pitched a Casino Royale Remake
Working on a number of critically acclaimed projects like Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino became a renowned filmmaker in the entertainment industry. Following his riveting work, the director decided to try his luck in renowned action franchises like James Bond. Thus, despite having enough on his back burner, Tarantino pitched the idea of a James Bond movie.
Speaking with Pierce Brosnan, as reported by EW, Quentin Tarantino shared his idea for a Casino Royale remake way before Daniel Craig joined the franchise. Expressing his desire to star the veteran actor in his movie, Tarantino, spoke about the possibility of directing the next James Bond movie.
Claiming that his version would be straight and simple while focusing on character and plot more than on spectacle, the director stated, “I won’t do anything that will ruin the series.”
“Wouldn’t it be great to have a James Bond movie that didn’t cost $115 million and only cost $40 million or something like that? You know it’s going to make its money back, and we [would] all do good. Maybe we win the critics this time, then you’re back in business the way you were before.”
Being optimistic about his idea, Quentin Tarantino pitched his version of Casino Royale to the franchise’s producers after having a discussion with Pierce Brosnan.
Quentin Tarantino’s James Bond Movie Never Got Made
Unfortunately, after Quentin Tarantino offered an apparent open-letter pitch to the producers of James Bond, there appeared an apparent misunderstanding. According to reports from Deadline, Tarantino had reached out to Ian Fleming’s estate directly, without realizing that he didn’t own the rights to Casino Royale. It was the Broccolis who had bought the rights.
“That’s what I wanted to do after Pulp Fiction. But then it turned out that the Broccolis three years earlier figured out somebody was going to try to do what I did. And so what they did is they just made a blanket deal with the Fleming estate and said that: ‘We have the movie rights to everything he’s ever written. […] If anybody wants to make a movie out of it, they got to come to us.”
Frustrated with the process, Quentin Tarantino lost hope and shifted his focus from Casino Royale to adapting a different action novel. Therefore, after scrapping the James Bond project, Tarantino turned towards Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, which he adapted and turned into his 1997 flick Jackie Brown.
