Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
Neal Purvis | |
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Born | 9 September 1961 |
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Robert Wade | |
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Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Penarth, Wales |
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Neal Purvis (born 9 September 1961) and Robert Wade (born 1962) are British screenwriters who co-wrote seven James Bond films, from 1999's The World Is Not Enough to 2021's No Time to Die,[1][2] as well as other works.
Early lives
Purvis's father was a photographer, and as a teenager, Purvis was in a film club that focused on 1940s cinema.[3]
Wade was born in Penarth and lived there until he was 11.[4] His mother was an artist, and from an early age he wanted to be a writer and began making home-made films as a teenager.[3]
They met each other while attending a university at the
Films
Wade and Purvis' screenplay for Let Him Have It (1991) (based on the true story of Derek Bentley, a young man who gets caught up in street gangs in post war London and is later controversially hanged), displayed the writers' "outrage toward a system hell-bent on vengeance"[5] and was called "first rate, no non-sense".[6]
Their 2003 Bond parody, Johnny English, received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, receiving a 33% "rotten" rating at the review site Rotten Tomatoes.[12] However, the film earned $160.5 million in its global box office receipts.[13] A sequel, Johnny English Reborn, based upon their characters but written by Hamish McColl, was released in 2011.[13][14]
Purvis and Wade wrote[15] and produced[16] Return to Sender (also known as Convicted), which was described as a "gripping tale" of a man "fighting to prevent a miscarriage of justice".[15] They had originally written the script while doing research for their first film 14 years earlier.[17]
In 2005, they co-authored the bio-pic Stoned (also known as The Wild and Wycked World of Brian Jones) about the last days of the life of The Rolling Stones co-founder, Brian Jones, which they based on an account from a builder on the farm where Jones died, claiming that Jones' death was not accidental as recorded by the coroner.[18] The film was criticised for "fail[ing] to convey what mattered about Jones artistically, what he contributed to music, why we should feel more than pity."[18]
When Daniel Craig was signed on as the new Bond, Wade described their approach to screenwriting thus: "When you have an actor you play to his strengths ... He's got this great toughness to him but not an unthinking toughness. I think that's where the films will need to go."[19] Their first work for Craig as Bond, Casino Royale, was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay,[20] and received a Four Star review from Roger Ebert, who stated that the film "has the answers to all my complaints about the forty-five-year-old James Bond series, and some I hadn't even thought of."[21] However, their followup Quantum of Solace, which was not based on any Ian Fleming work, was criticized because while having "the right ingredients: plenty of car, plane or boat chases ... spooks, vendettas, and turncoats", it lacked the "magic, and a decent plot."[22]
Their screenplay for
On 10 March 2017 it was reported that they were approached to write the script for No Time to Die.[25] In July 2017, it was initially reported they would write the script,[26] but in May 2018, EON announced that director Danny Boyle was instead working with his regular collaborator John Hodge on a new script.[27] In September 2018, following Boyle's departure from the project, Purvis and Wade were re-hired to write a new script.[28]
Family life
Wade and his wife live in West Sussex and have four children.[4]
Filmography
- Let Him Have It (1991)
- An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) (Uncredited)
- Plunkett & Macleane (1999)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Die Another Day (2002)
- Johnny English (2003)
- Return to Sender (2004)
- Stoned (2005) (Also co-producers)
- Casino Royale (2006) (Also co-producers)
- Quantum of Solace (2008)
- Skyfall (2012)
- Spectre (2015)
- SS-GB (2017) (Also executive producers)
- No Time to Die (2021)
References
- ^ a b Tobin, Christian (25 October 2012). "'Skyfall' writer John Logan to pen next James Bond movie". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Dowd, Vincent (7 October 2022). "James Bond: Duo were 'privileged' to renew 007 story". BBC. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
- ^ ISBN 9781557046925. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
isbn:1557046921 wade.
- ^ a b "Inspired by childhood in Penarth: James Bond screenwriter set for world premiere of new 007 movie Skyfall!". Penarth Times. 18 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ISBN 9780812992076.
- ISBN 9781557835079.
- ISBN 9780786419296. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ISBN 9780791459409. Pomerance is citing a quote recorded by Yarborough in 2000 work.
- ISBN 9781557046925. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ISBN 9780425173503. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
Robert Wade film OR screenwriter OR movie OR film.
- ISBN 9780762789696.
- ^ "Johnny English at Rottentomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 18 July 2003. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ a b O'Connell, Sean (21 October 2011). "Critic Review for Johnny English Reborn". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 27 October 2012. [unreliable source?]
- ^ ISBN 9781905287284. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ISBN 9780787690502.
- ^ "Male Bonding – 007 screenwriters speak". Empire. 9 March 2004. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ a b Keogh, Tom (31 March 2006). "Movies: "Stoned": The final days of a Rolling Stone". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "Film writers who 'rebuilt' Bond". BBC News. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Interview: Robert Wade and Neal Purvis: The Voice of Bond". The Trades. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ISBN 9780740771798.
- ^ Farah Nayeri (26 October 2008). "James Bond Seduces in Comeback, Loses Old 007 License to Thrill". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ Frank DiGiacomo (15 October 2012). "'Skyfall' early review". Movieline. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ McNary, Dave (27 June 2014). "Neal Purvis, Robert Wade Returning to Write 24th James Bond Movie". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ Barraclough, Leo (10 March 2017). "James Bond: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade Approached to Write Next 007 Movie (Report)". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (24 July 2017). "Next James Bond Movie Sets 2019 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "Universal Wins International Rights to James Bond 25". Variety. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ Pulver, Andrew (14 September 2018). "Veteran 007 writers Purvis and Wade rehired to salvage Bond 25". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ISBN 9781557837295.
- ^ Dave McNary (26 October 2012). "John Logan to write next two Bond films". Variety. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
External links
- Neal Purvis at IMDb
- Robert Wade at IMDb