Peter Morgan To Co-Write Bond 23?
Plus News On New Le Carré Adaptations

Aintitcool News has an exclusive scoop that Peter Morgan, the amazingly talented writer of Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Last King of Scotland (among many others), will join Bond regulars Purvis and Wade on the script for Daniel Craig's next mission. AICN has apparently gotten ahold of a leaked press release before the trades. It's possible it could be a hoax, but that would be a weird hoax! I imagine we'll see it corroborated in the usual places soon. [Yep, it's confirmed!] If it's true, then I think this is great news. I'm a big fan of Morgan's work, and thought Frost/Nixon was one of the best scripts of last year. The writer will soon make his directorial debut on The Special Relationship, the final entry in his unofficial "Tony Blair trilogy" focusing on the former Prime Minister's relationship with Bill Clinton. Morgan has recently been involved in another spy screenplay, too, the movie version of John Le Carré's Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (previously adapted as a miniseries with a success that will be tough to duplicate). The press release mentions that Purvis and Wade are also adapting a Le Carré novel, The Mission Song! Quite a convergence. In the 1960s, writer Paul Dehn adapted Ian Fleming and John Le Carré consecutively. The results were Goldfinger and The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, two masterpieces. (The following year, he also penned another great Le Carré movie, The Deadly Affair.) The same incredibly informative press release also mentions that Purvis and Wade are currently at work on The Brazilian Job, the sequel to the remake of The Italian Job. So apparently that project is still alive! I hadn't heard anything about it in quite a while.

UPDATE: Variety confirms the story. The only information they add is reiterating the distribution arrangement we'd already been aware of: "Both Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale were co-productions between MGM and Sony, with the latter distributing. The new film will be the first to return as a full MGM release. The first 20 pictures in the franchise were distributed by MGM."