They wrote seven screenplays for James Bond films, including all the films for Daniel Craig, and their previous collaboration dates back 20 successful years.
And yet Neal Purvis and Robert Waid rarely speak in public about the complex way in which Bond scripts are created.
The XNUMXth anniversary of the release of Doctor Noah, the first film in the series, has prompted them to open up about keeping the franchise alive - and killing off Bond himself.
When at the end of the nineties the Pervis-Wade tandem signed a contract to write the script for The world is not enough, they have already signed several successful scripts.
However, their first Bond - and Pierce Brosnan's third - elevated them to the ranks of top screenwriters.
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But they were not alone in that writing process.
Another author was signed on the film - American screenwriter Bruce Firstin.
Moreover, almost all of their Bond scripts were then passed on to at least one other screenwriter for what Pervis calls "polishing".
"When we finish our work on the script, it's practically goodbye for Rob and Neil," says Pervis.
"In case Casino Royale, for example, Paul Haggis took over after us. And the code Skyfall, it was John Logan, but, of course, always in collaboration with the director."
Last year, on film No time to die, the author of the series was also signed Freebag Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Wade adds that it can get complicated.
"In case Skyfall, John Logan came after us, and then we did some work again. Skyfall especially just developed and developed, and I think he developed pretty well."
Daniel Craig as the new Bond
Any conversation with screenwriters will touch on the term "narrative development path" at some point.
Pervis and Wade faced the ultimate challenge: to develop the narrative development of Daniel Craig as Bond over fifteen years and five films.
Pervis recalls how they started working on Casino Royale at a time when the situation was identical to the present: the previous Bond had finished his work, and a new actor had yet to be chosen.
"In that case, therefore, we wrote our story without a specific actor in mind, but based on the original novel by Ian Fleming Casino Royale [published in 1953].
We wrote it as faithfully to the original setting of his story as we could. Daniel then stepped into the role and, of course, over time we saw what he could do."
According to Wade, it was a different experience writing everything from scratch.
"In the two films we wrote for Pierce, it was always practically about building on what had already happened. The fundamentals of the character could not be changed - he was always unmistakable."
“We tried to make Pearce's Bond more vulnerable and Pearce always played that well. But you weren't allowed to make big changes to the character because you always knew he would end up being James Bond.
"While we knew with Daniel that we could start building his development path. In a way, we were starting from scratch."
Purvis says that the dialogue scenes began to inevitably change character with Craig because the story was changing.
"Daniel's Bond could have had the strength, determination and swagger that Pearce had before him. But the dramatic scenes themselves were different, so the dialogue inevitably developed further. The tone has already changed in Casino Royale."
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next movie, A grain of comfort, it presented a different kind of challenge.
The title came from Fleming's 1959 short story, but otherwise they had to come up with an entirely new story.
Delighting the critics Casino Royale it didn't happen again.
Since its premiere, this film has been regularly found at the very bottom of the charts which rank all the films of this long-running franchise.
Wade says it was at first A grain of comfort designed as part two Casino Royale.
"And then he changed during filming. But it was still James Bond heavily influenced by everything that happened in the previous film."
"I know that in that case too, we considered Ian Fleming as our basic starting point, even if the plot wasn't his. You go back to Fleming and try to insert bits and pieces of what Bond is talking about."
The harsh pen of the critic
The development of Bond as a character during their tenure was generally well received by critics.
"While Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were on duty, the secret agent became a parent, grew his hair and even hinted at gay experiences," pointed out the Guardian's Ryan Gilby.
In another place, Bill Desovic from Indivajer he praised their "witty retorts" when they returned to work on Spectra.
However, their work did not go down well with everyone.
Alex Ledbetter from Screenrent criticized "their complete lack of consistency".
The two are behind "an equal number of bad films as good ones - depending on how you count - and the problems range from narrative (A grain of comfort it doesn't really have any story) to tonal (their films always trip up when they try to throw in Moore's twists)".
"Looking purely at their results, they're not as good as they're making themselves out to be and things are slowly getting to the point where things have to shake up a bit."
However, the two remain the most experienced Bond screenwriters alive.
Have they, then, learned any firm, immutable rules?
Pervis says they always have to be aware of the audience's expectations when it comes to action.
"It's what people used to call a formula, but we hope it's broken now."
"So the bottom line is to give people what they're used to, but at the same time make it different - that's the tricky part. The Bond writers have a problem with that, but that's their job."
Will there be a new Bond?
The writers have just taken part in a British Film Institute event celebrating 60 years since Ion Productions first released Doctor Noah 1962. years.
When they look far ahead of their era, what do they appreciate most about that first film?
Wade believes that Sean Connery had an unforgettable movie persona.
“But there are other basic things, like editing. It's easy to forget today how revolutionary editing was: it completely changed the way a certain kind of film was made."
"If you look Doctor Noah today - the colors, the editing, the photography, the locations and, of course, the beautiful music - will still stand out on screen."
The two insist that they have no idea whether Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael J. Wilson to request their services again when it came time to prepare the script for Bond #26.
Broccoli said that work on the production could start in two years.
Last year, at the end No time to die, it looked like James Bond was dead—a pretty drastic way to end the development path that Neal Purvis and Rob Waid had been building for 15 years.
"We felt honored to be allowed to write something very different," says Wade.
Pervis adds that they were delighted to have the opportunity to refresh the story of the secret agent 2006 in 007, and then to write an ending for the older, more tired Bond in No time to die.
But both are convincing when they claim that they have no inside information on where the story will be at the beginning of the next film.
Broccoli and Wilson went on a promotional tour of Bond on both sides of the Atlantic to mark the 60th anniversary.
They insist they aren't even close to deciding who will be the new actor or who will write the script… or how they can move forward now that it looks like Secret Agent 007 is dead.
But the more these questions are asked, the greater the interest of the public and the media.
And the producers like it more and more.
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