Cool News
SUPERMAN/ JAMES BOND/ EAGLE HAS LANDED/ DRAGNET Writer Tom Mankiewicz 1942-2010
I am – Hercules
Kneel!
If you’ve listened to Richard Donner’s commentaries on the “Superman” Blu-rays and DVDs, you know that the guy who “really” wrote the shooting scripts for “Superman” and “Superman II” was famed script doctor Thomas Francis Mankiewicz, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer over the weekend.
He was 68.
Some WGA rule or another apparently kept Mankiewicz’ name out of the “Superman” screenwriting credits, so Donner credited him as “creative consultant” on the projects.
Mankiewicz also wrote three of my favorite James Bond films, “Diamonds Are Forever” (not quite the last to star Sean Connery), “Live and Let Die” (the first to star Roger Moore) and “The Man With The Golden Gun” (the one with Hervé Villechaize as Nick Nack, plus Christopher Lee sporting the all-too-intimidating tri-nipple).
If none of that warms you to this guy, he also directed and co-wrote with Dan Aykroyd and Alan Zweibel the Tom Hanks “Dragnet,” which I loved.
AND he had a hand in the screenplay for Donner's 1985 supernatural romantic dramedy "Ladyhawke." I loved that one too.
Post-Bond but pre-Superman he co-wrote the thrillers “The Eagle Has Landed” (Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Jean Marsh, Larry Hagman AND Jenny Agutter) and “The Cassandra Crossing” (Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson, Richard Harris AND Burt Lancaster) and scripted the Bill Cosby-Harvey Keitel-Raquel Welch ambulance comedy "Mother, Jugs and Speed."
(He was also the nephew of Herman Mankiewicz, who co-wrote -- or wrote, depending on who you talk to -- “Citizen Kane” for Orson Welles.)
Find the BBC’s obit here.
-
+ Expand All
-
Superman Rules
-
Another great one leaves us. Sad day indeed.
-
And bid adieu.
-
... But glad to see AICN doff their cap. Superman and the real Superman II (which lies somewhere between the original release and the Donner Cut - both have pros and cons over each other) remain wonderful works, and that's down to this guy as well as Donner and Reeve. It might be cool to rag on Superman the Movie - but if it weren't for the script work he did, it could easily have ended up in the same realm as the 60s Batman, failed completely - and then where would superhero movies be. I'm rambling - but Superman, to my mind, remains nothing short of a majestic movie. And on top of that, the man always came across as an absolute gentleman on all those interviews.
-
NNNOOOOOO!!!!
Jesus. More Hero Worship on AICN. Just...give me the goddamn news. And make it cool. -
For his writing and ideas elevated the scripts for Superman The Movie and Superman II to a level of majesty.
Rest well, Mr. Mankiewicz, and say hello to Mr. Reeve for us.
And thank you. -
Never Say Never Again isn't an official James Bond movie.
-
... are great stuff. The guys made that movie the way they wanted - despite pigheaded interference from the Salkinds who blatantly Did Not Understand It and come to that, barely knew how to produce anyway. You all know the stories and the fallout - but the fact Superman took flight the way it did is down to Donner indeed - but also Tom Mankiewicz for realising exactly what Superman should and could be. Plus, who doesn't love Dragnet?
-
Boyle was Mankiewicz's production designer on DRAGNET, as well as Hitchcock's designer back in the day. Boyle was 100. (Boyle was the art director on THE WOLF MAN the year before Mankiewicz was born!)
-
"...to keep those legs moving." Among the gems from SUPERMAN that Tom never got direct credit for. RIP to a great writer.
-
I'm usually against the goofing up of dramas for the big screen but it works for this movie. Ackroyd's impression of Joe Friday is dead-on.
-
because Mario Puzo was the bigger name. Why is that so hard to understand?
-
offical or not it IS a james bond film. and a james bond film with connery playing bond. "officiality" is trivial and irrelevant.
-
Although I have to say the three Bond films he was involved with are nowhere near my favorites. But that's neither here or there. Thank you Thomas for Superman.
-
It's sad Mankiewicz is dead and all, but his super-campy approach ended up tainting the character for YEARS afterwards. He actually wrote a BAD CONNERY BOND FILM, the ONLY ONE.
-
Bummed
-
Bummed
-
Bambi and Thumper, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, Jimmy Dean, Lana Wood, Jill St. John's bikini bottom. I love "Diamonds."
-
Aug 03, 2010 10:01:03 PM CDT
Is Casino Royale with Peter Sellers a James Bond movie?
by indycollector
Trivial and irrelevant my fucking ass.
-
"I hope this experience hasn't put you off flying" and "you've got me, who's got you" and dozens of other lines in that film. He was put here for a reason, to help make the first great superhero movie
-
We lost one of the greats. Thanks for the help in ushering in great superhero movies that followed such as blade,spider-man, and the dark knight!
-
Moore was cold as ice in that one, and it's just fun to watch. Live and Let Die and Diamonds Are Forever, however, are two of my least favorites. RIP anyway.
-
wow this sucks he was so great.
-
Tom was one of my Professors at Chapman and I have to say he was an amazing guy. He always had incredible stories to share and he brought in Richard Donner to screen Superman every year. He was also very gracious with his time and would read any scripts students sent and give them notes. He will be missed.
-
But passed (obviously). After re-watching the first two I am trying to get through Superman 3. It's very difficult but I want to complete the set. In the DVD commentaries they talk about how during the original they had hoped to do an entire series of superman films, it's a shame.
-
is a James Bond film. more so than half of the library
-
I strongly recommend ______ B l a c k w h i t e C u p i d * C o m ______ to you where I just found my interracial boyfriend! You know it is a great place to meet black men and beautiful women. What's kind of relationship do you want? ;)
-
And horribly miscast as the kind of casually cruel 00 agent who would smack women around to get information. I could buy any other Bond actor doing that (okay, not Brosnan), but it's impossible to take Moore seriously when he threatens to break Maude Adams' arm. Thankfully they turned Moore's 007 into more of a gentleman in later films.
-
You will be missed.
Also, the Superman: the movie trailer remains, after all these years, one of the best trailers I've ever seen. -
Thanks for your great work on the first two Superman movies!
-
His disc commentary with Donner for Superman The Movie is truly entertaining and enlightening. Great man, and his legacy is Legend.
-
at least once a year. Probably my favorite DVD commentary has got to be the one he and Dick Donner did for Superman the Movie. He also had a lot of interesting stuff to say on the commentary for Cleopatra. What a great dude, such a damn shame.
-
He brought the magic to the greatest superhero movie there ever will be. Simple as that, and for which many a fan is forever grateful.
-
IMDB credits him for the screenplay
Great little classic from 1976
Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby and Harvey Keitel were ambulance drivers working for a somewhat dysfunctional ambulance company in LA, California
Rent it this weekend if your in the mood for a good comedy/drama -
Yes it's THAT good! Easily the darkest comedy that Bill Cosby *ever* did. Incidentally Quentin Tarantino has said that this is one of his favorite movies.
-
Aug 03, 2010 11:31:14 PM CDT
Tom and Chris = "Can You Read My Mind" flyover about now...
by dickballsworth
And it's beautiful, man. Just beautiful.
RIP Mister Mankiewicz. -
I don't care what anybody says about them being too campy, they were hysterical.
-
Connery's Bond movies might be better but the best James Bond is Moore.
-
It covered SO MUCH ground in a single script, that otherwise took about three films with lots of fat to cover. Go read it. Now! Even the fake Batmen parts were used in The Dark Knight.
-
Aug 04, 2010 1:53:13 AM CDT
Diamonds Are Forever and Golden Gun are garbage...
by turd_has_risen_from_the_grave
Let's not get carried away - those two are near the bottom of the pack when it comes to Bond films, if not the very bottom. Total camp crap. Diamonds was a Moore film without Moore, and Golden Gun is just execrable. And as mentioned above, watching Moore sadistically interrogate women was just weird and very unpleasant. Unlike Connery, who could engage in brutality and then turn on the charm again on a dime, Moore just couldn't pull it off. Mankiewicz may have done a good job on Superman but his Bond efforts were poor.
-
Great guy and a fun professor. Could tell a story, speaking, like no other. Even though he was only credited in on three Bonds, he contributed to every Moore film. The jetplane sequence in Octopussy was him, the Eiffel Tower sequence in A View to A Kill was him.
Great guy and the best take on Superman to date. -
Live and Let Die is reasonable but the other two? AWFUL. Count how many people Bond shoots in TMWTGG; it's quite amusing.
-
for writing those wonderful movies that made my childhood that much more wonderful. Also God Bless John Williams endearing Superman Theme. That trailer nearly made me cry.
-
Thanks for the great movies Tom!
-
He left the project because he was tired of it.
-
Aug 04, 2010 2:44:00 AM CDT
DISGRACE... TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH. Not enough coverage for his pa
by greigy just wanted to say
Considering the acres of space you waste on useless here today gone later today talents AICN has really dropped the ball with this one. Pretty disgusted and shocked at the lack of coverage especially from AICN. Mankiewicz deserved better.
-
Is my all time favourite movie.
Thankyou for breathing life into a beloved character with your words. -
There's something sadistic and gaudy about it that fits.
-
All of the greats are fucking dying. This has made me very fucking sad indeed! Farewell, and thank you.
-
I saw Superman when I was about 4 and decided right there I wanted to be a pilot. I got all kinds of resistance...not smart enough, got to be really good in math, need great eye sight..all of which are wrong BTW. But I didn't care and became a Captain on a 50 seat jet by age 27. Thanks Tom.
-
as was the Daily planet humour. If it had all been played as straight as the first hour it would have been too dry. It's perfectly balanced. Hackman is so naturally threatening that he is still scary, even played for laughs.
-
Actually MGM bought the rights to Never Say Never Again, and now, it is considered an official Bond movie.
And herc, Diamonds Are Forever is my second least favourite Bond, its just awful, Connery's hair piece did the most stunts trying to stay on his head!
That said, it did have a couple of killer quotes, " I was just out walking my rat and I seem to have lost my way". " One of us smells like a tarts handbag...Sorry to say its me old boy". -
but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen."
I presume he wrote that line along with many timeless and hilarious others for Superman.
And... Live and Let Die is one of the best Bond films. -
His work might have had its ups and downs, but it's clear that another guy who helped shape movie culture left us too early.
-
Top 5
Goldfinger
Goldenye
The Living Daylights
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Thunderball
Bottom 5
Quantum Of Solace
Diamonds Are Forever
Octopussy
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day -
I'll always be grateful to him for helping to shape the first two Superman movies (especially the Donner cut) into the classics they were. Great loss for the movie world and also for the cinemagoer. Rest in peace, Mr M.
-
just gave me chills. Talk about movie magic.
-
OJ Simpson, a sweaty Martin Sheen, Richard Harris, Burt Lancaster, Sophia Loren, the plague, running gun battles on trains, and a great big model train crash at the end. Trashy fun.
-
I'm bummed. TM was a very smart movie man. Great script structure to hang his even greater ideas on. Most importantly, he was a fan just like the rest of us.
-
Aug 04, 2010 5:42:32 AM CDT
Puzo wrote the first draft that's why he retained credit
by professor_monster
the one who pops the cherry is always remembered.
-
He had a hand in so many great films that were a big part of my movie watching growing up.
As a kid, Superman 1 & 2 made me gasp and cheer, Live & Let Die scared me, and Dragnet made me laugh. Pretty much all bases covered.
And for that, I have to say, thank you, Mr Mankiewicz, and God Bless.
-
...is just bad, plain and simple. Connery didn't care at all except for the $$$ he was being paid and it shows in his performance. Blofeld in drag? Jimmy Dean? That hairpiece? Crispin Glover's dad as a gay hitman? What bugs me the most is that this movie pretends that the previous OO7, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, didn't happen. The best thing about it is Bond's line to Case - Bond: I tend to notice little things like that - whether a girl is a blonde or a brunette. Case: Which do you prefer? Bond: Well, as long as the collar and cuffs match...
-
Hate to correct you, but one Connery didnt do Diamonds for the money, as he doneted his entire fee to a Scottish charity.
And it does follow on from OHMSS, the pre title sequence of Diamonds, features Bond hunting down Blofeld in revenge for killing Tracy. -
Have some bloody respect. Get this arsehold banned immediately and delete that crap.
Mankiewicz seemed like a fantastic guy and was a brilliant scriptwriter. If I remember correctly he also had a say in Reeve's casting. A fantastic influence on any production he was a part of and he will be sorely missed. -
Maybe he wasn't the primary recipient of the money but it shows his heart wasn't in making another Bond movie. Of course, EON used him for years, he may as well use them. As for the pre-title sequence, it just negates all the emotion from the OHMSS finale in one quick scene. Gray plays Blofeld like he's trying to hold back a laugh, not at all like Savalas' dangerous interpretation of Blofeld. Before home video, I don't think continuity was a concern of moviemakers.
-
from way back in '83 (Return of the Jedi cover) he talked about his career, and plans for a big screen Batman. He also wanted to do one final Bond film with Connery who gets killed at the end, as he was getting older and not quite a fast as he used to be. It was a fantastic interview, I'd read it again and again - I was that sort of kid. So thankyou, Mr Mankiewicz.
-
where dan aykroyd stopped acting and pulled that rapid fire dialogue shit in EVERY comedy!i understand he was in sneakers and pearl harbor and driving miss daisy..but when it came to being funny...his joe friday schtick was his autopilot.
-
He was an important contributor and will be missed
-
...among the worst in the series. When the guy who wrote The Spy Who Loved Me dies let me know. This is not a dig at the writer this is a dig at Herc.
-
the two gay hit men in Diamonds are pretty cool. I'll give it that.
-
...with Connery strangling some girl with her bikini top "Where is he!"
I guess it does have its moments. -
My Dad took me to a Golden Gun/Spy Who Loved Me double feature. They fucking rocked, and my Dad is awesome.Jill St. John? Yes, please.
-
Live and Let Die was a Burt Reynolds movie in disguise...hillbilly sheriffs, a voodoo army with righteous afros...yikes! Diamonds Are Forever is definitely the worst of the three for the simple fact that it stars Connery which makes it a huge letdown, and its actually pretty boring and drab. The guy wrote some other movies that were good though... I can see that campiness was likely part of his writing style - Hackman's Lex Luthor has a lot in common with those Bond movies!
-
One of the problems with his Bond pictures is not his writing; it's because Cubby and Saltzman were feuding at the time, and the films suffered as a result(especially budgetary; ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was the last really expensive Bond flick until THE SPY WHO LOVED ME rebooted the epic feel of the series). Mank had great creativity, and was responsible for the epic tone of the first SUPERMAN(and much of the second). I think he should have went on to much greater things than DRAGNET(which is fun, but nowhere near what he was capable of). I'd like to see his BATMAN script done as an animated movie, or at least a graphic novel.
He was a nice man who was always accessible to fans. May he rest in peace. -
But Live and Let Die and Man with the Golden Gun are some of the most entertaining Bond Films.
When I bought the Bond DVD set and watched them all through DAF was the only one that truly bored the hell out of me. Well, that and Moonraker.
-
I too love the DVD commentaries of Superman I and II with Richard Donner and Tom. Mother,Jugs and Speed was screened In UK in October 1999, Found it a blast. Never knew Tom's connection until a couple of months aho. All the best mate you made a difference and filled this World with Heart. My heart goes out to those closest to you.
-
And....."Mank"?????? Kiddos, you're learning posting habits from tweeners that blog. Industry standard, by the way, is to address an actor by his last name, in obits, etc. Also, this "R.I.P." stuff is so 1890, or today, double-wide-ish.
-
was a camp-filled pile of garbage. its the reason batman didn't become a real feature until about seven years later. batman fighting the joker on a giant desk? with a giant fucking typewriter? robin being fruitier than shit? shame the man died, but lets not blow smoke up everyone's ass that he was brilliant.
-
tx for your contribution in all those wonderful films.
-
Diamonds and Live and Let Die are two of the shittiest Bond movies ever.
-
...think that Mankiewicz looked and sounded a lot like John Carpenter? I sure did.
-
look as if they might have been related, though clearly not. Interesting observation.
-
Some may say that it's better than the first movie, but to me it's cheesy and dull and kind of dumb (see a powerless Clark Kent put on a light jacket and walk all the way to the Fortress of Solitude somewhere in the vast arctic wilderness). Those movies just dropped off a cliff after the first one.
-
I agree that neither the theatrical cut of Superman II nor the Richard Donner cut are nearly as good as the first one. What it does have going for it, however, is Terrence Stamp as Zod. Quite honestly, he manages to elevate the movie above what it may have been with anyone else in the role. I think that, if Donner hadn't been fired and could have finished Superman II the way he wanted to, it would have been about as good as the first.
-
"...so speak or forever hold your piece."
His Bonds have some great one-liners. -
He wrote The American. I have the screenplay in my house. It's like 200 pages.
-
Favorite line from DRAGNET.
-
Bond looks at her enormous breasts and deadpans, "But, of course you are." "Plenty O'Toole," is her chirpy reply. Bond continues gambling..."Named after your father no doubt." I broke up my 5th grade friends with those lines after I saw DAF at the neighborhood theater in New Jersey back in '71. Mankiewicz was a little vaudeville but a very creative scenarist. If you liked his commentaries on the Superman discs, check out his hilarious reminiscences on Marlon Brando in the latest Robert Sellers offering "Hollywood Hellraisers" just out now at your local Borders. Reading it on my lunch breaks. RIP.
-
and silly, and had little to nothing to do with the novel of the same name, but it was the first Bond movie I had ever seen (owed to the fact that it was endlessly rerun by the local ABC affiliate on Sunday afternoons) and seemed pretty cool to a 10 year old. It basically began a lifelong fascination with all things Bond for me. I still get a kick out of it.
-
...not to mention Jill St.John's immortal "Blow up your pants!", Connery's "Alimentary, my dear Leiter"...and Roger Moore(after hearing Yaphet Kotto shout 'Take this honky out and waste him!"...
.."Waste?...Is that a good thing?" -
still majestic.
-
...like he's more popular or something. Imagine! :P
Anyone seen that trailer for The Cassandra Crossing on youtube? one of the most intense balls-to-the-wall trailers I've ever seen. Shame the movie itself was so dull.
-
He was a talented artist & seemed like a decent man to boot...and that's rare in Hollyweird. Also luved his dvd interviews & commentaries too. My condolences to his family & friends. Thanks for all the hours of entertainment you provided Tom, you will be missed.
-
Bill Cosby ear raped with a vibrator?
-
Ilya cSlakind (Executive Producer of Superman I-III) asked Superman1978.com and all the Superman websites to pass this message along.
Upon learning the news of the death of Tom Mankewicz, Ilya immediately called Dick Donner because he knew how close Dick and Tom were. His official statement is the following:
I am deeply saddened by the premature and sudden loss of one of the best writers I've worked with, Tom Mankiewicz. He was an extraordinarily talented and gifted writer who's involvement in Superman 1 and 2 was essential. He was also a very kind and loving person that will sorely be missed. His great mastery writing film screenplays made working with him an unforgettable experience. He had a great sense of humor, and wit, and was a lovely person to work with. He also, of course, had a tremendous unique gift writing film screenplays. I can only wish my most heartfelt condolences to his family as well as all the many friends that he had and that loved him.
- Ilya Salkind -
A genuine loss to the creative world. I've always considered STAR WARS as my favourite movie of all time. But as I age and upon repeated viewings, Donner's SUPERMAN is creeping up on it, due in no small part to Tom Mankiewicz as Donner graciously admits to in the commentary on the DVD. A huge talent that will be sadly missed.
-
Aug 05, 2010 9:54:23 AM CDT
Well... Emil... I guess it's just YOU and... ME and... YOUR bal
by tikidonkeypunch
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 209 total posts 207 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 97 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 144 total posts 77 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 68 total posts 68 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 64 total posts 60 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 480 total posts 55 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 53 total posts 50 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 118 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 182 total posts 27 posts