'GoldenEye' screenwriter Michael France passes away age 51

14-Apr-2013 • Bond News

The screenwriter who contributed to the Bond film "GoldenEye", as well as other action adventure, has passed away age 51 after battling illness.

His body was discovered by sister, Sarah France, on Friday night. She had previously discovered Michael in a coma nine months ago.

"I went in, and I thought maybe he was just unconscious so I called 911," she told local press, "They had me doing chest compressions on him but by the time the ambulance got there it was too late."

He was probably best known for his work on Sylvester Stallone's "Cliffhanger", and Brosnan's first outing as Bond in "GoldenEye". He would later do uncredited edits to the draft screenplay of "The World Is Not Enough".

In the matter of the "GoldenEye" script France maintained that he had worked on screenplay longer and offered more than any other writer - despite this he got the "story by" credit, and "written by" credits went to Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein. He previously describes the lengths he went to research his work on "GoldenEye". "I went to the real KGB headquarters, which is right next to a Moscow version of a department store, and I went all over that department store with a video camera," France said.

France went on to work on a couple of super-hero adventures, including "The Hulk" (2003) "Fantastic Four" (2005), the latter of which was his last ever screen credit.

The writer was also a one-time movie cinema owner, having purchased the St. Pete Beach theatre, but it shuttered in 2013. His sister told the media he had plans to open it again when he was healthier.

France was survived by his (estranged) wife and three children.