Would the films have been different if Fleming was around?
Brosnan_fan
Sydney, AustraliaPosts: 521MI6 Agent
So Fleming died in 1964 (aged 56), before GF was released; his initial reaction to DN was "terrible, just terrible."
If he had lived to, say 85 or 90, do you think the Bond films would have been slightly, or significantly different? Do you think Broccoli and Saltzman would have made any sort of changes to them at all?
I get the feeling he would have loved OHMSS, FYEO and possibly LTK. He probably would have disowned YOLT, DAF, MR and DAD (bear in mind I'm guessing out of thin air here {:) ).
Your thoughts on this?
If he had lived to, say 85 or 90, do you think the Bond films would have been slightly, or significantly different? Do you think Broccoli and Saltzman would have made any sort of changes to them at all?
I get the feeling he would have loved OHMSS, FYEO and possibly LTK. He probably would have disowned YOLT, DAF, MR and DAD (bear in mind I'm guessing out of thin air here {:) ).
Your thoughts on this?
"Well, he certainly left with his tails between his legs."
Comments
Perhaps he did go at the right time - I'm not entirely sure he would've enjoyed Goldfinger the film, as it is quite significantly different from the novel he wrote.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
would have kept Bond more to the upper middle class /gentryfied type
of the old boy network type of spy .When you read that as a boy ,Bond was thrown out
of Eton ,went to Fettes ,you just know he would be spinning in his grave at the likes
of Moon raker , Bond in outer space hmmmmm .Bond in South of France more likely
Yes, though Roger Moore of course brought this element to his portrayal more than any other Bond actor - that of the upperclass, Eton drop-out and gent.
I'm sure that, had he lived longer, Fleming's opinions wouldn't have had a major impact on the commercial direction taken by the fabulously popular cinematic Bond - self-spoofing and laden with hardware - though Fleming doubtless would have resented the fact that the franchise was turning into something bigger and more culturally significant than his literary creation. It's all hypothetical, but Fleming might have found 'You Only Live Twice', as we have it, the last straw in terms of excess (as indeed did Connery), though if Fleming had lived till then perhaps Roald Dahl would have attempted a more 'literary' story plan/screenplay, out of respect to Fleming's stake in the character.
Having only just re-read Octopussy, I can see your connection between
Major Dexter Smythe and Fleming. -{
The films would have been different if Terence Young had not opted out of GOLDFINGER. If Young had stayed with the series up through 1967 GOLDFINGER and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE would have been very different films, darker and edgier, with more consistency in the Bond character. If the team of Peter Hunt and Richard Maibaum had been entrusted with creative control of the series after OHMSS the 1970s entries would not have deteriorated in slapstick and Roger Moore would have given more serious performances -- he was always at his best under Hunt's direction. The series went wrong with Guy Hamilton's utter disregard for the novels and his preference for comedy and slapstick.
Do we know what he thought of the structural changes to GF?
More interesting might be how he would have negotiated the rights were he selling them today: would he have attempted to retain some sort of script approval or required that he be retained as an on-set consultant? (Such moves aren't unusual these days.) Or, given that we know he couldn't stand the screenwriting process when he attempted to partner with McClory, would he have been happy to distance himself from the movies?
I seem to recall reading a TIME magazine entry that suggested the contrary; that Fleming might have applauded Moonraker for being a foray into new, cutting-edge technology. Of course we'll never really know what he'd have thought, but interesting to think about...
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
over it. Look at Jack Reacher.
Mmmm ... no.
I, too, have a hard time believing that.
Loved new tec and gadgets, but I can't see him having liked the finished
Movie. There's none of Flemings Bond in it.
Have been saddened by the Fact that Britain had no part in the exciting
New Frontier ( apart from a small input into the European Rocket ).
Actually there were quite a few British boffins at NASA and particularly with some of their contractors in the 1950s and 1960s. Britain was neck-and-neck with the best in the world for aircraft development immediately after WW2 but when the budgets were slashed, the brain drain began and many headed overseas. Quite a few went directly to the U.S., others went to Canada where they worked on projects like the Avro Arrow. When the Arrow programme was cut, many of those then headed south to the U.S. and worked in the U.S. aviation and space industries. A Welshman was even selected as a NASA astronaut in 1967!
Furthermore, Britain was a founder member of ELDO in 1961 (The European Launcher Development Organisation) which used the British Blue Streak missile as the base upon which the group worked towards developing Europe's own rocket. Britain was also a founder member of ESRO (The European Space Research Organisation) and the ESA (European Space Agency), was the third country (after the US and USSR) to have a satellite in orbit, and the sixth country in the world to launch a satellite into earth orbit from its own rocket.
So, although Britain never had a successful space programme of its own, it contributed to the U.S. programme and was a leading member of the European effort.
Not quite Moonraker territory, but still...
space progam and its rocket " Blue Streak " -{ first I'd heard of it.
Murdoch be interested in funding one ? ............