Bondmania

joshdeese93

As many of us know, following the highly successful theatrical releases of the first Connery Bond films, there was this phenomenon called Bondmania - where 007-related merchandise, promotions, and magazine spreads/television specials were everywhere to be seen. This is especially true for children's toys (which is safe to say, at a similar rate in which Legos, Batman/Superman, Hot Wheels, Star Wars type toys are sold and marketed today).

After the 3-6 year period of Bondmania, it wasn't necessarily able to draw heat at quite the same rate, where merchandise, collectibles, etc., are now purchased and consumed by adults, rather than younger folks.

Do you believe a Bondmania 2 could occur? What would EON need to do in order to promote license deals? Which direction would the series need to go in, to reach those same heights in popularity?

Some_Kind_Of_Hero

EON would need to begin making movies that are more conducive toward merchandising. Honestly, would any kids be clamoring for an Elvis or a Patrice or a Franz Oberhauser action figure? You would need to hire a Joel Schumacher to load up your film with merchandise-friendly vehicles, gadgets, and characters a la Batman & Robin and Happy Meal the **** out of that script. Sorry to say this, but Die Another Day was probably the most merchandisable film the Bond series has seen in a long time. Why were there not Ice Palace playsets, fully-posable Jinx, Zao, Frost, and Gustav Graves in robo-suit action figures, and rocket-firing Jaguars, camouflaging Aston Martins, switchblades, hovercrafts, and an Antonov aircraft with removable hull lining the shelves of toy stores? Anyway, a major tonal shift would need to occur for Bondmania 2 to take flight. Auteur and cash-grab rarely go hand-in-hand.

joshdeese93

Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »

Happy Meal the **** out of that script.

Brilliant ^ xD

Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »

but Die Another Day was probably the most merchandisable film the Bond series has seen in a long time. Why were there not Ice Palace playsets, fully-posable Jinx, Zao, Frost, and Gustav Graves in robo-suit action figures, and rocket-firing Jaguars, camouflaging Aston Martins, switchblades, hovercrafts, and an Antonov aircraft with removable hull lining the shelves of toy stores? Anyway, a major tonal shift would need to occur for Bondmania 2 to take flight. Auteur and cash-grab rarely go hand-in-hand.

Very interesting, for sure. I was in 2nd grade when Die Another Day came out. Never thought about it, at this age. But back then, I remember always wanting Bond toys, and never being able to find them, outside of eBay listings.

BMW_with_missiles

Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »

EON would need to begin making movies that are more conducive toward merchandising. Honestly, would any kids be clamoring for an Elvis or a Patrice or a Franz Oberhauser action figure? You would need to hire a Joel Schumacher to load up your film with merchandise-friendly vehicles, gadgets, and characters a la Batman & Robin and Happy Meal the **** out of that script. Sorry to say this, but Die Another Day was probably the most merchandisable film the Bond series has seen in a long time. Why were there not Ice Palace playsets, fully-posable Jinx, Zao, Frost, and Gustav Graves in robo-suit action figures, and rocket-firing Jaguars, camouflaging Aston Martins, switchblades, hovercrafts, and an Antonov aircraft with removable hull lining the shelves of toy stores? Anyway, a major tonal shift would need to occur for Bondmania 2 to take flight. Auteur and cash-grab rarely go hand-in-hand.

Murdock

I'd love it if Diamond Select would do a line of 6 inch scale Bond figures.