If Disney bought the Bond franchise would a film of John Gardner's Never Send Flowers be any closer?

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  • Posts: 5,994
    Already done :

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  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 2019 Posts: 18,281
    No, @Dragonpol, just recalling the funny line from Tropic Thunder and also making the observation that what works for the novel is way too extreme to present visually in a film. That kind of visceral punishment to the body likely could not be unseen by an audience.
    giphy.gif

    I actually read the book back in October to get familiar with the San Francisco locations, so it's pretty fresh in my mind.

    Ah, I see. Luckily I found a copy of Tropic Thunder on DVD for 50p on Saturday so I will be able to watch it now and get that reference!

    I agree that the scene in Brokenclaw would have to be toned down a good bit if they ever came to film it, much like what they did when the Colonel Sun head skewers torture was transposed to the mechanical drill torture in Spectre.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Gerard wrote: »
    Already done :

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    Not really what I had in mind from what I wrote in the OP but knowing the history of Continuation Bond adaptations that may very well be as close as we get!

    It's still a pipe dream of mine, however unlikely it may be.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Revelator wrote: »
    It's not likely because there's no reason to buy screenrights to the Gardner novels. Regardless of their varying quality, they're ultimately pastiche versions of Fleming's Bond, and why pay for a Gardner pastiche when a decent screenwriter can concoct one of his own? Had the Gardner novels sold as well as Fleming's, or been acclaimed as classics, there would have been an incentive to film them. There isn't. Furthermore, Gardner's novels are dated--even the newest is over 20 years old--and would need modernization.

    Amis's Colonel Sun is far more highly regarded than Gardner's Bonds, but it will never be fully adapted for the screen because having a Chinese villain would be box office suicide in today's world.

    That is sadly true about Colonel Sun not being used in a future Bond film as he's a Chinese villain, but surely the solution is a simple one for those wanting to adapt the novel and that would be changing the nationality of the main villain with the stroke of a pen.

    You could thereby make Colonel Sun North Korean (as they did with the villains in Die Another Day as it was never going to be a market for a Bond cinema release) or Vietnamese or whatever undesirable state besides China you wished. Problem solved, surely?

    However, perhaps a more pressing problem concerning Colonel Sun would be the fact that they have already used a good few parts from the novel in the Eon Bond films already. We've already had the villain name partly used (Die Another Day), M's kidnapping and imprisonment by the villain (TWINE) and the torture scene (Spectre). The novel has rather been filleted by the filmmakers to date.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    fanbond123 wrote: »
    Has any Disney produced film featured a big scene set at one of their Disney theme parks? There's a geeky question!

    I don't think Disney is interested in the James Bond franchise so I doubt the first poster's suggestion will ever happen. It seems very unlikely any future Bond film will be based on a non-Fleming novel. Eon haven't adapted any non-Fleming work.

    @fanbond123 :

    No.

    But Alfred Hitchcock wanted to do it back in the 60s. He had designs on a chase scene/climax through the park, in the same fashion as the chase and finale on Mt. Rushmore in North by Northwest.

    As for any kind of production, an episode of TV's Modern Family took place in the park. Modern Family is produced by Disney-owned ABC. As a side note, when SF was released, Modern Family had an episode in which the Bond film is central to the plot.
  • Posts: 2,918
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    You could thereby make Colonel Sun North Korean (as they did with the villains in Die Another Day as it was never going to be a market for a Bond cinema release) or Vietnamese or whatever undesirable state besides China you wished. Problem solved, surely?

    After the debacle with The Interview and the Sony hack, I think North Korea is off the table. Vietnam is a decent-size market and Bond films are shown there, so the filmmakers wouldn't want to antagonize it. And the countries that could be antagonized are too small to be Sun's backer.

    One of the side effects of globalization is that international mass cinema is becoming bland to avoid offending all the touchy countries out there (America included). Bond's natural opponents are the Russians and now is a great time to fight them but that won't be happening anytime soon.
    However, perhaps a more pressing problem concerning Colonel Sun would be the fact that they have already used a good few parts from the novel in the Eon Bond films already.

    Exactly. A lot of what made the novel unique at the time has now been used up by the films.
  • edited August 2019 Posts: 1,661
    Update on Disney box office worth in 2019:
    CEO Bob Iger announced that Walt Disney Studios has reached $8 billion at the global box office this year.

    "I’d like to congratulate The Walt Disney Studios for reaching $8 billion at the global box office so far this year–a new industry record–thanks to the stellar performance of our Marvel, Pixar and Disney films," Iger said in the company's earnings report.


    My gut feeling is Disney would be interested in Bond if they could develop a young Bond franchise along with the standard Bond franchise. I think there is potential in a Harry Potter type 'Bond as teenager spy' franchise. It could be the way to exploit the Bond brand.

    Be interesting to see if Eon do sell up after Bond 25. Babs may see the end of the Craig era as the end of her era as Bond producer.

  • Posts: 16,169
    With Disney leasing Pinewood for the next 10 years, any chance B26 will still get to film there?
  • edited September 2019 Posts: 1,661
    On the subject of John Gardner books, I've never read No Deals, Mr Bond. The plot premise on Amazon UK:
    Two female agents of Operation Cream Cake - double agents and honey traps against the KGB - are murdered.

    I don't know if Mr Gardner was having some fun or being serious: Operation Cream Cake?

    =))

    Just think of all the follow-up missions:

    Operation Kit Kat

    Operation Mars Bar


    and of course the deadliest mission of all.....

    Operation Puff Pastry


    ;))
  • Posts: 12,526
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    With Disney leasing Pinewood for the next 10 years, any chance B26 will still get to film there?

    Have to say I did raise a Roger Moore eye brow to this news. With the rate Disney is churning out movies of all genre's their is a very good chance it may not be filmed there? Is this the first step of Disney eyeing up the Bond franchise?
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,434
    I think it's a big leap to make that assumption. I don't see Disney going that far from their brand. The sex alone in a Bond movie would be against what Disney is about. However they did have Touchstone and Hollywood pictures at one point so they could release more adult fare. So I suppose they could do that.

    As for the Gardner book in question filming in a Disney theme park. I'd say no chance of that ever becoming reality.
  • __M____M__ MidwestUSA
    Posts: 9
    If Disney bought the franchise, Bond would become an alphabet of some yet undiscovered gender who only uses harsh language when not in its safe zone. In any case, franchise over.
  • Posts: 1,632
    How did the producers get away with using Colonel Sun material ? Did they acquire rights ?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2021 Posts: 18,281
    Since62 wrote: »
    How did the producers get away with using Colonel Sun material ? Did they acquire rights ?

    Yes, if you look at the end of the film there's a credit thanking the Kingsley Amis Estate. They of course also had to pay his estate for the use of the torture scene complete with verbatim dialogue in places.

    I'm guessing Eon also has the right to film any of the official Bond continuation novels in whole or in part so long as they pay the author or the author's estate if they are deceased. I assume they also have first refusal on the adaptation of the continuation novels and have a say in their being adapted in any other medium such as TV or radio. Just look at how Eon presumably haven't so far allowed the BBC Radio 4 Fleming novel adaptations starring Toby Stephens as Bond to be released commercially. They guard their Bond film intellectual property rather jealously and that extends into the field of the literary Bond too.

    Up until the adaptation of the Colonel Sun torture scene that appeared in the most recent Bond film, Spectre, Eon had elected not to adapt any of the Bond continuation novels although elements from them had undoubtedly leached their way into the films uncredited. Perhaps they also have to pay something to IFP (formerly Glidrose) for adapting a Bond continuation novel although Eon of course already pays a percentage of each Bond film's profits to the Fleming Estate. I believe that was set at 10% in the original deal which was made for Eon to film Fleming's novels and I assume it remains at that percentage to this day.
  • Posts: 1,632
    Seems they could make some creative hay, so to speak, in using continuation novel titles, plots, characters even if they find the sources lacking. Once you've made TSWLM and not been allowed to use anything but the title, this would seem even less challenging. The continuation novels generally have something, somewhere in there. With reference to only the TITLES, some of them are duds, but with slight revision, could be interesting, or perhaps a Chapter's Title would work better than the Book's Title.

    As for Young Bonds, those look good as they are, and would be interesting if produced in period. As for that being inconsistent with simultaneous film productions with a youthful Bond, so what ? Two different flavors of delightful treats.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited March 14 Posts: 18,281
    So I tried the ChatGPT app for the first time today and I asked it to fashion a Bond film from the story of John Gardner's Never Send Flowers (1993) and here's what it came up with:

    Me:

    Can you create a James Bond film plot for the John Gardner continuation novel Never Send Flowers (1993)? The plot should centre on a serial killer ex-actor called David Dragonpol who lives in Schloss Drache, a castle on the Rhine. He assassinates high-profile victims around the globe while dressed in various disguises. He has children leave his calling card of a single white blood-tipped rose (grown by his sister Maeve Horton) at the graves of his victims. His main target in the novel will be a high-profile celebrity who he plans to blow up during one of the rides at Disneyland Resort Paris. James Bond must follows the leads and track down Dragonpol with the assistance of his Swiss Intelligence colleague Flicka von Grüsse before its too late.

    ChatGPT

    Title: "Dragon's Rose"

    Plot Summary:

    As the world reels from a string of high-profile assassinations, James Bond is called into action when a cryptic clue connects the murders to a retired actor-turned-serial killer, David Dragonpol. Bond learns that Dragonpol, once a revered figure in Hollywood, has retreated to the ominous Schloss Drache, a castle perched on the banks of the Rhine River, where he plots his deadly schemes.

    The killings bear a signature mark: a single white blood-tipped rose, meticulously cultivated by Dragonpol's sister, Maeve Horton, who aids him in his twisted vendetta. These roses are left at the graves of each victim, a haunting reminder of Dragonpol's relentless pursuit of vengeance.

    Bond, alongside his Swiss Intelligence counterpart, Flicka von Grüsse, delves into Dragonpol's past, uncovering a trail of betrayal, resentment, and tragedy. The ex-actor, disillusioned by his fall from grace, seeks retribution against those he perceives as responsible for his downfall, targeting high-profile figures with theatrical flair.

    Their investigation leads them to Disneyland Resort Paris, where Dragonpol plans his most audacious strike yet: the assassination of a renowned celebrity during a high-speed roller coaster ride. Racing against time, Bond and Flicka must navigate the treacherous landscape of Dragonpol's mind and confront the demons that drive him.

    As Bond closes in on Dragonpol's lair, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues within the shadowy confines of Schloss Drache. With Maeve's loyalty wavering and Dragonpol's twisted charisma casting a sinister spell, Bond faces his most formidable adversary yet.

    In a heart-pounding climax atop the castle's towering battlements, Bond confronts Dragonpol in a battle of wits and wills. With the fate of innocents hanging in the balance, Bond must summon every ounce of his cunning and courage to thwart Dragonpol's final, devastating act.

    "Dragon's Rose" is a pulse-pounding thriller that takes James Bond on a perilous journey into the darkest recesses of the human psyche, where vengeance and madness collide with deadly consequences.
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