MovieChat Forums > Spectre (2015) Discussion > Should someone remake the original Bond ...

Should someone remake the original Bond novels?

posted 8 years ago by catmydogs
5 replies | jump to latest

I don't visit this board much, so I don't know if this has been discussed but... do people realize that the original Ian Fleming Bond novels are now public domain in various countries of the world? In other worlds, someone could conceivably remake these novels on film again without paying any royalties and without any legal repercussions from MGM or whoever own the James Bond film rights. There are some caveats, though. The elements introduced in the original films (SPECTRE, Blofeld's white cat, etc.) cannot be legally used, but anything from the original novels could be. Also, the novels are NOT public domain yet in USA or Europe, I think, but a Canadian production, for instance, would be legal.

I think it would be AWESOME to see a remake of the Fleming novels set in their actual time period (1950's Cold War era). I would love to see James Bond re-created as the cold-blooded killer he is in the novels. More espionage, less fantasy, no CGI. Imagine a Bond film photographed in a style like The Third Man or The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. That would be cinema at its finest.

It'll never happen, but it is a nice dream...

[–] thylacine80 8 years ago

The original novels have already been adapted inbto films. We don't want remakes of the already existing Bond films.
But I agree they could adapt continuation novels : some of them are very good, and they have awesome titles like "Never dream of dying", "zero minus ten" or "devil may care".

[–] AdmiralTugBenson 8 years ago

Well, some of them were VERY loosely adapted. Movies like Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me and some others pretty much just borrow the title and maybe a character name or two, then tell a completely new story. I wouldn't even call them adaptations, just that they share a title. So some of them may be ripe for a more faithful adaptation although I think it would be hard to update Moonraker and TSWLM probably wouldn't make a very good Bond movie.

"Dan Marino should die of gonorrhea and rot in hell. Would you like a cookie son?"

[–] catmydogs 8 years ago

I remember reading somewhere decades ago that Ian Fleming let instructions that TSWLM novel should never be made into a movie based on the actual text. This may be one reason why the movie with the same name has nothing to do with the actual novel.

On a side note, I'd say TSWLM was one of the best Roger Moore Bond films.

And having rewatched A View to a Kill recently, I was surprised at how well it holds up (great theme song, gorgeous Tanya Roberts, good action sequences, etc.). If only Roger Moore was a little younger in the film, I think this might have ended up one of the best Moore films, too. But I digress...

[–] mistermycroft 8 years ago

When EON Productions made the deal with Ian Fleming in 1961, they obtained the SOLE rights to make films of the Bond novels.

EON had the rights to all except Casino Royale and Thunderball at the time, as CR had already been sold (hence the 1967 comedy film) and Kevin McClory owned the film rights to Thunderball

In the early 2000s, EON finally got the rights to Casino Royale from Columbia Pictures, and just a few years ago, they finally bought out the estate of McClory (now deceased) so now they own the film rights to ALL novels and stories by Fleming

So no one else can make a Bond film on their own, or they'll be sued

[–] catmydogs 8 years ago

Incorrect. The copyrights have expired, and as of 2017, it *IS* legal to remake Ian Fleming's 007 novels. All of them. But as I stated, not in all countries. In the USA, for instance, copyright still extends 20 more years or so. There are multiple online articles about this.

In other words, EON CANNOT own exclusive film rights on a PUBLIC DOMAIN novel, so wherever the novel is public domain, EON has no power to do anything.

The main drawback, of course, is that it would be ILLEGAL to distribute a new adaptation of an Ian Fleming 007 novel in the USA, or any country in which the extended copyright has not expired yet. So, making money off the films without U.S. distribution would be tricky. How much money could a Bond remake film make if it's only released in Canada or Swaziland?

This begs the question of whether any company would want to try to remake one of those novels if profitability is not there. Given that it's 007, I think there would be a profit, but it wouldn't be large due to limited distribution, so such a film would probably be more low-budget.

I also wish to reiterate that this only applies to the Fleming novels. EON still retains the rights to any future Bond films that are original work and not based on the novels themselves.

Anyways, just food for thought..