164 replies to this topic

[Wade]

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea. Terrible, horrible idea. Lingering odor of it wafting o'er the smoldering carcass of what was once a proud, indominable franchise.

Did I mention bad?

I wouldn't mind a reference or two to Bond's past in a novel, or even a film. I even thought of a scene in which Bond is THERE when his parents are killed -- they are murdered -- and the young James, blind with rage, kills the man with a rifle.

Thus, he is sent off to lilve with his aunt.

But to base an entire novel series on it? It could work, of course, but so could cold fusion. Never has, though. The margin for error here is wide enough to slide a battleship down it. One wrong word, one slip of a phrase, and suddenly, 007 becomes a Hardy Boy.

Ever get the feeling that the folks making decisions on both sides of this thing -- the movies and the books -- are working for a vast global organization dedicated to the promulgation of all that is evil and destructive?

My opinion? I 'spectre trying to kill the franchise.

[Simon]

If the series were to be written in the vein of Jim's mini opus, I'd be the first in line to buy the damn thing.

Alas, I fear it will be James Bond senior style rumpus's in shorts, and non of the reasons for his future drug, drink and death experiences will be explored - of course they won't, these are aimed at the teenagers.

"Bond is for warm blooded heterosexuals in trains................and kiddiwinks while snacking at their philadelphia cheese tri packs", it seems.

Jim, in the words of Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, "You've become my own personal hero."

IFP, in the words of Simon, "You're a bunch of clowns".

Still, it begs the question, if they couldn't market Benson, just how the hell will they market this idea in all it's infancy.

And, one last thing, since Bond has been 30-40 for the last 50 years, surely these "Bond in his teens" outings should also be set in the present day.

Oh dear.

[deth]

PS. Zencat how about asking R. Benson's opinion on this in the interview. He's not tied to them now so it would be nice to get an honest opinion of this from a Bond Author.

yes....... I was gonna suggest the same.......... it would be kinda nice......although, I would bet he wouldn't really comment on it.......

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

A Young James Bond book series. Hopefully it's not that god-awful James Bond Jr. series. I'm wondering if the new series is just kiddy material or actually real exploits of young Bond by a REAL author? Anyone wish to tell me? I prefer the latter material. If it's kiddy stuff, I AM NOT READING IT!

[Qwerty]

A Young James Bond book series. Hopefully it's not that god-awful James Bond Jr. series. I'm wondering if the new series is just kiddy material or actually real exploits of young Bond by a REAL author? Anyone wish to tell me? I prefer the latter material. If it's kiddy stuff, I AM NOT READING IT!

Did you read the article? As the author seems like it will be real exploits of James Bond, but in my opinion, it just won't work.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Sorry I did not read the article. I was busy doing my homework thank you.

[PaulZ108]

Horrible...just horrible. Hopefully it won't sell at all and they'll drop the idea.

[Qwerty]

Sorry I did not read the article. I was busy doing my homework thank you.

Just pointing it out to you.

[TheSaint]

How, exactly, is a 13 year old supposed to go up against a wealthy American who's doing suspicious things in a Scottish castle? He's not Superboy, which is probably the only successful spin-off of an adult character.

For this they gave Benson his walking papers? Pathetic!

[TGO]

I mean, part of his appeal is that this is a man who gets all the girls, kills the villians, saves the world, and is witty.

Yes but that's the cinematic James Bond. The literary James Bond isn't so black and white as the text and page he's written on. The novels are more low-key than the majority of the films. Also, I think that out of all the novels, Bond only manages to kill the same amount of people he killed in the course of Die Another Day and Tomorrow Never Dies combined.

Fleming's wit was scarce, however when it did appear it was always rather good, whilst in the films Bond has a pun or a retort for every occasion.

"Oh! He fell over the bars and into a thing that squished him! I guess he's...barred! Ha ha ha! Barred! Cos...he fell over bars to his death! Ha ha ha! Oh I kill myself."

Would the re-animated Fleming please stand up?

But, my quote is the essence of the books and movies, anyway.

So, I'll change it.

I mean, part of his appeal is that this is a man who gets some of the girls, kills the villians, saves the world, and is intermittently witty.

Happy?

[TGO]

I mean, Bond's sadistic streak and twisted sexuality must have come from somewhere.

What's so twisted about it...if you care to tell me the more intricate details?

[Xenobia]

So the nieces are running the show?

It appears in their case, Fleming's mysogyny was well placed.

-- Xenobia

[jwheels]

Terrible, terrible, horrible idea!! I didn't think IFP were that big of cash cows. I'm reluctantly starting to believe that the Bond franchise is dying. If EON starts making movies of the Young James Bond Adventures, I'll truely know its dead.

[Atticus17F]

I'm a bit confused by the outcry this has caused. So they're producing children's books. So what? I doubt they can bastardise Bond any more than Eon and Brosnan already have. When all's said and done, they're just kids' books and no more ridiculous than the character in OO7 annuals or OO7 comics or OO7 computer games. Are they?

[Wade]

"Jimmy Bond and the Toole of Plenty"

"Jimmy Bond and the Prisoner of NATO"

"Jimmy Bond and the Galore of the Pussy"

[Triton]

I'm a bit confused by the outcry this has caused. So they're producing children's books. So what? I doubt they can bastardise Bond any more than Eon and Brosnan already have. When all's said and done, they're just kids' books and no more ridiculous than the character in OO7 annuals or OO7 comics or OO7 computer games. Are they?

I cannot talk for the rest of the folks at CBn, but I am alarmed at this news because the Board at Ian Fleming Publications has changed composition and Peter Janson-Smith, Ian Fleming's original literary agent, has retired. The new Board thanked Raymond Benson for his continuation novels and did not commission a new book from him saying that they wanted to suspend the continuation novels for a little while.

At least I had been hoping that the major announcement from IFP was of a new continuation novel or series of continuation novels with an adult James Bond. We have heard rumors that Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War) had been approached to continue the James Bond series. I was also hoping that the Steel Dagger awards sponsored by IFP for the British Crime Writers' Association would be a way to recruit a new James Bond continuation novelist.

So I am very disappointed and vexed that the major announcement from IFP is a new series of James Bond books for the same nine to twelve year old audience as JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.

To add insult to injury, I presume that IFP will actually try to promote the young James Bond books while they let the Benson continuation novels die on the vine by neglect.

[Triton]

And then you remember that Anne Fleming supressed Geoffrey Jenkins' Per Fine Ounce. Sheesh.

[Xenobia]

I suspect Anne might be doing blackflips with Ian.

-- Xenobia

[mccartney007]

[quote name='zencat' date='5 April 2004 - 14:29'] [quote name='Xenobia' date='5 April 2004 - 13:27'] Do you really think the family would approve of this Mister Asterix?

[Lancaster]

I wonder how they will be released. If they are to be given any chance then there must be lots of publicity and more than one book a year. These are two of the reasons I believe the Gardner and Bnson books never had a chance.

On a side not, did anyone in the UK see Charlie Higson on Mastermind at Christmas? He had one minute to answer questions on his chosen special subject and he picked the Bond Films. He got them all correct, but then so did I, so not sure how hard they were!! This means that he is a least a fan - that's a start.

[Jim]

There will be plenty of publicity here.

Children's books are "the new black"
Books written by (ahem) comedians are also "the new black"
James Bond is a familiar concept, and doubtless familiar concepts are "the new black"

Black is black. I want my JB back.

In a manner which will doubtless make Messrs. Gardner and Benson chew their respective duvets, people will know this is happening.

[JimD]

I say again - "Why have they bothered?"
A 'Continuation Novel' would have been the way to go.
No doubt about it.

[Loomis]

We have heard rumors that Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War) had been approached to continue the James Bond series.

Really? That would have been great.

Where did "we" hear the rumours, if you don't mind my asking?

[stromberg]

We have heard rumors that Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War) had been approached to continue the James Bond series.

Really? That would have been great.

Where did "we" hear the rumours, if you don't mind my asking?

The last time I heard abou that rumour must have been a few years ago.

I saw Forsyth in an interview for German TV, and they frankly asked him "Wouldn't it be an appropriate challenge for you or have you ever had the idea of writing the script for a James Bond movie?" (They didn't have the idea about novels, quite sure that they didn't even know about a literary James Bond).

I was a big fan of Forsyth's at that time (and still am), and there was it: if I was given the chance to ask him one question, it would have been this one.

The answer was not what I had hoped for. Can't remember the exact answer. He didn't quite bashthe series, but he frankly admitted that James Bond isn't his cup of tea and that he couldn't see this happen at any time at all. It's just not his style, he prefers a more realistic story, compared to the more fantastic plots of the Bond movies. I was disappointed back then, but now, honestly I think he was right.

A continuation novel by him would be great, but I think he makes money enough on his own creations, has established himself as a well known author and has absolutely no need to work as a "hired gun" for the IFP, not cash-wise and not reputation-wise.

(Damn, I had hoped to come back to the boards this morning and find out that all this was just a bad dream)

[Jim]

[quote name='Mister Asterix' date='5 April 2004 - 21:29'] [quote name='Xenobia' date='5 April 2004 - 15:27'] Do you really think the family would approve of this Mister Asterix?

[marktmurphy]

Bet it'll be son of Q making super-duper things in "the lab" and good-hearted girls from Carshalton Beeches and whizzo prangs and ginger beer, shaken not stirred. "The scent and smoke and sweat of a wendy house become nauseating past your bedtime". Yeech.

Blimey. I live in Carshalton Beeches. FACT.

Young James Bond? Not James Bond yet. So pointless. Charlie Higson also didn't impress me with his bad Randall & Hopkirk plots. Keeping an open mind, though..

[marktmurphy]

[quote name='Mister Asterix' date='5 April 2004 - 21:28'] [quote name='zencat' date='5 April 2004 - 15:24'] [quote name='DLibrasnow' date='5 April 2004 - 12:53'] Don't people learn from history...

Young Indiana Jones - flopped

Young Sherlock Holmes - flopped

See a pattern?! [/quote]
Add to that...

003 1/2: The Adventures of James Bond Junior (1967) - flopped

James Bond Junior (1991) - flopped


So what ARE they thinking? [/quote]
Let

[Mister Asterix]

[quote name='Jim' date='6 April 2004 - 03:42'] [quote name='Mister Asterix' date='5 April 2004 - 21:29'] [quote name='Xenobia' date='5 April 2004 - 15:27'] Do you really think the family would approve of this Mister Asterix?

[James Swallow]

Hmm. This is an interesting development; speaking as someone who's written books for the teen market myself, I can see the marketing reasoning behind such a series.

Obviously, with the fallout from Rowling's Potter books still around, the kid's market continues to be a strong one, and there's already a demonstrable fanbase for spy thrillers in that audience - just check out the number of spin-offs from the Spy Kids movie franchise, the Spy High books or the Alex Ryder novels by Anthony Horowitz (the latest of which, 'Scorpia' is being given a big marketing push here in the UK). Plus media like the Spy Kids films, the Agent Cody Banks movies, the Kim Possible cartoon etc. all show that the "teen agent" genre is a going concern.

However, as some people have already stated, this isn't the first time a Bond franchise has been aimed at a 'junior' audience and misfired - the most recent was the 007 Spy Files partwork magazine, which was firmly targeted at the 9-12s and got lots of negative mail from adults who wanted something 'serious' without crosswords or colouring pages in it.

I'm willing to let Charlie Higson's work speak for itself - it's not fair to judge the man without having read the book - but I have to say I fear that losing an 'adult' 007 fiction series in favour of gaining a children's one will be ultimately weaken the franchise.

But from a marketing point of view, the fact is that Bond novels aimed at a children's market could very probably sell more than those written for the adult market. Look at the sales figures Raymond Benson talks about in his interview on this site - those are a fraction of what a hot kid's book can sell.

Personally, I don't see why there couldn't be two fiction streams based on 007 - one for the children's market and one following on from where Benson left off - but I'm afraid that it's more likely that there won't be, for fear of creating "brand confusion".

[Atticus17F]

I suspect Anne might be doing blackflips with Ian.

I do wish people would give this "Fleming spinning in his grave" nonsense a rest. Although proud of his creation, he was never precious about it. I mean, he cheerfully took the money and ran when the Daily Express turned his novels into a cartoon strip, and what about his deal with CBS in 1954? That was meant to be a serious adaptation of Casino Royale. This is a series of books for children! If he didn't care about the former, why would he give a flying one for the latter? Speaking of which, wasn't Fleming a bit of a fan of children's literature? And didn't he create one of his own, about a flying car?

Fleming was a bibliophile and I think if he was going to be alarmed by anything happening today, it would be the declining standards of literacy among schoolchildren. If this helps to keep kids reading and away from other mind-numbing visual media, then I reckon he'd be all for it.