61 replies to this topic

[zencat]

I expect this will start of bit of conversation.

Miramax Buys Rights to First Two 'Young James Bond' Novels

Remember you saw it here on CBn first.

[Qwerty]

Well ain't this different!

Five novels planned so far? Interesting!

Even more so with this news with Miramax.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Oh god help us all.

[Athena007]

Remember you saw it here on CBn first.

Is ZenCat Eliot Carver?

"...according to a report in tomorrow's Variety."

Anywho, this news... interesting... I don't quite know WHAT to think of it. I just hope there won't be "Harry Potter-ish" Bond Jr movies in the future because of this new deal with Mirimax Books.

[Qwerty]

Remember you saw it here on CBn first.

Is ZenCat Eliot Carver?

"...according to a report in tomorrow's Variety."

My idol!

Seriously, nice find there Zen!

If this is to go through, they have to do it right.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Miramax hasn't read the books yet! This is going to interesting.

[Athena007]

Well, actually... the first novel is technically finished. So maybe they did read the first one, but I doubt it.

[zencat]

Miramax (who is part owned by Disney remember) is now in the James Bond business.

That sound you heard was MGM going into cardiac arrest.

[Xenobia]

You guys didn't think the books wouldn't be published here, did you?

Miramax has a mixed record in publishing. Their magazine Talk Magazine was a bomb, but their non-fiction books including the memoirs of Queen Noor and Rudolph Guiliani have been commerical hits, and in Guiliani's case, critical ones as well.

Miramax Publishing also tends to publish the novelizations of the films that Miramax Productions makes. True, that no movie rights were discussed, but do you really think Eon would be pleased if MGM produced the YJB films? Or for that matter, that Harvey Weinstein would invest in a project to the tune of six figures, if he wasn't sure he could make a profit?

In other words gang, if the novels work, expect Miramax to make the movies.

-- Xenobia

[Athena007]

Miramax (who is part owned by Disney remember) is now in the James Bond business.

Oh no

[Xenobia]

Miramax (who is part owned by Disney remember) is now in the James Bond business.

That sound you heard was MGM going into cardiac arrest.

Ah so gwasshoppa, you have forgotten your lessons from Variety:

1. The Weinsteins no longer worship the mouse. A little movie called Farenheit 9/11 soured that collaboration, and I suspect by the end of the summer Moore's documentary will provide the Weinstein's with buy out money to get out of the deal with Disney.

2. Anyone wanna make a bet that Eon said to MGM "You produce the Young James Bond movies, and we walk?" No Bond, no MGM, and MGM knows that. That need Eon to be part of the deal, at least in theory, should MGM be sold, and Eon may have threatened to walk away unless MGM passed on the film rights.

I'll tell you who is going into Cardiac arrest -- whoever is bank rolling IrishDreamTime. Brosnan's deal with MGM vis a vis his production company may or may not be continued by the new owners of MGM (they may elect to buy him out), and then Brosnan would need to find a new company to act as his umbrella. Miramax would have been a natural choice, but if there is bad blood between Brosnan and Broccolis OR if Brosnan wants to distance himself a bit from Bond, he won't go where the YJB series is.

-- Xenobia

[zencat]

Peter Bart's got nothing on you, Xen.

Can you find out how I did at HBO today?


(Hey, look at that. That's post 8888. That must mean something -- besides the fact that I need a life.)

[Xenobia]

You and HBO? You probably did very well. They know quality when they see it.



-- Xenobia

[Athena007]

(Hey, look at that. That's post 8888. That must mean something -- besides the fact that I need a life.)

8 stands for inspiration
...put 2 and 2 together (8x4)

[Genrewriter]

Very interesting news.

[Jim]

Oh no.

[[dark]]

Does this mean if Kiddie Bond is a hit, Miramax will have first preference when the movie rights are being dished out, or will Eon and MGM/Sony/whoever have first choice?

[Genrewriter]

I think if they're the ones who own the rights it's a relatively safe bet that they'll be handling distribution and production.

[MrDraco]

I thought MGM and EON had the rights to bond, how is it possable that another company can buy the rights to the same charecter etc..?

oh well its bad news anyway, once they make these in the movies ill

[Loomis]

Seems to me that quite a few people are missing:

"Film rights are not part of the deal between Miramax and Ian Fleming Publications, the company founded by Bond creator Ian Fleming and wholly owned by the Fleming family."

In other words, there will be no YJB films without Eon's say-so/involvement. Miramax can't just go off and make YJB films "off its own bat" now that it's bought the rights (another reminder, they're just the publishing rights).

[Johnboy007]

Ah good, for a minute I had visions of "Young James Bond" A Quentin Tarantino film.

[Mister Asterix]

Disappointing that Puffin is not going to publish these in the states. I was hoping for some sort of continuance of the Serra/Fahey covers. Perhaps Penguin/Puffin UK will notice the critical success of the covers from the recent US Flemings and use them for the UK covers.

I suppose Miramax could hire Richie Fahey to do the artwork, but I wouldn

[marktmurphy]

I don't see the point in having similar covers to the Fleming releases- those were 50's style covers because the books were set and written in the 50's/60's (and had an American style to them- hence the Americana look of the covers). These books are to be set in 30's England. That style would have no relation to the new books.

[Simon]

Is it confirmed the series will be set in the 30s. I have probably missed it but I haven't seen this as definitive.

If so fine, but I believe the question should be, why the 30's anymore than the 60s. Ie. if Bond in 2004 is ~40, then perhaps today's audience might relate more to that period.

To my mind, the whole age thing if he's a perpetual middle aged adult can be ignored, trying to pinpoint a past is utterly confusing. Who knows, they may even have him as a kid in the 90s just to throw a real curve ball.

[Mister Asterix]

They are definitely set in the 30s, Simon. It was in the initial press release.

[Simon]

Ah, ok sir.

Thanks for the heads up.

(I should read PRs more closely)

[Tanger]

Ditto what Jim said. I truly hope this does not lead to movies of any kind. God help us.

[Qwerty]

I had thought these books were to be published in the US as well?

[Glor (009)]

Does anyone remember "James Bond Jr."? It was an abomination to the series. It was almost like the cartoon version of X-Men except that the X-Men are comic book people and 007 is real.

I shudder to think of how they are going to do these stories. Young Indiana Jones was OK when he was a teenager/young man but I hated the little kid shows.

From what I gathered in the novels young James didn't have a bunch of adventures either. Boarding School, a little college, and the Navy...you know the rest. Trying to create an incredible past for him is crazy. Then he would have received fame and could never have been a "Secret Agent".

Just my opinion of course. Even if they are terrible, I'll have to buy them to keep my collection going.

[zencat]

Seems to me that quite a few people are missing:

"Film rights are not part of the deal between Miramax and Ian Fleming Publications, the company founded by Bond creator Ian Fleming and wholly owned by the Fleming family."

In other words, there will be no YJB films without Eon's say-so/involvement. Miramax can't just go off and make YJB films "off its own bat" now that it's bought the rights (another reminder, they're just the publishing rights).

Yes. I added this to the sub headline to make this clear. It's clear enough in the article, isn't it?

I've very proud of CBn's little scoop here (if you remember, we were also the first site to announce these books). We reported this news before the Ian Fleming Publications website. I was sort of hoping they'd give us a title, but alas... Interesting that they didn't mention the 5 book plan. I think they may have wanted to keep that quite.