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James Bond musical set to hit Broadway


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#1 glidrose

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Posted 02 July 2015 - 11:31 PM

http://www.broadwayw...oadway-20150629
 
"BroadwayWorld has intelligence from MI-6 headquarters that Placeholder Productions has secured the rights to JAMES BOND THE MUSICAL. Executive Producer Merry Saltzman announced the news today, hinting that the show is aiming for a run either in Las Vegas or on Broadway next season.

Saltzman, daughter of legendary Bond film producer and impresario Harry Saltzman, said the world's favorite spy will soon be singing, dancing, and laughing his way into audiences' hearts in an original production with songs and lyrics by Jay Henry Weisz and a book by Dave Clarke.

Pre-production has begun and Placeholder expects the curtain to go up on this satirical spy romp in 2017."

#2 Major Tallon

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 12:48 AM

Well, we know Pierce Brosnan can sing.



#3 Blofeld's Cat

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 02:33 AM

"...a book by Dave Clarke." That's a new one on me.  :blink:

 

Well, we know Pierce Brosnan can sing.

LOL! You are waaaaay too kind.  :P



#4 tdalton

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 02:54 AM

Can't wait to see Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson put a stop to this.  Should make for some entertaining headlines.



#5 jaguar007

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 03:46 AM

...and Gulshan Grover is set to be Bond's singing nemesis. ;)



#6 Bryce (003)

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 04:45 AM

Well, Hugh Jackman does have the stage chops.

 

As long as it's not like the FYEO production number from the '82 Academy Awards. :blink:

 

B)



#7 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 07:02 AM

Is it April Fools Day again?



#8 tdalton

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 07:03 AM

Is it April Fools Day again?

 

Apparently.  



#9 thecasinoroyale

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 02:55 PM

The fact there is a Saltzman involved speaks volumes about this for me and how likely it will ever be in getting to opening night.



#10 The Dove

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 11:00 PM

Dear god...NO!!!

#11 tdalton

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 11:28 PM

Dear god...NO!!!

 

I don't think you'll have to worry about it.  I can't imagine that EON will allow this to get much further into the development phase.



#12 Guy Haines

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Posted 03 July 2015 - 11:52 PM

Well, they set one of Ian Fleming's other creations to music - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I wonder what this one might end up as - "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"?

 

I'll be surprised if it ever happens.

 

(That said, if a Bond musical had been around when I was at school in the 1970s I'd have found it infinitely preferable as an end of year school concert performance to our usual standard "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". Endless rehearsals of that have left their mark on me! As for which part I'd have liked, well, not being tall, dark and handsome I would have quite happily settled for the musical "M" or the lyrical Blofeld! ;))



#13 Double Naught spy

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:03 AM

If they want to silence and keep Eon from interfering, Saltzman and co. should cast Idris Elba as Broadway 007.



#14 Double-Oh Agent

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 07:25 AM

I highly doubt this is factual. One of the bigger reasons why is the identification of Merry Saltzman. Harry Saltzman did have a daughter, but I believe her name was Stephanie. Certainly not Merry.



#15 stromberg

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 10:51 AM

I highly doubt this is factual. One of the bigger reasons why is the identification of Merry Saltzman. Harry Saltzman did have a daughter, but I believe her name was Stephanie. Certainly not Merry.

There's a bit more info on her over at HMSS: https://hmssweblog.w...s-bond-musical/

 

But I still don't want this to happen. Hope that Eon's lawyers are as good as they used to be...



#16 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 11:46 AM

Even if it happens, it will close within days.  

 

New Broadway musicals these days do have a very short life expectancy.  And there´s just no way that a singing and dancing James Bond would work.

 

It all smells like a desperate attempt by someone who has no idea about the marketplace or any creative endeavour.  

 

Although, wait a minute... maybe Miss Saltzman has seen "The Producers" and WANTS to produce a B.O. bomb...



#17 Major Tallon

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 11:58 AM

I'd like to see the CR torture scene turned into a big production number, with Bond and LeChiffre backed by a large ensemble cast, in a tune called "To The Right!"



#18 stromberg

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:44 PM

I'd like to see the CR torture scene turned into a big production number, with Bond and LeChiffre backed by a large ensemble cast, in a tune called "To The Right!"

Sounds very Pythonesque  :P

 

We're joking now, but I do remember similar reactions when Higson's Young Bond series was announced. Some people didn't want to believe it, others were joking, and most of us hoped it wouldn't happen. But at the end of the day, we got a quality product which sold quite well and found wide acceptance. Alas, I doubt it'll happen with this one (if it happens).



#19 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:44 PM

... with the final power ballad: "The bitch is dead".

 

I just wonder: how could a musical be made out of this material without it being camp, an "Austin Powers"-like parody?  And if that´s what they are shooting for - EON should put a stop to it immediately.

 

Which raises the question: what kind of copyright of Bond does Miss Saltzman still hold?  I thought EON would own everything by now.



#20 stromberg

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:57 PM

Which raises the question: what kind of copyright of Bond does Miss Saltzman still hold?  I thought EON would own everything by now.

Not sure if she still held any. All reports say that her company "secured the rights" to do this. Does that mean she bought them from Eon or IFP?



#21 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:09 PM

Hard to imagine that EON would give her the chance to do this.  Especially with the momentum of the Craig era.

 

Maybe "securing the rights" was possible due to another terrible loophole in the contracts (nobody ever thought about turning Bond into a musical  :blink: )...



#22 tdalton

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:19 PM

I'm a bit surprised that we haven't heard anything from EON yet on this, but I would expect to in the coming days.  I would imagine that this is something that they'd want to swiftly, and very publicly, put an end to.



#23 SecretAgentFan

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:24 PM

Looking at the recent Sting musical "The Last Ship" (co-authored by John Logan, by the way) one can safely say that even with a high artistic pedigree, getting a new musical to premiere on Broadway is an uphill battle that most projects lose even after many years of development.  And having it last more than a couple of months is even more unlikely.  

 

So maybe EON, knowing they can´t stop this legally, will just wait it out, expecting this thing never to come to fruition at all.



#24 tdalton

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:31 PM

Looking at the recent Sting musical "The Last Ship" (co-authored by John Logan, by the way) one can safely say that even with a high artistic pedigree, getting a new musical to premiere on Broadway is an uphill battle that most projects lose even after many years of development.  And having it last more than a couple of months is even more unlikely.  

 

So maybe EON, knowing they can´t stop this legally, will just wait it out, expecting this thing never to come to fruition at all.

 

I'd be interested to see exactly how the copyright reads regarding EON and Bond and whether this stage production falls under EON's ownership of the character.   We've seen the issue play out a few times over rival film productions, but this is obviously a different case.

  

Even if this faces an uphill battle towards a premiere, it might be worth the effort for EON to squash it so that others don't get the idea that they can move forward with their own Bond projects in the future.



#25 Napoleon Solo

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:38 PM

I highly doubt this is factual. One of the bigger reasons why is the identification of Merry Saltzman. Harry Saltzman did have a daughter, but I believe her name was Stephanie. Certainly not Merry.

 

This New York Times obituary of Harry Saltzman lists a daughter named Merry. (Not an endorsement of the musical idea, just passing this tidbit along.)

http://www.nytimes.c...m-producer.html



#26 glidrose

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 07:12 PM

Can't wait to see Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson put a stop to this.  Should make for some entertaining headlines.


I guess you didn't see the bit where it says "secured the rights". Taking this at face value, it would appear that the entity she secured the rights from must be EON.

 

Which raises the question: what kind of copyright of Bond does Miss Saltzman still hold?  I thought EON would own everything by now.

Not sure if she still held any. All reports say that her company "secured the rights" to do this. Does that mean she bought them from Eon or IFP?


If the article is correct, then that's my guess too. EON also has all theatrical rights as well. That was part of the original EON-Fleming deal circa 1960. Even Kevin McClory won stage theatrical rights to TB when IF settled out of court.

 

I'd like to see the CR torture scene turned into a big production number, with Bond and LeChiffre backed by a large ensemble cast, in a tune called "To The Right!"


You are a genius, sir.


I highly doubt this is factual. One of the bigger reasons why is the identification of Merry Saltzman. Harry Saltzman did have a daughter, but I believe her name was Stephanie. Certainly not Merry.

 
This New York Times obituary of Harry Saltzman lists a daughter named Merry. (Not an endorsement of the musical idea, just passing this tidbit along.)

http://www.nytimes.c...m-producer.html


This obituary makes no mention of Merry, but says Saltzman had another son named Christopher.

https://news.google....acqueline&hl=en

#27 tdalton

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 07:15 PM

 

Can't wait to see Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson put a stop to this.  Should make for some entertaining headlines.


I guess you didn't see the bit where it says "secured the rights". Taking this at face value, it would appear that the entity she secured the rights from must be EON.

 

 

No, I saw it.  That phrase could be interpreted in several different ways.  Given that this is supposedly going to be satirical, I can't see EON licensing out the rights for this, so I would interpret it to mean that they are either trying to exploit a perceived loophole in the copyright or it just means that they've bought the rights to the script this will be based on, or both.



#28 Blofeld's Cat

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 10:27 PM

 

I'd like to see the CR torture scene turned into a big production number, with Bond and LeChiffre backed by a large ensemble cast, in a tune called "To The Right!"

Sounds very Pythonesque  :P

 

More like Mel Brooks a-la The Producers.  :blink:   :P

 



#29 Double-Oh Agent

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Posted 05 July 2015 - 03:40 AM

 

I highly doubt this is factual. One of the bigger reasons why is the identification of Merry Saltzman. Harry Saltzman did have a daughter, but I believe her name was Stephanie. Certainly not Merry.

There's a bit more info on her over at HMSS: https://hmssweblog.w...s-bond-musical/

 

But I still don't want this to happen. Hope that Eon's lawyers are as good as they used to be...

 

Oh yes, Hilary was her name not Stephanie. My memory failed me on that one.

 

Regardless, a James Bond musical seems like a bad idea. I have a hard time seeing it working. It would have to be jazzy and suspenseful tunes and not much humor aside from the occasional one-liners. But Bond is about spectacle and you really can't have that in a play; and an overly jokey James Bond without stunts and spectacle you've got something more along the lines of Casino Royale 1967. Shudder. No if given the choice I would say I'd rather hope this does not happen.



#30 stromberg

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Posted 05 July 2015 - 08:44 AM

Regardless, a James Bond musical seems like a bad idea. I have a hard time seeing it working. It would have to be jazzy and suspenseful tunes and not much humor aside from the occasional one-liners. But Bond is about spectacle and you really can't have that in a play; and an overly jokey James Bond without stunts and spectacle you've got something more along the lines of Casino Royale 1967. Shudder. No if given the choice I would say I'd rather hope this does not happen.

I've given up the thinking "That wouldn't work as a musical, it's not going to happen." One wouldn't believe that the German World Cup win of 1954 would work as a musical, yet this thing exists. One can make patties of everything, just put it through the mincer and add some sticky sauce. Unfortunately, sometimes the result is cow patty.

 

I do so hate musicals...  :D