18 replies to this topic

[Mister Asterix]

I was looking at Kevin McClory's web-site (spectreorganisation.com) and read through all his arguement on how MGM and Danjaq ripped him off in most of the Bond movies. If you only hear his side of the story, you might almost feel for the guy. But then after reading nine pages of legal arguements and his pals agree with him about how MGM and Danjaq did him wrong in the Bond movies in the 60s and 70s and then asks in a survey at the end of the whoile thing:

'Are Danjaq SA/LLC and MGM/UA 21st century pirates?'

Well, no. Even if you completely buy into Mr. McClory load of BS, you couldn't say they are 21st Century Pirate because all of the events he mentions happened in the 20th Century. So if they are pirates, they would be 20th Century Pirates. So the answer to his survey has to be no.

As I said, Kevin McClory is an idiot.

I encourage all of you to go to Mr. McClory's web-site and vote no to the survey at the end.

[Mister Asterix]

"R" (23 Nov, 2001 05:46 p.m.): (edited)
OK, so he may have been involved in the creation of SPECTRE and Blofeld, which were mainstays of the series. BUT so did Fleming, who subsequently allowed their use in the films...

All of the evidence I have read has pointed to Fleming as the creator of SPECTRE. Unfortunately, it was while working with McClory on the scripts that McClory owns. As I understand it the original Thunderball scripts had mobsters as the bad guys. Fleming then submitted a script with SPECTRE instead of the Mobsters and McClory and Whittingham revised it to take SPECTRE out and put the mobsters back in.

EON, I believe, used SPECTRE in their movies based on the rights to On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice. Unfortunately, the courts now say that McClory has the motion picture rights to SPECTRE.

If McClory were not an idiot, he would have sold his rights to EON years ago, used the money to produce some other movie, and got on with his life. Instead, he desperately hangs on to the heels of his failed 007 movie from nearly a half-century ago. It's very sad, really.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Jim (27 Nov, 2001 08:03 a.m.):
A little objectivity might not go amiss.

I know it may look a little childish Jim, but what little objectivity I had for the Cad evaporated upon hearing that he has rigged the vote on his web site.

Now he is trying to implicate John Q. Public in his sordid little activities.

[freemo]

Blofeld's Cat (27 Nov, 2001 04:47 a.m.):
Used my anagram generator to come up with the following.

Kevin McClory = "Mr. Evil 'n' Cocky"   or   "Vile 'n' Mock Cry".

The longest appropriate word from his name = "Mockery".

If the shoe fits, and all that!

You can't argue with anagrams, the first one suits him perfectly. Those not convined taht hes an idiot should just read any comment that he has ever made.

[R]

Blue Eyes (22 Nov, 2001 09:59 p.m.):
You know the little quiz thing. Going back about 6 months you could vote many times and view the results. So I did it. For everytime I voted no, the yes grew by two. It's completely rigged.

I went there and voted "No" as well, and I thought it was a bit bizarre that the "Yes" had exactly 2/3rds of the votes.

What really bugs me is that he seems to hang everything on the "stealing nuclear weapons" plot theft. If that's the case why hasn't he sued James Cameron for "True Lies" and whoever did "The Peacemaker" and countless other Hollywood movies.
[/rant]

[The Admiral]

I've voted a lot on that site for no - please, everyone else do the same!

[Simon]

Jim (27 Nov, 2001 08:03 a.m.):
A little objectivity might not go amiss.

What if McClory is right? What if the stuff we're presented with is produced by EON productions with the resources of MGM behind them? Given the importance of the Bond films to MGM, they wouldn't want their cash cow taken away from them.............I'm no standard bearer for him. I've never met him and very very probably never will. But there appears to be only one side to this story. And I just wonder whether that is true.

This is a point, one must always try to be open minded. Very probably all the facts may never be known to us and after all this time, maybe there will be various examples of forgotten, twisted, misconstrued and hazy details.

However, since the question is one of "idiot or not", then he must be. Why? Well, why wait until now to try to convince the populace. Half his source material witnesses are dead and the other half couldn't care less.

The whole exercise was a pointless waste of time and most non-idiots would probably see that without the need to wait for 20-30 years.

Whether he is a knowing or unknowing idiot, well he must be roughly 158 now so..................

[R]

As far as I understand what happened, McClory, Fleming and Guy Whittingham got together to create a James Bond Movie in 1960-ish, which was to become Thunderball. Fleming then wrote the novelisation of their work, but didn't credit the other two at all, which, fair play, was naughty. On further reprints of the book, McClory and Whittingham were credited (ahead of Fleming), and McClory got to produce the movie.

However, whilst was going on, EON (I think through Saltzman) get the rights to Fleming's other Bond books (except of course for Casino Royale). McClory, for whatever reason, feels this is wrong and starts legal proceedings, and is still rumbling on 40 years later.

McClory's situation, as I see it, is that he was wronged by Fleming over Thunderball, but that's about it. His assertion that he should have the rights over the cinematic Bond just seem like sour grapes to me, as far as I am aware he hasn't taken any action with regards to Casino Royale.

OK, so he may have been involved in the creation of SPECTRE and Blofeld, which were mainstays of the series. BUT so did Fleming, who subsequently allowed their use in the films, and I think that Fleming, as the ultimate creator of James Bond, should have had the ultimate say in the screen evolution of his character.

[zencat]

No vote for me. McClory is an idiot.

[Mister Asterix]

I found this fairly recent picture of Mr. Evil 'n' Cocky on his web-site.

[zencat]

Blue Eyes (22 Nov, 2001 09:59 p.m.):
You know the little quiz thing. Going back about 6 months you could vote many times and view the results. So I did it. For everytime I voted no, the yes grew by two. It's completely rigged.

Amazing. That is SO Kevin McClory. The guy is a con-man and a hustler, plain and simple.

[Jim]

Hold on a moment.

No standard bearer for Kevin McClory, I, and Never Say Never Again is pretty lame in parts, but didn't Ian Fleming allegedly try to rip him off?

As far as I'm aware, that case settled out of court and so no evidence was ever tested; but if McClory got the better end of the deal, good luck to him. The man must have some balls.

That those balls may have moved to his brain is a matter I cannot comment on.

However, he got his asset and he may well have found it of limited value - how many bloody times can one remake Thunderball after all - but if he's got it, he's got it and will continue to create trouble.

If this keeps EON on its toes and it means they have to reheat ideas that are not based on a forty year old book, joly good.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Used my anagram generator to come up with the following.

Kevin McClory = "Mr. Evil 'n' Cocky" or "Vile 'n' Mock Cry".

The longest appropriate word from his name = "Mockery".

If the shoe fits, and all that!

[Evil Doctor Cheese]

Has anyone got a picture of Kevin "Mr Evil n Cocky" McClory that I can use to characature for my next Evil Doctor Cheese cartoon?

[Blue Eyes]

You know the little quiz thing. Going back about 6 months you could vote many times and view the results. So I did it. For everytime I voted no, the yes grew by two. It's completely rigged.

[Jim]

A little objectivity might not go amiss.

What if McClory is right? What if the stuff we're presented with is produced by EON productions with the resources of MGM behind them? Given the importance of the Bond films to MGM, they wouldn't want their cash cow taken away from them.

It's all a bit too black and white to be true. The comfy "family" of EON against the rapaciousness of Mr McClory. All a bit too pat.

As with all "sources", be they sources about titles and plots and cast of new films, they are open to question.

I'm no standard bearer for him. I've never met him and very very probably never will. But there appears to be only one side to this story. And I just wonder whether that is true.

[R]

Has anyone got a picture of Kevin "Mr Evil n Cocky" McClory that I can use to characature for my next Evil Doctor Cheese cartoon?

Watch Thunderball. When Bond enters the Nassau casino, he walks past a man smoking a cigar in the lobby. That's McClory.

[scaramanga]

The man is still determined to milk it after all this time. How old is he anyway, he must be a fair age by now if Thunderball was written 40 years ago.

[Mister Asterix]

Jim (27 Nov, 2001 08:03 a.m.):
A little objectivity might not go amiss.

What if McClory is right? What if the stuff we're presented with is produced by EON productions with the resources of MGM behind them? Given the importance of the Bond films to MGM, they wouldn't want their cash cow taken away from them.

It's all a bit too black and white to be true. The comfy "family" of EON against the rapaciousness of Mr McClory. All a bit too pat.

As with all "sources", be they sources about titles and plots and cast of new films, they are open to question.

I'm no standard bearer for him. I've never met him and very very probably never will. But there appears to be only one side to this story. And I just wonder whether that is true.

The point of my original post is: Even if everything he says is true he still is an idiot. And if you believe Blue Eyes (and I do), he is a cheating idiot.