29 replies to this topic

[zencat]

Casino Royale The "Lost" Stage Play

The curious tale of the 'Casino Royale' that wasn't

[ACE]

I think it could work very well, especially under Raymond's guidance. He has a theatrical background and I understand his play he wrote with Douglas Redenius "Second Chance" was very well received in Chicago.

The concept reminds me of the Ian Fleming one man show "The Man With The Golden Pen" staged in the UK a few years back was surprisingly effective. CBn did a report on that.

ACE

Edited by ACE, 02 August 2005 - 12:04 AM.

[zencat]

I think it could work very well.

The Ian Fleming one man show "The Man With The Golden Pen" staged in the UK a few years back was surprisingly effective. CBn did a report on that.

ACE

Huh. You know, I don't remember ever hearing about that one?

[ACE]

Yeah, some bozo wrote something about it time back, in pre-history.

Report
http://commanderbond...ies/532-1.shtml

Photos
http://commanderbond...ies/534-1.shtml



ACE

[Byron]

Great article! Good work John!

I would have definately paid to see such a play.

And any more info on "The man with the golden pen"?

[zencat]

Yeah, some bozo wrote something about it time back, in pre-history.

Report
http://commanderbond...ies/532-1.shtml

Photos
http://commanderbond...ies/534-1.shtml



ACE

Oh. LOL!

Hey, that 2001, how can you expect me to remember that far back? Heck, that was way back when Brosnan was still Bond.

[ACE]

Yeah, some bozo wrote something about it time back, in pre-history.

Report
http://commanderbond...ies/532-1.shtml

Photos
http://commanderbond...ies/534-1.shtml



ACE

Oh. LOL!

Hey, that 2001, how can you expect me to remember that far back? Heck, that was way back when Brosnan was still Bond.

4 years ago. Or, as Billy Joel once said, "Two careers in pop music!"

ACE

[TheSaint]

I think a CR play might've worked better then than now, since this was prior to Eon getting the rights.

[Bondian]

I have been subscribing to this idea for a long time ( can you subscribe to yourself...and is there a fee? ) and it would be great to see a stage Bond.

Very interesting zen, and thank you.

Cheers,


Ian

[Skudor]

Adapting CR to a play is pretty appropriate, the book's scope fits pretty well - I would have liked to have seen this.

[David Schofield]

Hell, its hard enough to cast a movie Bond: can you imagine the diffulties finding someone who could look Bondian (in the EON visual sense) and successfully carry a theatre production!

Or am I thinking Dalton?

[MookyJones]

Someone from CBN might mention to Mr. Benson in the next interview, that while he cannot produce the play (Because of EON) and cannot publish the play (because of IFP), he can in fact just distribute the manuscript for free to loyal Bond fans here on CBN! It's not like he's ever going to see a penny from the script, so why not?

[Gri007]

I am glad this has been discussed. I have been playing with idea of directing a stage play of CR. Seeing that you would have to have EON/FLEMING estate permission, i should think you'll have to pay

Edited by Gri007, 02 August 2005 - 07:32 PM.

[Blaze Bond]

Good report, I think that the play would've worked out quite well. Anyways I also think Casino Royale would also be the best to adapt into a play, one of Fleming's best works.

[hcmv007]

Be good to see it.

[marktmurphy]

It's the most logical to adapt if you had to make a Bond stage play. I'm not sure you wouldn't get some disappointed people coming to see it, though. Probably for affciandos only.

And it's very easy to brush off the theatrical agent who dismissed it as being 'elderly', but perhaps she actually knew what she was talking about.

[Loomis]

And it's very easy to brush off the theatrical agent who dismissed it as being 'elderly', but perhaps she actually knew what she was talking about.

Indeed.

The general public loves Bond films and will always spend money to see them in cinemas. Not sure that the general public would respond so well to a Bond play - and a (presumably) fairly talky and action- and spectacle-free play at that. Would Benson's CASINO ROYALE have been able to provide what Joe Public got from the Eon films?

Of course, you could argue that audiences for plays are smaller than for films, that theatregoers are more willing to be "challenged", and so on; but, yeah, I'd agree that this was probably only ever going to appeal to Bond diehards. Which isn't to say that Benson's play is rubbish, of course. I haven't read it - for all I know it's excellent. But I can understand the view that it may not be box office dynamite.

For Bond to succeed on the stage, it'd probably have to be a lavish, tacky, tongue-in-cheek extravaganza with eye-popping scenery, catchy musical numbers, dancing girls, acrobats, etc. - something a lot closer to the 1967 CASINO ROYALE than to Fleming's "Casino Royale".

[marktmurphy]

Exactly. I'm sure this would go down down well at a Bond or literary convention or somesuch, but pop it in the West End with big 007 billboards outside and then show people some miserable spies in a casino set and.. you'll have a lot of disappointed people.
And Loomis, you may be right about a theatre audience being willing to be challenged, but Royale isn't a challenging story by any stretch. It's a straightforward, fairly simple thiller and nothing more.

The only place I'd want a straight Fleming adaptation would be on Radio 4 or on CD. Why won't they let them do it?

[Loomis]

And Loomis, you may be right about a theatre audience being willing to be challenged, but Royale isn't a challenging story by any stretch. It's a straightforward, fairly simple thiller and nothing more.

Sure. What I meant was, challenging in terms of presenting a vision of Bond (some miserable spies in a casino set) at odds with that of the lavish, fun-for-all-the-family Eon spectacles (the image flashed to mind of a bunch of highbrow London theatregoers saying they wouldn't be caught dead watching OCTOPUSSY while lining up for a "Casino Royale" play and telling themselves they were about to see the "authentic", "thinking person's" Bond, which the masses wouldn't appreciate). Agreed that CR isn't a challenging piece of work.

[marktmurphy]

Yeah, sorry - I was agreeing with you, but it didn't look like that! I agree that only people who think they would be getting a challenging take on Bond would go, but they'd get a very unchallenging play. Only Fleming fans would enjoy this, I reckon.

[Atticus17F]

I'd quite like to see "James Bond: The Opera". The Jerry Springer one was hilarious.

[Gri007]

James Bond musical. That'll be interesting. I think you are all right in saying that CR seems to be the easist to adapt. I would have liked to see the staged version. You can't say it won't work if you don't try it. IFP should have gave Benson a chance.

[marktmurphy]

You can't say it won't work if you don't try it. 

I'm sure it would have worked, it's just that a straight adaptation wouldn't have been the most daringly electric bit of theatre ever. And since it'll disappoint film-loving Bond fans and won't excite normal theatre goers, I can't see it actually attracting an audience.

[K1Bond007]

Question about film, performing rights.

I was under the impression that the film rights to Casino Royale (lets start post 1967) was owned by Columbia Pictures. Was this just the film rights? Is that different than the "performing rights"?

Benson goes on to say "Since that time, EON bought the rights to Casino Royale" - Yeah, they got it from Columbia Pictures in 1999 in a settlement (MGM rather). Right? Or if they're different did EON/Danjaq go back to IFP and purchase the "performing rights" too?

I'm just kind of confused on this.

[zencat]

I believe Eon got the Casino rights back in the '99 settlement.

[Killmaster]

benson was right about casoni royale ebing the perfect bond for adapting to the stage ... it's a character-driven piece, requiring limited sets ... all the important action and conflict takes place within specific interior locations ... there are a limited number of prime characters ... additional outside action can easily be described through dialogue rather than actually visualizing (i.e. - vesper's kidnapping, bond's chase and subsequent capture can be mentioned by le chiffre prior to bond's torture scene)

a shame we can't catch a glimpse of benson the playwright.

[bpetta1]

I need this. Spynovelfan needs to get to work, I hear he's the resident private eye around these parts. Since this was in the 80s and not the 60s, and Benson obviously still has a copy, this should be much easier to track down than Per Fine Ounce.

This would be a dream.

[bpetta1]

Anybody have any thoughts on the odds that this might ever surface? I see that Benson doesn't own the publication rights to it, which sucks, but there has to be some scenario that this would be released.

What would it hurt to publish it if the production rights are still firmly in EON's hands? No harm, I would think.

[bpetta1]

Anybody have any thoughts on the odds that this might ever surface? I see that Benson doesn't own the publication rights to it, which sucks, but there has to be some scenario that this would be released.

What would it hurt to publish it if the production rights are still firmly in EON's hands? No harm, I would think.

[ACE]

To clarify, EON own no rights. Danjaq LLC and UA Corp do.
EON is the service company that makes the films of the rights the above own.

However, I believe Ian Fleming Publications Limited (IFP - and variants thereto) own publication rights to anything to do with the literary Bond.

I do not know for sure who owns theatrical rights to Bond. I guess IFP does (Danjaq et al have the film and TV character rights to Bond and first refusal on subsequent novels).

My guess is that IFP seem to be anxious to promote:

1 Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care (and any subsequent "adult" Bond novels)
2 Charlie Higson's Young Bond (which may go to a second series)
3 the original Ian Fleming novels
4 Samantha Weinberg's Moneypenny Diaries

I have a feeling that the stage play is owned by IFP and it will not see the light of day in the immediate future.