44 replies to this topic

[Solex Agitator]

I am with Morgan on this one.

If they can reboot Bond, why not reboot SPECTRE and take Blofeld in a new and unseen direction and revamped wardrobe?

[License To Kill]

I am with Morgan on this one.

If they can reboot Bond, why not reboot SPECTRE and take Blofeld in a new and unseen direction and revamped wardrobe?

I just feel that Blofeld is a character that you really can't redo. He is who he is: an evil megalomaniac. New clothes is fine, but nothing too drastic. But, I say don't screw with Blofeld, if you ever bring him back in the first place.

[Scottlee]

This thread is the first I've heard of McClory's death.

He was instrumental in writing some of the most memorable scenes in TB. Remember him for that and not his legal wranglings. We all have to make money in life. R.I.P

[K1Bond007]

Well, yeah. No one here is telling anyone what to do. Hell, it's possibly McClory didn't even have the rights anymore. There were deals being made between him and Sony in October 1997. Wouldn't surprise me though it was my belief that whatever transpired eventually reverted back to McClory.

Well if he didn't have the rights than care to explain the lack of Blofeld in GoldenEye Rogue Agent (I think? Isn't he just no.1?) and SPECTRE from From Russia with Love the game? EON never challenged McClory's claims to Blofeld and SPECTRE so I presume he had some rights.

That just goes to why I believe that he did, but standard Danjaq/EON/MGM/UA practice has always been avoid, avoid, avoid. It depends on how McClory's rights were all setup. He didn't just have the film rights to Thunderball. He also had the rights to multiple other scripts, which any one of them could have had Blofeld & SPECTRE. He also may have setup a deal with Sony similar to his deal with EON in '65. Who knows. I always and still do believe he has them. The question for me is: what now?

[Mr_Clark]

I think someone from McCloy's family might end up with the rights, whoever ends up them, should let Eon use Spectre and Blofeld for a certain percentage. Or atleast give the rights to Eon Productions.

[K1Bond007]

I think someone from McCloy's family might end up with the rights, whoever ends up them, should let Eon use Spectre and Blofeld for a certain percentage. Or atleast give the rights to Eon Productions.

EON will never share. Never again, anyway. McClory taught them that lesson. That's why you didn't see Casino Royale made in the 60s with Sean Connery. The offer was on the table, but Broccoli and Saltzman backed out because of their dealings with McClory and how that worked for them.

[pedroarmendariz]

if cr in a twisted way predates all of the 20 movies before it then bringing specter back short circuits the reboot notion. hiow is bond going to meet specter in bond 22 when he hasn't gotten to dr. no. let's just say that specter's return is done brilliantly and people love it. will eon bring it back for the rest of dc's tenure and therefore making connery's bond looked dumb to not recognize the villian he had been fighting before now i've given myself a headache trying to tie everything up. the point is specter's is in the past and let them stay there. cubby proved that bond could survive without them and it sounds too cliche. aren't some us tired of seeing the same drink, the same intro , and even the same gun barrel sequence? then maybe specter should be placed in that list of tiresome cliches.

[K1Bond007]

if cr in a twisted way predates all of the 20 movies before it then bringing specter back short circuits the reboot notion. hiow is bond going to meet specter in bond 22 when he hasn't gotten to dr. no. let's just say that specter's return is done brilliantly and people love it. will eon bring it back for the rest of dc's tenure and therefore making connery's bond looked dumb to not recognize the villian he had been fighting before now i've given myself a headache trying to tie everything up. the point is specter's is in the past and let them stay there. cubby proved that bond could survive without them and it sounds too cliche. aren't some us tired of seeing the same drink, the same intro , and even the same gun barrel sequence? then maybe specter should be placed in that list of tiresome cliches.

A reboot discards all previous continuity. In the Bond world we're living in right now (i.e., Casino Royale and on), Dr. No through Die Another Day never happened or will happen. There are two universes now. Films 1 - 20 and Films 21 through.. XX

It's like Batman Begins.

[Moore Baby Moore]

My opinion, as I made it more fully here, is that bringing back Blofeld/SPECTRE makes little sense.

We couldn't bring them back in their old, Dr. Evil-esque form. And if we bring them back in a new guise (even one inspired by the Fleming books), why keep the old names? The average person won't make the connection, and most of those who do won't be happy that the connection was made.

I still don't agree. As I said in the other thread, Lex Luthor has been a mad scientist, a tycoon, a politician, a terrorist-turned-arms dealer in the movies, and now he's a full-blown terrorist in the comics. He's been changed in a lot of different ways. If he can be shaken up to such a degree, than there's no reason why SPECTRE and Blofeld can't be updated in like fashion. If anything, I would agrue that Blofeld NEEDS to come back. He's always been Bond's most noteworthy enemy, as well as the one man who's done more damage to Bond than anyone else. So he'd be shorn of the volcano lairs and cats. So what? As long as his personality remains intact, he's still Blofeld. He's still a threat to James Bond. I don't and never will buy the idea that he's better off being abandoned.

[tambourineman]

Though I'd love to see the return of Blofeld and SPECTRE they might be a little too "Austin Powers" for the new James Bond.

[mcsearg]

Im not crazy about bringing Blofeld back. For a Bond fan like me and many others, who have been watching the series for years, its a good idea. But for the new Bond fan, Blofeld might be coompared to Dr Evil (even though Blofeld came first), and would make the character to comical. That is, of course, if they keep the same look. If its updated, then it might have a shot.

[Major Tallon]

I think it all depends on what rights McClory actually held and how he held them. For example, if he'd created his own corporation, say one called "SPECTRE Enterprises, LLC" and transferred everything to them, then his death has no effect, and the rights, whatever they may be, still belong to the corporation, ready to be asserted in litigation if EON tries to use the Blofeld/ SPECTRE names.

Leaving that aside, I'm with those who feel we don't need to see SPECTRE and Blofeld again. Not only should EON be looking for new villains and new plots to threaten the reborn Bond, re-cycling these previously used ideas will bring inevitable criticisms of lack of originality. Sure, they might be able to weather these (look what they had to put up with when they chose Craig), but why set themselves up for it?

Remember, it's a new world, with new enemies, but you can still depend on one man.

[tambourineman]

Well lets try think of some actors who could play the "rebooted" Blofeld. Could they pull it off, and get away from the campness?

Gary Oldman?
Jason Isaacs?

[K1Bond007]

Well lets try think of some actors who could play the "rebooted" Blofeld. Could they pull it off, and get away from the campness?

Gary Oldman?
Jason Isaacs?

If it's going to happen, I say go for an unknown or semi-unknown. Seriously. We need another Jesper Christensen, Mads Mikkelsen or Giancarlo Giannini. In fact, SPECTRE or no, I hope they go this route with the villains. There's more intrigue, IMHO.

[Wade]

Well lets try think of some actors who could play the "rebooted" Blofeld. Could they pull it off, and get away from the campness?

Gary Oldman?
Jason Isaacs?

If it's going to happen, I say go for an unknown or semi-unknown. Seriously. We need another Jesper Christensen, Mads Mikkelsen or Giancarlo Giannini. In fact, SPECTRE or no, I hope they go this route with the villains. There's more intrigue, IMHO.

I agree. Look what happened to M:I:3 when they hired Philip Seymour Hoffman as the bad guy. I couldn't stop laughing.