For Your Eyes Only Question

[TrekSucksHard]

In the beginning of the movie Bond disposes of a bald guy in an electric wheelchair with a cat. Was this the movie where Blofeld finally bought it (since he wasn't named Blofeld specifically was the guy just an imposter but it doesnt explain why Blofeld hasn't reappeared in subsequent Bond movies either)?

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Loooooooooong story ! Are you sitting comfortably ? Then I will begin.

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Ian Fleming worked with screenwriter Jack Whittingham and a guy called Kevin McClory to create what was supposed to be the first ever Bond movie, originally called "Longitude 78 West" in 1959. If you remember, this is the location of the warhead in Thunderball. Spot the connection ?

The project fell through but Ian Fleming used the story as the basis for his 1961 Bond novel "Thunderball". But, naughty old Ian, did it without mentioning either McClory or Whittingham.

As it was very, very similar to "Longitude" McClory attempted then to block Jonathan Cape's publication of "Thunderball" in March of 1961 which was less than a week before the book's debut in the UK. He was unsuccessful.

He brought suit against Fleming in 1963 and the outcome was that all future publications of the novel would state that "It is based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming," in that order.

Furthermore McClory acquired all movie rights to the story and its various treatments, referred to as "The film scripts."

He worked with EON in 1965 co-producing Thunderball which was an appeasement of sorts to prevent a competitor of EON facing off against them during the very height of 007's 60's popularity.

In exchange McClory abandoned all claims for another 10 years after the initial release of the film.

When in January 1976 the rights reverted back to him he started making plans for another Bond film. This time he wrote an original script along with Len Deighton and Sean Connery, called "Warhead 8." When legal battle was started again by EON he was finally forced to produce only a direct remake of Thunderball, ever !!!

The result was 1983's release of Never Say Never Again.

However as a result McClory owned (as his creation) SPECTRE and Blofeld, thus EON has never used it since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. The villain in The Spy Who Loved Me was originally SPECTRE, but was changed when it appeared legal issues would have arisen again.

'Blofeld' made a cameo appearance in 1981 in the precredit sequence of For Your Eyes Only although he was never really identified as being Blofeld. In the credits I think he is "Bald Wheelchair Man" or something similar.

Disposing of him early in the film was Broccoli's way of saying Bond could go on without SPECTRE, in effect two fingers up at McClory.

[Kara Milovy]

McClory never won the ownership of SPECTRE or Blofeld. When TSWLM was in production, Blofeld was to be the villain. McClory threatened to sue, claiming he owned SPECTRE & Blofeld, which were first introduced in the novel Thunderball. However, the case was never brought to court.

Eon essentially decided f--- him and f--- his stinking lawsuits, we can make our movies without Blofeld and SPECTRE. So they did. (This is why Stromberg seems such a slapdash villain, and his evil plot so thin; the whole undersea world angle was conceived very much at the last minute.)

There is documentary evidence that McClory had absolutely nothing to do with the creation of SPECTRE or Blofeld, in the form of notes and drafts by Fleming, found in his papers, that mention them, and pre-date Fleming meeting McClory. So it is unlikely McClory would have won the suit. McClory, in fact, lost most of his many lawsuits against Eon, after his initial win against Fleming.

FYEO was John Glen's first Bond movie as director. He thought it would be fun to finish off the unresolved Blofeld issue once and for all. Glen had been a 2nd unit director on OHMSS, so he put Blofeld in a wheelchair figuring him to still have the neck injury from OHMSS. Of course, Glen has never been the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and forgot completely about DAF. Most people figure Blofeld is in a wheelchair because of injuries sustained at the end of DAF, but no, Glen meant it to refer to OHMSS.

[LeiterCIA]

Of course, Glen has never been the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and forgot completely about DAF. Most people figure Blofeld is in a wheelchair because of injuries sustained at the end of DAF, but no, Glen meant it to refer to OHMSS.

Furthermore, it doesnt really stand to reason that Blofeld would have been confined to a wheelchair from neck injuries sustained during the bobsled chase, since we see Blofeld driving the car at the end of OHMSS. I could be wrong.

I happened to like the Blofeld interpretation in FYEO as a sort of amalgam of previous Blofelds.

[Cooper]

It's a shame that SPECTRE is still tied up in lawsuits... The video game "From Russia With Love" has Bond battling the cumbersome-sounding "OCTOPUS" instead of SPECTRE. It would also be nice to have SPECTRE make a return to the movies.

Personally, I like to think that was not Blofeld at the beginning of FYEO. He's Bond's Moriarity... he is NOT disposed of in a pred-credit sequence.

So, is McClory still desperately trying to make another Bond Thunderball re-make?

[BeauButabi]

I thought that all the lawsuits have been over for a while now and EON owns everything.

[Cooper]

Something kept Electronic Arts from calling the villians SPECTRE in the relatively new video game "From Russia With Love".

Yes, yes... I'm a 33 year-old boy who enjoys an x-box game here and there.
I could not pass up the opportunity to play a Bond game as the old-school Bond. Although, hearing Sean Connery's 2006 voice coming out of the 1963 Bond is a little disconcerting. However, compliments to the voice actors who provide Kerim Bay and Rosa Klebb's voices.

[LeiterCIA]

It's a shame that SPECTRE is still tied up in lawsuits... The video game "From Russia With Love" has Bond battling the cumbersome-sounding "OCTOPUS" instead of SPECTRE.

I noticed this too, and wondered why they had to change the name to "Octopus"... I was under the impression EON owned all the rights too. Kara can shed a little light here.

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Sorry Kara, but I disagree.

All information I have is that McClory owns the rights to SPECTRE and Blofield on film and in any visual medium (hence OCTOPUS in the FRWL video game) as apart of his retained film rights to Thunderball and any / all subsequent remakes, but of that story only.

However under the terms of the Fleming settlement back in the 60's, SPECTRE and Blofield can continue to be used in the printed medium by owners of the Fleming literary copyright (is it still Glidrose ??) hence their various appearences in the Gardner continuation novels.

So whilst the case referring specifically to ownership of SPECTRE and Blofield was never bought to court (even though it appears likely Fleming might well have won) the precedent was established as part of the settlement. McClory owns the visual copyrights as part of his retained film rights to Thunderball and content therein. Currently, EON cannot use Blofield or SPECTRE (by name at least) on screen.

Although I am getting very close to running out of talent as far as my Law qualifications (1 'A' Level in 1992!) are concerned..... so it'll probably turn out we are both right.

[Kara Milovy]

Well, DCD, that's interesting. I haven't read the original legal documents (they put me to sleep) but I have read several summaries by knowledgeable people, and you're the first one to bring up this point.

Now, I wonder if Eon decided to remake, say, OHMSS, would they be able to use Blofeld?

What was never settled was how much of Thunderball McClory owned beyond the story itself. He sued, at one point, for the right to make original James Bond movies, saying the character was substantially created in the novel and therefore he should be able to use it. Judge didn't buy it.

Now, he had a better case with SPECTRE, since it was introduced in TB, and the notes and such were never introduced in court.

BUT Eon purchased the rights to TB back when McClory sold them on the open market. He had terrible trouble getting NSNA made, no one wanted a piece of something that would compete with Eon. He had the right to make the movie as early as 1975 but couldn't get financing. Only when he got Connery on board did the money emerge. He had the right to do it again in another ten years, but in '93 it was the same problem, no one wanted a fake Bond, and if he'd failed with Connery, what hope without him? So he sold the rights.

It was interesting because at first you see the notices offering the rights for sale, he advertised. But with no buyers, he finally went to Eon.

Now, are you saying that his sale of NSNA to Eon doesn't include the sale of future remakes and the right to the use of the storyline?

[LeiterCIA]

Interesting discussion...

The thing that I could never understand, was that even if McClory single handedly invented Spectre and Blofeld, how he ever not only got the rights to Blofeld and Spectre, but was able to make a movie with James Bond, M, Q, Moneypenny, Leiter, etc, etc...

[BeauButabi]

Yeah, that's something I always wondered about too Leiter.

[Kara Milovy]

Interesting discussion...

The thing that I could never understand, was that even if McClory single handedly invented Spectre and Blofeld, how he ever not only got the rights to Blofeld and Spectre, but was able to make a movie with James Bond, M, Q, Moneypenny, Leiter, etc, etc...
All of those characters were in the novel. (Um...not sure about Q, but McClory fudged it by naming him Algernon.)

What I don't understand is how he got away with remaking the movie Thunderball, including the use of material that was introduced in the film, not the novel. Blofeld's cat, for instance.

[LeiterCIA]

All of those characters were in the novel. (Um...not sure about Q, but McClory fudged it by naming him Algernon.)

He still refers to himself as "old Q' in the movie though.

What I don't understand is how he got away with remaking the movie Thunderball, including the use of material that was introduced in the film, not the novel. Blofeld's cat, for instance.

But, that's sorta adds my point. If McClory has a leg to stand on by saying, "But I was involved in creating Blofeld/Spectre." Doesnt Fleming have MORE of a leg to stand on saying, "Wait... I created James Bond, 007, Universal Exports, Moneypenny, M, Q, Leiter, etc, etc, and etc... How come this guy gets the rights to his own share of his own creation, and ALL the shares of ALL MY creations??"