Shaken, stirred and destroyed by James Bond

[007]

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 49387.html

Shaken, stirred and destroyed by James Bond

By Andrea byrne

'James Bond absolutely destroyed him," remembers artist Brighid McLaughlin of her very close friend, Kevin McClory, who successfully sued Bond creator Ian Fleming for plagiarism. "Wherever he was, every room he had would be full, from the floor to the ceiling, with legal documents; it was crazy, crazy. He wasted all his life in the hallucinatory dream of revenge."

These accusations of plagiarism revolved around a screenplay for the first ever James Bond movie called Thunderball. Irish film producer Kevin McClory, who died on November 20, 2006, wrote the screenplay and held the rights to the story, but for financial reasons the movie wasn't made as originally planned. Soon after, though, an ill Ian Fleming wrote a James Bond novel of the same name, which led McClory to sue for plagiarism and infringement of copyright.

This gave rise to a high-profile case in London's High Court in November 1963.

"Fleming had penned his eight Bond novels and he was under pressure to produce number nine in 1961. He went off to his estate, Goldeneye in Jamaica. But it seems his imagination had run dry because he took up McClory's abandoned film script and re-wrote it as a novel. Obviously, Fleming believed he owned the character and the franchise and that there was no way the Irishman could stop him," explains film critic Breandan MacGearailt on RTE's Scannal series.

In the end, an unexpected settlement was reached whereby McClory, originally from Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, was awarded stg£50,000 compensation and secured the film rights to Thunderball, which ultimately proved a money-spinner for the Irishman.

Those close to him remembered McClory as a man who lived somewhat vicariously through James Bond 007, one of cinema's most iconic figures. "Every time you went to Straffan House [McClory bought the property, which is now the K-Club, in the mid-1960s], he had some gadget to show you. I am sure he was getting them all for nothing, that he was convincing people he would put them in a movie,'' recalls a friend. "They were all Bond-style gadgets."

Married twice, he was also regarded as something of a ladies' man. "He was utterly charming. He was very gracious. He always had some lady, some beautiful lady, with him -- a secretary, a girlfriend, a starlet. I could overhear people say, 'that's Kevin McClory who was involved in James Bond', so I, as a young person in my 20s, was fascinated," admits Brighid McLaughlin.

"I do think of him often, usually when I see daffodils. He was very generous, he was always bringing big bunches of daffodils to my mother, and sometimes to me, too.''

[The Sweeney]

I don't know why, but the impression I have made of McClory over the years is one of a bitter, sad, twisted, lonely individual, whose only claim to fame was having being involved (on the fringes) with one Fleming novel (and not a very good one at that). He then spent the rest of his years fighting for that one novel, constantly claiming it was his, even after Fleming passed away.

NSNA proved the sum of talent this guy had when he finally got his own way.....which isn't saying much. Sad really.

[katied]

Let's not forget Warhead( actually,maybe we should )

[Kristatos]

I don't know why, but the impression I have made of McClory over the years is one of a bitter, sad, twisted, lonely individual, whose only claim to fame was having being involved (on the fringes) with one Fleming novel (and not a very good one at that). He then spent the rest of his years fighting for that one novel, constantly claiming it was his, even after Fleming passed away.

NSNA proved the sum of talent this guy had when he finally got his own way.....which isn't saying much. Sad really.

I kind of get that impression too, though his bitterness was not entirely unjustified. Fleming treated him pretty badly, trying to pass of McClory's work as his own without acknowledgement, and Cubby probably could have been smarter about getting him on board, maybe making him a permanent part of the EON team in some role that would have satisfied his ego whilst limiting his ability to do too much damage (which is pretty much what he did in giving him an executive producer credit on TB, maybe he should have done the same on subsequent films to prevent the legal wrangles that plagued the Bond franchise between 1977 and 1996).

[Dr. No]

I don't have the imag of him being bitter and twisted. But I don't have much of a awareness of him to begin with.

I've heard the range of opinions of he was screwed by eon adn the options of those who thought that he was a carpetbagger

[The Sweeney]

I don't have the imag of him being bitter and twisted. But I don't have much of a awareness of him to begin with.

I've heard the range of opinions of he was screwed by eon adn the options of those who thought that he was a carpetbagger

It happened long before EON. He had a court battle with Fleming, claiming he screwed him over. Like I said, the guy spent his entire life pursuing something from when he was involved (on the fringes) of working with Fleming on one novel (TB).

[Blowfeld]

It is not as cut and dry as that. There was a very strong case to be made that his influence with that first 007 script directly in influenced Cubby and Company and possibly helped to set up the foundation for all of the early 007 movies and some would argue beyond. Quantum certainly dug up the old Blofeld bones in essence cloning him and his organisation.

I don't particularly like Kevin, it seems to me throu his treatment of Jack Whittingham he was as bad as those he accused.

[Kristatos]

I don't particularly like Kevin, it seems to me throu his treatment of Jack Whittingham he was as bad as those he accused.

Yes, Whittingham seems to have got screwed by both Fleming and McClory, though didn't spend the rest of his life screwing up the Bond franchise the way McClory did.