Review: How in the World Did "Never Say Never Again" Get a Greenlight?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2013
This is an outstanding memoir from one of the greatest cold war espionage writers ever,  Len Deighton.  It is the story of the time when James Bond was just exploding into an international literary phenomenon, and the promise of equal cinematic success was tantalizingly near. Fans of both have long digested the differences between cinematic Bond and literary Bond.  This is the story of how they split apart.  It is also a great record of the personalities which fostered the split.Deighton has a remarkable front row seat on the action as a good friend and associate of nearly every major player from Bond creator Ian Fleming to film producer Harry Saltzman.  Saltzman and co-producer Albert Broccoli were primarily responsible for the immediate and massive international success of the Bond film franchise and their names are forever associated with that achievement.  This is also a story of filmmaker Kevin McClory, who for one brief shining moment worked his way into 007 history as the producer and rights holder of the film "Thunderball."  In some ways McClory can, and does, claim to have given birth to the lighter, more gadget oriented Bond which has been the film character standard for 50 years.  Therein lies the story.After lengthy legal battles which Deighton proclaims enriched no one but the lawyers (what a shock), McClory was able to maintain the rights to this single Bond story and because of it was able to bring Sean Connery back to the role after an absence of many years in "Never Say Never Again," which is basically a "Thunderball" reboot.The story is about all the ins and outs of this affair which would probably be a little mundane for anyone who isn't a hard core fan of the politics of film making, James Bond or Len Deighton.  There may not be anybody who is able to tell the story better than Deighton because of his proximity to the affair.  We are doubly fortunate because he is an outstanding writer.