page_title: Production of the James Bond films
section_title: Never Say Never Again (1983)
hierarchical_section_title: Production of the James Bond films / Non-Eon films / Jack Schwartzman (1983) / Never Say Never Again (1983)
caption_attribution_description: English: Lorenzo Semple Jr. at 43rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
context_page_description: The James Bond film series is a series of spy films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond, "007", who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. It is one of the longest continually-running film series in history, having been in on-going production from 1962 to the present. In that time Eon Productions has produced 25 films, most of them at Pinewood Studios. With a combined gross of over $7 billion to date, the films produced by Eon constitute the sixth-highest-grossing film series. Six actors have portrayed 007 in the Eon series, the latest being Daniel Craig.
  Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman co-produced most of the Eon films until 1975, when Broccoli became the sole producer. The single exception during this period was Thunderball, on which Broccoli and Saltzman became executive producers while Kevin McClory produced. From 1984 Broccoli was joined by his stepson Michael G. Wilson as producer and in 1995 Broccoli stepped aside from Eon and was replaced by his daughter Barbara, who has co-produced with Wilson since.
context_section_description: With Connery still committed to the project, producer Jack Schwartzman asked him to play Bond: Connery accepted, asking for and receiving a fee of $3 million ($8 million in 2019 dollars), a percentage of the profits, as well as casting, script and director approval. Schwartzman then brought on board scriptwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. to work on the screenplay. Connery was unhappy with some aspects of the work and asked British television writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais to undertake re-writes, although they went uncredited for their efforts because of a restriction by the Writers Guild of America.
  The former Eon Productions editor and director of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Peter Hunt, was approached to direct the film but declined due to his previous work with Eon. Irvin Kershner, who had achieved success in 1980 with The Empire Strikes Back, was then hired. A number of the crew from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark were also appointed, including first assistant director David Tomblin; director of photography Douglas Slocombe and production designers Philip Harrison and Stephen Grimes.
  Filming for Never Say Never Again began on 27 September 1982 on the French Riviera for two months before moving to Nassau, the Bahamas in mid-November where filming took place at Clifton Pier, which was also one of the locations used in Thunderball. The Spanish city of Almería was also used as a location. Villain Maximillian Largo's Palmyran fortress was actually historic Fort Carré in Antibes. Principal photography finished at Elstree Studios where interior shots were filmed. Elstree also housed the "Tears of Allah" underwater cavern, which took three months to construct. Most of the filming was completed in the spring of 1983, although there was some additional shooting during the summer of 1983.
  Production on the film was troubled with Connery taking on many of the production duties with assistant director David Tomblin. Director Irvin Kershner was critical of producer Jack Schwartzman, saying that whilst he was a good businessman "he didn't have the experience of a film producer". After the production ran out of money, Schwartzman had to fund further production out of his own pocket and later admitted he had underestimated the amount the film would cost to make.
  The music for Never Say Never Again was written by Michel Legrand. Legrand also wrote the main theme "Never Say Never Again", which featured lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman—who had also worked with Legrand in the Academy Award-winning song "The Windmills of Your Mind"—and was performed by Lani Hall.
  Fleming's estate, financially backed by Eon Productions and MGM, made a final attempt to block the film in the High Courts in London in the spring of 1983, but this was thrown out by the court and Never Say Never Again was permitted to proceed. When Never Say Never Again was released, it grossed $9.72 million ($25 million in 2019 dollars) on its first weekend, which was reported to be "the best opening record of any James Bond film" up to that point and surpassing Octopussy's $8.9 million ($23 million in 2019 dollars) from June that year. From its budget of $36 million, Never Say Never Again grossed $160 million.
  McClory attempted to produce another Thunderball adaptation  as Warhead 2000 AD following the success of GoldenEye in 1995. Liam Neeson and Timothy Dalton were considered for 007, while Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were developing the film at Columbia Pictures. MGM launched a $25 million lawsuit against Sony, and McClory claimed a portion of the $3 billion profits from the Bond series. After a prolonged lawsuit, Sony backed down, and McClory eventually exhausted all legal avenues to pursue. As part of the settlement, MGM paid $10 million for the rights to Casino Royale, which had come into Sony's possession.
caption: Lorenzo Semple Jr., who wrote the screenplay for Never Say Never Again
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