‘James Bond: The Musical’ Plans Move Forward Despite Resistance From Copyright Holders
From the archive: published Jul 10, 2015, 11 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A controversial decision to turn the iconic James Bond franchise into a musical has been met with harsh criticism, along with strong statements from James Bond copyright holders claiming they have not and will not agree to such an endeavor, reports the New York Post.
Barbara Broccoli, daughter of original James Bond producer, Albert Broccoli, was very clear on her stance regarding the planned musical. Barbara’s company, Danjaq, in conjunction with MGM, holds the James Bond copyrights.
“[Danjaq and MGM] control all live stage rights in the Bond franchise, and therefore no James Bond stage show may be produced without their permission.”
Danjaq and MGM dismiss James Bond musical story http://t.co/s4OcojI0Id
— James Bond (@jamesbondlive) July 8, 2015
James Bond: The Musical producer Merry Saltzman is the daughter of Harry Saltzman, the other half of the producing team who brought James Bond to the big screen in 1962. Merry insists that, since her show is a parody, she actually does not need permission to move forward with the musical. In a statement to Playbill, Merry explains why a parody is exempt from certain copyright laws.
“Eon, Danjaq, and MGM et al’s statements are accurate as far as they go. Placeholder Productions’ and my statements are also accurate. Placeholder did not claim to have purchased rights to a stage production from Eon et al (nor did we intend to imply we had).
“Placeholder did (and did claim to) purchase rights to a James Bond musical parody written by Dave Clarke with music and lyrics by Jay Henry Weisz.
“The key word here is ‘parody.’ Parody, the courts have repeatedly upheld, is fully protected under the fair use principle of the US Copyright Act of 1976 and, as such, does not require permission from the owners of the intellectual property being parodied.
“We are producing a parody, no permissive rights are required from Eon, Danjaq, MGM et al to produce our show; it will not infringe on their intellectual property. James Bond: The Musical will go on as planned.”
The Broadway show is based on a book by Dave Clarke and features music and lyrics from country music guru Jay Henry Weisz. It is yet unclear if James Bond: The Musical will debut on Broadway or in Las Vegas.
What do you think of the proposed plans to turn the macho James Bond into a song and dance production? Would you be interested in watching the parody?