James Bond and Moonraker
Encyclopedia
James Bond and Moonraker is a novelization
by Christopher Wood
of the James Bond
movie Moonraker
. Its name was changed to avoid confusion with Fleming's novel. It was released in 1979
.
The screenplay of Moonraker differed so much from Ian Fleming's novel that EON Productions
and Glidrose Publications authorized the film's screenwriter
, Christopher Wood
to write novelisation based upon the film, as he had done for The Spy Who Loved Me
.
Unlike Wood's first novelization, which showed a significant difference to the actual film, in James Bond and Moonraker, Wood writes a virtually direct novelization of the screenplay. The only noticeable differences between the novelization and the screenplay for Moonraker is that there is no mention of Dolly, Jaws' girlfriend, and his characterization stays true to Wood's description as being a mute
. In addition, at the conclusion of the Venetian canal chase sequence, Bond's gondola does not sprout a flotation device and ascend to St. Mark's square as it does in the film.
After the release of the novel, Glidrose Productions chose not to commission novelizations of the next few Bond films; the next film to be novelized would be Licence to Kill
ten years later in 1989, owing to it not having been based on an original Fleming novel.
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
by Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood (writer)
Christopher Wood is an English screenwriter and novelist best known under the pseudonym 'Timothy Lea' for the Confessions series of novels and films. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker .Wood has written many novels...
of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
. Its name was changed to avoid confusion with Fleming's novel. It was released in 1979
1979 in literature
The year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
.
The screenplay of Moonraker differed so much from Ian Fleming's novel that EON Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
and Glidrose Publications authorized the film's screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood (writer)
Christopher Wood is an English screenwriter and novelist best known under the pseudonym 'Timothy Lea' for the Confessions series of novels and films. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker .Wood has written many novels...
to write novelisation based upon the film, as he had done for The Spy Who Loved Me
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelisation of the EON film, The Spy Who Loved Me.-Background:When Ian Fleming sold the film rights to the James Bond novels to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, he only gave permission for the title The Spy Who Loved Me to be used...
.
Unlike Wood's first novelization, which showed a significant difference to the actual film, in James Bond and Moonraker, Wood writes a virtually direct novelization of the screenplay. The only noticeable differences between the novelization and the screenplay for Moonraker is that there is no mention of Dolly, Jaws' girlfriend, and his characterization stays true to Wood's description as being a mute
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
. In addition, at the conclusion of the Venetian canal chase sequence, Bond's gondola does not sprout a flotation device and ascend to St. Mark's square as it does in the film.
After the release of the novel, Glidrose Productions chose not to commission novelizations of the next few Bond films; the next film to be novelized would be Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
ten years later in 1989, owing to it not having been based on an original Fleming novel.