Broccoli vs. Saltzman
Nicko1234
Posts: 74MI6 Agent
Does anybody have any opinions on what these two men brought to Bond and who was the most significant?
Am I right in thinking that they collaberated fairly closely on those early flms? Then Broccoli controlled DAF and TMWTGG and Saltzman took charge of LALD. It's interesting that Saltzman's film is considered to be far superior to the other two.
After Broccoli took sole charge, I think that standards slipped a little. Suddenly his wife was making casting suggestions and nepotism started to creep in. I also think that there was a lack of people entering the series from outside.
Whether Saltzman's continued involvement would have brought different results though i don't know.
Am I right in thinking that they collaberated fairly closely on those early flms? Then Broccoli controlled DAF and TMWTGG and Saltzman took charge of LALD. It's interesting that Saltzman's film is considered to be far superior to the other two.
After Broccoli took sole charge, I think that standards slipped a little. Suddenly his wife was making casting suggestions and nepotism started to creep in. I also think that there was a lack of people entering the series from outside.
Whether Saltzman's continued involvement would have brought different results though i don't know.
Comments
Their division of labour (to avoid ever more frequent conflicts) started before DAF. It became the practice for one to go out on location, oversee shooting, etc, while the other remained in the office and both men would alternate these roles.
"Nepotism" is perhaps putting things a little too strongly. Michael G. Wilson was working as a lawyer and it would only be natural for Broccoli to involve his own family resources when legal problems arose in the mid-70s (the conflicts concerning Saltzman and McClory). Since Wilson was therefore already involved by the time Broccoli took sole control of EON, working as his father's assistant on TSWLM would be a reasonable step- Cubby would be pushing 70 at this point and having one's son help out isn't strange in any line of business. As time went on, Wilson's role grew larger and of course his younger sister Barbara became involved as well- basically taking the load from their aging parent with a view to taking over one day. This happens in many businesses and families; if Broccoli hadn't involved MGW and BB during his lifetime, they would have inherited EON on his death and not had the experience they gained working under him.
(I've missed out "step" and "half" from the family relationships to keep things simple.)
I also think there was a hint of incest (that's not the right word but the best i can think of) about the company at that time. There seemed to be a desire to promote people from within rather than to look outside. Now again that's not necessarily a bad idea but perhaps that contributed to some of the ridiculous things appearing in Bond movies in the 1970s and 1980s. There weren't enough people who could take a step back and be subjective.
Definitely not the right word.
I know. It's not my fault, I had no education. I went to art college.
{[] Fair enough.
Well, that's not entirely true. Blake Edwards is perhaps the best example- in charge of the Pink Panther franchise he used his son as a writer (as well as his daughter as an actress and more forgivably a cameo from his wife). Also, Peter Jackson's wife was a writer on The Lord Of The Rings.