A question for ‘Mr. Warner’ about the U.N.C.L.E. movie

Jerry Goldsmith, circa mid-1960s

“Mr. Warner”
Warner Bros.
Burbank, CA

Dear “Mr. Warner”:

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie you’ve been promoting lately certainly looks interesting. The publicity department certainly seems to be busy. Just one question.

Is it possible that a certain tune by the gentleman pictured in this post in the movie? Maybe in the end titles?

A number of fans of the original 1964-68 television series are curious.

The blog here has occasionally asked people who’ve attended advanced screenings whether it is. They tend to be younger and aren’t familiar with the music we’re asking about.

If you could let everyone know, that’d be great.

Regards,

The Spy Commander

UPDATE (10 p.m. ET): On a more serious note, “Mr. Warner” opened up his promotional budget once more for U.N.C.L.E.

A long commercial for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was shown on ABC’s telecast of the ESPY awards. It was introduced by Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. The spot included a scene with Solo and Kuryakin not seen in any of the trailers. The Cavill-Hammer introduction was recorded a while ago because the actors were still sporting the beards they’ve recently shaved off.

Anyway, the ESPYs, which mix sports and show business, was moved this year to ABC from ESPN. Chances are, “Mr. Warner” made a substantial purchase.

UPDATE II (11:10 p.m. ET): Here’s some footage of the ESPY spot via Henry Cavill Online.

“Retcon”: For Your Eyes Only now official SPECTRE movie

Blofeld (apparently we can actually call him that now) menaces 007 at the start of For Your Eyes Only

The James Bond film series has done what’s known in comic books as a “retcon” — or retroactive change in continuity. It appears 1981’s For Your Eyes Only is now officially considered a SPECTRE-related movie.

When did this happen? Today when the official 007 site today announced A HOME VIDEO RELEASE in connection with the 24th James Bond film.

Here’s the start of the press release:

As fans prepare for the November 6th release of SPECTRE, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release an all-new line-up of special edition Blu-rays, DVDs and box-sets on September 15th.

Two never-before-seen featurettes are included with interviews from Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. “The Shadow of SPECTRE” will recount the fictional history of the global criminal syndicate and terrorist organization, “The Story So Far” will provide an overview of Daniel Craig’s first three Bond movies.

Six films featuring the SPECTRE organization (FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY) and the three recent Daniel Craig titles (CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, SKYFALL) will each get a limited edition Blu-ray Steelbook release, their cover designs inspired by each film’s opening title sequence. (emphasis added)

Interestingly, at the time of its release, 1981’s For Your Eyes Only wasn’t considered a SPECTRE related film. Its pre-titles sequence features a wheelchair-bound villain who looked like Ernst Stavro Blofeld but wasn’t identified as such.

The script, by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, had a line where the villain notes this is the 10th anniversary of his last encounter with Bond. That would appear to be a veiled reference to 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. The line was cut from the movie but appears in the Marvel Comics adaptation.

At the time, Kevin McClory still held the film rights to Thunderball and he claimed ownership of the Blofeld character.

Presumably, with Danjaq LLC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2013 obtaining all of the 007 rights held by McClory’s estate, all of that is moot now. Voila, For Your Eyes Only’s story has been changed.

One other note: Dr. No, the first 007 film, was also SPECTRE related because Dr. No was a member of the criminal organization. However, Blofeld didn’t put in an appearance, probably explaining why it’s not listed as part of this package.