Thunderball is the ninth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was created with the intention of being turned into a film, and is officially credited as being "based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming", a shared credit which has been the subject of much controversy. The novel was published in 1961 and stands, technically, as the first novelisation of a James Bond screenplay, even though at the time it was written and published, no such film had yet been produced. It was subsequently adapted as a daily comic strip beginning in 1961. Thunderball has, to date, been adapted twice for the cinema. The first adaptation was released in 1965, with Sean Connery as James Bond. It was the fourth official Bond movie in EON Productions' series. McClory later produced an unofficial remake, 1983's Never Say Never Again, which again starred Connery as Bond. Thunderball was originally scheduled to have been the first James Bond film, in 1962, but this was later changed to Dr. No due to a lawsuit brought about by McClory.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1283: Dafydd ap Gruffydd the Prince of Wales, the last native ruler of Wales to resist English domination, was executed by drawing and quartering. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffydd)
1935: Italy invaded Ethiopia, igniting the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo-Abyssinian_War)
1990: German reunification: The five re-established German states (Bundesländer) of East Germany formally joined West Germany. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification)
1993: Soldiers from Malaysian, Pakistani and U.S. armed forces attempted to capture Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in the Battle of Mogadishu. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
"Everyone seems to be playing well within the boundaries of his usual rule set. I have yet to hear anyone say something that seemed likely to mitigate the idiocy of this age." -- John Perry Barlow (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow)