Misplaced Pages

#869130

52-555: Eight films were shown in the first season. Five were shown in the second season, after which the American Film Theatre project ended. Raymond Benson summarized, "The American Film Theatre could probably never be repeated, especially within the economic structure that exists in the motion picture industry today. It’s a shame, for even though the AFT was not a perfect product, it was a bold and fascinating experiment that attempted to blend

104-587: A "playtest-only" Adventure Module based on the book & film From Russia With Love . Planned for an official release in 2004, it indicates that VG (now under ownership of Wizards of the Coast ) may have been in negotiations to re-acquire the rights to re-release the game and its supplements, with new ones planned as well. However, no further actions were taken. The module itself has since been reproduced online in PDF format. International editions The James Bond 007 RPG

156-600: A Quality 1 result on a skill other than combat and when the GM chooses to award one for a clever or dramatic action. A Hero Point can change the Quality Rating of any result by one level, whether for or against the character. It can also change the environment, such as having something just show up by coincidence. The more fantastic the change, the more Hero Points it costs. A similar but more restricted system of "Survival Points" applies to villainous characters, but these can only reduce

208-492: A Success Chance (abbreviated SC), on a table to get a quality rating . Rolling low is good. A roll of over the SC is a failure, (100 always fails), under the SC but over approximately half the SC is a Quality 4, Acceptable success, between approximately a fourth and half the SC is a Quality 3, Good success, and lower rolls still can get Quality 2, Very Good , or even Quality 1, Excellent ratings. The quality rating directly influences

260-465: A character may make in a round. Chases add a bidding step; fleeing and pursuing sides bid by lowering the Ease Factor of the chase maneuver, with the winning bidder getting to choose whether to try to close or widen the gap first or last, but all sides must make a roll at the resulting Ease Factor. Hero Points allow characters to perform cinematic stunts. Characters earn a Hero Point every time they get

312-417: A decent game will find it here. Gamemasters for practically any contemporary RPG should look into the Q Manual . And the price isn't bad. I give the game a qualified recommendation; it's a valid effort, and generally does what it set out to do." Nick Davison reviewed James Bond 007 for Imagine magazine, calling it "An excellent game for those primarily interested in role-playing rather than combat. It

364-648: A degree in Drama Production—Directing from the University of Texas at Austin . In 1984, Benson wrote The James Bond Bedside Companion , a book dedicated to Ian Fleming, the official novels, and the films. The book was updated in 1988 and has since been re-released digitally without further updating. It was nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America in the Best Biographical/Critical Work category. In 1985, he worked as

416-492: A designer and writer on the computer game James Bond 007: A View to a Kill . He followed this in 1986 with work on a computer game version of Goldfinger and co-authoring the You Only Live Twice II module of the popular role-playing game James Bond 007 . In 1996, John Gardner resigned from writing Bond books. Glidrose Publications promptly chose Benson to replace him. As a James Bond novelist, Raymond Benson

468-567: A museum (the "007 Man with the Red Tattoo Museum", dedicated to the book) and honor Benson with the title of Goodwill Ambassador. In 2008 High Time to Kill , Doubleshot , Never Dream of Dying and an extended version of his 1997 short story "Blast from the Past" (a sequel to Fleming's novel, You Only Live Twice ) were grouped and released as an omnibus called The Union Trilogy: Three 007 Novels . A second anthology entitled Choice of Weapons

520-615: A number of books published, including original suspense novels Face Blind (2003), Evil Hours (2004), the Shamus Award-nominated Dark Side of the Morgue (2009), The Secrets on Chicory Lane (2017), and The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way (2022), as well as the non-fiction work The Pocket Essential Guide to Jethro Tull ( Jethro Tull biography) (2002). Benson was awarded the IPPY Gold (1st Place, tied) Medal in

572-543: A short story, " On the Threshold of a Death ", were collected in 2011 as an e-book anthology, The Rock 'n' Roll Detective's Greatest Hits . Benson also wrote the novelization of the video game Metal Gear Solid in 2008 and followed it in 2009 with a novelization of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty . His entry in the Gabriel Hunt pulp adventure series, Hunt Through Napoleon's Web , appeared as an e-book in 2010 and

SECTION 10

#1732870173870

624-410: Is a combination of a characteristic plus skill levels in a specific skill. Characters have five characteristics, Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Perception, and Intelligence, ranging from 5 to 15. These are bought at creation time with Generation Points. Remaining Generation Points are used to buy skill levels and the physical aspects of height, weight, and appearance. Since characters are secret agents,

676-407: Is not recommended for more than three players and is best with less." In Issue 83 of Dragon (March 1984), Tracy Hickman praised the game "because it captured, for me, the essence of James Bond." He found the writing in the 160-page rulebook "very readable" and lauded "an innovative layout which puts player information and gamemaster clarifications side by side." Hickman did find a few errors in

728-623: The James Bond books and films. It is designed by Gerard Christopher Klug and was published by Victory Games , a subsidiary of Avalon Hill . The game and its supplements were published from 1983 until 1987, when the license lapsed. At its time of publication, it was the most popular espionage role-playing game. Player characters are secret agents, either James Bond himself or his allies, other agents of MI6 (the British Secret Intelligence Service ), or allied agencies (usually

780-691: The American CIA ). They typically thwart world domination plots from foreign dictators, megalomaniacal mad scientists, and arch-criminals. Unlike many role-playing games where player characters start as unimportant to the universe and less powerful than the non-player characters , the James Bond setting centers more on the player characters. PCs are usually more competent than NPCs, better outfitted with gadgets (from Q branch ), have more Hero Points (see System, below) to perform cinematic feats, and generally have influence over their surroundings. In keeping with

832-417: The American Film Theatre showed the films on Mondays and Tuesdays, which were days on which ticket sales for the films from the major studios were relatively small. For the second season, the major studios apparently began to exert pressure on these theaters to withdraw from American Film Theatre. In January 1975, the month the second season began, American Film Theatre filed an antitrust lawsuit against six of

884-483: The Cold War. On August 12, 2023, Ian Fleming Publications announced that Benson's first novel, Zero Minus Ten , would be reprinted in the U.K. along with other continuation authors' works. Subsequently, on January 29, 2024, Ian Fleming Publications announced the publication of an e-book omnibus, James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years , containing his six original 007 novels. Since authoring Bond novels, Benson has had

936-498: The French edition. The French replaced James Talbot's original black-and-white drawings with stills from the Bond films (also in black and white). The Spanish edition also replaced the original illustrations, but this time with its own original illustrations. These were made by Luis Carlos Ximénez, who traced and inked most of the frames used in the French edition. The result was not appreciated by

988-459: The James Bond theme are handled by Action Rounds, each of which represents 3–5 seconds of time. All characters involved in a chase or combat declare their actions in reverse order of Speed (1–3, based on the sum of Perception and Dexterity). These actions are executed in order of speed, giving faster characters the advantages of knowing what slower characters are going to do and being able to take their action earlier. Speed also affects how many attacks

1040-646: The Mystery Category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way. In 2004, Benson began writing the first of two books based on the acclaimed video game series, Splinter Cell , although both are credited to the pseudonym, David Michaels . Further titles in the Splinter Cell series have also been credited to David Michaels, but were not authored by Benson. The first book, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

1092-519: The agent closer to becoming too well known for operations in the field. There are optional rules for character Weaknesses , which gain generation points at the expense of disadvantages, usually psychological (such as Fear of <something> , Superstition , or James Bond's own Attraction to Members of the Opposite Sex ), and Fields of Experience, which gains Generation Points simulating a specific prior character history before becoming an operative, at

SECTION 20

#1732870173870

1144-554: The audience it deserved remains one of gaming's biggest mysteries. ... [it] stands as one of the most exciting and inventive RPGs every published, a masterful effort." Swan concluded by giving the game an excellent rating of 3.5 out of 4, saying, "no spy game surpasses James Bond in excitement and wittiness, and none is more skillfully designed." In a 1996 retrospective review in the British games magazine Arcane , James Swallow recalled that "The James Bond 007 roleplaying game had exactly

1196-495: The book, but "considering the total package", he found them easy to forgive. He concluded by saying, "the game system conveys all the sizzle of 007's world." Bob Neville reviewed James Bond 007 for White Dwarf #57, giving it an overall rating of 6 out of 10, and stating that "As a complete system, the 007 game stands up quite well, with a real feeling of belonging to part of the Bond mythos being generated in play." In Issue 137 of Dragon (September 1988), Jim Bambra said

1248-431: The effortless heroism of Mary Sues and Marty Stus, Bond is designed for small group; it never says so explicitly, but the rules are well-suited for duet play — one player and a GM. That arrangement shouldn't be that surprising coming from a company that specialized in two-player wargames, but the game does shine a spotlight on individual characters (and puts more pressure on the player) in a way that most RPGs do not." At

1300-549: The expense of greater age, and Fame points. Skills focus on the James Bond genre, such as Disguise, Demolitions, and Seduction. All player characters begin with skill levels in Connoisseur, First Aid, and Photography. Experience Points, awarded at the end of missions, are spent like Generation Points, but with restrictions on gaining new skills or modifying characteristics. They can also be spent on equipment (requisitioned from Q branch). The inevitable combat and chase sequences in

1352-492: The films listed below were produced by Ely Landau and were first shown as part of the American Film Theatre. These films were shown by American Film Theatre in the first five months of 1975. Despite the very limited release of the films, several performers and one writer were nominated for national film awards, with one winning. Raymond Benson Raymond Benson (born 1955) is an American writer known for his James Bond novels published between 1997 and 2003. Benson

1404-456: The impact of or prevent actions taken against them by the characters. They can never be an offensive tool. Also, villains do not gain survival points through their successes in an adventure. The game was considered successful, selling almost 100,000 copies and quickly taking over the status of most popular espionage role-playing game from Top Secret . It was also well supported with supplements by Victory Games. But Avalon Hill had trouble renewing

1456-415: The less unusual a character's appearance is, the more generation points it costs; distinctive appearances stand out and earn Fame Points which make others, especially villains, notice them more. The function of Fame points is to encourage players to keep their characters' actions as covert as possible, including minimizing acts of deadly violence. Killing any opponent results in a Fame Point penalty, bringing

1508-488: The license from Danjaq in 1987, with each side blaming the other for unwillingness to continue, and the game ceased publication. Publications in the James Bond 007 line included: Most adventures were based on specific James Bond movies, with a few vital plot details changed, so players who had seen the film would still be surprised by the adventure. A few were written as sequels to earlier adventures based on specific movies. NOTE: In 2003, Victory Games produced and released

1560-474: The major studios alleging that they were "coercing exhibitors into canceling scheduled AFT playdates or transferring them to theatres different from those designated to subscribers when they signed up for the AFT series". The outcome of the lawsuit isn't clear, but the second season was the last for the American Film Theatre. The months indicated for each film are for the American Film Theatre release. Excepting Three Sisters and Philadelphia, Here I Come , all of

1612-418: The outdated space hijacking scheme to an investigation of the crash of a Soviet space station near Japan. PCs must deal with the reported bioweapons being researched on board. The characters from the Bond cinematic universe, including Bond himself and his allies and enemies (like Anya Amasova , Jaws , and Goldfinger ), play important roles. One exception was SPECTRE and its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld ,

American Film Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-490: The players, key plot elements in the modules based on the films were changed with a warning to players that exactly imitating Bond's choices and actions in the film's original story would be dangerous. For example, in the module for Live and Let Die , the players learn that Mr. Big and Doctor Kananga are two separate people rather than Kananga playing the New York gangster in disguise. The module for You Only Live Twice changes

1716-728: The players, which contributed to a decrease in the success of the game in Spanish-speaking countries. Joc Internacional also translated and published the Spanish editions of the adventures “PANORAMA PARA MATAR” (A View to a Kill) and “GOLDFINGER”. The game was presented in Madrid at the Book Fair of the Retiro Park in May 1990 by its Spanish translator into Spanish, Karl Klobuznik and enjoyed great acceptance in

1768-415: The public, only that the illustrations of the basic book and the lack of continuity in the publication of various sequels and adventures caused that the interest by the game decayed with the time. The Spanish version of the game was listed in the "recommended literature" database for kids, of Spain's Education Ministry. In Space Gamer No. 67, Aaron Allston felt that "that "Bond aficionados looking for

1820-509: The result. For example, rather than rolling once to hit and once to damage with weapons, the quality rating of the result determines the damage. The Success Chance is determined by multiplying the Primary Chance of an action by the Ease Factor. Ease Factors are set by the gamemaster, starting at 5 for most situations and modified down for more difficult or up for easier tasks, always ranging between 1/2 and 10. The Primary Chance of most actions

1872-626: The rights to which were contested by Kevin McClory . In the game, they were replaced by a similar organization called T.A.R.O.T. (Technological Accession, Revenge and Organized Terrorism), led by Karl Ferenc Skorpios. The organization's divisions (and their leaders) are represented by major arcana tarot cards (like the Blackmail division and its head use XII. Hanged Man and Skorpios himself uses IV. The Emperor ). The system requires 6 and 10-sided dice . Most rolls are made with percentile dice against

1924-482: The saga, The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings , was published in November 2014. On October 14, 2015, it was announced that Mila Kunis will be executive producing a television series based on The Black Stiletto book series for ABC Studios. James Bond 007 (role-playing game) James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service is a spy fiction tabletop role-playing game based on

1976-428: The same sort of instantly playable background that, say, Star Wars does. It had 'M', 'Q', Moneypenny, Oddjob, Jaws, Goldfinger and Scaramanga. It even had the infamous Pussy Galore! What more need be said?" Later the same year, Arcane published a reader poll to determine the 50 most popular role-playing games of all time. James Bond 007 was ranked 46th. Arcane ' s's editor Paul Pettengale commented: "Because of

2028-401: The setting, the game focuses on a few leading roles, not large groups, and plays well with just one gamemaster and one player. The game was licensed from both Danjaq / Eon Productions , which holds the film rights, and Glidrose Publications (now Ian Fleming Publications ), which holds the literary rights, and tried to be as faithful as possible to both the books and the films. To challenge

2080-429: The skills resolution system "while allowing for a wide variety of factors, relies on a lot of table checking." Despite that, Bambra concluded that the game was "a good, action-packed system that neatly captures the flavor of its subject. In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games , game critic Rick Swan wondered why this game hadn't garnered a larger audience, writing, "Why James Bond never attracted

2132-441: The stage with cinema. It’s the kind of project that reminds us how recklessly courageous—and often artistically brilliant—filmmakers could be in the 1970s." The films were released on DVD in 2003 by Kino International and again in 2008 as a boxed set. They were again re-released on Blu-Ray in 2018. Twelve of the thirteen films were specifically produced by Landau for the series. The budgets were low: $ 750,000 for each film. Landau

American Film Theatre - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-466: The subject matter, and because the rules are easy to get to grips with, this proved to be an instant hit. It has also been backed up with a couple of cracking supplements – Thrilling Locations and the Q Manual - which makes creating all manner of interesting scenarios an absolute breeze." In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground , RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "Owing to its embrace of

2236-467: Was able to convince leading playwrights, actors, and directors to offer their work at minimal rates. The largest fee paid was $ 25,000; Lee Marvin remarked that he lost $ 225,000 by acting in The Iceman Cometh , since his usual fee for a film was $ 250,000. The American Film Theatre's marketing was based on selling season subscriptions. For the 1973–74 season there were eight films exhibited. Each film

2288-564: Was also translated into French by JEUX DESCARTES. Japanese edition was published by Hobby Japan in 1986. It was also translated into Spanish in May 1990 by Karl Walter Klobuznik and Moisés Prieto, and published in Spain by JOC International S.A. Originally sold in the United States in box format, the Spanish version was published in a single hardcover book entitled “James Bond 007, EL JUEGO DE ROL”, just as Jeux Descartes had done two years earlier in

2340-636: Was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973. In primary school Benson took an interest in the piano which would later in his life develop into an interest in composing music, mostly for theatrical productions. Benson also took part in drama at school and became the vice president of his high school's drama department, an interest that he would later pursue by directing stage productions in New York City after attending and receiving

2392-614: Was initially controversial for being American, and for ignoring much of the continuity established by Gardner. The author did much to placate these concerns, however, and promptly embarked on regular tours to promote his novels in the UK, as well as occasional trips to mainland Europe. Several signing sessions were held at the offices of his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton , and at London booksellers Murder One and James Bond specialists Adrian Harrington Ltd. In total, Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelizations , and three short stories. He

2444-486: Was published in 2004 followed by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda in 2005. In 2008, Benson wrote A Hard Day's Death about a private investigator who looks into the death of a rock star. The book spawned a second novel in 2009 called Dark Side of the Morgue , which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original PI Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. The two novels plus

2496-527: Was published in 2010 and contained Zero Minus Ten , The Facts of Death , The Man with the Red Tattoo , and the short stories "Midsummer Night's Doom" and "Live at Five". In April 2014, Benson and former Bond author Jeffery Deaver collaborated—the first such collaboration between former Bond continuation authors—as co-editors of Ice Cold--Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War , an anthology sponsored by Mystery Writers of America containing short stories about

2548-497: Was published in September 2011. In anticipation of the book's publication, Benson released a free downloadable e-book short story, " The Black Stiletto's Autograph ". The second book in the series, The Black Stiletto: Black & White , was published on May 30, 2012. The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes , was published in 2013, and The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies was published in early 2014. The fifth and final book of

2600-603: Was published in print in 2011. Further video game novelizations continued in 2011, when Benson co-authored Homefront--the Voice of Freedom with John Milius , as a prequel to the THQ videogame Homefront . 2012 saw the announcement that Benson would also write Hitman: Damnation , a prequel to the Square Enix videogame Hitman: Absolution . Benson's first novel in a series of "women's action/adventure thrillers," The Black Stiletto ,

2652-431: Was shown only four times at a specific theatre. The American Express company developed a direct mail and newspaper sales campaign that cost $ 2.5 million, and yielded about 500,000 subscriptions for the first season. The posters and other advertising emphasized that the films were being shown in "limited engagements", and it was rumored that the films would not be released again for years. Most theaters that participated in

SECTION 50

#1732870173870

2704-506: Was the first Bond author since Ian Fleming to write short stories (published in Playboy and TV Guide magazines and collected in anthologies published in 2008 and 2010). Glidrose changed its name to Ian Fleming Publications commencing with Benson's novel, High Time to Kill . Benson resigned from writing Bond books in 2003. Benson's novel The Man with the Red Tattoo inspired the government of Japan's Kagawa Prefecture in 2005 to erect

#869130