FelixLeiter.com recently had the opportunity to speak with Raymond Benson, lifelong Bond fan and official James Bond continuation author from 1997 to 2002. During his tenure, he penned six original James Bond novels (Zero Minus Ten, The Facts of Death, High Time to Kill, Doubleshot, Never Dream of Dying, The Man with the Red Tattoo), three movie novelizations (Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day), and three short stories (“Blast from the Past”, “Midsummer’s Nights Doom”, “Live At Five”).
Becoming the fourth official James Bond novelist was not Raymond’s first foray into the world of James Bond. In 1984, he published a non-fiction book called The James Bond Bedside Companion, which extensively discussed the James Bond novels and films. In 1985, he was the designer and writer of the computer game adaptations of Goldfinger and A View to a Kill. A year later, he wrote the role-playing game, You Only Live Twice II - Back of Beyond, and an unproduced stage play adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale.
Since his departure from the James Bond literary series, Raymond has published four successful original novels, two novels in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series, and Metal Gear Solid, the first novelization based on the hit video game series of the same name.
In 2004, CommanderBond.net launched a fantastic four part series of in-depth interviews with Raymond Benson about James Bond. Now Raymond talks to Bond fans about his take on the literary and cinematic versions of our second favorite Fleming character, Felix Leiter. As you probably know, he brought the literary Leiter back in 1998’s The Facts of Death and 2000’s Doubleshot.
Welcome to…
The Raymond Benson FLc Interview
Chris Wright: You were born in Midland, Texas. Since Felix Leiter is a fellow Texan, do you have a greater affinity for him than you do for other Fleming characters?
Raymond Benson: Perhaps. I don’t think I set out as a Bond fan because of the Leiter/Texas connection! Actually, it probably wasn’t until later, when I was an adult and re-read the Fleming novels (for the third or fourth time) that I picked up on the fact that Leiter was a Texan. This was prior to my writing of The James Bond Bedside Companion. Once I realized that, I began to pay more attention to how Fleming actually wrote the character in terms of the way he spoke and stuff.
CW: Was it your idea to reintroduce Leiter in The Facts of Death or did Ian Fleming Publications (IFP) want you to bring him back?
RB: That was my idea. I’ve said in previous interviews that there’s nothing wrong with bringing back characters from the Bond universe. I don’t know why some of the hardcore fans complain about it. It’s done all the time in other franchises—comic book superheros, Star Trek, Star Wars, you name it. It’s all part of the universe that ties back to Fleming.
CW: Did you have any of the actors in mind when writing Leiter or did you go strictly off Fleming?
RB: At the time I was writing the books, I would cast Dennis Quaid as Leiter. He’d be perfect. He’s a Texan and he’s smart. He would have made a good foil for Pierce Brosnan’s Bond. But I tried to write Leiter as Fleming’s Leiter. I probably emphasized a bit more of the Texan in him. There were some things Fleming missed. Leiter isn’t a stereotypical “good ol’ boy” from Texas, but there has to be a little bit of that in him. It comes with the territory!
CW: You put Leiter in an electric wheelchair. Tell us about that.
RB: When you think about what happened to Leiter in the Fleming books, we’re talking about a guy who lost a leg (and an arm) back when medical technology wasn’t so great with prosthetics. Granted, my books were updated to the present, and all the characters are not the age they should have been in the late ’90s had we been following a strict timeline. But still, it just made sense to me that Leiter’s leg(s) would have deteriorated in strength. He can still walk, but he does depend on a wheelchair at times. Glidrose liked the idea, too.
CW: In The Facts of Death you gave Leiter a girlfriend named Manuela Montemayor. Did you ever consider using Della Churchill from 1989’s Licence to Kill instead?
RB: The character of Della is owned by EON, not Ian Fleming Publications. In other words, if a character is created by the films, it can’t be used in an original Bond novel.
CW: Was making Manuela Hispanic a comment on the changing demographics in Texas?
RB: Changing? It was always that way!
CW: Is there any particular reason you chose West Lake Hills, an upscale suburb of Austin, as Leiter’s place of residence?
RB: Because it’s a lovely area and I believe it’s where Leiter and Manuela would want to live. It’s far enough from the hustle and bustle of crowded Austin, yet still has an urban feel. It’s close to the lake and the hills.
CW: You gave Leiter a dalmatian named Esmerelda. Where did that idea come from? Do you own a dog?
RB: I love dogs. At the time I wrote the book, I didn’t have one. Got one in the year 2000, but unfortunately he developed cancer when he was seven and passed away a year and a half ago. Having a dog in that area of Austin just made sense.
CW: John Gardner created Cedar Leiter, Felix’s daughter, for For Special Services. Did you ever consider bringing her back as a CIA contact in any of your Bond novels?
RB: No. My directive from IFP (they were called Glidrose when I began working for them) was that I could use or ignore anything from the other continuation authors, as long as I was faithful to anything Fleming wrote. I wasn’t against Cedar—I quite like For Special Services—but I didn’t see a reason to bring her back. I can’t remember if Bond asks about her. Maybe I had it in and Glidrose cut it. I really can’t remember and haven’t looked at the book in a while.
CW: Who is your favorite actor to portray Leiter onscreen?
RB: Rik Van Nutter. He looks like how I envision Leiter. And he seemed to have some of the good ol’ boy quality but with intelligence and savvy. In my opinion, every other instance of Leiter in the films is a miscast.
CW: What did you think of Jeffrey Wright’s portrayal of the character in 2006’s Casino Royale?
RB: He’s fine. Wright is a great actor. He plays the part that’s written for him. But Felix Leiter is not an African American. But if that’s what EON wants to do, then that’s what they’ll do. M was never a woman, either. I’m not saying I don’t like Judi Dench—she’s absolutely brilliant. I guess it’s a matter of how faithful one wants the Bond films to be to the novels.
CW: I recently purchased an Amazon Kindle, Amazon.com’s revolutionary wireless reading device. As an author, what do you think of this device and would you ever consider getting one?
RB: Back in the year 2000, I was commissioned by a company that wanted to publish electronic books. I wrote a serial novel called Evil Hours that was published in parts on their website (and as a full length e-book). They published other books, too—classics, new books, whatever… and the company tanked. (Evil Hours was eventually published in print in 2004). It’s taking a long time for the publishing industry, i.e., the publishers of “real” books, to come around and recognize that e-books might indeed be a wave of the future. Personally, I think it’s too early to tell. No serious writer I know would want to exclusively publish an e-book without having it as a printed book, too.
CW: You released A Hard Day’s Death and Metal Gear Solid this year. What’s next for you?
RB: An anthology of some of my Bond stuff, entitled The Union Trilogy, will come out in October. It will also contain the unpublished (in English) full length version of the short story “Blast from the Past.” I suppose if this omnibus does well, a second volume may come out the following year. The sequel to A Hard Day’s Death is already written and will be published in spring 2009—it’s called Dark Side of the Morgue. We’re talking about the possibility of doing Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty. I suppose just watch my website RaymondBenson.com for news!
CW: Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions!
RB: You’re welcome!
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