Most guys want to be James Bond. But is it possible that Bond wanted to be just like his creator, Ian Fleming? Like his superspy, Fleming went to Eton, rose to the rank of Commander (in Naval Intelligence), was a bit of a cad with the ladies, had a proclivity for the finest liquor and went a number of globetrotting adventures (though mostly as a journalist). Fleming participated in and helped engineer many intelligence operations in service of his country during WWII, experience which would serve as a foundation for Bond’s missions, even submitting plans for a complex mission meant for a team of elite Bond-like spies with the goal of ending the war.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company is gearing up for a biopic of the author, hiring John Orloff to write the screenplay, THR reports. Orloff penned the surprisingly decent “A Mighty Pearl” and a few episodes of “Band of Brothers,” so he has experience with both biopics and the Second World War. He’s also signed on to write “Guardians of Ga-Hoole” and “How Starbucks Saved My Life.”
Fleming may not have single-handedly saved the Western world on multiple occasions, but his life should provide interesting fodder for a film. From his cold Member of Parliament father who sent him away to boarding school, only writing him once or twice a year to his time in charge of a commando unit during the war to his exotic estate in Jamaica (called Goldeneye) to Raymond Chandler and John F. Kennedy, both of whom famously helped Fleming’s popularity explode, there’s interesting stuff all through his life. So while the film may not exactly be the next in the Bond franchise, it might just be the next best thing.