5. Thou Shalt Not Remake Out Of Spite
After a pre-set period of time - thanks to a lawsuit between himself and Ian Fleming/MGM - Kevin McClory was allowed to remake his film Thunderball into the monstrosity that would be known as Never Say Never Again. Featuring an aging Sean Connery, a young Kim Bassinger, and the always interesting Max Von Sydow; the film was a tired rehash of a film that was already good enough in its own right. The reason McClory remade the film was a selfish one at that: he felt his own personal vision was tampered with during the original film - so much so that in his lawsuit proceedings he lobbied (and succeeded in procuring) the rights to Blofeld and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. McClory's spite filled artistic vision turned what was a fun, exciting film into one that lacked the verve of the original, and threw in a rather awkward sequence where James Bond plays a very painful video game. If you're going to do anything in life, it's probably best to do so with a clear head and no spite. Granted, Fleming novelized the work that was being done on the film at the time and did not give Kevin McClory the credit; but as far as the character was concerned, McClory did not accept Fleming's Bond as his own. So while his Bond outperformed the proper Roger Moore's Octopussy in 1983, it went on to be recorded as one of the worst misappropriations of the Bond brand ever. It isn't a sin to want to remake a film that's more in line with your original vision, but it is to do so with less than the best intentions.
Especially when you're competing with an existing brand of such weight as a Bond film.