Random: GoldenEye 007 Mockumentary Aims To Be The Spinal Tap Of Video Games

That’s random

Producing that must have been such an odd job

Wow

Erm, will wait til it turns up on Youtube

Ummm...yay? I don’t really know what to say about this.

The only good video game movie I've ever seen was The King of Kong. I have very little hope for this.

@Essej12 if I was asked to produce this my advice would be not to spend a single money penny on it

Sounds fun!

@Essej12 Aren’t you a cunning linguist!

@SimplyCinnamon53 So why say anything?

I'll wait for the finished product.

@Dtbahoney Because I have no life

I recently listened to the Goldeneye 007 episode of Polygon’s The History of Fun podcast, and learned that the whole thing was kind of an immense trainwreck.

The fact that the game ended up good is shocking, because by all accounts it should have been an unplayable mess. This mockumentary could be good, I guess.

What's wrong with the bartender lol? I'm not sure if he is genuinely disgusted or if he just feels jealous watching people that are still able to play and have fun. Either way he makes me sad.

Looks better than The Last Jedi.

"Going for Golden Eye is being released this year on Blu-Ray, DVD and video on demand by Wild Eye Releasing."

Some of this makes me wonder if they might also be poking subtle fun at the Smash Bros. Melee documentary too. The community's not as infamous as people make it out to be but there's certainly fodder for criticism.

I'll watch it, I love this kind of youtube stuff.

@SethNintendo I don’t really get the dislike for the controls, it’s basically the same control scheme as Resident Evil 4 but with the added bonus of being able to shoot when not holding R to aim. Sure it’s very different from modern shooter control schemes but I don’t think it handicaps the player from being able to beat the game.

Where’s the Fozzy of video games?

As a producer of low budget indie movies myself, I can confirm that Wild Eye are a credible distributor who can get stuff onto Netflix (not as easy you may assume) and onto retail shop shelves.

However, in their contract stipulations it says "Music and Effects (M&E) tracks must be available for international sales consideration". Music licensing is VERY expensive for famous tracks and "fair use" does not fly for any kind of paid distribution in North America or the UK. I can tell you right now that the minimum cost upfront to get permission to use that James Bond theme in the trailer is $10K plus royalty payments. Having taken part in hundreds of DVD and VOD sales deals I can also say with 95% certainty that they were not offered an MG of over $10K on that film with the market how it is atm. Using that song in a commercial distribution is asking to be sued for a LOT of money.

Removing the song, but still using the Nintendo machines, game footage, James Bond name etc are juuuust about ok from both the "fair use" for documentary and "parody" perspective - but it would only take one company to issue a C&D and they can't afford to pay for the lawyers to see if they win or not.

I'm not hating on the film. Its a funny idea.
I'd like to watch it. Give it away for free on Youtube, sure. But wide distribution is a dangerous game for this one, not sure why Wild Eye would touch it with a barge pole, unless the filmmakers themselves have already paid the $10K for the song and at least double that again to lawyer up and stipulate that the producers rather than Wild Eye are liable for any damages.

@SethNintendo Worth remembering though that it was that control scheme that really made FPS on a console viable. Then the team moved onto Time Splitters and perfected it with a scheme we pretty much still use today.

Its horrible today but back in the day I felt in total control.

@samuelvictor Thanks for the insight on that. Would the name also be a problem? Im guessing if it was an actual documentary things would be different. Maybe theres been an embarrassing mix up.

@BumpkinRich Yeah if it was a real documentary, the title would be ok in theory under "fair use".

But in practice, if the (bigger, richer) company takes exception to it, they can temporarily block the sale of the film with a C&D and force you through the court process to prove you were not exploiting the brand in bad faith. This is often lengthy and expensive, so most times it just permanently kills the project.

As it stands, with not being a real documentary, the copyrighted word "Goldeneye" would have to be cleared by at least 3 companies - the originator of the name (Fleming's Estate), those with the game rights usage of the name (Nintendo? Rare? Expired/both?) and those with the film rights to the name (Brocolli/Eon).

As a comedy, they could claim its a parody, but tbh it looks more like a parody of the game's fans, rather than the game itself, so this would not fly in court. And even with a parody, you can't use copyrighted music or artwork, only stuff that sounds or looks noticably similar but not identical. And even then, oftentimes if the owner objects they can kill it via the method above - for example Taylor Swift allows some parody videos of her songs, but kills the ones that take it too far (in her opinion). It is also possible to claim damages if the owner feels the parody somehow damages the brand - this is why Weird Al parody songs are always silly wordplay and not directly criticising the artist or record labels.

[Edit] Out of interest, whilst they can't legally have "Goldeneye" in the title, they could use the word "Bond" OR the number "007" (as neither are copyrightable terms) but NOT together.

I love that there are still people passionate about, and playing, this game. Gives me the warm and fuzzies about the gaming community. To play a game, and fall in love with it... and then find other like-minded folks who love the same game is a beautiful thing.

"You STILL play video games?" is the derisive question that is asked of me a lot. Hell yeah I do. When Mario saved the Mushroom Kingdom... I was there with him. When Samus Aran explored the depths of Planet Zebes... I explored along with her. When Cecil strugged with right and wrong as the Captain of the Red Wings, I was there standing beside him...

...and I wasn't the only one. And that's awesome.

@lillith Well said

@samuelvictor Hi, i'm the director, the teaser that was posted was made by a fan for fun, i didn't know it would be posted in this article, there is a proper trailer which has been added to the article. Hope that clears any confusion up!

I'm a first time writer and film maker and this has been 4 years of hard work and my own money to make this film, i do hope gamers enjoy it as i made it just for them. I've tried to make it a proper love letter to my favourite ever game.

Cheers, Jim

@lillith that was my influence in writing the film, all my life i have been called a geek or a loser for enjoying playing games, i hope you enjoy the film, i think you will find it relatable.

@ItalianBaptist Hey, no i don't really know much about Smash Bros (director/writer)

@jimstallone Hi Jim. Okay, just watched the new video. Much better. Can I assume from your response that the actual film contains no "real Bond" music now? If so, great. You've just saved yourself a tonne of headaches. Now the film is commercially being released it may be prudent to take down that early teaser to avoid any risk caused by the music clearance. As I said before, minimum 10 grand to clear it for any commercial use, and the teaser may now be considered an advertisement for a commercial product. Risky.

Have you considered the other main point though, about the title? "Goldeneye" as a word would require clearance from at least three sets of rights holders (whereas "Bond" or "007" probably wouldn't as long as you are careful in phrasing). There are also other concerns above that this doesn't quite fit the legal definition of "free-use" or parody. I see that you have now separated it as "Golden Eye" with a space inbetween, but this is not a big enough change to afford you legal protection from assumed brand appropriation.

I'd wager that this would be absolutely fine if you were distributing online for free as originally planned. But now that you have a commercial deal, be very careful that the distributor is covering the clearance issues properly, rather than just adding a clause in your contract that you are personally responsible if anything goes wrong...

Please don't think that I'm personally ragging on your film or your hard work or intentions. It looks really fun and as I said before its a good idea and I'd like to watch it. I know first hand how difficult it is to make your first film, with no money, and years of work. Just be careful you don't get yourself in legal trouble or debt. Its not uncommon for a distributor to pay a large amount of fees to mass produce optical discs, get age ratings, p&a cost etc, then hold the filmmaker liable for the damages when the film is hit with a c&d. Its happened to several people I know, and even happened to one of my films when an actors agent tried to stop a film being released once we'd already pre-sold it. Messy business. Hopefully you signed your contract under a limited company name rather than as a sole trader? At least that way you can liquidate if necessary and not be personally liable.

Anyway, all the best to you and good luck with the film. I look forward to watching it.

Hey Samuel, yeah the film has never had any Bond music i had a score composed for it. We always had the space In Golden Eye, just a shame the teaser a fan made was posted creating a little confusion.

Thanks for concern and support, i see you are a film maker too, it really is a life consuming thing isnt it!

@jimstallone Haha, yup, that it is. I've just recently signed a contract (and raised the subsequent budget) to produce 23 features over 3 years! Its gonna be pretty busy If you are ever interested in making another film (with no such legal gray areas) I may be able to help.

@samuelvictor Sounds like fun, follow me on twitter and we'll keep in touch, it's @jimstallone