genre never say never again
___MASK98___ ( colloquially , spying ) is the obtaining of information considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information . ___MASK98___ can be committed by an individual or a spy ring ( a cooperating group of spies ), in the service of a ___MASK15___ or a company , or operating independently . The practice is inherently clandestine , as it is by definition unwelcome and in many cases illegal and punishable by law . ___MASK98___ is a subset of " intelligence " gathering , which includes espionage as well as information gathering from public sources . United Artists ( UA ) is an American film and ___MASK52___ ___MASK51___ studio . The studio was founded in 1919 by D . W . Griffith , Charlie Chaplin , Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks with the intention of controlling their own interests rather than depending upon commercial studios . The studio was repeatedly bought , sold and restructured over the ensuing century . Spy ___MASK38___ , a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device , emerged in the early twentieth century , inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers , and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies . It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead - up to World War II , continued to develop during the Cold War , and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states , international criminal organizations , global terrorist networks , maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies . The ___MASK58___ ___MASK13___ deals with the subject of fictional espionage , either in a realistic way ( such as the adaptations of John le Carré ) or as a basis for fantasy ( such as many ___MASK97___ Bond films ). Many novels in the spy ___MASK38___ ___MASK13___ have been adapted as films , including works by John Buchan , le Carré , Ian Fleming ( Bond ) and Len Deighton . It is a significant aspect of British cinema , with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service . The ___MASK97___ Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming , who featured him in twelve novels and two short - story collections . Since Fleming ' s death in 1964 , eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelizations : Kingsley Amis , Christopher Wood , John Gardner , Raymond Benson , Sebastian Faulks , Jeffery Deaver , William Boyd and Anthony Horowitz . The latest novel is " Trigger Mortis " by Anthony Horowitz , published in September 2015 . Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young ___MASK97___ Bond , and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character , Moneypenny . Never Say Never Again is a 1983 ___MASK58___ based on the ___MASK97___ Bond novel Thunderball , which was previously adapted in 1965 under that name . Unlike the majority of Bond films , Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions , but by an independent production company , one of whose members was Kevin McClory , one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline with Ian Fleming and Jack Whittingham . McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s . The film was directed by Irvin Kershner and , like Thunderball , stars Sean Connery as British Secret Service agent ___MASK97___ Bond , 007 , marking his return to the role 12 years after Diamonds Are Forever . It is Connery ' s seventh and final performance as Bond in a feature film . The film ' s title is a reference to Connery ' s reported declaration in 1971 that he would `` never again '' play that role . As Connery was 52 at the time of filming , the storyline features an aging Bond , who is brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE . Filming locations included France , Spain , the Bahamas and Elstree Studios in England . Never Say Never Again was released by Warner Bros . in the autumn of 1983 . It opened to positive critical reviews and was a commercial success , grossing $ 160 million at the box office , although this was less overall than the Eon - produced Bond film released in June of the same year , Octopussy . In 1997 , the distribution rights for Never Say Never Again were purchased by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer , which distributes Eon ' s Bond films , and the company has handled subsequent home video releases of the film . Ian Lancaster Fleming ( 28 May 1908  12 August 1964 ) was an English author , journalist and naval ___MASK47___ officer who is best known for his ___MASK97___ Bond series of spy novels . Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co ., and his father was the Member of Parliament for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917 . Educated at Eton , Sandhurst and , briefly , the universities of Munich and Geneva , Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing . Leonard Cyril Deighton ( born 18 February 1929 ), known as Len Deighton , is a British author . Deighton is considered one of the top three spy novelists of his time ( along with Ian Fleming and John le Carré ). In addition he is a highly acclaimed ___MASK28___ historian , cookery writer , and graphic artist . " The IPCRESS File ", his first novel , was an instant bestseller and broke the mould of thriller writing . The Sunday Times dubbed him " the poet of the spy story ". Deighton  s first protagonist  a nameless spy christened Harry Palmer in the films  was made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s films starring Michael Caine . Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Studios Inc . ( abbreviated as MGM or M - G - M , also known as Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Pictures , Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer or Metro , and for a former interval known as Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer / United Artists , or MGM / UA ) is an American media company , involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and ___MASK52___ programs . Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock ( 13 August 1899  29 April 1980 ) was an English film director and producer , at times referred to as " The Master of ___MASK22___ ". He pioneered many elements of the ___MASK22___ and psychological ___MASK92___ genres . He had a successful career in British cinema with both silent films and early talkies and became renowned as England ' s best director . Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 , and became a US citizen in 1955 . Irvin Kershner ( born Isadore Kershner ; April 29 , 1923November 27 , 2010 ) was an American director of film and ___MASK52___ and actor , best known for directing quirky , independent films early in his career , and then " The Empire Strikes Back ", the ___MASK97___ Bond adaptation " Never Say Never Again ", and " RoboCop 2 ". Eon Productions ( an abbreviation of Everything or Nothing ) is a British film production company known for producing the " ___MASK97___ Bond " film series . The company is based in London ' s Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom . RoboCop 2 is a 1990 American ___MASK87___ ___MASK23___ directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Peter Weller , Nancy Allen , Dan O ' Herlihy , Belinda Bauer , Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon . Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit , Michigan , it is the sequel to the 1987 film , " RoboCop ". The Empire Strikes Back ( also known as Star Wars : Episode V  The Empire Strikes Back ) is a 1980 American ___MASK100___ ___MASK99___ opera film directed by Irvin Kershner . Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the ___MASK77___ , with George Lucas writing the film ' s story and serving as executive producer . The second installment in the original " Star Wars " trilogy , it was produced by Gary Kurtz for Lucasfilm Ltd . and stars Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Billy Dee Williams , Anthony Daniels , David Prowse , Kenny Baker , Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz . Kevin O ' Donovan McClory ( 8 June 1924  20 November 2006 ) was an Irish screenwriter , producer , and director . McClory was best known for adapting Ian Fleming ' s ___MASK97___ Bond character for the screen , for producing " Thunderball ", and for his legal battles with Fleming ( later United Artists , Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer and Eon Productions ). David John Moore Cornwell , alias John le Carré , ( born 19 October 1931 ) is a British author of ___MASK98___ novels . During the 1950s and the 1960s , he worked for the Security Service and the Secret ___MASK47___ Service , and began writing novels under his pen name . His third ___MASK63___ , " The Spy Who Came in from the Cold " ( 1963 ), became an international best - seller , and remains one of his best - known works . Following the success of this ___MASK63___ , he left MI6 to become a full - time author . Pinewood Studios is a British film studio and ___MASK52___ studio located in Iver Heath , Buckinghamshire , England , approximately west of central London and 7 miles from Windsor . It is run by Pinewood Group .