Casino Royale (novel) is given to the leading lady, named Valérie Mathis instead of Vesper Lynd. In March 1955 Ian Fleming sold the film rights of "Casino Royale" to the producer Gregory Ratoff for $6,000. After Ratoff's death, producer Charles K. Feldman represented Ratoff's widow and obtained the rights to make a film version. Feldman decided the best way to profit from the film rights was to make a satirical version, which was produced and released in 1967 by Columbia Pictures. The film, which cast David Niven as Bond, was made with five credited directors (plus one uncredited) and a cast that included
James Bond in film Bloom, although he was later replaced by Roald Dahl, who had little previous screenwriting experience. "You Only Live Twice" was the first Bond film to jettison the plot premise of the Fleming source material, although the film retains the title, the Japanese setting, the use of Blofeld as the main villain and a Bond girl named Kissy Suzuki from the novel. Filming commenced at Pinewood on 4 July 1966 before moving out to Japan on 27 July for six weeks' filming. Local Japanese interest in the filming was high, and the crew had to contend with large crowds throughout the