Cinematic icon and superspy James Bond seemed to be back on top of the box office just a few years ago, but since then things have turned out to be almost like a shot from a silenced Walther PPK. It’s just as quiet. Daniel Craig took over the role in 2006’s Casino Royale, and took over the baton in 2021’s No Time to Die with one of the most heartbreaking endings in Bond film history (I cried). Please acknowledge that).
The only sad thing is why I haven’t seen a new Bond movie since.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and producer Barbara Broccoli, who took over the franchise from film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who died in 1996, are in the midst of an ugly battle over the next Bond movie. Production has reportedly been discontinued. . Apparently, Barbara doesn’t trust Amazon with her family’s famous movie series.
How bad is it? Now, here’s what Barbara wrote to some friends explaining how she feels about the people who run Amazon’s media empire. “These people are idiots.” Hmm, it’s awkward to use “awk” in uppercase.
According to Variety, the stalemate dates back to 2021, when Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion and gained distribution rights to Bond films. The deal seemed like a big move for Amazon to expand into Hollywood with one of its oldest and most solid film franchises.
Unfortunately for Amazon, the real power over the James Bond movies lies with Broccoli. Although she is providing ideas for Bond’s big screen adventures and the beginning of their production, Broccoli is reluctant to work with Amazon right away. WSJ spoke to 20 people familiar with the feud who said Amazon didn’t feel it was a good fit to produce a Bond movie because Broccoli’s core business is retail and e-commerce.
When Amazon acquired MGM, acquiring the rights to the Bond series was a key part of the deal’s value. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some concerns, but were confident they would maintain creative control. The coronavirus lockdown was already making it difficult to jump into making the next Bond movie. However, things seemed to be going well between the two, with Amazon also insisting that the next Bond film, No Time to Die, would be released in theaters.
But as soon as the deal was finalized, Amazon executives decided to move the Bond film series to other mediums, including a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video and another spy movie and TV show set in the Bond universe. I started thinking about ways to expand. Broccoli refused to move forward with any of these projects. She also said that Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salke used the word “content” to describe new James Bond projects, and that all ideas Amazon had for Bond were marked “undecided” in a memo. I also felt angry at being labeled. So far, the only Bond movie that Amazon has been able to get Broccoli to sign on to is the reality series 007: Road to a Million, which is entering its second season.
Broccoli and her family have been part of the Bond film franchise for as long as she’s been alive, so she’s a fierce protector of the brand and her father’s film legacy. She has also begun training Wilson’s son Greg, who created the recent series, to prepare him to one day take over the franchise. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next movie. That’s assuming we can get it, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen anytime soon.
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