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Movie icon and super spy James Bond seemed to be on another climb to the top of the box office just a few years ago, but since then things have been about as quiet as a shot from a silenced Walther PPK. Daniel Craig took on the role in 2006 with Casino Royale and passed the baton with 2021 There is no time to die in one of the most heartbreaking endings in Bond cinematic history (you cried, admit it).
The only thing sadder is the reason we haven’t seen a new Bond movie since.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli when he died in 1996, are in the middle of an ugly fight that has halted production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesn’t trust Amazon with her family’s famous film franchise.
How bad is it? Well, here’s a quote from Barbara to some of her friends explaining how she feels about the people who run the Amazon media empire: “These people are fucking idiots.” Man, that’s awkward with a capital “awk.”
The stalemate began in 2021, when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion and thus acquired the rights to distribute the Bond films, according to Variety. The deal seemed like a big step for Amazon to break into Hollywood using one of its most historic and strongest film franchises.
Unfortunately for Amazon, the real power over the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. She provides the ideas for Bond’s big-screen adventures and when they go into production, and Broccoli isn’t interested in working with Amazon anytime soon. The Wall Street Journal spoke to 20 people familiar with the dispute who say Broccoli feels Amazon is not the right place for a Bond movie because its core business is retail and e-commerce.
When Amazon bought MGM, taking over the rights to the Bond franchise was a key part of the value of the deal. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations, but were assured they would still retain creative control. COVID lockdowns were already making it difficult to jump into the next Bond film production. However, things seemed to soften between the two parties when Amazon also insisted that its next Bond film There is no time to die would get a theatrical release.
But as soon as the deal was done, Amazon executives began thinking about ways to expand the Bond film franchise into other media, such as a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a spy movie or a separate TV show that took place in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to allow any of these projects to move forward. She was also offended by Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salke’s use of the word “content” to describe new James Bond projects, and any ideas Amazon had for Bond were labeled “TBD” in memos. To date, the only Bond property Amazon could get Broccoli to approve is a reality series. 007: Road to a million that is entering its second season.
Broccoli and her family have been a part of the Bond film franchise almost as long as she has been alive, so she is fiercely protective of her father’s brand and film legacy. He also began training Wilson’s son, Gregg, to produce recent installments and possibly groom him to take over the franchise one day. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. That’s assuming we get one and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.
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