Film icon and super spy James Bond seemed to be back at the top of the box office just a few years ago, but since then things have been almost as quiet as a shot from a Walther PPK with a silencer. Daniel Craig took over the role in 2006 Casino Royale and passed the baton with 2021 No time to die in one of the most heartbreaking endings in Bond’s film history (you cried, just admit it).
The only sadder thing is why we haven’t seen a new Bond film 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 dispute that has halted production on the next Bond film . Apparently, Barbara Amazon doesn’t trust 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 Amazon’s media empire: “These people are fucking idiots.” Man, that’s with a capital “awk.” awkward.
The standoff began back in 2021, when Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion, gaining the rights to distribute Bond films, it is said diversity. The deal appeared to be a big step for Amazon to gain a foothold in Hollywood with one of its most storied and solid film franchises.
Unfortunately for Amazon, the real power over the James Bond films lies with Broccoli. She provides the ideas for Bond’s cinematic adventures and their start of production, and Broccoli has no desire to work with Amazon in the foreseeable future. The WSJ spoke to 20 people familiar with the feud who say Broccoli doesn’t think Amazon is the right place for a Bond film because its core business is retail and e-commerce.
When Amazon bought MGM, acquiring the rights to the Bond franchise was a key factor in the value of the deal. Broccoli and co-producer Michael Wilson had some reservations, but were assured that they would continue to retain creative control. The COVID lockdowns have already made it difficult to start the next Bond film production. However, things seemed to calm down between the two parties when Amazon also insisted on releasing the next Bond film No time to die would get a theatrical release.
But once the deal was finalized, Amazon executives began thinking about how to expand the Bond film franchise into other media, such as a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show Bond universe plays. Broccoli refused to move forward with any of these projects. She was also outraged that Amazon entertainment manager Jennifer Salke used the word “content” to describe new James Bond projects and that all of Amazon’s ideas for Bond were labeled “TBD” in memos. To date, the only Bond title that Amazon Broccoli has been able to get approved is a reality series 007: Road to a Million this is going into the second season.
Broccoli and her family have been part of the Bond film franchise for almost as long as she has lived, so she fiercely defends the brand and her father’s cinematic legacy. She has also begun training Wilson’s son Gregg to produce current episodes, potentially preparing him to one day take over the franchise. Even that has led to disagreements over who should play Bond in the next film. That assumes we get one, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.
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