007 heading to streaming? Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 billion!

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  • HildebrandRarityHildebrandRarity Centre international d'assistance aux personnes déplacées, Paris, France
    Posts: 486
    There's been an interesting takeaway from both the NY Times exposé on AT&T, WarnerMedia and HBO Max and the recent firing of Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

    For any studio with a major library, keeping your catalog as exclusive to your streaming service ultimately hurts the revenues. There's ultimately more money to be made by licensing a show or a film to an outside streaming service than by keeping it forever for yourself to get more subscribers. For instance, WarnerMedia decided to kill the deal with Netflix over Friends, so they could offer it instead on HBO Max. It was a corporate move, but every simulation they had done over this was that there was no financial sense in doing this.
    Similarly, when Chapek decided to basically kill the theatrical run for Black Widow (not that it was a great film to begin with) and to make three Pixar titles in a row Disney+ exclusives, he got the talents very dissatisfied, as it was basically a vote of non-confidence on them with the excuse of the pandemic. And it didn't prevent the number of subscribers from plateauing.

    So, unless the executives at the new MGM have an obligation to tie everything to Prime Video, they don't have any incentive to suddenly offer their tentpole offerings as exclusives. For Bond, Amazon may be able to offer some extra stuff like the recent documentary and concert or the forthcoming reality show, but if they try for instance too hard to use to make Bond 26 an incentive to subscribe to Amazon Prime, it will dissuade TV networks and other streaming/VOD services from licensing it, hurting the revenue in a major way.
  • edited November 2022 Posts: 784
    There is a distinction to be made between new series and new films for sure. A new series can intrigue subscribers but a single film doesn't have the same draw. Vice versa old series will not draw new subscribers but old films will.

    The content offering def has not matched the winner takes all strategy, streamers are very often grasping at straws with new productions and have extremely limited libraries of old quality content, so licensing is a must. They must realise they are not competing in-between themselves but with content creators on social media at some point.

    Would Amazon/EON make more money licensing the next film knowing full well that the complete collection on Prime Video service will be well sought after around that time or would they make more money licensing the old films but keeping the new one exclusive and/or TVOD?
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,545
    Amazon Studios’ Jennifer Salke Adds MGM Oversight, MGM’s Chris Brearton To Take Over MGM+ & MGM Alternative TV
    https://deadline.com/2022/11/amazon-studios-jennifer-salke-mgm-oversight-chris-brearton-mgm-plus-1235184502/

    She is said to have a good relationship with BB and MGW.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    DN, FRWL, GF, TSWLM, LTK, and GE are now on Paramount+ in 4K. I assume this has to do with the deal MGM already had with Paramount via Epix.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 784
    Was anyone surprised that Wednesday outperformed Stranger Things or that Kenobi outperformed every other disney Star Wars production?

    I know I wasn't.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    edited December 2022 Posts: 4,599
    My wife wants us to watch Wednesday but I'm not interested.

    I do love me some stranger things

    You know what, I just read the premise and I'll have to give it a watch
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    Was anyone surprised that Wednesday outperformed Stranger Things or that Kenobi outperformed every other disney Star Wars production?

    I know I wasn't.

    Good, because Stranger Things is so grossly overrated. It’s basically just an 80s lovefest with no depth.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,599
    Was anyone surprised that Wednesday outperformed Stranger Things or that Kenobi outperformed every other disney Star Wars production?

    I know I wasn't.

    Good, because Stranger Things is so grossly overrated. It’s basically just an 80s lovefest with no depth.

    You better stop before you say something you're gonna regret 😄
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,154
    I've never seen Stranger Things, but I have recently seen two clods sporting actual mullets - and apparently it's thanks to ST? I may have to boycott purely on aesthetic grounds!
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    I don't know anything about Stranger Things, but I do know that the only time a mullet has ever worked, was when one was perched atop Jean-Claude Van Damme.

    Apologies to Billy Ray Cyrus, but.... no.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,901
    I heard a discussion outside my office door admitting to a mullet some years prior.

    And that even if they made a comeback, today he would opt out of a "skullet".

  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    I don't know anything about Stranger Things, but I do know that the only time a mullet has ever worked, was when one was perched atop Jean-Claude Van Damme.

    Apologies to Billy Ray Cyrus, but.... no.

    Knocking a snake out cold with one blow to the head earns you mullet for life.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited December 2022 Posts: 3,154
    'Mullet': the very name sounds exactly like what it is.
    Skullet, though - who'da thunk things could actually get any worse, man?! :-O
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    I don't know anything about Stranger Things, but I do know that the only time a mullet has ever worked, was when one was perched atop Jean-Claude Van Damme.

    Apologies to Billy Ray Cyrus, but.... no.

    Knocking a snake out cold with one blow to the head earns you mullet for life.

    Just watching Hard Target, makes me want to grow a wet look mullet and punch a Rattler. Unfortunately, I don't have enough hair for a mullet.

    That scene always makes me want to crawl into the fetal position. If it bit that goon on the leg, that's one thing. But it goes straight for his face. Right on the cheek. Oooff.

    HappythoughtsHappythoughtsHappythoughtsHappythoughts
  • Posts: 380
    Sorry but Mel Gibson rocked the best mullet in Lethal Weapons 1- 3. It's why number 4 didn't work, no mullet you see
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,692
    https://deadline.com/2023/02/amazon-mgm-courtenay-valenti-julie-rapaport-1235274838/

    An important piece in the future of 007 is now in place.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    It's not a "jump out of my seat, fist-pumping" type of anouncement - what executive hiring would be? - but she seems very well suited for the job in general and someone Broccoli and Wilson can engage with on eye-level.
  • edited March 2023 Posts: 355
    Disney has tarnished its brand with the handling of Star Wars. Countless Star Wars films announced and axed. Lucasfilm (owned by Disney) has made Star Wars a laughing stock. Every feature film announced after Rise of Skywalker (ep 9) has been canceled. Bond doesn't deserve that kinda treatment.
  • HildebrandRarityHildebrandRarity Centre international d'assistance aux personnes déplacées, Paris, France
    Posts: 486
    I'm still puzzled with the reappraisal of the prequels in recent years. If there's some talk about "tarnishing", we need to mention The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones, which may have some interesting world building and a couple of great sequences but are totally pointless otherwise, even if they were written and directed by George Lucas.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    edited March 2023 Posts: 8,201
    I'm still puzzled with the reappraisal of the prequels in recent years. If there's some talk about "tarnishing", we need to mention The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones, which may have some interesting world building and a couple of great sequences but are totally pointless otherwise, even if they were written and directed by George Lucas.

    Because the children that were brought up on those films and grew fond of them have a much louder voice now that they’re adults. Back in the 2000s, the prequels were mainly bashed by old school fans that were brought up on the OT and had their own preconceived notions of what the prequels would be like.

    Now we see those that both grew up with the OT and PT, who undoubtedly had their own preconceived notions of how the sequels should play out. Especially by those who were brought up on the EU novels (which were never canon, and would have been wiped by Lucas himself had he don’t the sequel trilogy). But I guarantee that the kids that were brought up on the sequels will have a larger voice within ten years, and you’ll start to see articles like “why the sequels are actually good”. It’s all a matter of perspective. I’m sure that by the 2030s we’ll see fans of all trilogies united, sharing their disdain for whatever the next set of films are.
  • edited April 2023 Posts: 2,171
    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/inside-amazon-studios-jen-salke-vision-shows-1235364913/

    A long article, mainly focused on Hollywood studio exec tittle tattle.
    If Salke indeed wanted Rapaport in the job, there was one big snag. MGM’s crown jewel is the James Bond franchise, which is controlled by Barbara Broccoli. Sources say Broccoli made it clear that she needed an experienced movie executive at the helm of MGM’s film division. The sources also believe that Salke put her foot wrong with Broccoli by mentioning a possible Bond TV project, which Broccoli would not want. And following the acquisition of MGM’s distribution arm, they say, Broccoli was not impressed when weeks passed during which Amazon did not communicate with the longtime marketing and distribution executives who Broccoli sees as vital to handling the Bond films, leaving them in doubt as to whether they would keep their jobs. (A source says one of those executives, the late Erik Lomis, fought to move Creed III out of a crowded November to a March release date, giving Amazon a hit that has grossed $250 million.) Salke says, “We have deep respect for Barbara and Michael” — a reference to Michael G. Wilson, her Bond producing partner. Broccoli did not respond to a request for comment.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited April 2023 Posts: 8,437
    I wonder what any of this means?
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    It doesn't mean a huge amount, because as @Mallory put it, it's tittle tattle. But if we take it at face value, it tells us that Barbara Broccoli is not interesting in selling off. In fact she is using her influence to impact personnel decisions at Amazon, which traditionally had a very atypical hiring policy that they had to soften with their move into Hollywood, because movie people don't play like that. And not only is she powerful enough and engaged enough to do that, she seems to have very little interest in having anything dictated by Amazon. (Note also how this only mentions Barbara as an active force, while MGW is only mentioned by Jen Selke in a kind of PR statement).
    It also tells us that stuff is (or was until recently) seriously up in the air at MGM. So while BB seems like a very engaged powerplayer not interested in taking the knee before the all-powerful Bezos, they might have had to hold off on a lot of development because they simply didn't have anyone at MGM who they could work with.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    It doesn't mean a huge amount, because as @Mallory put it, it's tittle tattle. But if we take it at face value, it tells us that Barbara Broccoli is not interesting in selling off. In fact she is using her influence to impact personnel decisions at Amazon, which traditionally had a very atypical hiring policy that they had to soften with their move into Hollywood, because movie people don't play like that. And not only is she powerful enough and engaged enough to do that, she seems to have very little interest in having anything dictated by Amazon. (Note also how this only mentions Barbara as an active force, while MGW is only mentioned by Jen Selke in a kind of PR statement).
    It also tells us that stuff is (or was until recently) seriously up in the air at MGM. So while BB seems like a very engaged powerplayer not interested in taking the knee before the all-powerful Bezos, they might have had to hold off on a lot of development because they simply didn't have anyone at MGM who they could work with.

    It shows that if she’s going to continue work on Bond, it better be under circumstances that helps production rather than be a hinderance.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    It doesn't mean a huge amount, because as @Mallory put it, it's tittle tattle. But if we take it at face value, it tells us that Barbara Broccoli is not interesting in selling off. In fact she is using her influence to impact personnel decisions at Amazon, which traditionally had a very atypical hiring policy that they had to soften with their move into Hollywood, because movie people don't play like that. And not only is she powerful enough and engaged enough to do that, she seems to have very little interest in having anything dictated by Amazon. (Note also how this only mentions Barbara as an active force, while MGW is only mentioned by Jen Selke in a kind of PR statement).
    It also tells us that stuff is (or was until recently) seriously up in the air at MGM. So while BB seems like a very engaged powerplayer not interested in taking the knee before the all-powerful Bezos, they might have had to hold off on a lot of development because they simply didn't have anyone at MGM who they could work with.

    It shows that if she’s going to continue work on Bond, it better be under circumstances that helps production rather than be a hinderance.

    Maybe that's the better way to put it.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,692
    It doesn't mean a huge amount, because as @Mallory put it, it's tittle tattle. But if we take it at face value, it tells us that Barbara Broccoli is not interesting in selling off. In fact she is using her influence to impact personnel decisions at Amazon, which traditionally had a very atypical hiring policy that they had to soften with their move into Hollywood, because movie people don't play like that. And not only is she powerful enough and engaged enough to do that, she seems to have very little interest in having anything dictated by Amazon. (Note also how this only mentions Barbara as an active force, while MGW is only mentioned by Jen Selke in a kind of PR statement).
    It also tells us that stuff is (or was until recently) seriously up in the air at MGM. So while BB seems like a very engaged powerplayer not interested in taking the knee before the all-powerful Bezos, they might have had to hold off on a lot of development because they simply didn't have anyone at MGM who they could work with.

    It shows that if she’s going to continue work on Bond, it better be under circumstances that helps production rather than be a hinderance.

    Maybe that's the better way to put it.

    Fair enough. I think with Amazon, they’ll want a more set schedule. Barbara’s going to have to put her award movies aside and takeover Bond. At this point, it seems like Purvis and Wade are going to takeover, “shudders.”
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,511
    I wouldn't be surprised if EoN is on a little "strike" themselves right now.

    I got news a few weeks ago that something big was going down.

    And I am now wondering if this is it:

    I knew about the proposal of the TV show-- I think I may've posted on this site about BB not being happy about this and she's not interested in discussing stretching the IP into a small screen series.

    That was the last I heard about this, until this article. And I assumed that this one misstep was Amazon's only misstep...

    But this article is possibly putting the text I received into more clear waters:

    Amazon fired/let-go of the two MGM execs that EoN enjoyed working with prior. Fine, that's their right as the new owners of MGM.

    BUT, if Ms. Broccoli submitted her desire for an experienced executive to work with, and THIS is the person Amazon have given her (a person, if you read the article, that had muddled through much of her position, and has not a lot of experience putting films together, AND she brought up the TV idea AGAIN...), then, yes, I see this as a very big deal.

    IF this is the case, I could see BB using her IP as leverage to get a new executive in charge of MGM who will work on ushering in the new Bond era.

    I could see EoN telling all who are at HQ to go home til this is resolved.

    Remember, Amazon can't fire Broccoli or Wilson.

    They need this duo more than this duo needs Amazon's $$$. They can afford to wait this out.

    Amazon may have more money than God-- as the article stated-- but they've got very weak management. Very weak.

    I was told something big was happening (and not in a "good way"), and that certain other things going on in film business was low priority at the moment... I couldn't figure out what could be so "ground-shaking"... But a mutiny and a boardroom war, theoretically, could be what is being played out behind closed doors.

    And it would be well within EoN's right to hold Amazon's feet to the fire on this one; theyre About to usher in a new era, and they can't have some novice at the helm of some BIGGGGG decisions that are on the table!!
  • Posts: 12,514
    Hm. Was already expecting to wait a very long time for Bond 26 anyway at least!
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    edited April 2023 Posts: 2,545
    Mallory wrote: »
    https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/inside-amazon-studios-jen-salke-vision-shows-1235364913/

    A long article, mainly focused on Hollywood studio exec tittle tattle.

    If Salke indeed wanted Rapaport in the job, there was one big snag. MGM’s crown jewel is the James Bond franchise, which is controlled by Barbara Broccoli. Sources say Broccoli made it clear that she needed an experienced movie executive at the helm of MGM’s film division. The sources also believe that Salke put her foot wrong with Broccoli by mentioning a possible Bond TV project, which Broccoli would not want. And following the acquisition of MGM’s distribution arm, they say, Broccoli was not impressed when weeks passed during which Amazon did not communicate with the longtime marketing and distribution executives who Broccoli sees as vital to handling the Bond films, leaving them in doubt as to whether they would keep their jobs. (A source says one of those executives, the late Erik Lomis, fought to move Creed III out of a crowded November to a March release date, giving Amazon a hit that has grossed $250 million.) Salke says, “We have deep respect for Barbara and Michael” — a reference to Michael G. Wilson, her Bond producing partner. Broccoli did not respond to a request for comment.

    It's interesting this article says "Salke put her foot wrong with Broccoli", as other articles about the Amazon/MGM merger have stated Salke/Broccoli are believed to have a good working relationship.

    Was 'Road to A Million' a compromise, or did Salke want another TV project in addition to it?
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,511
    @Red_Snow … I was told Amazon wanted to stretch the BOND IP into a tv series using the characters and stories or new stories (had nothing to do with the reality series that has been in the works for at least a few years before this sale even happened)
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