No Time to Die production thread

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Comments

  • Posts: 3,164
    @CraigMooreOHMSS you have to bear in mind that financing models for these films are very different - according to Variety, NTTD was 100% financed by MGM...money that is then entrusted to EON to make the film. So any financial disappointment or flop would hit MGM not EON. And of course there's the question of how much of that budget is covered product placement and sponsorship deals (Nokia, Omega, Heineken). The breakeven point for this film is likely less than for an equivalent comic book tentpole.

    Meanwhile for The Rhythm Section, Paramount bought the distribution rights from EON and while Paramount may have lost money, and EON have struggled with getting the production budget to come together as their production partner IM Global defaulted on rights, they are nonetheless very well enjoying what Paramount paid - with the way indie productions like this are financed the money has to come together to the producers and you may already be in profit before you can shoot a single frame.

    Just something to bear in mind when discussing all this...

    In other news - the new release date of November 11 (!!) has been confirmed for France. So they're at the moment the first country to get the film, a whole day before the UK.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    edited April 2020 Posts: 2,541
    Maybe calling selfish was a bit harsh, i Know most people who have worked in production must have already been paid but I was talking about people who have invested in it as well, not much familiar with this but can bond even earn 500 million or more through streaming service? As far as i know they have to earn atleast what this film expects to see enough returns on to generate a profit, more than the production budget (250 million).
  • 007Blofeld007Blofeld In the freedom of the West.
    Posts: 3,126
    TheBondFan wrote: »
    Meet Our Spring Cover Star: Lashana Lynch
    “With any franchise that everyone’s been waiting for for years, you want to know that you’re getting it right—but getting it right doesn’t mean right for the audience; it means right for me. I want to know that the person I am creating in my head is actually coming out every day that I’m on set, and that my ideas actually appear on camera.”
    Not sure I'm too thrilled by this quote. Imo, when making a film of this nature, i.e. a blockbuster that is made for profit over art and satisfying a fan base versus pet projects that are made purely for self-expression and prioritizing an artistic vision, you need to get it right for the audience first and foremost. Hopefully her ideas overlap significantly with what the majority of fans and the movie going public wants, but I have my doubts. I'm hoping for the best, but statements like this come off as somewhat arrogant, from the perspective of the customer that is financing this work. At least say that it's not ONLY about getting it right for the audience. The plain dismissal of the audience rubs me the wrong way.

    +1
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 3,164
    Maybe calling selfish was a bit harsh, i Know most people who have worked in production must have already been paid but I was talking about people who have invested in it as well, not much familiar with this but can bond even earn 500 million or more through streaming service? As far as i know they have to earn atleast what this film expects to see enough returns on to generate a profit, more than the production budget (250 million).

    The way box office works is that roughly 50% of it (varies from country to country but taking a global POV it works out to roughly that) goes to the cinema, 50% goes to the distributor. So for a production budget of 250 million, the breakeven point for the film is around 600 million, taking into account around 100m for the marketing campaign. Taking into account product placement and stuff, that could bring that breakeven point down lower.

    Now, with a streaming/VOD release, closer to 75-80% if not more is with the distributor, with the platform transacting the sale (iTunes etc), taking a cut. (Not to mention, Universal is then 100% out of the picture until we start taking Blu-rays/DVDs as global digital rights to the film remain with MGM) Plus, the marketing spend wouldn't be as expensive usually - unless you want to still have outdoor billboards, bus ads, ads on train and tube stations... So to breakeven they'd basically need to earn something closer to 300-400 million.

    And the last thing to bear in mind is a film doesn't have to break even on its initial theatrical or otherwise release - though it would obviously be preferable. Blu-ray/DVD release as well as TV broadcast output deals usually are the point where blockbusters like this end up going into profit.

    And lastly, you need to figure out from whose POV are you looking at - MGM's (where most is at stake), EON's (where it's mostly reputational and a financial flop won't hit them as hard as it otherwise would because of the circumstances of the world) or Universal's (where they just need to make back whatever they paid MGM for the international distribution rights)
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited April 2020 Posts: 8,205
    Yup, don't worry @antovolk. I did the maths on the variables at play - though I calculated a break even point of $650-670million which is slightly higher than your estimate there. I also considered the money that has gone to waste already on marketing on top of that.

    Had the film been released, hypothetically, now or in the Summer ahead, it wouldn't have broken those figures. All three of those POVs would go unsatisfied.

    I should have written MGM instead of EON for the financial hit part above, but strangely enough the point about the IPs is just as valid for them!
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited April 2020 Posts: 16,338
    There's a difference between underperforming and actively losing money. Making less money than your predecessor is underperforming - that's not what we're talking about here. EON, regardless of whether the board members have personally wealthy bank accounts or not, can't release two films back to back that will lose money, irrespective of them understanding of why they did so. The bottom line is what matters. Plenty of companies with rich people behind them have taken hits that would cause them to scale back, reduce or even totally stop productivity down the line. You only need to look at the news to see this. Granted, comparing a restaurant chain or IT company to a Production House isn't quite the same, but the principle isn't too different. Other studios have multiple IPs from which they can draw from in future and bounce back from this slump. EON don't have this luxury; they only have Bond. A big financial hit would impact them harder than anyone else. It's one of the reasons why I always pull for Bond to do well financially, especially in a comic-book dominated world. That's the extent of it, as far as I'm concerned.

    Yep, it would be crap for them. I don't want them to suffer at all, of course I don't, but as long as they stay in business I can't see them having trouble raising investment for the next Bond movie, because Bond is a guaranteed moneyspinner, even despite their mishandling of Rhythm Section. I doubt very much that EON spend their own money on these movies.
    I don't consider anyone who isn't interested in the finances of rich people to be selfish (why would you?), but I would certainly question anyone wishing for the film to be released in a manner that they know would almost certainly cause it to fail financially, as that will have ramifications down the line, even if those ramifications are only creative.

    That's fair enough, I don't want anything to fail and streaming is hugely unlikely to bring the return the studio needs.
    Regardless of whether you agree with the above or not, I don't think we need to call anyone selfish.

    Indeed. I'm sure you can understand why I was annoyed that Resurrection said that and then acted as if no-one had been paid for making the movie last year.
  • Posts: 380
    As a Bond fan, I want Bond to be on top. I want Bond to break records and smash the competition. I’ll never see a cent of profit from contributing to NTTD’s success but that’s not the point of fandom. I want NTTD to be good and make a billion dollars at the box office. I also want to see a Bond film as it was meant to be seen—in a theater.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Burgess wrote: »
    As a Bond fan, I want Bond to be on top. I want Bond to break records and smash the competition. I’ll never see a cent of profit from contributing to NTTD’s success but that’s not the point of fandom. I want NTTD to be good and make a billion dollars at the box office. I also want to see a Bond film as it was meant to be seen—in a theater.

    Me too.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    edited April 2020 Posts: 3,497
    Burgess wrote: »
    As a Bond fan, I want Bond to be on top. I want Bond to break records and smash the competition. I’ll never see a cent of profit from contributing to NTTD’s success but that’s not the point of fandom. I want NTTD to be good and make a billion dollars at the box office. I also want to see a Bond film as it was meant to be seen—in a theater.

    It will be released in theaters, now stop whining about this streaming bs.

    8->
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    edited April 2020 Posts: 8,205
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?
  • antovolk wrote: »
    Maybe calling selfish was a bit harsh, i Know most people who have worked in production must have already been paid but I was talking about people who have invested in it as well, not much familiar with this but can bond even earn 500 million or more through streaming service? As far as i know they have to earn atleast what this film expects to see enough returns on to generate a profit, more than the production budget (250 million).

    The way box office works is that roughly 50% of it (varies from country to country but taking a global POV it works out to roughly that) goes to the cinema, 50% goes to the distributor. So for a production budget of 250 million, the breakeven point for the film is around 600 million, taking into account around 100m for the marketing campaign. Taking into account product placement and stuff, that could bring that breakeven point down lower.

    Now, with a streaming/VOD release, closer to 75-80% if not more is with the distributor, with the platform transacting the sale (iTunes etc), taking a cut. (Not to mention, Universal is then 100% out of the picture until we start taking Blu-rays/DVDs as global digital rights to the film remain with MGM) Plus, the marketing spend wouldn't be as expensive usually - unless you want to still have outdoor billboards, bus ads, ads on train and tube stations... So to breakeven they'd basically need to earn something closer to 300-400 million.

    And the last thing to bear in mind is a film doesn't have to break even on its initial theatrical or otherwise release - though it would obviously be preferable. Blu-ray/DVD release as well as TV broadcast output deals usually are the point where blockbusters like this end up going into profit.

    And lastly, you need to figure out from whose POV are you looking at - MGM's (where most is at stake), EON's (where it's mostly reputational and a financial flop won't hit them as hard as it otherwise would because of the circumstances of the world) or Universal's (where they just need to make back whatever they paid MGM for the international distribution rights)

    Yes but the fact remains that it would still earn more during a (non-corona afflicted) theatrical run and until that possibility goes right out the window for the foreseeable future, Universal and Disney and WB and all the rest will still want their blockbusters to have theatrical releases.

    If all the theatres were still closed in November, I could easily see EON/MGM/Universal just moving it back again. I'm not saying VOD will never be an option but it's 100% going to be the last resort for $150 million+ blockbusters like this.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    Burgess wrote: »
    As a Bond fan, I want Bond to be on top. I want Bond to break records and smash the competition. I’ll never see a cent of profit from contributing to NTTD’s success but that’s not the point of fandom. I want NTTD to be good and make a billion dollars at the box office. I also want to see a Bond film as it was meant to be seen—in a theater.

    Completely agree, as a fan i want that too and that's why it get's tiresome to hear from some people about bond moving on to streaming.

    Thanks @antovolk for detailed explanation.
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 4,408
    It what is already proving a rather controversial interview, Lea Seydoux talks political correctness, MeToo, Harvey Weinstein and NTTD.....



    These comments come from an interview Lea did as this month's cover star for Harper's Bizarre. slightly surprised that these magazines are still being produced and that they are still using the Bond stars in Spring and not moving these interviews to Winter. Though I know nothing of the industry and suppose that the covers for Nov/Dec have been set months in advance.

    Not a fan of the styling for the campaign....looks a little busy and kitsch. I think Lashana has had the coolest covers this season. It's a shame Ana has been sidelined. Hopefully she has a bigger push in November as she has 3(!) films out that month.

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  • Posts: 3,164
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel
  • antovolk wrote: »
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel

    Do you think EON may release it officially at some point in the coming months to build up hype for NTTD again?
  • Posts: 3,164
    antovolk wrote: »
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel

    Do you think EON may release it officially at some point in the coming months to build up hype for NTTD again?

    Closer to release so in October I presume...
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    I'd hope so. I'm not sure how effective something like that would be in terms of building hype for the general public but I know that I would be very much interested in seeing it. It would have been nice to have gotten something similar for all the Bonds - before Sir Roger passed away, of course. A collection of six, hour long documentaries on each of their eras. I really enjoyed Everything Or Nothing, my only complaint was that it was too short!
  • Posts: 3,164
    I'd hope so. I'm not sure how effective something like that would be in terms of building hype for the general public but I know that I would be very much interested in seeing it.

    The way so far it's been rolled out is seemingly as a bonus for the TV networks showing all the Bond films in the lead-up to NTTD - that's why Viasat Film Hits had it, that's why RTL had it for broadcast immediately before and immediately after Skyfall last weekend (before it was pulled). So, like, in the UK, this is likely to be shown on ITV and Sky Cinema.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    antovolk wrote: »
    I'd hope so. I'm not sure how effective something like that would be in terms of building hype for the general public but I know that I would be very much interested in seeing it.

    The way so far it's been rolled out is seemingly as a bonus for the TV networks showing all the Bond films in the lead-up to NTTD - that's why Viasat Film Hits had it, that's why RTL had it for broadcast immediately before and immediately after Skyfall last weekend (before it was pulled). So, like, in the UK, this is likely to be shown on ITV and Sky Cinema.

    Good to know, thank you. I guess we'll just have to keep our eyes on the horizon.
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 17,740
    antovolk wrote: »
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel

    The fact that there's not a single word about the documentary in Norwegian at all as far as I can see, I think it's very likely it wasn't on the Viasat Film Hits schedule over here at all.

    Edit: The Swedish Viasat Film Hits schedule can be found here. Doesn't look like the documentary aired in Sweden either.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    Still no new date for Black Widow. I believe that they will release it this year, they can't postpone their whole schedule... :-?
  • Posts: 3,164
    antovolk wrote: »
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel

    The fact that there's not a single word about the documentary in Norwegian at all as far as I can see, I think it's very likely it wasn't on the Viasat Film Hits schedule over here at all.

    Edit: The Swedish Viasat Film Hits schedule can be found here. Doesn't look like the documentary aired in Sweden either.

    Google tells me it was indeed on the schedules on the Swedish side but seems like the records have now been scrubbed...same for Denmark.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,536
    It what is already proving a rather controversial interview, Lea Seydoux talks political correctness, MeToo, Harvey Weinstein and NTTD.....



    These comments come from an interview Lea did as this month's cover star for Harper's Bizarre. slightly surprised that these magazines are still being produced and that they are still using the Bond stars in Spring and not moving these interviews to Winter. Though I know nothing of the industry and suppose that the covers for Nov/Dec have been set months in advance.

    Not a fan of the styling for the campaign....looks a little busy and kitsch. I think Lashana has had the coolest covers this season. It's a shame Ana has been sidelined. Hopefully she has a bigger push in November as she has 3(!) films out that month.

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    EUkWdQ1XgAAvuEK?format=jpg&name=small
    EUkWdQ0XYAE0hCc?format=jpg&name=small
    EUkWdQ0XQAIMhFj?format=jpg&name=small
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    EUkWxo7XYAAvUzV?format=jpg&name=medium
    EUkWxo6WAAE8eN1?format=jpg&name=small

    All of the magazine covers and interviews being released now went to print days before the release date was postponed. They have no choice but to run them.

  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    I must admit I'm interested in Dr Madeline Swann this time round, hopefully her character is fleshed out. Lea is a talented, beautiful actress who deserved better. Not sure if it's just me but I think she looks better now than she did in Spectre, perhaps she's more comfortable? Well not including her last pose in that photoshoot

    Is it true a plot synopsis has leaked?
    Sorry if this has been spoken about already, I haven't been on here in a few days
  • Posts: 3,164
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I must admit I'm interested in Dr Madeline Swann this time round, hopefully her character is fleshed out. Lea is a talented, beautiful actress who deserved better. Not sure if it's just me but I think she looks better now than she did in Spectre, perhaps she's more comfortable? Well not including her last pose in that photoshoot

    Is it true a plot synopsis has leaked?
    Sorry if this has been spoken about already, I haven't been on here in a few days

    A possible one that for my money sounds close to the real deal.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    antovolk wrote: »
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I must admit I'm interested in Dr Madeline Swann this time round, hopefully her character is fleshed out. Lea is a talented, beautiful actress who deserved better. Not sure if it's just me but I think she looks better now than she did in Spectre, perhaps she's more comfortable? Well not including her last pose in that photoshoot

    Is it true a plot synopsis has leaked?
    Sorry if this has been spoken about already, I haven't been on here in a few days

    A possible one that for my money sounds close to the real deal.
    Without giving anything away, what do people actually think of the story from the supposed leak (which could very well be a fan who merely figured it out based on info already known)? Does it sound appealing?
  • DonnyDB5DonnyDB5 Buffalo, New York
    Posts: 1,755
    It does sound pretty legit given everything we already know. It just seems to add up/flow well.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    jake24 wrote: »
    antovolk wrote: »
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I must admit I'm interested in Dr Madeline Swann this time round, hopefully her character is fleshed out. Lea is a talented, beautiful actress who deserved better. Not sure if it's just me but I think she looks better now than she did in Spectre, perhaps she's more comfortable? Well not including her last pose in that photoshoot

    Is it true a plot synopsis has leaked?
    Sorry if this has been spoken about already, I haven't been on here in a few days

    A possible one that for my money sounds close to the real deal.
    Without giving anything away, what do people actually think of the story from the supposed leak (which could very well be a fan who merely figured it out based on info already known)? Does it sound appealing?

    The only thing that I don't believe for the full 100% is the kid.
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 17,740
    antovolk wrote: »
    antovolk wrote: »
    Thank you for the responses, @mtm, and I do understand your annoyance there! :)

    @antovolk, did you find out anything more about the broadcast of that Being James Bond documentary? Was it pulled, by the looks of things?

    The Viasat broadcasts starting on the 5th may have been pulled after all...on the Norway side anyway? If only if there were services that archive any and all broadcasts on a particular channel

    The fact that there's not a single word about the documentary in Norwegian at all as far as I can see, I think it's very likely it wasn't on the Viasat Film Hits schedule over here at all.

    Edit: The Swedish Viasat Film Hits schedule can be found here. Doesn't look like the documentary aired in Sweden either.

    Google tells me it was indeed on the schedules on the Swedish side but seems like the records have now been scrubbed...same for Denmark.

    Strange, I can't find anything about it airing in Sweden either, but it looks like it was scheduled to be aired in Denmark, according to tvguide.dk. There's no archive however, so I can't go back and check if they did.

    Looking at Viasat's Facebook pages, both the Swedish and the Danish page published a promo clip for their month-long James Bond marathon (published March 2), but there's no mention of the documentary.
  • 007Blofeld007Blofeld In the freedom of the West.
    Posts: 3,126
    antovolk wrote: »
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I must admit I'm interested in Dr Madeline Swann this time round, hopefully her character is fleshed out. Lea is a talented, beautiful actress who deserved better. Not sure if it's just me but I think she looks better now than she did in Spectre, perhaps she's more comfortable? Well not including her last pose in that photoshoot

    Is it true a plot synopsis has leaked?
    Sorry if this has been spoken about already, I haven't been on here in a few days

    A possible one that for my money sounds close to the real deal.

    It probably is the films probably ruined now.
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