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Do you mean a deal beyond Mr & Mrs Smith?
Yep, they pay her around 20 million a year to create things for them. Don't know how long it is running. From what I understand, an overall deal basically means everything PWB produces* she offers to Amazon and isn't allowed to shop it around even if they pass. So in a way, she is an in-house writer for them now, only that she of course only works on her own projects and not other things, like a staff writer would.
* I would assume this only includes writing for television and there could always be carve outs for specific projects she might want to persue elsewhere. Donald Glover also has an overall at Amazon, but probably has a carve-out to do more Atlanta at FX, if he wants to.
Oh wow I didn't know about that, good luck to her. So in a way, possibly maybe perhaps that means she could actually come back to Bond whereas she wouldn't have been able to before yesterday? Although maybe script polishing would have been fine.
It's hard to know how any of this works! :D
Good break down of what Amazon have acquired.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-siblings-who-control-james-bondeven-after-amazon-buys-mgm-11622127212
She could be the bridge between Broccoli and Bezos.
+1
Thanks! Here are the most important bits.
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The siblings are so critical to MGM's value that they were told of the pending sale days before it closed, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Amazon executive Mike Hopkins, who handled negotiations with MGM, reached out to the producers as well to assure their property would be in good hands. Jen Salke, the Amazon executive who oversees original content, already had a relationship with Ms. Broccoli, which will also ease the transition.
Already, Ms. Broccoli and Mr. Wilson have said they still plan to release the series' films in theaters. The first test of the new owner's relationship with the pair comes with the 25th Bond film, No Time to Die, which after several Covid-related delays is set to hit theaters in October.
...A representative for Eon didn't respond to requests for comment.
...Associates believe children of both executives could step into the roles when they retire, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The two are also content staying behind the scenes amid the hubbub of the merger. After news of the Amazon-MGM deal was released, they released only a brief statement: 'We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the world-wide theatrical audience.'
Though pent-up demand for movies could contribute to box-office success for No Time to Die, the last installment, Spectre, met a lukewarm domestic reception in 2015. Markets outside the U.S. have steadily accounted for more of the overall profitability of recent films.
...Apple Inc. and Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures have made overtures to the siblings over the past several years, according to people familiar with the matter, exploring whether they'd be open to a buyout and yielding control. They have rebuffed those efforts and others to expand the James Bond 'universe' into lucrative—but potentially reputation-damaging—side projects and spinoffs.
The Wilson-Broccoli entity rejected an overture from late casino magnate Kirk Kerkorian to build a Bond-themed hotel and casino, according to a person familiar with the matter. A potential spinoff movie series based on Jinx, a character portrayed by Halle Berry in 2002's Die Another Day, never got off the ground.
Their next outing, No Time to Die, is one reason MGM is being sold at all. At one point, Eon considered selling the movie to a streaming service rather than wait for theaters to reopen. Amazon was among those potential would-be buyers, according to a person familiar with the matter, and among the early reasons executives from the tech company met with MGM brass.
Two words: Gregg. Wilson.
(He’s been an unsung warrior for a very long time. He’s worked his butt off in many roles that are uncredited as well as credited; he led the location crew for everything we will see in Jamaica in NTTD)....
Also, on the subject of Phoebe Waller-Bridge from earlier, whether they bring her back for Bond 26 or they bring in some new writers or even a freshly rejuvenated P&W, I'll be excited either way. But as someone whose not a fan of the idea of spin-offs within the Bond "universe", just due to the sheer impossibility in my mind of it being able to separate itself from general spy movie clones, while also being a part of a brand with sufficient focus on one character, if anyone was gonna make one (for Amazon we'd expect now), I'd want it to be Phoebe.
I want Barbara Broccoli to produce the Bond films alone until she is 100 years old if the alternative is Gregg becoming her producer partner, replacing his father. The smaller and more insignificant Gregg's role is, the better.
What are you trying to say?
Interesting. As a collector of Physical media, this news concerned me. I'm still sceptical to be honest.
Gregg handled the Alpine plane chase in SP, right?
And Barbara's first major contribution was the tanker chase in LTK?
Hmm...one of these is not like the other.
Barbara had the idea for the tanker chase? Wow, I thought the screenwriters came up with it haha
Barbara was in charge of filming the tanker chase. Gregg was in charge of filming the plane chase. Who did it better?
There were many errors in Spectre- the plane sequence was the least of the issues...
I guess in terms of production though, it was perhaps the gravest error as the accident on set resulted in AD Terry Madden's legs being crushed and the end of his career. He had been working on Bond since FYEO.
I have veered toward digital media in recent years though still have a vast collection of physical media and still buy boxsets and special editions etc. Amazon more than any other streaming service are likely to continue Physical media that side of things is a plus for sure.
I don't see Amazon or EON changing this strategy. James Bond is simply part of the pop culture. Whenever a new film gets released, you'll hear the theme song on the radio, you'll have a few old entries on basic cable, you'll get some new transfers or new editions on home video. And every new film, good or bad, contributes to the overall value of the franchise and builds expectations for the next one, as there's always a debate. Will they fix the flaws from the latest one? What direction will they move on? What was missing from the new one compared to the golden years (whatever they were).
The franchise would lose much of its appeal if it was turned down into a platform exclusive, if it wasn't something everybody gets exposed to at some degree, with a new release being a huge cultural and commercial event.
And it's likely that the Amazon executives know this.
And a different question is what EON will do now that their main partner finally provides them with a degree of stability that had been missing since the end of the eighties.
John Logan’s take on the matter.
Loved it. Hopefully Amazon won't interfere.
That's got me a little more worried. Key points:
"Bond isn’t just another franchise, not a Marvel or a DC; it is a family business that has been carefully nurtured and shepherded through the changing times by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Work sessions on Skyfall and Spectre were like hearty discussions around the dinner table."
"The current deal with Amazon gives Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, who own 50 percent of the Bond empire, ironclad assurances of continued artistic control. But will this always be the case? What happens if a bruising corporation like Amazon begins to demand a voice in the process? What happens to the comradeship and quality control if there’s an Amazonian overlord with analytics parsing every decision?"
"From my experience, here’s what happens to movies when such concerns start invading the creative process: Everything gets watered down to the most anodyne and easily consumable version of itself. The movie becomes an inoffensive shadow of a thing, not the thing itself. There are no more rough edges or flights of cinematic madness. The fire and passion are gradually drained away as original ideas and voices are subsumed by commercial concerns, corporate oversight and polling data."
"In the context of the larger company, Amazon Prime Video is not chiefly about artists. It’s about attracting and retaining customers. And when bigger companies start having a say in iconic characters or franchises, the companies tend to want more, not better, and the quality differential can vary wildly, project to project."
"Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson are the champions of James Bond. They keep the corporate and commercial pressures outside the door. Nor are they motivated by them. That’s why we don’t have a mammoth Bond Cinematic Universe, with endless anemic variations of 007 sprouting up on TV or streaming or in spinoff movies. The Bond movies are truly the most bespoke and handmade films I’ve ever worked on. That’s why they are original, thorny, eccentric and special. They were never created with lawyers and accountants and e-commerce mass marketing pollsters hovering in the background."