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A great script + Martin Campbell = great Bond film.
This all might have been the case but I disagree that Broccoli knew she was selling the franchise after Craig’s final film or Wilson’s retirement. If there is a singular, silver bullet answer, then I believe the stalemate with Amazon is it; if not, then it was the final straw. It wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon threatened EON with legal action.
Barbara’s tenure was hamstrung by MGM’s financial woes. I think EON would have stuck to a steady three year development throughout the 90s and 2000s had MGM not needed a Bond film every two years between ‘95 and ‘99, and had MGM not needed a cash infusion from SONY and a hedge fund from ‘02 - ‘12. We may have even gotten better Brosnan films with more development time and more Craig films without MGM’s financial issues.
I think Barbara didn’t want to spend the next several months or years fighting Amazon the way her father fought MGM between ‘89 and ‘93/‘94. I see her partial sell to Amazon as proof that she truly cared about the property. When great estates become encumbered, the original owners don’t tear down the manor to spite the buyers. Care is taken to preserve the history, architecture and overall character.
It seems from the very beginning of franchise, Bond as attracted jealousy and ire from competitors and people who thought they could do a better job. From Fleming’s court case against Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham, to the impasse with Amazon. While, I do think there will be some sort of 007 TV show (not with Bond), I also think that Amazon committing themselves to theatrical releases by developing their own international distribution is a good sign that Bond will continue to be released theatrically.
If Amazon can produce a spin-off as good as The Penguin and a Bond film as lauded as Casino Royale or Skyfall or The Batman, then we’ll all be singing a different tune. Given the shifts in theatrical expectations, Bond 26 could do the same numbers as NTTD or The Batman to be a considered a success so long as the Rotten Tomatoes score begins with an 8 or a 9.
I said with few exceptions.
Verse 1
I heard the news and was sad
My nostalgic heart felt bad
Could the money makers work
Could the truth be so stark
Just a dream since i was a teen
Just a thought of a has been
Chorus
Where are you EON these days
Where are you amongst of frames
The dream from teen to thirty
Among the Craig and Connery
From the casual everyman
To the Dalton and the Brosnan
Verse 2
Where are the heros of old
Can they be so bold
From Harry and Cubby
To Babs so bubbly
Michael the writer
Gregg the learner
To the dreams of youth
All spoken to a lawyer of blutooth
Chorus
Bridge
I sometimes look at the inspiration of others
The influencers the corporate mothers
Do we have any individuality left
Can we order it in fabric felt
Dont ask me for answers dont ask me for questions
For the bone man comes and steals your suggestions
Guitar solo
Verse 3
What the hell are these thoughts
What are dreams or oughts
We can drive through the nightmare
And we can go through the fear
Do we know the future as it flies
The sun still sets and rises
The second biggest revenue company in the world own James Bond - has full creative control. Eon had no chance to determine the direction of the franchise. How can you tell the second biggest company in the world "er, actually we don't think your ideas are good."
It was never going to happen.
Broccoli and Wilson were never going to win the creativity battle with Amazon. My guess is Cubby Broccoli would have tried to flatter Amazon. That might have led to a suitable compromise. Imagine going to Amazon studio meetings and not saying you're "f-king idiots" but doing the opposite. "Yes, your ideas about Bond not being a hero sound fascinating. I'm sure we can do a screenplay making Bond more heroic. And maybe you'll consider raising the budget?"
Something like that. Give Amazon the bullsh*t they wanna hear. Try to flatter their collective ego and that way they're more likely to compromise.
Barbara Broccoli is not as smart as some people claim. She was extremely stupid to kill off James Bond because that automatically led to zero plan moving forward. As soon as she agreed to kill off Bond that meant the franchise was in limbo. No clear idea what to do next. A monumental error of judgement.
And the second monumental error of judgement was not to try to appease Bezos, Salke and the other executives at Amazon MGM Studios. If she did call them "f-king idiots" that automatically dropped Amazon's respect for Eon. It's not a good business strategy because you show yourself to be too emotional or too unwilling to compromise. Barbara Broccoli could and did play hardball with the old MGM because they needed Eon but Amazon doesn't need Eon. All they need is Eon's 50 percent stake to completely own Bond or the next best option - own full creative control.
Said in hindsight, the Eon Bond film franchise was doomed when
1) Craig and Eon foolishly, recklessly killed off Bond and thereby sabotaged a clear way forward for the franchise (which I would consider gross negligence),
2) Refusing or unable to compromise with Amazon. Eon's legal team should have reminded Broccoli - "you're dealing with the second richest company on the planet. You better be prepared to be civil to them and compromise or it's game over. Amazon will file the most harsh lawsuit possible and potentially bankrupt you."
If she never adopted that approach she was doomed to failure.
It's possible she wanted to quit anyway so maybe it all worked out for her. Killing Bond is the most compelling evidence she wanted out.
My guess is Cubby Broccoli would have found a different way. He wouldn't have killed off Bond and he would have tried his very best to co-produce with Amazon. Sadly it wasn't meant to be.
im pretty sure the deal with Universal Studios was for 1 film NTTD.
Yeah they're in a more favourable position with it happening this way around, they can set terms for the new actor and make him appear in spinoffs etc. whereas I doubt he'd have had to in the version you imagine.
What is it?
Yes, of course, Elon Musk could by it...
James Bond in a Tesla anyone?
Which podcast is that?
I would guess it's referring to Road To A Million, maybe?
I think they'd likely hang onto the rights probably; it's an asset in the bank. But yeah, who knows.
The latter is what I'm worried about.
The one this forum is associated with - James Bond & Friends.
This assessment is ad hoc.
*Grain of salt whether there's any truth to it of course, but what if the conversation went like this:
Barbara: "Are you ready to take the reigns?"
Gregg: "Are you ready for Alex Jamelia Bond?"
Barbara: "Never mind, I'll phone Jeff."
https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/bond-26-barbara-broccoli-amazon-impasse
He's not a straight white feller
He's a modern Bond altogether
He can be what he wants to be
As long as he doesn't look like Daniel C
I prefer to see Bond films first in the cinema. I hope that can continue. But with everything out of joint, who knows where all this goes?
If his whiteness did factor in anything recently it’s probably SKYFALL, which leaned into the idea of Bond being a symbolic representation of the British Empire. A man out of time, which Silva mocks during the interrogation. If future films lean further into that conceit, that’s a solid argument to stick to Bond being white.
Of course the easiest argument would be setting the films back in the 1950s to Fleming’s era, in which case a black James Bond would look out of place in that time period.
Sorry if my “wokeness” offended anyone here.
You have just received the Ian Fleming seal of disapproval. You say it doesn't matter, then why change it in the first place if it doesn't matter? Clearly it does to some people.
Bond is an English hero, (Yes, Scottish father, half swiss mother i know) his ethnicity and culutre is core to who he is. Changing that leads to tangible and intangible differences which would render him alien and not recognizable to the character who we all know and Ian Fleming created. Yaphet Kotto said as much.
Why are you asking me? It’s not my decision to make. I really don’t care if they keep him white or make him black. That’s how much of a non-issue Bond’s ethnicity is to me, at least when it comes to a story or plot where his skin color bears no relevance.
But what do I know? I accepted a Bond with blonde hair and was accused of not being a true fan for that.
Exactly, to you