Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson gave management of the James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, who paid $1 billion for the privilege.
Like most of you, I used to be completely shocked by the information that the Broccoli household has relinquished inventive management of the James Bond franchise to Amazon MGM Studios. In line with Deadline, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli didn’t come low cost, as Amazon reportedly paid round $1 billion to take full management.
When Amazon initially bought MGM for $8.5 billion, it knew full effectively that it was vastly overpaying, but it surely was a foot within the door of the profitable James Bond franchise. Nonetheless, Wilson and Broccoli nonetheless retained inventive management and Amazon couldn’t do something with out them. There have been rumblings that Broccoli and Amazon didn’t see eye-to-eye on the route of the franchise. Amazon needed to increase the IP and pitched quite a lot of 007 spin-offs, however Broccoli needed to maintain the franchise as a strictly big-screen model, reportedly saying, “These people are f***ing morons.”
It’s been 4 years since No Time to Die was launched, and there’s no indication that the following installment is even near getting began. Amazon clearly needed to get issues shifting, which is why it was prepared to shell out $1 billion. These near Broccoli and Wilson are shocked that they really took the deal. “Broccoli’s] a fighter,” mentioned one supply, “but she got tired of fighting.” Wilson can also be able to retire, and Broccoli doesn’t wish to hold preventing by herself.
It’s exhausting to not be cynical about Amazon taking on the James Bond franchise. For sixty years, the identical household has shepherded it, treating every movie as a particular occasion. I concern for the Bond cinematic universe that could be in our future. The Younger James Bond Adventures? The Q Chronicles? Cooking with M? A senior British movie govt commented, “With out Barbara’s cautious supervision, Bond simply turns into Jack Reacher in some TV present.“
The one focal point is that Amazon might be able to lure in main administrators — reminiscent of Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino — who’ve beforehand expressed a want to deal with a James Bond film however needed to have full inventive management over the venture. This wasn’t doable when Broccoli and Wilson had been in cost, but it surely may occur now.
