What Happens to James Bond Franchise Once Amazon Takes Over

“Nothing majorly will change,” John Cork, an avid Bond fan and director of over 30 Bond documentaries, informed TheWrap. “It’ll just be one more studio logo that will appear on James Bond movies.”

Consider 007 historical past, mentioned an insider who requested to stay nameless, noting the “countless times” MGM and UA have been purchased and bought and the numerous executives which have come and gone, pondering they might be the change with the Bond franchise.

“This means nothing,” the insider mentioned of the Amazon deal. “The only thing that stays is the Broccolis and the Wilsons and the franchise. When you work on the franchise, you serve at the pleasure of the producers — it doesn’t matter if you are Bond or a studio executive — it’s always going to be the Broccolis.”

Eon Productions and the Broccoli Family have held artistic management of the franchise since Bond’s first look in 1962’s “Dr. No.” Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, Barbara’s father and Michael’s stepfather, first ironed out a cope with United Artists for the studio to finance and distribute the movies — however Barbara Broccoli and Wilson nonetheless have ultimate say over every thing, together with advertising and marketing and distribution.

“Barbara’s father Cubby gave her the advice, ‘Just don’t let other people f— it up,’” Cork mentioned.

According to Cork, Broccoli management began when Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman turned producing companions within the early ’60s — Saltzman owned the Bond rights, and Cubby had the contacts to make films out of the creator Ian Fleming’s books. But when Saltzman needed to promote, he refused to promote his share to Broccoli. Instead, he bought 50% of the holding rights to United Artists, which is why Amazon solely acquired 50% of the franchise. The remaining 50% stays with the Broccolis. According to 1 insider, till now, MGM was once the tie breaker on distribution choices, whereas the Broccolis had ultimate determination on artistic.

And that’s due to the unique cope with United Artists. According to Jeff Kleeman, a producer who spearheaded the “Bond” revival at MGM/UA within the 1990s, UA on the time sometimes gave extra management to the filmmakers than different studios did. When MGM purchased UA and its rights to Bond, the UA fashion conveyed.

“The deal the Broccolis have is a deal that was made in the early ’60s with United Artists when they were a different kind of company,” Kleeman mentioned. “There is no other producer in town that has a deal like this — you have to be a scholar to understand it. It’s like rings of a tree — there is no other tree that is this old and big in Hollywood.” 

Kleeman mentioned that whereas the Broccolis have lastly say on something Bond, they’ve all the time labored in tandem with MGM, and he doesn’t count on that to vary with Amazon as long as a degree of belief stays between the 2 new companions.

“The Broccolis are its guardians,” Kleeman mentioned. “Their entire childhood was raised on the sets of Bond movies and no one else can say that. They see executives come and go, but the Broccolis will always remain. If Amazon is able to respect that, they’ll get on just fine. Yes, there are certain clauses or areas that give one or the other side slightly more control in certain circumstances, but the big picture is partnership. It depends on how Amazon handles them and how Amazon builds a mutual respect and trust… I actually think anything is possible with them if you approach them the right way.”

The partnership begins with “No Time to Die,” the final of the Bond movies with Daniel Craig, which has been sitting on the shelf for a yr as a result of coronavirus pandemic. There was even speak of promoting the movie to Apple for $400 million, however allegedly, the Broccolis needed a theatrical launch. “Ultimately, the actual worth of…