Well…this certainly counts as a development!
Feels strange after all this time, they decide to hand it over so easily. It’s not about Wilson, neither about Barbara, because I’m sure they could find someone inside or outside to manage the continuation of the saga within EON’s control.
I’m sure we will understand more when details about this “joint venture” and “co-owners” deal come out.
One would like to think that that’s Amazon’s position. But I doubt it. No-one spends the kind of money that Disney, Amazon, whoever, without wanting to milk it for all its worth.
And I’d offer that there is not one example of any of these expanded “brands” aging well. Star Wars is now all over the map, with the hope that slapping that title on an ad or mentioning “Jedi” in the script is going to appeal and appease. Marvel really does look like they’re running out of gas, and DC has never got into gear.
Like pretty much everyone else, I think we’re looking at spin-offs galore and while they’re not my thing, have at it all for whom it is. But for me the central issue is unchanged - I’m unconvinced that, other than a new actor and a new crew doing their “take”, that there is some whole new world (sorry to use that word!) for the films to explore - if there was I don’t doubt someone at EON has already had the idea at some point over the last 30 years.
The cynic in me believes that Amazon want James Bond films so they can launch all the extra stuff through them, not because they have some grandiose vision for the central character and the films. Will they be “better” or “worse?” God only knows for sure but I’ll offer just a variant of the same thing with new faces. Which, if we’re brutally honest with ourselves, has been the case since, ohh, 1963?
“I do think that it’s possible that if God had sent us a totally no-brainer Bond in the last couple of years, then it might be a different situation.”
NTTD is a favorite of mine and it’s even more poignant now being the last. I wish BB and the rest a welcomed retirement. They deserve it.
I’m nervous about what is ahead but I’m looking forward to actually having new product.
“Assembling the great production crews, you know, production designers, the … well, everything. It was like a giant puzzle and each piece was placed by a master and the whole thing has been built up over all these years through a kind of family ethos and an incredible kind of trust in finding people that they trust and then backing them and building family,” another close associate told us. “And that’s how this incredible thing has been maintained. And so that’s very difficult to … how do you replicate that? That’s the question.”
With an algorithm.
Nail on the head, as always.
Even if the trappings of what we’ve come to expect are there within the new films, this is a whole separate venture now, and it will take more than an Aston Martin and bottle of Bollinger to capture the true essence.
As others have said, the ending of NO TIME TO DIE feels even more fitting now. Expect we are now more likely to see Amazon take a swing at a ‘different’ interpretation of the Bond character, and feels unlikely they’ll be harvesting Fleming for plot purposes.
A nervous wait now to see how much of that old spirit is captured.
Sad to see the Eon era end this way, but the lack of interest from them in advancing the films means this change may be for the better. I agree that having Bond diluted would not be great, but we’re not there yet. For all we know, Amazon may do Bond right, and this is the start of an exciting new era that will actually produce something we fans can again regularly look forward to.
My greatest fear is we’re about to get Star Wars post Disney sale - movies a shadow of what they used to be and a plethora of TV shows the public is, at best, lukewarm about.
He’s 52.
I’ve been thinking from Barbara and Michael’s point of view. They are older, and if they aren’t eager to continue, and their own family feel the same, what other option is there? To keep the franchise but do nothing with it? Farms that have been with families for generations do get sold.
It’s hard, and the future is unnerving. But it’s the bullet you eventually have the bite. Even so, what gets me is the idea outsiders now have free reign with the property. It would rip out my heart if Bond was ruined. Amazon will have to reassure the fans with their direction and I hope they take those opinions on board.
The problem is who is Amazon? The executive who reassures fans today could be out of the company a year from now. And whoever produces Bond 26 won’t care what the franchise will look like in 10 years because they probably won’t be around.
Compare how long Bond has lasted to how long Marvel has lasted (so far) before it reached a point where the moviegoing public felt it went stale.
The guiding hand of the Broccoli’s will not be replaced.
“Don’t let temporary people make permanent decisions” - Albert R. Broccoli
Who spends $1 billion to gain control of a franchise, and then follows that acquisition up by making the same caliber/type of film, which the bought-out partner was an acknowledged expert at producing for years.
The cadence of Bond product will be as regular as a metronome. As for the quality? A great many widgets will need to be produced/sold in order to recoup $1 billion, never mind the cost of making Bond 26. NTTD cost about $300 million to make, and another $100 million to market. So the total investment for Bond 26 (if it is produced the EON way) would be about $1.5 billion dollars.
Maybe Amazon can lure Christopher Nolan once he is finished with his $250 million dalliance with Homer (replacing EON the auteur with Nolan the auteur). It would not be cheap to do so, but he would bring talent and prestige, and make fans very happy. Amazon gets a big splash hiring a major film artist, and for Bond 27 (and all of the spin-offs and streaming series) they hire less brand-name talent.
That’s not counting the 8.5 billion they spent on MGM just to get their foot in the door.
I was trying to be somewhat optimistic. Not so, The Hollywood Reporter:
Which absolutely means he can do at least one film while Amazon figures out what in direction they want to take this.
After reflecting on this news all day, I’m ready to share my thoughts.
Cons (and how to make them positive):
More or less what everyone says about Amazon looking at it creatively. They might just view it as a product. But I realize that movies and creativity are basically a business. EON knew this too. So don’t throw them completely under the bus, yet. Also, remember that Bond has generally known how to correct itself. History does repeat itself, as cinematic Bond has shown.
Not knowing if they have a dedicated group for the series yet (namely writers). Hopefully not Purvis and Wade (see below). It’s a shame that Star Wars had a writers room at the beginning of the Disney takeover, and it seemed to only to the main screenwriters of the individual movies by the end of the original run (TROS). Get a mix of Bond fans and historians with proven talented (not just Oscar Bait like EON did with the last 3 movies) writers.
Amazon not learning from Disney with the Star Wars takeover. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in more ways than one. You’re planning a story arc? Having everyone on the general same creative page. Realize that you can’t play it safe in one part of the story. Then take all risks possible in the immediate story after. Try to simply mix both styles together in the same story arc overall. It’s tricky, but it can be the best way to win both sides of homage and new directions.
Pros:
Hopefully, getting a leading actor(s) who gets too much creative control. Michael and Barbara gave PB too little creative control, and DC WAY TOO MUCH creative control. Over almost every little detail possible. The five other Bond actors NEVER got even a nose hair of that creative power of what DC got, combined. So Amazon can also tell the actor that they are expendable, for better or worse.
The thing I’m looking forward to most, hopefully: new writing blood. After some of the Purvis and Wade recent comments, it’s time for them to go. If they don’t know how to write a Bond villain with so many openly real life influences, it’s simply time to go. In particular, if we’re getting so many new things happening. In the words of Gareth Mallory, “You’ve had a great run. You should leave with dignity.” Although for them, that moment has passed. I don’t blame them for everything that went wrong in the last 27 years, but it’s just simply time to move on. I will always be thankful for them, believe me.
I would be happier with Bond spinoffs being set more in the literary world than the cinematic one. However, it has to be done carefully with quantity. IFP shouldn’t start another series until a series or one-off is done. Double-00 book 3 and The Q Mysteries 1 should be the exception. Due to Kim Sherwood’s real life troubles. So that may be a positive about Amazon buying James Bond, they could have a regular schedule for Bond books, as well as movies.
Hopefully, this means that EON can make a project or two under their own company. I know MGW has been a great asset to keeping Bond alive, but some of his ideas and comments prove that Gregg SHOULD arguably take over. Barbara clearly can’t get over Craig. We’ve known that for years now. I will say that she is a better producer and overlooker than Kathleen Kennedy has been for sure. If she stayed on, we could have gotten a DC Bond comeback akin to RDJ becoming Dr. Doom in the MCU. Craig has moved on (from Bond, at least). Even Richard Maibaum kept writing scripts despite not liking Moore and Lazenby. While guilty of criticizing others while praising himself, he always tried to help keep Bond alive, akin to Cubby. So, we can expect some new recurring names around for awhile, for sure.
Overall, times are changing. However, James Bond has survived along with other legendary characters, Sherlock Holmes, Batman, Superman, Tarzan, Robin Hood as having different generations help it survive. So don’t worry my fellow James Bond fans, James Bond will return. When and how we don’t know, sure. But it’ll be fun to speculate until that happens!
Given that these themselves are little more than “product” that exploit the intellectual property rights, and few if any object to their existence and they don’t “dilute” the Flemings, there’s a neatness to the proposal.
We’ve seen it happen to the Literary Bond for years, and even if the stewardship may have been less corporate, it was only ever in it for money and, given the output, only intermittently trustworthy. It has experimented with all sorts of concepts and continues to do so, producing some passing notables and much grotty slop, and yet You Only Live Twice escapes unscathed.
I doubt anything Amazon produces is going to harm the Broccoli 25, in the same way. Thunderball will remain lovely.
A period of great curiosity rather than great fear awaits, surely?
Apart from the game show, Project 007 was the last real piece of Bond media that the original team authorised, provided it’s not impacted by this decision.
We wanted content and we’re going to get it. Depending on Amazon’s decision making, their ownership will either be the best or worst thing to happen with the franchise.
“Brave new world.”
I’ve been thinking if Amazon did begin their James Bond series of films with a continuation novel, which one would it be? I think there are four possibilities.
License Renewed by John Gardner (1981) . LR, like the name suggests, would be renewing 007’s license, only this time with the Amazon brand. Additionally, it could be done without “rebooting” the series. Amazon’s series could theoretically continue on from the Pierce Brosnan era. Or it could be a “soft reboot” and just have an experienced 007 coming back to work. Either way works. Additionally, the plot is still timely with a mad scientist threatening to cause nuclear meltdowns across the world.
High Time To Kill by Raymond Benson (1999). If Amazon were to go this route, it would mean going with an experienced Bond while at the same time having a continuing story arc over three films. This way, Amazon could introduce their own evil organization, The Union, instead of going with Eon’s SPECTRE. The plot is solid as Bond and a team of allies have to race up a mountainous summit to retrieve a top secret formula before the Russians and the Chinese get there all while having to deal with a saboteur in their midst. However, going with this story is very ambitious as it would take 007 to a place he’s never been–the mountains of Nepal–and doing some rigorous mountain climbing in less than ideal filming conditions. As a result, that would seem to be a story better served when Amazon gets more experienced in producing the 007 films.
Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver (2011). Here we have a real reboot. A youngish James Bond in basically his first mission. However, if Amazon doesn’t want to show Bond in his first mission, I think this could easily be written as if Bond was a somewhat experienced agent. Again, this novel takes Bond to a place he has never been to–and Eon never went–South Africa. That could be enticing for Amazon. The plot is unique as well as the villain is using charities to funnel arms to militant groups and terrorist organizations around the world. As a result, this could be right up Amazon’s artistic alley.
Forever And A Day by Anthony Horowitz (2018). Here we have Bond’s first official 007 mission. So Amazon could start their series of films from the very beginning. The plot deals with a despondent, yet powerful, father who teams up with a Corsican drug kingpin to distribute heroin throughout the United States to exact revenge on the country for sending his sons off to war where they ultimately met their deaths. This plot is probably the most basic of the four novels, but it offers the best option for a “rebooted” cinematic Bond.
So which one, would Amazon go with? Or would they go their own route? They would probably go their own route, but it might be an easier and smoother operation for them if they went with material they could adapt rather than totally create on their own. If they did a continuation novel, they would probably go with one of the beginning novels, CB or FAAD, but I think I would go with LR. It is the most straightforward and easy to adapt story and the title says it all: Bond is back! License Renewed!
You are describing an ideal which never ever happened in the real world and will never happen.
Especially not now with billions already spent and the highest pressure from above leading to a Macchiavelian work atmosphere.