Well, I remember days when (some) fans clamoured for a Michael Bay Bond. Others might have liked a Guy Ritchie Bond or that Tarantino flick. All options the market might have provided.
I hope Amazon does realise its responsibility. What they will surely do is making a splash. That need not be all bad, it depends how much of a solid product they will deliver.
Anything Amazon does canāt be worse than NTTD. So in any case weāll get a better Bond than the last oneā¦
Corollary questions:
How does Amazon conceive of prestige?
What metrics must oligarch minions meet to be deemed successful in their work?
Oh that would be amazing. I canāt wait for the Blofeld origin story. How he was a misunderstood bald fat kid in grade school who was actually highly allergic to cats and/or was really afraid of them. And the touching story of how he overcame those challenges. He adopts Patches from the pound only to see a dirty filty rich capitalist run over him with his Range Rover one fine day. This sends him spiraling down a dark path. Not dissimilar to when John Wickās poochy was killed. Thus begins his journey to the Blofeld we know today.
Look, it writes itself.
The demographics for Bond fans trends older, not younger. Of course itās all about what we actually end up getting, but the idea James Bond is discovered by the next generation and is loved canāt help but be exciting to me. What weāve endured with long gaps between films and churning things out are two extremes, and in an ideal world there would be a balance. But thereās no doubt from my end the series needed more momentum. No films at all or the risk of uncertainty: either way we were facing an extinction level type event. Whatever happens, good or bad, my love for James Bond isnāt going anywhere.
Apologies if this has been mentioned above, but for all those who in times past have said, How lovely it would be to James Bond in the 1950s based on source material, well there is now the best possible chance ever of this happening.
A mini-series dedicated to each book, or at least of those books whose transition to screen did not already closely follow source.
I daresay the main focus is tentpole movies, but, food for thought.
Iāve considered the possibility we could have several James Bonds appearing concurrently in seperate timelines, in theatrical and miniseries format. Iām weighing up how Iād feel about that. Would it really be much different to receiving different incarnations in comics, games and novels like we already do? Technically not, but living and breathing actors canāt help but feel like a bigger deal. Would we include āTV Bondsā in official rankings alongside Connery and other film only actors? I suppose we would if theyāre all playing the same character.
About the separate timelines: if weāre honest we already have that whenever we watch one of the classics. They are all supposed to be the same person in different iterations - and some of them already look like the small screen flatters them.
Iāve said for years my greatest desire for Bond going forward is this:
The flagship theatrical film series the same as itās always been. A huge cinema event every three years like clockwork.
Separately, a series on Amazon called āIan Flemingās James Bond.ā Each episode would be a 2 hour faithful adaptation of each Fleming novel set in the 1950ās. A new episode every 6 months. A different actor than the theatrical films. No gun barrel, no Bond theme, no anything else reserved for the main films. These would be their own thing.
Yet the only way the books could be adapted would be by being unfaithful to aspects of them.
Otherwise, I endorse you game plan. I will alert my Amazon insiders of your wisdom and existence.
Believe me Amazon is very well aware of my existence 
Adaptations would definitely need to have some of the ārough edges smoothed out,ā shall we say.
One idea I had is to have each episode begin with a host (Pierce Brosnan perhaps? Filmed at Goldeneye?) give some historical context for each story (such as info on the mob and diamond smuggling before Diamonds Are Forever), or maybe some info on who Fleming was. Sort of a master of ceremonies to get the audience prepared and excited for the different style of Bond they are about to see.
I like that, akin to āAlfred Hitchcock Presentsā or āThe Twilight Zone.ā
I hope Amazon is paying attention to you.
Thereās something comforting about the idea of the franchise being democratized under Amazonās ownership. It means that anyone with a genuine interest in contributing to the franchise now has a greater opportunity to do so.
When Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney, my company handled some implementations for them. It was fascinating to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the filmmaking world.
I really hope Amazon does not go the Disney route of throwing out 60+ years of canon. Disneyās handling of Star Wars has been middling at best and downright atrocious at worst. There are literally 3 things I want from Bond to not feel like the series is being milked: a new movie, a new book, and a new video game. That is enough to satisfy me. I donāt need a Moneypenny series. I donāt need a Blofeld mini-series. I just want new movies, novels, and games (though I know IFP controls the novels and not Amazon or EON).
There is so much to unpack with last weekās news, but itās clear that this could be a major inflection point for the series.
I have great sympathy for EON - itās easy for us to lament gaps between films and āwhy donāt they just get on it with itā but itās clear that after 60 years and 25-odd films, the ceiling for ājust put out another oneā had been reached.
Amazon are in exactly the same boat. I find Simonās idea alluring and intriguing for all us fans. But Amazon, nor EON, spent boatloads of money on keeping us fans happy - success is in the masses.
I have questioned over the past couple of days how much interest is there in non-Bond but Bond-inspired product by the masses. And so now, how will those masses react to multiple Bonds, Bonds on the small screen, old Bonds returning multiverse style? Does it pique interest in the big-screen product? Or should we be coming to terms with the idea that the big-screen product, most certainly not dead, is heading towards the end of its life-cycle?
My personal sadness is the worry that Bondās time as a 20ft high hero of the big-screen and all that comes with that - centre of the entertainment world for a period of time - is coming to an end. Instead replaced by a Disney style-world where the product has regressed to the āmeanā of standard streaming fare. They donāt know what to do with their property next, the tent pole sitting in the barn so to speak. And so does every release of Jedi Crew or whatever the latest show was called, ironically make it harder to go back to the big product they bought?
Maybe my biggest fear - not of Amazon per se but of the environment itself - is that perhaps even our hero isnāt ābigā enough to survive in the form weāve been weaned on.
So many of us are big on āI want another where he just gets a mission and off he goes, no-other stuff clogging it up.ā Iād be happy with that too, but weāre fans, weāre all coming back on the other side of it regardless. But we donāt pay the big part of the bill - EON/Amazon whoever need the casual watcher for that. And as Marvel are discovering, when youāre stuck doing variations of a theme, changing the costume, the big-name guest star, oooh the villain has psychotropic powers (just made that up), then it ultimately flatlines too.
I care less about Bezos crowd sourcing the next guy, than hearing exactly where they want to take it. Iād offer, if they had an answer to EONās stasis, weād already have heard it. Instead, all I know for sure is that a shedload of money moved about last week, and not much more.
Democratized in what way, really? Bezos drumming up responses on twitter is just fake democracy, and I donāt expect Amazon to ask fans how to proceed and then consider everything for their big business plan (although they might certainly pretend that in some PR-friendly manner).
Nor should they, though. Asking fans can only lead to a hodgepodge which wonāt satisfy anyone.
To be fair: Disneyās original plan for Star Wars was a strict movie schedule, until the box office disappointed their beancounters. Together with the pandemic turn to streaming, Star Wars seemed safer on tv. They still are trying to get back to features, but so far nothing was greenlit.
If the next Bond film is successful enough Amazon will continue to make Bond films. But they will also branch out with tv spin-offs, no doubt.
The question is: will that dilute the impact of the movies?
I wasnāt referring to Bezos drumming up responses on twitter. I was referring to how as an individual its easier to get involved in some capacity whatever that may be, now that its with amazon.
I was mostly thinking out loud hereācoming from the tech space, I know a lot of friends in senior roles at Amazon. Internally, they actually offer quite a bit of mobility, letting employees explore different roles across their various businesses. If I ever take up a role there, I already have a good idea of where Iād want to be.
Good to hear! I unfortunately heard the exact opposites from writers working for Amazon - just horrible micro-managing based on the almighty algorithmā¦
I would imagine!
Amazon Management issues in general are pretty terrible.
Iām saying this as someone in tech who would love to get a taste of the film industry in some way.
The founder of my company is in talks to buy a massive Hollywood studio, which is exciting. But itās a personal move on their part rather than something the rest of us could actually be involved in.
And hopefully it will be more affordable too! I want a teddy bear that wonāt break the bank.