More James Bond back story
The Siblings Who Control James Bond—Even After Amazon Buys MGM
To make the most of the Bond franchise, Amazon will need permission from the powerful family that owns the rights
wsj.com
Producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli flank five-time James Bond Daniel Craig during production in 2019 of ‘No Time to Die,’ finally set for release in October.PHOTO: LEO HUDSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
Erich Schwartzel
and
Joe Flint
May 27, 2021 10:53 am ET
LOS ANGELES— Jeff Bezos is bringing the world’s most famous secret agent into the Amazon fold. But as in any James Bond film’s third-act reveal, there is a more powerful entity that controls the empire behind the scenes.
The Bond character has survived decades of Hollywood tumult and executive turnover in large part thanks to the strict control of Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, stepsiblings who in 1995 inherited the rights to produce the movies from Ms. Broccoli’s father.
Ms. Broccoli, who was known to be on set of the forthcoming installment nearly every day of shooting, and Mr. Wilson decide who directs Bond movies. They decide what stories they tell. They even decide who plays him. ( Daniel Craig was Ms. Broccoli’s choice.)
That isn’t expected to change now that James Bond films are among the most well-known pieces of the vast MGM Holdings Inc. library that Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.07% this week announced it is acquiring for $6.5 billion, excluding debt, according to people involved in the deal. The structure, rare in Hollywood’s sea of franchises, introduces an outside player who will help shape Amazon’s use of Bond. The two entities are aligned thus far on staying the course with the current franchise strategy, according to a person involved in the discussions.
Daniel Craig’s debut as Bond in 2006’s ‘Casino Royale.’PHOTO: SONY PICTURES/EVERETT COLLECTION
The siblings are so critical to MGM’s value that they were told of the pending sale days before it closed, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Amazon executive Mike Hopkins, who handled negotiations with MGM, reached out to the producers as well to assure their property would be in good hands. Jen Salke, the Amazon executive who oversees original content, already had a relationship with Ms. Broccoli, which will also ease the transition.
Already, Ms. Broccoli and Mr. Wilson have said they still plan to release the series’ films in theaters. The first test of the new owner’s relationship with the pair comes with the 25th Bond film, “No Time to Die,” which after several Covid-related delays is set to hit theaters in October.
Since 1995—the year of “GoldenEye”—the pair has run Eon Productions, the London-based company that produces the Bond films. Ms. Broccoli’s father, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, is credited with leading the evolution of the Bond films from B-movies to massive global spectacles from the 1960s to the 1990s, and his daughter and stepson have overseen an era of world-wide grosses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
A representative for Eon didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The siblings’ level of control is unusual in an industry in which beloved characters or franchises—whether Harry Potter, Iron Man or Luke Skywalker—have been steadily absorbed into corporate entities like WarnerMedia or Walt Disney Co.
Those who have worked with Mr. Wilson and Ms. Broccoli describe a hands-on duo with an encyclopedic knowledge of the character’s history and one laser-focused priority: Keeping the franchise close to their vision for it. Mr. Wilson and Ms. Broccoli have weathered regime changes at studios, they say, and often emerge like Bond at the end of a gunfight: an unscathed lone survivor.
Mr. Craig’s Bond dodging danger in 2008’s ‘Quantum of Solace.’PHOTO: MGM/EVERETT COLLECTION
Both executives are protecting a character they have known well since childhood. Ms. Broccoli, 60 years old, worked as an uncredited publicity-department assistant in the 1977 “The Spy Who Loved Me,” while Mr. Wilson, 79, appeared uncredited as a soldier in the 1964 classic “Goldfinger.” Associates believe children of both executives could step into the roles when they retire, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The two are also content staying behind the scenes amid the hubbub of the merger. After news of the Amazon-MGM deal was released, they released only a brief statement: “We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the world-wide theatrical audience.”
Though pent-up demand for movies could contribute to box-office success for “No Time to Die,” the last installment, “Spectre,” met a l ukewarm domestic reception in 2015. Markets outside the U.S. have steadily accounted for more of the overall profitability of recent films.
One executive compared the pair’s decision-making power on Bond to George Lucas’s control over the “Star Wars” universe before he soldLucasfilm Ltd. to Disney—which has mined its characters and story lines for new movies, TV shows and theme-park attractions. Those who have worked with Mr. Wilson and Ms. Broccoli said not to expect a similar evolution: They have rebuffed past offers to explore spinoffs or hand Bond over to a larger entity.
Apple Inc. and Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures have made overtures to the siblings over the past several years, according to people familiar with the matter, exploring whether they’d be open to a buyout and yielding control. They have rebuffed those efforts and others to expand the James Bond “universe” into lucrative—but potentially reputation-damaging—side projects and spinoffs.
The Wilson-Broccoli entity rejected an overture from late casino magnate Kirk Kerkorian to build a Bond-themed hotel and casino, according to a person familiar with the matter. A potential spinoff movie series based on Jinx, a character portrayed by Halle Berry in 2002’s “Die Another Day,” never got off the ground.
Their next outing, “No Time to Die,” is one reason MGM is being sold at all. At one point, Eon considered selling the movie to a streaming service rather than wait for theaters to reopen. Amazon was among those potential would-be buyers, according to a person familiar with the matter, and among the early reasons executives from the tech company met with MGM brass. |
