Being James Bond: The Daniel Craig Story (2021)
hellsingfan01 1 points 2 years ago.

Dude / Dudette the only thing that Amazon would ever own when it comes to the James Bond multi media franchise is the distribution rights since all of the James Bond films have always been owned by EON Productions and even then EON Productions could if they so wanted choose not to sign over the distribution rights to Amazon which appears to be the actual case. Starting with No Time To Die Universal Pictures will be handling the distribution of No Time To Die in international markets (Europe etc etc) and MGM is only handling the distribution of the film No Time To Die in North America.

kahnwiley 2 points 2 years ago*.

I did some research to follow up on your reply, and with respect, I think you need to check your facts. Amazon purchased MGM earlier this year and that purchase included 50% ownership of the copyright to James Bond as a franchise. (Source: Business Insider)
James Logan, writer of two of the Craig-era Bond movies, wrote a piece in the NYT in response to the buyout, writing that Amazon is “not necessarily a champion or guardian of artistic creativity or original entertainment. In the context of the larger company, Amazon Prime Video is not chiefly about artists. It’s about attracting and retaining customers. And when bigger companies start having a say in iconic characters or franchises, the companies tend to want more, not better, and the quality differential can vary wildly, project to project.”
Now, that’s only 50% ownership by Amazon, and EON, which is owned by Danjaq, which is owned by Broccoli/Wilson, is in control of the other 50%. They also have “creative control” of the character, as Broccoli has reiterated several times in interviews pertaining to the Amazon takeover.
We’ll see how strongly they exercise that control in the face of Amazon dollars being pumped their way to motivate a potential streaming series or spinoffs. Broccoli stated in an interview with Variety that she is open to the idea of streaming: “I don’t think we can rule anything out, because it’s the audience that will make those decisions. Not us.”
This seems to me like EON is talking out of both sides of its mouth by reassuring fans that they will maintain the integrity of the franchise as “custodians” of the character (Broccoli’s words) in a theatrical format, while simultaneously negotiating for a possible streaming series (which was happening even before Amazon purchased MGM). Lord knows Amazon will be happy to throw a ton of money at them to capitalize on such a potentially lucrative IP, as they are currently doing by developing a LOTR series (yuck).