A couple of years ago, Amazon acquired MGM Studios and half the rights to the James Bond film franchise with it.
However, creative control remains with family business EON Productions, which has produced all 25 official movies since 1962.
And as fans eagerly await the next James Bond to reboot the series, the latest insider report is that producer Barbara Broccoli is in an “ugly” stalemate with Amazon.
According to the Wall Street Journal: “As recently as last month, I was told Barbara Broccoli was describing the status as no script, no story, no Bond.”
“[It’s going] terribly. It is an incredibly fraught situation. I mean, the relationship has really frayed. Barbara Broccoli has told many friends that she thinks the people at Amazon are f***ing idiots.”
So what’s allegedly caused Broccoli to feel so strongly about the direct Amazon MGM wants to take Bond? Apparently, it’s a clash of vision with Amazon’s Entertainment Executive reportedly referring to Bond as “content” and the studio wanting “to mine the James Bond IP for spin-offs” – a suggestion that made the EON Productions boss “recoil” In contrast, the family business with creative control believes the 007 franchise works and remains popular because of its “scarcity” as a luxury brand.
The insiders added: “Because the two sides can’t see eye to eye, everything has ground to a halt. It’s been three years since the last movie came out. And so this might become the longest stretch between movies since the franchise came out more than 60 years ago.” The longest to date was the six years between 1989’s Licence to Kill and 1995’s GoldenEye. Whatever happens, it’s Broccoli’s belief to: “Never let people in temporary positions of power make permanent decisions.”