Ian Fleming's Foundation Seems Pleased

The Ian Fleming Estate's publishers seems to be pleased with the Amazon MGM take-over. 

They issued this statement:

 

Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise

Above, my Daniel Craig autographed photo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This can't be good news.*

Even though Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have taken some heat in killing James Bond in No Time To Die, the announcement that they are giving Amazon MGM creative control over the franchise is being met by fans with shock and disapproval.

The main concern for fans of 007 is that Amazon MGM will run the franchise into the ground with poor quality movies as Disney did with the Star Wars franchise. The last Star Wars trilogy was shit.

Variety reported:

Amazon MGM Studios is set to take creative control of the James Bond franchise.

The shock announcement — which is sure to shake and, indeed, stir the industry — was made Thursday, alongside the news that long-time producers and custodians of 007, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, would be stepping back.

As per details of the historic agreement, Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli have formed a new joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights. The three parties will remain co-owners of the iconic franchise but Amazon MGM will have creative control.

I have been a 007 fan ever since my parents to me to see a double-bill of Dr. No and From Russia With Love in 1963. 

To read more, go here.

*I hope I'm proven wrong.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson New 007?

Above, Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

The rumor (or report) is out in some media that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson has made an offer to a British actor to be the next James Bond.

The choice is Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

According to the New York Post:

It appears as though the search for the next James Bond is over.

British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has reportedly been offered the role of a lifetime as the “shaken, not stirred” martini-sipping secret agent, sources told The Sun.

The “Bullet Train” actor, 33, is expected to sign on the dotted line this week, the outlet adds. 

To read more, go here. 

Christopher Nolan In 007 Talks

Could he revive a "destroyed" franchise?

Source: Sebastian Gorka.

"Reinventing" James Bond To What?

Above, the last James Bond movie for two years.

The killing of James Bond (Daniel Craig) in No Time To Die is controversial, so say the least. But what would be more controversial is if the next Bond movie doesn't pick up where No Time To Die left off.

Main characters have been killed off before (Sherlock Holmes comes immediately to mind) but were revived in a "cliffhanger" way. That should be the way the Bond movies ought to proceed.

However, Deadline posted the following yesterday:

EXCLUSIVE: James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed that it will be “at least two years“ before the next 007 movie begins filming and that the task of finding an actor to replace Daniel Craig hasn’t begun “because it’s a reinvention of Bond.”

Speaking to us at a star-studded private event in central London to honor Broccoli and her brother Michael G. Wilson for their BFI Fellowships, Broccoli wouldn’t be drawn on who would play Bond next but did offer an update on the decision-making process.

“Nobody’s in the running,” she disclosed. “We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”

Just what in hell does she mean the plan is to make the next movie a "reinvention" of Bond? 

Reinventing him to what? A black person? A transgender? A woman? A gay male? Is the reinvention going to be more Hollywood woke bullshit? (They should be reminded that if they go woke, they'll go broke. Just ask the Walt Disney Company.)

If they stray too far, does the Ian Fleming estate have a say in it and can they veto it?

If it is something too radical (like incorporating any of the above), they will have lost me and many other 007 fans. 

They next two years will be interesting to see what happens.

Bond's Return: Borrow More From "You Only Live Twice"

Now that No Time To Die has been out for several months in theaters and home video along with word-of-mouth about James Bond's death at the end of the movie is common knowledge now, I can discuss it without fear of including spoilers.

People are questioning, rightfully so, on how the Bond movie series will continue. Will it be rebooted again? Or will it pick up where No Time To Die left off? I prefer the latter as it would be more in keeping with Ian Fleming.

Much of the elements of No Time To Die were lifted from Fleming's You Only Live Twice. The Sean Connery film version of 1967 did not follow the book, so it would be useless to even discuss it. So, from here on, references to YOLT will be book-based.

Eon Productions can introduce the new James Bond by lifting more from YOLT. 

There is an article at The James Bond Social Media Project that gives one some ideas for the next movie in bringing Bond back. I am not sure when it was written. 

The following quotes from the article includes passages highlighted by me in bold that can be templates for the next move.

Here's goes:

The Ian Fleming book from which the movie is “based” is a dark, plotless revenge story that takes place in the aftermath of the death of Bond’s new wife in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. M is planning to dismiss Bond from the service because he’s been incapable of performing his duties. Rather than sack him outright, M gives Bond the opportunity to redeem himself as part of the diplomatic branch of the service.

Devoid of action-packed thrills, the novel proves impossible content for escapist entertainment. At best 20% of the novel concerns actual “espionage.” The Bond character in You Only Live Twice finds himself caught between the love of country and the loss of his wife. This is Bond on the fringe, a shell of his former self. Drinking to excess, mired in notions of mortality and morality. Once he discovers Shatterhand’s true identity, the narrative becomes driven by grim revenge but Bond is again given a reason to live.

And perhaps this is why I found Fleming’s You Only Live Twice to be such a fascinating novel. As an outlier it challenges the Bond image, which by the time of this novel’s 1964 release had been firmly established through 11 prior books and 3 movies. In the end, Bond succeeds in killing Blofeld, destroying the castle but the physical trauma of the mission renders him an amnesiac. His superiors believe him to be dead, and Bond goes back to living (albeit this time sincerely) as a fisherman, fake-married to Kissy Suzuki. After a few months, Bond leaves for Russia, drawn there because he thinks he can uncover his true identity. Kissy knows he will not return and she does not tell him that she is pregnant with his child.

Here's how the above can use those elements. 

Bond, following the missile attack on the "Garden of Death" island, is wounded and amnesiac. He is found alive, after being thought dead, and is sent off for months of healing and rehabilitation. This is where the "opportunity to redeem himself" by M comes in. After rehab, he is sent to Japan or Russia. Since the loss of Madeline Swann and their daughter were due to the Heracles nanobots he was poisoned with, he is out for revenge against Blofeld. But Blofeld was killed in No Time To Die, right? Well, maybe he faked his death or an imposter was involved. Or, someone even bigger in the Spectre organization than Blofeld was involved. The possibilities are endless. 

It is fun to speculate. Still, my bottom line is that the Bond series should not be rebooted again. The ending of No Time To Die offers many future "cliffhanger" resolution possibilities. Rebooting would be a cheat after fans have invested so much in the Daniel Craig movies. In a previous blog post, I joked that Bond's death was another dream of Pam Ewing of Dallas. That one is definitely not going to happen, it's safe to say.

Producer Barbara Broccoli recently said that she doesn't know how Bond will be brought back. They're still thinking about it. I believe her.