Yahoo Lifestyle James Bond Producer Slams Amazon As 'F**king Idiots': Report
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has apparently dreamed about maximizing the intellectual property of fictional superspy James Bond ever since the company closed a deal to buy Hollywood studio MGM back in May 2022.
But there have no been no new movies, or even a new actor to play 007, since the 2021 release of “No Time To Die,” which marked Daniel Craig’s last leading role in the film series.
And it looks like no releases are on the horizon, thanks to what The Wall Street Journal says is a big feud between franchise owner Amazon and producer Barbara Broccoli, who shares creative control with half-brother Michael Wilson after inheriting it from father Albert R. Broccoli.
According to a Thursday story in the Journal, sources close to Barbara Broccoli say that she doesn’t think Amazon is a good fit for Bond. The outlet wrote that she “can hold Bond hostage from Amazon for as long as she sees fit,” and quotes a line from her dad in justification: “Don’t have temporary people make permanent decisions.”
At other times, she has used her own words, referring to people at Amazon as “fucking idiots,” according to the Journal (which printed a censored version of her remarks).
Issues between Amazon and Broccoli seemed to pop up amid the MGM acquisition.
During negotiations for the deal, Amazon committed to debuting Bond films in theaters first, rather than on streaming, the Journal wrote. But when executives suggested bringing Bond into the Amazon universe, with something like a TV show, a spinoff for the Moneypenny character or even a female 007 series, Broccoli’s response was often said to be the same: “Did you read the contract?”
Amazon execs are perhaps reluctant to cast an unknown actor as the next Bond, running against Broccoli’s preference for what the Journal described as a mixture of “gut instinct with a healthy amount of risk” in decisions for the franchise, like casting a much less famous Craig in 2006′s “Casino Royale.”
Wilson’s son, Gregg Wilson, has helped produce recent entries in the Bond film series, and sources tell the Journal he seems open to updating the character.
For her part, Broccoli has reportedly told friends that she’d be OK with casting a nonwhite or gay actor as Bond, but believes he should always be played by a British man.
And while Amazon Prime Video seeks to make hay with the franchise, execs have made unforced errors when dealing with Broccoli.
During one meeting, she was apparently offended when an executive referred to Bond as “content.”
Read more on the dustup at The Wall Street Journal.
