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Seems that the stalemate between Amazon and Broccoli/Wilson has been resolved and the pair have relinquished creative control.
What do we think will happen with the franchise now?
Will there be a Moneypenny spin off series, or one for Q Branch?
They seem to have got out at just the right time I suspect as I believe the copyright is about to expire in Bond anyway.
I am surprised they've done it and I have low expectations. Bond is pretty much the only character/universe that I'll make an effort to catch the films. Part of what's good about it is that it has a certain formula. I gloomily predict that Amazon will not make a success of it.
Cubby once offered the advice to never let temporary people make permanent decisions. Looks like that's been ignored.
Apparently it caused a lot of friction when someone at Amazon called James Bond "content".
Might be good for it really, some of the recent ones have been pretty indulgent and a bit stale, like QoS and Spectre. Also the clunky product placement was getting too obvious.
Amazon should have a different actor for each film to break the pattern up and get the films done and out , also not have the problem of actors getting old and predictable.
Yeah - a resounding "meh" from me. After a strong start with Casino Royale, the Daniel Craig bond films have all left me disappointed - and in my opinion, aren't as good as the latest Mission Impossible films.
I was hoping the latest actor would re-invigorate the franchise a bit - which may still happen I guess..... but my expectations (already low) have just been lowered further.
But who knows, maybe it's what the franchise needs?
Change might be good... The current 'bond' format is a bit tired and generic, and the old style misogynistic bond.. Well, the less said about that, the better IMO.
I don't blame Daniel Craig for not being interested lest he gets type-cast in future roles.
Very vanilla.. And 'meh'.
Could do to be a bit more gritty and dramatic.
I'd sooner watch a Liam Neeson film if I want a fun action film.
Multiple spin-offs and nothing in the main films that stand out against anything else.
Think I'm done with Bond, so I suspect I'll avoid any of the new stuff.
Change might be good... The current 'bond' format is a bit tired and generic, and the old style misogynistic bond.. Well, the less said about that, the better IMO.
This!
Old Bond films are close to being unwatchable now, the newer ones have some great bits but also some massively clunky bits - the ridiculous green screen stuff with Pierce Brosnan surfing a wave springs to mind after they'd blown the budget ragging supercars around an icy lake.
Mission Impossible, Bourne and even some of the Jason Statham films (much as they're standalone and not a franchise) are all superior to many of the Bond films now, they've just not kept up with the times.
After a strong start with Casino Royale, the Daniel Craig bond films have all left me disappointed - and in my opinion, aren't as good as the latest Mission Impossible films.
Skyfall is brilliant and IMO is better than Casino Royal. No Time To Die is also better upon rewatching it. Spectre and Quantum of Solace are the weak two in Craig's 5 films.
Casino Royale and QoS were decent, the rest were entirely forgettable.
You can spend hours arguing which bond film is better than which.
But ultimately they've always been a bit shit.
Cheesy and a bit shit fits perfectly with all the streaming service films so i don't expect much change.
You'll be in Sainsbury's later this year and it'll be full of licenced James Bond socks, dildos and mugs. Give it 5 years and the aisle of dreams in Aldi will have the ceremonial 007 mig welder
Not Sainsbury's or Aldi, but EON are pretty far down that road already....
James Bond doormat anyone?
You'll be in Sainsbury's later this year and it'll be full of licenced James Bond socks, dildos and mugs. Give it 5 years and the aisle of dreams in Aldi will have the ceremonial 007 mig welder
Not Sainsbury's or Aldi, but EON are pretty far down that road already....
James Bond doormat anyone?
Bond girls are for sale?
They're going to monetise the hell out of it
This is hardly new. Kid across the street from me had a die-cast underwater Lotus Esprit and a James Bond digital watch which played the theme tune back when we were still in short pants.
Besides, so what? It's only monetised if there's people willing to buy it. I'm fairly sure that purchasing merchandise won't be comemandatory.
Who doesn't want a 007 Easter egg?
Jason Bourne movies knock all the modern bond films into a cocked hat.
They're going to monetise the hell out of it
You'll be in Sainsbury's later this year and it'll be full of licenced James Bond socks, dildos and mugs. Give it 5 years and the aisle of dreams in Aldi will have the ceremonial 007 mig welder
I came up with the idea of an 8 sided bond themed fleshlight but I can't think of a name for it 😔
£700 for a Scaramanga tracksuit!
The things you never knew that you didn't want...
that might bring back Connery as an AI generated actor.
strange world.
it won’t be as good as Slow Horses.
They seem to have got out at just the right time I suspect as I believe the copyright is about to expire in Bond anyway.
They're going to monetise the hell out of it
You'll be in Sainsbury's later this year and it'll be full of licenced James Bond socks, dildos and mugs. Give it 5 years and the aisle of dreams in Aldi will have the ceremonial 007 mig welder
I'm wondering if the move by Josef Kleindienst to try and wrestle away bond trademarks was a strategy coordinated by Amazon to try and force Brocolli's hand in negotiation. Some of the IP is at risk of expiring through lack of use - if a trademark hasn't been used for 5 years an application can be made for it to be acquire it* - or for the trademark simply to be voided so anyone can use it.
I can see the motivation on Amazon's side - the only thing that seems to make money these days for studios and streamers is franchises of existing IP. Given they completed shooting of the last bond movie 6 years ago and don't have script, actor or director for a next one is pretty nuts (not that having a script has been a concern in the past- they started shooting QOS before the script was ready)
It might seem like Amazon are overly keen to turn the handle and thats why Brocolli has been resistant - but to be honest Amazon themselves seem to be ditherers so I wouldn't expect a flood of Bond stuff going forward, just something rather than nothing.
*Engergiser batteries once caught Duracell napping and acquired their bunny trademark and basically started using Duracell's own trademark against them to market their own stuff
I came up with the idea of an 8 sided bond themed fleshlight but I can't think of a name for it
no idea, but it could be marketed alongside
a cocked hat.
What do we think will happen with the franchise now?
MI5 get privatised and merged into Spectre with Bond going deep cover to prevent a union organisers dastardly attempts to unionise a distribution centre.
In seriousness,
I don't think Bond knows what it wants to be. I haven't read the books, but AIUI the source material is somewhat problematic for a modern audience so 'going back to its roots' is probably a non-starter. Over the years it's been everything from a self-aware camp action comedy to a po-faced action thriller trying to be gritty.
Maybe a fresh pair of eyes on it is exactly what the franchise needs.
Well I guess they could go back to ground zero and remake the originals one by one without the sexism etc
In fact, has there ever been a remake?
Maybe it could actually work, I dunno.
Never say never again was a remake of Thunderball if that counts.
I believe 70 years after the authors death the copyright expires which would be 2035.
I assume Casino Royale was a remake of, err, Casino Royale 🙂
I've just thought: There are post-Fleming books of course. Charlie Higson (off of that Fast Show) picked up the mantle there, he did a series of Young Bond novels (and I think some regular ones?). Adapting YA fiction might re-establish Bond as "traditional Christmas Day film" rather than 15-certificate testicle torture.
I like the bond films. I also like the way they have evolved over time.
It is cheesy, it is self indulgent and thats part of the charm for me. Its not supposed to be a bourne or MI as they are their own films.
Its a commodity, theres loads of 007 lunch boxes, socks etc. that wont change.
Ooo I didn't know about never say never, is it a proper bond film ie part of the franchise?
Casino Royale was a spoof first time round I think, David niven and Peter sellers. I've never seen either though!
Ooo I didn't know about never say never, is it a proper bond film ie part of the franchise?
Casino Royale was a spoof first time round I think, David niven and Peter sellers. I've never seen either though!
Don't think it was official and couldn't use the theme music? Name came from Connery's wife telling him to never say never again to another Bond film.
Bond is a product of its time. That time was the 50s and 60s. It should be left there.
I don’t really understand why people think if they have to makes a film, which effectively reinvents James Bond, they just don’t make a film which doesn’t have James Bond in it. Of course Bond is dated as a character, there is no shame in that, but to me it’s rather odd that people are worried that someone who goes around murdering dozens of people per film is persona non grata because he’s a bit sexist. If Bond is unacceptable by today’s standards then drop him & come up with a new character.
What do we think will happen with the franchise now?
I'd be very surprised if they didn't start doing Marvel-style spin-off shows and/or films focussing on minor characters, which has the potential to be interesting as now they don't just need to retread the same ground over and over (because that's what the Brocolli's wanted). They've got a huge amount of money invested in the Bond franchise & they'll need to start seeing a return on it. Whether they can pull it off is another matter, they've had a lot more misses than hits lately (Rings of Power I'm looking at you 🙂 )
I don’t really understand why people think if they have to makes a film, which effectively reinvents James Bond, they just don’t make a film which doesn’t have James Bond in it.
that just isn't how Amazon operate (also the other streaming services, but Amazon do seem the worst in this regard). I think the days of big-budget, truly original stuff are numbered (if not over already) which is a real shame. Amazon is real lowest-common-denominator telly, they want things like Reacher that's mass-market and people have already heard of... I think it's really stifled creativity & just made everything a bit more bland.
Bond films aren't supposed to be like Mission Impossible or Bourne films. They're camp in a way like those other franchises aren't.
A Bond film that tried to take on a Bourne film head on would be...a pale imitation of a Bourne film and like a zillion other spy movies made every year. The essence of a character or creative concept is what makes it distinctive from everything else. You'd be nuts to throw that away and chase what other people are doing better.
I don’t really understand why people think if they have to makes a film, which effectively reinvents James Bond, they just don’t make a film which doesn’t have James Bond in it.
For the same reason Coke keep making TV adverts despite there being no-one in the developed world who hasn't heard of them. It's an established brand, more people are going to want to see the new James Bond movie than the new Brian Smith movie.
The name’s Smith. Brian Smith.
I like it! Make that movie
I think it's really stifled creativity & just made everything a bit more bland.
I think people have lost the ability to concentrate on a film - folk watching at home are often "half-watching" while scrolling on a phone, eating dinner etc which is why everything has been dumbed down, expositions are more obvious and more laboured than ever to get the point across to folk who are really only partially engaged in a film.
And in order to get people to actually watch something, it needs to be the same old same old that they know works so they'll churn out bland, forgettable films that can be enjoyed without too much effort and then the viewer moves onto the next thing.
In true streaming service style there is surely ripe for a crossover.
006 has taken the aston and bond is left with chittychittybangbang to fight arch nemesis Baron Bomburst
They can annoy all the incel types with the recasting a female Caractapussy Butts as a sexy foreign agent who bond must pump for information, literally and figuratively.
Q can really labour the point that theres an autopilot in chitty to cover any plot holes etc.
Q can really labour the point that theres an autopilot in chitty to cover any plot holes etc
Hello is that the roads department ? My name's Mr bond and I want to complain about the plot holes
It's a disgrace
Hello? Hello?
I must be incredibly shallow, I liked all the Daniel Craig bond films (QOS probably the least - by quite a margin!)
Yeah I liked all Craig's bond films as well. The previous stuff was enjoyable at the time (well the last few brosman films werent), despite being a bit 'rapey'..
Agree that a bit of a shakeup isn't necessarily a bad thing. Casino Royale was a great response to the Bourne films but since then it's been going backwards again with all the SPECTRE stuff IMO.
That said I'm not hopeful that Amazon are going to do a great job with it. First thing that springs to mind is Disney and the Star Wars stuff. For every Rogue One and Andor there's a load of not very good 'content' that isn't doing it any favours.
Octopussy. Bum tish.