(I hope the Bond franchise doesn't turn into a steaming pile of crap like
the "Star Wars" franchise has.  As a lifelong fan of James Bond, this is sad
news.)

From: https://shorturl.at/330gq (nypost.com)

===
      Amazon's takeover of James Bond will be the death of an iconic brand

   By Johnny Oleksinski
   Published Feb. 20, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ET

   Diamonds are forever.

   But entertainment franchises are deceptively fragile. 

   Look at Marvel and Star Wars, shimmering Hollywood jewels that were
   gobbled up by Disney in 2009 and 2012, respectively. They peaked and
   plummeted. And today, the once-invincible behemoths have become cultural
   nuisances thanks to greedy corporate oversaturation and shoddy products. 

   After Thursday's awful news, James Bond is all but certain to follow in
   their path to oblivion.

   In a shocking announcement, producers and half-siblings Barbara Broccoli
   and Michael G. Wilson, the longtime stewards of 007, said that they have
   ceded creative control of the iconic entity to Amazon. 

   I suddenly find myself in agreement with Goldfinger: Mr. Bond, I expect
   you to die.

   Mark my words, the company will mangle James Bond, a series I
   cherish, beyond recognition. 

   Until now, the British superspy has been a family affair. Broccoli and
   Wilson's Eon Productions, started by dad Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry
   Saltzman in 1961, have produced all of the 25 main films. (Two others,
   starring David Niven and a returning Sean Connery, are separate
   oddities.) 

   That's a relatively controlled amount of output for 62 years (starting
   with 1962's "Dr. No," starring Connery), as opposed to Marvel's obscene 35
   flicks over 17.

   Many of them are exceptional and some were fumbled (cough, "Quantum of
   Solace," cough), but all were made with the care and consideration of a
   family with its legacy in mind.

   That's over.

   While Broccoli and Wilson will retain some ownership, it's Amazon who's
   holding the Walther PPK.

   The writing was on the wall when the company acquired Bond's distributor
   MGM in 2022 for $8.5 billion. Now, it can let loose.

   Remember that, first and foremost, Amazon's core business is a website
   where you can buy an in-ground swimming pool and "The Complete Works of
   Friedrich Nietzsche" in two clicks.

   For Amazon, 007 is little more than intellectual property to spice up
   quarterly earnings reports. It will plunder every possible aspect of the
   franchise. It will pump out as many films, TV shows and other peripheral
   nonsense as it can.

   Think a "Young Q" spin-off series. Moneypenny, held back behind a desk for
   so long, will surely be granted the "license to kill" in her own movies.
   We'll get "Cruella"-style backstories of villains like Jaws and Blofeld.  

   And, invariably, we'll tune out all the incessant noise.

   Look at the mess Amazon made with "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power."
   It dropped a cool $1 billion on a wretched TV series that nobody likes.

   And, behaving like SPECTRE, it gave us a preview of its evil plot for Bond
   when it produced the reality show "007: Road to a Million" in 2023.
   Remember that? Thought not.

   Is this the right company to entrust with one of the greatest brands in
   cinema history? 

   It's been four years since Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond, "No Time
   To Die," hit theaters. Rumors about casting and directors have
   proliferated, and at one point some outlets confidently reported that
   Aaron Taylor-Johnson had signed on to don the famous tux. 

   But, in December, the Wall Street Journal said that Broccoli had privately
   told her friends of the fine folks at Amazon, "These people are f - - king
   idiots." She was reportedly opposed to the creation of spinoffs for
   subsidiary characters and padding out 007 into a Marvel-like universe.

   Rightly. It's no wonder she took the money and ran.

   Now with Broccoli and Wilson mostly out of the picture - they'll continue
   to profit - Deadline reports that there are no plans currently in place
   for the 26th film.

   The wait could be long, and will likely exceed the franchise's biggest gap
   - the six years between 1989's "Licence to Kill" with Timothy Dalton and
   1995's "GoldenEye" starring Pierce Brosnan.

   I shudder at what the comeback will look like.

   In 2018, I went to a party at Broccoli's Upper East Side townhouse
   celebrating the Broadway musical "The Band's Visit," which she was a
   producer of. She excitedly regaled the crowd with stories about growing up
   on set with Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Incredible stuff.

   That was the first time I realized the extent to which James Bond has been
   a family business, and how much that rich history mattered to its future.

   The end of "No Time to Die" was a first for the series in that it appeared
   to shut the door on 007. But at the end of the credits, that classic line
   still popped up: "James Bond will return."

   Now, I don't think I want him to.
===

-- <8D~

... My friend's bakery burned down last night. Now his business is toast.
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