007 questions about how the MGM-Spyglass deal affects James Bond

We may not be able to provide the answers but we’re good at asking questions about James Bond. Here’s our special MGM financial restructuring edition. 001. How long will MGM be in bankruptcy court? Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is going to file for bankruptcy as part of a plan that MGM creditors approved on Oct. 29. The [...]

MGM watch: debtholders approve Spyglass plan

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., which controls half of the James Bond film franchise, said its creditors approved a plan that would take the studio into bankruptcy court, cut its debt and install Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, the co-founders of Spyglass Entertainment, in charge of MGM. MGM’s actual press release, WHICH YOU CAN READ BY CLICKING HERE, [...]

Goldinger and Thuderball DB5 sells for $4.6 million

One of the Aston Martin DB5s from Goldfinger and Thunderball has been auctioned successfully for 2.9 million British pounds, or about $4.6 million. Here’s an excerpt from a press release: The world-famous James Bond 1964 Aston Martin DB5 movie car driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger and Thunderball, and factory-fitted with the full complement of [...]

James MacArthur, Danno 1.0, passes away at 72

James MacArthur, the last surviving original principal cast member of Hawaii Five-O, died today at age 72. He played the youthful sidekick, Dan Williams, to the Steve McGarrett of Jack Lord, the screen’s original Felix Leiter. MacArthur was 30 when the show began, though his Dan Williams probably is supposed to be in his mid-20s, [...]

MGM watch: Wall Street Journal previews vote by studio debt holders

The Wall Street Journal has a detailed story on its Web site previewing the Oct. 29 vote by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. debt holders that will determine who gets to run MGM: Spyglass Entertainment’s co-founders Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, or investor Carl Icahn. The story (which you can read in its entirety by CLICKING HERE) lays [...]

Eon’s drive for ‘respect’ and how it affects the 007 film franchise

The Peter Morgan situation (fiasco?), where Eon Productions’ flirtation with a “prestige” writer didn’t pan out, got us to thinking about the state of the James Bond movie franchise. As Lt. Columbo on more than one occasion said, “little things” bothered him about a case. So it is with our concerns about the state of [...]

Peter Morgan, 007 fans hardly knew ye

Peter Morgan, screenwriter of Frost/Nixon and other prestige movies, joined a line of scribes such as Len Deighton and Anthony Burgess, who gave a try at writing a James Bond movie and couldn’t get it done. “The whole thing went to hell,” Morgan said in an interivew, published on the Indie Wire blog. “I’m so [...]

Tentative answers to 007 questions about Bond 23′s indefinite delay

Eon Productions indefinitely delayed Bond 23 production six months ago because of continuing financial trouble at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. At the time, we posed (00)7 questions about the move. There aren’t many definitive answers, but here’s what can be said about the seven questions: 001. How long is indefinite? To quote James Bond (Sean Connery) when [...]

Ex-007 scribe Morgan tells NYT about near-death of his Hereafter screenplay

Peter Morgan, hired to write Bond 23 before production got shut down, got his newest screen credit this week when “Hereafter” hit theaters. It turns out his script for the movie directed by Clint Eastwoods went through some complications almost as severe as he has experienced in the world of 007. Charles McGrath of The [...]

MGM watch: Carl Icahn makes his move

Investor Carl Icahn made an offer to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. debt holders he hopes they can’t refuse — and entice them to vote against a plan for Spyglass Entertainment to take control of MGM, which controls half of the James Bond franchise. Here’s an excerpt from a Bloomberg.com story: Carl Icahn offered to guarantee Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. [...]