MGM update: 007 main asset of interest to would-be buyers

As Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer management considers its options, it’s interesting to note how few assets MGM has right now except its half interest in the James Bond franchise.
For example, in this Nov. 20 story on Bloomberg.com there’s an interesting reference about 007:
MGM’s only new release this year, a remake of the 1980 film “Fame,” generated $41.7 million [...]

Report: MGM may go on sale (yet again)

MGM, the home studio for James Bond movies, may be put on the sales block yet again, Peter Bart of Variety writes.
An excerpt from Bart’s Nov. 11 story:
Several sources say they expect that MGM will essentially be auctioned off within the next few weeks.
This would mean that a major, such as Time Warner, could [...]

Attempting to read the (few) Bond 23 tea leaves

Over at the Commander Bond Web site, there was a Nov. 6 article about an appearance by Daniel Craig on the “Live With Regis and Kelly Show.”
The main thrust of the article was that Craig confirmed that Bond 23, the next 007 movie, is supposed to be out in 2011. Craig talked mostly about his [...]

Let the speculation begin! Blog says Bond going to 20th Century Fox

With all the uncertainty about MGM and what’s happening with Bond 23, we have a report about James Bond reportedly finding a new movie studio home.
The We Are Movie Geeks site says News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox may become the studio that releases James Bond movies. Some excerpts:
A source close to the dealings has let [...]

MGM buys some time

From an Associated Press story on The New York Times’ Web site:
Less than two months after hiring restructuring guru Stephen Cooper as a top executive, debt-laden Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. said Thursday it received a brief respite from making interest payments on nearly $4 billion in debt.
Just another reason why 007 fans have to check [...]

Stop the Presses — No Michael Sheen Blofeld for Bond 23!

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Twilight star Michael Sheen will not be playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the next (23rd) James Bond screen adventure.
Speculation about this non-casting news began when screenwriter Peter Morgan got the assignment of polishing up the Purvis & Wade screenplay. Morgan and Sheen have worked together on four [...]

007’s new screenwriter gets some advice

While catching up on some reading, we saw that Peter Morgan, the new 007 screenwriter, got some advice from the Web site Time Out.
Among the advice:
Please give the characters room to breathe…We’re used to Bond the wisecracking automaton, but with an actor like Daniel Craig in the role this approach is a terrible waste. ‘Quantum [...]

The return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld?

As the Bond 23 silly season progresses, now we hear from the Guardian that 007’s betê noir, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, will be back to bedevil our hero in the next — and as yet, unscripted — James Bond movie. And, this time, in the personage of British actor Michael Sheen ( Frost/Nixon, Underworld, [...]

Writers announced for Bond 23

This press release just came in:
MORGAN, PURVIS & WADE TO WORK ON BOND, JAMES BOND
LOS ANGELES, CA June 12, 2009 – Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions Ltd and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures have today announced that Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale) [...]

007, Our Man in Afghanistan?

The “silly season” of rumormongering between James Bond movies seems to have begun in earnest. Bond fan websites are reporting that the Telegraph UK is reporting that Bond fan websites are reporting that 007 may be bound for Afghanistan in his next screen adventure.
Apparently a former member of the British Foreign Office’s drug [...]