Barbara Broccoli
Here are some questions 007 fans perhaps should follow for the rest of the summer.
Let’s begin with this: Barbara Broccoli’s newest non-007 film, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, has started filming at Pinewood Studios. That was disclosed in a Pinewood press release.
Why is that something to watch? It’s a test of the ability of the Eon Productions co-boss to multi-task.
In this case, can Broccoli simultaneously produce the drama and gear up Bond 25?
Why do you say that? Eon co-founder Harry Saltzman was able to produce the Harry Palmer film series and The Battle of Britain without affecting the 007 film schedule.
Albert R. Broccoli, Barbara Broccoli’s father and the other Eon co-founder, produced Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in between Bond films.
Both Broccoli and Saltzman were involved with Call Me Bwana inbetween Dr. No and From From Russia With Love.
In the 21st century, Kevin Feige runs Marvel Studios, which produces two movies a year, with Feige getting the credit as producer.
So what should we watch for? If there are significant Bond 25 developments (writers hired, a director hired, etc.) while production of Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is underway, then it would seem the Eon co-boss can handle multi-tasking just fine.
To be fair, Eon may be somewhat limited by the fact there’s no distributor yet for Bond 25. 007’s home studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, isn’t big enough to release its own films.
But there are things Eon can do — especially lining up writers and a director — before MGM selects a distribution partner. Sony Pictures has released the last four 007 films but its contract expired with SPECTRE.
And if there isn’t major Bond 25 news during that time? Maybe, just maybe, there won’t be any major Bond 25 news until the last part of 2016, or perhaps early 2017.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Albert R. Broccoli, Barbara Broccoli, Bond 25, Harry Salztman, Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Pinewood Studios, Sony Pictures, SPECTRE |
The Spy Command 
Harry Saltzman, like his partner Albert Broccoli, was a movie producer and a showman. Of course he could multitask productions – he made his living MAKING MOVIES. Barbara Broccoli’s living is assured, by the fruits of her father’s labors. Hopefully, she can indeed multitask, but 1. It’s hard work, and she has no need to work that hard. Also, 2. By the time Saltzman was working on other projects, the James Bond series was already something of a perpetual-motion machine. These days, it seems that Eon tears down the sets and dismisses everybody after the completion of each 007 picture, only to start again – seemingly from scratch – after the passage of several years. MUCH harder to attain 60 mph when you start from zero!