Deadline scribes speculate about MGM, 007

Logo for Deadline’s podcast with Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr.

Peter Bart and Mike Fleming, columnists for the Deadline: Hollywood entertainment news website, engage in some interesting speculation about Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Bond 25 in a new podcast.

The title is “Columns We Wished We Didn’t Write.”

In it, Bart recalls a June 9 column he wrote depicting MGM as enjoying a resurgence following its 2010 bankruptcy and ready to acquire other companies.

That was before MGM’s Ben Hur remake flopped in spectacular fashion in August.

“The question is, what does MGM want to be?” Fleming says. “Do they want to be a real studio with distribution?”

When MGM exited bankruptcy, it was a slimmed down company with no distribution operation. MGM cuts deals with other studios to co-finance and release films. Ben Hur, for example, was released by Paramount. Sony Pictures’s Columbia brand released Skyfall and SPECTRE but its contract expired with the latter.

“They do have the Bond franchise and that’s their big draw,” Fleming says. “Maybe MGM is an acquisition target for a studio that does have distribution.”

Bart, a former studio executive, speculates the other way, saying MGM could be in the market to acquire another studio. He specifically suggests Paramount, part of Viacom, would be a good a good fit. “Paramount could use a new corporate parent,” Bart says in the podcast.

Fleming also speculates about Bond 25, saying “I would imagine” Daniel Craig will return as 007 and “I would not be surprised” if the actor convinces Sam Mendes to return as director. Mendes helmed the last two Bond movies.

To be clear, there’s no hard information presented here. “We still don’t know where the James Bond film is going to end up,” Fleming says. In short, the podcast is similar to fan speculation found on 007 internet message boards.

Anyway, to listen, CLICK HERE. The portion about MGM and Bond 25 begins at about the 8:50 mark and runs to about the 13-minute mark.

Happy 94th birthday, Stan Lee

Stan Lee’s cameo in Captain America: Civil War

Stan Lee turns 94 today.

Over the past few years, Stan’s legacy at Marvel Comics has been re-examined in books such as Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics: The Untold Story and a detailed article in New York magazine early this year. This blog even did a modest post on the subject a year ago.

Today’s post is merely intended to wish “Stan the Man” (one of his many nicknames when he was Marvel’s editor-in-chief) a happy birthday.

Marvel was a lot more than Stan Lee. But he is one of the few survivors of the 1960s when the stories were done that laid the foundation for the Marvel Comics film universe.

That doesn’t mean Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko (another survivor), Wally Wood and others weren’t important. Their contributions were enormous (their plotting in addition to their art) and they should be better known than they are.

Still, for many fans, Stan remains endearing. He still shows up in cameos in Marvel films. Comingsoon.net said in September said Lee has filmed additional cameos in advance.

So, once more, excelsior, Stan Lee.