So, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson of Eon Productions this fall will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is a lifetime achievement award for movie producers. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Who’s Irving G. Thalberg? Irving Grant Thalberg (1899-1936) was a successful producer in the early years of Hollywood. His nickname was “the Boy Wonder.” He helped Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer reach its most successful era while not taking an onscreen credit. He died young.
What’s the criteria to get a Thalberg award? The award is to honor “creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production,” according to Wikipedia.
Have two generations of a family gotten the award before? One Thalberg award winner was Richard D. Zanuck (1934-2012, with his partner David Brown), the son of Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), another Thalberg award winner.
What is the James Bond connection? Barbara Broccoli, who turns 64 later this month, is the daughter of Eon co-founder Albert R. Broccoli. Michael G. Wilson, 82, is Albert Broccoli’s stepson. The elder Broccoli received the Thalberg award in 1982. Roger Moore presented the award to him. At the time, the Thalberg award was part of the Oscars telecast. It no longer is.
Scorecard: Cubby Broccoli got his Thalberg for the 12 James Bond movies made from 1962 to 1981. Yes, he made movies before that era. But he did NOT get the award for movies such as Hell Bellow Zero.
Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are getting their Thalberg for nine Bond movies made from 1995 through 2021. Yes, they’ve made other movies such as Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Nancy and The Rhythm Section. But if they made those movies without Bond productions, nobody would know who they were.
Footnote: Some prominent Bond fans have been lobbying for years for Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to get the award. They’re very happy these days.
Who else has received the Thalberg award? The winners (since 1986) include Steven Spielberg, Billy Wilder, George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, Norman Jewison and Warren Beatty. Go back further and Thalberg winners include Arthur Freed, Cecil B. DeMille, Walt Disney, Hal B. Wallis, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. To see a complete list, CLICK HERE.
Irony: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are getting the award after killing off James Bond in No Time to Die (2021). Daniel Craig has said it was his idea. The producers went along with their star.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Albert R. Broccoli, Barbara Broccoli, Billy Wilder, George Lucas, Irving G. Thalberg, Irving G. Thalberg award, Michael G. Wilson, Norman Jewison, Steven Spielberg, Warren Beatty |
The Spy Command 
if Craig did indeed create the end of his run, with the death of Bond (I don’t believe it for a second, other than a passing conversation he supposedly had with Broccoli after a Casino Royale premiere (I think it was in Germany), way back in ‘06, it’s still a better idea than MGW’s Brofeld.
But, in the end, this sounds and feels more like myth making by the producers.
In reality, everyone would have to sign off on the death of Bond— especially the distributors. After all, it’s their job to sell the film to a global market, and they could have pushed back on this.
Methinks this was more of a collective decision, and everyone got on board.
As far as this fan is concerned, death was the only way Craig-Bond was ever going to leave his story… I couldn’t believe they did it, but happy they did.