MGM’s 100th anniversary and its spy impact

MGM logo

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM was created by a merger of three companies in 1924.

At one time, it was the most glamorous studio in Hollywood before entering a state of decline. It also had an impact on the spy genre with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. television series in the 1960s and later when it acquired United Artists, which released the James Bond films.

MGM came to be in April 1924 when Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures merged. The new company would adopt the lion logo of Goldwyn Pictures.

MGM over the decades would release movies such as The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Mrs. Miniver, The Band Wagon, Gigi, Battleground, 2001: A Space Oydessey, and two versions of Ben Hur, among others. Its Culver City, California, backlot was one of the biggest in Hollywood.

By the 1960s, MGM’s best days were behind it although the backlot was still intact.

MGM entered the spycraze via The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Arena Productions, headed by Norman Felton, worked out of MGM. Felton met with James Bond author Ian Fleming in New York in October 1962. That was the first step in how U.N.C.L.E. came to be, with writer-producer Sam Rolfe doing the heavy lifting.

The series ran from September 1964 until January 1968. MGM re-edited U.N.C.L.E. episodes into eight movies for international release, with a few of the early ones getting released in the U.S. MGM, in 1966, also had U.N.C.L.E. stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum be the leads in separate feature films (The Venetian Affair and Three Bites of the Apple, respectively) that were released in 1967.

After U.N.C.L.E. had run its course, MGM got bought and sold, getting diminished in the process. Much of MGM’s Southern California real estate got sold off. Costumes and props from MGM movies were auctioned off. By the mid-1970s, what few MGM movies being made (such as 1976’s Network) were distributed by United Artists, the original 007 studio.

What’s more, as a result of all the deal-making, the pre-1986 MGM film library eventually was acquired by corporate parent companies of Warner Bros. That’s why the 2015 film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was released by Warners.

UA, owned by insurance conglomerate Transamerica, had its own troubles at the end of 1970s and the start of the 1980s. MGM bought UA, a deal that closed in 1981. Now, the James Bond film franchise fell under the sway of MGM.

Eon Productions, which controls creative issues related to Bond, had a series of confrontations with various MGM management regimes. Eon and MGM had legal fights, which resulted in no Bond films being made from summer 1989 (Licence to Kill) to fall 1995 (GoldenEye). Even after that conflict was settled, Eon had plenty of differences with MGM.

For much of the Bond era of MGM, the studio was a shadow of its former self. A notable low was when MGM went into bankruptcy in 2010.

In 2021, Amazon acquired MGM for $8.45 billion. That may have firmed up MGM’s finances, but to date, it hasn’t resulted in a steady production of Bond movies.

Regardless, a merger of almost a century ago, has had a big impact on the spy film and TV genre.

Licence to Kill’s 35th anniversary: 007 falters in the U.S.

Licence to Kill’s poster

Updated from previous posts.

Licence to Kill, which came out 35 years ago, is mostly known for a series of “lasts” but also for a first.

–It was the last of five 007 films directed by John Glen, the most prolific director in the series.

–The last of 13 Bond films where Richard Maibaum (1909-1991) participated in the writing.

–It was the last with Albert R. Broccoli getting a producer’s credit (he would only “present” 1995’s GoldenEye).

–It was the last 007 movie with a title sequence designed by Maurice Binder, who would die in 1991.

–And the it was last 007 film where Pan Am was the unofficial airline of the James Bond series (it went out of business before GoldenEye).

It was also the first to falter badly in the U.S. market.

Economy Class

Bond wasn’t on Poverty Row when Licence to Kill began production in 1988. But neither did 007 travel entirely first class.

Under financial pressure from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (which acquired half the franchise after buying United Artists earlier in the decade), Eon Productions moved the home base of the production to Mexico from Pinewood Studios.

Joining Timothy Dalton in his second (and last) outing as Bond was a cast mostly known for appearing on U.S. television, including Anthony Zerbe, Don Stroud, David Hedison (his second appearance as Felix Leiter), Pricilla Barnes, Rafer Johnson, Frank McRae as well as Las Vegas performer Wayne Newton.

Meanwhile, character actor Robert Davi snared the role of the film’s villain, with Carey Lowell and Talisa Soto as competing Bond women.

Wilson’s Role

Michael G. Wilson, Broccoli’s stepson and co-producer, took the role as lead writer because a 1988 Writers Guild strike made Richard Maibaum unavailable. Maibaum’s participation didn’t extend beyond the plotting stage. The teaser trailer billed Wilson as the sole writer (“Screenplay by Michael G. Wilson”) but Maibaum received co-writer billing in the final credits (“Written by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum”).

Wilson opted for a darker take, up to a point. He included Leiter having a leg chewed off by a shark based on the Live And Let Die novel. A man gets his heart cut out (off-screen). Zerbe’s Milton Krest dies when his head explodes. Looking back today, the mayhem is relatively tame but it was a big deal at the time.

The writer-producer also upped the number of swear words compared with previous 007 entries. But Wilson hedged his bets with jokes, such as Newton’s fake preacher and a scene where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) shows off gadgets to Bond.

Licence would be the first Bond film where “this time it’s personal.” Bond goes rogue to avenge Leiter. Since then, it has frequently been personal for 007. Because of budget restrictions, filming was kept primarily in Florida and Mexico.

The end product didn’t go over well in the U.S. Other studios had given the 16th 007 film a wide berth for its U.S. opening weekend. The only “new” movie that weekend was a re-release of Walt Disney Co.’s Peter Pan.

Nevertheless, Licence finished an anemic No. 4 during the July 14-16 weekend coming in behind Lethal Weapon 2 (in its second weekend), Batman (in its fourth weekend) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (also fourth weekend).

At the end of the day, Glen and Maibaum were done with Bond, the latter being part of the 007 series since its inception.

Bond 17’s Fembot

Initial pre-production of the next 007 film proceeded without the two series veterans. Wilson wrote a treatment in 1990 for Bond 17 with Alfonse Ruggiero that included a deadly fembot. Scripts with other scribes were then written based on that treatment. Author Mark Edlitz, in a 2020 book, detailed other attempts at writing a third and fourth Dalton movie.

None of the Dalton scripts were ever made.

That’s because Broccoli would enter into a legal fight with MGM that meant Bond wouldn’t return to movie screens until 1995. By the time production resumed, Eon started over, using a story by Michael France as a beginning point for what would become GoldenEye. Maibaum, meanwhile, died in early 1991.

Former studio executive Jeff Kleeman in a 2024 interview with the SpyHards podcast said the MGM leadership wasn’t enthusiastic about retaining Timothy Dalton while Eon wanted to continue with the actor. In the give-and-take that followed, Dalton stepped aside and GoldenEye would star Pierce Brosnan.

Today, some fans like to blame MGM’s marketing campaign or other major summer 1989 movies such as Batman or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for the 1989 box office results. But Licence came out weeks after either of those blockbusters.

And, it needs to be repeated, Bond couldn’t best Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which also came out weeks earlier.

In the end, the U.S. audience didn’t care for Licence compared with other offerings. The movie’s total U.S. box office of $34.7 million didn’t match Batman’s U.S. opening weekend of $40.5 million. Licence’s U.S. box office was almost a third less than its 007 predecessor, The Living Daylights.

Licence to Kill did much better in other markets. Still, Licence’s worldwide ticket sales represented an 18%  decline from The Living Daylights.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

As stated before, some 007 fans blame a lackluster U.S. advertising campaign. However, Michael G. Wilson said in 2015 that Eon officials “really run the marketing ourselves” and studios involved merely “execute it.” Did that apply to Licence to Kill? Or was Licence somehow an exception?

For Dalton, Glen, Maibaum and even Broccoli (he yielded the producer’s duties on GoldenEye because of ill health), it was the end of the road.

Michael G. Wilson, despite his enormous impact on Licence to Kill, remained in place. Blood (even adopted blood), after all, is thicker than water — or even box office receipts.

About those pricey 007 Store items

Newest offering from the 007 Store

This week, the 007 Store announced the sale of James Bond-themed Faberge eggs. They don’t resemble the Faberge eggs seen in Octopussy (1983). Rather they are “inspired” by the 13th James Bond movie.

Price: £ 115,200 (more than $145,000). Here’s part of the description:

Introducing the Fabergé x 007 Octopussy Egg Objet – Numbered Edition, a precious collector’s piece, hand crafted from 18k yellow gold, green guilloché enamel, diamonds and blue sapphires, in a limited edition of 50 (only 1 available for immediate delivery).

This is the first in a series of Fabergé x 007 collections taking inspiration from the film series. The 2024 objet is inspired by the Fabergé egg at the centre of the Octopussy story, with itsrich green enamel carefully selected for its similarity to the enamel used on the Fabergé egg in the 1983 film.

As eye-popping as that may seem, it’s hardly the most expensive Bond-related item put up for sale. Recall these:

–Seven $700,007 Aston Martin cars via Neiman Marcus in 2018.

–Replica Aston Martin DB5 cars also offered in 2018. They cost about $3.5 million each with gadgets but *were not street-legal.* To drive them, you have to rent a track.

There have been other pricey items such as a $6,000 backgammon set offered in 2019. The original link on the 007 Store page has been removed.

Some fans suggest this has been exaggerated, saying they’ve found bargains on the 007 Store site.

Perhaps. The pattern seems to have been set. The mega-high-priced items get the most publicity from the 007 store. Here’s a video from The Bond Bulletin about this week’s announcement:

UPDATE: I am reminded how the literary Bond was a British civil servant (albeit one who had an inheritance from his parents). But he was never mega-rich, hardly in the league of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, etc.

A wish for Bond 26

Who knows what Bond 26 has in store. This week, a British tabloid got a lot of publicity for saying a certain actor has the inside track for the role.

Here’s a wish for Bond 26: After more than a decade of deconstructing James Bond during the Daniel Craig era, can we start building him back up?

Throughout Craig’s tenure, we’d hear how everything is all set for Bond to be Bond again. We can now have Bond do anything! Yet, with every Craig movie, the deconstruction continued.

Finally, with No Time to Die, Bond had a wife, a kid, and got killed at the end. That’s the ultimate deconstruction.

Barbara Broccoli, the boss of Eon Productions, has said repeatedly that Bond needs a new direction. We can’t rush things, etc.

Hot take: It doesn’t really matter who gets cast as Bond in future films (assuming they get made). The question is what do you do with Bond?

In the real world, movie audiences haven’t warmed to sequels of late. Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One, released in 2023, did OK at the box office but wasn’t a runaway hit. Some sequels such as The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny only did so-so.

The Bond franchise has done sequels for more than 60 years since the release of Dr. No (1962).

The last actual Ian Fleming novel adaptation was Casino Royale (2006). That was 18 years ago. There are slivers of Fleming’s stories that haven’t been adapted into movies (such as a brainwashed Bond trying to kill M in the 1965 novel The Man With the Golden Gun).

For now, tabloid articles and speculation by fans only go so far. The movie business is in a mess. We’ll see how that goes. But it would be nice if poor James got built back up.

Reasons not to get excited about ATJ

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

The Sun, the U.K. tabloid, which has floated various possibilities for actors to play James Bond, caused a stir this week when the tabloid claimed Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been offered the part.

But there are reasons to be cautious.

Director? The original story in The Sun made no mention of a director. Some previous Bond films (Peter Hunt with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, John Glen with The Living Daylights, Martin Campbell with GoldenEye and Casino Royale) were onboard before a Bond actor was cast.

There has been no confirmed director for Bond 26.

Script? The very first Eon Productions 007 script was Richard Maibaum’s 1961 draft of Thunderball before Eon changed gears to Dr. No (because of Thunderball legal issues). That draft was written *before* Sean Connery was cast as Bond. Maibaum’s description of Bond was taken directly from Ian Fleming.

The Sun’s story this week says a script is being written, suggesting there isn’t an actual script at this point.

Dynamics of making a Bond movie: The SpyHards podcast had a recent interview with Jeff Kleeman, a studio executive who worked on the first three Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. He said, from the studio perspective, you had to pursue lining up a Bond actor, a script *and* a director. Without getting all three lined up, it’s hard to get a Bond movie made.

Dynamics (Part II): Eon Productions can’t get a Bond movie made without the studio (now the Amazon-owned MGM). Amazon-owned MGM can’t make a Bond movie without Eon. It’s an unusual dynamic that doesn’t apply to most movie franchises.

The Sun has been all over the place since mid-2022: The Sun has a shaky reputation and its Bond “reporting” from 2022 to the present isn’t something to crow about.

The Sun claims Taylor-Johnson offered 007 role

The Sun is back on its Aaron Taylor-Johnson kick. The tabloid said Monday night that Taylor-Johnson, 33, has been offered the role of James Bond by Eon Productions.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, citing “insiders,” said Eon is waiting to hear back from the actor.

The Sun also said Bond 26 “is on course to start shooting this year” and that “a script was now being worked on.”

Over the past two years, the tabloid has gone from saying Idris Elba was being considered (June 2022), to saying Taylor-Johnson was a “surprise frontrunner” to play Bond (November 2022) to saying Cillian Murphy, 47, was “the new favorite” to play Bond (this month). The Monday night article only referenced The Sun’s November 2022 story.

Taylor-Johnson’s IMDB.COM ENTRY lists 51 acting credits, including Kick-Ass and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

There has been little Bond 26 news, with Barbara Broccoli and Gregg Wilson of Eon saying there was no active development occurring. Daniel Craig held the Bond role for five Eon-produced films, ending with 2021’s No Time to Die.

UPDATE (March 19): Outlets quote people without identifying them that The Sun story may or is wrong (depending on the specific outlet).

Examples:

— The BBC (“…a production insider has told BBC News there is ‘no truth in the rumours’.”).

—Deadline (“As a source at EON sagely pointed out to Deadline, if it spent its days reacting to reports about who is replacing Daniel Craig as 007, it would have time for little else. This person steered us away from The Sun story this morning, but did not outright deny the report…”).

— E! News (“…a source with knowledge tells E! News he hasn’t been offered the James Bond role—yet.”)

E-book details script development of 007 films

Promotion for Scripting 007

A new e-book, Scripting 007, examines script development of the Eon Productions series of James Bond movies.

The e-book, by Clement Feutry, runs more than 1,300 pages. Scripting 007 traces various treatments and draft screenplays for each film. It can be downloaded free of charge.

Here’s part of a description:

You know the name, you know the number, but do you know… How it was planned to pit Bond against Goldfinger’s twin brother on several occasions? What exactly was in the script for the canceled spin-off about the character of Jinx, envisioned after Die Another Day? How Thunderball was first envisaged as a film, before becoming a novel, then a film, and yet another film later? What would Timothy Dalton’s third film look like? What is this action scene in the London postal railway network that was imagined for four films but never ended in any of them? How Max Zorin’s character original plan was to divert a comet and make it crash into Silicon Valley? 

“This is the History (with a capital H) of the James Bond cinematographic saga,” Feutry said in the e-book’s introduction.

For more information about the e-book (including down to download a copy), CLICK HERE.

1974: Live And Let Die at the Oscars

Part of the Live And Let Die soundtrack packaging.

On April 2, 1974, the Academy Awards were held to honor movies from 1973. The James Bond film series made by Eon Productions had received its first Best Song nomination for 1973’s Live And Let Die.

The likes of the title songs of Eon’s Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice (all co-written by John Barry) had been passed over for Oscar nominations in the 1960s. The song The Look of Love from producer Charles K. Feldman’s 1967 spoof of Casino Royale received a Best Song nomination.

Finally, Eon scored a Best Song nomination with Live And Let Die.

Roger Moore, the star of Live And Let Die, appeared on the show to introduce the song. Instead of a live-action performance of the song Live And Let Die, the soundtrack of the Paul and Linda McCartney song played with dancers performing.

In his introduction, Moore said he was about to head out to the Far East for his second Bond film, The Man With the Golden Gun.

Live And Let Die would fall short at the 1974 Oscars. Burt Bacharach (who co-wrote The Look of Love with Hal David) and Ann-Margaret announced the winners.

Future Bond composer Marvin Hamlisch capped off a big Oscar night by winning for The Way We Were. Other nominees included John Williams.

About those ‘entitled’ 007 fans

There’s a debate within James Bond fandom. Some believe Eon Productions is taking too long to move on from the Daniel Craig era. When will Bond 26 come out?

Others respond such fans are entitled and have no business second-guessing Eon. Eon belongs to its owners. The company is to do with what they will.

A few thoughts:

–Eon’s principals, Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, are public figures. They are prominent movie producers who control a major “intellectual property.” Their work as producers is fair game for comment. That’s true for actors, writers, directors, etc.

–There is a strain of Bond fandom, I have (mostly jokingly) referred to as FOE: Friends of Eon. At FOE, Eon is above criticism or even basic analysis.

— The question is what is worse: Complaints from “entitled” fans or no comments. The former indicates many still care. The latter is a sign that interest may be waning.

Bond 26 questions: The fuzzy future edition

This week, we got another “no news update” from Eon Productions concerning Bond 26. Naturally, the blog has questions.

Why does the press BADGER Eon about the future?

If you don’t ask, you’ll get nothing. From the press perspective, you might as well ask even if there’s little chance new information will come out.

Why is that?

Because, once in a while, you get actual information. Somebody breaks down and provides an answer beyond the usual dreck. Not asking ensures nothing comes out.

On the other hand, the media should probably broaden the questions they ask. Does Eon have a succession plan? How are things going with Amazon (which acquired MGM, Bond’s home studio)? Does Eon really want to make future James Bond movies?

But how often has Eon boss Barbara Broccoli been asked about Bond 26?

Based on entries in The Bond 26 Timeline, not that often.

In 2021 (the same year No Time to Die came out depicting Bond’s demise): Once

In 2022: Seven (mostly during interviews)

In 2023: Three

In 2024: Two

That’s less than 15 times. That’s not very often considering how Eon controls the Bond film IP, a globally famous character.

What’s more, those questions show that Bond continues to generate global interest. If Eon didn’t make Bond movies, its non-Bond films such as Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Nancy, and The Rhythm Section would be almost forgotten.