"Anything new on Bond 26? What? Nothing, you say?"
Is the British press getting restless about the lack of Bond 26 news?
A week apart, first The Telegraph and then The Times came out with stories that sought to explain why there are no public signs of progress on the next James Bond film adventure.
For two years, Eon boss Barbara Broccoli has said a reinvention of Bond is needed and Bond 26 wouldn't start filming anytime soon. That's certainly the case. To date, there's no script, no director and no star -- three things necessary for a movie.
Last month, the blog examined The Telegraph story. It suggested baby steps are happening. The Times story, published Sunday, Sept. 1, has a new theory.
That publication suggests that Amazon's acquisition of MGM changed everything. Before the deal, Bond was a big deal for a small studio. Now, Bond is a small fish for a behemoth owner. Amazon spent $8.45 billion to buy MGM. It has agreed to spend $20 billion over 11 years to televise NBA and WNBA games.
The problem with The Times story is it relies on quotes from Bond fans. Do they have actual inside knowledge? You can't tell from the article.
Some of the quotes may be wishful thinking. One fan opines that a director really has been hired and that Eon's Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson may make some kind of announcement around the time they receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in November.
The Times also ignored how Broccoli is trying to put together an Othello movie with Daniel Craig. It would be based on a 2010s play that set the story in modern times.
Eon Productions no longer makes Bond movies exclusively. It now produces other films, many of them small-scale dramas such as Nancy and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. The would-be Othello project appears to fit that pattern.
Until Othello is settled -- either it gets made or doesn't -- Bond 26 is off on the horizon.
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