Last week, it was announced that Amazon has acquired MGM and its vast library of films and TV series. And as part of that massive deal, the tech company has become 50% owner of one of the most storied franchises in all of film—the James Bond film series. This led to many fans worried that Bond will go the way of “Star Wars” and become just a cog in a huge money-making machine and not the beloved spy franchise that has run for decades. And one of those fans, John Logan, who also happened to co-write “Spectre” and “Skyfall,” is concerned the 007 franchise will lose what makes it special thanks to a company more interested in growing its customer base than it is in making acclaimed films.
Speaking about what makes the Bond franchise different from the likes “Star Wars” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in a new essay written for the New York Times, Logan described it as a “family business that has been carefully nurtured and shepherded through the changing times,” considering how Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have been at the forefront, creatively. And while he knows Amazon’s deal ensures that that duo will still have creative control, Logan isn’t so sure that will always be the case.
“What happens if a bruising corporation like Amazon begins to demand a voice in the process?” he wrote. “What happens to the comradeship and quality control if there’s an Amazonian overlord with analytics parsing every decision? What happens when a focus group reports they don’t like Bond drinking martinis? Or killing quite so many people? And that English accent’s a bit alienating, so could we have more Americans in the story for marketability?”
Logan’s concern boils down to the simple issue he has with Amazon owning half of the Bond franchise—the tech company isn’t a creator-first enterprise.
READ MORE: Amazon Secures $8.45 Billion Deal To Acquire MGM
“In the context of the larger company, Amazon Prime Video is not chiefly about artists,” the writer said. “It’s about attracting and retaining customers. And when bigger companies start having a say in iconic characters or franchises, the companies tend to want more, not better, and the quality differential can vary wildly, project to project.”
The screenwriter points out how Broccoli/Wilson have kept the James Bond franchise focused and have not turned it into “content” or “a mere commodity.” That’s why there’s not Bond Cinematic Universe. And he just hopes that Amazon will allow the family business to keep running how it has been for decades.
“Bond is allowed to provoke, grow and be idiosyncratic. Long may that continue,” he said. “James Bond has survived the Cold War, Goldfinger, Jaws, disco, and Ernst Stavro Blofeld, several times. And I can only hope that the powers that be at Amazon recognize the uniqueness of what they just acquired and allow and encourage this special family business to continue unobstructed.”
The next Bond film, “No Time to Die,” is expected to arrive in theaters on October 8.
