Sounds like there's a big behind-the-scenes Bond feud brewing

When Amazon bought classic Hollywood studio MGM a few years back, it also took custody of MGM’s most lucrative, beloved, and prolific film franchise: The James Bond movies, the distribution rights for which have been in MGM’s hands ever since the studio bought Dr. No distributor United Artists back in 1981. Which means Amazon also inherited MGM’s long-time association with Eon Productions, the studio that has produced (nearly) every Bond movie since 1962, and whose co-head, Barbara Broccoli, has never been afraid to make it clear that her takes on the British superspy reign supreme. Now, there are reports that the relationship between the online retail giant and the veteran producer are getting pretty messy, leading to allegations that there’s a feud brewing that could seriously screw with the franchise’s post-Daniel Craig fortunes.

This is per a report in the Wall Street Journal today, which suggests that Broccoli (who, whatever your opinion on some of her particular takes on the character, including that he’s got to be British, and got to be a guy) has more experience at “making James Bond movies” than any other person on the planet, is not wild about getting notes from the people who ship toilet brushes across the globe. The WSJ report states that Broccoli “has told friends she doesn’t trust algorithm-centric Amazon with a character she helped to mythologize through big-screen storytelling and gut instinct,” and “has complained that Amazon isn’t a good home for Bond, since the company’s core business is selling everything from toilet paper to vacuums.” When Amazon executives approached Broccoli about the possibility of putting together some kind of Bond TV spin-offs, she was reportedly blunt, asking, “Did you read the contract?” (Which is to say: No, no streaming Bond shows.)

It’s now been three years since the release of Craig’s final Bond movie, No Time To Die, and the lack of forward movement for a franchise that’s usually pretty damn shark-like has begun to be noticeable: Not only has no new Bond been chosen, but there’s reportedly not even a script for a new film floating around. All of these murmurings needs to be taken with a grain of salt, obviously, since none of it’s being attributed to anyone willing to put their name on it. But this particular quote does feel telling, allegedly from Broccoli discussing her new business partners on the franchise that has defined her professional life: “These people are fucking idiots.”