Suggesting that taking a page from Morgan Spurlock's Greatest Movie Ever Sold might be one way the still-shaky MGM can get back to the business of making Bond films, the studio and its co-distributor Sony have struck a deal to ensure that roughly one-third of Bond 23’s funding—at a record $45 million—will come from product placement. That figure would more than double the old high mark of $20 million set by Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, which actually featured rampant product placement as a crucial part of its plotline. Anyway, Bond already drives a different sponsored car in each film, and Casino Royale featured a lingering conversation about his Omega brand watch, so product placement certainly isn’t new to the franchise. It’s just that they’ll have to find even more ways to integrate it—perhaps with a specific vodka for his signature martini. Or, in keeping with his more modest budget, maybe he’ll be reduced to missions of international espionage with layovers in Hyatt hotels and daring chase scenes in a practical Mini Cooper.
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