Will James Bond be FOX Bound ?

[JAMESHOT]

Fox Acquiring James Bond Distribution

James Bond is finding a new home, and he’ll have Jedi and aliens to welcome him into the fold. For the last few weeks, movie goers have been curious as to what is going to become of some of MGM’s more prominent franchises. Over the last, couple of days, the company has entered into a forbearance agreement. The agreement expires in the middle of December, and, for now, ‘The Hobbit’ is safe and sound where it is. However, the company said nothing of the future of 007 adventures.

Well, fear not you shaken-not-stirred fanatics. A source close to the dealings has let We Are Movie Geeks know that Bond is alive and well, and will be settling into his new domicile for marketing and distribution at 20th Century Fox. That’s right, expect the official word to come out any day now, but it looks like ‘Bond 23′ is going to be running behind the Fox banner.

Sony, who acquired MGM in 2004, has run the last, two James Bond films, ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’ through their own, Sony Pictures distribution and marketing company. Up until these, two films, Fox handled all home video and international marketing for MGM, so the transition to Fox for domestic releases for the Bond franchise from here on out should not be that difficult a move.

There is no word in what state this leaves ‘Bond 23,’ though, with MGM/Sony still backing the production side, this bit of news shouldn’t cause much if any kind of delay. The film is still tentatively scheduled for release in 2011.

http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2009/10/w...-distribution/

The rights go to Fox, 20th Century Fox.

Our good friends over at We Are Movie Geeks have what could very well be a very big scoop this evening, assuming of course, that it turns out to be true. As you might have heard, MGM is in a bit of financial trouble, securing support from JP Morgan to defer the interest payments on its massive debt load for the next three years in order to maintain a stake in The Hobbit, which as THR reported yesterday, is still a go for director Guillermo Del Toro and producer Peter Jackson.

But where does that leave MGM’s other big money-maker, the James Bond franchise? According to the WAMG report, it leaves it in the hands of 20th Century Fox. Here’s the direct quote, for those completists among you: “A source close to the dealings has let We Are Movie Geeks know that Bond is alive and well, and will be settling into his new domicile for marketing and distribution at 20th Century Fox.”

Originally distributed by United Artists when the franchise began in the 1960s, the Bond franchise has since been under the banner of MGM in partnership with UA since the early 1980s, and then under the Columbia Pictures banner when MGM was acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment, in a consortium including Sony, Comcast, TPG Capital, L.P. and Providence Equity Partners, in 1995. Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman co-produced the EON films until 1975, when Broccoli became the sole producer. Since 1995, Broccoli’s daughter Barbara and stepson Michael G. Wilson have co-produced them.

According to reports, the current deal is set to expire at MGM/Sony in mid-December, at which time 20th Century Fox (who has handled home video distribution on both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace) will take over. Of course, there is no word yet about the forthcoming Bond 23, which is said to have a targeted release date in 2011, according to statements made in various interviews by producer Michael G. Wilson. If anything, the move from MGM to Fox could put a spring in the step of Bond producers, as Fox would be able to provide proper backing to get the project off the ground. Right now the focus at MGM seems to be staying head-above-water long enough to get The Hobbit into theaters. It is sad to see them lose the Bond franchise, as they and their Columbia pictures partners have churned out two great films in the past 3 years, but this is how the world works — and if pushed to make a prediction, I would probably say that this move won’t effect the creative vision behind the Bond films one bit, as most of that rests with Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/new...hise-neilm.php


Updated: Fox Not Acquiring Distribution Rights for James Bond Franchise

UPDATE [October 6 @ 1:30p CST]: Film School Rejects has been contacted directly by MGM, who says that the report that Fox will be taking over distribution of the Bond franchise is incorrect. According to an official source, MGM owns the James Bond franchise and will announce the release date and distribution strategy in due time.

[Drax]

Interesting. I wonder if FOX will try to go even further with Bond ownership...?

[JAMESHOT]

Originally Posted by thuffner

Interesting. I wonder if FOX will try to go even further with Bond ownership...?

Actually FOX had the James Bond distribution rights long before MGM did .....
Anyone else remember the Bond videos years ago with the CBS /FOX VIDEO label they were in big boxes and were at a lot of the early video rental stores in BETA AND VHS ...

Here's the history on that one....

CBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises.

The company was based in Farmington Hills, Michigan until 1985, when it moved to Livonia, Michigan. In 1989, it moved its headquarters to New York City, where it stayed until it became Fox Video (now 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) in 1991.

Before CBS/Fox Video existed, 20th Century Fox Video released a select few titles for rental only, including Dr. No, Rocky, and Star Wars. While sale tapes were in big boxes that were later used by CBS/Fox in its early years, Video Rental Library tapes were packaged in black clamshell cases.

CBS/Fox released the film library of 20th Century Fox, in addition to the film libraries of United Artists (including the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library), ABC Pictures, Associated Film Distributors, some early TriStar Pictures films like The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Legend of Billie Jean, and Short Circuit (at the time, TriStar was a joint venture between CBS, Columbia Pictures, and HBO), CBS Theatrical Films (many of the titles had been previously issued through CBS Video's partnership with MGM), TV shows owned by CBS, and in 1984, CBS/Fox became the American licensee of BBC Video products. The United Artists films consisted mainly of pre-MGM merger titles, films from the James Bond and Rocky series, although the post-merger Bond and Rocky 1980s sequels were released by CBS/Fox as well, and some low profile post-merger films under license from MGM/UA. These UA films were later issued through MGM/UA Home Video starting in 1990 (although Fox would later release the post-1986 MGM library years later). Film Gems UK

The end of CBS/Fox Video
In early 1998, Fox Entertainment Group (owned by News Corporation) acquired CBS/Fox Video and the rest of CBS/Fox's non-shopping (film and TV) assets, and renamed CBS/Fox Video to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS/Fox_Video

[JAMESHOT]

Updated: Fox Not Acquiring Distribution Rights for James Bond Franchise


UPDATE [October 6 @ 1:30p CST]: Film School Rejects has been contacted directly by MGM, who says that the report that Fox will be taking over distribution of the Bond franchise is incorrect. According to an official source, MGM owns the James Bond franchise and will announce the release date and distribution strategy in due time.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/new...hise-neilm.php