John Logan, the Oscar nominated screenwriter whose credits include working on James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, has penned a new opinion piece for The New York Times discussing the merger of Amazon and studio, MGM.
Speaking of the news that Amazon has acquired the home of Bond, Tomb Raider and Stargate, Logan said “a chill went through me” upon hearing the news.
“Having worked as a writer on Skyfall and Spectre, I know that Bond isn’t just another franchise, not a Marvel or a DC; it is a family business that has been carefully nurtured and shepherded through the changing times by the Broccoli/Wilson family,” Logan continues.
“What happens if a bruising corporation like Amazon begins to demand a voice in the process? 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?” He said speaking of the potential for the corporation’s potential future involvement. It’s worth noting that Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli still own 50% of the Bond empire.
“Everything gets watered down to the most anodyne and easily consumable version of itself. The movie becomes an inoffensive shadow of a thing, not the thing itself. There are no more rough edges or flights of cinematic madness,” he said.
Adding that Amazon is ultimately “a global technology company” and “not necessarily a champion or guardian of artistic creativity or original entertainment” Logan ends his piece with a simple statement.
“Please let 007 drink his martinis in peace. Don’t shake him, don’t stir him,”
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