10 replies to this topic

[chronicliar]

I have heard so many different rumors and things about M.G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that I was wondering why people like/hate them so much. Have they ruined the Bond franchise or have they done a great job?

[Simon]

But the original 007 would not exist today, and I believe everyone in a sober moment has to admit this. So marketing and business constraints aside, I believe they've done the job correctly.

Looking on a larger scale, as opposed to the character of Bond, the only gripe I have, and I don't even know if one can lay this at the door of the producers, is that the Bond films used to lead where others followed. The tables have been turned now and they seem to have either adopted or been forced into a situation of following. This can be interpreted as either following bigger American action films or the likes of employing of a female M.

If this does lie at the door of the producers, then maybe, at the end of the day, it all does just come down to showmanship.

But I'm thankful for what we have.

[rafterman]

I think they do a great job, they have a tremendous responsibility, but remember, Mickey's been around since the early days so he knows what he's doing, if this ever leaves family hands, then I fear for the franchise....I respect them as producers because this is all they do, it's their focus, their livelihood, they won't screw it up and aren't distracted by other films, Babs isn't going to pull a Saltzman and work on other stuff on the side....

[freemo]

I think they're alright, I wouldn't describe the as 'the best' just yet though. I think people who hate them are being a bit harsh and people who really like them are being very generous. They stand in the middle in my book, nothing wrong, but not really that brilliant just yet either.

[Simon]

I agree with Zencat and his referral to the Alien and Batman franchises whole heartedly.

I also think their detractors will come from the same mould as those that decry everything that has moved on from the original, ie, Fleming titles, Cubby productions, John Barry music.....you get the idea.

[Xenobia]

A someone who shares a similar heritage with Barbara Brocoli, and understands how rough it is when the *daughter* takes the father's place....I think she is doing a bang up job.

True, Mickey G and Babs are not perfect...but no one ever is. What impresses me most about Eon Productions is the fact that I constantly hear, (and not just from them), how well they take care of the cast and the crew...it is very much like a family, which is in keeping with the Italian background that Cubby, and now Barbara bring to the set.

The movie franchise is sublime -- the fact that they could reinvent it in the Mid-nineties is a miracle -- but really, what it comes down to is, MW and BB would still be aces in my book for the way they treat their staff.

-- Xenobia

[RITZ]

I think they've done a great job over the years, but I have a feeling that if Fleming were alive today, he would be really annoyed by how the character of Bond (and the films) have changed since the 60's.

James Bond films are VERY entertaining but we have lost the ORIGINAL 007 - James Bond today is a totally new character...........BOND 30?.......Who knows?

[zencat]

Mickey G. and Babs are the best! Seriously, I find it amazing how they've held the franchise together and consistently delivered excellent Bond films that are still true to the original style. Just look at how fast some franchise can go completely off the rails (Batman, Alien...). The reason Bond films have survived has everything to do with these two people. I don't think they get enough credit.

[Blue Eyes]

I have to agree with Zencat, I think they're doing a great job. It can be so easy for a series to go off the rails, look at Batman as a fine example. The first two films (by Tim Burton) are fantastic and then it just goes off the rails. It's not because of a different actor, it's the directors and the producers who really stuffed the Batman series up. Gotham City is like our world, but a step to the left. It's a little bit more dirty, a little more evil and so on. The latter producers didn't understand this, they just went into fantasy mode.

But the producers of the Bond films realised this all along the way. Yes, they had some doozies. But they always realised it and came back fighting in the next film.

Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are doing a great job, on par with Cubby. The only difference being that Cubby was much more of a showman.

[agentbond]

Blue Eyes (24 Mar, 2002 09:09 p.m.):

But the producers of the Bond films realised this all along the way. Yes, they had some doozies...

Which ones?

[ray t]

amen to the above...and IF Fleming was alive today he'd be "Laughing All The Way To The Bank" 1000 times over!!!!!

He'd be sitting back on a beach on one of HIS OWN PRIVATE ISLANDS somewhere in the Seychelles or the Maldives or the Bahamas (depending on the time of year given weather patterns, hurricane projections, etc.) smoking a big fat joint with girl-friend and his many off-spring thinking

"Well done Eon. You got over the Connery IS James Bond hurdle, some weak productions in the first part of the seventies, the saltzman affair, the legal problems in the early 90's and have done a fair job of staying relatively fresh. Hmm...I wonder if i should buy that other island thats come up on the market in the Great Barrier Reef...."