›007’s not 'content' and he’s not a mere commodity: Amazon-MGM deal gave this Bond writer the chills
007’s not 'content' and he’s not a mere commodity: Amazon-MGM deal gave this Bond writer the chills
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007’s not 'content' and he’s not a mere commodity: Amazon-MGM deal gave this Bond writer the chillsNew York Times
Last Updated: Jun 01, 2021, 10:53 AM IST
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Synopsis
Bond isn’t just another franchise, it is a family business that has been carefully nurtured and shepherded through the changing times by the Broccoli/Wilson family.
AP
The current deal with Amazon gives Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, who own 50 percent of the Bond empire, ironclad assurances of continued artistic control. But will this always be the case? What happens if a bruising corporation like Amazon begins to demand a voice in the process?
A little more than an hour after the deal was announced,Republican Senator Josh Hawley blasted Amazon.com as a "monopoly platform" on Twitter, adding, "This sale should not go through," and that the company shouldn't be allowed to buy anything.
From WhatsApp's lawsuit against the government to Amazon's splashy MGM purchase and Vimeo spun off as a public firm, here's a quick look at the top tech news today.
In the clearest example yet of Hollywood's legacy institutions being swallowed up by Big Tech, MGM's historic film franchises like James Bond and Rocky will now live on virtual Amazon shelves.
NEW YORK: Amazon is reportedly close to acquiring Hollywood studio MGM. The value of the deal, which is expected to be concluded as early as this week, is pegged at almost $9 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting people familiar with the matter.
Last week, The New York Times had reported that, if the talks to acquire MGM were successful, the deal would turbocharge Amazon’s streaming ambitions by bringing James Bond, Rocky, RoboCop and other film and television properties into the e-commerce giant’s fold.
MGM has been looking for a buyer for months. Apple and Comcast had previously decided it was worth roughly $6 billion. The purchase of Whole Foods for $13.4 billion in 2017 was the biggest acquisition in Amazon’s history. Even $6 billion would make MGM the second-largest.