50 years of Bond … James Bond
The Bond franchise marks its 50th anniversary this year,but its survival has been fraught despite the films' commercial success, writes James Mottram
"James Bond will return." These four reassuring words, that will be familiar to any fan of the 007 movie franchise, used to appear in the final credits of every Bond film. But that was in the 1970s and '80s, the Roger Moore era, when the actor kept the franchise on an even keel, snuggling into the role just as comfortably as he slipped on his beige safari suit. More recently, despite Bond's almost indestructible screen persona, his return has been anything but assured.
This autumn sees the release of Skyfall, the 23rd official cinematic outing for novelist Ian Fleming's suave MI6 spy - and you can sense the relief from the Bond camp. Back in 2009, work had already begun on the film, not least the recruitment of Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen), when problems arose with MGM, the studio behind the franchise. In November that year, the Hollywood outfit famous for its roaring lion logo put itself up for sale but no buyer was willing to meet the US$2 billion asking price - unsurprising, when you consider the US$4 billion debts that the studio had accrued.
Facing what Bond producer Barbara Broccoli tactfully refers to as "financial difficulties", MGM then filed for bankruptcy protection and Skyfall was put on hold indefinitely - meaning not even the producers were certain 007 would ever return to the screen. Which, given the success of current Bond star Daniel Craig in his first two outings - Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace took almost US$600 million each globally - must have been particularly galling. Unable to stay with the project in limbo, Morgan walked, long before a franchise-saving deal was finally struck with Sony.
Craig, however, claims this hiatus has helped Skyfall. "It actually gave us some breathing space and preparation time," he says. "I didn't have any doubt that we wouldn't make another movie. I just thought the financial situation would be sorted out. We don't usually get a lot of preparation time. [With Skyfall] we had a very solid script, and that gives you an awful lot of support when you're prepping a movie."