James Bond likely to outlast MGM sale with Sony rights to make new sequels

MGM may die, but there’ll always be a James Bond, reports FortWayne.com.

The studio, target of a potential takeover, co-sponsored a closeout show at the Cannes Film Festival recently with spectacular fireworks and Cole Porter songs. On a floating stage in the Cannes bay, Alanis Morissette, Natalie Cole and others serenaded the crowds with songs from “De-Lovely,” MGM’s soon-to-be-released film about Cole Porter.

The show also included well-known scores from MGM movies past, including the themes from James Bond films, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Shaft.” But the show signaled other things, too: the likely demise of the studio that made “Gone with the Wind,” “Mutiny on the Bounty” and “Ben-Hur.”

A group led by Sony Corp. is considering a $5 billion purchase. Talks are ongoing, but the acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer would give Sony the biggest film library in the world, consisting of more than 4,100 properties that include every Bond film, as well as the “Rocky” and “Pink Panther” franchises.

If MGM seemed to be serenading its own oblivion, there was nothing to alarm Bond.

Bond flicks still make up the most successful franchise in history. Sony would not only be able to reap the DVD, TV and video-on-demand profits of past MGM films, but it would also have the right to make sequels.

Thanks to `Stan` for the alert.

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