No new James Bond yet, Sony may produce before MGM buyout completes - reports Variety

02-Feb-2005 • Casino Royale

Following Pierce Brosnan's statement on his official website announcing that his reign as James Bond was definitely over, news on the status of Bond 21 and the Sony buyout of MGM has leaked through trade paper Variety.

It reports, "Following discussions with Sony, the Lion has greenlit the projects in advance of the studio's buyout by a consortium led by Sony, expected to close this summer. MGM's remaining projects will fall into Sony's hands, though at this point Sony has not firmed up a structure for the new merged entity, under which MGM may co-produce pictures."

"As for the [the 21st James Bond movie], Sony will likely produce the film even if it does not come together before the buyout (the new 007 has still not been chosen)."

"There is still something of a firewall between Sony and MGM in terms of hammering out technicalities related to the $5 billion buyout, but as regulatory hurdles have been crossed, there has been more discussion between the two companies. In early January, the two studios' creative teams met to discuss MGM's development pipeline. The selection of the four films was ultimately not a joint decision, however, but was made by the Lion."

Thanks to `JP` for the alert.