MGM wanted their money but not to share any glory with Annapurna, reports say

12-Mar-2019 • No Time To Die

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The marriage of MGM and Annapurna to become a movie studio and distributor in North America in 2017 was not smooth sailing, according to reports. The joint venture was announced as the US & Canada distributor for Bond 25, whilst worldwide duties would be handled by Universal.

Variety reports today that: "Despite dipping into Annapurna’s deep pockets to roll out the upcoming 25th installment in the James Bond spy series, per the initial agreement Annapurna would not be allowed to flash a title card bearing its logo before the movie’s opening credits. The squabbling got so granular that the then MGM communications chief would bark at journalists for including Annapurna in stories about the film, which is coming in 2020 from director Cary Fukunaga."

The companies have since merged adjusted their joint venture (and seemingly buried their differences) under the resurrected banner of United Artists, a familiar badge for the Bond series.