James Bond's greatest victory

From comingsoon.net:

The long-running battle between Kevin McClory and his estate with MGM and Danjaq, who own the rights to James Bond and related characters, is finally over after fifty years with MGM able to acquire the rights to the 007 franchise that had been held by McClory, who helped come up with the story for Thunderball with creator Ian Fleming. In the process of doing so, McClory has claimed that he created many of the iconic characters from the world of James Bond, presumably Blofeld and SPECTRE, who would appear in successive movies following that.

The lawsuits started flying in 1961 when McClory sued Fleming and received partial copyright to Thunderball that allowed him to remake it with Sean Connery in 1983 under the title Never Say Never Again. Neither MGM nor EON Productions have ever included that movie in any of the many James Bond box sets, considering it to take place outside of canon. Sony tried buying the rights from McClory and were promptly sued by MGM and McClory and his estate continued to be a problem for MGM and Danjaq over the years.

What could this mean for the future of the James Bond franchise? Well, for one thing, Danjaq's production division EON Productions could now theoretically introduce a new Ernst Stavro Blofeld or reintroduce SPECTRE after having created the crime organization "Quantum" for the Daniel Craig reboot Casino Royale.

No details of the settlement or the amount paid have been released.

Forging a new Bond

Big news regarding the next installment in the James Bond franchise...

From comingsoon.net:

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, EON Productions; Gary Barber, Chairman & CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Michael Lynton, CEO, Sony Entertainment, Inc, and Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that Daniel Craig will once again return as the legendary British secret agent in the 24th James Bond film and Sam Mendes will also return to direct the screenplay written by John Logan. The film is set for release in UK theaters on October 23, 2015 and in US theaters on November 6, 2015 (currently the same date as Ant-Man and Peanuts).

Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, took in $1.1 billion worldwide and set a new mark as the highest-grossing film of all time in the UK; it was the best-selling Bond film on DVD/Blu-ray and was the most critically acclaimed film in the history of the longest-running film franchise.

Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "Following the extraordinary success of 'Skyfall,' we're really excited to be working once again with Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes and John Logan.

"I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honour all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct 'Bond 24.' I very much look forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time, said Mendes.

Barber added, We are thrilled to reunite the extraordinary talents of director Sam Mendes with our star Daniel Craig for the next great Bond adventure. He added, "As evidenced by the phenomenal success of our last collaboration with EON Productions and Sony, the incredible legacy of this 51-year-old franchise continues to amaze."

Lynton and Pascal said, "It's a privilege to work on the Bond films. EON, John Logan and Sam Mendes have come up with an extraordinary follow up to 'Skyfall' and we, along with our partners at MGM, can't wait to share this new chapter with audiences all over the world."

'Bond 24' update

From Reuters:

Movie studio MGM said on Tuesday it expects to release the next James Bond movie within three years, and hopes to announce soon a new director after Sam Mendes decided to move on.

In a conference call with investors, MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Barber said the studio was developing the screenplay for the next, 24th movie in the 50-year-old franchise about the British secret agent.

"We are very excited about the franchise, we look forward to announcing a director soon," Barber said.

"We are currently developing the screenplay and working with our partners. We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next 3 years it will be released," Barber added.

He gave no details on casting but Daniel Craig has already signed on for two more films in the lead role as the suave 007 agent.

The 2012 Bond film "Skyfall," starring Craig, made $1.1 billion at the global box office and impressed critics. But Britain's Mendes said earlier this month that he wanted to focus on his theater projects for the foreseeable future.

Barber said Mendes "did an amazing job on 'Skyfall'. We are very thankful for the work that he did."

Privately-held MGM jointly produced "Skyfall" with Sony Corp's movie studio arm.

MGM said on Monday that "Skyfall" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" had helped bring a three-fold increase in its 2012 net income.