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Mega-retailer Amazon.com and iPhone maker Apple
are hoping to gain a strong foothold in Hollywood. Their
competition for the Bond film distribution rights includes Time
Warner Inc's Warner Bros, Sony Corp, MGM, Comcast Corp's
Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox, according to the
Hollywood Reporter.
Amazon and Apple are willing to pay about the same amount for
the rights as Warner Bros, the magazine said, citing anonymous
sources. It did not give a figure.
The Bond franchise is worth between $2 billion and $5 billion,
an industry insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, told
the Hollywood Reporter.
Apple and Amazon were not immediately available for comment.
Sony previously owned the distribution rights, but they expired
with the 2015 release of the latest Bond film, "Spectre." That
movie took in about $880 million at the global box office,
according to film tracker BoxOfficeMojo.com.
James Bond, created by British author Ian Fleming, first burst
onto the silver screen in 1962 in the hit "Dr. No," starring
Sean Connery as the British secret agent. A plethora of Bond
films followed, starring Connery and several actors who
succeeded him in the role, including Roger Moore and Pierce
Brosnan. Bond has most recently been played by Daniel Craig.
Amazon has been spending billions of dollars to create and
license TV shows and films. Earlier this year, company unit
Amazon Studios scored a best-actor Oscar for Casey Affleck’s
portrayal of a grieving man in the movie “Manchester by the
Sea.” The movie also won an Academy Award for best original
screenplay.
Apple, which is relatively new to the world of original content,
began a long-awaited move into television in June with a reality
show called “Planet of the Apps."
(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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