The family-owned production company EON Productions has been behind the creation of the James Bond films since 1962, including the latest $250 million blockbuster, No Time to Die!
Who doesn’t know the James Bond series of spy movies? With 27 films, it is undoubtedly the longest saga and one of the most lucrative franchises in film history. The story of EON Productions, the family business that produced 25 of these films, is less known. Yet it was co-founder Albert Romolo Broccoli who brought the James Bond character to the big screen. As soon as Ian Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953, giving birth to the mythical agent 007, Broccoli took a keen interest in the James Bond stories. In 1961, this led him to join forces with Canadian producer Harry Saltzman, who owned the film rights. The two men founded EON Productions in London, which focused solely on the production of these thrillers. Together, they produced the first nine films of the series until Harry Saltzman sold his shares in the company to United Artists (UA) in 1977. Since then, the Broccoli family has worked with the American studios UA, then MGM and most recently Amazon, sharing the profits generated by the blockbusters. In 1995, after having supervised the creation of 16 opuses, Albert passed the torch to his children Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli who also manage the Danjac holding. As true custodians of a unique heritage, the siblings are the creative force behind some of the most successful and profitable films in the series, including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre. The world premiere of No Time to Die, their latest production and the company’s 25th film, will take place this Tuesday, September 28 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The $250 million production stars Daniel Craig, who has been playing the role of the most iconic spy in cinema since 2006.
Read the article: “‘No Time to Die’: A Rare In-Depth Interview With the Keepers of James Bond“
