No creative decision is made without the blessing of Broccoli's daughter, Barbara, 44, and stepson Wilson, 62. Their late mother was Broccoli's third wife, Dana. The two split time between their London production base where Bond is filmed and Los Angeles.
Working as a team, the producers pore over every script. They decide where in the movie Bond's signature guitar-twanging theme song plays. They sign off on the director, star, even some of the actors playing minor characters. They are on the set every day of filming, and sit in on editing sessions. Movie trailers, posters and TV spots need their OK.
"Barbara and Michael have infinitely more to do with it than any studio," said Roger Spottiswoode, who directed 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies." "MGM would come up with some new idea and Barbara would say, 'That's not right for Bond.' "
The producers' far-reaching creative rights were first granted to Cubby Broccoli when he and a partner forged the Bond production deal in 1961 with United Artists, acquired 20 years later by MGM. Broccoli's heirs inherited those rights when Cubby died of heart failure in 1996.
The Broccolis and MGM technically have equal say on creative matters. But, MGM's McGurk acknowledged, "while everything is equal, they take the lead in all creative choices."
Broccoli and Wilson declined to be interviewed, as did Sony executives. But speaking about her father for a documentary included in the "Diamonds Are Forever" DVD, Barbara Broccoli said: "I remember one time he said to me, 'You know, the most important thing is don't let 'em screw it up.' "
Lately, Broccoli and Wilson have flexed their muscle on who will next slip into Bond's tuxedo. The producers nixed actor Pierce Brosnan even though the four films in which he starred were the highest-grossing of the 20-film series. Broccoli and Wilson have let Hollywood agents know they want to replace the 51-year-old Brosnan with a Bond who is 28 to 32 years old.
"We've shared weddings and funerals and the births of children," Brosnan said. "We've had a lot of success together. But as to the fate of the franchise, you have to remember that at the end of the day, it's the Broccolis' family business."
The producers also postponed the next Bond film, which sources identified as based on Fleming's novel "Casino Royale," until they can find a director and star. That pushes its release from next year into 2006.
