Sony to Find '007' Heirs Have a License to Kill

Today, that deal has survived as one of the most unique, hands-off studio arrangements ever.

During the ensuing decades, the Broccoli family has gone through almost as many studio executives as Bond has bikini-clad girlfriends.

MGM and United Artists have been bought and sold at least a half-dozen times, with new executives bringing new ideas. Director Michael Apted said his 1999 Bond film "The World Is Not Enough" endured two studio regimes.

"You've got people who constantly want to reinvent the franchise," Apted said. "That has historically been the source of serious tensions between the ever-changing managements of MGM and the Broccolis."

Sometimes those differences reach a boiling point.

"I remember Barbara shouting at MGM, 'Don't tell me how Bond should be. I intend to still be making these Bond films in 10 years, and you may not even be in business,' " director Spottiswoode said.

There is, however, give and take. On "Die Another Day," the Broccoli family relented to MGM's choice of female lead Halle Berry as girlfriend while the studio acquiesced to hiring director Lee Tamahori.

But the producers compromise only so much. They shot down MGM's idea for a TV show featuring a young James Bond. For years, they have resisted studio research screenings.

"When anyone at the studio tries to force anything on them, that's when they get their backs up," former MGM distribution chief Larry Gleason said. "In reality, it comes down to MGM financing the movies and the Broccolis having creative control."

Still, those who have worked with the producers say they realize Bond needs to appeal to today's moviegoers, some of whom complain that the films have become too formulaic and predictable. The trick in reworking Bond is not to alienate core fans, who know that Oddjob drove a 1964 Ranchero in "Goldfinger."

One radical departure that might have been sacrilegious to an earlier generation of Bond fans came in 1995's "GoldenEye." Oscar-winning British actress Judi Dench was hired to begin playing his boss, "M." Earlier films showed the character as a crusty, authoritative man mostly played by the late actor Bernard Lee.

"Barbara and Michael acknowledge that Bond needs to change as the times change," said former UA production executive Jeff Kleeman. "But if you're going to change the classic Bond, you don't do it accidentally or out of ignorance."

As eager as Sony executives are to get their hands on Bond, legal reasons prevent them from contacting the producers until MGM shareholders bless the pending $4.9-billion acquisition by Sony's investment group later this year.

But a pilgrimage to the producers' London headquarters is a top priority for Sony Pictures boss Michael Lynton and movie chief Amy Pascal.

When they finally capture the secret agent, Spottiswoode has some advice: Back off.

"Sony is incredibly lucky and would be very well-advised to leave the franchise alone," Spottiswoode said. "The Broccolis make it work."

Times librarian John L. Jackson contributed to this report.