Behind the scenes of Bond, Barbara Broccoli has been silently enduring the attention of a stalker.
The long-time James Bond producer, who shaped the franchise from 1995’s Goldeneye all the way to No Time to Die, was revealed in court this week to have been the target of repeated harassment by 36-year-old Daniel Wilson, despite a restraining order issued in 2017. Wilson allegedly breached that order 11 times between April 2022 and April 2023.
Appearing via videolink from a south London hospital, where he is being detained under the Mental Health Act, Wilson was not asked to enter a plea. He was granted bail on the condition that he remain at the hospital, make no contact with Broccoli, and not possess a device capable of accessing the internet.
Broccoli’s personal ordeal coincides with the most significant shift in the franchise’s history since her father, Cubby Broccoli, teamed up with Harry Saltzman who acquired the rights to Ian Fleming’s novels in 1961. In February this year, it was confirmed that Amazon MGM Studios will assume creative control over Bond once a reported $1 billion deal closes. While Amazon acquired MGM back in 2022, the deal announced this year goes further — marking the end of Eon Productions’ exclusive control of the series.
Despite remaining publicly silent, Broccoli is understood to have expressed deep misgivings about Amazon’s stewardship.
Broccoli first worked on the franchise at age 17 on The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), moving up to associate producer for The Living Daylights (1987), and eventually sharing producing duties with her half-brother Michael G Wilson. Their tenure saw Bond transition through the Brosnan and Craig eras, culminating in 2021’s No Time To Die, which killed off the character for the first time.
Source: The Times
WHAT?! She has “deep misgivings” about Amazon’s stewardship?
Did someone put a gun to her and Wilson’s heads and force them to do it?
Give me a break.
How I miss the days of Saltzman and Broccoli.