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It's pretty sunny as I start to type out this month's newsletter after a hike in the hills near where we live.

Covid restrictions are being relaxed in many places as the vaccine rollout, well, rolls out! I had my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine a few weeks ago and have my second shot on Thursday.

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Ian Fleming Publications announced that Anthony Horowitz writing his third Bond continuation novel. The author's two previous Bond novels were well received and he said he would like to do a third if they could reach an agreement to do so. It is to be set immediately after The Man With The Golden Gun but it is currently unknown whether he will incorporate any original Fleming material like the two previous novels.
 

 

Amazon to buy MGM

Now we move onto the big Bond news of the month. 

Amazon agreed terms with MGM’s shareholders for the purchase of the classic Hollywood studio. The deal will be scrutinized by the regulator prior to being confirmed so it is unlikely to have any impact on No Time to Die's release.

Since Eon Productions fiercely guards the creative decisions on the Bond films it seems unlikely that there will be any serious negative repercussions but anyone hoping for a James Bond expanded universe is likely to be disappointed.

We discussed the takeover on James Bond & Friends podcast and what impact it may have. Listen here:  Episode 0092: No Prime To Die.

So how was all that reported?

Well, Amazon had been reported to be in talks about acquiring MGM at the end of January, but it popped up again in a piece in Variety on 17th May. Variety reported that Amazon had been in talks with MGM for weeks and could be prepared to pay $9 billion for the studio. 

A week later, on the 24th, The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon could announce a takeover within a week. Not to be outdone, Bloomberg said the deal could be signed as soon as Tuesday (the 25th). 

In the end it was announced on the 26th, so they were pretty close. And the total offered was $8.45 billion, so just short of the $9 billion figure that had been bandied around.
 

Features

Javier E Trujillo continues his coverage of Agent of SPECTRE with a review of issue 2 of Dynamite’s 2021 comic book series.

 

Podcast

The latest episodes of James Bond & Friends are now available on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere. These are fun to record and the response has been hugely positive. You can listen to the most recent episodes below:

• Episode 0090: Watchalong with You Only Live Twice
• Episode 0091: Art of Bond: Goldfinger I
• Episode 0092: No Prime To Die

 

MI6 Confidential

Issue #59 of the full-colour James Bond magazine MI6 Confidential is now shipping worldwide:
MI6 Confidential #59: We all have our secrets

As we enter the third year in which the 25th James Bond film was scheduled to be released, it’s a salient time to look back at how the franchise planned to stay alive during the last big hiatus in the early 1990s with a much-derided kids cartoon series.
 

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Anyway, that's all for now. I'm looking forward to some beach time some time this month with the warmer weather.

If there is major announcement between now and the beginning of July I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'll be back on the first Tuesday of next month as usual.

Thanks for reading!
 

David Leigh
The James Bond Dossier

PS Don't miss the special offer pricing on MI6 Confidential magazine. You can sign up for the complete 2021 season of five issues and pay for just four plus delivery.

 

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The James Bond Dossier