Chapter 762: The Youngest Bond Girl

[Chapter 762: The Youngest Bond Girl]

After Christina left, Eric lay back in the bathtub, closing his eyes and taking a moment to relax, mulling over his thoughts that had emerged from the recent events.

After changing into a fresh outfit, he felt rejuvenated and headed downstairs.

In December, Los Angeles had relatively short days. By seven o'clock, the outdoors was already cloaked in twilight, but the villa's grand hall was brightly lit and bustling with people.

The party had been in full swing for a while.

Noticing Eric's arrival, many guests came over to greet him, and he responded with a friendly smile. After a short time, Drew approached with a woman in her thirties with brown hair. The group chatting with Eric recognized Drew and her companion's identities, realizing that the two women likely had business to discuss, so they discreetly stepped away.

Drew's companion was named Barbara Broccoli, the current head of the family behind the 007 series.

Since the production began in 1961 with the first Bond film, Dr. No, the Broccoli family had controlled the rights to the 007 series.

Although most audiences associated the Bond series with MGM, the franchise had little connection to MGM before the 1980s. The series' rights had been under the control of Eon Productions, managed by the Broccoli family. In the 1970s, Eon's partner, Harry Saltzman, fell out with the Broccoli family and sold half of his company shares to United Artists, which later went bankrupt due to Heaven's Gate and was subsequently acquired by MGM. That was how MGM ended up owning half of the Bond series rights.

Despite the lack of absolute control over the Bond rights from either MGM or Eon Productions, due to ongoing operational struggles, MGM found itself relying heavily on the Bond series to keep its business afloat. This made MGM somewhat of a weaker party in relation to the Broccoli family, who maintained tight control over everything from the scripts to distribution for years.

The Broccoli family's livelihood depended entirely on the 007 series. Barbara Broccoli was around 35 years old, and she had started working as an assistant director on the Bond series starting from the time she was 20. She climbed the ranks to producer, ultimately taking full command of the series after her father, Cubby Broccoli, retired. For the past decade or so, she had focused exclusively on this one film series.

However, the Broccoli family's stronghold over the Bond series began to diminish with MGM's recent acquisitions and consolidations.

In the over three decades preceding this, although the Bond series had faced several low points, all 17 films released thus far had been profitable, creating a strong dependence for MGM on the Bond franchise, leading them to make various compromises with the Broccoli family.

Now that MGM had acquired rights to a series of blockbuster hits, this dependence had significantly waned. MGM was no longer in a position where it needed to compromise with the Broccoli family to start this project. In fact, when Eric proposed merging the 007, Mission: Impossible, and Charlie's Angels franchises into a new MGM spy movie universe, the Broccoli family, despite their reluctance, agreeably accepted the plan.

While Eric had reclaimed the initiative, he showed no intention of sidelining the Broccoli family. After all, they had invested a significant portion of their lives shaping the Bond series, and their production experience far outweighed that of any unfamiliar producers.

...

As the two women approached, Eric warmly embraced Barbara Broccoli, saying, "Good evening, Barbara. You look stunning tonight."

Barbara Broccoli returned the hug and smiled, "Thank you, Eric. This villa is everything people said it would be; I almost wish I could have a house like this myself."

"Well, you're welcome to visit anytime. By the way, where's Michael?" Eric referred to Barbara's half-brother, Michael Wilson.

Barbara explained, "He's been busy handling some company matters in the UK."

After a few pleasantries, Drew pointed to the nearby lounge area and stated, "Eric, shall we go over there to talk?"

Eric nodded, taking a glass of champagne from a passing server's tray, and settled down on a sofa in the corner with the two women.

"Eric, I'm thrilled to hear that you're planning to direct the next Bond film yourself. Even Dad has asked about it!" After they sat, Barbara Broccoli quickly shifted the conversation back to the 007 series, "However, I've read the first draft of the script, and I feel like the tone of this Bond film is quite different compared to previous ones, let alone the one that just premiered in summer."

"Can you be more specific, Barbara?" Eric inquired leisurely.

Barbara replied, "Well, I feel that this installment's portrayal of Bond is leaning towards a more action-hero direction. Pierce's character should be more gentlemanly. And honestly, we've seen recently that the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger - the traditional action stars - are on the decline. Pursuing a hard-action approach may not be the best route for the 007 franchise."

"Are you suggesting we stick with Pierce Brosnan's portrayal from GoldenEye?" Eric asked.

Barbara nodded, "GoldenEye was very successful, and I think there's no harm in continuing that approach."

Eric met Barbara's unwavering gaze, reflecting on her words and understanding her intentions. Ultimately, she still wanted more control over the Bond series.

"If I recall right, GoldenEye's worldwide box office has reached around $350 million, and most key markets have released it. Hence, future numbers aren't likely to change drastically. $350 million in global revenue against a production budget of $70 million is obviously a great profit. Following this formula should help us maintain good profits for the upcoming films. But Barbara, don't you want to take Bond to even greater heights?"

Barbara bit her lip, defiantly responding, "Unless one can predict the outcome, nobody truly knows if they are moving forward or backward."

Noticing Barbara Broccoli's intent to stand her ground against him, Drew, sitting close to Eric, raised her chin as if to say something. But when she felt Eric patting her on the back of her hand, she fell silent again.

"When others are advancing but you remain stagnant, that is in itself a form of regression," Eric reassured the woman. He shrugged at Barbara, saying, "So let's skip the vague life philosophies. How about we discuss more practical issues? Regarding the change in script style, I don't aim to turn the Bond series into an action-hero franchise. I just wish to make Bond more relatable - he should get hurt, face failure, and even shed a tear, rather than just emerge impeccably dressed and untouched after a series of fights and explosions."

"But Bond should inherently be a gentleman. Audiences won't mind the details you mentioned; they just want to see something that gets their blood pumping."

"With advancements in special effects technology, there will be more films that excite viewers, and the audience's demands will grow increasingly stringent. At that point, if you don't craft Bond with more depth, audiences will quickly grow weary and abandon the franchise."

"..."

Barbara Broccoli wanted to add something, but Eric raised a hand to stop her. "Let's put it this way, Barbara. I can assure you that the Broccoli family's rights within the 007 series will remain intact, and the profit shares you enjoyed in the past won't change. If you wish, you can continue as a producer on the Bond series. However, this is all predicated on the Bond series aligning with MGM's developmental interests. If you wish to maintain absolute control over the 007 series, I can tell you now, there's no possibility of that happening. Moreover, MGM won't compromise with Eon Productions. We can move forward without Bond while still thriving, unlike Eon, which would end up with nothing."

As Eric's tone grew increasingly serious, Barbara felt a surge of indignation rise within her, but that anger quickly faded.

Eric patiently gave Barbara time to consider her options, sipping his champagne while surveying the surrounding guests. His gaze casually caught sight of a small figure in pink moving around, causing him to smile and wave at Christina, who immediately floated over.

"Hi, Drew," Christina greeted as she approached, first acknowledging Drew, which made Eric chuckle at the revelation that she seemed to hold Drew in higher regard than he.

Drew merely nodded casually. Eric patted the spot next to him, and Christina sat down stiffly, casting a curious glance at Barbara Broccoli, who was sitting diagonally across from her on the sofa.

"Eric," after a short moment, Barbara Broccoli spoke again, her tone tinged with a hint of compromise. "The 007 series is my father's life's work. I only hope that you treat it very seriously."

"Of course, if I didn't care for this series, I wouldn't be directing a sequel," Eric replied, realizing that Barbara no longer sought additional control. He then reassured her and patted Christina's slender shoulder, saying, "By the way, Barbara, I recently had an idea. Um, let me introduce you. This is Christina Aguilera. Christina, this is Ms. Barbara Broccoli. All the Bond films you've watched have been produced by her family."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Broccoli. I really love the 007 series," Christina said, eager but uncertain of Eric's motivations, as she politely stood to shake Barbara's hand while offering a small compliment.

"Hello, Christina," Barbara replied, equally puzzled and somewhat uneasy due to her recent compromises.

"The thing is, we're almost done with the post-production for the second Charlie's Angels film. After that, we'll have one more installment. While the original characters will have appearances, there's an established strategy for a generational update for the Angels. I think Christina could potentially fit in as one of the successors for the next generation of Angels," Eric explained.

At this, Christina's eyes lit up, while Drew peeked at the girl with a grin. Barbara, however, looked utterly confused.

Eric continued, "Since there's going to be crossovers between 007, Charlie's Angels, and Mission: Impossible, what do you all think about introducing the youngest Bond girl in the history of the series? Doesn't that sound enticing?"

"Ah?"

"Wow!"

"Really?"

Watching the three women react differently, Eric affectionately patted Christina's head and said to Drew and Barbara, "It's absolutely true, and this is a conclusion I've reached after much consideration."

Since the original universe had featured the oldest Bond girl, why couldn't this one have the youngest Bond girl as a concept?

Christina was still under sixteen at this point. Having her play a Bond girl in this upcoming film, while also taking on the role in the future Charlie's Angels film, could serve as a bonding thread to connect these different franchises together.

Drew held unwavering trust in Eric, and although her eyes glimmered with unfathomable thoughts while looking at Christina, and little Christina appeared to want to withdraw, Drew ultimately said nothing.

Barbara, on the other hand, maintained a very cautious disposition. "Eric, if that's the case, the original script would need to be completely rewritten."

"No, it won't be that complicated. Haven't we been looking for a more plausible reason for Vesper's betrayal of Bond?" Eric replied, patting Christina's head again. "Look, now we have it! In the original script, her reason for betraying Bond to save her kidnapped boyfriend was overly contrived. Now, she has a younger sister who gets kidnapped, and as a result, she betrays Bond - that's a much more logical reason, right?"

*****

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