Eon Productions

Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK.

''Bond'' films

Eon was started by film producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in 1961, at the same time they became partners and sought financing for '' Dr. No''. The year before they formed Danjaq, which for legal reasons became Eon's holding company, from which it licenses the rights to produce the ''Bond'' films.

Broccoli had been interested in the ''Bond'' novel rights for several years but was dissuaded from pursuing the project by his former partner. When they dissolved their relationship he was free to pursue the property, for which Saltzman, a novice to film production, had taken a gamble to acquire. The two were introduced by a New York writer who was acquainted with both, and formed a partnership within a week of meeting. The enterprise was and is still a family business, including both wives of the principal partners, as well as several of their progeny, the latter group now carrying on their parents' work. Albert almost immediately included Dana Broccoli's college-aged son Michael G. Wilson in the early films, doing various production jobs. His engineering education was put to use in some of the series' special effects.

In 1975, after nine films, Harry Saltzman sold his shares of Danjaq to United Artists. Although Albert R. Broccoli died in 1996, Eon Productions is still owned by the Broccoli family, specifically Albert R. Broccoli's daughter, Barbara Broccoli, and his stepson and her half-brother by actress Dana Wilson Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, who are the current producers of the films.

Albert R. Broccoli's name has appeared in the opening "presents" credit of every Eon-produced ''James Bond'' film, and as the first name in the credits from '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' onwards. From '' Dr. No'' through '' The Man with the Golden Gun'', the credit was "Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli present"; for some films Broccoli came first. After Saltzman left, the opening credit was "Albert R. Broccoli presents" through to ''GoldenEye'', which was the last film made before Broccoli's death, even after Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson replaced him as producers. On all films since Broccoli's death, the opening credit is "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions presents", with "Ltd." usually added after "Productions" in the film proper.DVD and Blu-ray copies of Eon's Bond films.

The 1965 film '' Thunderball'' differs from the others in how it credits Saltzman and Broccoli; due to a legal agreement with Kevin McClory related to the rights to Ian Fleming's original novel, McClory received producer credit on the film, with Saltzman and Broccoli credited as executive producers. This agreement also gave McClory the rights to remake ''Thunderball'' in the future, resulting in the 1983 non-Eon production, '' Never Say Never Again''. McClory would attempt to remake the story a second time in the 1990s, but was prevented from doing so. In 1999, Eon picked up the rights to the '' Casino Royale'' novel after a lawsuit between MGM and Sony ended as part of a trade deal that saw Sony acquiring MGM's interest in the '' Spider-Man'' film rights.

The copyrights and trademarks for the film properties which began with '' Dr. No'', are held by Danjaq and United Artists Corporation; the latter was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981, but as an MGM subsidiary its name still appears in Bond copyright and trademark disclaimers. '' Casino Royale'' (2006), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Skyfall'' (2012) and ''Spectre'' (2015) were co-distributed with Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label. With the revival of United Artists – formed as a joint venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures under the label United Artists Releasing – as well as the expiration of Columbia Pictures' deal with the Bond franchise, the distribution of ''No Time to Die'' (2021) will be shared between United Artists Releasing (domestically) and Universal Pictures (internationally), while Danjaq retains the essential rights to the film.

The video rights for all of Eon's films are owned by MGM Home Entertainment, and were controlled by MGM's distributor Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (previously 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment initially assumed the home video rights to ''Casino Royale'', but the 2012 home video editions of this film were issued by MGM and 20th Century Fox. Since 2020, WBHE took over the home entertainment distribution rights to the Bond films after MGM ended their home media agreement with Fox in June 2020, excluding the home media release of ''No Time to Die'' (which is handled by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, although both companies own a joint venture called Studio Distribution Services).

The ''Bond'' films produced by Eon Productions are:
# '' Dr. No'' (1962)
# '' From Russia with Love'' (1963)
# '' Goldfinger'' (1964)
# '' Thunderball'' (1965)
# '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967)
# '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969)
# '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971)
# '' Live and Let Die'' (1973)
# '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974)
# '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977)
# '' Moonraker'' (1979)
# '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981)
# ''Octopussy'' (1983)
# ''A View to a Kill'' (1985)
# ''The Living Daylights'' (1987)
# ''Licence to Kill'' (1989)
# ''GoldenEye'' (1995)
# ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' (1997)
# ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999)
# ''Die Another Day'' (2002)
# '' Casino Royale'' (2006)
# '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008)
# ''Skyfall'' (2012)
# ''Spectre'' (2015)
# ''No Time to Die'' (2021)

Other production companies were responsible for the ''Bond'' productions '' Casino Royale'' (1954), '' Casino Royale'' (1967) and '' Never Say Never Again'' (1983); the first is a one-hour TV film produced for an anthology series and the others are feature films produced for the cinema. ''Never Say Never Again'' is a remake of ''Thunderball''.

Other film productions

Since its first film, '' Dr. No'' in 1962, Eon has made seven non-''Bond'' films. Saltzman and Broccoli produced other films separately: Broccoli produced the film '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', based on a book by Ian Fleming; Saltzman produced several non-''Bond'' films during this time including ''The Ipcress File'' and ''Battle of Britain''.

Other non-''Bond'' projects from either 1963 or 1964 – ''The Marriage Game'' written by Terry Southern and to have been directed by Peter Yates and ''The Pass Beyond Kashmir'' based on the novel by Berkely Mather – did not go into production.

In 2008, Eon signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to develop fifteen thrillers and family films outside the ''Bond'' franchise, with budgets of up to $80 million (£40 million). The company hopes the move will allow more British writers to establish themselves in the United States.

Eon Productions produced the adaptation of Mark Burnell's first book in the ''Stephanie Patrick'' series, titled ''The Rhythm Section''. Starring Blake Lively and directed by Reed Morano, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was released on 31 January 2020.

The non-Bond films produced by Eon Productions are:
# ''Call Me Bwana'' (1963)
# ''The Silent Storm'' (2014)
# '' Radiator'' (2014)
# ''Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool'' (2017)
# '' Nancy'' (2018)
# ''The Rhythm Section'' (2020)
# '' Ear for Eye'' (2021)
# ''Till'' (2022)

Theatre

Eon has made several theatre productions, including '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', based on a book by Ian Fleming and ''Othello'' starring Daniel Craig.
# '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (2002)
# ''Chariots of Fire'' (2012–2013)
# '' Once'' (2012–2016)
# ''Othello'' (2016–2017)
# ''The Band's Visit'' (2017)
# ''The Country Girls'' (2017)
# ''Love Letters'' (2017)
# ''The Kid Stays in the Picture'' (2017)
# '' Strangers on a Train'' (2018)
# '' Macbeth'' (2022)

See also

* James Bond in video games – list of games authorised by Eon Productions and MGM Interactive
* Ian Fleming Publications – administers all of Ian Fleming's literary oeuvre as well as continuation novels by other authors
* Outline of James Bond

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:EON Productions
British companies established in 1962
James Bond
Film production companies of the United Kingdom
Mass media companies established in 1961
1962 establishments in England
Mass media companies based in London
1960s English-language films
1970s English-language films
1980s English-language films
1990s English-language films
2000s English-language films
2010s English-language films
2020s English-language films