Punjab, Sept. 29 -- Amazon MGM is auditioning actors for the next James Bond, with Nina Gold casting, Denis Villeneuve directing, Steven Knight writing and Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing. It is the first Bond to be cast by a studio rather than a family.
Why that last part is the story
Bond was controlled for sixty years by the Broccoli family through Eon Productions. Casting the lead was their decision, made privately, and the studio financed what they chose.
Amazon bought MGM and then, after a long and publicly awkward standoff, took creative control. This is the first casting process to run the other way - a studio choosing, with a corporate owner whose other business is selling everything else on earth.
The anxiety in the fand...