David Fincher's House of Cards Trailer
From
THR
7:00 AM PST 11/14/2012 by Stephen Galloway
The numbers have left Hollywood shaken and a little bit stirred.
Skyfall,
the 23rd installment of the 50-year-old James Bond franchise, has
become a global phenomenon. Its opening-weekend haul in the U.S. was
$88.4 million -- almost $21 million more than the previous Bond, 2008's
Quantum of Solace. Even adjusting for inflation, that's a big leap. (
Quantum's
$67.5 million would be $72.5 million in today's dollars.) And overseas,
the numbers are even more impressive, with $427.8 million in grosses
outside the U.S. as of Nov. 11. Many Hollywood observers now believe the
Sam Mendes-directed picture could be the first Bond --
and only the 14th film ever -- to pass the $1 billion mark at the
worldwide box office.
"In particular, the numbers in the U.K. and Latin America have been astonishing," says Wunderlich Securities analyst
Matthew Harrigan. "It speaks to the strength of the Bond franchise."
The windfall will benefit three players in the Bond universe: studio MGM; producers and rightsholders
Barbara Broccoli, 52, and
Michael G. Wilson, 70; and distributor Sony Pictures.
Here's how Bond's possible billion would be divvied up:
In a complicated deal that was heavily negotiated with Sony after MGM
emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, several insiders say MGM and Broccoli
and Wilson will jointly collect 75 percent of the movie's profits,
depending on overhead charges and other fees.
The remaining 25 percent will go to Sony, which funded part of
Skyfall's
roughly $210 million production budget (it came in under $200 million
after tax breaks) and which will recoup heavy costs for prints and
advertising before profits are allocated. Sony is believed to be taking a
distribution fee, but the precise amount is not known. (The studio
declined comment.) 20th Century Fox is handling home video.
THR COVER: How the Bond Franchise Almost Died
How MGM and the Broccoli family split their own 75 percent also is
complicated. Two executives familiar with the deal say it involves
voluminous contracts between MGM and two companies controlled by
Broccoli and Wilson, Eon Prods. and Danjaq LLC. The executives say the
half-siblings and heirs to the original producer,
Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli,
stand to make tens of millions, though just how much they will earn
compared with MGM will be affected by the revenue source (theatrical vs.
home video, for instance), different box-office thresholds, etc. One
finance expert estimates that, if the movie grosses $1 billion, MGM and
Broccoli/Wilson together would partake in roughly $150 million in
profits (with another $50 million going to Sony) before they even get to
the far more lucrative ancillary revenue.
The cash comes at a key time for MGM and its CEO
Gary Barber, who is plotting a possible initial public offering in 2013, after the first installment of the MGM-produced
The Hobbit is released by Warner Bros. on Dec. 14. "This is very good for an IPO situation," notes analyst
Harold Vogel of the
Skyfall numbers. "I believe they can use this capital to tide them over when they don't have a Bond or a
Hobbit movie."
Having such phenomenal success with a franchise that isn't ending
anytime soon "is important in putting any kind of a roadshow
presentation together," he adds.
One person who won't share in the profits, however, is
Daniel Craig. While sources say the Bond star made $17 million for
Skyfall and
is expected to receive bonuses for certain box-office milestones, he is
not a gross participant and won't receive a piece of the backend. (The
Broccolis famously do not offer backend to talent.)
VIDEO: Inside THR’s 'Skyfall' Cover Shoot With Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem
But Craig, 44, likely will get a pay raise for
Bond 24, which
Skyfall co-writer
John Logan
is developing and will be the first in the franchise whose storyline
spans two films. The actor renegotiated his deal after 2006's
Casino Royale
grossed nearly $600 million worldwide and is committed to at least two
more outings as 007, but insiders expect a fresh renegotiation to take
place.
That could leave Craig in the $20 million-plus zone reserved for Hollywood's very top stars.
Additional reporting by Alex Ben Block.
(CNN) -- James Bond - licence to kill. Cristiano Ronaldo -- licence to thrill.
One has brought down tyrants, saved Queen and country and entertained generations of fans for over 50 years.
The other has produced moments of magic which have defied all logic with a right foot more deadly than Bond's Walter PPK gun.
But neither 007 nor CR7, have worked out a way to combat their latest enemy - an invasion of privacy.
It's a topic which has
left Daniel Craig, the man who produced a stellar performance as Bond in
the recent Skyfall epic, both shaken and stirred.
Craig, who first played
Bond six years ago in Casino Royale, has seen his life change
irreversibly with his public life now constantly afflicted.
Culture shock
While Ronaldo may enjoy a
life of glamor, the fact that he cannot even pop out to his local
McDonalds without being bothered continues to irk him.
His very public
relationship with Russian model Irina Shayk, a celebrity in her own
right, has brought extra attention to one of the football's most famous
faces.
Both men have their
photos plastered across billboards worldwide, their pictures on
television commercials broadcast around the globe and their private
lives played out on the internet.
So why do the likes of Craig and Ronaldo, who make millions of dollars from their public image, believe they deserve privacy?
For the 27-year-old Real
Madrid superstar, who hails from the quiet and picturesque island of
Madeira, it has come as something of a culture shock.
"Yeah, of course," Ronaldo told CNN after being asked whether he wished he could lead a normal life.
"Not just now, but the last five, six years.
"Sometimes I wish to go somewhere, shopping, McDonalds... not a great example, or to have coffee and people recognize me.
"We are famous and we have to deal with that."
Smart phones
With the advanced
technology of smart phones and the advent of Twitter and other social
media networks, stars are far more cautious when stepping out of their
front doors.
For Craig, who undertook
huge lengths to keep his wedding to fellow film star Rachel Weisz a
complete secret, the right to privacy is key.
"How could I go into a
pub and have a few pints of Guinness and get a bit rowdy and sing a few
songs when some tw*t's going to film me and put it all over the
internet?" Craig was recently quoted as saying in the British media.
"The difference, and this has changed rapidly in about 10 years, is smart phones.
"They are the f***ing
bane of my life. I get people who just take pictures of me with their
camera phone while I'm having dinner. I want to get violent and I can't.
"They think it's their
right to take a photo of me and I find that incredibly intrusive. But
every phone has a camera on it, so how do we stop it? We can't."
Risk
It seems as if nobody in
the world of celebrities is untouchable with the Duchess of Cambridge
just one of the most recent high profile scandals.
The Princess, who was on
vacation in France at the time, was snapped by a paparazzo while
topless with the photos eventually being published in a French magazine.
That case caused a furore and brought up the question of whether those in the public eye have the right to privacy.
But there are those who believe that celebrities can still live a normal life without being encroached upon.
"You can avoid it if you don't crave the attention," said PR guru Max Clifford.
For every sports star
like Ronaldo, there is a Paul Scholes or Xabi Alonso, both of whom
manage to stay out of the media eye with little fuss.
The key, according to Clifford, is awareness and caution.
"Everyone out there now
has phones and can take pictures, in a way, everyone is the press now
but you've just got to be sensible," he added.
"If you don't want to be seen with somebody, then don't take the risk.
"I've told clients over
and over again, you can't expect the media to build you up and help your
career and then turn around and complain about the attention.
"For famous people, it's part of life and you just have to get used to it and deal with it."
Havoc
Dealing with it sounds simple but it can prove far more difficult, depending how high up you are on the fame scale.
Even the 'Special One',
Jose Mourinho, has found it difficult to cope with the intrusion into
his private life since leading Porto to Champions League glory in 2004.
Mourinho's world has
been turned upside down by the constant attention on Real both in Spain
and abroad since moving to Madrid in 2010.
It has wreaked havoc on his personal life and that of his wife and two children.
"I hate my social life," Mourinho told CNN in an exclusive interview.
"I hate not to be a
normal father who goes with his son to the son's football match and
being there with the other 20 fathers there watching the game.
"I'm at a football match
of kids and I have to be there. The people have to come for photos; the
people have to come for autographs; the people have to come to insult
me; the people have to go behind the goal of my kid and insult my kid of
12.
"So, you know, I would
love to be with my family in the street as a normal person and I can't,
so I am a completely different person in my private life."
But for now Mourinho, like Ronaldo and Craig, must endure, as they continue their constant battle to secure a right to privacy.
