Barbara Broccoli And Michael G. Wilson Talk Bond And Beyond

With the centenary celebrations of Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli currently taking place at BFI Southbank, The Guardian recently had a chance to sit down and talk with current James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson

Meeting them at Eon House in Piccadilly, London, Jason Solomons started off the conversation discussing the legacy their father has created through his work on the 007 series.

‘Oh, definitely,’ said Barbara Broccoli. ‘I mean, Cubby Broccoli, my father, was an extraordinary man and he assembled with Dr. No the most astounding group of talent with directors and craftsmen and created with his partner Harry Saltzman a new genre of films.’

When asked how Broccoli, as a producer, left his creative stamp on the series, Wilson said: ‘Well, he was a creative producer. And there are a few, but sadly not as many today as there used to be. He was someone who was very involved in the creation of the script and the selecting of the major crew, you know, the director and the major heads of department.’

‘He would like to sit on the set and be there in case anything needed his attention. He just loved making films. It was his life.’

Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli

Barbara added: ‘I think we think about [Cubby] all the time, both consciously or subconsciously. Often when we’re in a bit of a pickle, we’ll sit and think–or I’ll sit and think–“what would dad do?”, and then you go “oh, that’s what he’d do, so that’s what we’re going to do”. He always believed that you had to be decisive, you know, that it was very important to get as much information as you needed and then make a decision.’

To be expected, the subject of Daniel Craig’s forthcoming film, Bond 23 briefly came up for discussion. ”We don’t have any plans yet,’ Wilson stated. ‘We’re working on it, you know, we’ll be back.’

Listen to the full interview here for much more, including Barbara Broccoli’s favourite Sean Connery film and her finding out that James Bond was, in fact, not a real person.

As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.