James Bond Producers And Sony Team Up For 'Remote Control'

It has been announced today that James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have teamed up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to produce Remote Control, based on the thriller novel by Mark Burnell.

Full details on this newly announced non-Bond project follow in the press release below:

Sony Pictures Entertainment Grabs Remote Control With Producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli

Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson

Building on their successful collaboration on the two most recent and highest grossing James Bond adventures in the history of the franchise, Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired the motion picture rights to Remote Control, a thriller novel by Mark Burnell, to be produced as a feature film by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli’s Eon Productions, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. Ileen Maisel will join Wilson and Broccoli in producing the project. Burnell will adapt his novel into the screenplay.

In Remote Control, a former war correspondent, now British corporate intelligence analyst, gets caught up in a conspiracy by Western corporations to destabilize the Chinese economy. Following the trail to the United States, he discovers that his former lover is also being pursued. On the run together, they try to unravel the mystery of the conspiracy while trying to stay alive.

Remote Control is the second non-Bond property Sony Pictures is developing with Wilson and Broccoli. The studio is also collaborating with the renowned producers on a new adaptation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with EON Productions and MGM.

Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad explains, “Our collaboration with Michael and Barbara on Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace was extraordinary and special and we all wanted to find another way to work together. Mark Burnell’s new novel is an exciting thriller and it’s precisely the kind of material that Michael and Barbara will be able to adapt so well.”

Wilson and Broccoli added, “We have great respect and a wonderful working relationship with the entire team at Sony Pictures, from Amy, Doug, and Matt’s team in production to Jeff Blake’s global marketing and distribution groups and look forward to working with them all again.”

Remote Control will be overseen at Columbia Pictures by Belgrad and Elizabeth Cantillon.

MICHAEL G WILSON AND BARBARA BROCCOLI produced the hugely successful GOLDENEYE, followed by the blockbuster 007 releases TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY, CASINO ROYALE and most recently QUANTUM OF SOLACE starring Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Amalric. With a combined sixty six years of experience working on Bond films, Michael and Barbara took over the family business when their father Albert R. Broccoli retired.

When ILEEN MAISEL opened and ran Paramount Pictures prestigious London office, she had already distinguished herself by acquiring, developing and supervising 1988 Best Picture nominee DANGEROUS LIAISONS (starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer). Ileen has worked as Senior Vice President of European Production for New Line Cinema and this year formed a new international entertainment company: Amber Entertainment with Mark Ordesky, Jane Fleming and Lawrence Elman.

MARK BURNELL is best known for his highly acclaimed series of novels featuring his unique heroine Stephanie Patrick; The Rhythm Section (1999), Chameleon (2001), Gemini (2003) and The Third Woman (2005). In 2005 he was hired by New Line Cinema to adapt Rhythm Section for the big screen. Remote Control is Mark Burnell’s fifth novel and the first outside the Stephanie series.

ABOUT EON PRODUCTIONS

EON Productions/Danjaq, LLC, is owned by the Broccoli family and has produced twenty two James Bond films since 1962, including QUANTUM OF SOLACE. The James Bond films, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, make up the longest running franchise in film history and include the recent blockbuster films GOLDENEYE, TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY and CASINO ROYALE. EON Productions and Danjaq LLC, are affiliate companies and control all worldwide merchandising of the James Bond franchise.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

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