誰的007 Sony faces tough fight to keep 007 assignment

James Bond returns to the big screen in November in Spectre, with Daniel Craig dusting off his dinner jacket and Picking up his gun and a Martini cocktail on Her Majesty’s secret service.

詹姆斯·邦德(James Bond)將於11月重回大屏幕，帶來《007：大破幽靈危機》(Spectre)。丹尼爾·克雷格(Daniel Craig)將撣掉晚禮服上的灰塵，拿起手槍和一杯馬提尼雞尾酒，爲女王陛下的情報機構執行任務。

If the film follows the pattern of the last three Bond releases — Skyfall, Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, which generated more than $2bn at the box office — Spectre should be a hit. What happens once the film is released, though, could leave Sony Pictures, the studio that distributed the last three films, shaken, if not a little stirred.

如果這部新片延續了前三部《007》的套路，那麼它應該取得票房成功。前三部是《007：大破天幕殺機》(Skyfall)、《007：大破量子危機》(Quantum of Solace)和《007：大戰皇家賭場》(Casino Royale)，它們產生了逾20億美元的票房收入。不過，這部影片放映之後的局面，可能會讓發行了前三部影片的電影公司索尼影視娛樂(Sony Pictures)不安。

Spectre is the last film in a deal between Sony and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Eon Productions, the companies that control the rights to the Bond franchise. The trio have enjoyed a fruitful relationship since the reboot of Bond in 2006, when Craig took the title role. But Hollywood is buzzing with talk that MGM and Eon are preparing to take the series to a new studio.

《007：大破幽靈危機》是索尼與米高梅(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)和永世製片公司(Eon Productions)之間協議發行的最後一部電影。米高梅和永世製片控制着《007》系列的特許經營權。自2006年重啓《007》系列、由克雷格出演邦德以來，三巨頭之間的合作關係解出了碩果。但好萊塢有很多傳言稱，米高梅和永世製片正準備把該系列轉給另一家電影公司。

Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures’ motion picture group, said as much in an interview with Variety.

索尼影視娛樂旗下電影集團董事長湯姆?羅斯曼(Tom Rothman)在接受《綜藝》(Variety)採訪時給出了同樣的說法。

“The reality is that Sony’s had a fantastic run with the Bonds,” he told the Hollywood trade paper. “Sure, we’re going to compete for [the rights], but let’s be honest, so is everybody in the business.”

“現實是，索尼在《007》系列上運作得非常棒，”他告訴這家好萊塢行業出版物，“當然，我們將競爭（發行權），但坦率講，大家都在參與競爭。”

MGM declined to comment.

米高梅拒絕置評。

The possible end of the Bond distribution contract comes at a difficult time for Sony Pictures. The studio has only recently recovered from last year’s cyber attack. Since then, it has restructured its film operations and installed Mr Rothman as its top film executive, succeeding Amy Pascal, who did not agree a new contract.

《007》系列發行合同可能終結之際，索尼影視娛樂正處於一段艱難時期。這家電影公司剛剛從去年的網絡攻擊中恢復過來。自那以來，該集團已重組了其電影業務，讓羅斯曼執掌電影業務，接替不同意新合同的艾米?帕斯卡爾(Amy Pascal)。

People close to the company play down the likely financial hit it could take if it loses Bond. Sony Pictures had a 50 per cent equity interest in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but its stake in Skyfall and Spectre was cut to 20 per cent, plus distribution fees, when it agreed a new two-film deal with MGM in 2011, according to a person familiar with the agreement.

接近該公司的人士淡化了失去《007》發行權可能造成的財務損失。一位熟悉協議的人士表示，索尼影視娛樂曾擁有《007：大戰皇家賭場》和《007：大破量子危機》50%的股東權益，但2011年與米高梅就《007：大破天幕殺機》和《007：大破幽靈危機》這兩部新影片簽訂協議時，其股東權益已被降至20%，外加發行費。

“While it’s a good piece of business, the financial upside or downside is not significant on either end,” a person close to the studio says. “The studio can make good money but not runaway money.”

“儘管這是一單好生意，但在財務方面的好處或壞處都不是很大，”接近索尼影視娛樂的一名人士表示，“這家電影公司可以賺到很多錢，但不會多到盆滿鉢滿。”

Still, the Bond series has cachet for a studio that needs to attract talent and material that can be turned into new franchises.

話雖如此，《007》系列仍會給索尼影視娛樂帶來聲譽，該公司正需要吸引人才以及可以轉變爲新的特許經營權的材料。

Universal Studios, which is owned by Comcast, the US media and technology group, has franchises such as Fast and Furious . Its summer hit Jurassic World, the latest instalment in the dinosaur film series, will spawn a sequel.

美國媒體與科技集團康卡斯特(Comcast)旗下的環球影業(Universal Studios)擁有《速度與激情》(Fast and Furious)等特許經營權。其夏季大片《侏羅紀世界》(Jurassic World) ——恐龍系列中最新一部——將衍生出續集。

Time Warner’s Warner Brothers has films featuring DC Comics superheroes, while Walt Disney has franchises from its Marvel and Pixar divisions and a Star Wars film ready for release in December.

時代華納(Time Warner)旗下華納兄弟(Warner Brothers)擁有DC Comics超級英雄角色的影片，而沃爾特?迪斯尼公司(Walt Disney)旗下的驚奇娛樂公司(Marvel)和皮克斯(Pixar)部門擁有一些電影的特許經營權，並有一部《星球大戰》(Star Wars)新片準備在12月發佈。

Sony has Bond and Spider-Man, which it will reboot for the third time after striking a deal with Marvel to integrate the character into its superhero films. It has a reboot of Ghostbusters in the works, featuring an all-female cast. If the film succeeds at the box office, expect sequels.

索尼影視娛樂擁有《007》和《蜘蛛俠》(Spider-Man)——在與驚奇(Marvel)達成協議、將蜘蛛俠融入其超級英雄電影之後，索尼將第三次重啓蜘蛛俠形象。索尼影視娛樂已重啓了《捉鬼敢死隊》(Ghostbusters)，全部陣容爲女演員的新片正在拍攝中。如果該片的票房成功，可以預料會有續集。

What happens next to the Bond series is unclear.

《007》系列之後會發生什麼，目前還是未知數。

“It’s one of the premier franchises,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Rentrak, which tracks box office performance. “There isn’t a studio around that wouldn’t jump at the chance to have it under their umbrella.”

“這是頂級的電影特許經營權之一，”追蹤票房表現的Rentrak的資深媒體業分析師保羅?德加拉伯迪安(Paul Dergarabedian)說，“沒有一家影片公司不想抓住機會把它收入囊中的。”

Two candidates lead the pack of likely Bond suitors. 21st Century Fox’s studio has a deep relationship with MGM, having been its home entertainment distribution partner for more than a decade.

在競逐《007》特許經營權的候選公司中，目前有兩家公司領跑。21世紀福克斯公司(21st Century Fox)與米高梅擁有很深的關係，作爲後者的家庭娛樂發行夥伴已有10多年了。

It is likely to face fierce competition from Warner Brothers, which has distributed several MGM films including the Hobbit trilogy. There are close ties between Warner Bros and MGM: Kevin Tsujihara, the Warner Bros chairman, is a close friend of Gary Barber, his opposite number at MGM. The two have invested in racehorses together, including Comma to the Top, which they bought for $22,000 and which had career earnings of more than $1.3m.

21世紀福克斯公司可能面臨華納兄弟的激烈競爭。華納兄弟已發行了包括《霍比特人》(Hobbit)三部曲在內的米高梅公司的多部影片。華納兄弟與米高梅之間存在緊密關係：華納兄弟董事長凱文?特蘇哈拉(Kevin Tsujihara)是米高梅董事長加里?巴伯(Gary Barber)的親密朋友。這兩人曾一起投資於賽馬，比如他們以2.2萬美元買入了Comma to the Top，這匹馬在比賽中賺到了逾130萬美元。

But the fate of any new Bond distribution deal could rest on a decision about MGM. The studio emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2010 after struggling with a $4bn debt burden, the legacy of a highly leveraged $5bn buyout of the studio by a consortium of investors led by Sony and including TPG and Providence Equity Partners. When the studio declared bankruptcy, all of the equity investors were wiped out as part of a debt-for-equity swap that handed ownership of the studio to its bond holders.

但《007》任何新的發行協議落入誰家，可能取決於一項有關米高梅的決定。這家電影公司在2010年末走出破產狀態。此前該公司被40億美元的債務壓得喘不過氣來，這筆債務是以索尼爲首、包括德州太平洋集團(TPG)和普羅維登斯投資(Providence Equity Partners)在內的一個投資者財團進行高槓杆的50億美元收購遺留下來的。當米高梅宣佈破產時，作爲債務換股權方案（將該公司的所有權移交給債券持有人）的一部分，所有的股權投資人血本無歸。

Those bondholders have done nicely as the studio has recovered, upping its production with films such as the Hobbit trilogy, 21 Jump Street and RoboCop .

隨着米高梅逐漸恢復元氣，以《霍比特人》三部曲、《龍虎少年隊》(21 Jump Street)和《機械戰警》(RoboCop)等影片提高產量，這些債券持有人得到了回報。

Its biggest shareholder, Anchorage Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, began buying MGM debt in 2010 and owns about 30 per cent of the studio. It has made paper gains of about $900m in its investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

最大股東、紐約對衝基金Anchorage Capital從2010年開始購買米高梅的債務，目前擁有米高梅30%的股權。知情人士表示，Anchorage已從這筆投資賺到約9億美元的賬面盈利。

MGM shares, which are traded privately in the over-the-counter market in New York, are pushing $80, valuing the company at about to $4.5bn.

在紐約場外市場私下交易的米高梅股票，價格已逼近80美元，使該公司的估值達到約45億美元。

The group briefly considered an initial public offering when it came out of bankruptcy but has shelved those plans, preferring to concentrate on increasing television and film production.

米高梅在走出破產時，曾短暫考慮過首次公開發行(IPO)，但後來擱置了上市計劃，轉而專注於提升電視和電影產量。

“There’s huge global demand for content on the television side,” says Steven Azarbad, chief investment officer of Maglan Capital, which owns about 1 per cent of the studio.

“全球對電視內容有着巨大的需求，”擁有米高梅1%股權的Maglan Capital首席投資官史蒂文?阿扎巴德(Steven Azarbad)表示。

His company has made a four times return on its original debt purchase and he is looking for “some sort of an event so we can monetise the investment”. That could be an MGM IPO or sale. The studio could arguably be worth more if a buyer knows a Bond distribution deal is still to be done.

他的公司最初購買的債務已獲得了4倍的回報，他正尋找“通過某一類事件來變現這筆投資”。那可能是米高梅IPO或被出售。如果買家知道米高梅仍有一項《007》發行協議有待達成，那麼米高梅的價值可以說會高一些。