谁的007 Sony faces tough fight to keep 007 assignment

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

詹姆斯·邦德(James Bond)将于11月重回大屏幕，带来《007：大破幽灵危机》(Spectre)。丹尼尔·克雷格(Daniel Craig)将掸掉晚礼服上的灰尘，拿起手枪和一杯马提尼鸡尾酒，为女王陛下的情报机构执行任务。

If the film follows the pattern of the last three Bond releases — Skyfall, Quantum of Solace andCasino 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 thatdistributed the last three films, shaken, if not a little stirred.

如果这部新片延续了前三部《007》的套路，那么它应该取得票房成功。前三部是《007：大破天幕杀机》(Skyfall)、《007：大破量子危机》(Quantum of Solace)和《007：大战皇家赌场》(Casino Royale)，它们产生了逾20亿美元的票房收入。不过，这部影片放映之后的局面，可能会让发行了前三部影片的电影公司索尼影视娱乐(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 fruitfulrelationship since the reboot of Bond in 2006, when Craig took the title role. But Hollywood isbuzzing with talk that MGM and Eon are preparing to take the series to a new studio.

《007：大破幽灵危机》是索尼与米高梅(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)和永世制片公司(Eon Productions)之间协议发行的最后一部电影。米高梅和永世制片控制着《007》系列的特许经营权。自2006年重启《007》系列、由克雷格出演邦德以来，三巨头之间的合作关系解出了硕果。但好莱坞有很多传言称，米高梅和永世制片正准备把该系列转给另一家电影公司。

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

索尼影视娱乐旗下电影集团董事长汤姆?罗斯曼(Tom Rothman)在接受《综艺》(Variety)采访时给出了同样的说法。

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

“现实是，索尼在《007》系列上运作得非常棒，他告诉这家好莱坞行业出版物，“当然，我们将竞争(发行权)，但坦率讲，大家都在参与竞争。

MGM declined to comment.

米高梅拒绝置评。

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 hasrestructured its film operations and installed Mr Rothman as its top film executive, succeedingAmy Pascal, who did not agree a new contract.

《007》系列发行合同可能终结之际，索尼影视娱乐正处于一段艰难时期。这家电影公司刚刚从去年的网络攻击中恢复过来。自那以来，该集团已重组了其电影业务，让罗斯曼执掌电影业务，接替不同意新合同的艾米?帕斯卡尔(Amy Pascal)。

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

接近该公司的人士淡化了失去《007》发行权可能造成的财务损失。一位熟悉协议的人士表示，索尼影视娱乐曾拥有《007：大战皇家赌场》和《007：大破量子危机》50%的股东权益，但2011年与米高梅就《007：大破天幕杀机》和《007：大破幽灵危机》这两部新影片签订协议时，其股东权益已被降至20%，外加发行费。

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

“尽管这是一单好生意，但在财务方面的好处或坏处都不是很大，接近索尼影视娱乐的一名人士表示，“这家电影公司可以赚到很多钱，但不会多到盆满钵满。

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

话虽如此，《007》系列仍会给索尼影视娱乐带来声誉，该公司正需要吸引人才以及可以转变为新的特许经营权的材料。

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

美国媒体与科技集团康卡斯特(Comcast)旗下的环球影业(Universal Studios)拥有《速度与激情》(Fast andFurious)等特许经营权。其夏季大片《侏罗纪世界》(Jurassic World) ——恐龙系列中最新一部——将衍生出续集。

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

时代华纳(Time Warner)旗下华纳兄弟(Warner Brothers)拥有DC Comics超级英雄角色的影片，而沃尔特?迪斯尼公司(Walt Disney)旗下的惊奇娱乐公司(Marvel)和皮克斯(Pixar)部门拥有一些电影的特许经营权，并有一部《星球大战》(Star Wars)新片准备在12月发布。

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

索尼影视娱乐拥有《007》和《蜘蛛侠》(Spider-Man)——在与惊奇(Marvel)达成协议、将蜘蛛侠融入其超级英雄电影之后，索尼将第三次重启蜘蛛侠形象。索尼影视娱乐已重启了《捉鬼敢死队》(Ghostbusters)，全部阵容为女演员的新片正在拍摄中。如果该片的票房成功，可以预料会有续集。

What happens next to the Bond series is unclear.

《007》系列之后会发生什么，目前还是未知数。

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

“这是顶级的电影特许经营权之一，追踪票房表现的Rentrak的资深媒体业分析师保罗?德加拉伯迪安(PaulDergarabedian)说，“没有一家影片公司不想抓住机会把它收入囊中的。

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

在竞逐《007》特许经营权的候选公司中，目前有两家公司领跑。21世纪福克斯公司(21st Century Fox)与米高梅拥有很深的关系，作为后者的家庭娱乐发行伙伴已有10多年了。

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

21世纪福克斯公司可能面临华纳兄弟的激烈竞争。华纳兄弟已发行了包括《霍比特人》(Hobbit)三部曲在内的米高梅公司的多部影片。华纳兄弟与米高梅之间存在紧密关系：华纳兄弟董事长凯文?特苏哈拉(KevinTsujihara)是米高梅董事长加里?巴伯(Gary Barber)的亲密朋友。这两人曾一起投资于赛马，比如他们以2.2万美元买入了Comma to the Top，这匹马在比赛中赚到了逾130万美元。

But the fate of any new Bond distribution deal could rest on a decision about MGM. Thestudio 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 bySony 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 handedownership of the studio to its bond holders.

但《007》任何新的发行协议落入谁家，可能取决于一项有关米高梅的决定。这家电影公司在2010年末走出破产状态。此前该公司被40亿美元的债务压得喘不过气来，这笔债务是以索尼为首、包括德州太平洋集团(TPG)和普罗维登斯投资(Providence Equity Partners)在内的一个投资者财团进行高杠杆的50亿美元收购遗留下来的。当米高梅宣布破产时，作为债务换股权方案(将该公司的所有权移交给债券持有人)的一部分，所有的股权投资人血本无归。

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

随着米高梅逐渐恢复元气，以《霍比特人》三部曲、《龙虎少年队》(21 Jump Street)和《机械战警》(RoboCop)等影片提高产量，这些债券持有人得到了回报。

Its biggest shareholder, Anchorage Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, began buying MGMdebt 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.

最大股东、纽约对冲基金Anchorage Capital从2010年开始购买米高梅的债务，目前拥有米高梅30%的股权。知情人士表示，Anchorage已从这笔投资赚到约9亿美元的账面盈利。

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

在纽约场外市场私下交易的米高梅股票，价格已逼近80美元，使该公司的估值达到约45亿美元。

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

米高梅在走出破产时，曾短暂考虑过首次公开发行(IPO)，但后来搁置了上市计划，转而专注于提升电视和电影产量。

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

“全球对电视内容有着巨大的需求，拥有米高梅1%股权的Maglan Capital首席投资官史蒂文?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 bedone.

他的公司最初购买的债务已获得了4倍的回报，他正寻找“通过某一类事件来变现这笔投资。那可能是米高梅IPO或被出售。如果买家知道米高梅仍有一项《007》发行协议有待达成，那么米高梅的价值可以说会高一些。