Eon Productions - Bond Films

Bond Films

Eon, a closely held (private and family) corporation, was started by film producers Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in 1961, at the same time they partnered and sought financing for Dr. No the year before they formed Danjaq, which for legal reasons became Eon's holding company from which it licenses the copyright protections allowing Eon to produce the Bond films. Cubby Broccoli had been interested in the Bond novels rights for several years but was dissuaded from making them project by his former partner. When they dissolved their relationship he was free to pursue the property, for which Saltzman, a novice to film production had taken a gamble to acquire. The two were introduced by a New York writer who was acquainted with both, and formed a partnership within a week of meeting. The enterprise was and is still very much a family business, including both wives and the principal partners, as well as several of their progeny, the latter group now carrying on their parents' work. Cubby almost immediately included Dana Broccoli's college aged son Michael G. Wilson in even the early films doing various production jobs and his engineering education was put to good use occasionally in some of the series' special effects.

In 1975, after nine Bond films, Harry Saltzman sold his shares of Danjaq to United Artists (the then-current Bond series distributor). Although Albert R. Broccoli died in 1996, Eon Productions is still owned by the Broccoli family, specifically Albert R. Broccoli's daughter, Barbara Broccoli, and his stepson and her half-brother by actress Dana Wilson Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, who are the current producers of the James Bond films.

Albert R. Broccoli's name has appeared in the opening "presents" credit of every Eon-produced James Bond film, and always as the very first name in the credits from The Spy Who Loved Me onwards. From Dr. No through The Man with the Golden Gun, the credit was "Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman present"; for some films Saltzman originally came first (and still does in the film itself and/or its original posters), but all present-day printed credits have been changed to list Broccoli first. After Saltzman left, the opening credit was simply "Albert R. Broccoli presents" through to GoldenEye (the last film made before Broccoli's death), even after Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson replaced him as producers. On all films since Broccoli's death, the opening credit is "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions presents", with "Limited" usually added after "Productions" in the film proper.

The copyrights and trademarks for the film properties (beginning with Dr. No) are held by Danjaq and United Artists Corporation; the latter was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981, but as an MGM subsidiary its name still appears in Bond copyright and trademark disclaimers to this day. Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012) were co-distributed with Columbia Pictures (which appeared along with Danjaq and United Artists in their copyright disclaimers), with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment assuming video rights to the former; MGM retained the video rights for the second.

The Bond films produced by Eon Productions are:

1. Dr. No (1962)
2. From Russia with Love (1963)
3. Goldfinger (1964)
4. Thunderball (1965)
5. You Only Live Twice (1967)
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
8. Live and Let Die (1973)
9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
11. Moonraker (1979)
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
13. Octopussy (1983)
14. A View to a Kill (1985)
15. The Living Daylights (1987)
16. Licence to Kill (1989)
17. GoldenEye (1995)
18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
19. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
20. Die Another Day (2002)
21. Casino Royale (2006)
22. Quantum of Solace (2008)
23. Skyfall (2012)
24. Bond 24 (2014)
25. Bond 25 (2016)