What Was Up With the Oscars' Strange James Bond Tribute?
Margaret Qualley onstage during the James Bond tribute at the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025. Credit - Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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In case you are a movie fan who has been living under a rock for the last week, I regret to inform you that the Broccoli family—who have long been the stewards of the James Bond film franchise—recently handed over full creative control to Amazon in exchange for a major paycheck. The Oscars decided to pay tribute to the Broccolis, following Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson's honor with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award last November, with a tribute to 007. It was…strange.
Though introduced by onetime Bond Girl Halle Berry, the musical medley featured stars with absolutely no ties to the franchise, including Margaret Qualley, Lisa of Blackpink (and The White Lotus), Doja Cat, and Raye. (The three musicians are all currently promoting 'Born Again,' their recently released single.) It felt as if Daniel Craig (who has been making the awards circuit for his role in Queer), Paul McCartney (who served as one of the musical guests at the recent SNL50 celebration), and Adele (who won an Oscar for her performance of 'Skyfall') all passed on appearing in the tribute. Instead of asking one of the many performers who have been involved in the Bond franchise over the past several decades, so the show ginned up something rather random.
The effect felt like a death knell for the franchise which many in Hollywood fear will lose its verve now that a tech conglomerate has gotten its hands on it. The Broccolis have long refused to produce spinoffs or TV series connected to Bond in order to not sully its story. Amazon has a history of mining IP like The Lord of the Rings for all it is worth. The Broccolis also took big risks in casting, most recently with Daniel Craig, who was a controversial pick for the iconic role (due to his blonde hair) before wowing audiences in Casino Royale and Skyfall. Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently tweeted a poll asking fans to vote for the next Bond.
Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com.
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