A special tribute to the music of James Bond will take place at the 97th Academy Awards this weekend, with longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson also getting to share the spotlight.
That the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is honoring James Bond, the movies’ music and some of the most vital figures of the past few decades, comes at just about the worst possible time. As we all know, after exhaustive legal and creative battles, Amazon took full control of the 007 franchise to the tune of $1 billion, removing both Broccoli and Wilson of their creative control. To quote Douglas Adams, “This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
Obviously the tribute to James Bond was planned long before such negotiations were ever made public, but that it’s coming directly on the heels is going to put a heavy air in the Dolby Theatre. In a way, it will also be something of a farewell to Broccoli and Wilson, both of whom have been directly involved with the franchise since the 1970s. They also both received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from AMPAS for their contributions to cinema. As such, the segment – the details of which are being kept tight – is going to be a bittersweet one.
The Academy Awards previously had a Fifty Years of Bond celebration back in 2013, with Shirley Bassey even singing “Goldfinger”, with Adele taking home Best Original Song for “Skyfall”. Music has of course been one of the key components of the James Bond movies, even getting its own documentary on the 60th anniversary of Dr. No.
Throughout the series’ 25-movie run (so far), James Bond theme songs have been nominated for Best Original Song, with “Skyfall”, Spectre’s “Writing’s on the Wall” and “No Time to Die” winning. The earliest win, however, comes in Best Sound Effects for Goldfinger.
What do you want to see and hear in the tribute to James Bond music at this weekend’s Oscars? What are the absolute greatest theme songs? Share your picks with us below!
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