This isn’t the first time MGM and Danjaq, the owners of the Bond cash cow, have (union) jacked with the snaggle-toothed spy. MGM and Danjaq tried, but failed, to deep six the title of the second Powers movie, “The Spy Who Shagged Me,” as infringing on the 1977 not-so-classic, “The Spy Who Loved Me.” Evidently the world isn’t enough for the Bond studio, which has milked $2.5 billion from the franchise.
The MPAA’s dismemberment of the tongue-in-cheek title “Goldmember” for the upcoming flick, due to be released this summer, has forced New Line (the owner of the Austin Powers cash calf) to scramble. New Line already has killed 11,000 trailers in theatres and recalled posters and other promotional materials, all of which have become valuable collectors’ items.
