ALSO INSIDE

Field Notes

Musings on hot topics

I’m delighted to present our first-ever U.K. issue, which is chock-full of great stories about Britain’s creative and business influencers and the empire’s enormous cultural impact as a global entertainment powerhouse. As our departing international editor, Henry Chu, wrote in his sweeping overview,“it probably ranks second only to the U.S. in how widely its content crosses cultures, countries and continents.” I want to thank Henry for overseeing this amazing edition as his swan song and for his countless contributions and guidance over the past several years as a brilliant editor steering our international coverage. He will be profoundly missed.

It is with great joy and excitement that I introduce our new international editor, Manori Ravindran, a dynamo in her own right who, from her London perch, will help take Variety to new heights and expand our footprint and influence as the top entertainment and media brand around the globe.

The growth of the U.K.’S entertainment sector indisputably continues to contribute to and help fuel Britain’s economy with its robust roster of TV and movie productions, including the cover subject of this issue, the James Bond franchise.

For our anchor story by Brent Lang, we scored a rare sit-down with the highly protective keepers of the 007 series, Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson. I have been trying to land an interview with Broccoli, daughter of the famed 007 producer Cubby Broccoli, for more than 15 years, going back to 2004 when I wrote a front-page Los Angeles Times story on Bond’s “off-camera bodyguards” and she and Wilson declined to participate.

But the wait was well worthwhile, as Lang expertly succeeded in getting the two producers to discuss the evolution of Hollywood’s longest-running franchise over the decades and how they’ve been forced to adapt to changing consumer tastes and cultural norms, including toning tone down the famous secret agent’s machismo and creating strong new female characters not named Pussy Galore.

My favorite part of the interview? Broccoli’s confession that as a young child she thought James Bond was a real person: “He was always talked about, so I didn’t think of him as a fictional character.”

“The growth of the U.K.’S entertainment sector indisputably continues to help fuel Britain’s economy.”