Bezos. Jeff Bezos.
Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as a certain British secret agent’s introduction. But that’s nothing $8.5 billion can’t fix, right?
Amazon had no sooner announced its multi-billion-dollar bid to acquire MGM studios — including the entire James Bond, 26-movie catalog — when social media, particularly Twitter, offered up its usual critical review of the news on Wednesday.
Meme-worthy snark was the order of the day as Amazon once again proved that what Amazon wants, Amazon buys, snatching the storied Hollywood studio in the biggest deal since it shopped for and checked out with Whole Foods at $13.7 billion. There are probably plenty of applicable Bond titles, but “The World Is Not Enough” feels like an especially good one today.
So forget Lex Luthor for a minute. Bezos as Bond villain is feeling more timely:
Amazon acquiring MGM studios for $9 billion so Jeff Bezos can finally fulfil his destiny of becoming a Bond villain pic.twitter.com/FRbMkUqbyD
— Dr. Parik Patel, BA, CFA, ACCA Esq. ???? (@ParikPatelCFA) May 25, 2021
and…
Amazon bought MGM/UA. Here’s a photo…#CatsOfTwitter #JamesBond Jeff Bezos must be very happy!!???? pic.twitter.com/9VDreDJsDo
— Nina Creech (@Ncreature29) May 26, 2021
Was Dr. Octopus a Bond villain?
With Amazon buying MGM, Jeff Bezos will be the next James Bond villain pic.twitter.com/RQ8FstYUEh
— BLURAYANGEL (@blurayangel) May 26, 2021
Amazon officially bought MGM Studios for $8.45B.
This acquisition is dumb, since you can *already* buy the entire Bond franchise DVD box set on Amazon for only $75. pic.twitter.com/kIpbQxlGx6
— Trung Phan ???????? (@TrungTPhan) May 26, 2021
So….Amazon buys MGM. And #JamesBond #NoTimeToDie for now, gets a new home….#PrimeTimeToDie
Anyone? pic.twitter.com/h8PfWZQHbv
— HotelHorror (@HotelHorror1) May 26, 2021
But it wasn’t all limited to Bond:
Amazon is nearing a deal to buy the Hollywood studio MGM. That is such a billionaire move. Next Jeff Bezos will buy Kellogg’s just so he can make the MGM lion fight Tony the Tiger. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/ArN1cTKPY3
— A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) May 26, 2021
Before its MGM plans, Amazon had already established itself as a major player in Hollywood with Amazon Studios and its Prime Video streaming service. Actor Chris Pratt, star of Prime’s upcoming summer blockbuster “The Tomorrow War,” even dropped the name of his “boss” in a tweet:
I’m gonna ask Jeff Bezos if it’s too late
to change the title. https://t.co/DvNK9FecDi— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) May 26, 2021
Others found a connection back to Bezos’ battles with former President Donald Trump, the onetime reality TV star:
You know what the Amazon and MGM deal means?
Jeff Bezos owns The Apprentice now.
Jeff Bezos owns The Apprentice outtakes.
*sips coffee*
— YS (@NYinLA2121) May 26, 2021
The tech giant’s history related to the taxes it pays and doesn’t pay, as well as its current antitrust issues, was also ripe for jabs:
if i didn't pay taxes i could afford to buy MGM too
— blaine capatch (@blainecapatch) May 26, 2021
There is some kind of beautiful gross irony in MGM, one of the eight Hollywood studios targeted by the DoJ in 1948 over antitrust concerns and vertical integration that changed the entire entertainment landscape in the United States, being acquired in 2021 by…
Amazon.
— julia alexander (@loudmouthjulia) May 26, 2021
And finally, it was tough to let MGM’s roaring lion mascot go without replacing it with a laughing Bezos:
Amazon will acquire MGM Studios for $8.5B in tech giant’s second-largest deal to boost media empire https://t.co/TzDxA73763
— GeekWire (@geekwire) May 26, 2021
