When Jeff Bezos bought creative control of the James Bond franchise through what is now known as Amazon MGM Studios, some fans worried 007 would turn corporate. What they didn’t expect (or did they?) was that the billionaire himself would start acting like the franchise’s newest character.
Over the weekend, Bezos and his new bride, Lauren Sánchez, hosted Kris Jenner’s much-buzzed-about 70th-birthday party at their $165 million Beverly Hills mansion. It was a full-scale Bond-themed blowout, complete with Prince Harry in a tux and an appearance by the police.
The cinematic flourish tracks for Bezos. Back in August, reports surfaced that he was “obsessed” with the idea of casting Sánchez as a Bond girl now that Amazon MGM oversees the franchise. If that’s true, Saturday night looked less like a party and more like a dress rehearsal, or perhaps an on-brand marketing tie-in — Sánchez playing hostess in full glam, surrounded by Hollywood royalty (and British royalty) while her husband played the world’s most powerful producer.
For a couple fresh off a lavish Venice wedding that could’ve been lifted from a deliriously opulent Italy montage in a spy film, the Bond theme feels almost autobiographical. There’s the yacht-hopping glamour, the couture gowns, the billionaire gadgets, the omnipresent security detail. Even the mansion backdrop feels like a set piece from Skyfall. Doesn’t it, though, in context?
