MGM, which is in the process of being sold to a group headed by Sony Corp., has insisted on a business-as-usual stance, but that business no longer involves the immediate production of a new James Bond movie. Sources familiar with the situation said that the producers plan to meet next month to decide whether to aim for a summer 2006 or November 2006 release date. The five months of negotiations that preceded the Sony sales agreement also are said to have affected the development of the film because during that period, executives were unable to pull the trigger to move forward on the project.

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