LOS ANGELES—You can call them “producers”, but Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are a lot more than that. Although all producers are involved in the making of a movie, most don’t have a lot of hands-on involvement, and some work on as many as a half-dozen films at one time. Wilson and Broccoli don’t just “produce” the James Bond movies—they are the custodians of the franchise. It was left to them by Broccoli’s father and Wilson’s stepfather, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, and they are zealous when it comes to its protection.

When Pierce Brosnan could see that he was being phased out of the Bond role, he protested in the media, which put Wilson and Broccoli in the spotlight, something they attempt to avoid. Eventually, they hired Daniel Craig to be the new Bond, and that’s worked out well. Craig’s first film, Casino Royale—the 21st film in the series of Bond movies produced by the Broccoli family’s Eon Productions—set box-office records. As they prepare for the November 14 opening of the latest Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, Broccoli says that they have always looked at the series with enthusiasm.

“Dealing with problems is part of the job description, and we see the other side of it [the franchise], but we feel there is so much goodwill,” she says in an L.A. hotel room. “Everywhere we go around the world, we meet people who say, ”˜I can’t wait for the next one. My father used to take me.’ We feel a responsibility not to let these people down. Dad was always very strong about putting the money on the screen. He said, ”˜Don’t shortchange the public,’ and that is something that Michael and I feel very strong about.”

Wilson says that although support has always been strong, expectations are high. He says critics talk about the films as being driven by a formula, but when they do make changes to the films, there is an outcry.

“It’s funny, because you end up half the time with people saying, ”˜Oh, these formulaic films.’ So then you do something different and they get upset. If you do the same thing more than once, they will say, ”˜Oh, those Bond people. They just tick a lot of boxes.’ Or they will say, ”˜You didn’t do this, or you didn’t do that.’ So we just try to make good movies.”

One thing that they usually do get praised for is their spectacular locations. Broccoli says that it’s not that easy to get the green light to shoot in exotic settings. “When we go to shoot something, we feel that we should leave that location at least as good as it was before we got there, if not better. We have found that we get a lot of cooperation around the world that way. It is something that my father started back in the 1960s, and it’s one of the things that keep the films unique.”