Coming up as a TV and not a movie executive finally seems to have caught up to Jennifer Salke at Amazon MGM. Her inability to mesh with the gatekeepers of the James Bond movies might well have sealed her fate. While her exit from the executive suites is being officially regarded as an exit by choice into a producing deal, sources in town say it is closer to a firing.

It was evident Salke had lost luster in the executive suite when she was largely absent from the deals that brought in Amy Pascal and David Heyman as the new producers of the next iteration of James Bond films, sources said. Those deals were made by veteran Warner Bros film executive Courtenay Valenti, who came in under Salke as Head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical. I’ve heard that a condition of Pascal and Heyman signing on was that they report to Valenti, and not Salke, even before the latter lost her job.

The 007 keepers of the flame, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, sold creative control over the franchise for around $1 billion earlier this year. This was after Amazon MGM paid way above value when it spent $8.5 billion for MGM, a fee justified by the promise of a reinvented 007 franchise that should include line extensions into series for the Amazon Prime streaming service. Sources said that Broccoli did not get on well with Salke. When the Wall Street Journal detailed the disregard that Broccoli felt for Salke, owner Jeff Bezos took notice.

The prize jewel, 007, was moving at a snail’s pace for too long and it is far and away the most valuable IP the studio has and there seems no good reason it has taken so long for Amazon to monetize the nearly $10 billion it largely spent to be able to broaden the 007 franchise. Broccoli and Wilson have always wielded controls in the name of franchise quality, and the zeal to merchandise the rebirth of the franchise after Daniel Craig’s character was killed off rubbed Broccoli and Wilson the wrong way. While speculation about one actor or another, or one filmmaker or another keeps flying around, the franchise was stalemated even before the Broccolis made the deal that ceded creative control. Amazon MGM now has the license to go to a final cut filmmaker like Christopher Nolan or Quentin Tarantino — each has expressed interest in Bond if they had the control they are used to — and that could be a way to unlock the franchise in new and interesting ways. While they got Oscar winner Sam Mendes and some quality directors, the Eon Productions duo was always going to have final say.

There were other filmmaker clashes, including a memorable one with director Doug Liman, who wrote a guest column on Deadline registering his disappointment in making a theatrical deal on the Road House remake with Jake Gyllenhaal, only to see the film go directly to a streaming release despite high audience test scores that usually portend a box office success. Many wondered by Amazon Studios didn’t bring in a more seasoned film executive earlier in Salke’s run. The feeling was that Salke wanted to call the shots herself. Problem there is top talent becomes reluctant to jump aboard. Salke’s TV output, including the high priced Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, weren’t game changing enough to cover off an executive who spent a lot of money with not enough results.

That Amazon MGM isn’t replacing Salke is not a surprise around town. Valenti has been making big movies at Warner Bros with top directors and stars for years, and she is as well regarded. So is former Netflix chief Scott Stuber, who’s rebirthing United Artists and also grew up in the film business. Valenti has strong executives under her, including Julie Rapaport, Scott Foundas and Elishia Holmes, and her old WB counterpart Sue Kroll to lean on. The feeling is she is more than capable, though there are rumors Amazon MGM might bring in another executive to focus on 007.

Upcoming film projects in the pipeline for Amazon MGM include Project Hail Mary, which Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed with Ryan Gosling starring, another space story by The Martian novelist Andy Weir; The Thomas Crown Affair, which has been greenlit and Michael B. Jordan stars in and directs; and The Love of Your Life, directed by Rachel Morrison. That was a big spec deal.