Craig Spilled Bond Beans to Brosnan
highhopes
Posts: 1,358MI6 Agent
I just saw this and haven't seen it posted anywhere else. I knew about Brosnan urging Craig to "Go for it," but not that Craig broke the news. Am I the only one? If I am please, kill the topic.
Daniel Craig's Brosnan Bond-shell
Wednesday, 11th October 2006, 12:19
LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - Pierce Brosnan discovered he had been dropped as James Bond by his replacement Daniel Craig.
Craig, who has his first outing as the super spy in 'Casino Royale' next month, unknowingly broke the news to Brosnan at an awards ceremony.
Believing the 'Die Another Day' star already knew he had been axed, Craig told Brosnan he had been offered the role and asked for advice.
The 38-year-old star said: "I didn't know how much he knew about all this. But I knew if I wasn't up front with him, if I met him again, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye."
The incident occurred in February last year, when Craig found himself sitting on the same table as Brosnan at the BAFTA awards, in London.
Craig told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "I said, 'Look this is a possibility, what do you think?' I don't know if I gave him much choice, but he said, 'Go for it. It's a ride.' He didn't hit me.
"I don't know if anyone was underhand with Pierce but I know I wasn't."
Brosnan, 53, was later officially dropped by studio bosses and a short time afterwards Craig was confirmed as the new 007.
Craig initially turned down the role because he felt it could become a "poisoned chalice" if he wasn't successful.
Producer Barbara Broccoli refused to give up and showed Craig a rewritten script. After reading it, Craig immediately signed a three film contract.
(c) BANG Media International.
Daniel Craig's Brosnan Bond-shell
Wednesday, 11th October 2006, 12:19
LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - Pierce Brosnan discovered he had been dropped as James Bond by his replacement Daniel Craig.
Craig, who has his first outing as the super spy in 'Casino Royale' next month, unknowingly broke the news to Brosnan at an awards ceremony.
Believing the 'Die Another Day' star already knew he had been axed, Craig told Brosnan he had been offered the role and asked for advice.
The 38-year-old star said: "I didn't know how much he knew about all this. But I knew if I wasn't up front with him, if I met him again, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye."
The incident occurred in February last year, when Craig found himself sitting on the same table as Brosnan at the BAFTA awards, in London.
Craig told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "I said, 'Look this is a possibility, what do you think?' I don't know if I gave him much choice, but he said, 'Go for it. It's a ride.' He didn't hit me.
"I don't know if anyone was underhand with Pierce but I know I wasn't."
Brosnan, 53, was later officially dropped by studio bosses and a short time afterwards Craig was confirmed as the new 007.
Craig initially turned down the role because he felt it could become a "poisoned chalice" if he wasn't successful.
Producer Barbara Broccoli refused to give up and showed Craig a rewritten script. After reading it, Craig immediately signed a three film contract.
(c) BANG Media International.
Comments
Craig's quotes are from I believe his interview in Premiere magazine about him approaching and asking Brosnan about Bond at the Jan/Feb 2005 BAFTAs. No where did Craig say he was the one that broke the news that Brosnan was "fired" and being replaced. He doesn't even say it in any of the quotes used in these new articles. All of that's said by the reporter. Even if Craig thought he had it would have been several months too late.
EW broke the news with a quote by Brosnan that it “was over” in July 2004. Brosnan then discussed the end of his reign with reporters in Oct 2004 when he was doing the press junket for the release of After The Sunset. He said he received the phone call saying his services were no longer required and negotiations were being ended when on the set of ATS (most probably during summer of 2004 pick up shots since it was after he’d filmed The Matador)
MBE
Thanks, MBE. That makes sense. I remember Craig relating his conversation with Brosnan over the Bond role, but this is the first I'd heard of this aspect of the encounter.
Honestly, I think Brosnan knew exactly how Michael and Barbara felt about him, they'd worked with him for nearly ten years on four films, I have a hard time believing he didn't know what was coming down the pike for Bond (even early in 2004)...yet he went for the very public and crass IMO arm-twist, and kept it up for almost a year. Just bizarre, using the media to try to bully his way back to Bond.
Weird, that's your realm. Please give it a rest already. You didn't have enough Brosnan mud slinging in one topic where you weren't making any sense or gaining any ground so you had to go to another to spread your special kind of nastiness and ministry of misinformation.
Of course now that I’ve called you on it you're going to get all passive aggressive defensive and claim you're just speaking your mind and how we can agree to disagree and how I’m ganging up on you by not letting you speak your mind. Pfft.
You're bound and determined to rewrite history to fit some bizarro world view where crass, bullying arm twisting Brosnan victimized poor defenseless and Babs and Mikey.
EON invite him back for a 5th, publically. Babs makes her usual statement about him being her groom and not looking for another on her wedding day. Babs and Mikey go on ad nauseum about how they’re all one big happy family. Leaks hit the papers that Brosnan is out in early 2004, but the only press release from their spokesperson is that Brosnan for all they know is still their Bond but they’re not even working on the film yet. Months drag on and still no official word from them. Then in summer of 2004, realizing there’s no way they could use a post it note to do it, they're nice enough to tell him his services are no longer required over the phone but still not issue any kind of thank you and it's over press release like EON managed to do for Dalton or Moore.
Mikey later shows up at a school speaking engagement and is still coy about if Brosnan is out as Bond and it’s all reported in the paper. MGM is still telling the media and their shareholders and Sony that Brosnan is their Bond so they can sooth investor concerns. In fact they’re still promising a Bond film by Nov 2005! EON and MGM are both using the media and dragging it all out publically.
Finally when Brosnan has to go on a press junket and meet all the press he announces he was told it's over but wasn’t given much explanation of their reasons and plans etc. Still no press release about it from Babs and Mikey who are obviously too busy to dictate a paragraph to their spokesperson but seemingly more than happy to get all the media frenzy of is he out or isn’t he and who’s the next Bond publicity. The press thinks it's all one big phoney baloney Bond casting sideshow like with Connery and Moore and continually ask Brosnan about it every time he steps out in public. Brosnan also knows what went on with EON with Moore and Connery because he's not a fool and says yes things could change, it could all be a game, who the hell knows.
Maybe Brosnan knew how they felt about him or rather thought he did. Maybe he read things like in the book "Movie Moguls Speak" published in Oct 2004 where they fall over each other telling the writer what a valuable hardworking lovely guy Pierce is and believed they actually respected and liked him. Maybe he didn’t think it was going to end the way it did -- that he was going to get let go over the phone after being hung out to swing in the media to answer about what the heck was going on for months before it happened and then hung out to dry for months after it happened with no statement forthcoming from EON. Maybe he thought wrongly that Mikey and Babs would behave better considering their long personal and well as working relationship.
Lastly and because you’ve brought it up before to take some cheap shots (and I’ve slammed you about it before) I’m not going to let it pass again no matter how you manage to slip it into yet another one of your attacks and because I think it’s particularly vile. Please refrain from your oft repeated remarks and intimations that Brosnan was insensitive to Dana Broccoli’s death. Brosnan was respectful of, friends with and attended Dana Broccolis' funeral. To intimate that he disrepected her illness and death when talking about some rather inconsequential in the bigger picture film series and a job is beneath contempt, even for you.
MBE
Still think he carried on a very public and weirdly pendulum-swingy campaign, with the only intent I can figure being to get the role of Bond in CR (a reasonable motivation for him, I would think) for over a year even after he was told they weren't renewing his contract. Still, it's also a damn odd way to go about seeking employment, seems he could have served himself better by deflecting all such questions to his upcoming projects. But as you point out, the guy's only human.
As to fallout from anything concerning Mrs. Broccoli's death, I don't think your or my opinions matter, only EON's, and that their final decision on Brosnan's employment with them speaks volumes (assuming nothing about this was happening in a bottle, separate from everything else...more fuzzy logic on my part, I know). And that's how I--and others, believe it or not--connect those dots, seems rather more elementary than contemptable, but I think there's a spot under my arm that's still clean so mud-sling away. He has a history of saying negative things about EON in the press dating back to TND, not a stretch to imagine something went awry between them all. Who knows how Michael or Barbara feel about him now, they aren't saying. There's only their actions, and his words. Seems to me there's enough room for simple human emotions, even negative ones (shock! horror!) all way round. Brosnan was certainly less than a peach through it all, not surprising that EON wanted to move in a new direction, and went mum about it the way they did.
Ultimately, it's just my take on things brought up by the article in question, and you don't have to like it, agree with it, or even--and here's another shocker--respond to it. It's a Bond forum, not a Brosnan forum, you want to toss out your takes, fine, but kindly leave off the character assassination if someone doesn't worship your hero. If it's any salve to you, I may not think all that highly of Brosnan (even that isn't a sacriledge, I checked with Rome), but I do think he had some cause for his actions. Don't know the details, mind, but it's an easy read-between-the-lines IMO that someone didn't get along with somebody somewhere. Just wish to whatever degree he was wronged, if indeed he was, that he'd handled it differently. Human nature makes monkeys of us all, in the end (I would bet GBS said that, he said most things worth quoting).
@merseytart
Well said MBE.
Yeah- I think that's the memory most have; Pierce is always talking about being on a beach filming After the Sunset when he got the call; which would have been the year before this BAFTA meeting. The story's a load of rubbish. Not convinced that 'underhand' quote is genuine either.
Yawn. Of course you want a response. Character assasination? Your character speaks for itself.
JSW, yes I know that's not on topic but the topic was a tad highjacked by someone and I don't know why that someone should always get the last word and then anyone daring to respond to his swill gets slapped with the same hand.
MBE
that sounds good
"Better make that two."
Craig's quotes also have a variation in the recent Times article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-2381828,00.html):
"By chance, he was able to ask Brosnan’s advice. 'It was at the Baftas, maybe two years ago – I don’t actually remember what year we are in any more. He was on the same table as me. I thought, I have to talk to him. I would feel like a **** if I didn’t. He said, ‘Go for it. It’s a ride.’ ”
Despite the expletive, this is the Daniel Craig I like--the humble actor who realizes that he's taking on a very iconic role and decides to discuss it with the experienced Bond actor. Brosnan, for his part, has been supportive of Craig all along. If there is any value in these Brosnan-Craig encounter reports, it's that Craig confirms what Brosnan was saying a while back--that he and Craig discussed the role and that he told Craig to "Go for it."
MBE, I enjoyed reading your summary of the Brosnan-Eon debacle. On the other hand, the other poster's comments are strange, verging on irrational outbursts. I recall him getting spanked by members at other forums for his conduct. But thank you, MBE, for the detailed summary. If anyone could write a book or article about this whole casting fiasco, it's you.
Hmmmm...very interesting. So we're not the only ones spanking him? Good to know!
James Bond- Licence To Kill