Joel Silver Question

arthur pringle

I don't know if this has been discussed before or is worthy of a thread but I remember reading a film magazine in the early nineties which stated in the news section that Dalton was out as Bond because producer Joel Silver was on the verge of buying the franchise from the Broccoli family. Once the deal went through Silver was apparently going to offer Mel Gibson a gazillion dollars to be 007.

Was there any truth in this story? Or was it simply a case of Silver wanting to buy the James Bond rights but having no chance in reality?

jetsetwilly

From what I understand, this arose because of the sale of MGM in the early 90s.

It's late, I'm tired, and there's so much left to do, so I apologise if I get the facts wrong, but my understanding is that Peretti purchased MGM in around 1990 on the understanding that he would be able to sell the tv and video rights to Bond for lower prices once he owned the rights. Eon reacted with a lawsuit, which held up production of Bond 17. As time moved on, the situation reached a point where Cubby actually put his rights to Bond up for sale, with a reported sales price of $100 million (or, according to some reports, one beeelion dollars).

Joel Silver was one of the interested parties at this point, especially as his own Lethal Weapon 2 had beated LTK at the box office in 1989. His plans would have involved Mel Gibson, though Mel had publicly stated he wasn't interested in playing Bond.

The move to sell was, according to who you believe, either (a) a tactic in the fight against Peretti or (b) an attempt by the Broccolis to cash in before they lost their money, only to find that LTK had been so unsuccessful that Bond wasn't worth half of what they thought it was and therefore wasn't worth selling. Either way, the offer of sale was withdrawn (besides which, Joel Silver's career also took a nosedive around that time, so he was in no state to pay that kind of money) and so Bond remained at Eon.

crawfordboon

Mel Gibson as Bond - interesting idea!!!

bigzilcho

There are people who will automatically recoil at the thought of Mel as 007...but take a closer look at Mel pre-Lethal Weapon (1987).

In the post-Roger era (before Dalton) I personally thought Gibson would have been sensational as the next Bond.

Why? How about MadMax trilogy to begin with. Mel delivered the goods spectacularly in the action department. (Without question, Mel is one of best action movie stars, up there with Connery, Ford, McQueen and Bronson, to name a few).

And anyone doubting his acting should take a look at The Year Of Living Dangerously and, especially, The Bounty.

In 1986, Mel had the looks, charisma and danger to play 007.

After Lethal Weapon, however, Mel Gibson became MEL GIBSON and could never play 007 again.

As for Joel Silver...the man deserves MAJOR respect . I would say that if any American producer had to take over the series, Silver would be the best choice.

Proof? Predator,Die Hard, and the Matrix trilogy prove tha man knows something about action film-making.


"World domination. Same old dream."

jetsetwilly

jetsetwilly wrote:

Joel Silver was one of the interested parties at this point, especially as his own Lethal Weapon 2 had beated LTK at the box office in 1989.

Kids, don't do alcohol; I have just realised I used the word "beated" last night, and I am so ashamed at the effect Hoegaarden had on my system, I would need a monastery to get true absolution. I am so sorry for this blatant grammatical horror story.

John Drake

So we could have had Richard Donner directing, Mad Mel in the tux, Joe Pesci as M, Danny Glover as Felix Leiter, Rene Russo as Miss Moneypenny and Patsy Kensit as the love interest, in 'Lethal Agent.'