Bring Back the Previous Bonds
Sweepy the Cat
Halifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
I have a fantastic idea to use if we ever get a '50th Anniversary' Bond film which includes bringing back some (or all!) of the previous Bonds. No major parts (Sean Connery as M etc), just background cameos.
It could go two ways: it could work brilliantly and fans would be talking about it for years; it could be a repeat of the DAD debacle.
I can see Lazenby & Moore doing it although Connery would require quite a big pay-cheque. Dalton probably wouldn't return out of fear of being typecast but if it is only a cameo then who knows. Brosnan is a big fan of Bond and would love to return but he may still be ****ed about being fired by Michael & Barbara.
It could go two ways: it could work brilliantly and fans would be talking about it for years; it could be a repeat of the DAD debacle.
I can see Lazenby & Moore doing it although Connery would require quite a big pay-cheque. Dalton probably wouldn't return out of fear of being typecast but if it is only a cameo then who knows. Brosnan is a big fan of Bond and would love to return but he may still be ****ed about being fired by Michael & Barbara.
Comments
"I admire your luck, Mister?..." "Bond, James Bond."
My idea, which I've suggested on these boards before, is as follows:
Do a one-hour (or 90-minute) TV show, the centerpiece of which would be getting all six Bond actors together to pose for a group photo, taken by Annie Liebovitz or some other top photographer.
Do a short bio of each actor, including how they were cast as Bond, with individual actor interviews and reminiscences from Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, and perhaps Harry Saltzman's son.
Then, film a meet and greet with all the actors, where they sit around, have a cocktail or two perhaps, and simply chat about being Bond---their experiences on set, the effects on their careers and private lives, etc. I realize some of the actors don't necessarily get along (I'm thinking about Lazenby and Brosnan), so admittedly this might be difficult...
Then, at the end, show the photo being snapped---and offer it for sale to Bond fans ($$$ B-) ).
It's fraught with challenges---actor schedules and travel, egos, etc.---but it would be a unique and historical event if it could be pulled off...and I think the ratings would be incredible.
This should happen soon (before Bond #23!), as these gents aren't getting any younger.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I also like the idea of them having a roundtable to discuss their time and experiences as Bond, etc. However, I do not see that happening. Roger Moore said in his awesome autobiography that actors (regular actors and not just Bond actors) do not usually sit around and "talk shop" just in case someone says "that was crap". I can see Moore's fears because he is unfortunately one of the more criticized Bond actors. I think the 50th Anniversary will be just like the 40th. All the actors bar Connery will show. Then we will do what we did last time and just photoshop Sean's face onto the random dude who is in the pic with the other five Bond actors.
Lastly, did the conflict between Lazenby and Brosnan begin when Brosnan referred to Lazenby as a "bitter old b@$tard" about quitting the role or something like that?
"Better make that two."
That would be cool. But I wouldn't want one of them to speak. Just be in the backround. Don't "ham" it up either with cheesy one-liners like "He looks familiar" or "I think I know him from somewhere." Keep it very subtle. Have one eating at a table in the far distance, maybe another could be at hotel lobby checking in as Bond talks to Felix from across the lobby. Any attention given to one actor will take attention away from the scene being played out.
You mean like: "This never happened to the other fellow."
They should certainly stay away from that.
I never think Connery will go for it though.
Yup. Just like that.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
btw everyone, here is a fun fact: When the filmmakers sent the ads for Dr. No to Japan, they somehow had made the mistake of putting a ? instead of a period after Dr. So the Japanese went ahead and translated it into characters as "There is no need for a doctor here." I love it.
The notoriously candid Pierce Brosnan has given an in-depth interview to the notoriously open Playboy Magazine, and the result is both oddly un-revelatory and shocking. What follows are excerpts from the Bond related sections of the interview in which Brosnan continues expressing bitterness about his tenure as James Bond, and even extends his wrath to former Bond star George Lazenby.
Playboy: Where you ready to step down as James Bond?
Brosnan: It would have been a trip to do another one. I prepared myself to do it. I psyched myself. But they have set sail. The made their decision. They want to reinvent it and make it a period piece. The want to get a younger guy.
Playboy: How does it feel to be told that you’re too old?
Brosnan: It was kind of shocking to have ageism come on me when I was just getting started. It’s shocking to be told that you’re too old, that you’re past your sell-by date.
Playboy: Do we detect some bitterness?
Brosnan: It’s bloody frustrating that the f*ckers pulled the rug when they did. It was like, “Come on, we’re family here. You talk about being a family. You know my late wife; you know my family now. Yet I get a call from my agents at five in the afternoon in the Bahamas, and I hear that you’ve shut down negotiations because you don’t know how, where or which way to go and that you’ll call me next Friday?” What can I say? It’s cold, it’s juvenile, and it shouldn’t be done like that, not after 10 years and four films.
When asked how he assessed his four Bond films (GoldenEye,1995; Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997; The Word Is Not Enough, 1999; Die Another Day, 2002) the actor responded:
Brosnan: All the movies made money. Creatively, maybe, they could have been stronger, but they were Bond movies, and they advanced a certain degree out of the dolddrums where they had been. They were tricky to do. I never really felt as as though I nailed it. As soon as they put me into a suit and tie and gave me those lines of dialogue, I felt restricted. It was like the same old same old. I was doing Roger Moore doing Sean Connery doing George Lazenby. I felt as if I were doing a period piece dusted off. They never really took the risks they should have. […] It would have been great to light up and smoke cigarettes, for instance. It would have been great to have the killing a little more real and not wussed down. My boys watch the movies on DVD, so I see them from time to time. I see myself with nowhere to go, and it’s all rather bland.
Brosnan went on to expresses his disappointment that the sex scenes in his Bond films where never steamy enough for his own tastes (“It would have been great to have sex scenes that were right on the button.”). When asked who would be his ideal Bond Girl, Brosnan had this to say:
Brosnan: Monica Bellucci is a ravishing beauty — a gorgeous, gorgeous woman. She screen-tested to be a Bond girl a while back and the fools said no. Teri Hatcher stole the day instead.
Asked about the reports of his clashes with Teri Hatcher in the set of Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce explained:
Brosnan: The Teri Hatcher incident was blown out of proportion. She was late to set because she was newly pregnant. I didn’t know that until the end of the day. […] I was vexed because I had a call time of six or seven AM, and we didn’t do any work until three or four in the afternoon. No one told me her situation until afterwards. By that time I’d already shot my mount off and cussed and moaned and groaned. That’s all it was, a storm in a teacup.
The most bizarre part of the interview is when the topic of former Bond star George Lazenby arose. This has garnered some outside press attention, so here is the Q&A in it’s entirety.
Playboy: How about George Lazenby, who played 007 in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service? He once said about you, “If he walked into a room, I doubt anyone would look up. But this is the 1990s and women want a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that.”
Brosnan: George is just an angry, old, ****ed-off guy. He was never an actor but some ****ed-off Aussie who doesn’t know how to show his feminine side. I met him, and he’s got that kind of brittle edge to him. People want to take swipes. I have no idea why.
Brosnan went on to suggest Clive Owen would make a good James Bond, but when the conversation turned to his new film, The Matador, Brosnan once again let his fury fly:
Brosnan: I would like to see this film be a glorious poke in the eye to certain parties and to be a success and have other glorious roles follow in it’s wake. […] When the f*ckers try and hem you in with Bond, it’s great to come back with The Matador. It’s great to say, “F*ck you, a**hole. F*ck you who wouldn’t give me a job. F*ck you who thought I was some wuss. F*uck you, who thought I was a pretty boy. F*ck you, who thought anything of me without even knowing me or giving me the chance. F*ck you.” But when you go around with all that inside you all the time, you end up completely mangled so you have to let it go.
You sure about that?
Man, he sounded pi***d off. I always liked Brosnan, but I probably like Craig's Bond a little more. I was sad to see him go though.
Anyway - I've decided by not reading Playboy I'm missing out on current affairs. My wife won't be best pleased...
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