Did Connery really turn down £5 million to star in Live and Let Die?

O07

Or is that just a rumour?

Didn't he get paid £1.2 million and the backing on two movies that he wanted to do for DAF and then donated the lot to his charity in Scotland?

Anyone know for sure?

Barbel

I can't quote the exact figure offered, but yes he did turn down a large amount of money to star in LALD.

And yes, he donated his DAF salary to the Scottish Educational Trust. Of the two films he was entitled to have United Artists finance, only one was made: "The Offence" in which he gave a wonderful performance, as did Trevor Howard (who would have been a fantastic M) and Ian Bannen, though box office returns were slight.

Thunderpussy

I've read it was $5.5 million, but no proof to back that up.

Absolutely_Cart

Thank lord that Roger Moore came when he did.

Thunderpussy

It must have been a relief for him ! ) although to be honest I don't think
The producers even wanted Connery back for DAF, it was a studio executive
Who made the deal.

DevilMayCare007

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

Thank lord that Roger Moore came when he did.

I wish Connery did LALD but Moore did give a good performance

Absolutely_Cart

Even if Connery were to reprise his DAF performance?

DevilMayCare007

Yes -{

chrisisall

Unlike someone like Dalton, Connery was a career-minded actor. He had no lasting stake in Bond, so he leveraged it to move on. And he made the best of it, as his career shows. Lazenby went the individualistic hippy route, Dalton the determined exploratory actor route, and Brosnan used Bond to star in more diverse roles.
Of all of them, Connery is the most commercially successful, even winning an Oscar at one point (totally deserved btw IMO).

Absolutely_Cart

Connery managed to avoid typecasting despite being the image of James Bond. Now, that's impressive

Dutchfinger

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

Thank lord that Roger Moore came when he did.

As much as I am a Connery fan, I must say I agree...( Although I can totally see Connery tricking Solitaire into bed as well ) )

welshboy78

Crikey - Sean with Solitare? That would have looked iffy.

DAF was stretching it with Sean at the helm, LALD would have been terrible. Can just vision him doing the croc run

Dutchfinger

welshboy78 wrote:

Crikey - Sean with Solitare? That would have looked iffy.

DAF was stretching it with Sean at the helm, LALD would have been terrible. Can just vision him doing the croc run

Yes at that stage Sean almost looked older (which he wasn't of course.) But I think in '83 the tides had turned...

AlphaOmegaSin

Obviously it would have been interesting to see him in LALD though -{

But LALD was still written with him in Mind.

Absolutely_Cart

welshboy78 wrote:

Crikey - Sean with Solitare? That would have looked iffy.

DAF was stretching it with Sean at the helm, LALD would have been terrible. Can just vision him doing the croc run

Yes. That poor crocodiles would be smashed into the core of the earth.

chrisisall

welshboy78 wrote:

Can just vision him doing the croc run

No more than I can Moore. :v

AlphaOmegaSin

The Crocodile Scene is amazing, be it Moore or Connery -{

chrisisall

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

The Crocodile Scene is amazing, be it Moore or Connery -{

It be stuntman.

Thunderpussy

It's one of those set pieces, that could only come from a Bond film ! {[]

AlphaOmegaSin

{[]

Bond Sets the Standard. Others try but fail :007)

Dutchfinger

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

{[]

Bond Sets the Standard. Others try but fail :007)

Agreed. (But boy did we fans looks silly when we said exactly that in 2002 with Bourne and DAD came out in the same year....)

Thunderpussy

This will probably sound a bit bitchy but ....... I can't tell one Bourne film
from another. they're just one big generic mass of fighting and the
Odd car chase.

Dutchfinger

Thunderpussy wrote:

This will probably sound a bit bitchy but ....... I can't tell one Bourne film
from another. they're just one big generic mass of fighting and the
Odd car chase.

There is some truth to that, but when that first one came out, along with a Bond movie that had a giant laser coming from the sky, an invisible car, a villian in a robocop suit, and Bond surfing a tsunami, it almost looked like these were two films from entirely different franchises.

Thunderpussy

I do think they're very good and their influence is obvious, but at least
With Bond because of the different locations, you know. That's the one
Set in India or in the Alps etc. )

AlphaOmegaSin

)

Silhouette Man

I've been meaning to write an article on this interesting subject for a while.

O07

Cool I'd like to read it. Keep us informed.

AlphaOmegaSin

I'd defiantly recommend SM's Blog {[]

Silhouette Man

O07 wrote:

Cool I'd like to read it. Keep us informed.

Will do.

HowardB

Connery went through a period in the early to mid 70's where IMO he became a bit chunky and looked older than his years. It certainly didn't effect him in the roles he played during that period (and it possibly was his way of distancing himself further from Bond). In 1977 with his role in "A Bridge Too Far" Connery appeared much more lean and fit and looked like what the James Bond of Dr. No would look like 15 years later. That Connery could have made a very convincing "older" Bond, especially if the films were tailored to fit an older Connery ( more realism, playing off Bond's age and experience, the coldbloodedness of his first 3 films).
With regards to LALD, in '71 if Connery could have truly re-dedicated himself to the role (lost weight, got in better shape, better hairpeice style, cropped brows, etc) and the script re-done to lose some of the sillier elements (especially the "Blaxploitation" stuff, which was cringeworthy even in '71) of course it would have worked.....but that's a ton of "ifs". Moore did a good job (not my cup of tea) and ushered in the next era of Bond films. As far as Brosnan is concerned, I believe he would have played Bond for as long as EON would have him. He had a great run on television with "Remington Steele" but beyond that his career hadn't been much. I actually believe that after Bond Brosnan has shown to be a much better actor with much more range and done some very good work.

Silhouette Man

HowardB wrote:

Connery went through a period in the early to mid 70's where IMO he became a bit chunky and looked older than his years. It certainly didn't effect him in the roles he played during that period (and it possibly was his way of distancing himself further from Bond). In 1977 with his role in "A Bridge Too Far" Connery appeared much more lean and fit and looked like what the James Bond of Dr. No would look like 15 years later. That Connery could have made a very convincing "older" Bond, especially if the films were tailored to fit an older Connery ( more realism, playing off Bond's age and experience, the coldbloodedness of his first 3 films).
With regards to LALD, in '71 if Connery could have truly re-dedicated himself to the role (lost weight, got in better shape, better hairpeice style, cropped brows, etc) and the script re-done to lose some of the sillier elements (especially the "Blaxploitation" stuff, which was cringeworthy even in '71) of course it would have worked.....but that's a ton of "ifs". Moore did a good job (not my cup of tea) and ushered in the next era of Bond films. As far as Brosnan is concerned, I believe he would have played Bond for as long as EON would have him. He had a great run on television with "Remington Steele" but beyond that his career hadn't been much. I actually believe that after Bond Brosnan has shown to be a much better actor with much more range and done some very good work.

Interesting observations there - thanks! -{