Miserable sod Sean Connery
Iona Havelock RIP
Posts: 38MI6 Agent
Having seen and listened to Pierce Brosnan and all the previous Bond actors (except Barry Nelson and David Niven) it appears to me that Sean Connery is a miserable sod. I for one will not be watching any of his new films. Why didn't he go to the Die Another Day premiere in London last month?
George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton were there and weren't spiteful at all. They reflected on their short periods as Bond and Lazenby had regrets at not continuing in the role but they both seemed keen to stay part of the James Bond/EON fold.
Even Richard Kiel was there!
I for one will not be watching Never Say Never Again broadcast on ITV1 in the UK tonight.
George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton were there and weren't spiteful at all. They reflected on their short periods as Bond and Lazenby had regrets at not continuing in the role but they both seemed keen to stay part of the James Bond/EON fold.
Even Richard Kiel was there!
I for one will not be watching Never Say Never Again broadcast on ITV1 in the UK tonight.
Comments
I certainly won't be watching NSNA anyway, not just because of Connery, but becuase it's s***.
I agree. It would be so cool to have all of the actors get back together for premieres, but Connery is all ****y about it. He didn't even do new interviews for the DVD's. He thinks he didn't get paid enough for the movies he did, now he is being a big baby about it.
Where's Moonie when you need him ... there are a couple of older posts that M5 reviews the feelings towards Connery in his home country - they are not as good-natured as you might expect.
As for Connery creating the role so that Moore, Lazenby et al could carry it on, that's true. But, who gave Connery the gig in the first place? Without Bond, Connery may have had a good career, but not a patch on his megastardom of today. He owes Bond a lot of respect. Sure, he doesn't have to attend every premiere, but a little recognition of the importance of Bond to his career would be nice. X-( rant over.
Though, interestingly enough, I read at the weekend that even the Scottish National Party are keen to distance themselves from him. One "senior party member" branded him a "loser" in the article too.
One of the reasons behind me speaking out on the fact that Connery is not joining is that as i have mentioned in a previous thread, that I really enjoy collages/montages on books, in magazines of the 5 Bonds together on a page , or online. So what better than to have the real 5 as they are now, together. I have seen pictures of Moore, Dalton, Brosnan together and , Moore and Connery, and Moore and Lazenby too.
From what I recall I don't think there is a picture of all 5 together ( I would love to see a pic of Connery and Lazenby together , from now or previous). And sad though it is, none of the gents are getting any younger with 2 of them in their 70's, one approaching and the other 2 are nearly and mid 50's and in time as is inevitable will pass on. It would be a pity if certain aspects of the phenomenon weren't captured.
(Connery himself should know better, for somone in the 60's had the forsight to photograph Connery and Fleming together on set - and those pictures are basically special to fans like us; and pics like Connery /fleming/Broccoli are just magic).
I think the 5 of them should be put into a room at gun point and photgraphed until they exhasted have every permutation and combination possible of doubles, triples, quartets and quintets.
Ace
Don't get me wrong I like his films, I like the Bond films, I like The Rock, The Hunt For Red October etc etc But he has said many a time he does not want to be assocaited with Bond anymore and yet this is what made him famous.
Yes he was the "biggest" Bond, and yes this was like 30-40 years ago but surely it doesnt take much to go to one premiere, obviously not every one but for sure the 20th Bond films, the 40th Anniversary - cmon this special! Its only one night, one interview here and there. Just a look back and tribute at the past - but no! I think it is a big shame that one of the most famous actors does acts in this way.
Its a shame. Sean get it right! :v
Connery is filming another movie and perhaps he wasn't able to come. Plus, the reason that Sean quit Bond in the first place was because he was tired of being seen as "James Bond" rather than Sean Connery. This is understandable, because no matter how many times you say, "I'm not James Bond, he's a character i portray!", the media as well as the general public will only see him and know him as James Bond. Once he left Bond he was able to do alot of other work, this prolly made him feel more "free".
As for him moving to Spain to avoid taxes, hell who wouldn't want to save money?
Well now that i'm done with my attempt at defending Sean...
Yeah, Connery is Bond as far as I´m concerned. But don´t confuse the character he portrayed with the person he is. Despite him being the definitive Bond, I don´t think he had any respect for the character and it shows.
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Sean Connery would be nothing if it was not for James Bond. He would not have had the life that he has nowadays. I don't know why he was so bitter about the role. The other four are much more mature about it, so as far as Im concerned he can go live in a Scotish/Spainish castle and, not going out to see movies for all I care. Also, someone talked about him moving back to Scotland, they way they described it made him sound like a villian. Heh Heh!
Also, he's my fourth favourite Bond, and ties with Lazenby. As far as Im concerned, he should try to limit his ties at times!
As it was, Fleming preferred moore for the role of Bond.
i think he could be a little humble...
I've no problem with people moving overseas to avoid taxes, but how dare the patronising old b*****d fly back to Scotland every 5 years to lecture us on who to vote for. The nail in his political coffin came last year when he said he "Might return to Scotland if it was independent". Well guess what Sean, we don't want you.
Just kidding. Yes, it is rather sad that he won't attend a premiere. I think he still would've become famous without Bond, but not to the sudden level of super stardom that he achieved. All really great actors have some kind of an ego; they have to if they want to stay in the business. Yes, Connery is being rather whiny and spoiled, but it's also somewhat justifiable, in the eyes of some people.
As for being known for something other than James Bond, I'm sure all the other Bond actors wish that. None of them have been able to step out of his shadow and yet they all seem very proud to have been a part of it. If Connery had gone to the premier he would have been the star of the show. It would have been special. You can't help but wonder if he's being a grumpy old man. He won't be at the upcoming BAFTA tribute in person either, which is a bit insulting to eveyone else involved. I too hope for the day when all 5 of them are captured together.
MBE
But, when it comes to the Bond thing, Connery does have on disadvantage that the other actors didnt. He was the first, and becuause of that, he had no idea as to what he was getting into. Any actor who steps into Bond knowes very well the enourmous spot light put on you, and the major typecasting that can come from it. Connery never knew that, and he could not have been expected to know that, so you can understand where he is coming from.
At the same time, he really should not be blaming the Broccoli's or any other member of the Bond family for that. There was no way they could have predictied the mass popularity that would come with making the Bond films, but he wont accept that. Besides, how could he ever blame the role that made him what he is today.
Red--Just a question:where do you get your information saying that Sean Connery beats women?What's your source(s)?I'm curious.I ask because I've seen people blithely make this statement without once stopping to explain it's point of origin.Please understand that I'm not trying to single you out but I am intrigued as to your source.
Hopefully you're not referring to the old Playboy interview Connery gave years ago(1965,I think)in which he says that in certain circumstances,--and he was discussing the James Bond character as he interpreted it,and this was entirely hypothetical--he wasn't above the idea of a man striking a woman.Connery then went on to say that he doesn't endorse hitting women.
As we both know,saying something and doing it are two very different things entirely.Moreover,in a hypothetical situation many things are said that in ordinary circumstances would never be uttered.All of us have done this from time to time--actors especially.
Now I'm not trying to pick a fight with you or even trying to defend Sean Connery,but I am being a Devil's advocate.If Connery actually has beaten women,that's indefensable.But to just accuse him of doing this--and stating it as if it's a fact--without once citing your source of this information,could be seen as both malicious and probably untrue.
W.G.
The full Playboyinterview with Sean Connery can be found at:
http://freespace.virgin.net/jon.crack/bond/actors/actor1ir
And as for Connery not wanting to be involved with EON any longer in any capacity whatsoever--that's his choice to make-- regardless of what many of the 007 fans might otherwise prefer.
W.G.
I mean things are rarely so black and white. I've heard some pretty bad comments from Paul McCarthy's ex girlfriends but that doesn't mean a thing to me.
I don't know the story on his politics, but I'm not going to make any snap decisions. Let the man be. God will do the rest.
Sorry, I don't mean to offend any of my Bond friends.
I'm not offended at all.Don't know Sir Sean and don't care to know what went on during the course of his first marriage.Perhaps Diane Cilento(the 1st Mrs.Connery)was telling the truth to the newspapers--perhaps not.There are always two sides to every story.As Alex points out,Connery makes an easy target.
Additionally,how Sean Connery chooses to pursue the remainder of his career and not deal with EON is his choice to make.They made him an international motion picture star,and through his outstanding and popular performances as James Bond,he also helped to make EON.Sean Connery really doesn't owe EON anything anymore.
Like everyone else,I think it'd be wonderful if all 5 of the James Bond actors could appear together in a public function of some sort.It'd certainly be a historic moment.But somehow I don't think it's going to happen.Perhaps a mutual friend--Sir Michael Caine,for example,who knows ALL of the five 007s--could help arrange such a meeting...
W.G.
I can't see why he has to go to a premier. Maybe he just doesn't want to be used as one big James Bond commercial!
By the way: a premiere is maybe not as nice as we all think. Carey Lowell said that during the LTK premier one of the VIPs (I believe it was some kind of prince or something) was constantly talking.
It showed Sean at his luxury home with Micheline and his sons.
I have now mellowed a bit from my extreme views a few days ago.
I understand Connery's bitterness of the press hounding he received as James Bond.
However it's just a shame that he can't attend the odd reunion/premiere like the other actors have done.
Interestingly it mentioned that Connery didn't work for a couple of years after Never Say Never Again in 1982/83 because that awful movie left him drained.
Connery once stated in an interview with Barbara Walters, and this was about 1987-1988, somewhere in there, that "A woman needs a good slap once in a while" and it caused a very large uproar here in the USA.
I have to agree, Connery's behavior is a bit childish. Connery is the textbook example of a movie star that came from very humble beginnings, but upon reaching stardom was changed for good because of the excessive pampering. He demanded that a cabin be built on Alcatraz during the filming of The Rock because he did not want to have the horrible burden of traveling back in forth to the island from San Francisco every day. Of course they accomadated him - after all, he is Sean Connery.
Fortunately, there are film icons such as Clint Eastwood, at the very least Connery's equal in terms of stardom, who choose to remain humble and don't act like some kind of pop diva every time they are paid outrageous amounts of money to work for a few weeks on some film set. Connery probably doesn't even remember who he was before the monster that is the film industry got ahold of him.
To be fair, I can't judge. I can't imagine how I would act if Japanese reporters were trying to photograph me in the urinal, or during press conferences they insisted on calling me James Bond instead of my real name. As human beings, we are all corruptable. If I were someone who just became an internationally known movie star, and I wanted to make sure I remained true to myself and not be transformed by the treatment megastars get, I would look to Sean Connery as a reminder of how NOT to act.
I'd love to see an actual picture of all 5 bonds next to each other posing or smiling or something.