11 replies to this topic

[Terry]

In chapter Sixteen of his bio, Cubby Broccoli tells us that Sean Connery "threw off what he saw as a straight-jacket and strode out in search of a new identity."  Thus leaving James Bond for the first time, after completing YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.  "Sean had no contractual obligation to us, and in any event, I never fight to retain a reluctant performer."  I believe I have read in other publications where Broccoli said they had released Connery from his obligation to make a sixth Bond movie, in the hope that it would appease the restless actor.  I just came across a magazine article that shows there was likely a lot of legal action to arrange that release.     

 

The January 1967 issue of Movie TV Secrets magazine features an article titled, SEAN CONNERY: I'M ONLY MARKING TIME.  In the article, it says the following;

 

"Sean will soon be seen in his fifth Bond picture, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.  And this could be his last stint as 007.  At present, there are two sides to the conflict concerning the fate of James Bond and Sean Connery.  On one side are the film execs who are fighting for one more Bond picture and they claim that they will make a sixth as per contractual agreements---with Sean starring, of course.

 

On the other side of the Bond controversy is Sean, who claims that this current film will be his last---that he and James Bond are parting company for good.

 

"Right now, I'm playing the waiting game," Sean admits.  "There's a lot of red tape involved, but I think I'll get my way.  It's not as if I were turning my back on the people who are responsible for my success.  I think I've given enough of my career for the cause.  Now I want out.  I didn't want to do the last picture---but I did.  I won't easily be convinced to do another.  I figure I've got enough time left to prove myself as an actor and that's what I want most now."

 

According to inside sources, Sean will win this legal battle and the film execs will have to find a replacement for him should they decide to go ahead with plans for another Bond thriller.

 

Further down the article Connery says, "But I can't do anything till I'm rid of James Bond."

 

The article ends with;

 

"All this is in the future---right now, I'm just going to wait till I get my release from my 007 contract.  When that time comes, that's when I'll really start to move.  I don't suppose I'll ever lose James Bond, but from now on, he's coming along just for the ride.  There won't be room for both of us in my life." 

 

 

Now the source magazine was certainly not known for it's accuracy in reporting, but this article has a legitimate wording to it and I believe it reveals a small glimpse through the back door of the movie making world.  Big money deals usually are not broken without a lot of lawyers. 

 

[Matt Monro]

The Bond contract at least since Moore has always been the same.  Three pictures, with an option for a fourth.  It's possible that Connery's was longer, as he was more obscure when signed than any of his successors save Lazenby, but I doubt it, as EON could not have known there'd be more than four Bonds.

 

I would not count on a magazine called Movie TV Secrets to know the terms of Connery's contracts, particularly as the studio or EON source is not named.

[Napoleon Solo]

Newsweek wrote in 1963, when it was reviewing Dr. No upon its U.S. release, that Connery had a six-picture contract. 

[Napoleon Solo]

In the 1965 Playboy interview, Connery says "I have only two more Bonds to do." It doesn't explicitly say he was still on the first contract but it sounds that way.

Meanwhile, a six-picture contract makes sense in the context that the plan was to do the movies annually. Also, there may have been a time limit on the contract. 

Text of interview:
http://seanconneryon...playboy1165.htm

[freemo]

Always enjoyed that interview.

 

Interesting to read what he does and doesn't want in the next (this was after THUNDERBALL) Bond film. "We've reached the limit as far as size and gimmicks are concerned", "What is needed now is a change of course--more attention to character". He's basically describing the antithesis of what YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE would become, and he's arguably one film ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the company.

 

But then, was it partly his fault that OHMSS wasn't Bond 5?: ""They would like to start On Her Majesty's Secret Service in Switzerland in January, but I'm not sure I'll be free in time and I don't want to rush it, although they say the snow will be at its best then. I'm not going to rush anything anymore."

[Binyamin]

Oh, the things that could have been.....

[Turn]

This is one of those things we'll probably never know the real truth behind. What I find interesting is how Connery was able to pull out of the contract. Now it doesn't seem so hard, but most actors didn't have near that clout back then. It was likely one of the last nails in the old studio system thing, and filmmakers having all the power. Even the Queen knew about Connery leaving the role.

 

I still don't know that Connery in OHMSS was a good thing at that point. I would've wanted to see him at his best, involved and not distracted for that picture, which makes the timing with Lazenby that much better.

[Walecs]

Some could argue that this is a shame, but OHMSS is perfect with Lazenby in my opinion. I really can't picture Connery doing OHMSS.

[Major Tallon]

I've tried, Walecs, and I can't either.

[Revelator]

I can picture Connery doing OHMSS provided Peter Hunt still had control over the film and was able to persuade Connery that the film really would be more character-centered. The Connery who acted in The Offense and Robin and Marian would have been more than qualified to handle OHMSS. That said, Lazenby's performance easily equals anything from Moore and Brosnan, and he makes the finale his own.

Edited by Revelator, 24 February 2014 - 06:26 PM.

[glidrose]

I can't image Connery in OHMSS either.

 

Some wise soul on these for a once said that OHMSS with Connery would have been a much different film and not necessarily one fans would want.

 

Connery apparently hates cold weather and has no interest in winter sports. I suspect the interiors would have been shot in England with much more rear-projection work for the exteriors.

 

We all know that OHMSS went way over schedule. Imagine how miserable Connery would have been? Especially if the protracted shooting schedule cost him the role in some other film he'd been signed for and anticipating?

 

And with Connery earning much more than Lazenby, those weeks would have added up real fast. The producers *may* have had to cut corners to keep mounting costs down. Elsewhere Connery has said he thinks Hunt didn't direct OHMSS particularly well. Imagine if he gave the producers an ultimatum? Fire Hunt or I quit. And so the producers get somebody like Ken Hughes to finish the film.

 

This of course is speculation on my part. Make of it as you will.

 

Connery the actor is not exactly the most empathetic actor. There's always something cold and stoic at the center of his performances. I can't image him getting worked up or becoming emotionally involved let alone sobbing. And I certainly can't see him playing that final OHMSS scene as Lazenby did. Say what you want about Lazenby but I really think he nailed home that scene. "She's having a rest..."

 

I also cannot for the life of me see Connery in that baronet outfit. He would have looked ridiculous.

[Revelator]

Connery apparently hates cold weather and has no interest in winter sports. I suspect the interiors would have been shot in England with much more rear-projection work for the exteriors.

   

I doubt that, unless he had the foresight to specify such matters in his contract, which would be unlikely and unusually prima donna-like. 

 

 We all know that OHMSS went way over schedule. Imagine how miserable Connery would have been? 

 

 

Lazenby didn't always enjoy the shoot either. 

 

And with Connery earning much more than Lazenby, those weeks would have added up real fast. The producers *may* have had to cut corners to keep mounting costs down.

 

That's certainly a possibility. Yet I suspect OHMSS already had a lower budget to begin with than YOLT.

 

    Elsewhere Connery has said he thinks Hunt didn't direct OHMSS particularly well.

 

I'll have to track that down.

 

 Imagine if he gave the producers an ultimatum? Fire Hunt or I quit. 

 

Doubtful, unless his contract had such a provision. And it's worth noting that Connery has completed films with directors he despised. His last film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is one example and he didn't get the director fired on that one..

 

Connery the actor is not exactly the most empathetic actor. There's always something cold and stoic at the center of his performances. 

 

No. His Bond is certainly cool and collected, but that's how the role was written. Outside of Bond, Connery can generate great warmth as an actor, as in The Untouchables, The Russia House, Cuba, The Wind and the Lion, The Man Who Would Be King, and even the climax of The Last Crusade. 

 

I can't image him getting worked up or becoming emotionally involved let alone sobbing.

 

I can easily do so, since he does the latter in The Offence and the former in Robin and Marian--two roles Lazenby could not have handled anywhere near as well, fine as he was at the end of OHMSS.

 

I also cannot for the life of me see Connery in that baronet outfit. He would have looked ridiculous.

 

I'm pretty sure Sean Connery can wear a kilt. And George also looked ridiculous in that outfit--as he was supposed to.   

Edited by Revelator, 25 February 2014 - 04:23 AM.