136 replies to this topic

[Bryce (003)]

Smoking is an "everyman" vice - We can't all work for MI6, drive a DB5 or save the world (not to say we don't try)....not to say you SHOULD smoke, but it does give one a sense of style...

Sorry all, product of the 60's;)

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Jaelle

You make a fair point, Loomis.  I suppose it would just be nice to see Pierce's Bond have one small vice that may annoy some people in the audience.  No, his sexual promiscuity doesn't count, obviously.  No one cares about that.  It would be nice to see him have some little flaw or imperfection or weakness.  

Originally posted by Bryce

Smoking is an "everyman" vice - We can't all work for MI6, drive a DB5 or save the world (not to say we don't try)....not to say you SHOULD smoke, but it does give one a sense of style...

Sorry all, product of the 60's

It's an "everyman" vice, but let's remember that it probably wasn't considered as much of a vice back in the 1960s. In other words, Connery and Lazenby weren't being tough or rebellious by smoking onscreen - they were just blending into a world where everyone from the villains and the Bond girls (good and bad) to secret service staff of all stripes (if memory serves, which is a big "if", the guy in glasses in London monitoring the signals from Jamaica at the start of DR. NO is puffing away in the office) and the man on the Clapham omnibus smoked. Even Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny would have been a smoker (not a particularly heavy one, probably, but a smoker nonetheless).

So Connery and Lazenby were being "everymen" by smoking, while nowadays Brosnan is being one by not smoking.

[Bryce (003)]

Never went for the "rebel" part - I just liked it.

I'm just saying that maybe - just maybe - Bond has something in common with any/everyman.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Bryce (003)

Never went for the "rebel" part - I just liked it.

Sure, but the point I'm trying to make is that, while some people might feel that it would be a cool and rebellious move to have Bond smoking again, there was nothing cool and rebellious about the character's smoking onscreen in the 1960s. To audiences at the time, it would have looked as conservative as George W. Bush entering a church.

[DLibrasnow]

I would guess that the majority of the US does not smoke...I don't see anything wrong with Bond describing smoking as a "filthy habit" as he does in the TND pretitles. I personally happen to agree with him...

[Bryce (003)]

To each their own...

If you have ever been a smoker, you know what I mean.

If you haven't or quit..You're better off.

Smoking is just part of the original character and - perhaps in small amounts - shouldn't be ignored.

[DLibrasnow]

My fiancee smokes...I have been trying to persuade her to quit...she has cut it down to one a day...

[BONDFINESSE 007]

it is better to have bond smoke in the novels, that way those who want him to smoke they get their smoking bond, but in the films nowadays its just not a good thing for bond to be seen smoking, and thats the nice thing i have enjoyed about brosnans bond....no cigs, and to me its still james bond.

i dont buy this stuff about "well if he dont smoke he not truly james bond cause bond smokes"....we are in a new era and smoking as a whole is not the thing anymore and even bond has to go with the times, the smoking does not make bond bond the cigs do not define him...he is still james bond evenwithout having to smoke

[Jaelle]

BTW, you folks might be interested in checking this out:

http://www.japander....nder/dalton.htm

Sometime in 1992 or 1993, while Dalton was still known as Bond, he did a Japanese cigarette commercial. You can see and hear it on the link above.

Some of you may already know that a lot of UK and US celebs do Japanese TV commercials but won't do them at home. Actors like Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds and Sly Stallone have done Japanese TV commercials but they won't do them for US TV. They get *very* well paid for these commercials.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by BONDFINESSE 007
it is better to have bond smoke in the novels, that way those who want him to smoke they get their smoking bond, but in the films nowadays its just not a good thing for bond to be seen smoking, and thats the nice thing i have enjoyed about brosnans bond....no cigs, and to me its still james bond.  

i dont buy this stuff about "well if he dont smoke he not truly james bond cause bond smokes"....we are in a new era and smoking as a whole is not the thing anymore and even bond has to go with the times, the smoking does not make bond bond the cigs do not define him...he is still james bond evenwithout having to smoke

I agree 'finesse....It's true that Bond smokes in the novels, but that doesn't mean he smokes in the movies!

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Xenobia

How is it stupid that someone in the media spotlight understands he is a role model and actually takes responsibility for what his actions might inspire others to do?

Actually, are we sure that Brosnan actually does this? I'm not 100% on this, but I seem to remember seeing posters of Brosnan in Japan puffing away on some brand of cigarette. This is going back to late 1996, though, and once again I stress that memory may be playing false, but I've got a strong feeling that Brosnan has done cigarette ads in Japan, at least for poster/print campaigns if not TV ads.

[Jaelle]

Originally posted by Loomis
Actually, are we sure that Brosnan actually does this? I'm not 100% on this, but I seem to remember seeing posters of Brosnan in Japan puffing away on some brand of cigarette. This is going back to late 1996, though, and once again I stress that memory may be playing false, but I've got a strong feeling that Brosnan has done cigarette ads in Japan, at least for poster/print campaigns if not TV ads.

I think he has. I'm pretty sure that one of the Japanese members of the Tim Dalton Chat Group website mentioned it in passing in one of her letters to the group. Like I said, a lot of A-list celebs do commercials in Japan and many of them are for cigs and alcohol, stuff that doesn't get advertised on TV here anymore.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Jaelle

I think he has.  I'm pretty sure that one of the Japanese members of the Tim Dalton Chat Group website mentioned it in passing in one of her letters to the group.  

In that case, so much for Brosnan's sense of responsibility. Having lost a wife to cancer (whether a smoking-related death or not), one would have thought that he would have been able to resist the lure of the mighty yen to promote cigarettes; indeed that he would have told any cigarette company that approached him to "**** right off!"

ETA: I don't approve of Dalton or any other celebrity plugging cigarettes, either, so I'm not slamming Brosnan while turning a blind eye to Dalton's adventures in fag-flogging. That said, I am not aware that Dalton has any particular reputation as an environmentalist and all-round responsible guy, whereas it appears that Brosnan has.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Loomis


In that case, so much for Brosnan's sense of responsibility. Having lost a wife to cancer (whether a smoking-related death or not), one would have thought that he would have been able to resist the lure of the mighty yen to promote cigarettes; indeed that he would have told any cigarette company that approached him to "**** right off!"

Wasn't it ovarian cancer that Cassandra Harris died from??!!

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow

Wasn't it ovarian cancer that Cassandra Harris died from??!!

I don't know, but I think we ought now to question the assertion that, when it comes to smoking, Brosnan "understands he is a role model and actually takes responsibility for what his actions might inspire others to do".

[Tarl_Cabot]

I wanna be like Pierce. Where can I get an Uzi?

[Turn]

Originally posted by Jaelle
BTW, you folks might be interested in checking this out:

http://www.japander....nder/dalton.htm

Sometime in 1992 or 1993, while Dalton was still known as Bond, he did a Japanese cigarette commercial.  You can see and hear it on the link above.

Some of you may already know that a lot of UK and US celebs do Japanese TV commercials but won't do them at home.  Actors like Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Burt Reynolds and Sly Stallone have done Japanese TV commercials but they won't do them for US TV.  They get *very* well paid for these commercials.

Thanks for sharing that site; it's a lot of fun. The Dalton one was especially cool. There are commercials with Brosnan and Connery (riding around with a puppet in one) on there also.

[Xenobia]

Cassandra Harris died of Ovarian Cancer, that I sadly suspect had more to do with genetic disposition (her mother died of the same disease) than of smoking.

As for what I believe is my assertion that Pierce understands that he is a role model, and acts accordingly, what's wrong with that? Since when is it wrong to take responsibility for your actions and the effect it might have on others?

-- Xenobia

[BONDFINESSE 007]

Originally posted by Xenobia
Cassandra Harris died of Ovarian Cancer, that I sadly suspect had more to do with genetic disposition (her mother died of the same disease) than of smoking.

As for what I believe is my assertion that Pierce understands that he is a role model, and acts accordingly, what's wrong with that?  Since when is it wrong to take responsibility for your actions and the effect it might have on others?

-- Xenobia

very well said xen, pierce does know he is a role model and as such has to act accordingly

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Xenobia

As for what I believe is my assertion that Pierce understands that he is a role model, and acts accordingly, what's wrong with that?  Since when is it wrong to take responsibility for your actions and the effect it might have on others?

Originally posted by BONDFINESSE 007

very well said xen, pierce does know he is a role model and as such has to act accordingly

Doesn't the fact that Brosnan has done cigarette adverts make a nonsense of claims that he knows he is a role model and acts accordingly? A role model for teens* thinking about starting smoking because they want to look cool like the guy who plays James Bond, perhaps? In what way is appearing in cigarette adverts the behaviour of a celebrity who takes responsibility for his actions and the effect it might have on others?

I'm just trying to understand, that's all.

*Albeit only Japanese ones, maybe - does the fact that these campaigns did not appear outside Japan make it all fine and dandy? I have a feeling that if Brosnan was helping to promote cigarettes in America people would be tut-tutting rather more loudly.

[Jim]

Perhaps a big pile of yen in his grubby mitts eased his "conscience". Turning one's principles on and off like a light switch - attractive.

[ray t]

Originally posted by Jim
Perhaps a big pile of yen in his grubby mitts eased his "conscience". Turning one's principles on and off like a light switch - attractive.

probably 107.5 million yen...just looked up the $/yen cross rate for mid 1996. 107.5 yen per US$

he had mortgage payments, mouths to feed, bills to pay;)

i believe he needed the dough 'cause he was deep in debt until cubby rescued him and resumed the series

[Loomis]

Well, it looks as though he did indeed pocket Big Tobacco's money, but, hey, he later saw the light and realized, at the grand old age of however old he was, that promoting cigarettes wasn't such a great thing after all. What a wonderful, wonderful guy! (Presumably he donated his salary from Lark to cancer research.)

And I'm still sure that I saw him in a 1996 campaign in Japan, trading on his fame as Bond.

From http://www.tobaccofr...rg/brosnan1.htm:

FROM TOBACCO PITCHMAN TO ROLE MODEL
Pierce Brosnan's Lark ad, and his trailblazing later promise not to smoke as James Bond



Pierce Brosnan once appeared in this ad and in a TV commercial for Lark cigarettes in Japan. The ads have not been seen before in the US.

However, Brosnan later saw the light, and forswore smoking as James Bond.

"Brosnan's promise not to smoke as Bond shows strong leadership in the Hollywood community. It stands as a trailblazing example for other film stars," said Patrick Reynolds, an anti-smoking activist from the Los Angeles group, Tobaccofree.Org. "We hope others will follow his courageous lead."

Like Brosnan, Reynolds has also changed his views about cigarettes: he's a grandson of R.J. Reynolds. Patrick's father, R.J. Reynolds, Jr., died from smoking in 1964.

"Our mission is to build awareness among youth of smoking by movie stars," says Reynolds. "They have a strong influence over our kids. We also want to send a message to Hollywood. Our policy is not to censor the movies, but instead to deliver a little healthy shame to stars who glamorize tobacco," said Reynolds. "If a film glamorizes smoking, we think theatres playing it should run an anti-tobacco spot among the previews."

Such anti-smoking spots ran in movie theatres in Florida, which later reported a 19% drop in youth smoking as a result of its wider Truth Campaign, which also uses TV, radio and billboard ads, and materials distributed in schools. The Truth Campaign is sponsored by the Florida Department of Health's Tobacco Pilot Program in Tallahassee.

Near the beginning of his new film 'The World Is Not Enough,' Bond presents a cigar to Moneypenny, saying, "I thought you might appreciate this." But she promptly throws it into the trash. In The Thomas Crown Affair, Brosnan made a choice not to smoke at all.

Other stars who have been criticized for smoking in films include Winona Ryder, John Travolta, Ethan Hawke, and Gwenneth Paltrow, Will Smith, and Sylvester Stallone.

Charlie Sheen also appeared in a tobacco ad in Japan, for Phillip Morris' Parliament.

The James Bond movie 'The World Is Not Enough' opened on Friday, Nov 19.

[Jaelle]

Originally posted by Loomis
http://www.tobaccofr...rg/brosnan1.htm

Well I guess that shuts me up!

[Tarl_Cabot]

He looks kinda *cool* with a ciggarette!

[Loomis]

Who does? Brosnan? In that photo? No, he looks smug and oily, like an eighth-rate Greek nightclub gigolo.

[Turn]

Let's be honest, all the Bonds look cool with a cigarette. Not everybody does, but they do.

[Tarl_Cabot]

that's right Turn. Bond is always cool, even in a clown suit.

[SamuelKevlar]

Originally posted by Turn
Let's be honest, all the Bonds look cool with a cigarette. Not everybody does, but they do.

I disagree. IMO, the only person that looks cool smoking is Creepy Thin Man (Crispin Glover) from the Charlie's Angels movies.

[Triton]

Originally posted by Loomis
Well, it looks as though he did indeed pocket Big Tobacco's money, but, hey, he later saw the light and realized, at the grand old age of however old he was, that promoting cigarettes wasn't such a great thing after all. What a wonderful, wonderful guy! (Presumably he donated his salary from Lark to cancer research.)

And I'm still sure that I saw him in a 1996 campaign in Japan, trading on his fame as Bond.

From http://www.tobaccofr...rg/brosnan1.htm:

FROM TOBACCO PITCHMAN TO ROLE MODEL
Pierce Brosnan's Lark ad, and his trailblazing later promise not to smoke as James Bond



Pierce Brosnan once appeared in this ad and in a TV commercial for Lark cigarettes in Japan. The ads have not been seen before in the US.  

However, Brosnan later saw the light, and forswore smoking as James Bond.  

"Brosnan's promise not to smoke as Bond shows strong leadership in the Hollywood community. It stands as a trailblazing example for other film stars," said Patrick Reynolds, an anti-smoking activist from the Los Angeles group, Tobaccofree.Org. "We hope others will follow his courageous lead."  

Like Brosnan, Reynolds has also changed his views about cigarettes: he's a grandson of R.J. Reynolds. Patrick's father, R.J. Reynolds, Jr., died from smoking in 1964.  

"Our mission is to build awareness among youth of smoking by movie stars," says Reynolds. "They have a strong influence over our kids. We also want to send a message to Hollywood. Our policy is not to censor the movies, but instead to deliver a little healthy shame to stars who glamorize tobacco," said Reynolds. "If a film glamorizes smoking, we think theatres playing it should run an anti-tobacco spot among the previews."  

Such anti-smoking spots ran in movie theatres in Florida, which later reported a 19% drop in youth smoking as a result of its wider Truth Campaign, which also uses TV, radio and billboard ads, and materials distributed in schools. The Truth Campaign is sponsored by the Florida Department of Health's Tobacco Pilot Program in Tallahassee.  

Near the beginning of his new film 'The World Is Not Enough,' Bond presents a cigar to Moneypenny, saying, "I thought you might appreciate this." But she promptly throws it into the trash. In The Thomas Crown Affair, Brosnan made a choice not to smoke at all.  

Other stars who have been criticized for smoking in films include Winona Ryder, John Travolta, Ethan Hawke, and Gwenneth Paltrow, Will Smith, and Sylvester Stallone.  

Charlie Sheen also appeared in a tobacco ad in Japan, for Phillip Morris' Parliament.  

The James Bond movie 'The World Is Not Enough' opened on Friday, Nov 19.

And Lee Tamahori made him a hypocrite when he smoked the cigar in Die Another Day. :mad: What is it with the double standard? Cigarettes are evil and bad, but it's been fashionable for many years to smoke an expensive cigar in a cigar bar. I also remember Pierce's image on the cover of Cigar Afficiado with a cigar between his teeth.