35 replies to this topic

[Loomis]

[quote name='Seannery' date='16 May 2005 - 17:20']By saying plenty of general fans expect Pierce to be replaced and will be disappointed if he isn't well that just flies in the face of Pierce's popularity as Bond and secondly a vast majority I know still aren't up on the latest about whether Pierce is out as Bond or not--therefore they have no expectations whatsoever.

[doublenoughtspy]

I can't remember if they were talking about Batman or Die Hard or whatever - but someone asked Michael Wilson about sequels, and he said:

"Those are sequels. Bond is a SERIES." (emphasis mine)

[tdalton]

Tell me that Brosnan was a popular 007, and I'll agree. I don't dispute that some would like him to do CR. I don't deny that he has his admirers, and that there may be many thousands of 'em (but I think that only really hardcore Brosnan fans would boycott CR if he wasn't in it). But there are others wouldn't want him to play Bond again, and would wish to see a new face as Bond in CR. And also others who don't care one way or the other. We can agree on that, surely? I'm sure, though, that CR will do extremely well at the box office without Brosnan, assuming, of course, that there's at least a half-decent actor giving at least a half-decent performance as Bond.

Bottom line: with or without Brosnan, CR (and the Bond franchise) will be okay. More than okay.

You're absolutely right. Brosnan did make a ton of money for the franchise and for MGM. Like you, I don't deny that he has a lot of admirers, and that's great. All of the Bond actors have a fairly large group of people who favor their interpretation of the character. I think that sometimes when you see people trashing one actor, it's generally because of attacks on a person's preference for a different Bond actor. I can't say that I've seen this at all on this site, but there are other sites where this happens (namely IMDB), where people are ridiculed for their preference (this is generally Brosnan fans vs. Dalton fans over on that site). I can say that this type of bickering does lead to some dislike for certain actors and whatnot. Before I started chatting over on the IMDB board, I was somewhat indifferent to Brosnan's Bond. However, once attacked as not being "a real Bond fan" because of my preference for Dalton's interpretation and hearing how Brosnan is "the only real Bond actor", then I started watching Brosnan's Bond movies and started paying more attention to his performance in those films, and I can say that I started to become less impressed with what he was doing with the character, and he began falling down my overall list of the 5 Bond actors.

One thing that I will never do, however, is deny what Brosnan meant to the series. He brought in a lot of money for MGM and EON, so we should be thankful to him for that. But, IMO, he wasn't that great as the character, and that is the main reason that I want to see someone else in the role for CR, especially since it has been messed up so many times before, and I want to see a top-notch actor in the film to make sure that this version doesn't suffer a similar fate, which I feel that it might with Pierce Brosnan in the film, due to his limited acting ability, IMO.

Casino Royale, however, will do fine at the theaters no matter who is playing James Bond in the film, unless it's someone so unfit for the part that it's blatantly obvious to everyone, hardcore fans as well as the casual moviegoer.

[Von Hammerstein]

Bond is the one franchise where who plays 007 next isn't as important as who played Bond last. Everyone said the franchise was dead when Connery left, and then when Lazenby left under a cloud, it was dead when Roger Moore hung up his shoulder holster and again after Dalton's two films failed to live up to expectations. Now that Brosnan is no longer 007, though I'll miss him, I'm sure EON will find someone who looks good in a tux, can quip and be ruthless interchangeably. Let's remember Ian Fleming himself once described his novels as "comic books for adults" We don't need Laurence Olivier to have continued success with the series.

[Loomis]

Not that anyone here's advocating one, but I think a Brosnan clone for Bond 6 would be a grave mistake. A lot of people would wonder why they didn't simply get Broz back, and the new guy would be very much under Broz's shadow if he tried to continue in the same vein. Instead of a "bargain basement Brosnan", we need something different, with the next actor putting his own stamp on the role. That's why I'd far rather they hired someone like Craig or Owen than someone like Jackman or McMahon, even though a Jackman or a McMahon might on the face of it seem a far less risky choice than a Craig or an Owen. If they're going to get a new Bond (and I still strongly suspect that they'll turn to Broz once again, not for commercial reasons but because of an inability to find a suitable replacement), then for heaven's sake go the whole hog and try and take the series in something of a fresh direction. No half-measures, please.

[Seannery]

[quote name='Loomis' date='16 May 2005 - 19:25'][quote name='Seannery' date='16 May 2005 - 17:20']By saying plenty of general fans expect Pierce to be replaced and will be disappointed if he isn't well that just flies in the face of Pierce's popularity as Bond and secondly a vast majority I know still aren't up on the latest about whether Pierce is out as Bond or not--therefore they have no expectations whatsoever.