According to both EON and Clive Owen himself, he was never approached to play Bond. Ever. I thought he'd be perfect for it too, until I saw the CR trailer. Daniel Craig as Bond has an intense physicality that only George Lazenby has come close to.
Incidentally, Pierce Brosnan is is going to be 53 this year. FIFTY-THREE! He's old enough to be my father (I'm 35) and that means he's too old to play James Bond. That sucks, but there it is. Let it go. He's a better Thomas Crown anyway, and they're making a sequel to that.
The Bond movies have been playing it safe for over thirty years. No surprise then that they've lost prestige and cultural cachet in the eyes of the public. Bond is seen as a series that saw its best moments before most of us were born.
All these decades later and THUNDERBALL is still the biggest hit (both culturally and box office wise) they've ever had. That's very telling.
Most people (including those who by their own admission don't really care about Bond) seem to be really enthused by this trailer. It's easy to see why.
In the past EON always sought to make the same old Bond movies in a contemporary setting. They followed the "formula" and this is why even when they got a promising actor to play Bond --nothing really exciting ever happened. Bond looked very tired compared to Indiana Jones or Jason Bourne, etc. It wasn't Bond that was tired though, just the execution.
Now they've hit upon the idea of updating the Bond concept (whilst taking it back to it's core elements), keeping what works, and losing the cliches that have weighed the movies down like a wardrobe full of cement shoes.
CASINO ROYALE looks like a bracing bit of entertainment. It promises to be James Bond for the 21st century as opposed to 1960s Bond done in the 21st century if you get my meaning.
Bottom line: I think you'll find that CASINO ROYALE is going to be the biggest Bond movie since THUNDERBALL. I've never been this excited by a Bond film in my life, and I've been obsessed with the character since I was seven.
For myself, I have a big evening planned for Nov. 17th: I'm going to deck myself out in a dashing and well-cut suit, get together with a bunch of friends to see CASINO ROYALE (at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood if possible), and then repair to Musso & Frank's for steaks and martinis.
Another brilliant post, Jackanaples.
Yes, Clive Owen discussed playing Bond with Campbell while doing Beyond Borders and said then he was NOT interested in playing the role. He was never approached (at least by Eon - SPE might have tried to reach out) and Owen, regardless of his Oscar nom for Closer, wanted to stay away from the role.
I don't know whether Casino Royale will do Thunderball numbers (or even DAD numbers) but the point is the negative cost of the film is about $100 million. It will be a more
profitable film and also cap the budgets on its imminent successors.
Any new Bond is a difficult sell. Craig was unexpected (coming off a very popular Bond) and is in a tonally new Bond story. That does set up marketing challenges. However, on the basis of the teaser poster and the trailer, it seems they have found that special Bondian place and this campaign will, hopefully, be perfect for the picture being presented to us in November.
Above all, it seems Casino Royale is striving to be an entertaining, clever, engaging visceral, adult, international, romantic, Hitchcockian mystery, action thriller first...and a
Bond film second. That is the risk and I think it will pay off. After all before the lava of creativity cooled to the crust of formula, the Bond films were open to be anything they needed to be.
I have faith and am hopeful and have been rewarded with two stunning marketing coups.
Eon have been doing this for a long time.
They know what they are doing.
We are all here because of how they do what they do.
Stand back and leave it to the professionals...
Oh, BTW, Jackanaples, I'll join you for steaks at Musso & Franks, a fine establishment. Make mine rare and juicy!
