9 replies to this topic

[Bond Bombshell]

The Sunday Express has been running extracts from the memoirs of actor Victor Spinetti, in which he talks about his friendship with Sean Connery and how they met during Sean's first theatre job - the musical South Pacific. He tells some amusing anecdotes, including how when they first met Sean was peeing in the dressing room sink. He also tells how Sean's girlfriend dumped him after her parents persuaded her that he was a nobody! The most interesting part though was the following tale which I'll quote. Spinetti had visited Sean while he was filming Zardoz -

Quote -

That Saturday night, Sean and I were sitting in his hotel suite when the telephone rang. For a few moments the caller talked while Sean listened but then he snapped: "No way. I wouldn't dream of it" and hung up. "What was that about?" I asked.

He told me that it had been Harry Saltzman, the Bond films' co-producer. Live And Let Die, Roger Moore's first go at Bond, had been shooting for some weeks, only for them to arrive at the conclusion he was hopeless. Would Sean come back? Because if he did, they would pay off Roger Moore, scrap the footage shot so far, millions of pounds' worth, and start again.

"The bastards," said Sean. "They won't give him a chance. Now you know what I had to put up with."

Years later, I was a dinner guest at Michael Caine's house in Hollywood. Also at the table was Luisa Moore, Roger's wife. What a bastard Sean Connery was, she said, doing Never Say Never Again while her husband was still playing James Bond. I bit my tongue.

Unquote.

I think the moral of this story is give a new Bond a chance - as relevant now as it was then!

[Skudor]

Interesting... that's the first I've heard of this.

[Bon-san]

Spinetti had visited Sean while he was filming Zardoz -

Quote -

That Saturday night, Sean and I were sitting in his hotel suite when the telephone rang. For a few moments the caller talked while Sean listened but then he snapped: "No way. I wouldn't dream of it" and hung up. "What was that about?" I asked.

He told me that it had been Harry Saltzman, the Bond films' co-producer. Live And Let Die, Roger Moore's first go at Bond, had been shooting for some weeks, only for them to arrive at the conclusion he was hopeless. Would Sean come back? Because if he did, they would pay off Roger Moore, scrap the footage shot so far, millions of pounds' worth, and start again.

"The bastards," said Sean. "They won't give him a chance. Now you know what I had to put up with."

Interesting.

I always had the impression Guy Hamilton was not a fan of Roger, but I've never heard anything like this! Anyone else ever heard this anecdote?

[TheSaint]

That Saturday night, Sean and I were sitting in his hotel suite when the telephone rang. For a few moments the caller talked while Sean listened but then he snapped: "No way. I wouldn't dream of it" and hung up. "What was that about?" I asked.

He told me that it had been Harry Saltzman, the Bond films' co-producer. Live And Let Die, Roger Moore's first go at Bond, had been shooting for some weeks, only for them to arrive at the conclusion he was hopeless. Would Sean come back? Because if he did, they would pay off Roger Moore, scrap the footage shot so far, millions of pounds' worth, and start again.

"The bastards," said Sean. "They won't give him a chance. Now you know what I had to put up with."

The irony of this is that LALD ended up making more money than DAF. So much for Roger being hopeless. As for Roger's wife's comment, it was only after he divorced her that we began to hear about her antics so, that comment doesn't surprise me.

[dinovelvet]

"The bastards," said Sean. "They won't give him a chance. Now you know what I had to put up with."

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Spurrier]

I recall that both Roger and LALD both got good reviews. And the fact that Roger went to the Saltzman tribute in Quebec this spring after a phone call invitation from Salzman's daughter....implies that Saltzman and Roger were friends. And Saltzman's daughter recalled some good times with Rog on the LALD set. Therefore, I have to question the validity of that story.

[K1Bond007]

I'm quite skeptical here. Surely Saltzman knew Connery was done for good after DAF and this wasn't Connery's problem with the producers. Not to my knowledge. His beef was that he was sidelined on merchandise and many other profitable ventures (% of gross etc). Hardly something like this. I would think anyway.

[dee-bee-five]

The Sunday Express has been running extracts from the memoirs of actor Victor Spinetti, in which he talks about his friendship with Sean Connery and how they met during Sean's first theatre job - the musical South Pacific. He tells some amusing anecdotes, including how when they first met Sean was peeing in the dressing room sink. He also tells how Sean's girlfriend dumped him after her parents persuaded her that he was a nobody! The most interesting part though was the following tale which I'll quote. Spinetti had visited Sean while he was filming Zardoz -

Quote -

That Saturday night, Sean and I were sitting in his hotel suite when the telephone rang. For a few moments the caller talked while Sean listened but then he snapped: "No way. I wouldn't dream of it" and hung up. "What was that about?" I asked.

He told me that it had been Harry Saltzman, the Bond films' co-producer. Live And Let Die, Roger Moore's first go at Bond, had been shooting for some weeks, only for them to arrive at the conclusion he was hopeless. Would Sean come back? Because if he did, they would pay off Roger Moore, scrap the footage shot so far, millions of pounds' worth, and start again.

"The bastards," said Sean. "They won't give him a chance. Now you know what I had to put up with."

Years later, I was a dinner guest at Michael Caine's house in Hollywood. Also at the table was Luisa Moore, Roger's wife. What a bastard Sean Connery was, she said, doing Never Say Never Again while her husband was still playing James Bond. I bit my tongue.

Unquote.

I think the moral of this story is give a new Bond a chance - as relevant now as it was then!

Personally, I think the moral of the story is to take the hazy memories of very elderly actors with a huge pinch of salt.

[DLibrasnow]

Personally, I think the moral of the story is to take the hazy memories of very elderly actors with a huge pinch of salt.

Agreed. I think this Spinetti guy is full of you-know-what.

[Mr_Wint]

Interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if this actually was true. Harry Saltzman was fairly... impulsive, and LALD was "his" film btw.