http://www.mi6.co.uk...d_17_intro.php3
Perhaps this link will prove to some extent that what your thinking is not so far off from mine as well.
That article is slightly incorrect. I'm not aware of there being any firm plans to film BOND17 for a Summer '94 release date, and the article says that TRUE LIES came out and forced a delay on the project, and "Pierce Brosnan was then cast as the 5th James Bond actor". Well, actually, if my chronology is correct, Brosnan was officially unveiled to the press as 007 in April of 1994 and TRUE LIES didn't come out until June or July of 1994. It was after TRUE LIES came out that the studio suggested pushing the start date back 6 months in order to rework parts of the script too similar to TRUE LIES. If the movie had started production in the summer of 94 as planned, we'd have seen Goldeneye 6 months earlier. I believe whatever money the Craig/Brosnan films have made have still left $30-50 million on the table by not opening up in the summer.
And, like I said, when you've got someone like Charles Juroe saying "Dalton is the Bond of record", you better start looking for another job...and quick. That was one of the worst, lamest, most transparent votes of no-confidence I have ever seen or heard. I mean, clearly Dalton was "the Bond of record" because he hadn't been replaced yet, but notice that Juroe didn't go out of his way to enthusiastically trumpet the praises of Dalton and assure the press that Dalton would indeed return.
Dalton got it right back in 1989: he was history, and he knew it. And his quote about the whole series coming to an end may also have been a way to make it seem as if he wasn't the problem, but that the whole series had gone on too long and was now irrelevant. Truth is, he wasn't THE problem, but he was certainly A problem. Oddly enough, he may have simply just been too good for the role. He wanted to imbue the role with more than was really there, when at the end of the film the audience really just wants exotic locales, beautiful women, stunts, cool cars and gadgets, and a plot that involves millions of lives in the balance (and not two back-to-back films involving drug smuggling). Dalton was a classically trained actor essentially being asked to make more of the film than what existed on paper, and while he may have been good enough to do it, the rest of the creative team was not. And it's not like I don't think Glen or Maibaum, etc... weren't capable...but once you've done 5-15 films in a certain style or way, it becomes all you know.
I like Purvis and Wade, but I think they've been involved too long know. Barbara and Michael have provided one of the best, most balanced sets of 4-6 film runs in the series history, and part of that has been by trying different directors on 5 of the last 6 films, as well as by rotating writers.
Had Barbara and Michael been allowed to take creative and financial control of EON sooner (like, back in the 1980's), the history of the 80's Bonds may have been a bit different...and better, especially for actors like Dalton who wanted to class up the material a bit, but was given a weak script, lackluster direction, and almost no one near his equal to act off of. Dalton's failures are not failures of imagination, but failure to get the needed support on all creative levels to make his vision of Bond something that audiences could get used to and excited about.
Yeah never bought the True Lies bit considering, but Peter Lamont could have known a bit more since he was working on both films.Maybe even to avoid comparison between to two films very quickly and get crushed like in '89. I also agreed that Dalton needed a better director and screenwriters to suit his strengths but the pressures of releasing one film after another could have prohibited that at the time(or Cubby's remote control management). Glen to some extent would have been exhausted am pretty sure of it. It's just normal. Mostly the timing was all wrong to release LTK even-though Bond was at his toughest he was not appreciated in full light.
Dalton would have liked the Bond world as he was looking for stable career. He looked like he was having a whole lot of fun in Rocketeer. I watched that film in Germany in German until I saw it again in English. Hehe.
Purvis and Wade should leave the series, otherwise it will be 80's all over again.
I have noticed that LTK Daltons scenes are kept rather short. I don't know if its the pacing of the movie but Dalton is not given a chance to be fully Bond. Craig and Brosnan were given a few opportunities (coming out of ocean or sneaking around Russian chemical factory). I loved the water ski and last bits of LTK but the rest of the film including the bar fight and ninja confrontation where Bond gets his
kicked doesn't necessarily show his tough side in a film he is supposed to be tough. What annoys the most is the deleted scenes where Bond is seen coming out of Sanchez house in boat and cleaning his gun. That and more of Dalton would have added even better tone. I know showing Sanchez on tv is not a good idea but something could have been done to keep the scene. Peter hunt would have clearly known what to do with the film as he really can set the tone for a movie when he wants to. He looked super smooth in Lark commercial wish he had more of em.
