76 replies to this topic

[FOX MULDER]

Cary Grant would have made a superb Felix Leiter.

 

If we're talking screen legends then Humphrey Bogart would be my ace choice. He could do the rugged intensity thing better than anyone. His accent wasn't exactly Bond, but if he could change that...

[tdalton]

 

I grow up with the Brosnan era but I would not have minded these actors;

 

Liam Neeson

Ralph Finnies

Sean Bean (a pre-cursor  to DC)

 

 

 

Any one of those three would have been my choice for GoldenEye, barring a change of heart on MGM's part and Dalton was allowed to return to the part.  Fiennes would have been (and probably still could be) a tremendous Bond.  Same goes for Bean.  Neeson would have been more a wild card, similar to what Craig ended up being for this era, but given how brilliant of an actor he is, there's no reason to believe that he couldn't have pulled it off.

[Odd Jobbies]

 

 

I grow up with the Brosnan era but I would not have minded these actors;

 

Liam Neeson

Ralph Finnies

Sean Bean (a pre-cursor  to DC)

 

 

 

Any one of those three would have been my choice for GoldenEye, barring a change of heart on MGM's part and Dalton was allowed to return to the part.  Fiennes would have been (and probably still could be) a tremendous Bond.  Same goes for Bean.  Neeson would have been more a wild card, similar to what Craig ended up being for this era, but given how brilliant of an actor he is, there's no reason to believe that he couldn't have pulled it off.

 

It would've have to have been a totally different GE - focusing on the darker side of dark, rather than GE's return to high adventure of films such as YOLT. Fiennes would be a good fit for the current tone, but not a good as Craig IMO.

 

Had Fiennes been chosen instead of Dalton i think TLD would've suited him far more.

[tdalton]

Fiennes would have been too young for the role when Dalton got it for The Living Daylights.  He would have still been fairly young when GoldenEye came around (he would have been 33 in 1995), but I think he could have pulled it off then.  And, I agree that GoldenEye would have had to have been a different film had it starred Fiennes (or Dalton, for that matter).  Less focus would have had to have been paid to some of the sillier aspects of the film, such as the tank chase, but there are a lot of interesting, darker angles to be explored in Trevelyan's backstory as well as the idea of two Double-oh agents going head to head against each other, a concept which GoldenEye absolutely failed to capitalize on.

[Dan Gale]

Watching The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) made me think what a more down-trodden, gum-shoe detective Bond may have been like, made in black and white and on a lower budget, maybe even by Val Guest by Hammer films.

Edward Judd had just the right amount of cynicism for the role as portrayed in the last two Fleming books.

http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=9004

Yes he wore a hairpiece but that didn't stop Connery. I don't think he'd had lasted in the role but I'd have bought into it easily.

Edited by Dan Gale, 05 July 2013 - 06:18 PM.

[Dustin]

Watching The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) made me think what a more down-trodden, gum-shoe detective Bond may have been like, made in black and white and on a lower budget, maybe even by Val Guest by Hammer films.

 

 

It's interesting that one of Fleming's own early scripts for the ill-fated THUNDERBALL project by Xanadu (Bryce, McClory and Fleming) features lengthy stretches of Bond's interior monologue in best film noir tradition. It seems Fleming's own early vision of Bond-on-screen could well have been closer to THE MALTESE FALCON, which is quite remarkable given that Fleming didn't write most of his novels in first person. Which in turn might have been an idea for a change as a large part of the books concerns itself with Bond's views and the impressions his surroundings and experiences make on him. Fleming should have written TSWLM with Bond as the narrator.  

Edited by Dustin, 05 July 2013 - 07:14 PM.

[Odd Jobbies]

...Trevelyan's backstory as well as the idea of two Double-oh agents going head to head against each other, a concept which GoldenEye absolutely failed to capitalize on.

I think the finale fist fight made it very clear they were equals with the same training - a very good scene, which as i've just been saying in another thread, introduced realism into Bond's fights a while before the Bourne films were given the credit for this (though they did up the ante somewhat).

 

But you're absolutely right that on the whole the script failed to truly develop and capitalise on the fact that this was double-0 vs. double-0. There should have been more of them trying to out wit one another tactically as well as physically making their identical training the device for this.

 

The interesting sub-text would've been that they may have the same training, but they have different childhoods, making them different people, despite the MI6 brain-washing. And of course they have different genes. All these things are meaty theme to explore in Bond, as these differences allow him to prevail; something done far better in Skyfall.

 

And what this usually comes down to are particular moments in which we see Bond the chancer - the gambler - emerge. Throughout the story he may endeavour to play the odds, but ultimately when they're stacked against him, in these particular, climactic moments he'll take a risk and get lucky just when he needs to be, as though someone up there must like him.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 05 July 2013 - 10:31 PM.

[quantumofsolace]

metro 1 Sep 2013

Dick Van Dyke: Daniel Craig lacks the panache to be James Bond

Screen legend Dick Van Dyke has said he thinks current James Bond Daniel Craig isn’t quite right for the role.

Van Dyke, best known for his roles in classic movies such as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, said he thought Craig was a ‘wonderful actor’ with ‘great physicality’, but that he was missing a certain something necessary for the famous part.

‘For some reason, he lacks the panache to be Bond for me,’ he told director Kevin Pollack.

The actor also revealed that he himself was considered for the role of James Bond

‘I was doing [Chitty Chitty Bang Bang],’ Van Dyke said.

‘Sean Connery had spoken about leaving the Bond pictures. He had done several at the time. Cubby Broccoli actually pulled me in and asked me if I wanted to do Bond.

‘I said, “Have you heard [my British accent]?” And [Broccoli] said, “Oh, that’s right! Forget it!”‘

[dtuba]

Dick Van Dyke???

[tdalton]

That's one that I just have a hard time believing.  Surely Cubby was kidding when he said it, if he made the comment at all.

[Major Tallon]

That's one that I just have a hard time believing.  Surely Cubby was kidding when he said it, if he made the comment at all.

That's my reaction as well.  At the time, Connery was "talking about leaving," but it was a long way short of official, and the filmmakers were still hoping that he'd be back.  Cubby was likely musing.  This was a long way short of an offer.

[SecretAgentFan]

Dick van Dyke is James Bond.

 

Yes, absolutely sure that EON would have wanted that.

 

   

[Dustin]

By now it's legions of actors who got offered the part. Must be amongst the most unpopular roles of the last century...

[dtuba]

Dick van Dyke is James Bond.

 

Yes, absolutely sure that EON would have wanted that.

 

Mary Tyler Moore as a Bond Girl? "Ohhhh, Rob!!"

Edited by dtuba, 05 September 2013 - 02:34 PM.

[The Krynoid man]

Apparently Lewis Collins from the TV series The Professionals was considered for The Living Daylights. Seems like a good choice.

[Dustin]

Not sure if that really was TLD or even earlier. But having been around at the time the tabloids claimed he was a sure bet for Bond throughout the mid-1980s. At the time I believed them.

[SecretAgentFan]

Same here. I was a fan of "The Professionals" at that time and even liked "Who dares wins". Well, I was a teenager back then...

[glidrose]

Apparently Lewis Collins from the TV series The Professionals was considered for The Living Daylights. Seems like a good choice.

 

Was considered for role. But NOT for TLD. Broccoli met him in the early 1980s after Who Dares Win came out. Apparently Collins self-destructed during the interview.

[Dustin]

Not sure how much of that self-destruct really was due to that ill-fated interview. Collins's role in THE PROFESSIONALS was originally supposed to be a refined and well-dressed operative and former military/mercenary. A rougher, more hard boiled version of a Saint persona, if you will. Writers and producer changed that character - supposedly on Collins's own wish - to a more working-class one until you could hardly remember Body wearing a suit, or ever having come close to one. So Body quickly became a Starsky/Hutch clone, gone were the allusions to class and style.

Collins himself did apparently lack the necessary professionalism for a production where the jobs and financial well-being of numerous people depended on his responsibility. Endulging in dangerous activities - against his contractual obligations - resulted in an injury that delayed production of an early season (2 or 3?) and could well have meant the cancellation.

Several years of THE PROFESSIONALS apparently didn't help Collins's aptitude. At the set of WHO DARES WINS a stunt fight went out of control, once more resulting in injury, this time of a stuntman IIRC. It's probably not an exaggeration to say Collins had a reputation of being 'difficult' in the industry. Which of course didn't stop the tabloids from pushing Collins in the Bond direction. But I suspect by the time Collins met with Broccoli the Bond part was already out of reach.

[Odd Jobbies]

Same here. I was a fan of "The Professionals" at that time and even liked "Who dares wins". Well, I was a teenager back then...

 

I re-watched Who Dares Wins on blu ray recently and you know what? I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's cheesy circa 1982, but it's also a pretty straight-up presentation of the SAS - not glamorous as much of the 80's presented such material.

 

The movie screams that Lewis Collins was robbed of the Bond roll - i think he's have made the 80's Bond pretty memorable and formidable, instead the hokey/dull mixed bag we got. I imagine the reason for not casting him was that Broccoli was concerned about Collins rep for being trouble on set.

 

Btw, Roy Budd's score is way better than that of any of the 80s Bond movies. With this and Get Cater on his resume he really should've had a chance to score a Bond movie.

 

 

Not sure how much of that self-destruct really was due to that ill-fated interview. Collins's role in THE PROFESSIONALS was originally supposed to be a refined and well-dressed operative and former military/mercenary. A rougher, more hard boiled version of a Saint persona, if you will. Writers and producer changed that character - supposedly on Collins's own wish - to a more working-class one until you could hardly remember Body wearing a suit, or ever having come close to one. So Body quickly became a Starsky/Hutch clone, gone were the allusions to class and style.

Collins himself did apparently lack the necessary professionalism for a production where the jobs and financial well-being of numerous people depended on his responsibility. Endulging in dangerous activities - against his contractual obligations - resulted in an injury that delayed production of an early season (2 or 3?) and could well have meant the cancellation.

Several years of THE PROFESSIONALS apparently didn't help Collins's aptitude. At the set of WHO DARES WINS a stunt fight went out of control, once more resulting in injury, this time of a stuntman IIRC. It's probably not an exaggeration to say Collins had a reputation of being 'difficult' in the industry. Which of course didn't stop the tabloids from pushing Collins in the Bond direction. But I suspect by the time Collins met with Broccoli the Bond part was already out of reach.

 

Great detail there, Dustin. Very interesting stuff and it all rings true. Still, IMO it's a huge missed opportunity - if there had been some way of Collins playing the part, then i think he'd have made the 80 and early 90's a far more exciting time for Bond fans.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 07 September 2013 - 09:38 AM.

[Dustin]

The greatest obstacle to Collins - any actor in fact - taking over in the 80s was Moore's repeated return. Concerns about his age had been mumbled about since MR. But McClory's WARHEAD (what became NSNA) loomed behind the scenes since pre-production of TSWLM, complete with a (then only rumoured) return of Connery, and Eon's reasoning was probably to best ride out such storm with an established and very successful Bond. And Moore had also become a member of the Eon family, a very significant point. As long as he was up for it the door was open for Moore to return.

It's perhaps also worth considering whether interviews with Collins or other contenders for the part were not primarily set up to keep Moore's paycheque within realistic dimensions. Both Moore and Broccoli used to be fierce backgammon players. And they preferred to play against each other - as far as the Bond role was concerned.

[Odd Jobbies]

Again, Dustin, great info.

 

I'd have preferred Eon o take that chance and re-cast a younger actor, so the legacy of the 80's and my teenage life as a Bond fan mightn't have been so dull. IMO Collins was the best choice, despite the off-set shenanigans. After all what's more important, the ease of the filmmaking process or the end product. The end product would've been more worthwhile with Collins.

 

But this was a purely financial decision, as you've detailed - one that profits Eon instead of the fans.

 

I'm sure much of the re-casting gossip was indeed promoted by Eon as part of the haggling process with Moore, but this definitely went too far in the case of Octopussy, when James Brolin was flown to the UK having been cast as Bond, only to be replaced at the 11th hour when Moore dropped his price. Very bad business management that i'm sure has since put many an actor off associating themselves with the role.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 07 September 2013 - 11:24 AM.

[Dustin]

Another name from those days, peddled as a would-be Bond by the tabloids and enjoying brief fame: Ken Wahl.

[Skylla]

I was about 14 back then and have been to the cinema when OP came out: really loved it like FYEO before! But looking back it was really a missed opportunity not having Lewis Collins. With his military background and his charisma they could have made some great films. The trilogy FYEO/OP/AVTAK would have been outstanding with a leading man who could have done his own stunts (running, jumping, kissing etc.)  

[Odd Jobbies]

Another name from those days, peddled as a would-be Bond by the tabloids and enjoying brief fame: Ken Wahl.

Really!  That would've been truly terrible. I love the guy in The Wanderers, but his range was that, and Fort Apache and Wiseguys. He was great at the NY Italian American stuff, but Bond? No...

 

Definitely a name floated purely by the media, or to scare Moore into accepting Cubby's latest offer.

 

I was about 14 back then and have been to the cinema when OP came out: really loved it like FYEO before! But looking back it was really a missed opportunity not having Lewis Collins. With his military background and his charisma they could have made some great films. The trilogy FYEO/OP/AVTAK would have been outstanding with a leading man who could have done his own stunts (running, jumping, kissing etc.)  

 

Indeed.

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 07 September 2013 - 02:02 PM.

[Dustin]

Another name from those days, peddled as a would-be Bond by the tabloids and enjoying brief fame: Ken Wahl.

Really! That would've been truly terrible. I love the guy in The Wanderers, but his range was that, and Fort Apache and Wiseguys. He was great at the NY Italian American stuff, but Bond? No...

Definitely a name floated purely by the media, or to scare Moore into accepting Cubby's latest offer.

THE SOLDIER, also from 1982, was a vehicle that had a remote Bond flavour. Wahl appeared opposite Klaus Kinski as an American special agent. The plot revolved around a KGB scheme to blackmail Israel and the US by contaminating the oil fields of the Middle East with an atomic bomb (shades of the various TSWLM scripts there) and the Soldier's operation to force Moscow into a stand-off and retreat. It was most likely an attempt at another version of a US Bond clone, entirely without irony,humour or charm, trading all that for action and explosions and therefore perhaps ahead of its time. I seem to remember mention of a possible series, but nothing came of it. For the better I dare say.

Edited by Dustin, 07 September 2013 - 08:01 PM.

[SecretAgentFan]

Oh, yes - I remember Ken Wahl. Not from seeing the movies, actually, but from the VHS covers and some articles in the magazine "Videoplay". Being a teenager back then and the movies having an "R"-rating, it was out of reach for me.

 

Never checked it out later, either. Is THE SOLDIER worth checking out?

[Dustin]

I was quite impressed at the time. Being 14 mind you. I think I saw THE SOLDIER in a self-styled double-feature with either WHO DARES WINS or MEGAFORCE, so I was probably overdosed on action, adrenaline and massive surges of juvenile testosterone. If I remember correctly THE SOLDIER played its flimsy plot with dead-straight face, even more so than WHO DARES WINS, and that - supposedly grown-up - seriousness impressed me endlessly.

Surprisingly I never got around to properly revisit this childhood favourite; I only zapped through channels some years ago and accidentally happened upon it. What I saw was cheap-looking direct-to-video action that I cannot for the life of me associate with what hazy memories I had of this. It's probably a bit unfair to only judge it by the final action pieces (set at the Berlin Wall if memory serves).

The story is without surprises, straightforward as some 12-year-old might think up, only with less imagination. Check it out, only don't go out of your way to do it. It's pretty much forgotten, and for a reason. Kinski at the time did various forgettable mercenary vehicles, this is probably the start of that run, only without jungle as backdrop. Interesting ideas (threatening to cut the world from a vast supply of oil; force the US into military action against an ally) are largely thrown away without making proper use of them. Instead a dour and unremarkable series of events culminates in some car chase with various black Porsches (in the GDR, where chances to see a Porsche - let alone a pack of them - was significantly lower than to observe a flock of flying pigs).

Still, tabloids picked this up as a bid for Bond.

[Skylla]

I was quite impressed at the time. Being 14 mind you. I think I saw THE SOLDIER in a self-styled double-feature with either WHO DARES WINS or MEGAFORCE, so I was probably overdosed on action, adrenaline and massive surges of juvenile testosterone. If I remember correctly THE SOLDIER played its flimsy plot with dead-straight face, even more so than WHO DARES WINS, and that - supposedly grown-up - seriousness impressed me endlessly.

Surprisingly I never got around to properly revisit this childhood favourite; I only zapped through channels some years ago and accidentally happened upon it. What I saw was cheap-looking direct-to-video action that I cannot for the life of me associate with what hazy memories I had of this. It's probably a bit unfair to only judge it by the final action pieces (set at the Berlin Wall if memory serves).

The story is without surprises, straightforward as some 12-year-old might think up, only with less imagination. Check it out, only don't go out of your way to do it. It's pretty much forgotten, and for a reason. Kinski at the time did various forgettable mercenary vehicles, this is probably the start of that run, only without jungle as backdrop. Interesting ideas (threatening to cut the world from a vast supply of oil; force the US into military action against an ally) are largely thrown away without making proper use of them. Instead a dour and unremarkable series of events culminates in some car chase with various black Porsches (in the GDR, where chances to see a Porsche - let alone a pack of them - was significantly lower than to observe a flock of flying pigs).

Still, tabloids picked this up as a bid for Bond.

Yeah, it really didn´t age well. But I think Willy Bogner did the awesome ski-stuntwork, and I still watch this part of the movie when it´s on TV.   

[Dustin]

I was quite impressed at the time. Being 14 mind you. I think I saw THE SOLDIER in a self-styled double-feature with either WHO DARES WINS or MEGAFORCE, so I was probably overdosed on action, adrenaline and massive surges of juvenile testosterone. If I remember correctly THE SOLDIER played its flimsy plot with dead-straight face, even more so than WHO DARES WINS, and that - supposedly grown-up - seriousness impressed me endlessly.

Surprisingly I never got around to properly revisit this childhood favourite; I only zapped through channels some years ago and accidentally happened upon it. What I saw was cheap-looking direct-to-video action that I cannot for the life of me associate with what hazy memories I had of this. It's probably a bit unfair to only judge it by the final action pieces (set at the Berlin Wall if memory serves).

The story is without surprises, straightforward as some 12-year-old might think up, only with less imagination. Check it out, only don't go out of your way to do it. It's pretty much forgotten, and for a reason. Kinski at the time did various forgettable mercenary vehicles, this is probably the start of that run, only without jungle as backdrop. Interesting ideas (threatening to cut the world from a vast supply of oil; force the US into military action against an ally) are largely thrown away without making proper use of them. Instead a dour and unremarkable series of events culminates in some car chase with various black Porsches (in the GDR, where chances to see a Porsche - let alone a pack of them - was significantly lower than to observe a flock of flying pigs).

Still, tabloids picked this up as a bid for Bond.

Yeah, it really didn´t age well. But I think Willy Bogner did the awesome ski-stuntwork, and I still watch this part of the movie when it´s on TV.

That must have been before I switched to it, don't remember ski scenes. I really will have to revisit that one, if only to justify my verdict.