79 replies to this topic

[White Persian]

I can understand any professional getting a little peeved if all anyone wants to know about is work they did thirty years ago. Also his dissatisfaction with "creative accounting" by studios to his disadvantage has been a sore point - and not just in relation to Bond.
On the other hand I've heard Connery say complimentary things about Brosnan's performance (though suggesting he get a good lawyer), and he granted quite a long interview on Bond while making Rising Sun.

[Dr. Tynan]

I know you might think it's odd me bringing this topic up seeing as it's very old, I just want to see the views of some of the members who have joined since the topic was last posted to.

[Sir James]

Connery has regarded his Bond years in some interviews as a great time, and in others as Hell itself. Connery had an intresting time behind the scenes as Bond. And really I think the only thing that really bothers him about his Bond years was that it was what made him a star. Before Bond Connery was not that well known, and not in many large roles. Now this very quiet man has now become the icon of a generation. He just could not handle it and he knows it.

[Dr. Tynan]

Any more views on this issue

[ChandlerBing]

Connery once said he and The Beatles went through the same thing back in the 60s with all of the fame and publicity. With them, there were 4 of those guys to spread it all around. Connery was on his own to cope with it. It would have been tough for anyone. Think about the Paris premiere of Goldfinger when he was driving the Aston Martin up to the theater and an overzealous fan dives through the front seat window and onto his lap. The Japanese press were downright cruel to him in 1967. The press were asking him really dumb questions on Goldfinger. Who's Gert Frobe? Hmm, I never heard of her..Connery got pissed and walked off. Can you really blame him? Connery is a class act. When I grow up I want to be like Sean Connery.

[JimmyBond]

Sometimes it appears stars might be really mean people, but more often than not, its because the press only focus on their bad side. Like CB said, Connery was hounded by the press, they wouldnt leave him alone, he got tired of that, and thats where a lot of these stories come from.

Of course it is true that he and Cubby had a falling out, the man didnt even attend his funeral.

[Roebuck]

Originally posted by JimmyBond
Of course it is true that he and Cubby had a falling out, the man didnt even attend his funeral.

Cubby phoned Connery shortly before he died, and I understand the pair of them were able to patch up their differences. Nice that they had that chance. Incidentally,wasn't Dalton the only Bond actor to attend the funeral?

[Dr. Tynan]

I think that might be true (that Dalton was the only Bond actor to attend Cubby's funeral) but I'm not sure.

What I do know for sure is that Dalton helped carry Cubby's coffin.

[ChandlerBing]

Dalton, Moore, and Brosnan were the 3 Bonds that were there. There is even a picture somewhere of the three of them together. Roger is in the middle and Dalton and Brosnan flank him.

[Dr. Tynan]

I wonder why Connery was not at the Royal Premiere is he still sour about something? as someone else on the forums thought.

I hope he isn't.

[Felix's lighter]

"It happens all the time. At the time of Moore's reign as Bond, he was the best thing since the invention of the fridge magnet. As soon as Dalton stepped in, grief, all the publicists were running to the journos saying, "look, when he shoots a gun, he doesn't Blink".

A little off-topic, but I had to comment on this: when Moore was Bond, he WAS Bond as far as critics and audiences were concerned - there was not as much of the "Connery vs. Moore" debate as is commonly thought. Dalton was a huge hit with the critics even though he never won over the audience at large.

[JimmyBond]

Originally posted by Roebuck


Cubby phoned Connery shortly before he died, and I understand the pair of them were able to patch up their differences. Nice that they had that chance.  

Its nice to hear that. I would never want to live with (and fortanetely I havent, yet) knowing that I had a fight with someone and never got a chance to make things right, that would just kill me.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Dr. Tynan
I wonder why Connery was not at the Royal Premiere is he still sour about something? as someone else on the forums thought.

I hope he isn't.

Yeah, he believes EON still owes him some money. It's a long standing dispute and has caused a lot of bad blood between the two parties.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Dr. Tynan
I think that might be true (that Dalton was the only Bond actor to attend Cubby's funeral) but I'm not sure.

What I do know for sure is that Dalton helped carry Cubby's coffin.

Funny, that must have been Roger Moore's double who read that eulogy then.

[Dr. Tynan]

Read my post again, you'll see that I wrote "I think" and "but I'm not sure."

[David Somerset]

Connerys ambition was to be a successful and versatile actor and could not have forseen the huge impact on the world Bond was going to have and the resultant effects on his personal and professional life. Any actor will tell you that typecasting is death to an expanding career so the huge international success of Bond was at the time no doubt very satisfying would later on prove to be an obstacle when he wanted to do other things. He has beavered away for decades trying to shake it off and I cannot recall him ever slagging the series over the years in any interviews I have seen or read. He has strong opinions about certain things and nobody rides roughshod over him thats for sure!!
I would not say he is a whiner though, just someone who is not afraid to speak his mind.

[SeanValen00V]

Originally posted by ChandlerBing
Dalton, Moore, and Brosnan were the 3 Bonds that were there.  There is even a picture somewhere of the three of them together.  Roger is in the middle and Dalton and Brosnan flank him.

Any idea where a picture on that can be found on the net?

[Tehuti 004]

I am pretty sure Connery has made a few good films since he has parted with his Bond career.

What was the name of the film that Connery and Michael Caine appeared in? Somthing to do with India I believe. That was a very good movie, but I can't think of the name.

[Tehuti 004]

Originally posted by SeanValen00V



Any idea where a picture on that can be found on the net?

Is it this pic?

[zencat]

Originally posted by Tehuti 004
...What was the name of the film that Connery and Michael Caine appeared in? Somthing to do with India I believe. That was a very good movie, but I can't think of the name...

That would be THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. Great movie!

[kevrichardson]

no your not the only fan sick of Connery's whining. every other person who played Bond is greatful for the chance. Bond made a lot of money for them. Yet Connery acts like a bloody baby, always whining about the role. some one should remain him , that he was a 2 bit actor. whose film career was in B grade films. Roger Moore was a much large star than he was .

[DanMan]

Roger Moore was lucky. By time he was done with bond he could practicaly retire. Connery still had to look for work. Pierce Brosnan has his own production company so he'll have no problem getting work after bond.

[kevrichardson]

what the point ,it still means that Connery is still a bloody whiner. He left the role for good , so he said in 1971 then returned in 1983. He hate role, was done and finished. he a question does he refuse the royality payment for the DVD sales of the Bond movies , or from the lifelike dolls now on the market??? . The man is a whiner. plain and simple.:cool:

[doublenoughtspy]

I see both sides.

On the one hand, Connery would have not had much of a career without Bond.

As Honor Blackman says, she would rather be remembered for a single role in her career, rather than just forgotten.

I think Connery should embrace his legacy.

However, he has always been focused on the financial aspects, and was upset he was never made a partner.

While I'm sure he gets residuals from the DVDs - I doubt that any of the other merchandise (trading cards, dolls, calendars, etc, etc) pays him any royalties.

A number of years ago, we approached Lazenby and EON to create an action figure - we decided to pay Lazenby as a courtesy - but it wasn't mandatory. The Bond contracts through Dalton I'm sure were very limited as far as merchandise inclusion.

I'm sure Brosnan's is more explicit.

But anyway, back to Connery.

I think if he made an effort to be more accessible and participate in anniversary and retrospective events (rather than having to rely on 10 year old taped interviews) - then he might get fewer questions about Bond when promoting a new movie.

[Turn]

When he was Bond in the '60s, the era of film merchandising was just getting started. I can understand Connery's being concerned about his mug being everywhere and not making anything on it when others were getting rich at his expense.

The Beatles had the same sort of problem when their manager signed away merchandising rights for little money. Today, you get athletes and others who get these sorts of things all the time. Listen to them whine when something they somebody uses their image or something and then compare it to Connery.

Face it, Connery didn't get nearly that much when was playing Bond in the early days. Sure, he signed a contract and it made his career, but is it wrong for him to talk about what should have been in light of what we have now?

Listen to interviews about his early days and he says guys like him and Michael Caine who grew up in poverty will fight for every penny they have due to them because they remember their humble beginnings. It's not really different than people who lived through the great Depression of the 1930s. You get a certain mind set and it stays with you.

[Dr. Tynan]

Just bringing this back

[Tarl_Cabot]

No you are not. I wish Sean would retire.

[Dr. Tynan]

I know.

[BondNumber7]

Connery can be a good actor if he gets the right material. Look at Finding Forrester which in my opinion is his best performance, especially that panic attack at the sporting event. I'm not sure if he is arrogant because everyone has tolled him for 40 years how great he is, or that he doesn't like people kissing his feet. I think in the past decade he's made too many bad action films like The Rock and Entrapment, and keeping him in action films was probably another way of saying, "Look Connery is Bond, but we obviously can't give him back the role so lets give him a bunch of action pictures to tell people he can still be an action star."

I little disapointing that some of the DVD's contained a 1992 interview of him instead of Connery giving new interviews for the disks.

Dr. T should stop being overly sensitive. This is a good thread.

[Dr. Tynan]

Cheers