Daniel Craig confirmed as new James Bond

[DACrowe]

Name 5 Bond movies that would be classified as dark and gritty and dense by the way.

 

[JLBats]

Name 5 Bond movies that would be classified as dark and gritty and dense by the way.

Dr. No, From Russia With Love, OHMSS, TLD, LTK

However, I was talking about my perfect Bond movie. Based more on the novels than the current action movie archetype.

 

[DACrowe]

Ah, Ian Fleming's Bond I think disappeared after From Russia With Love never to be seen in a movie theater again except for a few brief moments in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. And the only really dark and gritty ones I think you named is License to Kill and maybe the somber and sad ending of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Dr. No while close to Flemming and less over the top (as was From Russia With Love) were still fun adventures with as much polish and fun as Goldfinger and to an excessive extent Thunderball, took the series. What with gypsy girl fights and added puns and Bond waving adios to the tape as he is making out in the gondola, etc. etc.

But yeah if you want more of the novel Bond good luck with that I saw a few glimpses of him in The Living Daylights, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is Not Enough but not enough for me to say there is novel Bond just a few brief moments that I'm sure were more Brosnan's interpretation than the script but none of those save for Goldeneye were very good and of course Die Another Day shows the real direction the producers want to keep Bond (unfortunately) which may be why Brosnan was axed for his more somber and brooding Bond take.

 

[JLBats]

I think the movies have more or less done a decent job with the Bond legacy. I'm not one of the more raving Fleming fans. I liked all of Connery's films, a few of Moore's, I like Lazenby, I liked Dalton's films, and I thought Goldeneye was right up their with Connery's films. If the only tonal shift is toward Goldeneye style, then I'll be more than happy with it.

 

[Hunter Rider]

A Spoiler on another change from the book for the film

 

[JLBats]

A Spoiler on another change from the book for the film

Makes sense.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Makes sense.

Yep,if executed well i don't see a problem

 

[DACrowe]

Yes I agree if the tone shift was towards Goldeneye, but the creative team needs to be better as TND and TWINE both tried to do that and TND was mediocre and boring and TWINE was a decent movie and quite good for Bond lately but nowhere near as good as Goldeneye or early Connery (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger. Thunderball was okay but the last two Connery Bonds were crap) and less like oh I don't know Die Another Day which had a great premise and a great first act (Bond captured and torurtred and imprisoned by North Korea for 2 years before being traded for prisoners and lost respect and trust with his own government and has to go renegade) but after the first act it ends up with him being welcomed back way too easily and becomes likke a Roger Moore Bond movie in Iceland (which isn't neccesarily a bad thing Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only were all good Bond movies) but as it returns to North Korea it becomes ridiculous and well...crappy and ends with a fizzle (more like the rest of Moore's BAD Bond movies like A View to a Kill, Octopussy, The Man with the Golden Gun, and of course the infamous Moonraker). A rather low note for Brosnan to end his Bond movies on. And the root of the problem was the director who was way too "MTV" for Bond and Halle Berry as well as producers trying to make it hip with Halle Berry as a Bond equal when the trick was done better in The Spy Who Loved Me without Triple X talking jive (which was rather racist to have her do it just because she was black).

And then firing Brosnan who is still very bitter (and rightfully so) about the whole mess for a "young hip" Bond and then the new Bond not being nearly as young or hip or as charismatic as Brosnan....very disappointing indeed.

My only hope is with Campbell's return to the franchise and Flemming as the source again he can make another Goldeneye stand out Bond movie, but I already know it has made a serious mistake by ousting Brosnan for Craig but oh well.

 

[Everyman]

Even in the first act of DAD, there were problems: the gunbarel sequence, Bond being captured for THAT long (that he didn't try to escape, or that the MI6 never bothered to get their top agent out of his jail was highly unbelievable), MI6 being really quick to put the blame on him without even considering that there might be a mole in the service (I don,t think they welcomed him back too easily, I think they lost their trust in him too quickly. Had I been Bond, I would have defected for Communist China permantently, they seemed to be pretty welcoming in the movie), and already too many sci-fi elements (DNA surgery, for example). The premisse of the first part of DAD was good (Bond being captured and tortured), but it was very badly exploited. And they had probably the worst Bond girl and the worst Bond villain ever. That's a lot for a Bond movie.

 

[Everyman]

A Spoiler on another change from the book for the film

If it is well developed, it might be good news. I have been advocating for that kind of changes for quite a while.

 

[regwec]

And then firing Brosnan who is still very bitter (and rightfully so) about the whole mess for a "young hip" Bond and then the new Bond not being nearly as young or hip or as charismatic as Brosnan....very disappointing indeed.

This just isn't true. Eon eventually dumped Brosnan because he demanded an absurd pay check, and then indulged in a public defamation campaign against the producers when his demands were not met. He also made some homophobic comments when Rupert Everett was rumoured to be in line for the part. Considering Brosnan's selfish and childish behaviour, the studio treated him with the uppermost curtousy and restraint.

And what on earth is this about the new Bond "not being nearly as young" as Brosnan? Brosnan is 52, and looks 57, whilst Craig is 37. What is the mathematical principle for your statement that Brosnan is younger? And since when has Brosnan ever been "hip" or "charismatic"? The man is a barely moving manequin. He put in a reasonably solid performance in "Goldeneye", then went to sleep for the next three films.

Fans have actually been cheated out of a talented actor putting in a decent performance as Bond most of the time. Connery was a natural, but obviously gave little effort to his later performances; Lazenby gave it his all, but was no actor; Moore was half-hearted from the outset; Dalton was a fine actor who gave great performances, but only two; Brosnan was a mediocre actor with a pretty face, who decided that he didn't need to act to play the part. I can't promise anyone that Craig will be great or even good, but we at least now have a fine actor who likes the literature and understands the weight of responsibility. Give the guy a chance.

 

[Furious Styles]

Following yesterday's edition of Variety in which columnist Peter Bart claimed Pierce Brosnan had priced himself out of the role of James Bond with demands that would net him over $40m (USD), reports have spread fast with wildly differing amounts.

When rumours of Brosnan's departure first broke back in early 2004 due to him being "too old", tabloids and Internet sites were quick to back up the hypothesis that the four-times 007 had been "fired" (even though he was not under contract) because he was the wrong side of 50.

Sources close to the production denied these stories, and MGM even leaked a denial through trade paper Variety exactly one year ago announcing Bond 21's provisional release date and that "Brosnan was still their Bond". The real story was still bubbling behind the scenes however, and the talk of pay disputes did not make any headlines. One year on, and following the Variety piece, the press are now openly reporting that Brosnan had asked for too much money - although the numbers quoted vary in accuracy.

MI6 Forums member "Insider" - who first broke the news that Bond 21 would be based on "Casino Royale" back in June 2004 (before any other website) - leaked details of Brosnan's pay demands early last year.

The negotiations reportedly stalled with only a $3m difference between the two parties. According the figures, Brosnan allegedly asked for $25m to extend his tenure as James Bond for a fifth time, after his original contract of "three films and an optional fourth" expired with "Die Another Day". $25m may seem a lot of money for the lead role, but Brosnan was reportedly paid $16.5m for his last Bond film in 2002 which broke Bond's 40 year box-office records. According to the source, negotiations broke down in February as both parties could not come to an agreement and Brosnan was not lowering his asking fee.

A month later, and following a slew of "too old for Bond" bad press which caused Brosnan to change publicists, he reportedly lowered his asking price to $20m plus 10% of box-office profits. The source's report in March said that MGM were willing to go to $17m with the 10% deal, but the discrepancy of $3m stalled talks. At that point, Brosnan said "the phone calls stopped" and "paralysis" had set in with producers as he went public on the issue.

Taking "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) as an example, the film had a box-office gross of $352m. After deducting the costs for distribution of the film, the earnings of the theatre owners, the earnings of the distributors, the cost of the film's production and marketing budget, estimates of the film's profits total around $22m. For a 10% of box-office profits deal, this would net the actor an addition $2.2m on top of the usual fee. DVD profits would also generate further income, especially if actors unions have their way with movie studios and secure a bigger slice of DVD revenues.

Based on these figures, Variety's claim of $40m seems a little inflated. The reality of the dispute that caused Pierce Brosnan to step down from his famous role is more likely to be closer to the $3m difference of opinion.

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_21_brosnan_pay.php3?t=bond21&s=bond21

So let's not act like EON was begging Pierce Brosnan to return to play James Bond in Casino Royale and he was sitting on a throne laughing as they begged on their knees and then he waved them away and laughed and sipped some champagne and EON cried for days and were distraught over the fact that Pierce would not be returning.

Money was an issue, as it always is in movies, don't paint Brosnan to be some greedy bastard, like they did with Michael Keaton and Batman Forever.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

A Spoiler on another change from the book for the film

I have no problems with that, sounds good actually...

 

[theJust]

i dont like daniel craig. clive owen, obviously screams bond. oh well. arguing i not going to change it. casino royale should be very interesting.
id like to think craig as a more in the tradition of roger moore. oh well.

 

[logan_weapon_x]

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_21_brosnan_pay.php3?t=bond21&s=bond21

So let's not act like EON was begging Pierce Brosnan to return to play James Bond in Casino Royale and he was sitting on a throne laughing as they begged on their knees and then he waved them away and laughed and sipped some champagne and EON cried for days and were distraught over the fact that Pierce would not be returning.

Money was an issue, as it always is in movies, don't paint Brosnan to be some greedy bastard, like they did with Michael Keaton and Batman Forever.

It wasn't money with Keaton. I'm sure he didn't like the direction the story was taking.

 

[Furious Styles]

It wasn't money with Keaton. I'm sure he didn't like the direction the story was taking.

Yea, that was my point, sorry about the confusion. Michael wasn't satisfied with the direction of Forever, so he opted out. But Schumacher and company said that Keaton demanded some ridiculous amount of money to return. It seemed like more of a campaign to slander him and give him a bad reputation among the public.

I just felt that is what happened to Pierce as well. They parted ways, for whatever reason and then the mud slinging began.

 

[Red Mask]

Superman fans have Brandon Routh. Bond fans get Daniel Craig. Must be a trend.

 

[The Phantom]

I watch a clip and trailer of Layer Cake, and so far, Craig doesn't have any Bond-worthy traits. You know, if this Bond film happened to center around Jame Bond's ugly cousin, I would have no qualms about it.

 

[the gael]

well, so they wanted a " Dr No " type Bond. less gadget, more realistic and faithfull to fleming's book. They will also introduce a new SPECTRE ( damn Mc Clory crap, Eon can't bring back Blofeld or the SPECTRE due to him... )
That would have been awesome if they haven't miscast Bond.
With Craig, casino royale will be a failure and then, like after OHMSS, we will return to ridiculous but bankable bond like " diamonds are forever ".
This will have no end...

 

[regwec]

I watch a clip and trailer of Layer Cake, and so far, Craig doesn't have any Bond-worthy traits.

Are you attempting to be humourous, or are you really that naive? In Layer Cake, Craig is playing a grubby little drug dealer. He is emphatically acting a role that is totally different to 007. You may just as well lament the fact that you can't see much of an omniscient wizard in Ian McKellen's performance as a Nazi war criminal in Apt Pupil. I really do not believe that you have thought your statement through.

 

[regwec]

With Craig, casino royale will be a failure

With Craig, "Casino Royale" will be a massive commercial and critical success.

You see what I just did there? That's spurious conjecture.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Are you attempting to be humourous, or are you really that naive? In Layer Cake, Craig is playing a grubby little drug dealer. He is emphatically acting a role that is totally different to 007. You may just as well lament the fact that you can't see much of an omniscient wizard in Ian McKellen's performance as a Nazi war criminal in Apt Pupil. I really do not believe that you have thought your statement through.

Funny i lost count of the pro Craig ppl that sited Layer Cake as a perfect example of him showing charisma and charm and why he was perfect for the role

 

[Carmine Falcone]

I watch a clip and trailer of Layer Cake, and so far, Craig doesn't have any Bond-worthy traits. You know, if this Bond film happened to center around Jame Bond's ugly cousin, I would have no qualms about it.

Just watch the whole movie instead of judging by the trailer

It is an awesome movie BTW.

 

[regwec]

Funny i lost count of the pro Craig ppl that sited Layer Cake as a perfect example of him showing charisma and charm and why he was perfect for the role

I am not amongst the "pro Craig ppl", of whom you speak, and you mean "cited".

 

[Hunter Rider]

I am not amongst the "pro Craig ppl", of whom you speak, and you mean "cited".

ooooooo burn for someone who is not pro Craig you certainly spend a lot of time defending him and get pissed when ppl say he's ugly