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I never said it did. I say doing something different may have made it less popular.
@Getafix The franchise was on a downward slope. Even Dalton said that LTK might be the last Bond during filming.
Was Brosnan an inherent part of that anticipation, as a new Bond? Most definitely imho. As the man in waiting for so many years, I know many (including my parents) wanted to see how he would fare. Moreover, the Dalton years, while lauded by some, just didn't appear to resonate in the same way as prior actor intros. He was arguably a man ahead of his time but sadly that doesn't pay the bills.
Having said that, I now wonder whether what everyone was really anticipating was a return to the past. A nostalgic hope for the halycon days of the 60's/70's. If that was what the public wanted, then GE definitely delivered for the majority, even if not for some.
I think the interesting point to note is that it marked the high water mark critically for the Brosnan era. Perhaps once that pent up nostalgic desire was fulfilled with a greatest hits film (which GE for all intents and purposes was) there was no more interest for it..
it's sacrilege to even mention GE in the same breath as GF and TSWLM.
you can lump it with SF if you want but even I would acknowledge that SF is an infinitely superior film on pretty much every front- and I can't stand SF.
I've read it somewhere in an article that must still be available. Dalton said that LTK may be the last Bond. Not his last Bond but the last Bond, he stressed that in these words. I might be wrong but I think it was both his evaluation of a production he found difficult and a veiled criticism to the critics of his casting. I think at some point he was exasperated.
he's filming the PTS.
He seems a bit morose and depressed. i wonder if the press picked up on it at the time.
I have managed to dig up the old Variety story from 12 April 1994 which included the original press release of Dalton stepping down. It does state that "UA execs were mum on possible replacements, but speculation surfaced on two questionable possibilities: Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan." Adding further that "When the pic was announced last year, former MGM co-chairman Alan Ladd Jr. said it would carry a budget of at least $40 million. Sources said that figure may rise if an A-list star takes over the series."
https://variety.com/1994/film/news/dalton-bails-out-as-bond-120067/
You’d be surprised at how vocal some people can be about both GF and TSWLM.
I'm pretty sure that quote from Dalton is in BONDAGE MAGAZINE issue # 16.
He definitely said his feeling was that LTK would be the last one. Not HIS last one, the end of the whole lot. He said it was a "feeling" he had but wasn't speaking with any real authority on the subject.
-For those who came to be fans from the GE video game I say great, glad it got you on board. While not a gamer myself, if inspired others into discovering the legacy of the series that's a great thing. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again.
-As far as people looking forward to Brosnan's Bond prior to GE, I've always found it curious as I've heard conflicting things. I've heard outside the U.S. he wasn't well known, save for things like The Fourth Protocol and a few other projects.
Here in the U.S. he was anointed the next Bond when Remington Steele was in its first season and overwhelmingly won an Us Magazine poll at the time of the Battle of the Bonds. Then through several miniseries he stayed in the public eye. So how much was interest came primarily from people who knew him here through that series and the miniseries, primarily?
-I believe the article in question about Dalton's quote about LTK being the last Bond film was an issue of the U.S. fan club publication Bondage in an interview with the club's founder Richard Schenkman. I have the magazine, but it's in storage with a lot of my other memorabilia, so I can't verify it.
Speaking as someone who thinks GF, TSWLM and SF are deservedly great, I'd say that GE is one of a handful of Bond films (the others being TB, DAF, MR, and DAD) that were huge hits at the time but have not aged gracefully. Like DAF it was hailed as a return to form, but the form was formula.
Strange that no one ever brings up when Cubby put his company Danjaq up for sale for around $200 million in 1992. I remember that shock bit of news appearing in all the movie magazines and papers at the time. I seem to recall that the company was sought out by Joel Silver, the producer of the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon films, but when Cubby heard that Silver was planning to cast Mel Gibson (an American) as James Bond, he took the company off the market. Eventually, in December 1992, Cubby's lawsuit finally paid off, and the case reached a suitable conclusion and Pathe was kicked out of the partnership. As a result, MGM's debt continued to mount and they needed a new successful film to help pull them back out of the mire. The rest we know about, of course. Dalton's contract had expired and it gave the new chairman of UA the chance to replace Dalton, a portrayal he never cared for to begin with. By all accounts, Brosnan wasn't top of the list either. According to Liam Neeson himself, he turned the role down first opening up the chance for Brosnan to step in and take it. Maybe that's the reason why Brosnan never made waves with the scripts, grateful at his chance of becoming Bond?
I'd like to find out more about that Danjaq sale. That's one bit of Bond history that rarely gets discussed or covered. I do remember an article in Cinefanstique regarding BOND 17 and the sale. I believe the article appeared sometime in late 1990.
A new actor would have generated enthusiasm but not like that. Brosnan was pretty much plebiscited.
I remember seeing an interview with Mel Gibson where he stated he wasn't really interested in playing Bond. I wonder if, had Joel Silver gotten the rights if he might have changed his mind?
Interestingly during the Dalton era, a lot of people I knew felt Gibson would have been perfect to play Bond instead of Tim. He was even in the polls for GoldenEye along with Pierce, Liam, and Hugh Grant. I believe Pierce won those polls with ease.
Just as Robbie Williams did later.
Haha!! I forgot about him.
Some of his films, LETHAL WEAPON 2, for instance show the title after the Warner's logo and the film immediately kicks into gear. I could see his Bond film doing that with Michael Kamen returning to compose the score.
I almost think general audiences in 1992/1993 might have embraced a Joel SIlver/Mel Gibson Bond series.
Still I probably would have been pissed at the time had he been cast. I liked him, but not really for Bond.
I might have been okay with that. This topic kind of makes me want to revisit some of the LETHAL WEAPON movies. I haven't seen the 3rd or 4th ones in a very long time.
I’m sure you know Brosnan also turned down Batman.