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I tend to think both of them would have struggled against Walken. Roger was old but he still had bucketfuls of presence.
Yeah, they’d never have done LTK with Pierce, you’re right. I do think he’d have been very good in TLD though. I can imagine him being a touch less distant in it than Dalton was.
Personally, AVTAK feels more like a 'last Bond film', so it's difficult imagining a young Pierce in it. It doesn't help that Moore and the rest of the MI6 regulars are not at their most youthful, but just looking at the cinematography and even story show a film that doesn't quite have that vigour or freshness to it. Perhaps then the presence of a younger Bond would have helped this.
He's a better fit for TLD though, especially with a bit of the steel he showed in Fourth Protocol.
I wouldn't want to swap out Moore in AVTAK, or indeed Dalton in TLD. There are a number of scenes in the latter where I just can't imagine Brosnan bringing what Dalton did to it.
The MI6 regulars being old were fine, well Desmond Llewellyn as Q proved himself as counterpart to the later Bond actors, Lois Maxwell? Well, that's fine too, she's M's secretary, and besides, Bond never ended up with her (despite of some flirting, well, I could do better without any of the flirting).
But the film, aside from many issues I have with it (the action scenes in particular), I think it would've been better with a younger Bond actor.
Who says he couldn't go up against Walken? When he had fought a more physically imposing Sean Bean's Alec Trevelyan in Goldeneye.
And I think Brosnan would've a lot more better banter with Stacey Sutton.
And for me, at least, Moore should've stopped after Moonraker, really, when he's still in his prime, then the other (younger) Bond actors could've took the role.
I know it has fans, but I don't mind losing Octopussy (well, it could've suit Brosnan's strengths too), and For Your Eyes Only could've starred with Dalton, then either one of them in AVTAK.
Also, Brosnan is quoted as saying we're taking bets as to if a second season will happen when his comments talk about a year ago meaning he'd already be deep into filming the second season already.
But it does make sense that Brosnan was on Cubby's radar since at least 1980 when they first met (?). And Remington Steele was starting to make Brosnan famous in the US.
And Moore would only sign for one movie at a time--recall the bizarre James Brolin time (Brolin was prominent on US TV in Hotel). Moore clearly couldn't be in the role forever, so I'm sure Eon had feelers out.
As they probably have since the release of SPECTRE.
However, let's assume that this rumour is true. In this case, I guess AVTAK would have been quite different from the actual movie. If I'm not mistaken, Patrick Macnee was cast because of Moore and it's thus probable that another actor would have played the part. Since the whole St. John Smythe thing was tailored for Moore, I have a hard time imagining Maibaum and Wilson writing it for another actor; thus, I guess the whole Chantilly segment would have been something else entirely.
Regarding the supporting cast, with Brosnan as Bond, I guess Michaela Clavell would have been brought back as Penelope Smallbone, replacing Miss Moneypenny as M's secretary.
The movie would probably have been more successful. The series needed fresh blood at the time; let's not forget that AVTAK made even less than LTK at the box-office worldwide (even thought it grossed five times its budget so it was still a success). With Brosnan, or anyone else, in the role, AVTAK could have renewed audiences' interest in the series, especially with Duran Duran helping to sale the movie for a younger audience.
as Cubby wanted Bond to be more harder edge, hence his enthusiasm for Dalton! Dalton was unavailable. Glen and Michael Wilson convinced Cubby to give Brosnan an audition, based on the prospect of his contract ending for Remington Steele, he signed on, MTM productions pulled a fast one and extended his contract, Cubby dropped him, Dalton became available and signed on. Glen doesn't mention Brossa bei g considered for AVTAK! Think thats the story!
Wait, so we have @mtm to blame for Brozz not being in TLD!?!? I always thought this guy was trouble… (😉)
After MR concluded Moore's 4 picture deal he would refuse to sign another long term contract. Instead Moore would only sign a picture at a time. This allowed him to increase his wage. After each film wrapped he was coy about returning to do another.
When Eyes wrapped and it was time to re-up the price was too steep. Broccoli ended up screen testing a bunch of actors, one of them being James Brolin. This was going to be for OP. Depending on what you believe they were going to go with James Brolin for OP. Although Broccoli was likely bluffing.
As McClory was now into production with NSNA it was decided that OP shouldn't be a new Bond and they paid Roger his fee to return.
After OP Moore again was coy about returning for another. It is entirely likely that Broccoli screen tested some new actors. I could see Pierce being one of those actors. The story I had heard was that the studio was grateful for Moore and his efforts in beating Connery at the Box Office and said they would like him to return to do a final picture.
The rest is history. It is too bad that Moore returned, AVTAK was not a strong send off. I would have preferred him sailing away in OP. Have a new Bond for View!
So while things may not entirely align with Brosnan doing View. I can see the series of events where he might have screen tested while Broccoli and Moore did their dance with negotiations.
Brosnan was a rising star in the US in the early '80s, and I'm sure Cubby was paying attention to him (much as he pulled Moore out of TV). Brosnan's co-star Stephanie Zimbalist didn't get along with him because Remington Steele was developed as a star vehicle for her but he was becoming more popular by the day.
I understand why Eon put out the PR spin that Dalton was "always the first choice." But Brosnan was a much bigger star than Dalton in the early-mid '80s in the US. The US is/was one-third of the global Bond box office so of course Cubby signed Brosnan when he became (briefly) available.
I say this as someone who prefers Dalton to Brosnan.
I don't know that anyone, Dalton or Brosnan, could have survived the "crass action hero" craze of the late '80s, not to mention the UA problems. It's a miracle Bond came back.
😅 Well he does appear to be quite critical of Dalton! 😉
MTM as you well know, is Mary Tyler Moore Productions producers of that awful Remington Steele show!
Oh, so did he thought that Moore was hard edged?
It's obvious that Moore was as lightweight as Brosnan, isn't it?
Really, I don't believe Cubby at this.
It's impossible to have him shake his head on Brosnan, because the guy had a star power (something that in my view of Cubby, was always that he's looking for, he liked his Bond actor to have that Connery type of stardom in them).
If he's enthusiastic about Dalton, then why he didn't considered the guy for LALD?
I agree.
You're missing the point. Moore wasnt hard edged, so Cubby wanted someone different for the next era! Regards Dalton and LALD, he was considered several times, but declined or wasn't available. He was always on Cubbys list, Brossa was not until the 80's, when Roger was signing on picture by picture!
It was not a miracle. True Lies made a lot of money. It was a matter of time.
Yeah, I know. It doesn't matter. True lies made Bond relevant again without Brosnan and EON. It was a matter of time, that's all.
AVTAK's script was so tired and recycled(essentially a GF rehash that could've easily been titled Microchip-Finger) I would not have wanted either Brosnan or Dalton to make their 007 debut with it, at least not without a major script overhaul prior to shooting. As it stands, it's a little easier to overlook AVTAK's many faults as a finale for Sir Rog past his prime rather than as an exciting debut for a younger, new Bond lead actor. That stated I have in the past imagined a "what if?" standalone version of AVTAK with a 1985 Brosnan and with Priscilla Barnes(Mrs. Leiter from LTK) as Stacy Sutton. Essentially it may have played like Remington Steele with Teri Alden as his leading lady.