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Bond: Past, Present, Future - 4th March, Aberdeen University event -summary
gumbolt
Now with in-office photocopier
So I went along to the event at Aberdeen University (UK) on 4th March 2022. Guests were John Grover, Phil Meheux and Martine Beswick. It was a host-led conversation (all guests personally present, not video link as I had assumed) with a short Q&A at the end. The key facts and moments I took from this were -
1. John Grover was asked about working with Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. He was gushing about Roger, saying he was a charming man who kept crews happy. With Dalton, he made it clear he was not a fan - he said he was a "great actor" but clearly did not enjoy working with him. He mentioned that TD insisted that Bond smoke and this caused editing issues. He appeared critical of TD's serious approach to the role. When the host cheekily said "I'm sure TD is a nice guy..." that is when Grover shrugged and merely said he was a good actor. No love lost there then - but Grover clearly respected John Glen and maybe the alleged tensions between TD and Glen were part of Glover's obvious disdain for TD.
2. At the Q&A Grover was asked about the infamous pigeon double-take in MR and if there were conversations about whether the humour went too far in that and other RM films. He just shrugged this off and criticised Dalton for "lack of humour" and that TD could not deliver the one-liners in TLD that had been "written for Roger".
3. Phil Mehuex said that when he was offered GE he pointed out that he had been unimpressed with the "visuals" of Bond movies in the late 1980s (at which point Grover gave him a thumbs-down signal) and that he and Martin Campbell had been assured they could make the movie their way. He and Campbell spent two days in a hotel room in Los Angeles watching all previous Bond films with wine and pizza as part of their prep. Not clear if that was prep for movie or prep for getting the job.
4. Mehuex revealed that Daniel Craig told them he was afraid of heights during the crane fight scene in CR. The police car at the airport blown back by jets was not CGI and the Virgin plane was a plastic model.
5. Martine Beswick said that she never agreed that Bond girls were "used" - she says they knew what they were doing, were strong, well paid and that it was empowering to be a Bond girl. She liked Terence Young and Sean Connery, who she says were good friends. She was disappointed at not being involved in the publicity tour for TB but enjoyed the filming. Connery was "mischievous" but there was "no scandal" between them.
6. A bit of an awkward moment when at Q&A they were asked about their favourite Bond villain. Grover was a bit stumped by the question and the first name he mentioned was Curt Jurgens, but he could not expand on it and basically ducked out of the question. Mehuex suggested Gert Frobe but from his own two movies, Mads Mikkelsen, who he said was a nice man. But the awkwardness of Grover's disinterested answer was topped by Martine Beswick, who suggested Javier Bardem. She said "He played this..." and after a pause, continued "creepy homosexual" and then shuddered. This was a university event and the presenter was an academic from the Film/Media School. So the presenter rephrased her point to suggest she was referencing the specific scene where Silva touches Bond on the chair, but she did not really seem to understand the awkwardness of her choice of words. Anyway, the moment passed without any tantrums and we moved merrily on. Looks like Martine didn't get the memo!
So overall an entertaining event and it was nice that all three guests travelled up to Aberdeen for the event. I do not know if it will be posted online or not. The beautiful 15th century campus has a modern conference centre for these events and was used a few years back as a temporary home for the Scottish Parliament. It reminded me of the first scene from Live And Let Die where a political meeting was somewhat rudely interrupted!
I hope my summary is of interest and that I have accurately recalled everything.
1. John Grover was asked about working with Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. He was gushing about Roger, saying he was a charming man who kept crews happy. With Dalton, he made it clear he was not a fan - he said he was a "great actor" but clearly did not enjoy working with him. He mentioned that TD insisted that Bond smoke and this caused editing issues. He appeared critical of TD's serious approach to the role. When the host cheekily said "I'm sure TD is a nice guy..." that is when Grover shrugged and merely said he was a good actor. No love lost there then - but Grover clearly respected John Glen and maybe the alleged tensions between TD and Glen were part of Glover's obvious disdain for TD.
2. At the Q&A Grover was asked about the infamous pigeon double-take in MR and if there were conversations about whether the humour went too far in that and other RM films. He just shrugged this off and criticised Dalton for "lack of humour" and that TD could not deliver the one-liners in TLD that had been "written for Roger".
3. Phil Mehuex said that when he was offered GE he pointed out that he had been unimpressed with the "visuals" of Bond movies in the late 1980s (at which point Grover gave him a thumbs-down signal) and that he and Martin Campbell had been assured they could make the movie their way. He and Campbell spent two days in a hotel room in Los Angeles watching all previous Bond films with wine and pizza as part of their prep. Not clear if that was prep for movie or prep for getting the job.
4. Mehuex revealed that Daniel Craig told them he was afraid of heights during the crane fight scene in CR. The police car at the airport blown back by jets was not CGI and the Virgin plane was a plastic model.
5. Martine Beswick said that she never agreed that Bond girls were "used" - she says they knew what they were doing, were strong, well paid and that it was empowering to be a Bond girl. She liked Terence Young and Sean Connery, who she says were good friends. She was disappointed at not being involved in the publicity tour for TB but enjoyed the filming. Connery was "mischievous" but there was "no scandal" between them.
6. A bit of an awkward moment when at Q&A they were asked about their favourite Bond villain. Grover was a bit stumped by the question and the first name he mentioned was Curt Jurgens, but he could not expand on it and basically ducked out of the question. Mehuex suggested Gert Frobe but from his own two movies, Mads Mikkelsen, who he said was a nice man. But the awkwardness of Grover's disinterested answer was topped by Martine Beswick, who suggested Javier Bardem. She said "He played this..." and after a pause, continued "creepy homosexual" and then shuddered. This was a university event and the presenter was an academic from the Film/Media School. So the presenter rephrased her point to suggest she was referencing the specific scene where Silva touches Bond on the chair, but she did not really seem to understand the awkwardness of her choice of words. Anyway, the moment passed without any tantrums and we moved merrily on. Looks like Martine didn't get the memo!
So overall an entertaining event and it was nice that all three guests travelled up to Aberdeen for the event. I do not know if it will be posted online or not. The beautiful 15th century campus has a modern conference centre for these events and was used a few years back as a temporary home for the Scottish Parliament. It reminded me of the first scene from Live And Let Die where a political meeting was somewhat rudely interrupted!
I hope my summary is of interest and that I have accurately recalled everything.
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Comments
Martine Beswick always struck me as such a beautifully strong and naturally positive personality, I hope she was a highlight of the experience. Appreciate the respectful and straightforward way you represented all the guests.
If there's an eventual video of the event I hope it can be posted here.