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TImothy Dalton and John Glen
Something has caught my interest. John Glen directed a horrible film in 1992 called "Christopher Columbus: The Great Discovery" and Timothy Dalton was scheduled to star in it. He then dropped the film after Glen came on. I also remember reading how Dalton had not wanted Glen to direct his 3rd Bond film if it happened. Can anyone enlighten on some potential bad blood between them? I've never heard Dalton really talk about Glen but I've heard nothing but good things from Glen about Dalton. This was just something that caught my eye so if anyone has any info, that would be great. Thanks
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Comments
In one of the interviews Glen did (probably on the AVTAK dvd), he spoke about Moore's retirement from the role and gave his opinion that he believed Roger was good for '2 or 3 more'.
Now that says to me Glen was so comfortable with Moore that he couldn't see beyond the cosy Bond family to a point where the series clearly needed new blood. It was ridiculous to think Roger could carry on, and Glen must have been the only person who thought so.
No offence Nic but I find that a little hard to believe. Is this bloke at 0.30 still a "blunt instrument" to you? I really hope even Glen wasn't that deluded. In the real world a spy of Moore's age would have probably retired long ago,,
The other day I decided I find the jacuzzi scene between Moore and Fulliton MORE embarrassing than what Brosnan did in DAD (yep!)
No, I'm agreeing about Moore. He needed to go before AVTAK. However, Glen did make that comment. I will dig the old dvd out and find it.
I actually disagree. Glen's latter Dalton Bond films are considerably better than his Moore efforts. Glen's appointment to the directors chair was always done in an attempt to make the series more gritty and realistic with a focus on larger-than-life stunts done for real. He's a great technical filmmaker.
Glen wanted to make Bond films that were closer to the spirit of the books. He was able to do this with the Dalton movies but Moore presented more challenges. This is clear with FYEO which is a great film with a much more serious, character-driven tone. Clearly this was possibly considered a little too serious especially for Roger's style hence the strange tonal shift for OP and the less said about AVTAK the better. TLD and LTK are his his standout works.
The thing I love about Glen though are quite how good his action scenes are. The best in the series no question especially his areal work.
The divide between Glen and Dalton I think came from character, Dalton took the role very seriously and Glen was a little more of a technical craftsman. I think they clashed here. I think they hired some guy called Alfonso (Don't remember his surname) to do the 3rd Dalton film and Glen was not asked to return
I see what you're saying but I do remember reading interviews about Glen and them saying "he was always looking for a joke". Yes his Dalton films are considerably better than his Moore films but I feel with a different director, the Dalton films could have been even better. And maybe Dalton felt this same way?
Glen was looking for a joke? I seem to remember Glen saying that typically when he shot action scenes he liked to include visual gags typically at the end of a big thrilling scene. It's not a bad idea, if you can make the audience sit on the edge of the seat throughout a chase scene, it's a rather clever and wry move to then end the sequence with a gag. It lets the movie breathe-in-and-out. Whehter Glen achieved this is really up to you.
Also Glen's replacement was a guy called Alfonso Ruggiero Jr. I think. I may be wrong.
Although some prefer that hacks films to any of Craig's films so what do I know?
If you took all the cliches and the Bond music out of those Glen films the people who love themselves would have a hard time justifying supposedly how great they are, Glen always had those safety nets, anyone could have made a Bond film feel Bondian with tick the box blueprint he always used, even LTK couldn't loose the cliches and had a very uneven balance to it.
For all the criticism of Forster he had much more flair and would rather see someone with some individuality than some journeyman who delivers the good in a safe tried and tested way.
Whilst I do really like and admire the Glen films they just... it's hard to pin down, they just lack a bit of cinematic magic and sometimes feel bland. I do like the John Glen films a lot and I like his more realistic and serious (most of the time) take on the series but I agree with a lot of the comments here Dalton could have used a bolder director who was willing to move the series away from the established formula and to tailor the films to Dalton's strengths.
Licence to Kill is Glen's best though and he redeems himself there by making a very memorable entry in the series (for better or worse depending on your opinion!)
Dalton's Discovery
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316103,00.html
Actor Timothy Dalton, who is starring in Columbus — The Discovery, has filed a $25 million lawsuit against the movie's producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, for breach of contract and fraud. Dalton's suit charges that the defendants failed to provide bank guarantees for his salary ($2.5 million), that they hired a new director without telling him (breaking a contractual agreement), and that they fraudulently promised him ''star casting'' — Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, and Anjelica Huston (none of whom are in the film).
So it appears as if Glen himself was not the problem as much as the fact that the reasons Dalton signed up for the film in the first place had been changed.
Will we ever know the truth?
"Things [on LTK] ended in a bit of a sour atmosphere, unfortunately - I was feeling a little unwell and Tim wasn't in the best of moods either. The whole thing was a bit of an ordeal and Tim and I had a bit of a slanging match across the pool. I don't know whether to put it down to tiredness at the end of the schedule or the accumulated tension of what had been an unusually arduous shoot."
p. 212:
"While waiting for his third Bond assignment, Tim had agreed to play Columbus. My arrival, however, seemed to initiate a change of heart and Tim soon decided he didn't want to appear in the film after all. I don't know whether Tim thought that appearing in another John Glen film would typecast him, but I hope that his departure wasn't entirely due to me. Whatever his reasons, the official story was that Tim had decided not to play Christopher Columbus because of 'creative differences' - whatever that means."
Glen then spends several pages documenting the problems of the COLUMBUS production. The screenwriters (including Mario Puzo) had quit, and when Glen came on board, Ilya Salkind's mother was writing scenes. The Salkinds had already spent a third of the budget promoting the film at Cannes (while Dalton was still on board). Allegedly, the Salkinds were funding the whole production from their own pocket, and financial issues frequently arose. Robert Davi refused to show up on set after not having been paid for two weeks, and at one point the hotel held several reels of footage hostage until the bill was paid.
So did Dalton leave because his relationship with Glen had degraded at the end of LTK, or had his interactions with the Salkinds led him to see the writing on the wall, that it was not going to be a pleasant shoot? My guess is, a little of both.
I've heard the Hot Fuzz commentaries and the cast one is very entertaining as is the crew one, the Tarantino one is an interesting listen especially when Edgar recounts some of Billie Whitelaw's comments when they are raving about some of her earlier work.
People DID see what Dalton was trying to do - but not everyone (even in the production team) agreed with it.
"You do have to keep fighting your corner"
I love what he said in response to "Do you miss it?"
Definition of a Bond legend.