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What if George Lazenby had been in Diamonds Are Forever?

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  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Brilliant idea, to have had a sub story involving the killing of M
    As in The Manchurian Candidate. :)
  • tonytony
    Posts: 34
    It would of been fantastic , let's face it for his first outing he did an incredible job , he did have the best script and score but I think he would of put in a stronger performance in DAF and grown in confidence. It would of needed a much stronger script and a better story but compared to SC returning looking like his heart wasn't in it , GL for me as a follow up to OHMSS would have been a much better film especially if TS had returned as Ernst.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    tony wrote: »
    It would of been fantastic , let's face it for his first outing he did an incredible job , he did have the best script and score but I think he would of put in a stronger performance in DAF and grown in confidence. It would of needed a much stronger script and a better story but compared to SC returning looking like his heart wasn't in it , GL for me as a follow up to OHMSS would have been a much better film especially if TS had returned as Ernst.

    Would have been awesome.
  • scouse007scouse007
    Posts: 90
    I would have like to see GL do another film or two and I would have give DAF a Point Blank and Bullit vibe and make it a revenge story.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    If he'd just done two with DAF as a proper nasty revenge thriller ... Wow.
  • Ottofuse8Ottofuse8
    Posts: 832
    Probably would have been a lot better, and Irma Bunt may have been it it. The problem is that it may not have performed well enough critically or commercially for the series to continue, as deserving as it may have been.
  • ThomasCrown76ThomasCrown76 Augusta, ks
    Posts: 757
    The actress who played her died in 1969. We lost Peter hunt and lazenby was higher than a kite on cloud nine with the hippies. Were actually lucky we got the 1971 bond movie we did. John Gavin would've sucked
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    Ottofuse8 wrote: »
    Probably would have been a lot better, and Irma Bunt may have been it it. The problem is that it may not have performed well enough critically or commercially for the series to continue, as deserving as it may have been.

    I'd like to think they would take that kind of risk now. Knowing that they can always recast and reboot the series and audiences will come back.
  • JarrodJarrod
    Posts: 232
    What if George Lazenby had made The Man With The Golden Gun?

  • Master_DaharkMaster_Dahark
    edited February 2015 Posts: 4,813
    Outstanding!! I loved that you dropped the BS Solex and made it more about Bond vs Scaramanga-- AND that extra bit at the end with Bond about to assassinate M! Well done

    lol I do have to admit though, the whole time I was waiting for Lazenby to lose the 'stache. I kept thinking 'Oh Bond is undercover and will lose it once he hunts Scaramanga' but it never happened. Not your fault since Lazenby himself had one during that time. It does beg the question: would the public have accepted Bond with a mustache? Considering lots of people had them back then sure-- but I doubt it would have aged well.
  • JarrodJarrod
    Posts: 232
    Many thanks for watching Master_Dahark! Yeah, I was a bit hesitant to even make a "what if" trailer with Lazenby's mustache, but took the risk anyways. Yeah, I kind of justified it (as Bond was hiding from Scaramanga), but it seems so un-Bond-like to be sporting it. I'm not even sure I'm totally done with it, because certain parts are a bit clunky. I may fix it up even more. I think I'd been working on it too long, and kinda needed fresher eyes to look at it. Thanks for your comments, as always.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I enjoyed that. =D> also loved the ending, with Bond doing what he tried to do
    In the novel. :D
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    That was fun. Looking forward to the next one!
  • JarrodJarrod
    Posts: 232
    Thanks DrGorner and Thunderfinger! Means a lot to get such positive feedback. :)
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Dr_Metz wrote: »
    Two words: John. Gavin. DAF could have been, much, much worse than you all think it is.

    So true!!!!!
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 541
    It would've been a better movie purely because the main actor would have cared enough about the role to do it accurately.
  • ThomasCrown76ThomasCrown76 Augusta, ks
    Posts: 757
    Lazenby barely cared to be in ohmss. He was about love, not war, and bond was about war. His words.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    ThomasCrown76 wrote: »
    Lazenby barely cared to be in ohmss. He was about love, not war, and bond was about war. His words.

    I think it would have been a very different movie, porentially a lot better, even though there are pArts of DAF I quite enjoy
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,124
    It may have been the final nail in the coffin of the franchise. I love OHMSS and strongly dislike DAF but I think DAF as it stands was needed for the franchise to go on.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2015 Posts: 15,718
    IMO at most, Lazenby could have done DAF, but you can't have Moore not do LALD and the following films. Remove Moore from the franchise and you remove Dalton, Brosnan and Craig as the series would have been long dead.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Birdleson wrote: »
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    IMO at most, Lazenby could have done DAF, but you can't have Moore not do LALD and the following films. Remove Moore from the franchise and you remove Dalton, Brosnan and Craig as the series would have been long dead.

    Or a new face and attitude could have made it stronger than it was. We'll never know.

    Add American John Gavin as Bond in DAF and the franchise dies sooner.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    It certainly would not have been as humorous as it was with Connery.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    What a good thread!

    I am convinced that if Lazenby had done DAF that DAF would have been much better.
    Connery was just wrong for that movie and consider this: With Lazenby they would have done DAF as a full fledged revenge story!! DAF might have even been the best Bond ever who knows.

    And who knows if Lazenby would not even have been more popular than Connery at one point, he just never got a chance (which he caused himself of course stepping away).

    Imagine Connery stepping away from the role after Dr. No! Would we even seriously consider him to be the best Bond actor. He undoubtably would be ranked No 6 now.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    The real question is: what if DAF had been OHMSS²? Lazenby could have perfectly continued in that never-to-be film. DAF, as produced, needed Connery's relaxed attitude to make it work. Let's face it, DAF is flawed but somehow the flaws work to its advantage. It's an entertaining movie but only because we are allowed to laugh at the things we see because the film is sort of laughing at them too. Introducing a serious element like the OHMSS Lazenby would have created a perennial contradiction. There couldn't be a "Hi, I'm Plenty!" with an angry, vengeful Bond in the same scene.
  • Master_DaharkMaster_Dahark
    edited July 2015 Posts: 4,813
    ^ That's a very good point. Usually when we imagine 'Lazenby in DAF' we're picturing a dark revenge fueled movie.

    However if we had the humorous DAF as it was released, just swapped with Lazenby, of course it would have not only been stupid but a total headscratcher!

    'WTF is wrong with Bond, his wife just died!!'
    At least with Connery coming back it helps the audience forget what happened at the end of OHMSS. Sort of like a sequel to YOLT instead of OHMSS
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    That's how I feel about DAF, it's a Sequel to YOLT not OHMSS. FYEO is the closest we'll get to a sequel to OHMSS. However, this is what I imagined to be the proper sequel to OHMSS. Only in an alternate universe I guess.
    007_property_of_a_lady__fan_poster__by_comandercool22-d8dob1z.jpg
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    To refer back to the OP, the interesting angle is not so much, Lazenby returning, but Hunt. Having Hunt not direct a Bond beyond OHMSS is far more galling than a lack of Laz. Hunt is like Campbell, they just 'get' Bond.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited July 2015 Posts: 24,183
    @Master_Dahark
    @Murdock

    I think DAF isn't a sequel to anything. It's Picker and co demanding a radical departure from OHMSS, a film they deemed an abomination because it did(n't) make (enough) money. Had Majesty's done TB money, they'd be all over Lazenby. I recall plans to have the villain be Goldfinger's brother. It's obvious what they wanted. Financial success. I mean, Goldfinger's brother? Now THAT would have abominable. But the creative process was never an issue, now was it? No, money! UA wanted money. Then more money.

    And then more.

    OHMSS made money. Let it be said that this film was not a bomb, merely a failure compared to the hopes and desires of UA. But @RC7 said it: Hunt 'got' Bond. And just see where OHMSS is positioned on many a modern Bond fan's score card today: way above DAF. Majesty's is still going strong. DAF requires silly souls like myself defending it and its outrageousness or else it would be buried into either oblivion or total hatred. But while I like DAF like a one-night-stand, I love OHMSS like a wife.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2015 Posts: 15,718
    While I love DAF as a stand-alone bonkers film, it is very disappointing for me when I view it right after OHMSS. Dare I say that viewing DAF as a double feature with OHMSS disappoints me more than DAD.
  • JarrodJarrod
    Posts: 232
    Though I think Peter Hunt was a major component in the success of OHMSS, it's not just him exclusively. Part of OHMSS' cult is due to Lazenby's performance. I think if Sean Connery had returned to a Peter Hunt version of DAF, it wouldn't necessarily be the same kind of picture OHMSS was. I'm sure Peter Hunt was given a kind of carte blanche to create the kind of film he wanted, because he was working with a newcomer that had no say in the picture. I don't think Lazenby was the only one taking blame from EON, for the lesser box office returns. Remember that Hunt was never given another opportunity to direct or edit another Bond film, and this could have possibly been due to his lack of communication with the star. Lazenby was offered a 7 picture contract, Hunt wasn't. Also, if Hunt was asked to direct DAF with Connery, I'm sure Connery's input and influence would have been much stronger, and would have put directorial newcomer Hunt in his place. I'm pretty certain Connery influenced a lighter and funnier DAF than had originally been intended. Lazenby lack of experience gave him zero input into OHMSS, if Connery had been in it, it would have been a different case altogether. I'm curious if EON blamed Hunt to some degree, for the rocky relationship they had with Lazenby?
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