How close were we to seeing Brosnan in 'Casino Royale'?

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  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Getafix wrote:
    I'm not sure I would have wanted Tarantino directing a Bond movie, but I've always liked the idea of doing Bond as a period piece and going back to the 60s. Why not in fact go back to the 50s?

    The ultimate reboot would take us back to Bond during his WW2 service.
    I certainly wouldn't want Tarantino to direct a film in the official series but if he had been able to do just one stand alone period piece then I think it might have been interesting.

    In hindsight I'm extremely glad that he didn't get the rights to Casino Royale. I'm sure that at some point someone will make a Bond film set in the 50's.
  • I think the Brosnan/Tarantino CR could've been brilliant. Wouldn't trade it for the film we got but I'd have really liked to see it made as some sort of "unofficial" Bond film.

    Maybe Tarantino could do his own 50s/60s set spy movie with Brosnan in the lead. That's something I'd like to see.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 1,661
    I think Cubby Broccoli would have stuck with Brosnan for his fifth Bond film be it Casino Royale or if it were a different Bond film. Pierce Brosnan did come out with one revealing comment when he said MG and B Broccoli never invited him to dinner. My guess is he didn't get on with them in a 'friends' kind of way so when he wanted a lot of money for a fifth film they came up with the excuse: "Bond is a bit stale, Bourne is the new type of spy film, let's ditch Brosnan!"

    I'm sure a fifth Brosnan Bond film - be it Casino Royale or Die Another Night (the sequel to DAD!) :P - would have been a big success.

  • edited January 2014 Posts: 11,425
    fanbond123 wrote:
    I think Cubby Broccoli would have stuck with Brosnan for his fifth Bond film be it Casino Royale or if it were a different Bond film. Pierce Brosnan did come out with one revealing comment when he said MG and B Broccoli never invited him to dinner. My guess is he didn't get on with them in a 'friends' kind of way so when he wanted a lot of money for a fifth film they came up with the excuse: "Bond is a bit stale, Bourne is the new type of spy film, let's ditch Brosnan!"

    I'm sure a fifth Brosnan Bond film - be it Casino Royale or Die Another Night (the sequel to DAD!) :P - would have been a big success.

    That's very surprising. Suggests they didn't actually like him at all. Why cast him in the first place if they felt like that? I guess it was Cubby's last act and they felt they had to respect it, but when the Irishman's mediocrity just couldn't be tolerated anymore they ditched him. Would be interesting to know what they really think of him. I bet they think he was awful.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 1,778
    fanbond123 wrote:
    I think Cubby Broccoli would have stuck with Brosnan for his fifth Bond film be it Casino Royale or if it were a different Bond film. Pierce Brosnan did come out with one revealing comment when he said MG and B Broccoli never invited him to dinner. My guess is he didn't get on with them in a 'friends' kind of way so when he wanted a lot of money for a fifth film they came up with the excuse: "Bond is a bit stale, Bourne is the new type of spy film, let's ditch Brosnan!"

    I'm sure a fifth Brosnan Bond film - be it Casino Royale or Die Another Night (the sequel to DAD!) :P - would have been a big success.

    With all due respect I doubt EON dumped Brosnan merely due to the fact that they didn't find him to be engaging dinning conversation.

    Bond getting stale wasn't an excuse. It was just the truth. Plus after 9/11 esponiage was given a serious face again. Having spies windsurf giant waves just didn't seem right.
  • Posts: 15,122
    It was a business decision that gave Brosnan the role, it was a business decision that made him lose it. There's simply no way he was seriously considered that late in the process. It is highly unlikely anyway.
  • Getafix wrote:
    fanbond123 wrote:
    I think Cubby Broccoli would have stuck with Brosnan for his fifth Bond film be it Casino Royale or if it were a different Bond film. Pierce Brosnan did come out with one revealing comment when he said MG and B Broccoli never invited him to dinner. My guess is he didn't get on with them in a 'friends' kind of way so when he wanted a lot of money for a fifth film they came up with the excuse: "Bond is a bit stale, Bourne is the new type of spy film, let's ditch Brosnan!"

    I'm sure a fifth Brosnan Bond film - be it Casino Royale or Die Another Night (the sequel to DAD!) :P - would have been a big success.

    That's very surprising. Suggests they didn't actually like him at all. Why cast him in the first place if they felt like that? I guess it was Cubby's last act and they felt they had to respect it, but when the Irishman's mediocrity just couldn't be tolerated anymore they ditched him. Would be interesting to know what they really think of him. I bet they think he was awful.

    I think the problems with Brosnan's era were mainly down to the producers actually. Anyone remember the "CGI is the future" comments from them around the time of DAD?

    I feel sorry for Brosnan. I thought he did a good job as Bond and deserved a better send off but the producers used him as a scapegoat when DAD turned out awful ("look, new Bond, new direction!") even though I think that was mainly their fault (yeah you can blame Tamahori and the script but they let that happen, instead of stopping things getting out of hand they supported them).
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    All this Brosnan-bashing is depressing me. I'm going to watch GE again and raise a glass to the poor bastard.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    doubleoego wrote:
    All this Brosnan-bashing is depressing me. I'm going to watch GE again and raise a glass to the poor bastard.

    Here here. I will do the same. :)
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 11,425
    Getafix wrote:
    fanbond123 wrote:
    I think Cubby Broccoli would have stuck with Brosnan for his fifth Bond film be it Casino Royale or if it were a different Bond film. Pierce Brosnan did come out with one revealing comment when he said MG and B Broccoli never invited him to dinner. My guess is he didn't get on with them in a 'friends' kind of way so when he wanted a lot of money for a fifth film they came up with the excuse: "Bond is a bit stale, Bourne is the new type of spy film, let's ditch Brosnan!"

    I'm sure a fifth Brosnan Bond film - be it Casino Royale or Die Another Night (the sequel to DAD!) :P - would have been a big success.

    That's very surprising. Suggests they didn't actually like him at all. Why cast him in the first place if they felt like that? I guess it was Cubby's last act and they felt they had to respect it, but when the Irishman's mediocrity just couldn't be tolerated anymore they ditched him. Would be interesting to know what they really think of him. I bet they think he was awful.

    I think the problems with Brosnan's era were mainly down to the producers actually. Anyone remember the "CGI is the future" comments from them around the time of DAD?

    I feel sorry for Brosnan. I thought he did a good job as Bond and deserved a better send off but the producers used him as a scapegoat when DAD turned out awful ("look, new Bond, new direction!") even though I think that was mainly their fault (yeah you can blame Tamahori and the script but they let that happen, instead of stopping things getting out of hand they supported them).

    You're right that the producers have to take responsibility as well. Brosnan is only one very small reason that DAD is awful. No one could have saved that movie. I did despair during the whole Brosnan era about whether MGW and Babs really had any idea about what they were doing. But I guess taking a longer term perspective you could say they reestablished the commercial success of the series after a long period of doubt, and then used this to reboot. I don't know if that was their 'plan', but they certainly appear in a much more positive light now than they did a decade ago.
  • I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    As for Brosnan's films, I just re-watched them for the first time in a few years and I really, really enjoyed them. They are simply a lot of fun and Brosnan did a fine job as 007.

    GE--Old wine in a new bottle, a great Bond for the 1990s.
    TND--Carver was great and this reworking of YOLT was a lot of fun.
    TWINE--Had an almost film noir quality with Ms. King--a true femme fatale.
    TND--I will never understand the hate that this film gets. It's just as good (or bad) as the other three films from the Brosnan era. I thought that the invisible car was a real hoot. TND was a great hybrid of the novel Moonraker and the film DAF and great escapist fare in the Moore tradition.

    Plus, keep in mind that while a lot of us love Dalton, the franchise was dead in the water by the late 80s/early 90s. It was Brosnan who gave the series a shot in the arm and brought it back from the dead and made 007 fresh and relevant again for a whole generation of fans. Pierce deserves a lot of credit.
  • Posts: 15,122
    I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    There is a problem with this hypothetical scenario: Brosnan's age. He may have looked younger than he was in GE and even TND, but he ver much looked his age in DAD and there is no way a long flashback would have been believable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even at his most youthful looking, Brosnan never looked 25 or 30 years younger! And an extensive flashback, going Godfather II with Bond so to speak, would have brought many, many, many technical issues.
  • Ludovico wrote:
    I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    There is a problem with this hypothetical scenario: Brosnan's age. He may have looked younger than he was in GE and even TND, but he ver much looked his age in DAD and there is no way a long flashback would have been believable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even at his most youthful looking, Brosnan never looked 25 or 30 years younger! And an extensive flashback, going Godfather II with Bond so to speak, would have brought many, many, many technical issues.

    You said it. At 53 years old there wouldn't be a girdle strong enough or enough hair dye or makeup in the world to make Brosnan look like he did in the mid 80s. It would've been a disaster. We should count our blessings things worked out the way they did.
  • Posts: 15,122
    Ludovico wrote:
    I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    There is a problem with this hypothetical scenario: Brosnan's age. He may have looked younger than he was in GE and even TND, but he ver much looked his age in DAD and there is no way a long flashback would have been believable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even at his most youthful looking, Brosnan never looked 25 or 30 years younger! And an extensive flashback, going Godfather II with Bond so to speak, would have brought many, many, many technical issues.

    You said it. At 53 years old there wouldn't be a girdle strong enough or enough hair dye or makeup in the world to make Brosnan look like he did in the mid 80s. It would've been a disaster. We should count our blessings things worked out the way they did.

    Brosnan as a rookie Bond in CR would have been ludicrous. A CR without the rookie Bond element would have been watered down to mediocrity. And this is not counting the many technical problems coming with an ageing actor playing the lead in an action movie.
  • Yeah the actions scenes really would've suffered. I couldn't imagine Brosnan circa Goldenye doing the free-running chase or the airport/truck fight. Much less Brosnan at 53 years old. Not to mention it would've had to have been set before 1986 to avoid the GE PTS. Meaning the film would also be a period piece.

    And a question no one seems to ask is what would've come next? Just recast the role or reboot it entirely? If they were going to reboot the series CR was the perfect story to do it with. They'd be passing up a major opportunity just to satisfy a man who already had his run.
  • Posts: 825
    Well not even 100% when it along time ago. He would want gadget & scrap every from the book. I was glad he didn't came it again. Martin Campbell said he or the producers would image him in The first Fleming book Casino Royale. I seen what he said in the C.R DVD. So glad Martin Campbell came back.
  • Pajan005Pajan005 Stockholm, Sweden
    edited January 2014 Posts: 432
    After what happened with DAD they wanted to go fresh again. I guess it could have worked with Brosnan, but then they would have to change the timeline since it's supposed to be his first mission. Maybe that's why they had Judi Dench back. I think the producers thought that it's better to have it be set at the beginning. After Batman Begins came out they knew it was time to go back to the reality of the real world. Make it more gritty. Because you were going to change the tone of the story it made more sense to have a new actor as Bond. Perhaps they thought someone else could take the role of M, but since the already got dame Judi's contract for more films. Let's just use here.

    Anyway, that's some thoughts about it. Brosnan would have been back if they had chosen Quentin Tarantino's version of CR.
  • Pajan005 wrote:
    After what happened with DAD they wanted to go fresh again. I guess it could have worked with Brosnan, but then they would have to change the timeline since it's supposed to be his first mission. Maybe that's why they had Judi Dench back. I think the producers thought that it's better to have it be set at the beginning. After Batman Begins came out they knew it was time to go back to the reality of the real world. Make it more gritty. Because you were going to change the tone of the story it made more sense to have a new actor as Bond. Perhaps they thought someone else could take the role of M, but since the already got dame Judi's contract for more films. Let's just use here.

    Anyway, that's some thoughts about it. Brosnan would have been back if they had chosen Quentin Tarantino's version of CR.

    I think Tarantino had even less of a chance of working on CR than Brosnan. Thankfully.
  • Pajan005Pajan005 Stockholm, Sweden
    edited January 2014 Posts: 432
    I think Tarantino had even less of a chance of working on CR than Brosnan. Thankfully.

    Yeah, it had something to do with Tarantino not belonging to the directors guild or something.
  • Posts: 6,396
    Pajan005 wrote:
    I think Tarantino had even less of a chance of working on CR than Brosnan. Thankfully.

    Yeah, it had something to do with Tarantino not belonging to the directors guild or something.

    No I just think the producers didn't want him anywhere near Bond.
  • Pajan005Pajan005 Stockholm, Sweden
    edited January 2014 Posts: 432
    No I just think the producers didn't want him anywhere near Bond.

    Alright. God point
  • Ludovico wrote:
    I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    There is a problem with this hypothetical scenario: Brosnan's age. He may have looked younger than he was in GE and even TND, but he ver much looked his age in DAD and there is no way a long flashback would have been believable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even at his most youthful looking, Brosnan never looked 25 or 30 years younger! And an extensive flashback, going Godfather II with Bond so to speak, would have brought many, many, many technical issues.

    I don't know, it may have worked. If they can make an invisible car, they could make a 53 year old look ten years younger. Yes, the math wouldn't quite work, but if Brosnan really got in shape and a lot of makeup was applied, they may have been able to pull it off.
  • Posts: 6,396
    No, it really really wouldn't have worked.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 381
    You know what would have been wild? If Dalton did agree to play Bond after Connery and they made Casino Royale, as a prequel to the first five films, instead of OHMSS. Then Dalton steps down and we have Connery in OHMSS and DAF and then the Moore-era, and then we still get the two Dalton films of the late 80s.
  • Posts: 6,396
    You know what would have been wild? If Dalton did agree to play Bond after Connery and they made Casino Royale, as a prequel to the first five films, instead of OHMSS. Then Dalton steps down and we have Connery in OHMSS and DAF and then the Moore-era, and then we still get the two Dalton films of the late 80s.

    There is an obvious issue with that. EON didn't obtain the rights to CR until 2005.

    Why would Dalton do one film, step down from the role only to come back 20 years later?
  • You know what would have been wild? If Dalton did agree to play Bond after Connery and they made Casino Royale, as a prequel to the first five films, instead of OHMSS. Then Dalton steps down and we have Connery in OHMSS and DAF and then the Moore-era, and then we still get the two Dalton films of the late 80s.

    There is an obvious issue with that. EON didn't obtain the rights to CR until 2005.

    Why would Dalton do one film, step down from the role only to come back 20 years later?

    It wouldn't have made any sense. I was just throwing that out there as Dalton was asked in play 007 in '67. So I was creating a scenario where Dalton plays Bond for one film, pulls a Lazenby and leaves, and then comes back when he actually did play James Bond, in the late 80s. In this alternative universe EON would have had the rights to use CR.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 12,837
    Ludovico wrote:
    A CR without the rookie Bond element would have been watered down to mediocrity. And this is not counting the many technical problems coming with an ageing actor playing the lead in an action movie.

    He wasn't that old and in 2006 he didn't look any worse than in DAD. As long as they toned down the action he would've been fine. Here he is in 2007, a year after CR, and he still looks good enough to be Bond



    Also, remove any mention of Bond being a rookie and make the parkour bit the PTS. It doesn't affect the film at all. It's still very good, so how would removing the rookie element be mediocre?
  • Posts: 11,425
    I will be eternally grateful that Babs and MGW finally saw the light and sacked Pierce. If only they'd done it sooner.
  • Posts: 15,122
    Ludovico wrote:
    A CR without the rookie Bond element would have been watered down to mediocrity. And this is not counting the many technical problems coming with an ageing actor playing the lead in an action movie.

    He wasn't that old and in 2006 he didn't look any worse than in DAD. As long as they toned down the action he would've been fine. Here he is in 2007, a year after CR, and he still looks good enough to be Bond



    Also, remove any mention of Bond being a rookie and make the parkour bit the PTS. It doesn't affect the film at all. It's still very good, so how would removing the rookie element be mediocre?

    Brosnan looks good for a man of his age. But he looks like a man of his age, now and back in 2002 AND 2006. CR is all about Bond learning to become 007, about learning to asvoid falling in love, keep an emotional distance, remain professional, see the big picture, etc. You lose all this if Bond is an experienced agent. So yes, it makes the movie more mediocre.

    As for the parkour, it wouldn't have been in the movie at all.
  • Posts: 15,122
    Ludovico wrote:
    I see a scenario where Brosnan could have done Casino Royale:

    The film could have started in 2005 with Bond, played by Brosnan, talking with M, a woman, etc. reminiscing on his first mission. We would then flashback to the late 70s/early 80s when Bond first gets 00 status and the film could have been the backstory to Brosnan's Bond.

    There is a problem with this hypothetical scenario: Brosnan's age. He may have looked younger than he was in GE and even TND, but he ver much looked his age in DAD and there is no way a long flashback would have been believable. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even at his most youthful looking, Brosnan never looked 25 or 30 years younger! And an extensive flashback, going Godfather II with Bond so to speak, would have brought many, many, many technical issues.

    I don't know, it may have worked. If they can make an invisible car, they could make a 53 year old look ten years younger. Yes, the math wouldn't quite work, but if Brosnan really got in shape and a lot of makeup was applied, they may have been able to pull it off.

    No, it would not hjave worked. It is easy to make someone look older in a movie, but doing the reserve is very difficult. Lots of makeup would have looked like lots of makeup.
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