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James Brolin in Octopussy vs Never Say Never Again in 1983

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  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    The only films I can see that he was a main star in,in the run up to 1983 would be Capricorn one,Night of the Juggler and High Risk....he was an astronaut in Capricorn One,a bitter cop looking for his daughter,in Juggler...and an adventurer in High Risk :


    James%20Brolin%20%20Capricorn%20One%20(1977).jpg

    Capricorn One 1978

    SUBROSAnightofjuggler.jpg

    Night of the Juggler

    JB10b.JPG

    High Risk

    .......

    I wonder which one,or maybe all of them,influenced EON to audition him.
  • vzokvzok
    Posts: 4,044
    He was in a fairly heroic role in Capricorn One. He was pretty much the main star in that one.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    He can cock the eyebrow as you can see in the Capricorn One photo...that might be the film that convinced them.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    I think it was his appearance in a film called The Juggler that convinced them he would be right for Octopussy. ;)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I think NSNA would have smashed OP into little bits, had Brolin been Bond.

    Then again, people lapped up Brosnan as Bond, so who knows?
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Octopussy might have done okay box-office, but Brolin would have been absolutely terrible. His accent in that screen test is plain American except where he embarrassingly mimics Connery on the phone with that "Yaaas." Was there really no one else in more serious contention for the part—apart from Moore?
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited November 2016 Posts: 19,339
    His screen test was actually worse than I remember,he made a piss-poor attempt to hide the accent, and just came over as smarmy,rather than sophisticated,like Moore..

    Brolin.jpg
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    James B would have sucked as James B.

    He outsleazes Moore.

    OP is a very mixed bag, but Roger Moore is among its assets.
  • ToTheRightToTheRight
    edited November 2016 Posts: 16,170
    Screen tests performances tend to be very weak when compared to the final film. Compare Chris Reeve's screen test for Superman to what he did in the actual film. It still got him the part but months later and during the process of filming he was able to tweak his performance and acting choices.
    I have no doubt had Brolin actually been cast, compared to what's seen on his tests he would have come off much better in OP. Still it would have been far too great a risk considering NSNA had been green-lit, was a done deal and Sean was coming back. Had Brolin done OP, and it been a failure, who knows, we still might have had Roger back in AVTAK regardless.
    I much prefer OP the way it is as well as 1983 on the whole. Had I seen an OP with Brolin that summer, I might not have evolved into the massive Bond fan I am.
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited November 2016 Posts: 19,339
    Yep it was that close to maybe being a 007 disaster,even with the accent being correct.
    He doesnt change his expression from an 'i know in going to win face'..compare that with Sir Roger in the bomb diffusing moment and the confrontation with Orlov on the train.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    Definitely..even Brosnan,because he lived and worked in the states,started letting a slight twang of an American accent into his voice in TWINE and DAD...so any American,wouldnt be able to keep up the lack of accent consistently...especially Brolin - no way...
  • Escalus5Escalus5
    Posts: 628
    NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER is terrific and has some truly amazing NYC-set car and foot chases. Brolin plays the hero very convincingly, but he was cast perfectly as a blue-collar underdog in JUGGLER. I'm baffled as to why EON would seem him in that role and think Bond.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    Agreed...i still cant see the film that did it,or even 2 of them !
  • bondsumbondsum
    edited November 2016 Posts: 3,333
    Ok, peeps, I've come out of self-imposed semiretirement through an absence of official Bond news, to add my opinion to this curious topic of Brolin as 007 in OP. Firstly, much like Moore himself, I like the man as a man and liked him as an actor in such movies as Capricorn One, Westworld, The Car and Amityville Horror. Being someone who was very much an active cinemagoer when OP came out I can honestly say, unequivocally, that Brolin would've tanked as Bond.

    Personally, I was already greatly disturbed by some of Cubby's decision making at the time and Brolin as Bond would've endorsed everything I was feeling; that TSWLM was a one-off and he was creatively stunted without Saltzman by his side. The fact that the UK newspapers were advocating Lewis Collins for Bond roughly around this period, a very credible suggestion IMHO, it would've been commercial suicide to go with the all-American Brolin at this stage. What with Connery coming back for NSNA, the press, fans and Uncle Tom Cobley and all would've had a field day. This was a period in cinema where big budget movies could also be big BO flops. To this day, I still don't understand what Cubby had against Lewis Collins as Bond. It's one of the biggest missed opportunities in the series to get Bond back on track with a more credible, serious and younger Bond. Ok, I was young myself, I went to the movies regularly, but I'd grown tired of Moore as Bond long before OP came along (MR and FYEO saw to that) and would've welcomed a new Bond, whether that had been Collins or Oliver Tobias I didn't mind either way. But Brolin, come on, no way would cinemagoers have welcomed him as Bond back then. No way hosay.
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited November 2016 Posts: 19,339
    Great post @bondsum and welcome back...re Collins,apparantly he was too self confident and overly violent in his test (not that i can find it anywhere)....i read this a few times but im off out to meet my girlfriend in a bit,i will have a look later...actually i created a thread on this once,maybe its in there,i will have a look....basically Collins was a Lazenby/Craig clone but in the softer time of Moore....bad luck.

    EDIT: Found my Collins thread and bumped it....
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Birdleson wrote: »
    No American Bonds.

    Here here. They have many fine actors. But Bond has to be a Brit.
  • bondsumbondsum
    edited November 2016 Posts: 3,333
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Great post @bondsum and welcome back...re Collins,apparantly he was too self confident and overly violent in his test (not that i can find it anywhere)....i read this a few time

    Cheers, buddy. Sorry, having problems with my lousy wifi here in the Far East. Just lost my comment again so I'll refrain from writing too much. I stand by my opinion that the Moore novelty had run its course by the beginning of th 80s. FYEO should have been a new fresh Bond. God knows what was going through Cubby's head at the time? He sure made some odd choices in the casting department for Bond back then, having passed on Collins and Tobias, both great choices IMHO. Collins too aggressive? Nah, I think Cubby just wanted to continue with the jokey lounge lizard Bond that he'd stamped on the series, because Saltzman would never have allowed it to sink into such self parody if he was still a partner.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,218
    I agree, no Americans. That aside a better, shorter, haircut would have helped his look for Bond Immensely. Brolin actually gives a hint as to how Bale would have looked.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Great post @bondsum and welcome back...re Collins,apparantly he was too self confident and overly violent in his test (not that i can find it anywhere)

    Don t you know, if you can t find a reference on the net to back it up, it never happened. That is the prevalent mindset these days.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Great post @bondsum and welcome back...re Collins,apparantly he was too self confident and overly violent in his test (not that i can find it anywhere)

    Don t you know, if you can t find a reference on the net to back it up, it never happened. That is the prevalent mindset these days.

    So true TF,so true...alas.


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