It's Over.

[Tony149 0]

Between two of the best Bonds, TSWLM & FYEO, we got Moonraker. The series could turn around with the next flick. Getting Clive Owen would be a step in the right direction.

What makes it even worse (although I enjoyed parts of Moonraker) is the fact FYEO was going to be the follow up film to TSWLM. It wasn't the first time though, OHMSS was going to follow Goldfinger, etc. When I see TSWLM's credits and it says "James Bond Will Return...in For Your Eyes Only" I can only think of the John Barry score we didn't get. The title song might have been something totally different than what Bill Conti provided, but the disco elements of Conti's score would have been gone. I did like his score, however. Even the things I hate I like.

 

I don't know much about Owen except he's giving me a Dalton vibe. He's said in the past he doesn't want the role but we know how that goes. If he ever got the part and Bond got serious, hopefully he wouldn't meet Dalton's fate which should of been Brosnan's fate had Pierce been the one stuck in the legal mess than put Bond on the sidelines.

[phoenixrising 0]

I wish Brosnan had done one more movie, I first became a Bond fan while he was Bond and I think that after watching the older movies that he did a great job and was one of the better Bonds.

 

I actually think Hugh Jackman could play a great Bond. He seems like he could do both the humorous and serious parts of James Bond. The hardest part is balancing those two, people don't seem to like a Bond who's too funny (Roger Moore) or too serious (Timothy Dalton). If Jackman could balance those character traits like Connery and Brosnan were able to he'd be a great Bond.

 

Not so sure on McGregor. Who's Clive Owen? What has he starred in? Seems like a few people on here think he could pull Bond off too.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Didn't Robbie Williams express interest in becoming the next James Bond?

 

Well, at least he's British.

 

Sad news though, I thought Peirce was the best Bond of all time, hands down.

 

UYI

[Jobber of the Week 0]

50 Cent as James "2 Slick" Bond!

This made me laugh until I tried to imagine Hollywood giving the Bond role to Eminem and then I started to cry.

 

But hey, if you're going to have a Bond of non-British or even caucasian descent, why not The Rock? Looks good in a tux, can believably take out several tough guys at a time, charming smile.

[Guest SP-1]

Ewan McGregor.

 

He's Scottish (Zsasz, I know you can appreciate that in a Bond for the same reasons I do), he's young, handsome, looks good in a tux, and can be a believable cold blooded action star (I think so anyways).

 

He's perfect for the new Bond.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Ewan's small and too well known, but I wouldn't be ashamed to see him don the tux.

 

EDIT: Update from ianfleming.org

 

 

Following the UK's 'Daily Mail' report earlier this week on Pierce Brosnan being axed from the 007 role, a 'Keep Brosnan' campaign seems to have started, writes Steven Woodbridge.

 

Parts of the Bond fan community in the UK have also begun to express shock and anger at the move by MGM and EON, as there was a general assumption that Pierce would do one more movie and be allowed to go out on a 'high'.

 

One fan has even created a "Keep Pierce" petition online.

 

There is also deep concern at the idea of pitching the next Bond at a 'younger' audience and going for the lowest common denominator. Some have expressed a suspicion that MGM have become desperate to bail themselves out of further financial difficulty after the managerial incompetence of other recent film projects, and have now focused on James Bond - the most successful part of their empire - to save their skins.

 

The opening shots in a Keep Brosnan campaign have been made in the same UK newspaper that revealed the shock news, the 'Daily Mail', with an article on 12th February by former Bond woman Fiona Fullerton. It was entitled 'Oh Oh Heaven! Or Why, at Fifty, Brosnan should STILL be Bond'.

 

Fiona, who played a Russian agent in Roger Moore's final Bond movie AVTAK in 1985, clearly expressed in the article her astonishment that the Bond producers are scouting round trying to find a replacement. 'Excuse me? Too old at 50?', she wrote. 'Since when has that been too old for men in the movies?'.

 

She pointed out that when she appeared in AVTAK in 1985, Roger Moore was 57 at the time but the film was as popular as ever. On the Brosnan decision, Fiona complained: 'The film-makers say that they are worried that an ageing special agent will put off young cinema-goers. But nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that an older Bond looks as if he can whip the backsides of all the handsome young villains... that come his way. And that's as obvious to a teenage cinema-goer as it is to a geriatric'.

 

Fiona pointed out that it is 'depressing' that the Bond producers, like so many in the film and television industry, 'appear to be pandering to the youth audience'.

 

She continued: 'At 50, Brosnan is more alluring than ever because the lines and occasional fatigue that show on his face are desperately attractive'. She added that Brosnan, in her view, was the best Bond ever.

 

Moreover, at the professional level, he takes his profession very seriously, 'and even does most of his own stunts. He's still in tremendous shape and looks like a man who has lived life in the fast lane, but he doesn't want to quit now and the producers would be mad to let him go'.

 

Fiona ended her article by powerfully pointing out: 'Pierce has been quoted as saying he'd like to do another Bond film. And so he should'.

[Ravenbomb 0]

If he weren't Batman, I'd say cast Christian Bale

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

There is also deep concern at the idea of pitching the next Bond at a 'younger' audience and going for the lowest common denominator. Some have expressed a suspicion that MGM have become desperate to bail themselves out of further financial difficulty after the managerial incompetence of other recent film projects, and have now focused on James Bond - the most successful part of their empire - to save their skins.

 

Please note... this has been true for thirty years.

[Slickster 0]

I've heard about how in the early 90s MGM considered changing Bond's gender/sexual preference/race, but never his age. It shouldn't matter how old the actor is, as the Bond character is timeless and ageless...like Ric Flair.

 

Now there's a thought...

 

(And Rock as Bond = good idea.)

[sfaJack 0]

Doesn't Connery still have a grudge with EON? 

I have no idea. I'm probably the least qualified person to answer that question, as I tend to stay out of the loop on such gossip. I'm just a fan of the movies.

 

But can you hate Sean Connery?

I don't need to hate him. It's Sean F'n Connery. Seeing him as a Bond villian is good enough for me.

 

Sure we love action movies but we like Bond, too. If the film's good people will come to see it.

Oh, I'll watch the new Bond film whenever it comes out, simply to satisfy my Bond appetite.

 

If the guy's good for the role and can pull off the accent, go for it I say. But I don't they should end the franchise. They need new blood in the creative department.

Perhaps ending the franchise IS a bit much, but I really don't know what else they can do with the series, aside from seriously altering the character or Bond's age or some other major change. And I honestly don't think that'd be a good thing. We don't need "XXX version 2.0."

[Si82 0]

If he weren't Batman, I'd say cast Christian Bale

Now that I would like to see.

 

I think he'd be good as a more serious Bond. Kinda like Tim Dalton was. Mind you, I'd probably rate Dalton as one of the best, if not the best, Bond.

[Guest Banders Kennany]

Pierce was great. The only time I doubted him as Bond was when he took his shirt off. I'm not saying Bond should be a muscleman, but Pierce needed to stay in the tux. As for Ewan and Jackman, I don't know if they would be great choices, since their established positions would possbily make them reluctant to sign on for a series of films. This goes more for Jackman, since his star is rising and he already has a recurring movie role as Wolverine. I think a lesser known guy would be the best choice.

[Tony149 0]

I'm not sure what to believe now. LatinoReview reported MGM said the rumors weren't true -- which is expected. CommanderBond.net said EON wouldn't confirm or deny the reports, which a company would normally do to shut up the reports. Then again, EON isn't exactly a normal company; they denied the reports Bond 20 would be named DAD, a few weeks later they announce the film's title is DAD.

 

Brosnan's good for one more unless he's Cary Grant 2K4, looks the same into his late 50s and 60s.

[2GOLD 0]

What about Jason Statham from The Transporter?

 

He's younger (31 or 32), British and can fight well enough. He already has done many action films and he seems like you could build a franchise around him for a few films.

[Vyce 0]

This could go very, very badly.

 

I can see it now:

 

"Silly Bond Film Title Here"

 

starring Ben Affleck as James Bond!

 

And directed by....McGee!

 

*cocks shotgun* Time for a mercy killing.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

This could go very, very badly.

 

I can see it now:

 

"Silly Bond Film Title Here"

 

starring Ben Affleck as James Bond!

 

And directed by....McGee!

 

*cocks shotgun* Time for a mercy killing.

Let's see what they do first, before we get all uppity.

 

Every time the Bond series has NEEDED a good film... they've gotten one:

 

Dr. No

From Russia With Love

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

The Spy Who Loved Me

GoldenEye

 

 

The character of Bond is so well stewarded by EON, that I doubt we'll get truly bad casting here.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

I love almost all of the Bond movies and thought Brosnan did well as Bond. But to me, this seems like the perfect time to end the Bond franchise, for good.

 

They did 21 (yes, I count Never Say Never Again) movies in 40 years and, to me, have exhausted just about every possibility for stories. Plus, given the way the movies have veered very much towards simple slam-bang action movies as opposed to the story-driven, espionage early Bond films, they just aren't that much fun anymore. Die Another Day was awful.

 

Now with Brosnan not coming back, it just seems time to let it go. At the very least, they need to get Connery to play the villian in the next one. That'd rock the house.

Excuse me for asking, but why would one not count Never Say Never Again as a Bond movie?

[Anya 0]

Because it's not made by the regular Bond producers(and it's just a remake of Thunderball anyway).

 

Same reason the Casino Royale TV movie and the awful "comedy" version don't count.