"The name is Bond. Moneygrubbing Bond."

[Shockeye]

Brosnan 'wanted' $42 million' to play Bond again

16/02/2005 - 09:57:25 Pierce Brosnan was dropped from playing James Bond because he demanded $42m (€31.9m) to reprise his role as the superspy for a fifth time.

Pierce Brosnan was dropped from playing James Bond because he demanded $42m (€31.9m) to reprise his role as the superspy for a fifth time.

Producers balked at the demand and axed the 51-year-old Irishman - in favour of finding a new 007 for the upcoming 21st Bond blockbuster Casino Royale.

Brosnan has spoken of being "surprised, disappointed and saddened" that 'Die another day', which grossed $456m (€348m) will be his last outing as 007 - but claims his wage "was an honest fee in terms of how much blood, sweat and tears I put into the role".

But industry magazine Variety's editor-in-chief Peter Bart says Brosnan "priced himself out of the market" with a reported "compensation package" that "would total north of $40 million"

[schild]

claims his wage "was an honest fee in terms of how much blood, sweat and tears I put into the role".

Is blood, sweat and tears synonymous with bullshit?

[Llava]

I can honestly say that Die Another Day was one of the best performances I've seen in my lifetime.

In other news, I, too, am full of shit.

[MaceVanHoffen]

Brosnan 'wanted' $42 million' to play Bond again

Pierce Brosnan was dropped from playing James Bond because he demanded $42m (€31.9m) ...

'Die another day', which grossed $456m (€348m) ...

Brosnan is demanding a little less than 10% of the gross from his last picture, which puts it into perspective.  I haven't liked Bond flicks since Connery, but it seems to me that people (men, mostly) see Bond flicks for three reasons: (1) the Bond girls, and (2) the Bond girls, and (3) the actor playing Bond.  Possibly a fourth reason would be seeing the actor playing Bond getting shacked up with 1 or more Bond girls.

Call me crazy, but 10% of the gross of a film seems a reasonable request for the central actor in it.  Even though I hate modern Bond movies, I have to concede that not just any actor can play him.  The real problem is that the studio doesn't see it that way.

EDIT: I like grammar!

[Llava]

Even though I hate modern Bond movies, I have to concede that not just any actor can play him.  The real problem is that the studio doesn't see it that way.

Coming soon:

Diesel.  Vin Diesel.

Actually, I'd say that this has a better shot:


After all... he's from some part of English-speaking Europe.  That's all that matters.

[schild]

Can I say Clive Owen again?

Clive Owen.

Thanks.

[kidder]

Sean Connery would be worth 42 million...or more.  It would be the BIGGEST BOND MOVIE EVER.

[Paelos]

Sean Connery would be worth 42 million...or more.  It would be the BIGGEST BOND MOVIE EVER.

Except his Bond vehicle would be a Lincoln Towncar, and he'd chase villans with the left turn blinker on the whole way.

[kidder]

Sean Connery would be worth 42 million...or more.  It would be the BIGGEST BOND MOVIE EVER.

Except his Bond vehicle would be a Lincoln Towncar, and he'd chase villans with the left turn blinker on the whole way.

You think he's a bit old?  Hehe, I'm still chuckling about that.  I still think he could do it.

[MaceVanHoffen]

Can I say Clive Owen again?

Clive Owen.

Thanks.

Hell yeah.  Clive Owen would rock.  That might make me shell out money to see a Bond movie in the theatre instead of watching 1-minute intervals on cable during commercials.

Anything would be better than the sucktastic Timothy Dalton.  Dalton's a good actor.  He just ain't Bond.

[Shockeye]

Can I say Clive Owen again?

Clive Owen.

Thanks.

Hell yeah.  Clive Owen would rock.  That might make me shell out money to see a Bond movie in the theatre instead of watching 1-minute intervals on cable during commercials.

Anything would be better than the sucktastic Timothy Dalton.  Dalton's a good actor.  He just ain't Bond.

He was better than Roger.

I miss George.

[HaemishM]

$42 million is EXCESSIVE, even in Hollywood where excess is the name of the game. That's goddamn highway robbery.

Yes, Clive Owen please. However, it will more than likely be someone they can pay less, such as the Aussie guy who plays on that Swiffer Wet Jet commercial and who played Kano in Mortal Kombat.

And please, FUCK NO, do not make it Colin FUCKING FARRELL.

[SirBruce]

The blood, sweat, and tears came about when NBC screwed him out of becoming Bond after Roger Moore left, which is how we got Timothy Dalton for a while.

Personally, I'd like to see Jude Law as Bond.

Bruce

[schild]

Jude Law does a bad serious/suave. He's much more comedic than the past bonds (case in point: Down with Love). I'm sorry, but he's no good for the role.

[SirBruce]

Didn't you see Gattaca?

Bruce

[Signe]

I'm sick of the whole thing.  They all seem to same now.  They need to spice it up, I think.

[schild]

Yea I saw Gattaca, and he's done nothing like it since. And he wasn't suave and gave no smooth one-liners in it.

[MaceVanHoffen]

$42 million is EXCESSIVE ...

The raw amount is excessive, absolutely.  No one is really worth $42 million.

The actor playing Bond is, IMHO, 10% or more of why people go to see Bond flicks, and therefore that actor is worth 10% of the revenue.  That's why I think it's a "reasonable" request.

I'd certainly rather see that 10% go into an actor's hands (and even the crew's hands) instead of the studio's.  Most studios would just waste the profit on (even) more craptastic actors in movies that regale us with mediocrity.  Maybe pulling money away from studios will someday stop the Uwe Bolls of the world from getting hired.  I can only dream.

[MisterNoisy]

I was under the impression that Brosnan didn't want to do any more Bond flicks.  If so, this is just him talking crazy to encourage MGM to shop elsewhere.

[Trippy]

Yea I saw Gattaca, and he's done nothing like it since. And he wasn't suave and gave no smooth one-liners in it.

I thought he had that suave thing going in Sky Captain.

[Trippy]

$42 million is EXCESSIVE, even in Hollywood where excess is the name of the game.

But not unprecedented. Tom Cruise took a percentage of gross (no salary) for MI:2 and Last Samurai and made around $75 million and $45 million respectively.

[Strazos]

That is because he's Tom Fucking Cruise.

And yes, please no more Colin Farrell....from what I heard/imagine, he absolutly butchered Alexander....but I'm something of a purist when it comes to history-based films.

On a sidenote, can someone please make Hollywood stop squandering such historical movie possibilities? You get a great story like The Illiad or Alexander, and these dipshit studios for some reason see a reason to cut it up...this stuff has survived for more than 2 millenia for a reason.

Also, last week I managed to sit through about 1/3rd of Troy....can someone please explain to me why someone thought it was neccessary to cut out a good, I dunno, 60% of the original story? If LotR can be made into an almost direct port to the screen (from what I've heard, as I've only seen the first of the three), why not The Illiad?

PS - To stay on topic, while Brosnan's price may have seemed extreme, Bond films also gross a metric fuckton of cash, so it doesn't seem that unreasonable. I personally like Brosnan as an actor, so w/e.

[Margalis]

Yes, Clive Owen please. However, it will more than likely be someone they can pay less, such as the Aussie guy who plays on that Swiffer Wet Jet commercial and who played Kano in Mortal Kombat.

Considering that guy has been dead for a year or two, I imagine it would be quite cheap.

42 million is obviously crazy. Who gives a shit? Personally I think all Bond films suck ass, the newer ones even moreso than the older ones.

Edit: They all have the exact same plot, are poorly written and predictable. They are like daytime soaps and wresting, dramatic re-enactment of the same thing over and over again.

[HaemishM]

Bond films lost a lot of creative steam after the first four or five of them. About the only thing propping them up is the performance of the lead and the tits of whoever is this week's Bond girl. The Brosnan films have been EXTREMELY uneven, going from ok but silly (Goldeneye's motorcycle parachute), to pretty decent (the one with Michelle Yeoh and Terri Hatcher), to downright fucking awful (The World is Not Enough), to watchable but not Connery-worthy in Die Another Day (thank you for no Halle Berry spinoff). The production company needs to read the goddamn books again. The over-the-top gadgetry and formulaic nature of the Roger Moore movies have stained the series and taken way too much attention. They need to go back to the more down-to-earth formula of the Ian Fleming books.

Bond is a fucking assasin after all, and only one movie, the second Dalton film, ever really acknowledges that.

[Paelos]

Yes, the License to Kill needs to be renewed.

[ahoythematey]

Methinks MGM should watch the Indiana Jones flicks for pointers on retaining the fantastical aspects of the bond world with down-to-earth realism.  It would also help to have a Bond actor capable of such.

[eldaec]

Jude Law does a bad serious/suave. He's much more comedic than the past bonds (case in point: Down with Love). I'm sorry, but he's no good for the role.

Jude Law's 'Down with Love' performance as 'a person not in that film' was excellent. I have never seen anyone play 'a person who isn't here' better.

In other apparently unrelated news, I can't imagine Ewan MacGregor as Bond either, nor can I imagine he or Jude Law would want to do it.

[kidder]

Ewan MacGregor or Jude Law are both too prissy to be the next Bond.  Clive Owen, I can see being a suave badass. 

[SirBruce]

Jude Law's 'Down with Love' performance as 'a person not in that film' was excellent. I have never seen anyone play 'a person who isn't here' better.

Kevin Costner's role as Alex, the dead guy in "The Big Chill" is widely regarded as one of the best examples.  (Some have even called it Costner's best acting performance in his career! *rimshot*)

Bruce

[Riggswolfe]

The worst rumor about Bond I have heard is that Orlando Bloom may be the next Bond so they can aim at younger audiences.

[Strazos]

I guess I should just go on a genocidal rampage against this "younger audience" so they have nothing to aim for.

Fuck you Orlando Bloom, for pussifying one of the greatest and oldest epics in human history.

[Signe]

I quite like the Rowan Atkinson rumour.  He could do it!

[WayAbvPar]

If it was Rowan Atkinson from BlackAdder II or III, he could do it. I could do without his Mr. Bean persona.

[Mortriden]

I could do without Rowan Atkinson.  Anywhere.  In anything.  Ever. 

[Signe]

I like the Blackadder series the best, too.  He was quite fun in Not the Nine O'clock News, too, which he wrote for and acted in.  I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Bean... the series or the film.  He has a lovely collection of cars, too!