http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/

Well, he's certainly the ugliest Bond so far! :lol:

In CASINO ROYALE Ian Fleming describes Bond as bearing a resemblance to (old-timey band leader) Hoagie Carmichael. Suffice it to say, Hoagie Carmichael was no prettyboy.

Too early to tell if the film will be any good, but I think Craig brings a certain verisimilitude to the role. I mean, I believe this guy is licensed to kill.

I'd rather this guy had my back than Roger Moore. Hell, I'd rather my 74 year-old mother had my back than Roger Moore. Not convincing as a tough guy.

I'd rather this guy had my back than Roger Moore. Hell, I'd rather my 74 year-old mother had my back than Roger Moore. Not convincing as a tough guy.

Awww, get off Moore's back! Some of my best Bond memories are Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me and of course For Your Eyes Only. He had a good swaggering charm and a clenched teeth determination when the time came. And of course the Interpol-cred of The Saint. Why bash Moore?

My main deal with all this is that my love of Bond has everything to do with my love of the past, i.e., The Avengers, Secret Agent Man, Outer Limits, StarTrek-TOS, Alfred Hitchcock, Gidget, Marvel Silver Age comics and Creepy and Eerie and FM, Adam West Batman, Hawk and Aurora and Ed Roth model kits, the Beatles and the Monkees and the Smothers Brothers and Bikll Cosby and Ed Sullivan and Hugh Hefner ...........and in my book, the past always trumps the present for pop culture.

Awww, get off Moore's back! Some of my best Bond memories are Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me..

I'm no Moore fan, but you make an interesting point; both THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY were, in fact, good movies.

We all have our favorite actors for the role (I'm a Connery man myself), but at the end of the day it's the character that holds our attention.

My main deal with all this is that my love of Bond has everything to do with my love of the past...
SNIP
...in my book, the past always trumps the present for pop culture.

Nostalgia certainly has its place, which is why I hang out at HobbyTalk.

That said, fond as I am of all the retro-pop mentioned in your post, I think James Bond is a timeless character, and I look forward (with a healthy degree of cautious optimism) to his continued adventures.

I like the ugly guy better.

Why are people calling this guy ugly? He's not a 'pretty man', what do you want Prince to play Bond? I don't think Craig is ugly at all. I think he looks like a tough ass, no bs 'agent' and watching the trailer only drives that point home! I think this looks good and serious.

Prince isn't ugly?
News to me! :lol:

I've seen some of the women he's been with. If they think he's ugly, I'd stand in line to become horribly disfigured!

Prince isn't ugly?
News to me! :lol:

I think it's safe to say beauty in the the eye of the beholder.

Craig, like Prince (and Bogart, and Jagger, and Nicholson) has enough talent and charisma to make up for what he lacks in the looks department.

I think it's safe to say beauty in the the eye of the beholder.

Craig, like Prince (and Bogart, and Jagger, and Nicholson) has enough talent and charisma to make up for what he lacks in the looks department.Yes. There are way too many men who think it's about appearance -- and they miss out, because they think their looks aren't up to par and decide they are therefore out of the running. Looks count, but they aren't as big a deal as most guys think.

I think Prince is a decent-looking guy, given that he's about 5'2"! And -- may have a little sidebar here? Purple Rain was released 22 years ago, and yet the man today looks scarcely older than he did then -- certainly not more than two decades older!

Qapla'

SSB

I think he uses Little Richard's surgeon and makeup artist. ;)

Ohhh,I know-let's get David Hasslhoff. He's got big hair and nice pretty eyes. He'll make a great Bond with those big rosy cheeks! Ohh, wait let's go one better-let's get Richard Grieco, now that would be a 'pretty' agent. Not very lethal looking, but he'd be pretty! And of course that's all that matters. Right? (just joking!)

I think he uses Little Richard's surgeon and makeup artist. ;)Makeup, probably so. I don't think he's gone in for surgery, though -- doesn't seem like his sort of thing. And his face doesn't have that weird, taut look either.

It's probably due to clean livin' ;) Actually, he has become something of a nutrition freak, and that probably has something to do with it. And maybe all those women keep him young -- they'd either do that or make him really old!

Qapla'

SSB

Fabio as Bond! :freak:

Looks great! Can't wait!

What I'd REALLY like to see is a series of movies set in the time period and with the story elements of the original novels. Usually the movies have little in common with the novels except for the titles.

BTW: Wasn't Moore Ian Fleming's choice for Bond? He was busy with "The Saint" at the time however so they chose Connery (at least that's the story I heard). :confused:

Ohhh,I know-let's get David Hasslhoff. He's got big hair and nice pretty eyes. He'll make a great Bond with those big rosy cheeks! Ohh, wait let's go one better-let's get Richard Grieco, now that would be a 'pretty' agent. Not very lethal looking, but he'd be pretty! And of course that's all that matters. Right? (just joking!)

After seeing Hasselhoff in that infamous German music video for "Hooked on a Feeling", I hope he disapoints his movie fans and continues to focus his incredible charisma and talent on european music videos.

That was about the funniest thing I've ever seen!

I'm sorta surpised nobody else seemed to like Timothy Dalton, the Bond movies he was in where kinda mediocre (though I really liked Licensed to Kill, Carey Lowell was a great bond girl), but he was the Bond I always thought looked and acted most like the guy from Fleming's books. IIRC Fleming frequently described Bond as cruel and melancholy-looking, which Dalton, was, and Moore wasn't.

I still think Donald Sutherland would have been a great Bond in his Klute days.

I liked Timothy Dalton the best as Bond...so far, will wait 'til November to see if Craig can change my mind about that. Connery, Brosnan, then Lazenby next. Not a big Roger Moore fan though, but I think it might have been the movies themselves more than Moore's performance, The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only did show he could be a bad ass, the other movies just didn't really give him the chance I guess.

Anyway, Dalton's 2 are among my fav Bond movies, and when I read the novels, the original Fleming ones, or John Gardner's, he's who I picture as Bond :)

Wasn't Moore Ian Fleming's choice for Bond? He was busy with "The Saint" at the time however so they chose Connery (at least that's the story I heard). :confused:

Fleming wanted David Niven (they were good friends, so I'm not sure how serious Fleming was). Of course, Niven did play "Sir James Bond" in the original CASINO ROYALE.

Albert Broccoli's first choice for the role was his buddy Cary Grant, but Grant knew he was too old for the part.

Casting Moore was (CASINO ROYALE producer) Charles Feldman's idea. In 1964 Feldman told the press Moore would be his "ideal man" for the role. The part eventually went to Niven (or Peter Sellers, depending on how you look at it) before reverting back to Connery, but from that point on Moore's name was always in the hat in terms of who could take over the role following Connery's departure.

For the record, Connery got the role thanks to Barbara Broccoli.

Casting Moore was (CASINO ROYALE producer) Charles Feldman's idea. In 1964 Feldman told the press Moore would be his "ideal man" for the role. The part eventually went to Niven (before reverting back to Connery) but from that point on Moore's name was always in the hat in terms of who could take over the role following Connery's departure.


Ah! A misattribution! Thanks for the straight dope!

Well I think that everyone who has played Bond has brought something to the character to make him worth watching. I look forward to seeing what will happen with the new guy and what he will bring to the table.

For the record, Connery got the role thanks to Barbara Broccoli.And in turn, IIRC, indirectly thanks to Walt Disney -- Barbara Broccoli saw Connery in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and then suggested him as a possibility for 007 to Cubby Broccoli. Or so I've read.

And on a small tangent, if my last name was "Broccoli," I swear I'd start pronouncing it "Brah-Co-Lee" with emphasis on the second syllable -- even if, as in this case, it isn't just a coincidence that it's pronounced like the vegetable. But I guess it's better than if your name was "Teddy Spinach."

Qapla'

SSB

And in turn, IIRC, indirectly thanks to Walt Disney -- Barbara Broccoli saw Connery in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and then suggested him as a possibility for 007 to Cubby Broccoli. Or so I've read.

Qapla'

SSB

According to the IMDb's DR. NO page , you are correct. Here's a few more factoids from that site:

Sean Connery (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000125/) was paid $5,600 for his role in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" (1959). When asked to play in the next Tarzan movie, he said he couldn't because "two fellows took an option on me for some spy picture and are exercising it. But I'll be in your next." The "spy picture" was Dr. No (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055928/) (1962).

<LI>Author Ian Fleming (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001220/) wanted his cousin Christopher Lee (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000489/) to play Dr. No. (Lee would later appear in the 007 flick The Man with the Golden Gun (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071807/) (1974).)

Max von Sydow (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001884/) was also offered the title.
<LI>Ian Fleming originally asked Noel Coward (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002021/) to play the part of Dr. No. Coward turned down the part by replying with a telegram that read, "Dr. No? No! No! No!"
Roger Moore (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000549/) was author Ian Fleming (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001220/)'s original choice for Bond, but he was committed to "The Saint" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055701/) (1962).

<LI>Patrick McGoohan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001526/) is another actor who was considered for the role of Bond, due to his popularity on "Danger Man" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053496/) (1960). According to legend, McGoohan turned the role down on moral grounds.

Other actors considered for the lead role included: Cary Grant (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/), David Niven (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000057/), Trevor Howard (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002145/), and Rex Harrison (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001322/).
<LI>Producers Albert R. Broccoli (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0110482/) and Harry Saltzman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0759162/) used Alfred Hitchcock (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/)'s North by Northwest (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/) (1959) as the template for this film and the subsequent early James Bond films. In fact, the role of James Bond was first offered to "North by Northwest" actor Cary Grant (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/), who would commit to one film only, and its suave and urbane villain, James Mason (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000051/), who would commit to only two, while Broccoli and Saltzman wanted an actor willing to make a multi-film commitment to the role and the projected series.
<LI>
Ursula Andress' dialog was looped by voice artist Nikki Van der Zyl. It was her task to recreated Andress' voice but give it only a mild accent.

The role of James Bond was offered to American actor Steve Reeves who turned it down. At the time, Reeves had become an international box office sensation in a group of European made mythological/historical spectacles.
The famous pose of Connery holding a gun across his chest had to be redone at the last second. The Walther PPK was left at the studio, but the photographer had an old air pistol in his car. The gun in the picture is the air pistol.
<LI>
The Japanese office of United Artists originally interpreted the title as "Dr.? No!" and produced posters with a translation that meant "We don't want a doctor". The mistake was discovered at the last moment.
<LI>It is long standing misconception that John Barry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000290/) wrote "The James Bond Theme". It actually came from a musical composed by Monty Norman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635578/) (hence the credit), the music of which Barry adapted. Much has been made of Barry claiming to have originally composed it, including a court case. Monty Norman won.

I had never heard Patrick McGoohan was a serious consideration, in his prime he would have been a great Bond. 'Course then we probably wouldn't have gotten The Prisoner.

Roger Moore was author Ian Fleming's original choice for Bond, but he was committed to "The Saint" (1962).

I’m not sure what IMDB’s source for this is, but they may be getting their wires crossed (wouldn’t be the first time).

The two most authoritative sources of Bond trivia are probably Steven Jay Rubin’s James Bond Encyclopedia, and James Bond: The Legacy by John Cork and Bruce Schivali, both of which are exhaustively researched, and neither of which give any indication that Fleming even knew who Moore was. Given that the casting for DR. NO took place before THE SAINT debuted, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Apparently, however, Broccoli and Saltzman did know Moore. According to Rubin they initially rejected him for the role because he was "too pretty."

I had never heard Patrick McGoohan was a serious consideration, in his prime he would have been a great Bond. 'Course then we probably wouldn't have gotten The Prisoner.

Well, the story I remember hearing alot when PRIZ first ran on PBS was that MacG turned it down on moral grounds, but I've never seen anything from the Eon/Danjaq end suggesting they actually offered it to him.

Director John Frankenheimer mentions on some commentary track that the Bond people did offer HIM the role, even though he wasn't an actor, just based on his appearance. Seems VERY odd to me, but I don't know why he'd lie about it.

I think most of the stories about Moore being an early choice of the producers started circulating about 12 years later, when he actually got the part.

While noting that IMDB is about as erratic a source as I can imagine, I would definitely second Steve Rubin as being as authoritative on Bond as you can get, since he was close to being in the inner circle before they realized he was going to be truthful in his reporting and really put the screws on. The illustrations for his book were pretty much all wire service stuff cuz the Bond people really shut him off. My guess is that a lot of the recent Bond 'scholars' like Lee Pfeiffer are basically journalists who don't piss off their sources by trying to be too accurate when it will upset TPTB.

EDIT ADDON: One person I definitely remember being offered the role pre-Connery was Richard Johnson. I think he played Higgins' bro on MAGNUM, and he was in the Bulldog Drummond DEADLIER THAN THE MALE. He wouldn't sign a multi-picture deal. His HUGE loss. There was another actor in TOMB RAIDER besides Craig, the main baddie, and THAT guy is rather Johnson-like. When I heard a few years back about Craig being considered for Bond, I thought they were talking about that guy, not the CIA character.

If Steve Reeves had gotten the part, I wonder how long the franchise would have lasted?

If Steve Reeves had gotten the part, I wonder how long the franchise would have lasted?

The Reeves thing sounds like a joke, but it makes me think: they could have gotten somebody like that Reason guy (flavius in Trek's BREAD & CIRCUSES) pretty cheap, then just dub him. He looked ALMOST as good as Connery, if not as unique.

Do you like movies about gladiators, son?
. . . Ursula Andress' dialog was looped by voice artist Nikki Van der Zyl. It was her task to recreated Andress' voice but give it only a mild accent.Actually, I think Andress's voice was dubbed in all her movies, and John Derek had his hand up her back making her mouth move.The Japanese office of United Artists originally interpreted the title as "Dr.? No!" and produced posters with a translation that meant "We don't want a doctor". The mistake was discovered at the last moment.Not to be confused with Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding!It is long standing misconception that John Barry wrote "The James Bond Theme". It actually came from a musical composed by Monty Norman (hence the credit), the music of which Barry adapted. It's my understanding that Monty Norman did indeed write the James Bond theme, and that he based it on a bit of melody from an Indian opera. The familiar big-band arrangement, however, is by John Barry.

I like it. Unfortunately, I never really liked Brosnan in the role, probably because I just could not get the Remingston Steele image out of my head.

This one has a chance of being really good. I'll definitely check it out.

Fred

I'd have to say my favorite Bond's in order are; Connery, Brosnan, Lazenby, Moore then Dalton. Connery was simply the best. Good but not overbearing sense of humor, then dangerous at the drop of a hat. Ditto for Brosnan, who also brought superb 'actor' moments to the role. Lazenby has been severely underrated and actually had some of the same qualities as Connery. Moore, well..what can I say. Probably (hopefully) wasn't his fault that Bond became a series of comedies. Dalton had a great 'look' to him, but the role is so much more than just that. I think he was (is) a good actor, but his Bond just seemed a little bland for the most part. Again, not the actor's fault. "The Living Daylights" was clearly the better of the two. The 'milkman' sequence was nice. I always thought "License To Kill" had a somewhat low budget look to it as compared to other Bond films as well, although the ending after the tanker crash was kinda cool when he offed Sanchez.

Regardless of the courts, I think the theme is Barry's. he wrote a piece called bea's knees in 57 that has the distinctive sound pretty much completely.