Had Roger Moore...

[RobertScorpio]

Due to his being on the Saint, or Maverick, or whatever it was, Roger Moore was unable to do Bond, and they went with Sean Connery. I think that's how it went...almost like a replay of Brosnan and Remmington Steele..

But had Roger been able to do Dr. No, do you think the Bond series would have been alive and well nearly 50 years later?

Rob

 

[RandyS]

I don't see why not. Moore's take on Bond was different from Connery's, sure, but it was just as good in it's own way.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The story of Roger Moore being first choice to play Bond is likely apocryphal, something the producers came up with to make Moore's introduction as Bond more palatable. The story went that Ian Fleming wanted Moore to be Bond based on his work in The Saint, but that Moore wasn't available because of his television contract. But the fact is that The Saint only started airing the day after Dr. No premiered.

 

[RobertScorpio]

The story of Roger Moore being first choice to play Bond is likely apocryphal, something the producers came up with to make Moore's introduction as Bond more palatable. The story went that Ian Fleming wanted Moore to be Bond based on his work in The Saint, but that Moore wasn't available because of his television contract. But the fact is that The Saint only started airing the day after Dr. No premiered.

Okay...party pooper (just kidding!) what if Moore had been selected instead of Sean Connery, for whatever reason...

Rob

 

[Captaindemotion]

As has been said, the claim about Moore being sought initially is apocryphal. I also have my doubts about the claim that Cubby Broccoli initially approached Timothy Dalton to replace Connery in the late 1960s. This is alleged on The Living Daylights DVD but there was no talk of this at the time he was cast as Bond.

Cary Grant, Richard Todd, Patrick McGoohan, James Mason Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, even Christopher Lee (Fleming's cousin) are all alleged to have been on the original wishlist, so even if Moore was there, it's debatable that he would have beaten Connery to the role, had he been available.

Moore did 'play' Bond before being officially cast though - it was in a sketch at The Royal Variety Performance in the 1960s. I think it's on the DVD of Live and Let Die.

 

[RobertScorpio]

As has been said, the claim about Moore being sought initially is apocryphal. I also have my doubts about the claim that Cubby Broccoli initially approached Timothy Dalton to replace Connery in the late 1960s. This is alleged on The Living Daylights DVD but there was no talk of this at the time he was cast as Bond.

Cary Grant, Richard Todd, Patrick McGoohan, James Mason Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, even Christopher Lee (Fleming's cousin) are all alleged to have been on the original wishlist, so even if Moore was there, it's debatable that he would have beaten Connery to the role, had he been available.

Moore did 'play' Bond before being officially cast though - it was in a sketch at The Royal Variety Performance in the 1960s. I think it's on the DVD of Live and Let Die.

We were looking at JAMES BOND triva during the Charger game...I still cant believe LIVE AND LET DIE, the song, got beat out by THE MORNING AFTER from the Posieden Adventure...the only Bond to win the Oscar is The Spy Who Love Me right?

Rob

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

I don't see why not. Moore's take on Bond was different from Connery's, sure, but it was just as good in it's own way.

So, by "just as good in its own way" do you mean "total crap"? I agree

 

[Chrisisall]

But had Roger been able to do Dr. No, do you think the Bond series would have been alive and well nearly 50 years later?

No. Interest would have waned. It was Connery & Connery alone that sent Bond to Iconicland. IMO.

 

[Mistral]

As has been said, the claim about Moore being sought initially is apocryphal. I also have my doubts about the claim that Cubby Broccoli initially approached Timothy Dalton to replace Connery in the late 1960s. This is alleged on The Living Daylights DVD but there was no talk of this at the time he was cast as Bond.

Cary Grant, Richard Todd, Patrick McGoohan, James Mason Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, even Christopher Lee (Fleming's cousin) are all alleged to have been on the original wishlist, so even if Moore was there, it's debatable that he would have beaten Connery to the role, had he been available.

Moore did 'play' Bond before being officially cast though - it was in a sketch at The Royal Variety Performance in the 1960s. I think it's on the DVD of Live and Let Die.

We were looking at JAMES BOND triva during the Charger game...I still cant believe LIVE AND LET DIE, the song, got beat out by THE MORNING AFTER from the Posieden Adventure...the only Bond to win the Oscar is The Spy Who Love Me right?

Rob

Sheena Easton do that one? I'm not a Bond fan but I seem to remember her up for a major award for her Bond theme-It was the one with the movie poster of the legs with Bond looking between them...

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Sheena Easton did For Your Eyes Only. Nobody Does It Better (From TSWLM) was Carly Simon.

 

[RobertScorpio]

^ Sheena Easton did For Your Eyes Only. Nobody Does It Better (From TSWLM) was Carly Simon.

Yep..and TSWLV is the only bond song to win the oscar..I'f im not mistaken..

Rob

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Yep..and TSWLV is the only bond song to win the oscar..I'f im not mistaken..

Rob

It was nominated, but didn't win. No Bond song has ever won an Oscar.

 

[AnyStar]

actually if you want to get technical, the first Bond was played by Barry Nelson, in a tv version of Casino Royale, almost an entire decade before Dr. No was released.

 

[Chrisisall]

No Bond song has ever won an Oscar.

Speaking of spies & noticing your most excellent avatar, are you ready for this Sunday???? I am so psyched!!!!! OMG!!!

Back to topic- I thought Goldeneye deserved best song, and I like Sheryl Crow's Tomorrow Never Dies, but the K.D. Lang "Surrender" at the end should have been the title song of that movie IMO.

 

[Aragorn]

Maybe Moore would've set the standard, and we'd be complaining about how awful Hugh Grant's final Bond movie -- Die Another Day -- was, and how much we're looking forward to Russell Brand's upcoming third movie as Bond.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Apparently when they were seeking a replacement for Dalton, circa 1994, they did approach the floppy-haired one, then a rising star post-Four Weddings. Fortunately for the rest of us, he told them it wasn't really his cup of tea.

Having said that, if you look at the nastiness he can bring to roles like An Awfully Big Adventure and if you see how funny he can be in interviews, it's possible, just possible, that he might have made a reasonable stab at Bond. As long as they didn't let him do the usual Hugh Grant-isms.

 

[RobertScorpio]

^ Apparently when they were seeking a replacement for Dalton, circa 1994, they did approach the floppy-haired one, then a rising star post-Four Weddings. Fortunately for the rest of us, he told them it wasn't really his cup of tea.

Having said that, if you look at the nastiness he can bring to roles like An Awfully Big Adventure and if you see how funny he can be in interviews, it's possible, just possible, that he might have made a reasonable stab at Bond. As long as they didn't let him do the usual Hugh Grant-isms.

What about another Austrailian???

rob

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Over the years the likes of Russell Crowe, Bryan Brown and Mel Gibson have been linked to the part. Eric Bana was supposed to be in the running last time round, as was Julian McMahon and even Heath Ledger. Hugh Jackman has been a fan favourite (including me) for some time.

The Aussies are taking over the comic-book-to-movie world (Jackman, Ledger, McMahon, Chris Hemsworth, Bana etc.) Wouldn't surprise me in the least if we got another Bond from Down Under.

 

[RandyS]

I don't see why not. Moore's take on Bond was different from Connery's, sure, but it was just as good in it's own way.

So, by "just as good in its own way" do you mean "total crap"? I agree

No, I mean that Connery and Moore brought different interpretations to the Bond character, and I happen to like both.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I don't see why not. Moore's take on Bond was different from Connery's, sure, but it was just as good in it's own way.

So, by "just as good in its own way" do you mean "total crap"? I agree

No, I mean that Connery and Moore brought different interpretations to the Bond character, and I happen to like both.

I do too.. I think FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is among one of the best Bond movies, and I think some of connery's (THUNDERBALL) are over-rated snore fests...

Rob