Subject line basically asks the question. Connery did the first 5 and then later number 7 (before coming back much later
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — George Lazenby
fideldahan — 19 years ago(January 12, 2007 02:04 PM)
Subject line basically asks the question. Connery did the first 5 and then later number 7 (before coming back much later for NSN). Just wondering why not #6. Was there a salary problem? Did he just want some time off? Didn't care for the director? If anyone knows, I'd appreciate hearing Thanks.
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TimotheyDalton — 19 years ago(January 16, 2007 09:22 AM)
Sean connery then was in finance problems thats why he did Never say never agin which lazenby was goin to be in but Connery applied but the only reason why he went in Diamonds are forever was because the broclies had asked him back or he applied for the money.
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frana43 — 19 years ago(January 17, 2007 03:23 AM)
"You Only Live Twice" (IMO Sean Connery's best Bond) was meant to be Sir Sean's last outing as 007,
as he had grown tired of the role by then - but Lazenby's departure and a large salary increase for "DAF" changed everything. -
racine84 — 19 years ago(February 22, 2007 07:31 PM)
Actually, Cubby wanted Lazenby more than any of the rest, he was the next best to Cary Grant, and he begged George-at one point offering him a twenty year contract! 1969-89 WOW! George did not like the off camera guidelines for Bond-so he flatly refused all offers.(Darn it!)www.MorganFairchildTribute.com
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Leveticus — 18 years ago(July 23, 2007 03:39 AM)
You Only Live Twice was a pain in the butt experience for Connery plus he got tired of the role due to his feelings of the Bond character getting stale. He only came back to work on DAF and Never Say Never Again for the money, it was an offer he couldn't refuse. Although had EON filmed OHMSS before YOLT (just like the book order), I think Connery would have lasted longer as Bond since OHMSS had the tremendous story he was waiting for.
SPOILER: Harry Potter DIES at the end of The Deathly Hallows! -
mtubbsy — 18 years ago(August 01, 2007 05:17 AM)
My understanding is as follows. By the time Connery had wrapped up Thunderball, he'd already become tired with the Bond character for fear of being typecast. You only have to see the other movies he was making through this period, and would then go onto make immediately post Diamonds Are Forever, to see how determined he was to do something different (e.g. The Hill (which I personally think is one of his best movies), Zardoz (which I don't), etc.). Coupled with this, the filming on You Only Live Twice was apparently a complete nightmare, with media / fan intrusion reaching an all-time low especially whilst on location in Japan. I get the impression that Connery's not a man to be fooled with, and certainly not as media-tolerant as, say, Roger Moore (a quality that can be commended or criticised, depending on your point of view). So, come the beginning of 1968, the hunt was on for a new Bond. Personally, I always thought Lazenby was 90% of the way there in OHMSS, and it's a crying shame that, if you believe that reports, through the inept advice of his publicist he was obliged to reject the offers made to hi5b4m by messrs Broccoli and Saltzman following the release of OHMSS. Whilst all this was going on, B & S signed on John Gavin as a reserve Bond in case Lazenby or Connery wouldn't make Diamonds Are Forever (at the time, it was thought there wasn't a cat's chance in hell Connery would agree to come back). With Lazenby finally out of the picture, B & S went back to Connery with a then unheard of + £1m offer, which he accepted along with percentage of the profits. This was a one picture deal, and Connery generously gave up all his base fee to fund Scottish film production. Incidentally, John Gavin was also paid his retainer of some $500k (probably being the best day's work he never did).
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timinator — 18 years ago(August 06, 2007 09:40 AM)
Of all the posts here, "mtubbsy" & "largo1965" present the history most accurately. "racine84" has it the least correct. It was Lazenby who wanted the role of James Bond, badly; not the other way around. No producer ever offers an actor a twenty year contract. Not even Roger Moore got one, although he would be the one to stay with the franchise the longest - 7 films in all. The only other area I will correct here is, there was a strained relationship between B & S and Connery left over from the YOLT days; thus the reason they approached John Gavin for the role. Lazenby was already gone by his own choice as previously discussed here by others, correctly. Gavin was not a backup. He was set to play the role. It was United Artists who insisted B & S re-approach Connery after the initial, less than stellar box office receipts of OHMSS. The film did an amazing 80 million world wide in its initial run. That is $80,000,000 in 1969 dollars; by most people's standards, a definite hit. But, in comparison to "Thunderball", 141 million in 1965 and YOLT, 111.6 million in 1967, it was not the hit United Artists had hoped for. OHMSS carried a stigma as a failure for many years, but then gained it's status as a true success during the 1980s when many people revisited the film in the home video market. It has been reported demographically, women like OHMSS the best of all Bond films.
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GeorgeLazenby — 18 years ago(October 17, 2007 02:04 PM)
"Of all the posts here, "mtubbsy" & "largo1965" present the history most accurately. "racine84" has it the least correct. It was Lazenby who wanted the role of James Bond, badly; not the other way around."
That is not correct. I wanted to move on to other things OR simply get more money for the Bond role.
"No producer ever offers an actor a twenty year contract. Not even Roger Moore got one, although he would be the one to stay with the franchise the longest - 7 films in all."
Nevertheless, I was offered such a contract. One thing you have to keep in mind is that Cubby really had a lot of faith in me as a non-human part of the franchise. I wasn't viewed as a normal screen commodity. Whether or not they would have ended my contract prematurely or not can only be speculated on, but with virtually no previous screen baggage, I came out of nowhere and they expected me to BE Bond rather than just play him; they assumed they could keep me under their thumb for 20 years (as though I'd been inducted into HMSS itself)and they probably could have. Roger was already well-known (as the Bond-like Simon Templar at that), so it wasn't the same thing and no, for a known entity they wouldn't have offered such a long contract. Overall, it should be clarified that what I WANTED was a two-movie contract for more money. Technically, I'd be less wealthy now if I had accepted the 20 year contract because when you factor in inflation, I'd have been working for peanuts in the mi5b4d to late 80s. Not to say it's all about money, but I wouldn't have had the freedom to act outside of the Bond franchise either so it wasn't an appealing scenario for me.
"The only other area I will correct here is, there was a strained relationship between B & S and Connery left over from the YOLT days; thus the reason they approached John Gavin for the role. Lazenby was already gone by his own choice as previously discussed here by others, correctly. Gavin was not a backup. He was set to play the role."
This is largely correct. John was even payed 500k for the trouble. However, I did not exactly leave by my own choice. My final decision was to accept one of the previously offered contracts, but by that point, Cubby was furious with me and I still wound up blacklisted. Insofar as my departure, I had intentionally pissed off Cubby so it could be construed as me quitting but really I was just trying to play ball . . . poorly, as it turns out. -
timinator — 18 years ago(October 25, 2007 09:45 AM)
If this truly is a response by the real George Lazenby, I am honored, sir and of course, I stand corrected by your statements. You were there and I wasn't. All of us here appreciate you taking the time to set the record straight and may I take this opportunity to say, even though you only played the role once I, like many here feel OHMSS is one of the finest films in the Bond series. It has earned its status as a classic thanks in part to your fine performance. You had big shoes to fill at the time, George and many of us respect you for it. Best of luck to you, siralways.
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mistermycroft — 9 years ago(January 11, 2017 01:54 PM)
There are many reasons why Connery quit the role after 5 films :
- He was tired of the grueling shooting schedule, which required him to give up 6 months of each year, between 19625b4 and 1966, to do a Bond movie
- He was upset that his non Bond films were failing and being ignored
- He didn't like the media intrusion, with reporters constantly calling him James Bond instead of Sean Connery
- He felt that the producers were making millions off of his likeness with merchandise, and he wasn't getting a cut of it
- He didn't like the direction that the films were going in, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice ; he hated the gadgets and the science-fiction elements, and wanted to go back to basics, more straight forward spy films