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Post by sparklingblue on Dec 4, 2004 15:26:26 GMT -5
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Post by Ace on Dec 29, 2004 0:36:01 GMT -5
Tapei Times: Brosnan says he has moved on past his 007 image but hopes to maintain the allure and sex appeal
By Fabian Waintal ATLANTIC SYNDICATION Wednesday, Dec 29, 2004,Page 16
Pierce Brosnan bid farewell to the character with which he made Hollywood history, adding his name to the list of retired secret agents such as Roger Moore and Sean Connery. Tired of stereotypes, Brosnan looks forward to breaking away from his 007 image by filming other kind of films such as the romantic comedy Laws of Attraction, without leaving the adventure behind, appearing in After the Sunset as a diamond thief who retires to a paradise in the Bahamas.
Brosnan talked us through this transition and touched on other subjects such as becoming an American citizen, which we found out by chance, at the beginning of the interview as he asked for some coffee.
Fabian Waintal: Irish Coffee?
Pierce Brosnan: No, now I prefer an American cappuccino (laughing). I became an American citizen in September.
FW: For any reason in particular?
PB: I did it because I am a man, a father and I want to have a voice.
FW: With your public support of John Kerry, what do you think about the reelection of George W. Bush?
PB: I am very happy to be American, regardless of the results of these elections, I am looking long term for my three American sons, Sean, Dylan and Paris and my wife, Keely. This has been an emotional four years and I just hope that in the next four years there is at last some harmony in this world.
FW: Do you still keep your Irish citizenship?
PB: Yes. But I don't forget my own country. I was just in Ireland and London ? The whole place brings back different memories. In England, I remember the James Bond movies and during the last trip, I realized that it was something of the past, knowing that my career was moving in another direction.
FW: Are you really saying goodbye to James Bond for good?
PB: Yes. The James Bond character is over. I know my interviews will always deal with talking about Bond when there is a part of me that wishes to never talk about it again. But it will always be part of my career.
FW: Won't you miss the 007 character?
PB: Sure I will miss it but it is also comes with a sense of jubilation and the weight has been lifted. I don't have to be that guy anymore and there is a real sense of where I'm going with my career, what do I want, how do I have responsibility for a career which will hopefully still have longevity for the next 20 years, and still have a passion for it and how do I keep alive creatively. Bond was going to finish at some point in time. You have to know that going in, and when you go in, you go into a kind of win to be the greatest and the best.
FW: Who would you suggest to be the James Bond successor?
PB: Colin Farrell seemed good the other night in Dublin with a pint of Guinness beer in my hand (laughing).
(FW: Not just anyone could relinquish the economic temptation and say "no more" to the highly successful cinematographic 007 series. When Brosnan reached earnings of more than US$40 million for the four different films; he also got the bonus of keeping the original cars from each movie. In Goldeneye he inherited the BMW Z3; from Tomorrow Never Dies he preferred the 800 series BMW, instead of the 750IL that he drove. After The World is Not Enough he became the BMW Z8 owner.)
FW: Have you ever used your fame, for example, to get out of a traffic ticket?
PB: Yes. (He laughs) Quite a lot. I simply apologize and I often suggest that my wife and I would love to go to the next policeman's ball. For Nick Nolte it didn't go as well? (he doesn't stop laughing)
FW: Did you also get to keep the Austin Martin from Die Another Day?
PB: Yes. And with that one I got a ticket. That police officer didn't care who I was. It was in a lovely stretch of Malibu where I could just take off. Heading down the hill, I saw the disapproving look of a police officer and I had to pull over and wait for him. I rolled down my window, I gave him my license, he walked away without saying a word and I thought that he was going to come back, inviting me to the policemen's ball, but he gave me a ticket. It just happened that the paparazzi took a picture and when People magazine published the photo, that same policeman took the magazine to a newsstand near my house, saying that he wanted me to autograph it for him. Imagine that: He gives me a ticket for US$195 and on top of that he wants an autograph!
(FW: Wearing a gold chain, black shirt and jeans, Pierce Brosnan may no longer be James Bond but he still carries the Agent 007 spirit in his soul. In the latest film, After the Sunset he mixes a secret mission with that smooth style and the same reputation of a professional diamond thief. "I like movies that show a good heist" he says. "Besides, After the Sunset had other ingredients such as romance, adventure and comedy, all while acting among the palm trees and dressing comfortably on the beach.")
FW: Do you like the idea of retiring to an island paradise like the Bahamas, far from the autographs and the paparazzi?
PB: No. I like life too much. Paradise is an illusion. You can have paradise in London or in any other city, you don't necessarily have to go to a faraway island. I love island life and I enjoy the tropics a lot but I like cities, too. The variety is what matters.
FW: Do you mean that you lifestyle is already a paradise?
PB: Sure. I live in paradise, I consider myself really lucky, with my production company, seated with a cappuccino in my hand, reading scripts and trying to figure out what I want to do with a character.
(FW: With a few gray hairs coming through his three-day beard, Pierce Brosnan doesn't hide the 51 years which he celebrated on May 16. However, he isn't ready to retire for good anytime soon. With his large frame, blue eyes and an Irish accent, he continues to seduce women despite a twisted back tooth or an evident scar on his top lip, that he got when filming Tomorrow Never Dies. "Nobody is perfect," he jokes, while two women can't take their eyes off him. However, his life was not a bed of roses. His father, Tom Brosnan, (a carpenter) abandoned him when he was one-year-old and young Pierce was raised by his grandparents, two uncles and some friends of the family while his mother, May, studied nursing in London, until he was 11. He couldn't even fully relish the fame from the television series Remington Steel, because he lost his wife Cassandra Harris to ovarian cancer in 1991, after 10 years of marriage. Left on his own to care for his young son, Sean, Pierce Brosnan set a commendable familial example by officially adopting his two stepchildren, Charlotte and Christopher. He later was able to find pleasure in life again and at the same time of his James Bond success, he started going out with the journalist, Keely Shaye Smith, although he did not marry her until his son, Sean (21), gave him permission, even after he and Keely had given him two other brothers, Dylan Thomas (7) and Paris Beckett (3).)
FW: Is it true that you are a grandfather?
PB: Yes and I am about to have another grandchild.
FW: Do you fear you might lose the sex symbol title?
PB: Ah, no, Pierce Brosnan as a sex symbol, I hope it goes on forever. I think it would be inhuman of me if I didn't grow and expand (gesturing to his girth) in some way, but the sex symbol image can keep growing and it can mature. If I have a good awareness of who I am and I don't take myself too seriously and I enjoy being an actor, keeping an eye on my performance, I can go to the grave being a sex symbol.
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Post by sparklingblue on Dec 29, 2004 13:10:23 GMT -5
PB: Ah, no, Pierce Brosnan as a sex symbol, I hope it goes on forever. I think it would be inhuman of me if I didn't grow and expand (gesturing to his girth) in some way, but the sex symbol image can keep growing and it can mature. If I have a good awareness of who I am and I don't take myself too seriously and I enjoy being an actor, keeping an eye on my performance, I can go to the grave being a sex symbol. You betcha!! ;D
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Post by pasiflora on Jan 31, 2005 7:16:28 GMT -5
from 19/1/2005 www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/brosnan.%20.my%20wife%20helped%20me%20through%20bond%20agony. BROSNAN: 'MY WIFE HELPED ME THROUGH BOND AGONY' PIERCE BROSNAN turned to his wife to help him through the disappointment of being dropped as movie superspy JAMES BOND. After the success of 2002's DIE ANOTHER DAY, the 51-year-old was asked to play 007 for the fifth time - but film bosses changed their minds and axed him from the role without explanation. Brosnan insists the shock and disappointment would have got on top of him if not for the support of his wife KEELY. He says, "No one contacted me to tell me anything. No reason. Nothing. What do you do in circumstances like that? "I was disappointed because I'd put so much of myself into the role. And it would've been nice to get an explanation as to why and how it was coming to an end. "I don't mind admitting I was hurt and a bit mystified, but Keely said, 'You have nothing to prove to anyone. Just move on.' "I'm one of those guys who believes that you need a good, strong woman in your life. I take advice, so I've got no regrets." 19/01/2005 21:31 NEWS All the Best in Music, Movie and Celebrity News - Delivered the moment it happens BROSNAN CONSIDERS REMINGTON RETURN PIERCE BROSNAN is hoping to return to the role that almost cost him JAMES BOND. The Irish actor is in negotiations to bring back his smooth detective REMINGTON STEELE for a new movie even though the bosses of the TV series, which launched him as a star in America, once forced him to turn down 007. Brosnan's contract forced him to turn down the chance to play Bond in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS in the mid-1980s. He was lucky enough for the role to be offered to him again in the 1990s. But the actor says, "I like the idea (of Remington Steele) I think a new version would do well. "The programme had a style and glamour that's missing on TV now." 14/01/2005 02:58
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Post by Ace on Mar 7, 2005 19:04:27 GMT -5
From last November:
Sunday Times Magazine: Live another day
November 12, 2004
Mysteriously axed from his role as James Bond, Pierce Brosnan has been left to contemplate the future. Martyn Palmer found him unshaken, but stirred Pierce Brosnan’s youngest son sometimes gets confused about what exactly dad does when he’s not at home. When he jumps into his car - an Aston Martin, of course - and drives off along the Californian coast, is he embarking on some dangerous mission to save the world, or has he just nipped down to the shops to buy a loaf of bread? It’s no wonder that Paris Brosnan is bewildered; after all, he’s only three years old. “He thinks dad is some superhero because he’s seen a bit of the Bonds,” says his father. “And that’s a big image for any kid to handle.” And it’s not just toddlers who find the line between reality and fantasy a little fuzzy. When Brosnan walks into a restaurant or a hotel bar virtually anywhere in the world, some wag will almost certainly send him over a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. “How many times? God, I’ve no idea. A lot. I don’t keep score, but it happens a lot…” Doesn’t it get annoying? “No, no it doesn’t. I usually just raise a glass and say ‘cheers’. It’s only their way of saying that they like the work, and that’s fine by me.”
For a decade now Brosnan has been James Bond - a very, very good one, too - and Bond has been Brosnan. The Savile Row suits and the highly polished brogues seemed to fit him like a second skin; and when he discarded them to hop into bed with one lovely or another - well, they would, wouldn’t they? Brosnan is good looking in the way that central casting used to dream about. Square jawed and blue eyed, athletic 6ft 2in build, dark hair flecked with grey, he wears his 51 years remarkably well, like a Gucci tux. His Bond has been pitched just right - rugged and suitably macho like Sean Connery, but deft enough to recognise, with a hint of a smile or a flicker of the eyes, that there are times when it’s all just too silly for words, just like Roger Moore used to do so well.
But now it’s over and the actor who re-invigorated a billion-dollar franchise is contemplating a future post-007. If he feels betrayed by the way it’s ended - in a prolonged and rather messy fashion - he’s careful not to show it. “It was ten years almost to the day,” he says. “And I feel a great sense of achievement that it worked, that they did so well at the box office and that a generation grew up with me as Bond.” And the satisfaction of knowing that he will go down as a classic Bond - like Connery and Moore - and not a dud like Timothy Dalton or George Lazenby? “It’s very hard to talk of yourself in those terms,” he says. “I did the best job that I could possibly do. It’s a huge character to step into.” He’s already moved on, at least in terms of making different films, but he’s enough of a realist to know that, like Connery and the rest, he will never really escape it. “You get branded as a Bond and I will always be one of the Bonds.” His latest film, a heist movie called After the Sunset, teams him with Salma Hayek as his love interest - they play jewel thieves - and Woody Harrelson as the FBI agent trying to catch them. Both pairings work well, and the film has the light touch of romantic comedy thriller that Brosnan feels at home with - and which his biggest hit to date (outside of Bond) The Thomas Crown Affair proved.
The film was shot almost entirely on location in the Bahamas - where a huge resort hotel formed the backdrop for much of the action. Brosnan was unaware at the time that this would mark his first official post-Bond role. Now, back in Nassau to promote the new film, he’s still trying to work out exactly how Bond came to an end. “Does anyone know how it ended?” he asks. “My contract was for four films, and the invitation was extended for me to do a fifth, and I said yes, and then, for one reason or another, they changed their minds.”
Others will say what Brosnan is too dignified to say himself. Matt Mueller, editor of Total Film magazine, thinks ditching Brosnan is a panicky move: “He has saved the franchise and would have been fine in the role for another four or five years. Apparently, Pierce wanted the character to be more character-driven, and that could have been a point of conflict. If they get the wrong man, it could blow up in their faces.” There has been speculation that producers Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson want a younger Bond and are looking at an actor in his thirties. Those apparently in the running include Clive Owen, Hugh Jackman, Ioan Gruffudd and even Paul Bettany.
The Bond studio, MGM, has recently been acquired by Sony, which is said to want to broaden 007’s appeal and move him away from the older male fan base to grab a bigger slice of the lucrative teen market which flocks to see the likes of Spider Man and Charlie’s Angels. In other words, Brosnan is too much of a grown-up, a man’s man. But it’s difficult. You tamper with the Bond legacy at your peril. Cast the wrong man and the world’s most successful film franchise ever could be struggling in an increasing field of rivals. Meanwhile, the negotiations to find the new man continue out of the public eye.
Brosnan, of course, knows exactly what it’s like to be the subject of such speculation. He was first lined up to play the character in 1986 when Roger Moore decided to call it a day. The late Cubby Broccoli, who had single-handedly invented the movie franchise after acquiring the rights to Ian Fleming’s novels, offered Brosnan the role, only to lose him when the producers of Remmington Steele - ironically a pseudo-Bond role he was playing on US television - refused to let him go. Timothy Dalton took over, and Brosnan would have to wait eight years for another chance. When it came, he was ready. “It was daunting, very daunting. But somehow, because it had come into my life before, it seemed like it was my destiny to play the role.”
He obviously would have preferred to make at least one more. His first, GoldenEye, was in 1995 and took $350 million worldwide, while his last, Die Another Day, in 2002, grossed a staggering $430 million. Brosnan is the first to point out that he has enjoyed his share of the rewards. Playing Her Majesty’s longest-serving secret agent has made him an A-list star, commanding multi-million-dollar salaries; he’s set up his own company, Irish Dream Time, on the back of it; he owns houses in California and Hawaii, fast cars and the rest. But it’s still a shock when you are unceremoniously dumped. “It’s very hard to find the truth in that town,” he says. “All I know is that they changed their minds. If it’s true, they are looking for a younger actor, good luck to them. It’s out of my control. Do I take umbrage at this? Am I staggered by this? No. It’s a hard business and I wish them well, and I wish the next guy well.”
Brosnan is well used to setbacks. He’s had to endure plenty of them, both professionally and privately, in what has been a remarkable life. Born in Navan, Co Meath, Brosnan came to London when he was 11 with his mother, May, a nurse, and her partner, Bill, a Glaswegian who would become his much-loved stepfather. His father, Thomas had separated from May when their son was a toddler. London was exciting, but it was also tough. Plonked into a large South London comprehensive, it was a struggle to be accepted. “It was huge and it was a baptism of fire, there was a lot of fending off the lads because you are easy pickings as a Mick. I fought. I had to. I had one glorious fight over the milk one morning. I had a soft spot for a girl and this lad had been on my case and he said something to her and that was it. And so it began. The fighting went on until I thought ‘this is nuts’, and I began to reinvent myself. I used humour to be accepted, until I was one of the lads.”
Along with “the lads”, he’d pop to the cinema in Clapham or Wandsworth, and the first film he remembers was Goldfinger with Connery as Bond. “I loved it.” He was asked to audition for school plays, but wouldn’t dare. “A bunch of cissies did that. No way could you do that.” Instead, he went to see Hollywood films and their stars - Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen - and marvelled at their cool. “It wasn’t so much that I wanted to be an actor, I just wanted to be up there on the silver screen.”
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Post by Ace on Mar 7, 2005 19:05:15 GMT -5
(Con'td)
He left school at 16, a gifted artist - he still paints most days he isn’t filming - and worked as a graphic artist in a small studio in Putney, which mostly supplied drawings of furniture for newspaper ads. “I wanted to do album covers, something that was hip and cool. I made the coffee and watered the spider plants.” Escape was provided at a performing arts centre in Kennington after a chance conversation with a colleague about his love of cinema. “I had long hair, an earring, a great coat. I was about 17, I walked in and life changed like that [he clicks his fingers]. There were all these different people there, working class, middle class, black, white, musicians, poets, writers. It was just awesome. I thought to myself, ‘If this is acting, I’m going to have some of this!’”
Within a year he told his parents that he wanted to give up the day job - Bill was worried but May encouraged him. “Dad wanted me to have a good trade. He was like, ‘What are you doing with all those theatricals?’” he laughs. “He thought I was turning. It was, ‘Dad, I’m not, I just really like it.’”
After drama school, Brosnan did his share of provincial theatre and television. In 1977, he’d married Australian actress Cassandra Harris and she encouraged him to try his luck in America. They took out a £2,000 loan against the mortgage - claiming it was for a new central heating system - and headed to LA. “Once I got there the most glorious feeling that anything could happen. I felt a sense of freedom about it and luckily I got work, because financially there was a lot at stake.”
Brosnan landed Remmington Steele almost immediately. High-profile, prime-time and relatively lucrative, the gamble had paid off. He had a family to look after - Cassie had two children from her first marriage, to Dermot Harris, brother of Richard, and their son, Sean - which suited him just fine. He’s never enjoyed being a bachelor. “Family is where I’m loved, and I can take care of those people that I love and make myself happy by caring for them. And, you know, to play that singles game is exhausting and ultimately very lonely.” Cassie’s death, from ovarian cancer in December 1991, left him completely devastated. He’d nursed her at home, and she died in his arms, one day before their 14th wedding anniversary. For a long time afterwards, he said later, he cried every day. He legally adopted his two stepchildren and carried on working - there was still a family to look after. When he eventually met Keely Shaye Smith, a model and actress, in 1996, he fell in love a second time. “I was lucky. I found love twice.” They have two children, seven-year-old Dylan Thomas and three-year-old Paris Beckett, and they married in 2001. Whenever possible, the family travel with him - the Bahamas for After the Sunset was a perfect location, and they rented a house next to Woody Harrelson and his two young children. “Dylan even has a little part in the film,” says Brosnan. “And now he’s got the bug and wants to be in movies all the time. What can you do?”
Directed by Brett Ratner, After the Sunset stars Brosnan as Max Burdett, a jewel thief who retires to the Bahamas with his lover and partner in crime, Lola (Hayek). But when his nemesis, FBI agent Stan Lloyd, tracks him down, he’s not entirely sure he’s suited to retirement, especially when there’s the tempting prospect of stealing one of the world’s most famous diamonds from under Lloyd’s nose. All in all, it’s an unashamed popcorn movie, fast-paced with great-looking actors, stunning locations and plenty of gags. Life goes on, is the Brosnan philosophy. And it’s there to be enjoyed. “I’ve moved on from Bond. It’s over. You think you’re going in one direction and suddenly you’re going in another. But that’s happened to me many times. I have nothing but find memories.”
He recently became an American citizen. “I’ve lived in America for 23 years and it’s been a great country to me. I’m deeply proud to become an American.” A committed environmentalist who supports numerous green charities, Kerry got his vote. “Some of the things the Bush administration has done are disgraceful. I have children and I have to fight for their future and their children’s future. It’s pretty simple, really.” So Bond is no more - at least for Pierce Brosnan - and he no longer goes off to work to fight cartoon bad guys, but it’s nice for Paris to know that his dad is still trying to save the world - in his own way.
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Post by Ace on Apr 7, 2005 16:34:53 GMT -5
I added an interview from Ireland's Hot Press from 1992, when he was doing the rounds for Lawnmower Man to the Interviews section. A much more interesting interview than I'd expect coming in talks about that film. But then much of the more interesting parts concern a return to Ireland, Cassie's death, and even of all things James Bond. Ace
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Kristýna
Jewel Thief
"?ivot napodobuje to, co jsme si vysnili." (Agent z Panamy)
Posts: 172
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Post by Kristýna on Apr 12, 2005 11:40:58 GMT -5
Do you want to ask Pierce any question?? Go to www.piercebrosnan.com, his official web site. Below the letter, thre will be an icon Q&A with PB, if you click on it, you can write any question you would like ask him and in the end he will respond to some, he will find interesting for himself... I found it today and not but what I have many questions I wanna know about him, now, when I can ask him, I just don´t know about what ;D
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Post by Ace on Jun 13, 2005 22:37:18 GMT -5
From Time Magazine | People Q & A Pierce Brosnan
By REBECCA WINTERS Posted Monday, Jun. 20, 2005
This summer Pierce Brosnan indulges nostalgists. He unveils a list of great movie quotes on CBS, and his show Remington Steele hits DVD stores in July.
Forget Clark Gable--what's the best line you've delivered?
"Do you want to dance, or do you want to dance?" from The Thomas Crown Affair. It has sentimental value for me since I produced the movie and it didn't fall on its face. There were many in the Bond movies, but most of them were embarrassing to say.
The worst?
There have been so many. I can't remember.
Congratulations on your recent U.S. citizenship. Why did you make it official?
I wanted a vote. After 23 years, three American sons, an American wife, I wanted to be able to have a voice.
Your résumé lists fire eating as a skill. Has that helped you in Hollywood?
Sure. I used it on the Muppets once.
How do you feel saying goodbye to Bond?
A great sense of achievement, that a generation was introduced to Bond through my tenure. I feel liberation from it too. Creatively there are people who see you as more of a hindrance [to a movie] because you're Bond. And a disappointment in the way it was handled--to be invited back and then uninvited back. But that's the way it goes down. I've said more than enough.
Who should get the next license to kill?
Clive Owen would be a fantastic James Bond. Any man who does it will have to weigh his odds--whether he can get in and get out.
Have you watched Remington Steele recently?
Only because I had to. It was shocking. How did I get away with it?
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Post by Barbara on Jun 16, 2005 14:06:01 GMT -5
From Time Magazine | People Q & A Pierce Brosnan Have you watched Remington Steele recently?Only because I had to. It was shocking. How did I get away with it? Good question Pierce..... Could it be that you were so down right sexy and cute, we would forgive anything back then? ;-) Love...B
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Post by Ace on Jun 16, 2005 14:39:28 GMT -5
Sexy and cute only gets you so far in my book. He was also immensely talented and downright funny and charming. Even when he missteps or oversteps in RS, or the script doesn't support him, he's nothing but marvelously watchable.
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Post by sparklingblue on Jun 17, 2005 3:25:27 GMT -5
Nobody but Pierce could get away with it. He should not be embarrassed; he was great. But you ladies know that anyway.
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Post by sparklingblue on Sept 7, 2005 16:47:37 GMT -5
From the German promotion of LOA: “Für Sie”, May 2005 I can’t afford to lose my strengthPierce Brosnan talks about his life as James Bond and his house-husband abilities Pierce Brosnan can look dashing on screen, kiss beautiful women and lift his eyebrows ironically—that much we know. But here’s a surprise: He can be funny too. In the romantic comedy Laws of Attraction he plays a divorce attorney, but can’t seem to abandon his alter ego James Bond completely. FS: How did you like being a lawyer for once? PB: The verbal exchanges in the courtroom were a lot of fun. As I was preparing for the role I realised that lawyers and actors have a lot in common: they are theatrical, manipulative and they use their charm to butter up other people. In that respect playing the character came easy to me. FS: But it wasn’t easier than playing Agent 007? PB: Of course not. James Bond has become my alter ego by now. The role has done a lot for me. I could found my own production company, Irish Dream Time. And I became famous all over the world. FS: There are rumours that you are going to play Bond again in the next film. PB: Who knows? I’m not opposed to it, but I have no influence on that. I had a contract for four movies; I did these films. After that the producers are free to cast someone else. If they choose me, fine. If they don’t, fine. FS: The part demands record performances. PB: You could put it like that, yes. But when you get to my age you have to do everything you can to stay fit. I work out every day and I’m careful about what I eat. I couldn’t afford to lose my strength anyway because I’m also judged by my appearance for other parts. FS: You don’t seem to be doing badly. Last year has seen you make more films than ever before. PB: That’s correct. To be honest it’s becoming a bit too much for me. I’m glad to have such an understanding wife who supports me wherever she can. FS: So you wife is never annoyed that you are away so often? PB: Rarely. You see, I’m an actor; that’s my job. That means that I earn my money with it. Just because it goes hand in hand with fame and glamour doesn’t mean I’m partying all day. That job can be strenuous at times. Keely is aware of that. FS: What do you do when you’re at home? PB: I help wherever I can. I help with the housework and the child-rearing. I go shopping, I cook and I also do the laundry if necessary. FS: Do you like those chores? PB: Yes, as long as it keeps in balance. I could neither make one movie after the other nor do the ironing all day. But the mixture makes everything interesting. FS: Where do you see yourself in ten years? PB: I don’t think my life is going to change a great deal. I want to see my own company make more progress and I want to start writing. A movie script perhaps; we’ll see. What else? My two youngest children are now three and seven years old, so in ten years they will still need to be watched over by their father. And Keely and I will continue to dearly love each other. translation by sparklingblue
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Post by sparklingblue on Sept 7, 2005 16:52:18 GMT -5
Also posted in the Matador thread. from nachrichten.at: He enjoys getting a laugh out of peopleVenice has George Clooney, but Deauville can compete with that: For the opening film The Matador Pierce Brosnan visited the Deauville Film Festival in Normandy. He enjoyed the beautiful weather and our chat. OÖN: You can’t escape the question of questions anyway… PB: Oh no, I have to bury my head in my hands quickly now. Alright: The time as Bond was great for me. It made me famous; and after GoldenEye I could already afford to found my own production company. I also read about all the rumours during the last few months. The producers are looking for a new guy and I wish them good luck. They always knew where to reach me. From my perspective this whole thing is over. OÖN: Your current movie that you and your company co-produced is called The Matador. It will come to the screens in German-speaking countries in late autumn. What can you tell us about the title? PB: My wife came up with the title. Like she does with so many other good things. OÖN: You are an aging professional assassin who drowns his pain with sex and alcohol. But his problems really begin when he can’t hit his target anymore… PB: In the beginning the story was rather serious with only a few laughs. Together with director Richard Shepard I put more weight on the tragicomic aspect of the story because for me there is no greater horror than taking myself too seriously. OÖN: How did you come by this story? PB: I get a lot of scripts that the big Hollywood studios don’t dare to make. I particularly liked Shepard’s early script because he left a lot of creative space for me as an actor. OÖN: You play this role with a great deal of self-denial. In one scene you stroll through the lobby of the hotel in Mexico City where you were also staying in black Speedos, black boots and a beer belly. PB: On top of that I came up with this look myself. The hotel manager, who had been complimenting me on my Bond performance for days, was rather taken aback. So were the young ladies behind the reception desk, who had always greeted me with great respect, I think… I told Richard Shepard I would do it under one condition. He had one take before I jump into the pool. OÖN: You still have the moustache from Matador, but you have added a (greyish) goatee. Why? PB: For my next movie Seraphim Falls, which I’ll begin in October in New Mexico. It’s a western set during the Civil War. Liam Neeson is my partner. I’m looking forward to it because we are both Irish. He is from the North, I’m from the South.* We will have fun together. OÖN: There’s going to be a sequel to Thomas Crown? PB: That’s right; I just don’t like the word sequel. It’s supposed to become a film of it’s own; less of a mystery and more of a great love story. The studio knocks on the door almost every day, but work on the script is progressing swiftly anyway. (*Note: It is not clear from the original whether he refers to Northern Ireland as opposed to the Republic of Ireland, or if he means the characters are from the North and South of the US.) translation by sparklingblue
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Post by Ace on Sept 7, 2005 17:19:00 GMT -5
These are great and you're simply fantastic! Thank you. I find it very interesting that he pushed for more humor in the piece and the idea that he came up with that look in his walk to the swimming pool -- in a hotel he had to live in afterwards! -- ;D ;D In the case of the North and the South, he's referring to Ireland. In the film, according to another interview their origins are reversed (and of course in the US and not Ireland). Interesting that the sequal is more love story than caper -- but then the first one was too. I wonder if this means Renee is co-starring? Ace
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Post by sparklingblue on Sept 7, 2005 17:44:00 GMT -5
These are great and you're simply fantastic! Thank you. You are most welcome. I have one more, but I'm not finished with it yet. That is so typical. Talk about not taking himself too seriously. ;D It would make a lot of sense to cast her again. Under one condition: no cackling.
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Post by sparklingblue on Sept 8, 2005 16:41:54 GMT -5
Frau im Spiegel, May (?) 2005 Pierce Brosnan: Sometimes I’m intimidated by womenHe looks marvellous, is always well-dressed and a true gentleman. Hence it is no surprise that he was voted the most attractive man in the world. But he is a womaniser only in his movies. [image] Whether Pierce Brosnan will continue to play James Bond is still unclear. But this is a topic he would rather not discuss. He is looking forward to other projects, for example Laws of Attraction, a comedy currently to be seen in German cinemas. It is a romantic cat-and-mouse game between a business woman (Julianne Moore) and a bon viveur (Pierce Brosnan), who of course get together in the end. Pierce loves those romantic parts because he admits to being a “total romantic”. He is married to Keely, his second wife, whom he calls the second love of his life. He is a ladies’ man, but also known as a faithful husband and caring father. The actor spoke frankly about his personal life, about what he likes and what he doesn’t. FIS: You character in Laws of Attraction is different from Bond. Was that intentional? PB: Bond was of course great because the role helped me to international fame virtually over night. I knew however that this was going to be over sooner or later. Now I mainly focus on working. It’s simply about having a job. FIS: That sounds as if you were afraid of being unemployed. PB: You must not kid yourself in this business. An actor only has so many years. That is why I founded my own production company. I can work on projects that suit me and turn me on. There’s a lot of competition out there; and I have a family to support. FIS: Do you know already what kind of characters you want to play in the future? PB: I’m still thinking about what to do next. Whether it’s going to be more comedy or drama. Drama would be a good thing. I played a lot of light stuff, many romances. FIS: Many women all over the world are happy about that. PB: That’s great! (laughs) That’s what one wants to achieve as an actor. Everyone needs romance, and I have always tried to make a point of that in my career. FIS: Fortunately you are also taking off your shirt a couple of times. PB: Only to please the ladies. I’m going to do it until I’m told to please keep my shirt on. So far everything still looks okay. FIS: Do you have to work very hard on it? PB: Working out? Me? Not a bit of it. I keep telling myself: Pierce, you really should work on your biceps. Oh well, one day I’m going to be muscular, I’m sure of it. FIS: You are happily married in your private life, but as Bond you are a womaniser. Do women come on to you often? PB: I’m frequently approached my women. It’s interesting how bold women have become. Recently I was at a party somewhere, and a lady made a pass on me. I was thinking: This is how women must feel! I’m rather intimidated by such things. As a man you want to be the one to make the first move. FIS: But you are comfortable with your image? PB: My life is wonderful because I can live out my fantasies as an actor. I make out with the most beautiful women, drive fast cars, travel to exotic locations. Therefore my wishes are all rather simple. I enjoy driving my kids to school, having a cup of coffee, reading the paper, talking to my wife. When I list these things it all sounds dreadfully boring. FIS: You are always described as terribly nice. Are you really so perfect? PB: Oh my God, perfect! That’s another way to turn people off! I have my negative traits, just like any other man. Sometimes I’m moody or impatient. But who wants to admit to their negative features? FIS: Which issue is close to your heart? PB: Protecting the environment. I’m sure you know that I lost my first wife to cancer. I was desperate at that time and wanted to find a wonder drug. I met many ill people on my quest. What we eat, drink and breathe is closely related to our health. That is why it is so important to think about the environment and do the right thing. translation by sparklingblue
[Note: Sorry about some vague-ness here and there. Something must have gotten lost in translation, as it were.]
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Post by Ace on Sept 12, 2005 14:45:34 GMT -5
THE DAILY RECORD: LICENCE TO KILL
09/12/2005 08:55:02 AM EDT
AFTER almost a decade in Her Majesty's Secret Service, his 007 days may be over . . . but Pierce Brosnan is still holding on to his licence to kill And his first target since finishing with the Bond films is not a bad guy who wants to take over the world, but his own supersuave James Bond elegance.
The 52-year-old star has taken to sporting a grey beard that would make Pussy Galore swoon in horror.
And there's more freaky facial hair in his new film Matador. He plays a hitman with a moustache that looks like an accident with a felt-tip pen.
There are more shocks in store. Instead of being swathed in silk sheets, his hotel beds are tatty nylon horrors. Instead of tailored suits, he turns up for one scene in nothing but a pair of hideously tiny swimming trunks and cowboy boots.
It's a far cry from his old silk suited image, but Pierce couldn't be happier. "It feels like I'm taking my life back," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for having the opportunity to play Bond.
"But having the freedom to make my own choices now is a wonderful feeling."
His farewell to 007, he admits, was not a glorious one. Although the Irish actor was contracted for four films, he had agreed to pick up the Walther PPK for a fifth time.
Then one phone-call ended his days as the most famous secret agent in the world.
For reasons he can't explain, the Bond bosses abruptly decided he was out.
Now they are working through a shortlist of younger actors to find a new superspy for the next instalment, Casino Royale.
Hollywood gossip has it that Pierce asked for as much as $30million for the film - so the producers decided to pull the plug, much to the dismay of Dame Judi Dench, who plays Bond's boss M.
She declared that Pierce was the only true Bond, a remark which amuses and delights her former co-star.
But he's adamant he's glad to see the back of Bond. He hated some of the one-liners, and even on remote island holidays, children would appear, shrieking "James Bond" at the off-duty star.
"Now I can do anything I want," said Pierce. "I'm not beholden to them or anyone. I'm not shackled by some contracted image." In any case, the fifth movie would have been his last. "It's a very demanding role and to serve the part well you have to be physically fit," he said. "It just wears and tears on you.
"I did what I was employed to do - to play James Bond to the best of my abilities.
"I made some good money for myself and took care of my family, made a lot of money for the studios and the producers, and hopefully, ultimately the public felt - hey, Bond is good. I'm part of that legacy."
But he's not ready for a pipe and slippers yet, or long holidays with his wife, Keely, and their two young sons, Dylan and Paris.
Pierce made three films back to back last year and will start on Seraphim Falls with Liam Neeson next month.
Yet he admits that his second family - he shared the upbringing of two older children with his late first wife Cassie - has also made him think about the kind of roles he'd like to do in the future.
"I definitely want to do something for the little ones, something they'd like to watch and enjoy," he said.
"I do think I've got one coming up next year which will be for the family."
However, it's Matador, which opens this month, that is likely to send eyebrows shooting higher than even Roger Moore's when he played 007.
The movie is a spoof on hitmen and puts Pierce in very silly situations. It's already been hailed as the performance of his life.
He plays a professional killer on the verge of a nervous breakdown, who uses booze and hookers to forget his lonely life - until he befriends regular guy Greg Kinnear.
His new pal can hardly believe that he's an assassin, prompting a sequence at a bullfight when Pierce demonstrates how easy it would be to kill almost anyone.
However, Pierce says the toughest scene was walking though a crowded hotel lobby and into a swimming pool wearing nothing but a teeny pair of black speedos and cowboy boots. "I said to the director that I'd do it, but he only got one take," he laughed.
While Pierce has been acting since his early twenties, it was 007 who made him a superstar. Yet he admits he has always had mixed feelings about the role that he chased, and which later chased him.
Mischievous film choices like Matador seem to confirm this. "I suppose there's an element of truth there," he said. "But I don't pick up each script thinking, 'Now I have to get away from Bond'."
But has he compared notes with Sean Connery, the only Bond to successfully cast off the shadow of 007?
"Sean and I really met for the first time at an Oscar ceremony.We didn't talk about Bond. He doesn't want to talk about Bond.
"Bond is a blessing and a curse. He created it. He is THE Bond.He is the one you're compared to." Nor is he interested in speculating whether another Scot - Ewan McGregor, Dougray Scott or even Gerard Butler - could follow in his and Sean's footsteps. "There will be somebody else, one of the lads on the list," was all hewould say. Of course, Pierce was on that list not once but twice.The first time was in the Eighties, just as his TV series Remington Steele was about to be dropped. But the producers realised Pierce was a valuable asset and refused to let him go, only to cancel Remington Steele soon after.
"I remember being in Remington Steele and meeting Bruce Willis," he said. "I had just been offered the Bond in 1986 andhe said to me, 'Well done'.Then two months later I was high and dry without any Bond in my life or even Remington Steele."
But will he be unhappy to be remembered as James Bond, rather than his own pet projects, such as Evelyn or his remake of The Thomas Crown Affair?
"I have no control over it, " he shrugged. "I think that once you play the character, it's always part of your life.
"I cannot invest energy or regret. I'm absolutely bowled over that I got so far in this game.
"If I'm just known as James Bond, so be it"
Copyright © 2005 . Scottish Record & Sunday Mail Limited
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Post by Ace on Sept 25, 2005 12:33:09 GMT -5
I added the GQ 2005 interview to my site -- (courtesy of scans by Chayna) in the Interviews section. Larger linked to photos will be unavailable for a few hours due to an over etension of my bandwidth. members.fortunecity.com/mbe/interviews.htmlAce
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Post by Ace on Oct 13, 2005 14:16:36 GMT -5
[cross-posting] The Premiere interview along with the scans from the Nov 2005 "License to Chill" article is now up at Pierce Brosnan Files: InterviewsThis interview and the photos look to have been done and taken around July 2005 -- before the recent EW interview since this is right before he left for Hawaii. It's too bad Premiere is releasing this in November but magazines are put together so far in advance it looks like it was set before the change in date to December (as evidenced by the November opening date listed next to the review inside the same mag) for Matador's opening. Even if they knew they might not have been able to move around a large interview like this, they need to fill pages.
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