Post by Lauryn on Oct 10, 2006 20:47:11 GMT -5
I don't recall seeing this article posted before. If so, Ace, feel free to delete.
Anti-Bond unleashed
FIONA HUDSON
09-06-2006
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)
A moustache and some Speedos aren't usually deadly weapons. But facial hair and bathers are all Pierce Brosnan needs to kill off memories of him as polished secret agent James Bond.Strutting through a hotel lobby in his new film The Matador wearing only togs and boots, Brosnan cuts an unforgettable figure.
In a single scene as washed-up hitman Julian Noble, Brosnan obliterates every preconception you have of him as the super-suave 007.
He plays to perfection a gun for hire who has lost his mojo and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Portraying the ultimate anti-Bond character seems to have been therapeutic for Brosnan, though he swears it was unintentional.
The role fell into his lap just before he was unexpectedly dumped from the forthcoming Bond movie Casino Royale in favour of Daniel Craig.
But Brosnan's wife and agent both worried that by tackling the wacky new character, the man with a licence to kill was headed for a gunshot wound to the foot.
"I didn't do this for revenge. It wasn't done out of any other reason than it was a really good script and a great character for me," he says.
"We just wanted to make a cool, slick film and we found it in this script."
There's no denying the circumstances added to Brosnan's enjoyment though.
"It was so good messing with the other guy," a relaxed Brosnan recalls. "I kind of dismantle and destroy a lot of what has gone before in that one walk.
"That's the joy of playing Julian. It put great wind in my sails."
Thankfully, there's no sign of those togs as Brosnan sits in the refined surrounds of upmarket London hotel Claridges, dapperly dressed in a crisp black shirt and trousers.
"I thought [the clothes] were free but my wife told me last night we had to pay. That's what happens when you do small-budget movies. I've really got to get back to a big-budget one soon," he says. But obviously not the next 007 instalment. The selection of Craig for the role came after months of speculation and reports of battles between Bond producers and Brosnan over Brosnan's fee.
But Brosnan had secretly hoped producers would return humbly to ask him back.
"I love the role, it would be wonderful to play the role again. I didn't throw the towel in. If it's not to be me, then fair play, I wish the next men all the glory, all the greatest success possible.
"Bond is a fantastic character," he says.
"But so is Julian Noble. I don't mind how I kill, so long as the cheque doesn't bounce."
The Matador's writer and director Richard Shepard intended the film to be a low-budget, digital affair. He fired it off as a writing sample for another project to Brosnan's production company Irish Dream Time.
"Before you know it, I'm getting a call from Pierce saying he wants to produce and star in it," Shepard recalls.
Brosnan says: "I was the last person he expected to show up. It's quite possible it could've been made and never seen ... but that's the great satisfaction of having your own company and being able to make your own choices."
The movie was originally written as a dark thriller, but with Brosnan and co-star Greg Kinnear's touch - and more than a splash of Mexican tequila - it soon morphed into a dark comedy.
Brosnan enjoyed shooting in Mexico, although he didn't ever make it to the bullfight the flick takes its title from.
"I didn't want to see one, I didn't go near it," he squirms.
The grey goatee he sports is for his latest film, an American Civil War epic with Liam Neeson.
"I'm having the time of my life making movies. I'm just so passionate to go forward and create more films," he says.
Brosnan's son Sean is keenly following in his father's footsteps and has some films in the pipeline too.
"He's got three films to do already and he seems to have the start of what I wish for him is a very healthy, wonderful career," the proud father boasts.
But he chokes up when asked about his other boy, Cameron, who is battling drug and alcohol addiction.
"I think, I hope, I pray that he's found his way. It's been a torment for him, and for us all.
"It really has its claws in his heart."
*******
Anti-Bond unleashed
FIONA HUDSON
09-06-2006
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)
A moustache and some Speedos aren't usually deadly weapons. But facial hair and bathers are all Pierce Brosnan needs to kill off memories of him as polished secret agent James Bond.Strutting through a hotel lobby in his new film The Matador wearing only togs and boots, Brosnan cuts an unforgettable figure.
In a single scene as washed-up hitman Julian Noble, Brosnan obliterates every preconception you have of him as the super-suave 007.
He plays to perfection a gun for hire who has lost his mojo and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Portraying the ultimate anti-Bond character seems to have been therapeutic for Brosnan, though he swears it was unintentional.
The role fell into his lap just before he was unexpectedly dumped from the forthcoming Bond movie Casino Royale in favour of Daniel Craig.
But Brosnan's wife and agent both worried that by tackling the wacky new character, the man with a licence to kill was headed for a gunshot wound to the foot.
"I didn't do this for revenge. It wasn't done out of any other reason than it was a really good script and a great character for me," he says.
"We just wanted to make a cool, slick film and we found it in this script."
There's no denying the circumstances added to Brosnan's enjoyment though.
"It was so good messing with the other guy," a relaxed Brosnan recalls. "I kind of dismantle and destroy a lot of what has gone before in that one walk.
"That's the joy of playing Julian. It put great wind in my sails."
Thankfully, there's no sign of those togs as Brosnan sits in the refined surrounds of upmarket London hotel Claridges, dapperly dressed in a crisp black shirt and trousers.
"I thought [the clothes] were free but my wife told me last night we had to pay. That's what happens when you do small-budget movies. I've really got to get back to a big-budget one soon," he says. But obviously not the next 007 instalment. The selection of Craig for the role came after months of speculation and reports of battles between Bond producers and Brosnan over Brosnan's fee.
But Brosnan had secretly hoped producers would return humbly to ask him back.
"I love the role, it would be wonderful to play the role again. I didn't throw the towel in. If it's not to be me, then fair play, I wish the next men all the glory, all the greatest success possible.
"Bond is a fantastic character," he says.
"But so is Julian Noble. I don't mind how I kill, so long as the cheque doesn't bounce."
The Matador's writer and director Richard Shepard intended the film to be a low-budget, digital affair. He fired it off as a writing sample for another project to Brosnan's production company Irish Dream Time.
"Before you know it, I'm getting a call from Pierce saying he wants to produce and star in it," Shepard recalls.
Brosnan says: "I was the last person he expected to show up. It's quite possible it could've been made and never seen ... but that's the great satisfaction of having your own company and being able to make your own choices."
The movie was originally written as a dark thriller, but with Brosnan and co-star Greg Kinnear's touch - and more than a splash of Mexican tequila - it soon morphed into a dark comedy.
Brosnan enjoyed shooting in Mexico, although he didn't ever make it to the bullfight the flick takes its title from.
"I didn't want to see one, I didn't go near it," he squirms.
The grey goatee he sports is for his latest film, an American Civil War epic with Liam Neeson.
"I'm having the time of my life making movies. I'm just so passionate to go forward and create more films," he says.
Brosnan's son Sean is keenly following in his father's footsteps and has some films in the pipeline too.
"He's got three films to do already and he seems to have the start of what I wish for him is a very healthy, wonderful career," the proud father boasts.
But he chokes up when asked about his other boy, Cameron, who is battling drug and alcohol addiction.
"I think, I hope, I pray that he's found his way. It's been a torment for him, and for us all.
"It really has its claws in his heart."
*******