George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan's War of Words

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  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    O6G wrote:
    RC7 wrote:
    I've seen a few sources backing up the quotes. And I saw a video clip years ago of Brosnan saying "No one wants to be the next Lazenby" during the Goldeneye press conference. I can't find it anymore (this was at about 5 or 6 years ago) but I can verify that Brosnan did in fact at least say that. Which isn't cool. Lazenby did nothing to provoke that. If I were George Lazenby and some young punk (young by his standards) was taking unwarranted and uncalled for shots at something I consider a sensitive subject and the biggest missed opportunity of my life I'd be pi**ed off too.

    Lazenby had it coming. He treated the role with utter disregard and defined his own legacy the moment he walked away. He was/is his own worst enemy. Brosnan was right, he's not an actor, if he was he'd have forged some semblance of a career.
    First of all; You don't know either of them personally, there's 2 sides to every story.
    Second of all; How dare you talk shit about George Lazenby? In my opinion, his acting is fine in OHMSS... "He's not an actor, if he was he'd have forged some semblance of a career." That's a terrible thing to say.

    Climb down off your high horse. I'll say what I want about Lazenby, it's an opinion. I happen to care about this series, something Lazenby never did and for that he gets no respect from me. I'm sick of the constant romanticising,  'if only he'd done another, he'd have been the best'. Bollocks. The guy didn't have it and for the record, crying in a scene does not make one a superb actor, I've seen Danny Dyer cry.

    George was incredibly lucky that every bit of talent around him was top notch. Brozzer, on the other hand, had to compete with a maelstrom of chopping and changing regards writers and directors. Lazenby would've bombed in a similar situation, despite being the 'tough guy' he implies. He's pyschologically the weakest of the lot, and he proved that adequately with his  immature handling of the whole debacle.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 6,396
    O6G wrote:
    First of all; You don't know either of them personally, there's 2 sides to every story.
    Second of all; How dare you talk shit about George Lazenby? In my opinion, his acting is fine in OHMSS... "He's not an actor, if he was he'd have forged some semblance of a career." That's a terrible thing to say.

    So you criticise @RC7 for having an opinion and then you immediately post this afterwards:
    O6G wrote:
    Brosnan seems like an extremely insecure man.

    Irony alert!!

  • Posts: 12,506
    Looks like the old tension to a degree is still there! ;))
  • Posts: 14,800
    Brosnan should not have said what he said, it was inelegant. That said Lazenby came off as a very unpleasant man. I love OHMSS and think he could have grown into the role. But he did behave like a prima donna. And it is not unfair to say that he burnt his chances. Or that he has a bit of an ego.
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    I agree, Brosnan threw out a cheap shot at Lazenby. Lazenby on the other hand, from what I've heard, has never been nice about the other Bond actors, so in a way he deserved it.
    I'm also not positive Brosnan meant it in any harsh way, it could've just come off that way. The guy just got the role of a life time and was probably worried about what we all would be worried about had we been in the same position, "Will I be the next George Lazenby?". I've never heard the interview he said this in so I could be completely wrong.
  • Posts: 1,548
    At least Brosnan has shown he can act in the Matador, Seraphim Falls and the like. Would did Lazenby ever do outside Bond? Bitter Australian. Not sure Pam Shriver appreciates him either!
  • Posts: 14,800
    I agree, Brosnan threw out a cheap shot at Lazenby. Lazenby on the other hand, from what I've heard, has never been nice about the other Bond actors, so in a way he deserved it.
    I'm also not positive Brosnan meant it in any harsh way, it could've just come off that way. The guy just got the role of a life time and was probably worried about what we all would be worried about had we been in the same position, "Will I be the next George Lazenby?". I've never heard the interview he said this in so I could be completely wrong.

    Yes, I think he probably meant he didn't want to suffer the same fate as Lazenby, i.e. be the actor to play Bond for one movie, then have his acting career go nowhere. And to be fair, it is a legitimate concern.

    But what he said about OHMSS being a sad movie was undeserved, and overall Brosnan was tactless. Given the general attitude of Lazenby towards Bond and his fellow Bond actors, he probably deserved to be put down a few notches. That does not mean Brosnan was the one who should have done the job.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 1,778
    pachazo wrote:
    Brosnan should have kept his feelings to himself. It was a bold statement for him to make considering he had only one Bond film under his belt at the time. However, Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli never seem to have many positive things to say about Lazenby so I'm sure he wasn't chastised for it.

    Actually Brosnan didn't have any Bond films under his belt at the time. Those comments were made during pre-production for GE. Brosnan had zero credibility at that point but already thought he was the cat's meow. Maybe that's why Brosnan and Lazenby don't like one another. Two huge egos clashing.
    RC7 wrote:
    I've seen a few sources backing up the quotes. And I saw a video clip years ago of Brosnan saying "No one wants to be the next Lazenby" during the Goldeneye press conference. I can't find it anymore (this was at about 5 or 6 years ago) but I can verify that Brosnan did in fact at least say that. Which isn't cool. Lazenby did nothing to provoke that. If I were George Lazenby and some young punk (young by his standards) was taking unwarranted and uncalled for shots at something I consider a sensitive subject and the biggest missed opportunity of my life I'd be pi**ed off too.

    Lazenby had it coming. He treated the role with utter disregard and defined his own legacy the moment he walked away. He was/is his own worst enemy. Brosnan was right, he's not an actor, if he was he'd have forged some semblance of a career.

    Lazenby has gone on record a few times saying that after he left the role Cubby Broccoli used his connections to basically have him blacklisted in Hollywood. Hence the only work he was able to get was in his native Australia or low-budget Hollywood productions. You have to take that with a grain of salt as Lazenby will obviously try to blame his short-comings on someone other than himself (although he has admitted to being immature at the time). Plus I'm not sure Broccoli would have the connections or even care enough to pull off such a feat. Still I do have a felling Lazenby wasn't the only one holding Lazenby back.
  • Posts: 1,146
    I think a bunch of stuff is true here.

    Broz seems like a nice man who maybe shouldn't have said what he said at the Goldeneye press conference.

    Laz seems like a grouch who screwed up a good thing, never lived it down and is jealous of all the others that have played the role and reacted pretty strongly to Broz's words. The stuff about the feminine Bond is just out of bounds, if you ask me.

    Lastly, despite Laz being not the nicest man around, his picture is way better than the Broz films.

    In the end, George has only himself to blame despite making a damn fine film, one of the best.



  • edited January 2014 Posts: 1,778
    What a missed opportunity! Just imagine a Tamahori version of OHMSS starring Brosnan. I would certainly pay to not see that. Halle Berry as Tracy.

    That's just scary. :-SS
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    It is all water under the bridge now, anyway. And Brosnan is sort of feminine, Lazenby was right about that, even if he said it in a knee jerk response to the inapropriate insult to him and OHMSS. I feel sorry for both of them, maybe more so for Brosnan even though he started the whole infantile dispute.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 1,778
    It is all water under the bridge now, anyway. And Brosnan is sort of feminine, Lazenby was right about that, even if he said it in a knee jerk response to the inapropriate insult to him and OHMSS. I feel sorry for both of them, maybe more so for Brosnan even though he started the whole infantile dispute.

    Actually the video @Bain123 posted with Brosnan taking a jab at Lazenby on the Craig Ferguson show is less than a year old. So clearly there's still some bad blood.

    And yes Brosnon is easily the most effeminate Bond. Ironically Craig Ferguson even joked about that when it was first announced that Brosnan wouldn't be reprising his role by saying "Pierce is a nice guy. Really a nice guy. But let's face it even I could kick his ass. He looks like he moisterizes". But it was in good fun though.
  • Bradford4Bradford4 Banned
    Posts: 152
    He is a wonderful Bond... OHMSS is a fav. but take anything Laz says with a grain of salt. Need I remind anyone that he is basically a raging alcoholic, and a menace to his family?

    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7134/great-news....court-lifts-booze-ban-on-george-lazenby-/p1
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Has nothing to do with it, but SKÅL! (Cheers)
  • Posts: 1,146
    A buddy of mine nailed it when he said that Bond is best when he's thug/gentleman. That way it's tough to anticipate how he's gonna react.

    Connery, Craig and Lazenby walk that line very well. The others not so much.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 11,189
    While Craig and Connery are streaks ahead of Laz acting wise I will agree that all three have that "brutal" quality the others never quite had. It felt like they were (or could be) tough guys in real life as well as onscreen.

    All three also managed to get up close and personal with the enemy.

    -Connery - strangling Grant
    -Laz - choking the thug during the escape from Piz Gloria
    -Craig - beating Dryden's contact and the stairwell fight
  • Posts: 11,189
    Delete
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Actually Brosnan didn't have any Bond films under his belt at the time. Those comments were made during pre-production for GE. Brosnan had zero credibility at that point but already thought he was the cat's meow. Maybe that's why Brosnan and Lazenby don't like one another. Two huge egos clashing.
    He said that during pre-production? Wow, that was bold.
  • pachazo wrote:
    Actually Brosnan didn't have any Bond films under his belt at the time. Those comments were made during pre-production for GE. Brosnan had zero credibility at that point but already thought he was the cat's meow. Maybe that's why Brosnan and Lazenby don't like one another. Two huge egos clashing.
    He said that during pre-production? Wow, that was bold.

    My point exactly. Brosnan had not yet so much as filmed his first scene in his first Bond film yet he already saw fit to criticize one of his predecessors in a room full of paparazzi. This furthers my theory that Brosnan also has an enormous ego but unlike Lazenby was better at hiding it.
  • Posts: 232
    I kinda have a feeling that Pierce Brosnan was kind of just parroting the general consensus of George Lazenby at the time. He was known as the one film, one time Bond that was buried in an unloved Bond film (at the time). I'm not sure his comment was meant to be a personal one, but for all intentions it came off that way. George Lazenby has always been outspoken about his feelings about Bond, which can be pretty funny at times. But I kinda wonder if Lazenby had any run-ins with Brosnan (before he was Bond), because they were both pretty locked into TV land in the early 80s. I think the rivalry they have is kind of hilarious, still love them both! Sort of felt Craig Ferguson was winding him up a bit, as well as bringing up Lazenby at all. The media is trying to keep the rivalry alive.

  • Posts: 7,653
    I do agree when Brosnan took the part a lot of people considered George Lazenby the James Bond that threw away his career with sheer stupidity. OHMSS was less of a fan-favorite as it is now.

    I do not think Brosnan wanted to insult Lazenby personaly but more the situation that came from Lazenby his own choice, which is a situation that NO actor wants to be in.

    Lazenby is known for being a drunk prick who talks more rubbish than he has ever been worth.

    That said I love OHMSS more than anything Brosnan has made for EON, but I blame them for playing it too safe.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    To be fair I think safe is what EoN needed at the time at least with GE anyway but from TND to DAD, they should have maintained the standard GE set or try to do better.
  • edited January 2014 Posts: 4,622
    All I have to say is that for Brosnan to critique Lazenby's performance is like a minor-pro hockey player critiquing an NHL all-star. Both are capable hockey players, that can play the game at a competitive level, but one towers above the other in terms of pure ability, and its not Broz doing the towering here.
    Lazenby was awesome as Bond, IMHO of course.
    With Broz, alas, there are many issues.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited January 2014 Posts: 45,489
    And yes Brosnon is easily the most effeminate Bond. Ironically Craig Ferguson even joked about that when it was first announced that Brosnan wouldn't be reprising his role by saying "Pierce is a nice guy. Really a nice guy. But let's face it even I could kick his ass. He looks like he moisterizes". But it was in good fun though.

  • I think originally it was just a throwaway line by Brosnan, that Lazenby was the guy who just did one. In a later interview when he was still Bond, someone mentioned Lazenby and he said 'Poor George'... but then added hastily 'But I don't think anyone knew what they were dealing with [regarding Bond] back then. They didn't know what they had on their hands' or words to that effect, saying they didn't really know how to ease a new actor into the role and it wasn't Lazenby's fault.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    And yet 'Poor George' was a nobody who blagged the biggest gig in the world, played Bond, bedded dozens of beauties, had the time of his life. And ever since has managed to make something of himself and I believe is still a reasonably wealthy man.

    But because he refused a contract to continue as Bond he is seen as a failure?

    Maybe he is from where Brosnan is standing, but from where I am standing George is a success.
  • Posts: 11,189
    George's story would make quite a good film in itself.

  • ggl007ggl007 www.archivo007.com Spain, España
    Posts: 2,535
    BAIN123 wrote:
    George's story would make quite a good film in itself.

    :)) I think you get the point!!
  • Posts: 2,400
    George has done very well for himself even though he turned down Bond. "Failure" is the last word one should use to describe him.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    NicNac wrote:
    And yet 'Poor George' was a nobody who blagged the biggest gig in the world, played Bond, bedded dozens of beauties, had the time of his life. And ever since has managed to make something of himself and I believe is still a reasonably wealthy man.

    But because he refused a contract to continue as Bond he is seen as a failure?

    Maybe he is from where Brosnan is standing, but from where I am standing George is a success.

    My thoughts exactly. He is successful BECAUSE he played Bond only once, thats what makes him stand out, like Paul McGann stands out for only playing the Doctor once!
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