What actually happened to Pierce Brosnan?

245

Comments

  • edited August 2015 Posts: 1,778
    They did bring the series back to a level of success it hadn't seen for a long time. I get it, it just will kill you to say anything nice about the Brosnan films. I'm the same way about the roger moron movies.

    I'll happily admit that the Bronson Era was far more successful than most of the John Glen era (FYEO actually pulled in a nice amount in 81) but it certainly wasn't a "new level" of success. The Bond series had done much better with the Connery films of the 60s and the Moore films of the 70s (minus TMWTGG).
  • ThomasCrown76ThomasCrown76 Augusta, ks
    edited August 2015 Posts: 757
    Blah blah blah. I'll have to back away here. I'm not allowed to get angry on here anymore
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Let's not forget that Brosnan was Cubby's choice. Is it fair to say that BB and MGW felt saddled with Pierce to some degree?
  • My whole view on this subject is that a few things happened. The Bourne Identity was a HUGE success and practically redefined the spy genre, and that was the same year as DAD. Despite being a horrendous piece of shitty film making, it was still a huge success financially, and I think back then that they intended on making another with Brosnan in the role. But this is where CR came into play because Quentin Tarantino wanted to make that into a film with Brosnan and set it in the 1960s, which sounded like an odd idea. Eon wanted to really recreate the magic of the early Sean Connery era, and if they wanted to do CR, that ultimately meant a reboot, and re-casting the character. Brosnan was ultimately bitter after that decision was made, and I think that he still is to an extent, at least he went out on high note in one of the best Bond video games, but I've always wanted to see him in a more serious film, something like what he would do later on with his own spy film, The November Man (which I really enjoyed), I prefer Brosnan to Craig myself though.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    The November Man was garbage. Brosnan was good in it but the film stank to high heaven.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Blah blah blah. I'll have to back away here. I'm not allowed to get angry on here anymore

    Simple, don't engage in discussions then. Why should you get angry? He's simply making an observation.
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 1,778
    Blah blah blah. I'll have to back away here. I'm not allowed to get angry on here anymore

    Simple, don't engage in discussions then. Why should you get angry? He's simply making an observation.
    Birdleson wrote: »
    A very valid and factual point, at that.

    Thankyou gentlemen. I'm not criticizing Brosnan's performances or his character. I'm merely stating that the Brosnan Era was a period of relatively average success when looking at the Bond franchise as a whole. It was neither a peak nor was it a valley. It was a nice even steady flow of money that I'm sure satisfied EON but was hardly Christmas for them either.
  • Interesting reading. Checking up on it, the highest placed Brosnan is DAD at 12th. Goldeneye is one place behind. Doesn't mean they were anything other than successful, but ALL of Craig''s are in the top 10, including the number 1 spot; so we're clearly talking about a different level of success now. That said, without Brosnan showing that these films were still viable, we wouldn't even have a Craig.

    Still not sure why any of that prompts anger.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Can't understand " anger" either ? Everyone posts an opinion, you
    Can either agree or disagree ( it's called a discussion ;) ) although
    I'm certain most of us know what someone is really doing when they
    Use insulting or provocative language. :)) looking For a fight anyone ? :D
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    edited August 2015 Posts: 9,020
    @DoubleOhhSeven

    you cannot talk away the fact that all 4 Brosnan movies were the 4 most successful Bond movies by far before CR.
    Do you really think a producer, a studio or someone else gives a sh** what Thunderball's gross might be worth today?? Or what it would be worth in relation to day DAD??
    The only thing that matters is what the movie is grossing TODAY because you cannot spend any money that was generated 50 years ago.

    Unbelievable what lame arguments people get when they cannot admit that Brosnan put the franchise to new heights. Even BB + MGW said so.

    Added: If some people insist on adjusting the inflation in such lists then they should do it properly and adjust everything, the budget, the marketing costs, the profit...then the picture would look completely different again.
  • @DoubleOhhSeven

    you cannot talk away the fact that all 4 Brosnan movies were the 4 most successful Bond movies by far before CR.
    Do you really think a producer, a studio or someone else gives a sh** what Thunderball's gross might be worth today?? Or what it would be worth in relation to day DAD??
    The only thing that matters is what the movie is grossing TODAY because you cannot spend any money that was generated 50 years ago.

    Unbelievable what lame arguments people get when they cannot admit that Brosnan put the franchise to new heights. Even BB + MGW said so.

    Added: If some people insist on adjusting the inflation in such lists then they should do it properly and adjust everything, the budget, the marketing costs, the profit...then the picture would look completely different again.

    Actually yes profit margins do matter. If you were making x amount of dollars 20 or 30 years ago and making y amount of dollars today but x amount went further for you in the long and short runs than I thing that does factor in. What's "unbelievable" here are the excuses some delusional fans will make up to protect their hero from factual information.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    His films made loads of money DAD almost as much as CR. ;) but
    They wanted a reboot with a younger actor, so Pierce was not contracted
    For another. No big conspiracy or mystery. The producers wanted to go
    in a different direction with a new actor. Happens all the time in business.
  • DrGorner wrote: »
    His films made loads of money DAD almost as much as CR. ;) but
    They wanted a reboot with a younger actor, so Pierce was not contracted
    For another. No big conspiracy or mystery. The producers wanted to go
    in a different direction with a new actor. Happens all the time in business.
    DrGorner wrote: »
    His films made loads of money DAD almost as much as CR. ;) but
    They wanted a reboot with a younger actor, so Pierce was not contracted
    For another. No big conspiracy or mystery. The producers wanted to go
    in a different direction with a new actor. Happens all the time in business.

    Almost as much? DAD grossed $431 mil. Adjusted for inflation that comes out to $574 mil. CR grossed $599 mil. Adjusted that comes out to $712 mil. That's not even close to being almost the same. But I don't why I bother putting down numbers. Brosnan's fans have their own version of history.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    If you want factual information on real money here it is:

    1 Skyfall $1,108.6
    2 Casino Royale $599.0
    3 Quantum of Solace $586.1
    4 Die Another Day $432.0
    5 The World Is Not Enough $361.8
    6 GoldenEye $352.2
    7 Tomorrow Never Dies $333.0

    Do you honestly believe EON is interested in theoretical numbers of 60's Bond movies.
    Or do you think Cameron is crying in his sleep because theoretically Gone With The Wind was more successful than Avatar??

    Sorry, but this argument with inflation adjusted figures is lame.

    I'm not protecting a hero. My hero is Timothy Dalton who is, sadly, the one that was viewed as a failure in general.

    But people who obviously cannot stand Brosnan's movies take every chance to try to prove how "wrong" he was. (I don't mean you necessarily, just saying).

    Anyway, I understand some people look at those inflation adjusted statistics. I like statistics too. But they are not how success of a movie is measured.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I've just checked your figures ( they're perfectly rounded) and you know
    DoubleOhhSeven, you appear to be correct. ;) so apologies for that I
    Always thought the made similar amounts.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    If you want the figures that really count in a bookkeeping department then have a look at this:
    ROI figures (Return on Invest).

    full.jpg

    Neither Craig's nor Brosnan's movies were the most profitable.
    QOS even is last, and Skyfall below Goldeneye!!

    It seems movies nowadays simply cost to much to make as much profit as decades ago.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    With all these lists, I'm always amazed at how well LALD did. Even OHMSS
    Made a fortune.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited August 2015 Posts: 23,883
    The ROI figures are the ones that count, combined with acceptance of the actor in the role and critical success.

    The thing about the Brosnan era is the precipitous declining ROI. DAD did reverse that somewhat, but at some cost to the franchise's credibility, particularly in a post-911/Austin Powers era. So I think EON had no choice but to reboot, and with the CR rights in hand, it was a no-brainer.

    What's quite evident from the above list is how exceptional Martin Campbell is as a director. Not only did he deliver two of the franchise's best (particularly in the last 40 yrs or so) but he did it with class leading levels of ROI while introducing a new Bond actor each time. A genius when it comes to Bond and definitely up there with Young as one of the greats.

    Amazing that DN is still the one with the highest ROI, and also amazing that the often drubbed TMWTGG was actually quite successful.

    Keep in mind also that the above stats do not include the marketing budgets, which have also increased dramatically over the yrs, further reducing ROI. That's why increased product placement is, sadly, inevitable, as studios try to recover marketing costs through product tie-ins.
  • StrangwaysStrangways London, England
    Posts: 21
    If you want the figures that really count in a bookkeeping department then have a look at this:
    ROI figures (Return on Invest).
    The table you have presented is nonsense, I'm afraid. I don't understand how you can claim it reflects ROI when it only takes into account Box Office admissions but weirdly ignores television, DVD, VHS, BluRay etc. - i.e. the most lucrative recoupment channels in the late 80s, 90s and 00s.

    The Bourne Identity was a HUGE success and practically redefined the spy genre, and that was the same year as DAD.
    DAD was much more successful than the Bourne Identity ($431m box office vs $214m box office)
    If they wanted to do CR, that ultimately meant a reboot, and re-casting the character.
    Why? Casino Royale wasn't an origin story. It didn't require recasting and it certainly didn't require a reboot.


  • Posts: 232
    But if BOURNE only cost 60 mil vs what, 145 for DAD, then the return was greater, right? (have no stake in this as I don't like either movie.)

    CR gave them a promotable excuse for reboot, but would have served just as well (or for me, better) as a Broz finale.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @Strangways

    The ROI table is not nonsense, it's just one way to try to figure out which movies were more successful than others.
    Of course all you mentioned should be counted in as well, but there is no information available anywhere to have a final number of profit to a movie.
    Even 50 years after Dr. No, Dr. No still makes money.

    That's why it's common practice to look at box office numbers and judge a movie's success by those numbers as I said initially.
    But then it looks like Brosnan's movies were highly successful and that info doesn't go well with some people.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited August 2015 Posts: 23,883
    I agree that the ROI is not nonsense. One has to look at ROI to judge success. It's the most relevant measure, but as has been mentioned, the stats we have are incomplete.

    Box office on its own is not a good measure as it ignores both the cost and the inflation in ticket prices, which is highly relevant.

    The commonly quoted inflation adjusted numbers give some indication of relative box office strength over time (and so are certainly more relevant than an unadjusted number), but it's just an indication. As I've mentioned elsewhere, an inflation adjustment is just a CPI adjustment, so it does not account for ticket price variations over time, new technology (like IMAX etc.), competing media (like DVD, TV, internet etc.), changes in buying habits etc.

    Yet another indication of relative success and cultural significance (but not profitability) is yearly worldwide box office rank. In that respect, the stats are as follows (based on available info from stats-a-mania tme):

    DN - 1
    FRWL - 2
    GF - 1
    TB - 2
    YOLT - 3
    OHMSS - 2
    DAF - 1
    LALD - 3
    TMWTGG - 4
    TSWLM - 4
    MR - 1
    FYEO - 2
    OP - 2
    AVTAK - 5
    TLD - 4
    LTK - 12
    GE - 4
    TND - 4
    TWINE - 8
    DAD - 6
    CR - 4
    QoS - 7
    SF - 2

    With the increasing cost of making a Bond film these days, the films have to make a ton of money to remain profitable, and they have to stay in the top 5-10 of the yearly rank, irrespective of total gross, imho. Top 1, 2 or 3, like OP, MR, SF, FYEO, LALD, DAF, OHMSS, YOLT, TB, GF, FRWL, DN would be even better
  • StrangwaysStrangways London, England
    edited August 2015 Posts: 21
    trevanian wrote: »
    But if BOURNE only cost 60 mil vs what, 145 for DAD, then the return was greater, right? (have no stake in this as I don't like either movie.)

    No. DAD cost $80m more than Bourne to make but earned $215m more at the box office. So DAD was $135m more profitable than Bourne at the box office alone.

    But my point was about the fan theory that Eon wanted to ape the popularity of Bourne. It's not logical because DAD was demonstrably more popular than Bourne.

    The ROI table is not nonsense, it's just one way to try to figure out which movies were more successful than others.

    Sorry to disagree but a table purporting to depict return on investment is of course a nonsense when it excludes the major sources of revenue for almost half of the entries.

    That's how you have come to the conclusion that "it seems movies nowadays simply cost to much to make as much profit as decades ago" and it is an incorrect conclusion as it's based on faulty data.
    Of course all you mentioned should be counted in as well, but there is no information available anywhere to have a final number of profit to a movie

    As you are aware of this, I'm surprised that you are confident enough to say that "neither Craig's nor Brosnan's movies were the most profitable" especially as they are the two eras in which home media has been most profitable (particularly Brosnan's era).
  • Posts: 232
    No, I'm saying percentagewise the return is immensely greater with BOURNE - the multiplier is something like x7 vs almost x3.

    The other issue here is home media dollars is very hard to track, given that different divisions at the companies are involved, and presumably there are different divisions of profit as well. Have seen years of arguing about this on trek sites and Paramount's creative accounting in the feature area (which is why there was a near audit in the mid 80s, at which point TREK suddenly became profitable for those with net points) might be nothing compared to what it was with their homevid division. You can talk gross dollars on homevid, but there aren't even general rules I've found to evaluate those numbers, like the 2x or 2.5x rule for negative cost vs gross return (or the similar multiplier when evaluating rental take vs gross.)
  • Posts: 267
    I loved Brosnan in the role, but GE (and the first half of TND) was about all he had that I think you could consider 'good'. The last half of TND was ridiculously over the top, TWINE just didn't work, and DAD was a complete mess. The scripts he got and the casts he had to work with didn't give him much in the way of quality.

    They could've taken it back down to earth for a final Brosnan film like they did with Roger Moore in FYEO, or gone in an entirely new direction with a new actor (like they eventually did with Dalton in TLD). Based on Craig's success I think you can say that they made the right decision. I'd really like to see them go younger with the next actor though so that they can stay in the role for a big longer.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Even if I absolutely loved Brosnan and his movies, I never felt it was wrong not to do a fifth movie. The time was right for CR to be finally made and I wouldn't want it any other way than it is.
  • StrangwaysStrangways London, England
    Posts: 21
    trevanian wrote: »
    No, I'm saying percentagewise the return is immensely greater with BOURNE - the multiplier is something like x7 vs almost x3.

    But I'm not sure I understand how that is a particular mark of success? A studio is not aiming for a high multiplier - access to capital isn't a problem - it's aiming for a big profit. A film that makes a profit of $200m is more valuable than a film that makes a profit of $100m, regardless of budget.

    (On a multiplier rationale, the most successful spy film of the 21st century isn't Bond or Bourne or Mission Impossible but probably The Lives of Other - made for $2m and grossed $77m.)
  • StrangwaysStrangways London, England
    edited August 2015 Posts: 21
    bondboy007 wrote: »
    I'd really like to see them go younger with the next actor though so that they can stay in the role for a big longer.

    Assuming he fulfils his contract and makes another film in 2019, Craig will be the longest-serving actor in the role.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    ROI may not be nonsense, but it is no good indicator of success as long as you calculate it percentagewise. Say a movie costs 1 dollar to make, and the revenue is 10 000 dollars. Hardly the biggest success of all time, is it?
  • edited August 2015 Posts: 1,778
    If you want the figures that really count in a bookkeeping department then have a look at this:
    ROI figures (Return on Invest).

    full.jpg

    Neither Craig's nor Brosnan's movies were the most profitable.
    QOS even is last, and Skyfall below Goldeneye!!

    It seems movies nowadays simply cost to much to make as much profit as decades ago.

    Okay if you want to judge the franchise's success that way than my point still stands. Bronson in no way, shape, or form brought the series to new levels of success. As I stated above, the franchise's financial success peaked with Connery. Not even someone with half a brian would ever claim that the Bond series was bigger with Brosnan in the 90s than with Connery in the 60s. Connery made Bond a cultural phenomenon in the 60s. Brosnan, not so much. Any way you slice it, Brosnan's run was nowhere near the most successful for the series at that time or any other.

    You have to also consider the time and place. Thunderball grossing $141 million (an absolutely absurd amount of money in the 60s) meant infinitely more for the success of EON than Die Another Day grossing $431 million (a good but hardly phenomenal sum by 2002 standards). The same way Skyfall joining the billion dollar club in 2012 meant more for the business credibility of James Bond than anything in the Brosnan Era.
    @Strangways

    The ROI table is not nonsense, it's just one way to try to figure out which movies were more successful than others.
    Of course all you mentioned should be counted in as well, but there is no information available anywhere to have a final number of profit to a movie.
    Even 50 years after Dr. No, Dr. No still makes money.

    That's why it's common practice to look at box office numbers and judge a movie's success by those numbers as I said initially.
    But then it looks like Brosnan's movies were highly successful and that info doesn't go well with some people.

    Exactly, we don't the information you asked for in a previous post. All we can judge the films on are the info we do have. And they all point to Connery be the most successful Bond.
Sign In or Register to comment.