Brosnan: 'I loved' Skyfall

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/the-reel-breakdown/pierce-brosnan-praises-magnificent-daniel-craig-skyfall-talks-192908802.html

Quote :

Pierce Brosnan might have turned in his license to kill, but that's not stopping him from talking Bond, James Bond.

Yahoo! Movies caught up with the 59-year-old actor in Manhattan to discuss his latest starring role, in Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier's charming romcom "Love Is All You Need," opening Friday. The Irishman plays an embittered widower that gets a second chance at love with a cancer survivor (Trine Dyrholm) when they meet at their children's Italian wedding.

But, ever the gentleman, Brosnan graciously switched gears and discussed his years as Bond, where he fit in the 007 pantheon -- and seeing "Skyfall" for the first time.

We're here to talk about "Love Is All You Need," but let's get a few Bond questions out of the way. Have you seen the new ones with Daniel Craig?

I've only seen "Skyfall." I had to. I was in London doing a film with Toni Collette, so every time I'd walk out my door I'd see Daniel. Every time I'd turn the radio on I'd hear Adele. I said, "OK, no time like the present." There's enough space, time, and water under the bridge to see what this man has done.

And?

And I loved it. I did. I really did. I've covered a lot of ground since playing James Bond. I knew Daniel. We passed in the night, so to speak, and we spoke about life and how wonderful it was for him to do 007. He didn't need any words from me except: "Go forth, steal thunder, be Bond, and enjoy the ride."

Enjoy the ride while it lasts.

It only lasts a certain time. As you keep going down the road you realize that more and more, and so you become quite sanguine about it. You can enjoy life then, when you don't have that monkey on your back of striving the whole time and trying to be great.

I still want to be good as an actor. That burns passionately in my heart, that the next job will really nail it. I'll really do it to perfection.

Bond was a glorious time for me. I have nothing but gratitude for having played such a role. And Daniel is magnificent.

You had a Cary Grant style to your Bond. Craig's Bond is more muscular.

He's a very hard man. Daniel gives 150 percent of himself to it constantly, both physically and emotionally. He's a Bond for this age and this time.

How does that differ from your Bond?

Once I saw Matt Damon come onto the stage with "The Bourne Identity," I could see that the stakes had been upped. My era of playing Bond was still a cross-pollination of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. They hadn't made that leap into the next phase: the huge action, and a more brutal Bond.

Watching "Skyfall," how did M's death affect you?

I would have loved to have held her in my arms myself. I would have loved to have played that scene with her. But it was not meant to be for me. It was Daniel's moment and his time.

Dame Judy [Dench] is such a magnificent lady in every sense of the word: as a human being and as an actress. Her presence on stage and screen is so magnetic. Her graciousness in life is so beautiful. So there you go. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Which means?

Thus passes the glory of the world.

It's nice to hear that Brosnan's attitude over leaving the role mellowed out, as he should be greatful he had four films under his belt. So I suppose with Brosnan praising SF, that only leaves Connery and Lazenby who haven't given their two cents. Pretty sure we won't hear from Laz anytime.

Not sure if Connery even bothers to watch new Bonds any more.

Python wrote:

Pretty sure we won't hear from Laz anytime.

He praised Craig's portrayal in a Q&A session I saw him do. It was before SF came out, so not sure if he's seen it since.

6of1 wrote:

Not sure if Connery even bothers to watch new Bonds any more.

He did watch Casino Royale, hasn't commented on anything Bond since then.

CJB wrote:

Python wrote:

Pretty sure we won't hear from Laz anytime.

He praised Craig's portrayal in a Q&A session I saw him do. It was before SF came out, so not sure if he's seen it since.

I was thinking of this http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a398622/daniel-craigs-james-bond-doesnt-have-a-heart-says-george-lazenby.html

Hmmm, I thought Brosnan said something in an interview once about watching CR as an 'inflight' movie.

That was TLD after he lost the role to Dalton.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/10002563/Pierce-Brosnan-interview-for-Love-Is-All-You-Need.html

'When we spoke Brosnan had not yet seen Skyfall, although he was planning to take his sons to see it on his return to New York. He is still to catch up with the earlier Daniel Craig Bond films, Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008), due to both mixed feelings about his exit from the franchise and unreliable in-flight movie technology.

“Back in the Casino Royale days I was on a plane and I started watching it: I thought 37,000 feet was a fair distance from the reality to observe it all; to see what Daniel had done,” he says. “But it broke down. And they fixed it. And it broke down again. On the third attempt it froze, and I thought, ‘Leave it at that.’ Let the man get on with it, and you get on with marching forward and cleaving out a career for oneself.” '

Well ... he TRIED to watch it :)

It's funny, because that's the same story he used when he was asked if he managed to catch TLD.

'The 'faulty inflight movie' story's solid, I'll stick with that when asked in future' .

It seems strange to me that Brosnan hasnt watched Craig's first few Bond movies. If you were one of the Bond actors, wouldnt you be at least a little curious how everyone else compared to you? He didnt have time for 4 hours of movie watching over the past few years to catch up?

Yeah, seems to me that although it may have passed now there was a bitterness on his part at not being in CR which extended to him being unable to watch the 'new guy'.

KingCobra686 wrote:

It seems strange to me that Brosnan hasnt watched Craig's first few Bond movies.  If you were one of the Bond actors, wouldnt you be at least a little curious how everyone else compared to you?  He didnt have time for 4 hours of movie watching over the past few years to catch up?

He did try apparently. He was on a plane a short while after Casino Royale's release and the film was one of the on-board movie's. He began watching it and then it stopped working. He's probably better off without seeing it.

Re-reading this article makes me feel melancholic.