The Bond Curse?

[Alec 006]

Hello,

I'm just on my way to work and I'm wondering if anyone has heard of or believes Bond 22 - "Quantum Of Solace" is cursed?

I can't remember where I read the article (my city newspaper, possibly) but it mentioned the stunt man who was terribly injured stunt driving for the film in Italy, part of Pinewood Studios burning down (again!), an Aston Martin that ended up in a lake, and even Daniel Craig severely cutting his finger on-set which required stitches.

I have my own "Bond Curse" theory:

All the odd numbered James Bond actors, 1) Sean Connery 3) Roger Moore, 5) Pierce Brosnan are considered huge money makers and "successes" playing everyone's favorite British Agent.

The even numbered 007 actors, 2) George Lazenby 4) Timothy Dalton 6) Daniel Craig seem to have asterisks or question marks regarding their tenures as James Bond.

Are even numbered actors to play 007 under a hex? Just throwing this out there!


Take Care!

[Cpt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

Jul 5, 2008 22:14:42 GMT -5 Alec 006 said:

Hello,

I'm just on my way to work and I'm wondering if anyone has heard of or believes Bond 22 - "Quantum Of Solace" is cursed?

I can't remember where I read the article (my city newspaper, possibly) but it mentioned the stunt man who was terribly injured stunt driving for the film in Italy, part of Pinewood Studios burning down (again!), an Aston Martin that ended up in a lake, and even Daniel Craig severely cutting his finger on-set which required stitches.

I have my own "Bond Curse" theory:

All the odd numbered James Bond actors, 1) Sean Connery 3) Roger Moore, 5) Pierce Brosnan are considered huge money makers and "successes" playing everyone's favorite British Agent.

The even numbered 007 actors, 2) George Lazenby 4) Timothy Dalton 6) Daniel Craig seem to have asterisks or question marks regarding their tenures as James Bond.

Are even numbered actors to play 007 under a hex? Just throwing this out there!


Take Care!

I thought Craig would have a tough job because he followed on from Brosnan, mainly due to your curse thesis.

Lazenby had to follow Connery. Then Dalton had to follow Roger Moore. Then Craig had to follow Brosnan, a popular Bond in the mould of Connery and Moore.

Craig has been successful. Of course there is the chance of a downturn for Bond 22.

p.s. Alec: the curse has extended to your avatar, which has entered another dimension....

[poirot]

Jul 6, 2008 11:29:40 GMT -5 Cpt. Sir Dominic Flandry said:

Then Dalton had to follow Roger Moore.

But Dalton got off to a pretty good start, with TLD being both a critical and commercial success.

I wouldn't say QOS is "cursed", but it has been bizarre. There was also the crewmember who got attacked by a knife-wielding crazy woman. And the difficulty EON has had trying to secure a singer for the main title. (I hadn't heard about Pinewood burning again- unless we're talking about when it happened back in 2006.)

There's also a number of interesting similarities between QOS and LTK:

-Both are revenge stories, with Bond angering M and going rogue
-Bond jeopardizes a larger operation beyond MI6
-Bond is aided by a woman the villain has wronged
-Both productions were said to be cursed, and encountered production woes
-Each released in a year with new sequels to Indiana Jones, Batman (featuring Joker), Ghostbusters (videogame in 2008), and Star Trek (ultimately moved to 2009)
-The Bond girls are basically generic characters, bucking the usual trend of having a well-known actress, a memorable name (XXX; Xenia Onatopp; etc), or being derived from Fleming (the Havelock daughter; Vesper Lynd; etc.)
-Each given a title that marketing gurus felt was weak (Licence Revoked; Quantum of Solace)
-Both took their cue from action trends of the day, with LTK criticized as being "too Miami Vice" and QOS rumored to be a blatant copy of the Bourne films
-Each alienated casual moviegoers, with the actor ultimately deciding it was time to relinquish the role of 007 and move on

[Jake]

The LTK similarity, as poirot pointed out, is very apparent. It also has a Tomorrow Never Dies vibe. Maybe they throw more action in when they can't think of a plot? I'm a little suprised that everyone is critical of the title but then it must sound weird if you've never heard it before.

[Greg Haugen]

winnipegsun.com/Entertainment/Movies/2008/07/09/6104766-sun.html

New Bond Film Seemingly Cursed

HOLLYWOOD -- The name of the new James Bond movie happens to be the roll-right-off-your-tongue Quantum of Solace, but for a while there it was sounding more like Trouble-0-7.

What with star Daniel Craig busting open his face one week and slicing off the tip of his finger the next, assorted car accidents sending a stuntman to the hospital with serious head injuries and plunging an Aston Martin into the lake -- not to mention a mysterious fire that destroyed one of the film's Pinewood Studio sets -- there have been not-so-murmured whispers of a Bond curse.

To be fair, what with all that high-stakes stunt work, accidents have been par for the course on many a Bond movie, but, sensing something must be done to protect its most valuable franchise, MGM snuck a sneak preview trailer online last week.

It certainly plays like gangbusters, assuring Craig fans that producers haven't messed with the gritty success of the last installment. Yet rumours suggest they're not quite out of the woods.

There has been industry talk that one of the main reasons for all that on-set chaos might have to do with the fact that while first-time Bond director Marc Forster has earned a deserved reputation for versatility (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball, The Kite Runner), he might just be over his head with the kind of hair-splitting action the Bond movies demand.

Or maybe things just started going south when it appeared that Amy Winehouse was going to sing the big theme song. At last look, both Annie Lennox and Leona Lewis were in the running.

The viewing public will find out if all the on-set drama was worth it when Quantum of Solace (assuming that's the title they stick with) arrives in North American theatres on Nov. 7.

Brits, meanwhile, will get their Bond fix a week earlier, on Oct. 31, as in Halloween.

Hmm, maybe that would explain the curse! [/b]


We're all doomed! ;D

[FormerBondFan]

It would be a lot more interesting if Uwe Boll directed QOS instead of Forster.

[Jake]

It's a bit strange that the UK gets QOS at Halloween, a week before some other markets.

[poirot]

Jul 10, 2008 13:11:31 GMT -5 Jake said:

It's a bit strange that the UK gets QOS at Halloween, a week before some other markets.

It's definitely unusual, because it's a move that opens the film up to piracy. It also shows how desperate they are to have a big opening weekend- which I assume they will then hype leading up to the US release.

[FormerBondFan]

The top spot at the US box office does not belong to QOS.

[Jake]

Jul 10, 2008 15:50:56 GMT -5 poirot said:

Jul 10, 2008 13:11:31 GMT -5 Jake said:

It's a bit strange that the UK gets QOS at Halloween, a week before some other markets.

It's definitely unusual, because it's a move that opens the film up to piracy. It also shows how desperate they are to have a big opening weekend- which I assume they will then hype leading up to the US release.

A new James Bond film will always get a warm reception and do good numbers in the UK so maybe it makes sense. American Bond fans will just have to avoid or selectively read the forums for a week I suppose if they want to remain reasonably spoiler free.

[FormerBondFan]

QOS doesn't deserve to receive attention here in the US.

[Jake]

It'll be interesting to see how much money it takes in the US.

[FormerBondFan]

Jul 11, 2008 12:27:23 GMT -5 Jake said:

It'll be interesting to see how much money it takes in the US.

It better not be higher than CR.

[Cpt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

Jul 6, 2008 12:02:06 GMT -5 poirot said:

Jul 6, 2008 11:29:40 GMT -5 Cpt. Sir Dominic Flandry said:

Then Dalton had to follow Roger Moore.

But Dalton got off to a pretty good start, with TLD being both a critical and commercial success.

I wouldn't say QOS is "cursed", but it has been bizarre. There was also the crewmember who got attacked by a knife-wielding crazy woman. And the difficulty EON has had trying to secure a singer for the main title. (I hadn't heard about Pinewood burning again- unless we're talking about when it happened back in 2006.)

There's also a number of interesting similarities between QOS and LTK:

-Both are revenge stories, with Bond angering M and going rogue
-Bond jeopardizes a larger operation beyond MI6
-Bond is aided by a woman the villain has wronged
-Both productions were said to be cursed, and encountered production woes
-Each released in a year with new sequels to Indiana Jones, Batman (featuring Joker), Ghostbusters (videogame in 2008), and Star Trek (ultimately moved to 2009)
-The Bond girls are basically generic characters, bucking the usual trend of having a well-known actress, a memorable name (XXX; Xenia Onatopp; etc), or being derived from Fleming (the Havelock daughter; Vesper Lynd; etc.)
-Each given a title that marketing gurus felt was weak (Licence Revoked; Quantum of Solace)
-Both took their cue from action trends of the day, with LTK criticized as being "too Miami Vice" and QOS rumored to be a blatant copy of the Bourne films
-Each alienated casual moviegoers, with the actor ultimately deciding it was time to relinquish the role of 007 and move on

The curse theory could work if you agree that Dalton is not now considered a successful Bond by the public, along with Lazneby (I loved his Bond though).

And, it depends on how Brosnan is perceived now. Is he still popular, or considered a falilure as Bond. Despite the Brosnan bashing, I think he is considered a success, and he made four movies.

[FormerBondFan]

Jul 13, 2008 8:07:45 GMT -5 Cpt. Sir Dominic Flandry said:

Despite the Brosnan bashing, I think he is considered a success, and he made four movies.

I'm really sick and tired when those Pro-Craig minions say something like "I don't see Brosnan being a tough guy."