Monday, July 31, 2006

WENN: Craig Stunned by Backlash

New James Bond star Daniel Craig has been stunned by the bitter backlash he has received since replacing Pierce Brosnan as the secret agent last year. Craig, whose first appearance as James Bond will be in Casino Royale, was disheartened when thousands of fans called on film-makers Eon to ditch him and bring back Brosnan - claiming the Munich star was "too ugly" for the role. The 38-year-old star says, "I didn't expect this backlash. You take it in, you can't help it. I've been trying to give 110 per cent since the beginning but after all the fuss, maybe I started giving 115 per cent."

Again I ask, why the pre-performance hate? I wouldn't have wanted Brosnan to do another film and jump the shark like Connery did with Never Say Never Again and Moore did with A View to a Kill. That's assuming you don't think he jumped with The World Is Not Enough. To my mind, Bond needs something of a hard edge. He can't be a pretty boy.

3 comments:

John DuMond said...

Once upon a time, I was a huge Bond fan. Then, when Timothy Dalton left the role, I lost interest. It's not that I'm not a fan of Pierce Brosnan, it's just that it seemed like Bond lost the hard edge that Dalton brought back to the role after Roger Moore's stint as 007. I'm hoping that Craig will breathe some life back into the franchise.

Anonymous said...

I was in a movie theatre and saw the Casino Royale movie trailer. People were laughing at Craig and saying "that guys supposed to be Bond?"

I think it's going to be an uphill battle for him. At least Dalton was handsome.

Graham Powell said...

Craig was terrific in LAYER CAKE so I think he'll do a good job as Bond. My own favorite choice for the role was Clive Owen, who can do that Bond-esque detachment as well as anyone.