Expecting someone else? Pierce Brosnan is set to return as James Bond in "Casino Royale" if studio pressure holds out...

Pierce Brosnan Set For James Bond Return
12th September 2005

Expecting someone else? As the saying goes in Bond-lore, "never say never"!

The turf war over the casting of James Bond for the forthcoming movie "Casino Royale" is about to end. If the trade press reports are anything to go by, Sony, who took over MGM earlier in the year, have been turning down candidates for the "vacant" 007 role proposed by the producers right, left and centre. The casting of 007 is down to four people: Amy Pascal (Sony), Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (Eon Productions producers), and Martin Campbell (director of "Casino Royale"). Each party have had their favourites, and due to the much reported failure to find a suitable replacement by the producers, despite their wide reaching casting calls, Sony has come to the inevitable conclusion: if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Pierce Brosnan has been hinting to the media over the past few days that the situation has changed and he was willing to step back into the tuxedo for a fifth and final time - if the call from the producers came.

Following his `Editors Special Award` earlier this month, Brosnan gave an interview with GQ that revealed the true state of affairs.

On the subject of his pay demands for a fifth movie, which was over hyped and overblown by the tabloid press to a staggering figure of £20m ($35m USD), Brosnan set the record straight: "Twenty million? Oh no, rubbish. Oh for God's sake. Bollocks. No way. No, it was a handsome figure of maybe £10 million or something like that. Given what the films make it was a spit in the bucket. I wasn't being greedy. The age issue? Bollocks to that, too."

MI6 exclusively reported back in February that the figure Brosnan was allegedly asking for was actually £10m ($17m USD) - a figure now confirmed by Brosnan himself and not that staggering considering he was reportedly paid around $16.5m USD (~£10m) for "Die Another Day". The "too old" rumours which first started in the tabloid press and internet sites back in February 2004 have also been quashed many times.

So what do Sony think about their newly acquired franchise being stalled due to the vacant lead role? Brosnan candidly explained, "Sony are pulling their hair out over it, apparently. I was in their offices just a few weeks ago pitching Thomas Crown 2. They said, "come back" and I said "it's not up to me, guys." "I think I was caught up between the egos of the producers and the studios, really. They (the producers) didn't know whether to go younger, they didn't know what to do, period. I don't know what the truth is. It could be as honest as that, but it seems strange, especially as each film made more and more money."

But Eon Producers have been silent on the whole affair ever since the first headlines speculated that Brosnan's tenure as 007 was over. "Maybe it's all a big, clever ploy just to bang the drum. We've seen it over the years with Sean and Roger" said Brosnan in the GQ interview.

Latest News
MI6 has learned that Pierce Brosnan is now the top contender for the role of James Bond in "Casino Royale" after all, due to studio pressure and the lack of an obvious candidate to replace him. No date has been set for an official announcement on the role, but news it imminent.

The major shooting location for "Casino Royale" will move to an Atlantic island off the east coast of the USA, and not South Africa as originally planned. Pre-production is on schedule and filming is still set to commence in early January 2006.

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