The website Billington used to maintain before he passed away is still online and has a lot of detail about all of this.ml94 wrote:1973, 1977, 1979, 1981 & 1983...if SIR ROGER wasnt available.TROLLY wrote:Maybe so. But what I'm saying is; Cubby Broccoli would only have had actors screen tested at times when it was necessary. Otherwise, what would've been the point?ml94 wrote:TROLLY wrote:ml94 wrote:Cubby tested actors all the time...TROLLY wrote:Are you sure; you're not confusing that with the times he actually needed to do so.
I couldn't imagine that he tested anyone in between The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. What would have been the point in that.ml94 wrote:MICHAEL BILLINGTON made 5 (!) screentests over the years...
Can you tell me precisely, when Michael Billington did all of these screen tests? I must say; that "5", does seem a little unlikely.
As he was given a part in TSWLM, I can only assume that he wasn't ever considered to replace Moore. Therefore, it can only have been pre-Live and Let Die.
http://www.michaelbillington.org.uk/htm ... _page.html
“I had a brief role as Sergei in The Spy Who Loved Me. This
came about as a result of Cubby Broccoli, Lewis Gilbert and
Guy Hamilton believing that I had potential to play the Bond
character at some juncture. Bond was a role I would test for
more than any other actor but without success”
http://www.michaelbillington.org.uk/htm ... e_-_1.html
“First of all I have to say, and this may surprise you, that I was never really a great fan of
007. The kind of films I grew up on were French and Italian films like The Wages Of
Fear; Rififi; and Bicycle Thieves but I recognise just how influential Bond films have
been in popular culture.
I liked American films such as On The Waterfront, Treasure Of The Sierra Madre and
Paths Of Glory and for all out enjoyment musicals like An American In Paris and Singing
In The Rain. I especially love A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, an early work of Elia Kazan.
So you see I am a bit of a misfit.
I did like Goldfinger very much, however, and also From Russia With Love and Dr No;
so when I learned that the Producers had me in mind to replace Sean Connery I had
very mixed feelings.
Needless to say, that as a Young Actor; deep inside I felt excited at the prospects of
becoming, even for a short time a ‘Film Star’ but I was also aware that it could have
‘backfired’ and I could have become unemployable once my prospective tenure as Bond
had come to an end. I still had ambition to have a long career in films; and I could not
foresee the ‘Bond Thing’ lasting much longer once Sean Connery; by far the Best Bond
ever, quit.
I think I have to emphasise the power of Connery’s impact. It was formidable. I really
didn’t want to be a ‘Quasi Bond’. Even though I think I could have played it well I feared
I would always seem ‘Second Best’. However I imagined that any publicity about my
connection to the role might enhance my chance of being cast in ‘Good Film Roles’
without actually playing Bond. It was a difficult career choice. But it also seemed at the
time that every young actor, and even some old one’s were being tipped as ‘The Next
Bond’ but most of these predictions to me seemed quite absurd. Clearly a publicity ruse
so even that career choice, for me, was not without its ‘perils’.
Now I know that I shouldn’t have been concerned; had I indeed got the role and played it
even a couple of times I could have moved on to other films because the mood of the
audience was changing. At the time I could not detect that and I was fearful of making
the wrong choice, so it constantly nagged at me. There were two camps of current
thought of advice for young actors at the time. Be ‘selective’ or ‘take any job you are
offered’. I was firmly in the former group.
At the time, everyone seemed to have an ‘Insider’ in the Bond Production Company.
Bond was the hottest thing in British Films then; so all agents cultivated a relationship
with Secretaries and Minor ‘Runners’ to pick up the latest news about who was ‘In or Out’.
I even heard of Unit Drivers being asked to keep their ears open when driving Directors
and Executives from the Production Offices to the Studio.
My Agent at the time had an ‘Insider’
I suppose my involvement began in the mid sixties when Bud Ornstein, then Head of
Production at United Artists in Europe, saw me in late night theatre and asked me to
meet with him at the U.A. Offices. He told me that he would get some photographs done
and show them to Harry Saltzman.
Some weeks later I was called in for a Meeting by Dyson Lovell to meet with Peter Hunt
for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; but I believed from my ‘insider’ that they already
had George Lazenby under contract yet clearly hoped Connery would capitulate.
When I saw a photograph of Lazenby I thought he had the perfect look for the role, so
subsequently I put it out of my mind.
I didn’t hear anything again until about the time of Diamonds Are Forever, which was just
opening I recall. I was filming a television series called U.F.O. when Harry Saltzman came
to see some footage from the filming, as he was planning to do Moonraker next and he
was looking for some expertise with Special Effects. The Producer Sylvia Anderson, an
accomplished casting director herself, suggested I might be right to play Bond if it went
ahead and I have to say that there was some evidence that the role of ‘Foster’ that I
played might, with a little grooming, have served the part well.
It didn’t happen, so when I heard a year or two later that Cubby Broccoli
wanted to meet me with the prospect of a Screen Test, I was somewhat
surprised. I was having some success on British Television at the time
but really wanted to do a quality movie.
I felt the meeting went well and I liked Cubby as a person.
When they confirmed their interest, I thought I should take a look at some current Bond
productions, as I hadn’t seen anything since Goldfinger. I took a look at Thunderball and
liked it well enough except for the ending, which had a rather ‘Shaky’ High Speed Boat
chase and I detected a certain element of ‘Self Parody’ much like that now exploited so
successfully by Austin Powers.
I think I did well on the test for Live And Let Die and liked Guy Hamilton, the Director.
The scene was a specially written scene, which I played with an actress called Caroline
Seymour. I heard from my Agent’s ‘Insider’ that there was going to be an offer made and
there was some national press to that effect. When it was announced that Roger Moore
was going to do it, I was stunned.
With the utmost respect to Roger I could only see it going the direction of ‘self parody’.
I think I was also a bit relieved as my Television and Stage career was going well at the
time, and I was doing the kind of work I always wanted to do; but the ‘Big Motion Picture’
was still eluding me, however I felt that time was on my side.
I also felt, deep down, that I hadn’t heard the last of Bond but for the moment, I firmly
put it out of my mind.
A couple of Bond Pictures went by and I didn’t hear anything. The only
vibes I got back were from JANE SEYMOUR who had played my wife in
the British Television Series, THE ONEDIN LINE and starred as
SOLITAIRE in LIVE AND LET DIE, who told me that HARRY
SALTZMAN from time to time quizzed her about me, probing
questions such as my sexuality and things like that.
However, I suppose something about the test I had done, a picture
CUBBY BROCCOLI had picked out from the Photo Shoot that stayed in his mind.
Eventually, Cubby picked up the phone and asked me to do something in THE SPY
WHO LOVED ME. I found out later that Harry Saltzman had gone and Cubby was on his
own. It seems they had been doing alternate pictures up till then. What was on offer
wasn’t BOND but a small role SERGEI. I knew that if I did it, it might prevent me from
doing BOND in the long run; but I thought “Why not?” A couple of weeks in SAN MORITZ
skiing and BOND was only a picture or two from demise anyway, or so I thought,
“What did I care?” My choice was should I try and play it like Bond? I decided to go the
‘Anti Hero’ route, ‘Darker’ inside.
I teamed up with second unit director JOHN GLENN to shoot the skiing shots but apart
from evenings at dinner I didn’t see much of him. Most work was done by WILLIE
BOGNER skiing backwards with a MOVIE CAMERA between his legs pointing behind
him. Not a bad stunt in itself. We shot the opening sequence in record time and half
a day in PINEWOOD completed the task. Not a big pay-check but never mind; I liked
LEWIS GILBERT, who had directed YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Time went by; ‘Spy’ was a
hit. I couldn’t think why. A man called JAWS who could bite sharks? It was what we called
‘abstract art’ in film study.
I’d just finished filming COOGAN in the British TV Series THE PROFESSIONALS when
I got the call to go to Paris for another series of tests. MOONRAKER was being
‘Prepped’ and they were looking at Bond Girls. I didn’t feel much like playing Bond
having just played a crazed underworld criminal but I took the job. I did some scenes with
imported beauties like Shelly Hack and Susan Reed. Also local talent such as the
beautiful Sylvia Krystel and a lovely girl called Cyrielle Besnard.
The word got out that they wanted LOIS CHILDS. Lois came over to shoot some tests
but I think she already had the role so the rest was strictly cosmetic. Lewis told me that
he thought I should do the next one, but it was up to Cubby. My final obstacle, according
to Lewis, would be if Cubby invited me out to dinner on the last night of the tests. He did
and we had a pleasant dinner with Cubby, Mrs Broccoli, Lois, John Glenn, myself and
Barbara, Cubby’s daughter. Barbara and I spent a night ‘on the town’ in Paris, with
John Glenn as chaperone. The next day I was on a plane back to London; and that was
that, or so I thought.
Some months later, I found myself in Hollywood on a job unrelated to Bond. I was alone
in a downtown Los Angeles hotel, so I called the Bond Office in Culver City to see if
anyone from the unit was in town. Barbara, who was doing film studies at Loyola
Marymont called me and we went to a Hollywood Party. I enjoyed the time Barbara
and I spent together and we became close.
Time passed and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was on the horizon. By this time the ‘usual
suspects’ were gone. Lewis, I was told had asked $1,000,000 to do the picture so he
was shown the door, and JOHN GLENN was at the helm; script by Richard Maibaum,
close to retirement and Michael G. Wilson, a lawyer by profession. The sharp and witty
Christopher Woods dialogue was, sadly no more. The troops were gathering to go to
CORFU to begin filming but ROGER was being “Coy”. I think the money was an issue.
Cubby had me fitted out with Wardrobe and flew me to Corfu. We had a picture shoot.
I was invited to several European openings of the film. I thought the Title Sequence
was fantastic but frankly considered the rest of the film over long and tepid, the plot
unfathomable and “Why did Bond wear a Wet Suit?” I asked and who could be afraid
of a Pistachio chewing TOPOL? But even this was not the end... there was more to come.
OCTOPUSSY rolled around. Roger this time was being “Extra Coy”. I tested once more
with Deborah Sheldon and Susan Penhaligon but it was purely cosmetic. I didn’t feel
John Glenn was ‘truly an actors’ director’. And anyway he seemed more secure with
Roger so, in my view; he needed me and any other candidate for that matter, like acute
pneumonia. And with all respect, Michael G. Wilson was not really a writer. And with all
the will in the world, I couldn’t quite see myself, dressed as a Circus Clown clutching a
Faberge Egg, and the finale with the ticking time bomb was in my view a resurrected
dead turkey, so consequently I was uncharacteristically very, very nervous of the
prospects.
However, I went my way and did KGB THE SECRET WAR: about real spies and the
Bonds went on. Timothy Dalton, an accomplished actor, unfortunately proved he wasn’t
entirely credible in the role of 007. Not his fault I’m sure. The films got longer and it
wasn’t until GOLDENEYE that the train finally got back on the tracks thanks largely,
I’m sure to Barbara Broccoli; but by that time it was far too late for me.”
, looks like a lot of people in the UK were generous with spectre but american critics are ripping it apart 
.
Somehow I think that's wishful thinking though. They'll just keep hiring more shills to pump it back up. 
