บท 66: Chapter 66: The Legendary Lee
As mid-April approached, Duke completed all post-production work and, according to Warner Bros.'s plan, accepted an interview with the entertainment section of the *Los Angeles Times*, which took place at Rock Studios. Aside from the routine promotion of *The Rock*, many of the topics discussed revolved around John Mason and Christopher Lee, as agreed upon beforehand.
"It is said that you originally wanted to invite Sean Connery to play John Mason?"
The female journalist, Sarah, sitting across from Duke, asked, "Why did you later abandon that idea and choose Christopher Lee instead?"
"Mason is a very formidable agent, even if he is a bit older," Duke demonstrated a punching stance just right, prompting the journalist to immediately respond, "Yes, we can see that from the trailer."
"In fact, in my initial concept…"
Having received guidance from Warner's PR, Duke had learned a bit about leveraging publicity, "The original choice for Mason was an action star like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Unfortunately, Mr. Schwarzenegger took on the role in *True Lies*, so I had to look for other candidates."
"So, that means John Mason was never originally intended to be Sean Connery?"
"Exactly," Duke nodded, asserting without needing to draft any notes, "Later, someone recommended Mr. Connery to me, and I thought he was a suitable replacement."
He deliberately emphasized the word 'replacement' and the following 'audition,' "Thus, the crew sent him an audition invitation. We never finalized Sean Connery to play John Mason; he was merely one of the audition candidates. Although he played 007, that was a long time ago. As you can see from the trailer, Mason is a fierce and formidable agent, entirely different from Bond."
"Then why choose Christopher Lee?"
"Here's the thing: in order to find a suitable actor, I specifically watched several Bond films from the last decade."
Lying with his eyes wide open was absolutely a necessary skill for thriving in Hollywood. "Then I watched *The Man with the Golden Gun*, which everyone should have seen. It is also recognized as a film where the villain outshines Bond, and Lee plays the man with the golden gun. At that moment, I thought, this is exactly the John Mason I need. I had my assistant gather his information, and when I saw it…"
Duke made a few exaggerated gestures and said, "It was a feeling that can only be described as shocking. I thought at the time that it must be fake. Warner even specifically wrote to the British government for verification, and it turned out all the information was true."
"What did you actually see?" the journalist hurriedly asked.
"After reviewing the information, I felt that Lee was Mason. No one was more suitable than him," Duke's tone deliberately carried a sense of disbelief, as if he still found it hard to believe. "Christopher Lee is a living legend; I mean him personally, his experiences! There are many actors in Hollywood who act better than him and have achieved more, but in the role of an agent, no one surpasses him!"
"Not even Sean Connery?"
"Sean Connery?" Duke said disdainfully, "People think Sean Connery is suitable for John Mason because he once played the fictional agent James Bond, but Christopher Lee was a real agent for nearly a decade. He was a member of the British Non-Gentlemen's War Department during World War II!"
"Oh. My. God!"
The female journalist exclaimed. As someone who covered entertainment news, she was well aware that James Bond was originally based on the experiences of agents from the British Non-Gentlemen's War Department!
"Is this true? A real British agent? Not a fake like Sean Connery?"
Sitting in a Manhattan ice cream shop, Erin, one of the few girls interested in action films, was asking her roommate, Anna.
Anna, a student at New York University's film production program, was reading a copy of the *Los Angeles Times* and said, "It must be true; the *Los Angeles Times* has already verified it with the British government!"
"I can't believe there's such a unique actor like Christopher Lee in Hollywood." Erin looked incredulous.
"Here's his resume; do you want to see it, Miss Landy?" Anna handed the newspaper over. Erin almost snatched it, the headline article and pictures of Lee's medals equally eye-catching.
"Christopher Lee, who plays John Mason in *The Rock*, is a living legend. I'm not saying that there are many actors who can act better or have greater achievements. I mean he himself is a legend!"
Erin's eyes quickly scanned the detailed information below.
"When Lee was 17, he went to Finland to join the army and fight the Soviets. After fighting the Soviets, he returned to Britain and joined the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) to fight the Nazis in Egypt. How powerful was this unit? German Field Marshal Rommel himself said—LRDG caused more destruction than any other British unit!"
"According to British government records, Lee once drove a Chevrolet mounted with machine guns, braving the scorching sun of the Sahara Desert, infiltrated hundreds of kilometers behind enemy lines to destroy German aircraft, leaving behind a pile of twisted metal and a lot of dead German soldiers. The Italian troops who fought alongside the Germans referred to Lee's unit as the Ghost Patrol!"
"After returning from the Egyptian desert to Britain, Lee wasn't satiated by the bloodshed; he turned around and joined the Special Operations Executive of the British Non-Gentlemen's War Department—the predecessor of the intelligence agency that James Bond belongs to—becoming a real agent, carrying out reconnaissance, intelligence, and sabotage missions in Nazi-occupied territories. He was once in life-and-death situations and earned numerous honors, receiving combat medals from Britain, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland! By the way, Tito was a personal friend of his!"
"After World War II, several years later, Christopher Lee, as a soldier and agent, retired successfully, but his acting career was just beginning. The author of 007, Fleming, was Lee's cousin, and they fought side by side in the Non-Gentlemen's War Department. James Bond was largely based on the experiences of Lee, Fleming, and their comrades!"
"Lee is definitely not the type of superficial actor-agent; he is also a champion fencer…"
Seeing this, Erin blinked and asked her friend, who was enjoying ice cream, once more, "Anna, are you sure this is true? This is unbelievable! It's simply hard to believe!"
"Of course it's true." Anna handed her a copy of the *New York Times* and the *Washington Post*, "They also have related reports. If it weren't verified, the three major newspapers wouldn't place it on the front page of the entertainment section!"
After reading the three major papers, Erin ran to the newspaper rack in the ice cream shop and gathered all the newspapers together. Except for some tabloids like the *Daily Mail* and the *New York Post*, most newspapers featured articles about Christopher Lee, prominently placed in the entertainment section. The possibility of fabricating this news was very slim, and even the *Los Angeles Times* included a copy of the British government's response letter. The three major newspapers wouldn't create such easily debunked lies.
"I used to think Sean Connery was pretty good, after all, he was the first 007."
It must be said that the overwhelming reports, combined with Christopher Lee's verified legendary experiences, subtly changed many people's views. "Now that I see these, I realize that Connery's so-called agent experiences are really nothing compared to Lee's real experiences. In comparison, he seems like an ignorant child."
"When Sean Connery was young, he was rough and impulsive; I've seen some reports." Erin scrunched her nose, "I've watched the earliest Bond films and always felt he was a bit of a fool, I don't know why, but in these last few years, he suddenly became a gentleman."
"Who cares?" The young people showed a nonchalant side. "Let's go watch *The Rock* together and see that former British agent!"
"I think the tall and imposing Lee is more suited for the role of an agent than Connery."
Public opinion is always shifting; someone who was a media darling yesterday might be cast aside tomorrow. With Warner Bros.'s PR strategy, Christopher Lee's real experiences quickly spread across North America in just a few days. While it's possible for Hollywood actors to have been presidents and other notable figures, a genuine agent who served for several years is exceedingly rare.
As for Sean Connery, although the media still compared him to Christopher Lee, few believed he was more suitable for the role of John Mason, even though tabloid papers under the news group claimed that real experiences and acting skills were two different matters, and that Lee's acting wasn't as good as Connery's. However, not many bought that.
After all, Lee was also a seasoned actor with decades of experience and had iconic roles like the man with the golden gun. It is well-known that Sean Connery has never been renowned for his acting skills. When comparing a genuinely experienced agent with a fictional one, the former holds more persuasive power. Even if public opinion is influenced, there is still some basic judgment.
If Sean Connery is considered a scarce resource for retired agent roles, Christopher Lee is a unique resource in Hollywood.
Not only that, but leveraging the competition with Sean Connery, even before *The Rock* was released, Christopher Lee's reputation had temporarily risen. He even received several audition invitations from different production teams, and during one audition, he snatched the male lead role in *First Knight* right from Sean Connery
After Warner used the media to hype up the film, there were even voices saying that Sean Connery's acting skills were not as good as Christopher Lee's.
These were all means of publicity. Warner temporarily gained the upper hand and, by showing the spirit of kicking a fallen dog, exposed many shameful things about Sean Connery!
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