Did the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen push the director and Sean Connery into retirement?

The League of Extraordinary Lords : a critical and commercial failure

Adapted from Alan Moore’s cult comics., The League of Extraordinary Lords tells the story of 7 adventurers with extraordinary powers, including The Invisible Man and Dorian Gray, led by cowboy Allan Quatermain. Gathered under secret circumstances, they all board Captain Nemo’s Nautilus to sabotage a conference that brings together the greatest heads of state.

Released in 2003the feature film was met with an impressive critical flop. Adapted by Stephen Norrington It is withdrawn by the specialized press. On the box office side, it’s not much better since for a budget of $ 78 million, the film grossed $ 179 million. It must be said that the shooting was not easy for the director, who decided to retire after this bad experience.

a complicated production

Esteban Norrington, resulting from the success of Espadait is used by New Line Cinema for editing The League of Extraordinary Lords. From the start, the director wanted to stay true to the dark tone of Alan Moore’s comics. but the 20^the Century Fox, which distributes the feature film, asks Stephen Norrington to put on a show for the general public, rated PG-13. To support this desire, the studios rent Sean Connery plays Alan Quartermain. The British comedian agrees to star in the blockbuster because regrets having turned down the role of Gandalf Lord of the Rings. The actor fears losing a new commercial triumph and agrees to shoot The League of Extraordinary Lords.

However, La Volpe wants to soften Alan Moore’s work. The firm then decides to put aside Alan Quatermain’s drug problems and adds Tom Sawyer to the cast to appeal to the American audience. Changes that did not satisfy Alan Moore, who then asked not be associated with the project. In number 302 of the crazy moviespublished in December 2016, Stephen Norrington explains that:

Over the course of the rewrites (20 in all!), The setting has become more and more conventional. Writer James Robinson and I tried to resist, but in the end we were just actors.

The production of the film takes place in the same dynamic of opposition between producers and artists. Fox cut the film budget, ranging from 85 million to 78 million dollars. Filming began in August 2002 in Prague. but that summer the Czech capital is the victim of huge floods. A natural disaster that destroyed part of the sets, delayed filming and caused a financial loss estimated at $ 7 million.

The stormy relationship between Sean Connery and Stephen Norrington

But the worst when filming The League of Extraordinary Lordswas the relationship between Sean Connery and Stephen Norrington. The two men regularly argued on the film set, mainly because of their artistic differences. Stephen Norrington specifically said that:

We had a few fights, and the worst was in Malta, over a prop that stayed in Los Angeles. Connery was angry with me for several reasons, and the negative vibes were wearing me out and making me sick. So I invited him to punch me in the face to get it over with, while I was pre-evaluating the money I was going to raise at the trial! In the end we didn’t fight, we just yelled at each other. Then I went back to my hotel room and resigned. Fox threatened to sue me, so I went back to work the next morning.

Once the movie is somehow finished, Stephen Norrington refused to promote him.. Worse still, after his experience in The League of Extraordinary Lordsthe director retired from the Hollywood industry and took early retirement. He then attended the Burning Man festival for 10 years and then returned to his first love: animatronics.

Sean Connery also has, for his part, decided to retire. Tired of the Hollywood system and the constant pressure of producers and directors, the huge British actor has retired from the sets. In an interview with Times in 2011 he said approx The League of Extraordinary Lords :

It was a nightmare! The experience marked me a lot. It made me think about show business. I’m tired of talking to idiots.

Too bad the old 007 has it he dropped out in one of the worst films of his career : The League of Extraordinary Lords …