Following the passing of Sean Connery on Saturday, many people took to social media to share their stories about the legendary actor. One of the best stories came from a Twitter thread by screenwriter Brian Koppelman.
READ MORE: Legendary Actor Sean Connery Has Passed Away At Age 90
The story involves Koppelman and David Levien doing re-writes on a film in 2004. When Connery got involved with the project, he asked the writers to do extensive re-writes on top of their existing re-writes in order to accommodate Connery’s vision for the story. Connery reportedly quit the film the same day he was meant to meet with the director to discuss a scene, who didn’t show up because “He’s in a goddamned female player’s box at the fucking French open,” according to Koppelman’s tweets. Now, it seems like all signs are pointing to that director being the disgraced filmmaker Brett Ratner.
Turns out, in 2004 Koppelman and Levien were doing re-writes for a film called “Josiah’s Canon” for Fox and director Ratner, according to Variety. The film was going to follow a Holocaust survivor who becomes the world’s leading bank robber, who sets out to execute a heist on an impenetrable bank in Switzerland which is filled with Jewish treasures stolen during WW2.
But by the end of September 2004, Variety reported “Connery has abruptly withdrawn” from the film, focusing on how Connery walked away from a whopping $17.5 million payday for the film because he wanted to focus on writing his memoir. The piece also alludes to Connery’s disillusionment with studio filmmaking following “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and how he quit the film because he simply decided to retire right away. However, Koppelman’s story seems to argue Connery quitting that film may have boiled down simply to Connery not wanting to deal with a director who talks big about using “movie magic” as his sole explanation for how he planned to shoot a scene, and didn’t show up to a meeting with his lead actor.
Ratner wrote his recollection of the events on Saturday, but he didn’t mention any conflict with Connery. The disgraced director and producer faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse from at least six women at the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017. That same day, Warner Bros. announced they had severed all ties with Ratner.