The league of extraordinary gentlemen: why relations between Sean Connery and the director were very tense?

Released in cinemas in 2003, the movie called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemenworn by Sean Connery and Shane Westwill be rebroadcast on Sunday, October 9, 2022, from 9:05 p.m. on 6ter, Realized by Stephen Norringtonthis feature film takes place in 1899. At the head of a group of terrorists, a stranger calling himself The ghost threatens the international order, by pitting European nations against each other. Faced with the imminent threat of a major conflict (First World War, editor’s note), England decides to train The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The latter is made up of the adventurer Allan Quatermain, portrayed on screen by Sean Conneryby Tom Sawyer, a member of the American secret service performed by Shane Westby the chemist Mina Harker, played by Peta Wilsonwho hides his vampire talents, by Rodney Skinner, the Invisible Man played by Tony Curran, the immortal Dorian Gray, Doctor Henry Jekyll, and Captain Nemo. These 7 extraordinary characters will board the Nautilus, bound for Venice, where they will have to thwart the dark plans of the Phantom. For the record, this feature film is in fact the film adaptation of a comic book by Alan Moore.

Stephen Norrington on Sean Connery: “I Invited Him to Punch Me in the Face to Get It Over With”

As for many blockbusters, the shooting of this film was not easy. It was marked in particular by the tight relationships between Sean Connery and director Stephen Norrington. The actor, also executive producer of the feature film, did not want his character to be drugged like in comics. The script therefore had to be rewritten 20 times in order to suit the requirements of Sean Connery and Fox.. But the biggest argument between the two men took place during the filming in Malta. “We’ve had a few arguments, and the worst happened in Malta, over a prop that was left behind in LA. Connery was mad at me for different reasons, and the bad vibes wore me out and made me sick. So I invited him to stick his fist in my face to get it over with, while appreciating in advance the money I was going to collect in court! In the end, we didn’t fight, we just yelled at each other. Then I went back to my hotel room and submitted my resignation. Fox threatened to sue me, so I went back to work the next morning.“, revealed Stephen Norrington.

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