Director Jack Cocker talk about that New Roger Moore Documentary

Jack Cocker is the director of the new Roger Moore documentary from Roger Moore With Love, an exclusive behind the scenes look at the charismatic actor who redefined the role of James Bond screening at Picturehouse cinemas on the 15th of December, and Everyman cinemas on the 15th and 18th of December.

For an interview on the There Will Be Bond podcast, Cocker talks about how the documentary came about. Which features interviews with the Moore family, Christopher Walken, Joan Collins, Pierce Brosnan, David Walliams and many more.

What was it like going through all of the family home videos and interviewing the Moore family?

We went out to Stadt, essentially, to meet Geoffrey (Roger Moore's eldest son). I took a small camera with me, just in case there was anything worth filming. And I'm really glad I did, because the biggest thing that happened while we were there was that Geoffrey dug up these videotapes, VHS and Betamax. And so I said, Oh, I gotta have a look at them. He brought them up to the living room and laid them all out on the table. And I just thought, wow, we have struck gold here.

What was it like for the family seeing this footage?

I showed some of it to Christian, Roger's youngest son, and he'd never seen any of it before. He was quite overcome with emotion. I think seeing his mum again, and seeing all this stuff from way back. Roger had to carry around this pretty heavy video camera that took a full size VHS tape or a full size beta tape. And then there was also a battery pack that he'd have slung over his shoulder, which weighed like five kilos. So it was quite a commitment to be a home video nerd in those days, yeah.

But it was lovely to see the kids reliving some of those times. And then there was also, there's an amazing day that they spent with their friends. And then about halfway through the day, they have to take down the tennis net because a helicopter is coming in and it needs somewhere to land. And this chopper comes down, the door opens and out pops Elton John. He was busy filming the video for I'm Still Standing in Cannes, and he just popped over in the chopper for a

few drinks, a bite to eat, a game of tennis, and then went back to get the sunset shot for his music video.

What was it like for you as a Bond fan, interviewing the likes of Pierce Brosnan and Christopher Walken?

With the Chris Walken interview, that was filmed at his house in Connecticut. Amazingly, he said yes, and he reveals on screen why he said yes, because he said he normally turns these kind of requests down. He said, in the case of Roger, he was so generous, so giving such a lovely guy, that it was his way of saying thank you.

We were driving around rural Connecticut looking for his house, and we finally found it. We went up the driveway, there was a house and a beautiful garden and a little guest house at the bottom of the garden. And we rang the bell, expecting a staff member to turn up at the door. Yeah. And there's Christopher Walken. He walked us down to the guest house. He went off to get smartened up, and then he came back, and then three of us sat there. His publicist had said we could have half an hour tops. That was it. And we got to the end of the half hour, and I said, Chris, thank you so much for your time. This has been amazing. And he said, 'Have you got more questions', and I said, well, yeah, but we're only supposed to have half an hour. He said, 'No, no, I'm enjoying myself. Keep going.' So we ended up sitting there for another like 45 minutes.

And what was it like meeting Pierce Brosnan?

Pierce Brosnan was in the middle of shooting something in England. He had a day off from that, and very kindly agreed to let us come and interview him. And I have got headphones on, because I'm monitoring the sound while we're filming. So I've been asking him about how Roger had wrestled with how to deliver the famous line. My name's Bond, James Bond, and as Pierce started to talk about what it's like having to do that, and practicing it. And right in my ears, I'm getting Pierce Brosnan saying my name is Bond James, Bond. There were literally hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

Was there anyone that you tried to get on that you couldn't get on?

Well, yeah, I suppose the big one was Michael Caine, really, because they were such great friends, thick as thieves. Unfortunately, we couldn't quite make that happen, but I hope Michael tunes in on Christmas Day and is happy with how we've portrayed his best mate.

There's a quote in there from David Walliams, who says Roger had to let other people have a turn at being married to him. Did you find that, when putting the doc together, that the women in his life were really the centrifuge to everything that was orbiting Roger at that time?

Definitely. It's not entirely my confection. I mean, there was an interview that he did quite late in his life for a documentary about Dorothy Squires (his second wife). It sort of unlocked something for me. He said, from the time I met Dot I, I began developing a persona. I'd been very nervous and timid, and she gave me that confidence. And he said, I suppose I became somebody called Roger Moore. And that, for me, was a light bulb moment that he built this persona for himself and ended up seducing the world with it.

What we didn't manage to squeeze in was that he actually paid for her hospital fees. When she was ill in the latter stages of her life, and she kind of fell on hard times, Roger paid for her Bupa bill. Amazing.

For more info on screenings check out Dartmouth Films. To listen to the interview in full on Spotify be sure to listen to the podcast There Will Be Bond, interview with Jack Cocker out 12th December.

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