Unbounded

UNBONDED: It wasn't bad box office that revoked Timothy Dalton's license to kill-just red tape. The fourth-generation James Bond (Dalton took over from Roger Moore with 1987's The Living Daylights) says it was the delay between MGM/UA's Licence to Kill (1989) and the proposed 1995 thriller that convinced him it was time to move on. ''If the third movie hadn't been stalled by legal difficulties (a lawsuit between producer Cubby Broccoli and MGM), I would have done it,'' says Dalton. Meanwhile, the hunt is on for a suave Agent 007 replacement. Schindler's List star Liam Neeson is the producers' first choice, but according to a source at United Artists, Neeson is not interested. Another name on the Bond short list is his Schindler's costar Ralph Fiennes, who's also being talked about to play another secret agent: The Saint.