'JAMES BOND 20' Details Released!

[~soulheaven~]

From the MR. KISS KISS BANG BANG WEBSITE:

"BOND 20" IS "DIE ANOTHER DAY"
Updated 1715 GMT March 12, 2002

The wait is over and tons of speculation is rendered obsolete as Eon Productions and MGM announce that "Die Another Day" is the title of Bond 20.

The title hadn't been reported, rumored or speculated about in any form. Other titles such as "Double Cross" and "Beyond the Ice" were widely rumored.

Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said, "'Die Another Day' carries on the tradition of the Ian Fleming stories and reflects the excitement and mystery of our latest script."

And mystery is probably a well chosen word. Although some pieces of the action have been reported on, the plot to a large extent remains unclear.

One 007 NEWS reader points out that this title could draw inspiration from a poem by A.E. Housman called "The Day of Battle." One verse goes: "But since the man that runs away, Lives to die another day, And cowards' funerals, when they come, Are not wept so well at home."

OTHER FACTS KNOWN:

MADONNA WILL SING THE TITLE SONG
(traditionally entitled identically with the movie title)

HIS NEW CAR? THE ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH

HALLE BERRY WILL PLAY 'JINX', ONE OF THE BOND GIRLS

THE DETAILS:

PLOT
A report on JamesBond.com seems to discount what the Hollywood Reporter had said earlier. The paper claimed that facial transformation played a part in the plot and that one actor was transformed into another. The official site reports the actors are two separate characters.

The Times reports that high-tech weaponry and global military domination also play a part in typical James Bond fashion. It reports that the story starts with a hovercraft chase in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The plot also sends Bond to Hong Kong, Cuba and London. The paper also reports that 007 gets into trouble when a mole reveals a top-secret mission in North Korea. (Sources: The Times, Hollywood Reporter, Korean press)

A villain also is described as "sporting Robocop body armour linked to an orbiting satellite" The hovercraft chase "climaxes with Bond's hovercraft tumbling over rocky rapids at the top of a huge waterfall." (Daily Star 12.01.2002) James Bond.com confirms the hovercraft sequence.

The surfing pre-title sequence forms part of a covert operation which goes wrong.

FILMING LOCATIONS
PINEWOOD STUDIOS(LONDON) - The traditional home of Bond gets the call once again (Confirmed). Ten sets, including an ice palace (Sources: The Times, Swedish press, BBC) Blades Health Club (the site of some swash-buckling action), M's Office, Part of the London Underground, Bond's Cell, Zao's Korean Army HQ
Eden Project greenhouses - Filmed in the huge greenhouses in Early March

HAWAII - Armed surfers tackle 20-foot waves - See article. (Sources: Surfline, The Times)

HONG KONG - (Source: The Times)

ICELAND - Ice Race -For all the details on this shoot check out this report. Earlier reports had the location set in Sweden and possibly featuring "ice yachts" See article. (Source: Swedish press)

SPAIN(Source: The Times)
Other: The BBC reports the crew has also filmed at Holywell Bay, near Newquay and used golden Cornish sands to double for a North Korean battlefield.

I'm a nutter for this stuff, I can't wait until the end of the year! =)

Greg

 

[Smiley Jo]

Who's gonna play Bond?

Pierce Brosnan again?

Joanna

 

[futronic]

Bond kicks ass. Top 3 Bonds:

Connery
Moore
Brosnan

-- Jay aka Fut

 

[Stormshadow]

The last few Bond flicks were so god awful. Nothing truly exciting about them and ridiculously bad scripts.
I don't understand why so many people pay to see this crap.

 

[~soulheaven~]

Joanna: Yes, Pierce will star in this his fourth turn at playing 007, and he has recently confirmed that he will be back for a 5th, but that it would likely be his last.

futronic: I would put Brosnan abover Moore for sure now. By the time he makes his 5th picture, he will have played Bond enough times....to Connery & Moore's 7 times each, to fairly be evaluated. But right now, Brosnan's Bond is much better and more believeable than Moore almost too comical, light, and aristocratic take on the character.

Many people will vehemently disagreee with me here, but I actually feel that Dalton takes alot of stcik for nothing. Sure, he wasn't the best of them, but he beats out Lazenby easily, and in my opinion, was better than Moore, he just came along at a bad time. Scripts for Bond are luck of the draw. His were not very good. Although I personally enjoy 'The Living Daylights', many agree that the plot and script is week and far-fetched....even by Bondian standards.

Conversely, his next and last adventure as the spy who came back from the cold, saw him star in the first original title of the series 'License To Kill'. Up to that point, the names had all been from Fleming's books. This story...definately had a week plot, and I feel that Dalton still plodded through it. That said, Dalton's scowling, serious Bond is too much for most people, and not fun enough....that is why Moore gets alot of praise.

Next of course came the famous legal wrap-up, where Bond movies were frozen in court for several years from being made (hence the gap of 1989's 'Licenese To Kill' and 1195's 'Goldeneye'). During this time, Dalton's contract ran out, and with it, MGM's faith in him. So we would never know what could have been. I feel it would have gotten consistently better.

It it worth noting here, that Dalton was one of the most serious advocates of getting Bond right. Apart from being a Shakespearean veteran actor to begin with in England, Dalton wanted to get the role just right. He actually spent some time speaking with Connery himself about the components and flavour of the famous spy.

But as usual, I digress........ =)

Greg

 

[~soulheaven~]

Stormshadow: Goldeneye was a great Bond, and a revival to be sure. The element of detective crept back into the series for the first time since the early days. It is true though, that many things about TND & TWINE were lacklustre, and they relied heavily on special effects to carry the day rather than witty plot, detective intrigue, strength of Bond's character, and general character banter.


We should remember that Lazenby got what is considered one of the best Bond scripts of all time. The Story in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', with Bond getting married for the one time in his life, and then becoming a widower before the end of the film, the Swiss Alps, confrontation with Blofeld, etc. was one of the best Fleming books. Look what Lazenby did with it. So scripting is important.

Greg

 

[Stormshadow]

Yah, I agree...Goldeneye was alright, but the last 2 were just sooo bad.

 

[Rosey]

i ike Timothy Dalton as Bond. way, way, way better than Moore.

ps mmmmm oooooooo aaaaaaahhhhahahhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm aston martin ooooooommmmmm mm mm mmmmmmm woooooooooooooooeeeeee

 

[Evil Dynovac]

I love PB as Bond. Goldeneye brought forth a slicker, more lethal Bond where the training and experience of an MI6 operative was apparent.

The fight between Bond and Janus was fantastic!

Plus with Brosnan they went back to womanizing Bond whereas Dalton got stuck with a politically correct one woman spy.

Always nice to see the newest AM souped up with crazy gizmos.

Thanks for the update Soulheaven.

 

[Klubmasta Will]

aside from GOLDENEYE, which i really liked, i have not enjoyed a bond flick since roger moore left. although LICENSE TO KILL (originally titled LICENSE REVOKED but redneck americans didn't know what "revoked" meant) and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS were mildly entertaining.

i support the movement in favour of a black bond or a jane bond.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally posted by ~soulheaven~
Next of course came the famous legal wrap-up, where Bond movies were frozen in court for several years from being made (hence the gap of 1195's 'Goldeneye').

Was that when Bondo swam across the moat and climbed into the tower on the princesses golden flaxen hair?

Or when he used his sword-laser against the Mongol hoardes?

...hold on -- did they even have 'talkies' back then?

 

[~soulheaven~]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

woops! a slight transposition error! I meant '1995' of course.

Will: I hop you are joking. Of course, the whole familiar hero turned heroine has been done many times over.......Batman- Batgirl, Superman-Supergirl, etc......before Brosnan was accepted EON pictures second offer (he initially was to play Bond over Dalton in the 80's, but couldn't get out of his 'Remington Steele' contract), there were rumours that Sharon Stone was being courted to be a female Bond.

You can change some things, and in post-modernity, we almost always do go with the campy version of things, but here tradition must be honoured. I invite you to watch 'Goldeneye: The Ian Fleming Story' not to be confused with the 1995 blockbuster by the same title, if you can find it. You would be surprised at how much Bond's life was based on Fleming's own. The man was amazing. He passed away in the 60's, but truly he would roll in his grave if they dihonoured to smug, comfortable fit of the ultimate gentleman spy. And a black Bond???? why? just for diversity's sake maybe, but then we may as well have a Shaft 2 and let him be white. Some roles are based in certain 'mythio-cultural niches', and should stay that way. In WWII, I'm not aware of any black men working for MI5 (which was what it was called then), and doubling life as playboys. This is the (albeit inflated now) story of a certain man's life.

Cheers!

Greg

 

[Chris]

Shocking!


Positively...Shocking!


Its all about GoldFinger!!!

 

[Klubmasta Will]

i would argue that many of the characteristics that define bond (womanizer, suave, arrogant, rebellious but ultimately loyal) would be transferable to a female or a black character. of course, with a unique and interesting twist. in fact, having a female bond treating men the way bond treats women would be an interesting commentary on how far we've come in terms of sexual equality.

it would not be forever. just a side project. wesley snipes, sharon stone, demi moore, mila jovovich and others were campaigning for it, as were a number of bond fansites.

it is NOT the same as making shaft a white guy because shaft's character feeds off the fact that blacks have been marginalized and kept down by the evil white man.

 

[Klubmasta Will]

i would also like to see sean connery revisit the role, as an older bond, perhaps called out of retirement.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally posted by Klubmasta Will
blacks have been marginalized and kept down by the evil white man.

 

[Adam Duke]

Thanks for the update - as with the last 7 bond flicks, I will be there opening night (november 22nd for this baby!). The new car is fantastic, I'm glad Pierce is on for another, and yes....I think Dalton was a HORRIBLE bond (and fakkin UGLY too! - not very bond like!)

@m.

 

[~soulheaven~]

SHAFT? point taken, but in some ways it is similar. The idea of the ultimate gentleman spy was hatched in an era where British manners, etiquette, and spirit of chivalry still somewhat thrived. So the Bondian 'mythio-culture' could be argued as 'upper-crust British society', (Bond attended Eton briefly), and although clearly nowhere near as serious as racial marginalization that Shaft was a response too, it nonetheless was meant to be identified with by a certain group. Much like Shaft is meant to identify with a certain group. Won't you at least give me that Will? =)

Also, I agree it would be interesting to show the progress of Political Correctness in terms of a female Bondian world...slapping a man's ass for once instead of the iconoclast, Bond slapping the perrenial ambiguous female lead's ass and saying thanks for the night....But that is stripping the character of all the bravado, and suave, confident appeal that Fleming built him up to be. You are ignoring the fact that this is essentially a re-telling of a man's life...through a series...with panache....but I don't deny that it would include a larger female interest base. By the way, the majority of Bond fans reject the idea. Their are sites for everything. Some websites wanted N'Sync in Star Wars, so that has little merit. Go to the Ian Fleming Foundation Web Page at Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to see some opinions.

I submit that before Fleming died in the 60's, Bond novels had already sold 40 million copies world wide. The allure of the character (and I assume that a large portion of that readership was male) was partially the confidence, and suave attitude of the character. The Romantic movement gone, and the 'malaise of modernity' setting in, little was left of chivalrous society, etiquette, and so on. In war time though, Romanticist feelings are always stirred (though tragedies like the Titanic, the disaster of disease in the trenches of WWI, weapons of mass destruction in WWII. This is what the Bond character fed of. Most importantly, the appeal was that Bond was everything that his readerbase wasn't, or couldn't be....the man they only dreamed of being. This idealized (albeit chauvanistic, polarized, and overly stigmatized) man was a way they could live out their fantasies vicariously, and I'm all for staying true to original intents, and staying true to the hopes & dreams of the creator.

Greg

 

[~soulheaven~]

woops! again mistakes, my mind is wandering from this deviance paper I am writing, and my all-nighter is setting in. that should read:

(though tragedies like the Titanic, the disaster of disease in the trenches of WWI, weapons of mass destruction in WWII jolted those fantasies quickly and utopian ideas of technology died).

Also, Connery is vehemently opposed to taking up the Bond mantle again. He was been asked to a point of ad nosium, and refuses to ressurect the character. Though he was more responsive to playing a villain, but even then, understandably, he wants little part with the series.


Another interesting note about the new Bond.

John Cleese, the technician at M16 who takes over from Desmond Llewyn who sadly passed on will be called 'Q' in 'Die Another Day'.

In 'TWINE' he was listed as 'R'......I would have preferred if he had kept this understudy role as a tribute to the great man who owned the role and appeared in the most Bond movies by far (of any actor).

Greg

 

[BigBadBaldy]

That article is obviously a phony. Everyone knows Bond 20 is really James Bond vs Freddy vs Jason vs Alien vs Predator. They all get sucked through a wormhole and land in Bizarro World. Hilarious hijinx ensue. The end.

BBB.

..and Gabe Kaplan will play Bond.

 

[Tyler]

Originally posted by Klubmasta Will
i would also like to see sean connery revisit the role, as an older bond, perhaps called out of retirement.

He already did I think. I can't remember the tile but he did make a reappearance as the Bond well after Moore got the role. I remember Barbara Bach was in it and kind of reminded me of Thunderball.

 

[alexd]

Or Themmy from Apex Sound and Lighting as the new Q.... hmmmm


I liked George Lazenby as Bond (On Her Majesty's Secret Service). He was a way more cruel bond than any of them (Sean was my next favorite).

The bobsled run scene was amazing in OHMSS....

 

[voytek]

Originally posted by Tyler



He already did I think. I can't remember the tile but he did make a reappearance as the Bond well after Moore got the role. I remember Barbara Bach was in it and kind of reminded me of Thunderball.

Never Say Never Again was the title. And it was a Thunderball re-make of sorts, that's correct...

While I agree that the older Bonds are the shit, Tommorow Never Dies IS MY favourite Bond movie... From the tightest, most intense opening sequence ever, through the opening credits' visuals and Sheryl Crow's vocals, to the 're-visited love' theme, Michelle Yeoh's crazy stunts and a timely subject of media manipulation, I thought it was really well crafted.

TWINE, and I know Greg agrees with me on this, is ok until the ditsy what'shername shows up as a fucking nuclear physicist... She fucks up pretty much every single she opens her mouth - her delivery is quite uninspired and her presence downright annoying...

k, that's it for now...

[post no. 23]

 

[DJ Doublecross]

Originally posted by ~soulheaven~
The title hadn't been reported, rumored or speculated about in any form. Other titles such as "Double Cross" and "Beyond the Ice" were widely rumored.

Clearly they made a poor decision here... *shakes head*

Maybe next time.

 

[Access]

everytime i see a non-bond movie with piece brosnan in it, i can't accept the fact that he's not james bond.


i'm always waiting for him to pull out one of his crazy explosives or do something so unbelievable that you only accept it becasue you're watching a james bond movie. And when none of that happens, the movie turns out to be a dissapointment. maybe its just me, or maybe all the other moveis he does inbetween bond films just plain suck.


James Bond might be the most typcasting role ever. sean conery had to grow a beard to rid himself of the bond look. minus the berad it would look like he was just playing an aging james bond in like 'finding forester' and 'hunt for red october.'