This Week In Bond (August 16th, 2022)

Kick, bollock, scramble

‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ is back in UK cinemas this week as the 60th-anniversary re-release schedule hits the late 90’s. We have become so accustomed to long delays between James Bond films now, and the various reasons and excuses we’ve been given for why they are needed, that it’s easy to forget that Pierce Brosnan turned in his second film in just 10 months. First unit shooting on TND started on April 1st, 1997 and the film premiered on December 10th that same year. Its hectic production schedule was described, sometime after the fact, by Brosnan as “kick, bollock, scramble.”

Sure, it was not a happy production. Even though a decent script had been turned in well ahead of time by Bruce Fierstein, it was pulled apart and re-written on the hoof. Studio space wasn’t available so EON had to build their own at Frogmore. The government in Vietnam made a last-minute U-turn and rejected filming permission. Casting Jonathan Pryce came weeks into shooting after Anthony Hopkins turned it down. The list of troubles goes on…

When the first unit arrived in hastily-arranged Thailand six weeks into principal photography, it was over 100F, humid, and harsh. At the “mid-production” press conference, held on 15th May, Brosnan announced that the experience so far in Bangkok has been "very colourful and very hot." He might not have been talking about the weather. The 43rd floor of the Sinn Sathon Building must have felt like a world away from the hustle and bustle in the streets below for the start of the banner leap. But if the temperatures and traffic weren't enough to fray the nerves of the production team, the long hours and media reports of friction between director Roger Spottiswoode and writer Bruce Fierstein (who was on location often re-writing pages the morning before a shoot) almost brought the experience to boiling point.

The UK press reported that Spottiswoode and Feirstein were no longer on speaking terms and that crew members had threatened to resign, with one saying "all the happiness and teamwork which is the hallmark of Bond has disappeared completely." This was denied by Brosnan who claimed "it was nothing more than good old creative argy-bargy", with Spottiswoode saying "it has all been made up...Nothing important really went wrong." Whilst action moved to the motorcycle chase, Feirstein was holed up in the nearby air-conditioned Shangri La Hotel, hastily rewriting scenes in the endless battle to perfect a script that already had half of the action in the can, a fixed shooting schedule, and sets built. By September 17th, production had wrapped. By all accounts, the shoot was the most grueling and tension strung in many years. Brosnan later said that the production of this film was "like pulling teeth."

But viewers in cinemas a few weeks later didn’t get to see all of that - instead, they witnessed a fast-paced slick action-packed adventure that had Brosnan far more comfortable in the role and in his own skin.

‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ proves that Bond films can be made on tight timelines in under a year, although few come out of it unscathed.

News

Universal will distribute Bond 26 (whenever that happens!) internationally for MGM. The deal for ‘No Time To Die’ has been extended for a second Bond adventure. Following that, it is likely that Warner Bros will take over the 007 releases outside of the USA and Canada as MGM has partnered with them for the next 3 years with options to extend. Warner Bros is now headed up by the same pair of execs that quit MGM after the Amazon takeover. Warner Bros Home Entertainment already releases the Bond catalog on DVD and Bluray on behalf of MGM.

Listen

Can a self-professed lover of ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ convince others to re-appraise the film 25 years on? Join us for this week’s debrief episode of James Bond & Friends with panelists Sean Longmore, Phil Nobile Jr, and Ben Williams.

Watch

Fan favourite Gemma Arterton, who played Strawberry Fields in ‘Quantum of Solace’ is getting back in the spy game with ‘Rogue Agent’ - out now in the UK on Netflix and in the USA on AMC+. She plays opposite James Norton as a rogue MI5 agent in a tale that is based on a true story of deceit.

MI6 Archives

Finding the dates that events in Bond films are supposed to actually take place can be a fun easter egg hunt. This may not have appeared on screen, but the prop invite for Elliot Carver’s press event puts the Hamburg party as April 17th, 1997.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

We still have a few limited edition signed copies of (the late, great) Peter Lamont’s ‘Casino Royale’ Portfolio 100-page publication available to order for £35 / $46. The regular edition sold out long ago and is much sought after.

More Bond

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