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by Cameron Mcgavin
December 12, 2002 Thursday
Pierce Brosnan he ain't, but Cameron McGavin got just as much attention when he took a very famous set of wheels for a spin in St Kilda.
It's early on an overcast Saturday morning and St Kilda is slowly waking up to another weekend. Apart from some hardy souls out for their morning jog, ride or skate, it's eerily quiet. In fact, I can't recall a quieter time in Melbourne's pub and party capital; but then early-morning jaunts have never really been my thing. This day, though, is a little different. Faced with the choice of a few more hours of valuable shut-eye or planting my bum in the Jaguar XKR driven by the villainous Zao in the latest James Bond movie Die Another Day, I've set the alarm for an ungodly hour, pulled my recalcitrant carcass from the bed and made the trip to Silverstone Jaguar in Doncaster for a meeting with automotive stardom. The first sighting of the bright metallic green XKR roadster in the garage is enough to justify the early start. One of eight XKRs built for the film, this one is in Australia so it can be driven by Zao himself (played by Rick Yune) on to the red carpet at the Die Another Day opening night at Crown casino later in the week.
And it's a stunner. Jaguar's XKR roadster is sexy enough in bog-stock form, but add a wild bodykit, quad exhausts, mini-rockets peeking out from the grille, a Gatling gun mounted behind the front seats, a dirty great big "Left Hand Drive" sign on the back and the metallic green colour from the Jag formula one car and you've got a combination guaranteed to stop traffic.
Unlike the four XKRs that were converted to Ford V8 power and four-wheel-drive so they could better handle the icy terrain that features in the film's main chase sequence, our car retains the regular Jaguar supercharged V8 and rear-wheel-drive chassis. So, apart from adapting to its LHD configuration, driving it poses no real challenges. First stop St Kilda then.
On the run down to the bay the Jag's pose value becomes all-too apparent, even at this early hour. Fellow motorists change lanes wildly to get a closer look, buzzing around the XKR like flies around a super-sized dog log, while pedestrians perform double, triple and quadruple-takes before mouthing silent, drawn-out expletives. Then there's the motorcyclist who screams out "it's the Bond car!" so loudly to his pillion passenger his voice is heard from 50 metres away, even though he's wearing a full-face helmet.
As we pull up in front of St Kilda pier, early-morning fitness freaks are pretty much our only company. Most stop as they pass, pausing to get a closer look at the latest in a long line of Bond exotica and asking the odd question. But it's still surprisingly quiet.
Then the floodgates open. Out of nowhere people start to appear, many with cameras at the ready, while others simply stare as if they're trying to burn the image of the Jag into their brains. Even though the film is a few days away from launch, most know already the Jag is one of its stars. Pre-release marketing and Jaguar's latest ad campaign are obviously doing their jobs.
The next stop on our agenda is Luna Park. As we drive past, a horde of boys point and scream excitedly. When we stop outside the entrance they go nuts, crowding around, playing with the Gatling gun and touching the missiles. Their questions are worth bottling.
"Is this your car?" asks one. Er, no. "Are the missiles real?" gargles his friend. Er, no. "Are you rich?" says one earnest fellow. Er, sorry to disappoint you, kid. "Do you know Pierce Brosnan?" asks another. Not in this lifetime, buddy.
When the crowd starts to grow to uncontrollable proportions, we make our escape to the popular Cafe Racer for a caffeine hit with the city's cycling fraternity. Again the reaction is overwhelming.
"As soon as I saw the gun on it I knew what it was. I just love the colour," says one gent excitedly. His opinion is mirrored by just about everybody we speak to.
The rest of our day with the world's most famous Jaguar is just as frenetic. At St Kilda Marina, we are stopped by Jenny and her children, James and Lucy, who have given chase after spotting the XKR. Luckily for them, they have a camera at the ready.
"We saw it coming," says Jenny. "I'm just glad you turned around so we could catch up with you."
Then there's Steve, whose jaw hits the ground when we pull up to a service station for fuel.
"I've actually got some friends who work in Hollywood and they were actually telling me that this thing would be going around Australia," says the American. "I said, 'No way, the Aussies won't go for that'. How wrong I was!"
Berry takes a Break
21 NOVEMBER 2002
Talented Bond babe Halle Berry revealed this week that she is to take a
three-month break from movie making in order to focus on her marriage. The
actress, who picked up an Oscar earlier this year for her role in Monster's
Ball is keen to try and save her 22-month union with R&B singer Eric Benet.
Thirty-two-year-old Eric reportedly had a liaison with an ex-girlfriend while his wife was on location lensing Die Another Day. He has since been treated in a rehabilitation centre for sex addicts.
"We are facing a crisis," admitted the actress, who has adopted Eric's ten-year-old daughter India. "But we're very much united, and are in this for the long haul," she added.
Halle's first marriage to major league baseball player David Justice ended in 1996 after three years, leaving the star contemplating suicide. She has revealed she was so desperate at the time that she sat in her car in the garage and turned on the ignition. As the fumes began to build up she had a change of mind, however. "I'm not proud of that moment in my life, but honestly I was ready to give up. My divorce was really hard on me."
"It's time to take a three-month break, to be with my family and just to regroup," she said this week.
A bond with real-life films
by Terry Armour
December 5, 2002, Thursday
Pierce Brosnan feels a bond with real-world films, reports Terry Armour
HE enters the room looking nothing like James Bond. Pierce Brosnan is dressed casually, wearing an open-collared shirt, blazer and a pair of slacks.
And where are the Bond-like gadgets? A remote-control watch that operates his car or exploding cufflinks or, perhaps, a Palm Pilot that doubles as some sort of missile-tracking device. Stuff like that. "I'm not really a gadget guy," Brosnan admits in his familiar Irish brogue.
"I still go around with a Walkman and tapes in my back pocket. I have a laptop that collects dust. I'm really old-school and I'm feeling it, more and more."
So old-school, Brosnan happens to find himself at a crossroads in his movie career, a crossroads that is magnified with his distinctly different personas in his two latest films.
Of course, he is again suave spy 007 in Die Another Day. Brosnan then bares his gentler side as a father fighting for custody of his three children in 1953 Ireland in Evelyn.
But as he approaches 50, Brosnan is contemplating whether his run as James Bond - this is his fourth turn as Agent 007 - slowly is coming to an end.
Brosnan has agreed to do at least one more Bond flick for MGM.
Beyond that, he really does not know.
After all, it is only a matter of time before he's no longer believable in what has turned into his most popular role.
"There certainly will come a time when I have to move away from Bond," he says.
"One gets older and one can't play the roles one used to play. That's why Irish Dream Time (the production company he formed in 1998) has been such a godsend. It came from the concept and the passion to have control over my own career and to have choices."
The latest of these choices is Evelyn, which also stars Juliana Margulies, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Alan Bates.
It is based on the true story of Desmond Doyle (Brosnan), a down-and-out Irish labourer whose wife abandons him, leaving him to raise their kids.
But when the Catholic Church finds out Doyle not only has lost his wife but is unemployed, the children are whisked away to orphanages, leading to a court battle as Doyle tries to regain custody of the children.
The role is as far away from Bond as Brosnan can get.
"Was it a stretch? Not really. There was a strong identification with the character.
"The man is a father, I'm a father. The man is Irish, I'm Irish. I grew up in a Catholic community."
That side of Brosnan - devoted husband and father - is a side many, except close friends, rarely see.
He dotes on his wife, Keely Shaye Smith and his five kids and tries to spend as much time with them as possible.
Margulies says the soft, gentle side was the first side of Brosnan she saw.
"I'm really embarrassed to say this - I had never seen him do James Bond," she says.
"What I knew of Pierce's work was The Tailor of Panama and Thomas Crown Affair - two movies that I loved."
And, Margulies says, believable as Desmond Doyle.
It's the same impression Brosnan made on Paul Pender, who wrote the script for Evelyn.
"I can't praise him enough," Pender says.
"The studios want him to always be James Bond - always to be this smooth guy in a suit saving the planet.
"The last thing they want him to do is some small Irish movie.
"Now, of course, they love it, because he's great in it."
For Brosnan, it will always come back to Bond.
He turned out to be the most prolific of the crop of 007s that followed Sean Connery, including Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton.
Brosnan loves being associated with Bond. He takes the role very seriously.
"For me to be playing this role is such a kick in the pants," he says.
"I'm passionate that it should reach as big an audience as possible.
"I go on the road and I sell it as much as I possibly can because I love what I do.
"I want it to carry on being great after I am gone."
Brosnan admits that is something he has pondered a lot lately, life after Bond.
It is a life that already has begun, at least on the big screen.
Die Another Day opens December 12.
It published an image from the latest Bond film, "Die Another Day", in which Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is smoking a cigar.
The decision to feature cigars in the film, which premieres in London on Monday, has outraged the anti-smoking lobby.
Bond, better known for his vodka-martinis than his nicotine habit, smoked in his early films but has not been seen with a cigarette since the 1989 film "Licence to Kill".
When Brosnan took over the role in the mid-1990s he adopted a strong anti-smoking stance but agreed to smoke cigars in the latest movie because it is set in Cuba, the paper reported.
The government is expected to toughen its rules on cigarette advertising next year, outlawing the use of cigarettes in films and television dramas.
The paper said "Die Another Day" is littered with blatant plugs for a variety of brand names, prompting critics to dub it "Buy another Day".
Thu Nov 14, 3:36 AM
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - When MGM wants to let loose, the studio still manages a mighty roar. At least that was the message Monday at its 3,000-guest Shrine Auditorium mega-screening for "Die Another Day."
"This is the biggest franchise in the history of the motion picture business," said MGM vice-chairman Chris McGurk. "You have a premiere that does justice, not just to the movie, but to the entire franchise."
Doing justice to Bond began at arrivals, where evoking the film's frozen Icelandic setting called for a blue carpet and a 150-foot wall where half the 15-foot-wide panels were clear ice embossed with the 007 logo. Nearby were Olympic-style fencing duelists battling on 5-foot-high platforms.
The most spectacular death in Hollywood history almost occurred when one of the duelists toppled backward and nearly landed on MGM chairman Alex Yemenidjian. Imagine the MGM topper skewered by a sword at a Bond premiere. Who needs publicity campaign if something like that happens?
Fortunately, Yemenidjian and the shaken-not-broken duelist lived to die another day.
Meanwhile, guests continued down the carpet to a 40-foot-long, carved-ice bar serving Finlandia martinis. The concept seemed to be: If you can't serve a martini before a Bond movie, when can you?
Inside the Shrine, a screen was set on the stage. Though the house is huge, it worked remarkably well for a screening. However, one source said the hair-pulling hassles MGM had with the Shrine management over everything from ticketing to bringing popcorn into the auditorium (the venue just got an expensive makeover and they're a bit touchy about neatness) makes it unlikely the pair will be doing another screening together soon.
The after-party was in the adjacent exposition hall, which was transformed with acres of white carpet and cobalt blue lighting. The main feature was a 45-foot high, white fabric cube with a four-sided bar, Plexiglas flooring and go-go dancers. One savant said the space had a "techno Ice Capades feel it."
The room did look quite hip, though many of the guests appeared to be from the two-dozen Bond marketing partners. Think of a rave with Ford dealership execs.
And as for as the event's price tag: A survey of other studio party planners (and they were all there) put the cost between $750,000 and $1 million. Which leaves open the question: If that's what a "special screening" costs, what's the tab for next week's London premiere with Queen Elizabeth?
Among those raving about the picture were director Lee Tamahori; stars Pierce Brosnan (news) and Halle Berry (news); plus guests Tim Allen , Sean Astin , Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, Tara Reid , Barbara Sinatra, John Salley and Venus Williams.
Reuters/Variety
It will be a case of 'never mind the quality, cum on feel the toyz' when 007 sets off on his new 40th anniversary adventure DIE ANOTHER DAY (12A), starting Wednesday 20 November 2002.
The 20th official instalment of cinema's most enduring franchise is the ultimate touchy-feely Bond movie, part nostalgia trip, part cutting-edge thriller.
Every action word with an 'ing' on the end is here - surfing, sliding, hovering, flying, gliding, diving, shooting, driving, lying and, of course, lashings of bonking...
The bonus is that while you are hanging on to your seats during the stunts, David Arnold's superlative reworking of Monty Norman's original theme will keep your feet tapping firmly on the ground, too.
Unfortunately, Pierce Brosnan's last adventure in the role, The World Is Not Enough, proved that writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade can't control a meandering plot.
Die Another Day, some five minutes longer at 133 mins, also wanders alarmingly as their latest central storyline, taking in everything from diamonds to a hi-tech device in space, stretches credulity beyond the capacity of the production company's computers too.
The digital effects when 007 comes off an ice flow are a disgrace to the time-honoured ethos that if a Bond stunt ain't real, don't film it.
The net result is that Pierce Brosnan, ironically a near-perfect 007, still hasn't made a classic movie in four attempts.
Time is running out, Mr Bond!
Still, if it's noyz, toyz and boyz you want, DAD is great fun to watch, with the action racing breathlessly around the globe from Korea to Hong Kong, Cuba, London and Iceland and back to the Far East again.
At 33, Toby Stephens, the son of Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens, plays 007's youngest ever nemesis, Gustav Graves.
And, when he's not worrying about Graves' ludicrously evil plans, Bond has his hands full twice over.
Take your pick between the curvaceous charms of undercover MI6 girl Miranda Frost (Oxford-educated silverscreen debutante Rosamund Pike) and her luscious love rival Jinx, with Oscar-winning Halle Berry effectively Ursula Andress back in black when she emerges from a freezing (Spanish) sea that's supposed to be hot 'n' steamy Cuba.
Die Another Day constantly pays homage to its 19 predecessors in this way, thus giving fuel to those who believe that 007 has actually had his day.
Where is the innovation here?
Yet these retrospective touches, often tasteful and frequently so subtle you won't see them all the first time, will surely enrich the overall viewing experience for fans.
Elsewhere, Madonna enjoys the dual distinction of playing a cameo role as well as singing the title song - fine with the credits but utterly forgettable in a very non-Bond way afterwards.
Dame Judi Dench plays M for the fourth time, though her disjointed appearances reduce her impact, while John Cleese, stepping up to take over as Q from the late Desmond Llewelyn, introduces a very nifty trick which pays off beautifully late on with Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond).
Directed by New Zealander Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors), Die Another Day will blow the minds of younger viewers taking advantage of the new 12A certificate with adult accompaniment.
The hair-raising pre-title surfing sequence, the hovercraft battle and a 'my toyz are bigger than your toyz' chase between a Jaguar XKR and an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish across Iceland's frozen waters are all classic silver screen moments worthy of your admission alone.
With that in mind, the usual promise at the end of the credits that 'James Bond will return' seems assured indefinitely.
But unless Brosnan can really crack it next time, he will go down in history as the man who saved 007 ... yet ultimately achieved less in five movies than the unfortunate George Lazenby did in one with On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Rating: * * * * girls, gadgets, action; * * plot
Thursday, November 14, 2002 10:10:29 p.m
Forty years ago in Londonıs Pavilion Theater, one lucky movie audience witnessed the beginning of a dynasty. Nobody could have known it at the time, though, that the little movie that premiered the night of October 6, 1962, Dr. No, was the start of something huge.
Who would have guessed that the movie career of James Bond, secret agent 007, would be thriving four decades and five actors later? Not his creator, Ian Fleming, who would see only one more Bond movie before his death in 1964.
Not his producers, Albert R. ³Cubby² Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, even though they had the foresight to negotiate with Fleming a clause that allowed them to invent their own stories and titles once the supply of his Bond books was exhausted.
Not the star, Sean Connery, who got the role because the producers admired his machismo even though Fleming thought the actor too low class to play his suave creation (Connery won Fleming over during production).
Certainly not the studio, United Artists. Executives were so convinced American audiences wouldnıt care about a British spy that Bondıs US movie debut was delayed until May 1963.
Originally, Dr. No was to be dumped into Texas drive-ins, but because the Fleming novels had started to climb the bestseller charts (helped by a plug from President John F. Kennedy), the movie got a decent-sized release, though with little fanfare.
Dr. No made a profit in America, but that didnıt yet matter. Broccoli, Saltzman and Connery already were filming the second Bond movie, From Russia With Love, in Istanbul. Its success would establish Bond as a worldwide hero.
The third film, Goldfinger, elevated Bond to blockbuster status. Goldfinger began a wave of merchandising that rivals what would happen with Star Wars more than a decade later. Bond products were even more ubiquitous. Did Yoda have his own brand of vodka? Did Han Solo have his own line of menswear?
Connery did six Bond movies (seven if you count the rival production Never Say Never Again, but I would rather not). He was followed by George Lazenby (one movie), Roger Moore (seven movies), Timothy Dalton (two movies) and Pierce Brosnan (four movies and counting).
Bond has had his lulls since the 1960s, but the 007 series remains the most venerable and successful in film history. And it just keeps going. Bond officially enters his fourth decade (and second century) when Brosnanıs upcoming Die Another Day -- the seriesı 20th entry -- opens on November 22 (November 27 in the Philippines.)
Over the years, this James Bond fan has written several stories reviewing the seriesı history. Rather than write another one to mark Bondıs 40th anniversary, I decided to try something more fun.
Taking a cue from High Fidelity, I came up with a series of top five lists based on 40 years of Bond history and trivia (you would be frightened to learn how many of these lists I compiled without having to consult a book or website).
These lists are based solely on my opinion, and other Bond fans will gnash their teeth as they read them. Moore and Dalton are my favorite Bonds, so Iıve known for years my views are in the minority.
But whatıs the point of being a Bond fan if you canıt be adventurous?
The five best James Bond women
1. Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), On Her Majestyıs Secret Service; 2. Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), The Spy Who Loved Me; 3. Honey Rider (Ursula Andress), Dr. No; 4. Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco), GoldenEye; 5. Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), For Your Eyes Only. The five best James Bond villains
1. Auric Goldfinger (Gert Forbe), Goldfinger; 2. Red Grant (Robert Shaw), From Russia With Love; 3. Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), From Russia With Love; 4. Dr. Julius No (Joseph Wiseman), Dr. No; 5. Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), The Man With the Golden Gun.
Five actors who almost played James Bond
1. Cary Grant (who turned down the request of his friend, Bond producer Cubby Broccoli); 2. John Gavin (who was signed for Diamonds Are Forever, but lost the part when Sean Connery was lured back); 3. Burt Reynolds (United Artists executives wanted him for Live and Let Die, but producers Broccoli and Harry Saltzman insisted Bond be British and hired Roger Moore); 4. James Brolin (who screen-tested for Octopussy before Moore renewed his contract); 5. Sam Neill (everyone else on the production team was ready to cast him in The Living Daylights, but Broccoli had the final word and he picked Timothy Dalton).
Wed Nov 13, 7:51 AM ET
The James Bond film franchise may be 40 years old, but Monday night's
premiere of Die Another Day at the Shrine Auditorium proved that the British
secret agent who prefers his martini shaken, not stirred, is alive and well.
The movie opens Nov. 22.
''I genuinely have not been this excited about a Bond movie in 10 years,''
said Lord of the Rings' Sean Astin, whose second installment, The Two Towers,
opens Dec. 18. ''For a while, the Bond girl was politically incorrect or
something. People have sort of rediscovered this franchise.''
Consider the premiere's venue. When director Lee Tamahori was told it would
take place at the Shrine, ''I thought they were out of their minds,'' he
said. ''To be holding it here where they had the Academy Awards is a pretty
tall order.''
Newest Bond babe Halle Berry inhaled the electric atmosphere. ''This is
amazing,'' she said. ''I've never been to a premiere this big. To know I'm a
part of it is a bit overwhelming.''
She sparkled in a stunning asymmetrical silver mini-dress with a nude lining,
designed by Australian Collette Dinnigan. Hubby Eric Benet had the final say
after she narrowed her choices to two outfits. ''The other one was
fabulous,'' he said, stepping back to admire his wife. ''But this one --
lawd!''
Berry's character, Jinx, an American assassin, already is such a hit that
there's talk of her own spinoff.
''Everyone would love to do it,'' said MGM vice chairman Chris McGurk. ''We
think Halle has created a great character in Jinx that obviously could support its
own movie or series of movies. It's all incumbent right now on us developing an
idea and a script that everybody is excited about and finding the right filmmakers.''
Pierce Brosnan, back for his fourth stint as Bond, had wife Keely Shaye Smith
on his arm. ''This is as good as it gets,'' he said.
Guests included former Bond girl Jane Seymour (Live and Let Die) and
Mulholland Drive's Laura Elena Harring.
"I've always wanted to be a Bond girl,'' Harring said.
The Navan born actor started work on Die Another Day immediately
after his Irish Dream Time production of Evelyn, which he filmed here
in Dublin.
Brosnan told the Daily Mirror: "If I do another Bond I'll try not to
do it after spending time in Ireland. I love pubs, and being Irish,
one does not shy away from a pint or two. I had a trainer but trying
to act and produce a film isn't easy. I was filming in Ireland so
there was the pub thing."
He went on: "I thought, 'F*** it and enjoy the Guinness'. Training is
a pain, but you have to have some discipline if you're going to stay
in the game in you're 50's."
Pierce will turn 50 next May - we hope he has a few pints of Guinness
to celebrate...
The International Spy Museum Store in Washington, DC will be commemorating 40
years of James Bond this Thursday, November 14th with a book signing of "The
James Bond Legacy - Forty Years of 007 Movies" by John Cork and Bruce Scivally
from 1 to 4 pm.
In addition to the booksigning the store will be showing preview clips of the
NEW Bond movie "Die Another Day" and will be offering store visitors numerous
ways to win prizes by participating in an in-store trivia contest, coming
dressed as your favorite Bond character, and entering to win various prizes
including a pair of preview movie tickets, Bond books and other Bond
memorabilia.
A wide array of Bond related merchandise will be featured in the store for the
first time including but not limited to the NEW radio controlled Bond cars,
"Die Another Day" movie poster and t-shirt, Bond and Barbie gift set, magnets,
mugs, limited edition shot glasses and Bond figurines, 007 Martini Set and
more.
The fun will continue on Friday, November 15th beginning at 7 am when
Washington radio station WBIG hosts live spy interviews and call-ins from the
Spy Museum including a live interview with co-author of "The James Bond
Legacy", John Cork. Discounted early admission to the Museum (50% off) and
$1.50 coffee and bagel special at Spy City Cafe will be offered between 7 am
and 9 am.
The International Spy Museum is located at 800 F Stree, NW, Washinton, DC and
is accessible bia the Gallery Place and Chinatown Metro - 9th Street/Museums
exit.
For more information vist www.spymuseum.org or call the museum at 202.EYE.SPY.U
Bond girls are back in style
by Kelly Carter
LOS ANGELES -- Bond girls and those who aspire to be one were on hand.
Sharon Osbourne didn't let a chemotherapy treatment earlier in the day keep
her away. Tennis phenom Venus Williams ducked out of sister Serena's tennis
tournament final to be among the 3,000 guests.
From ShowbizIreland.comBrosnan will Drink Another Day...
11-14-02
Irish actor Pierce Brosnan admitted he's as fallible as the rest of
us, after struggling to get in shape for the latest Bond movie due to
enjoying too much Guinness.
Bond Events @ International Spy Museum Store
November 14-15, 2002
International Spy Museum - Washington, DC, USA
Come to a book signing that will leave you shaken and stirred!
From The Daily Record
I WISH I WAS LIKE 007
But I'm a shy wimp who gets hurt performing stunts says Brosnan
by Lindsay Clydesdale
Aug 11 2002
CHARMING, seductive and brave, James Bond never fails to save the world and
get the girl. But despite winning fans across the globe with his portrayal of
special agent 007, Pierce Brosnan has revealed he's nothing like his
on-screen character.
He's afraid of doing his own stunts, hates drinking Martini and is a shy, bumbling wallflower at the glittering Hollywood parties he's regularly invited to.
As the release of the latest Bond movie Die Another Day nears, Pierce has admitted he'd love to be more like the all-action heart-throb who has made him a star.
The actor, who has two children with his wife Keely Shaye Smith, admits he'd like to take some love tips from the legendary womaniser.
He said: "I would like to be the real James Bond if I could. I think every guy would in real life. I don't know whether I would do very well at it though.
"Every guy would like to know just the right wine to choose, how to handle a woman, and to be able to acquit himself in a tight situation.
"And Bond always wins. Wherever I go, I'm James Bond now. The character is loved all over the world. Everyone has their own favourite, whether it be (Sean) Connery or (Roger) Moore or me. Bond has changed my life. I wouldn't get the quality of scripts I now receive if I hadn't been James Bond."
Pierce turns 50 next year and admits he's getting too old for the fast- paced Bond heroics, but fans have said there's no question he should retire.
After all, Connery returned as Bond at 53, while Roger Moore was still playing 007 at 58.
"I hate doing my own stunts," said Pierce. "I'm confident but - don't get me wrong - acting is hard enough. Doing your own stunts is really hard work. I'm not as quick as I used to be. I may look glamorous but I've got the bruises to remind me about how tough it is."
The action sequences are made even tougher after a back injury left him in agony while filming in New Guinea six years ago.
He said: "If there's one thing I hate, it's my bad back. I was shooting Robinson Crusoe in Papua, New Guinea, and I threw a disc out. I had to have surgery immediately in order to finish the picture. It freaked the hell out of me."
Die Another Day co-stars Oscar- winning actress Halle Berry, who plays Jinx, a siren who gives Bond the lay of his life in what promise to be the hottest sex scenes in the series' 40-year history.
It's also been revealed that after four decades of flirting, Bond finally kisses Miss Moneypenny, played in the movie by Samantha Bond.
AND despite finding the physical demands of the Bond role exhausting, Pierce has signed up for the next film in the series, although No.21 won't begin filming for another two years.
Pierce had an unusual entry into showbiz, running away from his home in Ireland to follow his dream of becoming an entertainer.
He revealed: " I went to work with the circus as a fire-eater. I have always loved the circus."
Pierce's love of acting was in part inspired by Connery, whose Bond movies of the 1960s made a big impact on him. "He was a childhood hero of mine. Because of him, I wanted to play Bond," he said.
As the star of four Bond films and other big-screen hits including Dante's Peak, Mrs Doubtfire and The Thomas Crown Affair, Pierce is now one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, and loves his fame and success.
"Frankly, I enjoy both," he said. "It's great to be recognised. It's been a long haul, not only in my personal life but in my career. I've relished it."
Pierce was devastated when his first wife Cassie died from cancer.
He raised their son Sean alone, also caring for his late wife's two children, before meeting TV journalist Keely in 1994.
At his six-acre estate in Malibu, California, where he lives with Keely and their two children, Dylan Thomas and Paris Beckett, Pierce relaxes by donning an artist's smock and getting out his watercolours.
"Painting is very relaxing, soothing," said Pierce, who was once a professional illustrator. "In recent years, I've sold two paintings for about dollars 5000 each, with the money going to cancer research. It was a nice way of raising money, but I tell myself not to give up the day job."
Despite his fame, Pierce claims to feel shy and unsure of himself in public.
He said: "To this day, I am painfully and agonisingly shy in certain social situations. Even acting hasn't helped me in this department."
Pierce laughed at the idea of being a sex symbol, pointing out the personalised Californian licence plate on his sports car, ICY CALM, was ironic.
"I certainly don't see myself as a sex symbol," he said. "If any actor does, he's shooting himself in the foot. I'm just an actor doing the job."
Pierce takes his paternal role seriously after being abandoned by his own father when he was a child. Raised in a single-parent home, Pierce never heard from his errant dad until years later when he was a successful TV actor.
He revealed: "My father left my mother when I was a baby and I hated him for a long time. That hurt me. Many years later, when I was in Ireland doing one of the last episodes of Remington Steele in the Eighties, he came to my hotel on a Sunday afternoon.
"I had tea and biscuits ready and, when I opened the door, there was Tom Brosnan, a stranger to me. I had expected him to be this very tall man and he wasn't at all.
"He was this wiry bantam-cock of a little man with great energy, very lively. We talked and had a couple of pints of Guinness and then he took off. I never asked him why he'd abandoned me."
PERFECTIONIST Pierce hates watching himself on screen. I find it very difficult to look at myself," he said. "You realise there's nothing you can do once the picture is finished. I tend to be very critical of myself."
But he won't be returning to TV or following the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and treading the boards in theatre.
"TV is too stifling - I always feared getting locked into something," he said. "There's less imagination on television than there is in the movies.
"And you couldn't offer me enough money to get me on stage. I don't have that desire or hunger. My machine's a little rusty anyway."
Pierce won't be celebrating the latest film with Bond's favourite tipple, Martini - shaken, not stirred. "I prefer Jack Daniels, on the rocks, thank you very much," he said.
Die Another Day has its royal premiere in London on November 18 and goes on release four days later.
Jinxed Halle May Get Bond Spinoff
By Josh Grossberg
Apparently, nobody does it better than Halle Berry.
The Oscar-winning actress made such a big splash playing Jinx in the upcoming 007 adventure, Die Another Day, that the filmmakers now want to give the butt-kicking Bond babe her own movie franchise.
Berry confirmed as much in an exclusive interview with E! News Live, revealing that she's in talks with MGM and 007 producers, Eon Productions, about reprising the Jinx role in what would become the first Bond-based spinoff series in the franchise's 40-year history.
"Isn't it just crazy?" Berry tells E! "If Jinx could stay just as she is and evolve even further, and if they'd put the loving care that they put into James Bond--I absolutely would--I'd do it in a heartbeat."
Eat your heart out, Pussy Galore.
MGM did not return phone calls seeking comment on the story, and reps for England-based Eon Productions were unavailable.
Reviewers who have seen early screenings of the new Bond film say it plays much like a franchise-launching film, with Berry's character getting plenty of screen time.
While Die Another Day has Berry slinking sexily out of the sea à la Ursula Andress (news) in Dr. No, Jinx is a highly trained vixen, sort of a female James Bond who battles the bad guys and dispenses one-liners with an aplomb equal to that of the martini-swilling super-spy.
In a recent interview with TV Guide, Berry pointed out that the Bond women are "becoming more stronger and more intellectual," though she admitted having a hard time keeping up physically with Pierce Brosnan (news), who's making his fourth go-round as the suave secret agent.
During filming, Berry said she "saw smoke coming out of Pierce's feet" as the two were running in one scene, and she "just couldn't go fast enough." Of course, that might have been because the Jinxed Berry had debris from a smoke grenade lodged in her left eye in a stunt gone awry last March that landed her in the hospital. The fragment was removed in a 30-minute procedure, and she suffered no permanent damage.
While no details have been set, the Jinx project would be the latest MGM is prepping for Berry. The studio also wants the actress to do a remake of the '70s blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown.
And before Jinx gets off the drawing board, Berry has plenty to keep her busy. She's signed to star in Need, playing a successful New York therapist who learns that one of her suicidal patients is having an affair with her husband. That film, directed by Luis Mandoki, is expected to shoot early next year pending approval of the latest draft of the script.
Berry has also committed to October Squall, an indie drama in which she'll play a rape victim who gets pregnant by her attacker and decides to keep the baby only to find that when the child hits puberty, the boy suddenly looks like he's inherited his father's violent streak.
Plus, she's attached to Paramount Picture's The Guide for Die Another Day director Lee Tamahori. And if the upcoming X-Men sequel does as well as expected, she'd likely return as Storm in a third installment.
Die Another Day opens nationwide November 22.
For the complete Berry interview, tune into Monday's edition of E! News Live at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT. Berry can also be seen in an exclusive sit-down with Jules Asner (news) next week on Revealed, premiering November 18, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Bob Anderson is one of those veterans of British film- making whose stories can keep you mesmerised for hours. His speciality is swords and he can swash a buckle with the best of them. That's why they hired him for Die Another Day -- in which Bond (Pierce Brosnan) abandons his gun for swordplay with Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike).
'It's very romantic,' says Anderson. 'Aren't you getting fed up with guns and fast cars that blow up? How far can you go today, getting bigger, blowing up more? It gets boring.'
Few wield the sword better than Brosnan, says Anderson. 'Because he is in every shot in this picture, he has done less rehearsals than any actor I've worked with. However, the outcome is that he's the most natural actor I've seen on film with a sword . He's got a fantastic memory and great timing.'
Aluminium swords were used for Die Another Day, because they are lighter and easier to handle than iron or steel blades. Although the actors moved onto weapons of a more impressive calibre, they started off with the epee -- the basic fencing sword. Anderson explains: 'You don't need elaborate clothing and you can strip off down to a T- shirt. Then we go onto the heavy weapons, military sabres, and now Pierce and Toby are crashing into the big case with the swords and the armour and when they smash it, the swords come out, and they grab a broadsword.'
When I ask how Rosamund Pike fared at fencing, Anderson turns paternal. 'She's marvellous. She is the most studied actress I've met. When she gets her teeth into doing something, she never stops.
'She came for lessons almost every day when she wasn't working and she now is the most comp-etent swordsman. Nobody can tell the difference between her and the experts when she's fencing.'
The aim of the game is to make it look authentic, he says: 'Most swordfights on film look artificial -- all except mine, of course!'
Anderson ought to be a dazzling swordsman -- he's been teaching actors to spar for half a century. His first job was with Errol Flynn on The Master Of Ballantrae in 1953, and in recent years he's seen movie swordplay make a comeback.
Recent projects include the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, First Knight with Sean Connery, and The Mask Of Zorro with Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins.
'Tony [Hopkins] is wonderful to work with,' says Anderson. 'He was fiftysomething when we worked on Zorro. He'll never be the world's greatest swordsman, but he had more interest than most actors I've worked with.'
More recently, Anderson worked with broadswords on the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, but they were no ordinary broadswords.
' Richard Taylor and his staff, who made all the weapons, are geniuses. They make swords that you cannot break. On a film quite often I break about 15 blades, but not with Richard's swords. I don't know what he puts in them but they're bloody good.'
The glory days, though, must have been working with rabble-rousers like Errol Flynn. 'He was a man's man,' confirms Anderson. 'He used to get drunk every night. He loved young women, drink and young women.'
Flynn's swordplay never flagged, however. 'He was so well trained in the art of drinking and acting that one didn't intefere too much with the other,' says Anderson. 'It was just that the stuff he used to drink was eating his kidneys and everything away inside. He died at 50 but he was a great actor and a good swordsman. He remembered his lines, he remembered the routine. His only problem was he deteriorated so quickly.'
And for Anderson, good swordplay is the measure of a man.
' Anybody can hang around corners and shoot guns,' he says, 'because you probably don't even meet the person you're killing. But when you're doing a sword fight, standing eyeball to eyeball with that guy requires courage. For me it's the greatest test in the struggle between good and evil. '
Related Links from same set of article in the Sunday Herald:
Who Met All The Spies
A Touch Of Frost
Boldfinger
A Bondish Encounter
By JAMES BARRON
Nov 8, 2002 JULIANNA MARGULIES once wanted to be a Bond girl. "I was supposed to test for one of the Bond movies" while still on "E.R.," she said. But the Bond producers wanted a five-month commitment, and she did not have that kind of time.
Eventually, she quit "E.R." And made a movie with PIERCE BROSNAN. Not a Bond film, but "Evelyn," a drama set in Ireland in the 1950's about an unemployed single father's struggle to get his children back. So did she enjoy their rather long screen kiss? "Both Pierce and I, when the director went, like, `Great, cut, O.K., let's move on,' we were like, `Hang on, we've been waiting the entire film,' " she recalled.
By now she was at a party in the Fifth Avenue apartment of the photographer NANCY ELLISON and her husband, WILLIAM D. ROLLNICK. Her co-star did some rough-housing with the Rollnicks' dog, Buzz, who may or may not have been impressed. "Last week Buzz jumped into MEG RYAN'S lap on that couch over there," said Mr. Rollnick. "He loves Meg Ryan."
James Bond fans have been trafficking in the rumor that the former Bond did a cameo, playing the father of current MI5 agent Pierce Brosnan. But word is that Connery's scene was cut after director Lee Tamahori was reminded that novelist Ian Fleming created Bond as an orphan.
"I think Lee Tamahori probably tried to get Sean in the movie," Brosnan told us. "But he never made an appearance on the set."
Though Brosnan has signed on for another Bond romp, his heart may be closer to "Evelyn," a small movie in which he plays an alcoholic Irish singer fighting to win custody of his children.
"It's always been about Remington Steele, Thomas Crown, Bond," said Brosnan, who also produced "Evelyn," after a Wednesday-night screening here. "Now I have to pay attention to the performance - ask myself what roles I want to do."
The Bond franchise does have its perks - which Brosnan is happy to share. Walking out of the "Evelyn" screening, he tossed that scraggly autograph hound known as Radio Man a new Omega Seamaster watch (retail value: $1,750).
Radio, said to be the inspiration for Robin Williams' "The Fisher King" character, can wear it while he rides around on the Schwinn bicycle that Whoopi Goldberg gave him.
Commercialism before patriotism
Photo Caption: Pierce Brosnan, as James Bond in Die Another Day, with the Aston Martin Vanquish.
The James Bond films used to be about saving the world. Now they are a sales pitch, writes Guy Trebay.
If you happen to be looking for a product spokesman, how about a skirt-chasing spy in his 80s who drinks too much, has an unfortunate taste for cashmere turtlenecks and glib one-liners and who clung to his fear of the communist menace long after the Berlin Wall came tumbling down?
The man in question is, of course, James Bond, who made his fictional debut almost 50 years ago, his first big-screen appearance in the 1960s and who, through miracles of both public appetite and celluloid, has remained not only perpetually suave and virile, but among the world's most bulletproof brands.
The most recent marketing test of Bond's potency comes in the form of the latest instalment in the franchise, Die Another Day, MGM studio's 20th vehicle built around a fictional character who by rights should be residing in a retirement village in Oxfordshire, but instead is considered by makers of consumer products to be sexier than ever.
"James Bond is always about solving world crises and having great cars," Jan Valentic says. He is vice-president for global marketing at Ford, one of at least 20 companies promoting their brands in the film. According to Variety, Ford paid $63 million to replace BMW as the franchise's official vehicle supplier, with Bond driving its $460,000 Aston Martin Vanquish.
Meanwhile, Halle Berry, who plays the Jinx, the latest in a long line of sultry Bond female characters - either heroines, antagonists or both - is behind the wheel of what the car company calls her character's "icon vehicle", a Thunderbird whose coral colour is set to match her bathing suit. (The car will later be sold as a limited edition.)
Bond, says Valentic, "is a master of world intrigue". Not coincidentally, he is also a connoisseur of the "latest and greatest assorted wonderments of the world". Product placement is nothing new, of course, but, as the boundaries of what is known in the entertainment business as "brand integrated content" push outward, the wonderments associated with the Bond character have come to include watches, soft drinks, credit cards, mobile phones, electric shavers and snowmobiles.
Pierce Brosnan, who is playing Bond for the fourth time, will be wearing an Omega wrist watch, for instance. The clear liquid in his shaken, not stirred, martinis will be Finlandia, replacing Smirnoff, for decades the spy's brand. The carrier conspicuouslytransporting 007 in its first-class cabin will be British Airways.
That company's investment may help explain the obligatory, plot-dragging shot of a jet in midair. There is more. The Scottish clothing company Ballantyne will provide turtleneck sweaters for Brosnan and other characters. And Brioni Roman Style, perhaps best known as the suitmakers to the late "Dapper Don", John Gotti, has spent $600,000 to kit Brosnan out in custom-made clothes. "The image never ages," says Umberto Angeloni, the chairman of Brioni, which has dressed Bond in his past four cinematic outings. "What you are dressing is an icon. He is asymbol of eternal youth and the ideal connoisseur."
Fictitious connoisseurship does not come cheap. When Die Another Day opens in the United States later this month, the movie will be accompanied by a $240 million campaign of sponsored advertising, sweepstakes, promotions and product tie-ins for more than 20 brands. Eleven companies have budgeted a total of more than $200 million on TV advertisements promoting their products in Die Another Day, a figure that approaches the $220 million that MGM asserts was the cost of the entire film - although some film industry insiders estimate the cost at closer to $260 million.
If the tie-ins are not all for products that smack of the elegance and savoir faire associated with a man whose suits are hand-stitched and whose .44 magnums are custom-tooled, few have been heard to complain. With Best Buy, Circuit City, Ski-Doo, Vodafone and 7 Up all linked to the film, it seems less than surprising to learn that EON, the company behind the series, is an acronym for Everything or Nothing. It may be that the frenetic cross-platform sellout for Die Another Day will stretch the power of a cinematic icon past its sustainable limits. "If a consumer does not see a product as an integral or enhancing part of a film, the film seems like a shill [a dupe]," says Mark Dowley, the chairman of Interpublic Sports & Entertainment Group, a division of the global advertising agency network IPG. "And that can do damage to both brands."
Yet some suggest that James Bond is by now less a figure of fiction conjured from Ian Fleming's imagination than a consumerist phantasm, a glittering screen on which it is possible to project almost anything. Mass-market products such as 7 Up may not be as "integral" to the character of Bond as were Tom Cruise's Oakley sunglasses in Mission: Impossible II. But, as Ford's Valentic suggests, this is a trivial detail. "Everything is about how quickly you can drive as many people as possible to the theatre," he says. "If we collectively drive throngs of people to the movie to actually see our products in action, everybody succeeds."
Brosnan - soon to be seen zooming around in an Aston Martin Vanquish - pointed out he is far from the 007 image.
"I'm perceived as this sophisticated, debonair, distant person, this macho guy - and I'm not like that," he said.
"Following me around for a day in my life would be quite comedic.
Brosnan, who will be seen in the 20th Bond movie later this year, said his road skills were not quite up to the secret agent's standards.
He said: "I got a Porsche recently on loan - a convertible with gear stick. I stopped to buy some chewing gum and a paper at the news-stand.
"I'd just said hello to some tourists who think I'm James Bond and I'm trying to be cool and start the car - and I stall it."
And on a recent visit to a top showbusiness agent with his wife Keely Shaye Smith he almost crashed.
"I'm driving the Mercedes and we're talking away as we approach the gate," he said.
"I take my foot off the brake and Keely goes 'brake, brake!' - she just yanked the emergency brake. We stopped an inch from the gate."
Major releases crowd season
Second installments of "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" are
top holiday hopefuls.
By David Germain
Friday, November 1, 2002
LOS ANGELES -- Even Santa makes concessions for the kids of Hogwarts
and
the little folk of Middle-earth.
No studio wants to clash with holiday titans "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." So Christmas comes early to theaters as Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause 2" debuts today, a day after Halloween, marking an unusually early start to Hollywood's holiday season.
The 1994 original, in which Allen played a divorced dad who inherits the Kris Kringle gig after accidentally snuffing out Santa, opened two weeks before Thanksgiving.
That time slot this year is occupied by the second adventure of Harry and friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their first adventure, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was last year's top-grossing movie. The first "Lord of the Rings" film ran a close second in 2001's box- office chart, so with part two coming just before Christmas, Disney chose to deliver "Santa Clause 2" early rather than risk being buried by the Hogwarts express and the hobbit stampede.
"I believe now after the heat we've been getting on our movie that we could probably compete with 'Harry Potter,' " Allen said. "But you have to stay away from big movies like 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings.' You just have to."
Director Chris Columbus and all major cast members return for the second "Harry Potter," including Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as chums Hermione and Ron.
Grint said the new movie "has a lot more action. I prefer it to the first one. It's darker, and it's quite funny, as well."
Radcliffe said he gets to reveal a more ominous side to Harry.
"I think it was great to be able to show Harry's dark side," Radcliffe said.
Speaking of dark sides, director Peter Jackson's middle chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" picks up where the first left off, with the fellowship now fractured, its members striking off on separate journeys in their quest to destroy a ring of absolute evil.
While Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) lead a confrontation against evil wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee), hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) carry the ring to the foul lands of Mordor, the hangout of ultimate bad guy Sauron.
"Film one is a very linear story of this fellowship of nine characters finding their way through this land. Films two and three, the aperture opens wider, and you see a broader picture of Middle-earth," said Mark Ordesky, an executive producer of the trilogy, whose final installment comes next year.
"As Frodo and Sam creep their way along, they periodically pass by huge columns of evil-looking creatures that are being drawn to Sauron. He's like a lighthouse calling all evil to him. And then you've got Aragorn, the lost king of Gondor. He sees that no one's really working together, and he's nation-building, and all of this is essentially a prelude to film three."
As always, the crowded end-of-year film lineup offers many Academy Awards hopefuls, including performances by such past Oscar winners as Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington and Michael Caine.
Washington makes his directing debut and co-stars in "Antwone Fisher," based on the true story of a tormented sailor (Derek Luke) aided by a Navy psychiatrist.
Caine plays a journalist in 1950s Vietnam in "The Quiet American," adapted from Graham Greene's novel about murder and a love triangle. Brendan Fraser co-stars.
Nicholson stars in the darkly comic "About Schmidt" as a widower recently retired from a dull insurance job, whose self-examination during a road trip in a motorhome leads him to question the value of his life.
Streep has two films potentially in the Oscar race. In "The Hours," based on the Pulitzer-winning novel that weaves together stories of three women in different times, Streep plays a contemporary book editor opposite Julianne Moore as a '50s mom and Nicole Kidman as author Virginia Woolf.
In "Adaptation," Streep plays a fancifully fictionalized version of Susan Orlean, author of the book "The Orchid Thief." The movie reteams "Being John Malkovich" writer Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze, and stars Nicolas Cage in a bizarre screen personification of Kaufman as he unsuccessfully tries to adapt "The Orchid Thief" into a script.
Other films positioned for awards consideration include Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," a 19th century vengeance tale starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz; "The 25th Hour" from director Spike Lee, starring Edward Norton as a prison-bound drug dealer on his last day of freedom; Kevin Kline as a devoted prep-school teacher who has a jarring reunion with old students in "The Emperor's Club"; and "Evelyn," with Bond star Pierce Brosnan as a Dublin dad fighting church and state for custody of his three children in 1950s Ireland.
Julianne Moore, Streep's co-star in "The Hours," also has a second awards prospect in "Far From Heaven." Set in the '50s, the film stars Moore as a woman whose picture-perfect life unravels amid homophobia and racism when her husband (Dennis Quaid) takes a male lover and she forms an attachment to her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert).
"It's also meant to be a movie not just about sexuality and racism but about gender politics," Moore said. "At the end of the day, the men in the movie, they're the ones that leave. They're the ones afforded an opportunity to kind of step away and make a new life. The woman's not."
Copyright İ2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Do celebrities like Victoria Beckham have to live in fear of being targeted by criminals?
Celebrity guru Max Clifford says the risk of becoming a victim of crime
comes almost as a by-product of fame for today's celebrities, who are
constantly placed in the public eye by today's fame-obsessed media.
He told Sky News: "If you've got stars that are worth millions and millions and millions, then of course you can see the potential for criminals.
"Hence the need for increased security, for increased awareness."
The Professional Footballers Association said security was becoming an increasing concern as the sport's biggest names enjoy superstar status.
"Everybody has to be extremely security conscious,ż said PFA chief Gordon Taylor.
"It's happened in other areas and I think with the state of the world today, security is going to have to be given a very high priority, unfortunately.
"There was a time when footballers and sportsmen would be criticised for not being more involved with the general public, but unfortunately because of the security aspect, they're going to have to be more cocooned.
Death threats
"There's a great interaction between players and supporters, but unfortunately, there will be a minority who abuse that."
Anecdotal evidence would certainly appear to bear out the theory that headline-hitting wealth attracts the interest of criminals.
A spate of burglaries of high-profile, wealthy people in recent years became known as the Hello! burglaries because they so often seemed to follow an appearance in that celebrity magazine.
Pierce Brosnan, the Beckhams, Elton John, the late Beatle George Harrison and even Ali G, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, have all received death threats.
The Beckhams have just received their second alleged kidnap threat in as many years - and they have also had to put up with stalkers.
But the rich and famous are fighting back by taking ever-increasing security measures.
24-hour guards
Several UK insurance companies now offer specific policies against kidnap and ransom (known as K&R in the trade), in a business worth tens of millions of pounds each year.
Firms offer seminars and training in how to deal with kidnap and ransom threats.
Many high-profile celebrities - including the Beckhams and Victoria's former Spice Girls colleague Geri Halliwell - have taken 24-hour security guards.
But many of them are reluctant to late security fears interfere with their running of a normal life.
Counter-kidnap specialist Andrew Irlam, who is chief operations director of a Manchester company specialising in "close, personal and executive protection", said the Beckhams were such a couple.
"Both David and Victoria can be seen around Manchester almost all the time with as little security as possible," he said.
However, he added that just because their security appeared to be light, that was not necessarily the case.
"The security team responsible for the Beckhams, and indeed much of Manchester United, is very, very professional indeed," he said.
"Although the security is quite definitely there, it is not always obvious."
STARS WHO LIVE IN FEAR
THE rich and famous have long been tempting targets for would-be
kidnappers. A gang tried to snatch Hollywood legend Michael Douglas,
57, from outside his mother's apartment when he was only six - but he
escaped by hiding in a lift.
More recently, police discovered a plot to snatch Gladiator star Russell Crowe and cut off his fingers unless they received £10 million.
The evil plan was foiled when incriminating evidence was spotted during a routine traffic stop.
Similar kidnap threats have been made against Pierce Brosnan and Antonio Banderas. And stars are not the only victims to suffer. In September, a German banker's 11-year-old son was murdered after being kidnapped on his way home from school.
The body of Jakob von Metzler, the heir to a centuries-old family institution, was found in a pond the next day...even though his agonised parents had paid a £650,000 ransom.
As any student of 007 knows, acting was always optional for the women playing "Bond girls" in the early days. No less an authority than Ursula Andress admits looking athletic and running around a lot were assignments that played to her strengths in "Dr. No." As far as she knew, Stanislavsky was most likely an employee of SMERSH.
Forty years later, the newest James Bond film -- "Die Another Day" -- will feature two Academy Award winners in prominent female roles: Halle Berry and Judi Dench. OK, some guys may have a hard time classifying Dame Judith as a "Bond girl," but I think she's sexier than a Victoria's Secret lingerie party at the Playboy mansion, and it's my column, so she makes the cut.
Dench also makes the cut in "Bond Girls Are Forever," a frothy documentary airing Wednesday night on AMC, one of the many programming initiatives piggybacking on the Nov. 22 release of "Die Another Day." Produced and hosted by Maryam d'Abo, who played Bond girl Kara Milovy in 1987's "The Living Daylights" (memorable scene: schussing in a cello case), the one-hour special spends time with about a dozen other women who share the distinction of sharing the screen with Ian Fleming's alter ego.
Unlike Dench, who has played Bond's boss since Pierce Brosnan inherited 007's personnel file in "Goldeneye," the other women do tend to fit the conventional male-fantasy profile. There's Honor Blackman from "Goldfinger" and Jill St. John from "Diamonds Are Forever" and, be still my heart, Luciana Paluzzi from "Thunderball." Maud Adams, Carey Lowell, Jane Seymour, Lois Chiles and Michelle Yeoh also check in, along with Rosamund Pike, another member of the "Die Another Day" cast.
Dench's story about a young boy approaching her in a restaurant and being rendered speechless when she confirms she is indeed M from the James Bond films may be the most priceless -- and the most revealing. Here's a 10-year-old interested in a Bond character for reasons other than her ability to get horizontal with a spy, or to emerge from the sea dripping wet.
Granted, the 10-year-old probably will someday devolve to less seemly interests. But his interest now at least confirms that, for some, a James Bond film is more than a swimsuit issue on celluloid.
Indeed, D'Abo says she undertook the project to determine what it means to be a Bond woman.
Predictably, it's different things to different people.
Dench, as "serious" an actress as there is for those who keep track of that stuff, finds delight in the reactions of the men in her life.
Paluzzi reveals that the noted Italian directors of the day -- Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti -- wouldn't give her a second look after she appeared in what they viewed as a "comic strip."
Blackman calls it one of the most exciting times of her life.
"I can't think of anything that creates such a frisson when you mention it," she says of the "Bond girl" appellation.
D'Abo doesn't skirt the question of sexism in her documentary. St. John answers it most directly.
"Bond women are larger than life," she says. "They're meant to represent a fantasy quality. How can anybody take that seriously and complain about it? It's meant as entertainment. It's not meant as a social statement or a chronicle of how far women have come in life."
D'Abo correctly points out that Bond women have changed over the years, from window dressing in the 1960s to stronger, more independent types today. Still, Berry, who relishes the chance to play a woman who's sexy and smart, says her first memory of a Bond film is "that bikini coming out of the water" in "Dr. No." And d'Abo, whose relationship with Bond was possibly the most chaste in the history of the franchise, suggests all Bond women "have tried to live up to Ursula."
Berry says this is because Bond women have a universal appeal.
"The women are a big part of it," she says, "not only for men, but for women, too."
Even Chiles, who played Dr. Holly Goodhead in "Moonraker" at a time when "women were burning their bras," appreciates that her character, despite the sophomore-humor name, could do everything Bond could do, including fly a space shuttle.
Criticism or no, St. John believes the 80 some women who have appeared in the Bond films -- from Miss Taro to Miss Moneypenny -- wouldn't trade the experience.
"No one wants to give up the mantle of being a Bond girl," she says, "and if they say they do, they're lying."
JAMES BOND'S WOMEN
Test your knowledge of the women in James Bond's life. Match the character name in the first group with the actress in the second.
1. Tatiana Romanova
2. Natalya Simonova
3. Anya Amasova
4. Dr. Christmas Jones
5. Mary Goodnight
6. Honeychile Ryder
7. Plenty O'Toole
8. Fatima Blush
9. Paris Carver
10. Kissy Suzuki
11. May Day
12. Pussy Galore
A. Ursula Andress
B. Daniele Bianchi
C. Honor Blackman
D. Mie Hama
E. Lana Wood
F. Britt Ekland
G. Barbara Bach
H. Barbara Carrera
I. Grace Jones
J. Isabelle Scorupco
K. Teri Hatcher
L. Denise Richards
ANSWERS
1-B; 2-J; 3-G; 4-L; 5-F; 6-A; 7-E; 8-H; 9-K; 10- D; 11-I; 12-C
John Levesque is the P-I's television critic. Call him at 206-448-8330
October 31, 2002
Julianna Margulies, the curly-maned former star of ER, has gone from
nursing to ghostbusting with the Halloween thriller Ghost Ship.
She said the campy, special-effects-filled movie balances out her two other new films, the low- key dramas Evelyn and The Man From Elysian Fields.
"You've got to go and do these big movies that everyone wants to see and make some money so you can do little artistic plays," said Margulies, who turned down a $27 million offer in 1999 to continue on the NBC hospital drama than won her an Emmy for best supporting dramatic actress.
Fittingly, she appeared in New York last year in the play Ten Unknowns, which explores the balance between art and commerce.
In the upcoming Evelyn, the 35-year-old performer co-stars as a woman who helps a single father (Pierce Brosnan) give up drinking and organize his life so he can reclaim custody of his three children.
The Man From Elysian Fields, which premiered in limited release this month, features Margulies as a wife whose struggling-novelist husband (Andy Garcia) secretly becomes a male escort for an agency operated by a flashy impresario (Mick Jagger).
While those dramas concern themselves with the nuances of family responsibility, Ghost Ship is mostly interested in dispatching people in great crimson sprays of fake blood.
Margulies co-stars with her longtime boyfriend, Ron Eldard, and Gabriel Byrne as members of a salvage crew who board a rotting luxury cruise ship that disappeared 40 years ago.
"They're three such completely different movies," she said. "The beauty of the job is getting to do all these different things."
Question: What was the stunt work like on Ghost Ship?
Answer: My favorite stunt was the very beginning of the movie, when my character was rappelling into an oil tanker that has a huge hole in it to do some underwater welding. It definitely got rid of my fear of heights.
Q: Do you ever pick a movie role so you can travel to an interesting location?
A: Oh yeah. (Laughs.) Evelyn came up and the director, Bruce Beresford, said, 'Look, it's not a lot of money, it's not a big movie,' but I loved the character and really wanted to live in Ireland. . . .
It's such a dream, being an actor in a new country and living with the local people. With Ghost Ship, we got to be in Australia for four months and then visited New Zealand.
How The Family Revived An Icon
The story of the Broccolis and their intimate relationship with 007
BY JEFF CHU
Some people grow up watching Bond; if you're a Broccoli, you grow up making him. EON, the production house behind 007, has been a family business since Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who produced the first nine films together, set it up in 1961. Today, a second generation of Broccolis Cubby's daughter Barbara and stepson Michael Wilson runs the London-based outfit. They guard the Bond tradition fiercely, but they've also brought the once-fading franchise forward.
"They've re-examined the character and focused on who Bond is not just what his world is like," says John Cork, co-author of James Bond: The Legacy. The result? "A total revitalization of the series." Or close enough for genre work.
They were groomed for the job from their youth. Michael had an uncredited part in Goldfinger, and by the 1970s, he was helping with scriptwriting. Barbara was "a general dogsbody on set from the time I started," recalls Roger Moore, who says "she inherited a lot of her father's talent." By 1985, she was an assistant director on A View to a Kill, a film Michael co-wrote and co-produced. But the franchise, though still profitable, was flagging the last three films in the '80s were the worst box- office performers of the series. In the early 1990s, an ailing Cubby relinquished more and more work, and 1995's GoldenEye was the first Bond co-produced by Barbara and Michael (and the first with Pierce Brosnan). The step-siblings redeployed their spy, adding some serious action to get things up to date. It was 007's box-office best since Moonraker in 1979.
Broccoli and Wilson have maintained the momentum since then, with bigger budgets and globally recognized talent Asian action queen Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon); the enigmatic Sophie Marceau to stay competitive. At MGM, 007's financier and U.S. distributor, vice chairman Chris McGurk insists "everything is really mutual in terms of approvals," but the studio's only contractual power is to greenlight (or not) a film. All else, from script to cast and crew, isin EON's domain.
One gripe about this power structure is that it breeds inertia. The Broccolis aren't obstructionist, says a studio insider, but "they are very adamant about the things James Bond can and cannot do." One perennial suggestion that always gets vetoed is for new larger-than-life villains à la Blofeld, who bedeviled Bond in five of the first seven films. "They always say: James Bond is the hero," says an MGM exec. "No one can overshadow him."
For Cubby, making Bond a family business meant a personal touch with talent cooking spa-ghetti for cast and crew or flying an actor's hairstylist in on Concorde. "He was a big daddy figure," says Lois Chiles (Holly Goodhead in Moonraker). "He invited us to be part of his family." But the Mr. Nice Guy routine stopped at the business office door. "You felt that he was on your side," says Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 films. "Except when it came to the money. Then he'd fight with your agent for every last penny."
Cubby's success won him a fair level of respect in Hollywood in 1982 at the Oscars, he got the Irving Thalberg award for his production work and every studio wishes it had a franchise this lucrative. But the family is still considered a niche player. Cubby did make more than 20 non-007 films, but only one was a hit: 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also based on an Ian Fleming work. The family now has a stage version of Chitty on in London, and they dabble in licensing. But Bond is the core of their business, and they'll continue, says Wilson, "as long as people want the product."
A big test of the Broccoli-Wilson era will come when Brosnan gives up his 00 status. Broccoli's standard reply to queries on that topic: "That's like walking down the aisle and being asked who your next husband will be." Well, maybe, but we do want to know. The new 007 will be the first not chosen by Cubby who died in 1996 and the clearest sign of his heirs' plans for the future. Brosnan will be back for the next film which may start shooting late next year but is noncommittal on a sixth. "It's hard to plan," he says. "Not knowing what's around the corner is one of the joys of being an actor." And the curse of being a producer, even when you're working with James Bond.
BY JEFF CHU
Bond's Other Family
The 20th Bond film will ride into the record books on one of the biggest movie-promo bandwagons ever. 007's business partners are spending an estimated $120 million on tie-in advertising, and millions more have already been invested in products and services for the making of the film itself. Maybe they should have called it Buy Another Day.
The Bond franchise is one of the pioneers of product placement. "Bond has always been a brand-aware character," says David Wilson, EON's vice president of global business strategy. Dr. No "placed" Pan Am, Red Stripe and Smirnoff. But Die Another Day sets a new standard for promotional deals, pitching about 20 brands, from Finlandia vodka (yep, he switched) to 7-Up and Norelco shavers.
Some publicity-hungry firms pay for screen time. But far more product placement actually works on barter. For example, Ford provided several Aston Martins (for Bond), aguars (for the bad guy Zao), Thunderbirds (for Jinx), Range Rovers (utility vehicles), spare parts and technical help. That in-kind contribution saved EON millions in production costs "the value that we got far exceeded the cash they could give us," Wilson says. In return, Ford will get invaluable screen time for its vehicles. Millions more in promised movie tie-in promos from the carmaker will also cut the ad budgets of the distributors MGM in the U.S. and Fox overseas.
Not every product placer gets such a high profile. Jinx won't walk around with a Revlon sign to let us know who made her makeup, and Bond won't have a Brioni tag hanging off his tux. But the firms hope for gilt by association and the chance to slap a 007 seal of approval on their ads. Bollinger champagne can freshen its traditional image with the help of the "debonair and charming James Bond," says president Ghislain de Montgolfier. "What could be more stylishly up-to-date?"
On the other hand, what could be more off-putting than a two-hour-long ad you're paying upwards of $10 to see? Wilson insists "we're making movies, not commercials." And doing a little smart business on the side.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT), the world leader in lightweight communications headsets and the exclusive headset partner for MGM Pictures and Eon Productions' new James Bond film, Die Another Day, today announced a multiple market promotion that offers consumers one free adult ticket to this year's much-anticipated Bond movie when they purchase a Plantronics headset. More than 25,000 retail outlets and wireless carrier stores in the U.S. will participate in this promotion with point-of-sale materials and in-store displays. The promotion will also be offered in Australia and various European countries, as well as on the Plantronics Web site, www.plantronics.com.
"With more people adopting headsets every day, connecting Plantronics with the Bond franchise makes perfect sense for us," said Stephen Denny, vice president of channel marketing for Plantronics. "Bond has long been a showcase for premium products and the latest technology, so it's an ideal association for Plantronics."
To participate in the U.S. promotion, consumers must purchase a specially marked Plantronics M130-series headset for their cellular or cordless phone featuring a Die Another Day movie coupon. They then complete the promotional offer form on the packaging and mail it, along with their proof-of-purchase, before February 28, 2003. Consumers will receive one free adult ticket to Die Another Day or any other MGM/UA Film. Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, Die Another Day will premiere in theaters in the U.S. and U.K. on November 22, 2002. Movie tickets can be redeemed at over 17,000 movie theaters in the U.S., and most major theatrical venues in international markets through February 28, 2003, or while supplies last.
The Plantronics M130 headset for mobile phones offers hands-free convenience and features a customizable fit with a conformable earloop and an adjustable noise-canceling microphone. Comfortable, and lightweight, it also works with headset-ready cordless phones and telecoil-equipped hearing aids. Plantronics M130 headsets are available at most major retail outlets and wireless carrier stores.
About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 2,600 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong's historic "One small step for man" transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling 800-544-4660.
About Die Another Day
Directed by Lee Tamahori from a script by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Die Another Day stars Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, John Cleese, and Judi Dench.
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - "The invitation has been accepted," a very polite Pierce Brosnan tells me of "the invitation" from producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson to do a fifth James Bond movie -- just as his contract expires with the completion of "Die Another Day."
The untitled -- and as yet unscripted -- Bond picture probably will not start filming until early 2005. Since his first three outings have grossed more that a billion-$, I asked Brosnan if the new negotiations would include a raise for him.
"I would like to think that fair play will be involved," he smiled. "I have the highest expectation of fairness and good spirit." And, he added, "I have all of CAA behind me!"
Beyond this fifth Bond film, Brosnan predicts, "I think it has mileage to go another 20 years." Not with him, he assures -- he survived the fourth Bond with "a bit of a knee injury. That was it."
"Die Another Day" gets a royal premiere in London with Queen Elizabeth on hand Nov. 18, following Monday's L.A. gala at the Shrine Auditorium. The film opens Nov. 22.
Meanwhile, Brosnan's own banner, Irish DreamTime, will release its 1953-set personal drama "Evelyn" (also for MGM) at year's end for Oscar consideration. He and partner Beau St. Clair have completed three films, with more planned. The next will be a big change for them -- the costumer "Lochinvar," based on Sir Walter Scott's classic. Brosnan would play the Templar MacGregor.
November 1, 2002 09:17
WHEN 007 returns from exile in the forthcoming Die Another Day, East
Anglia's own Bond girl welcomes him home.
Lizzie Cundy, wife of former Ipswich Town star Jason Cundy, screams as she catches sight of the world's favourite spy in a Hong Kong hotel lobby.
No wonder. In the scene, our beloved Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, is wet and bedraggled in see-through pyjamas with thick, matted hair and a dirty beard.
Of course we can forgive him. He has, after all, just returned from a high-speed hovercraft chase through a minefield between North and South Korea.
Have no fear girls - he still looks just as dashing in a beard - affirms Lizzie, who has appeared as a body double for many image- conscious Bond girls in the past.
She is quite a fan of the latest actor to accept the 007 mantle.
"He makes filming a lot of fun," she said.
"He's just a very normal, nice guy. Some of them (celebrities) think they are it and aren't very approachable. You would never know he's such a big star."
Whilst most of us can only dream of a Bond girl body, Lizzie's assets - her long legs and super-svelte figure - make for a physique to beat those of even the superstars. Lizzie's has been a body-double for Isabella Scorupco, in Goldeneye, a pregnant Teri Hatcher in Tomorrow Never Dies and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment.
Lizzie, 33, who has been modelling since she was a teenager, posed next to Brosnan in an Aston Martin as Isabella Scorupco's legs for Goldeneye.
Throughout the whole take, Bond has his hand on "Isabella's" thigh - but Lizzie didn't mind a bit. It is a perk of the job.
She said: "Isabella didn't like the look of her legs. They seemed perfect to me but many actresses are very critical about the way they look. They get funny if they don't look 100%."
Lizzie, who is extremely modest and matter-of-fact about her eminently desirable job, has also stood in for more intimate scenes. She was called on set for a clinch between Bond and Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies as Teri Hatcher's bump ruled out tummy shots.
The whole of Lizzie, for once, appears in the hotel scene in the 20th Bond adventure, shot at Pinewood studios.
"Pierce bumps into me and I have to scream and give him a look. He looks like Grizzly Adams but he's still handsome," she said.
"It took forever to film as he had to be sprayed down each time to look wet. You could see right through his pyjamas. We had a giggle filming it."
She added that the dashing 49-year-old Irish actor, in his fourth incarnation as 007, may still do another Bond before he retires from the role.
Lizzie admits to hankering after a bigger role, although has very much enjoyed her "bit" parts. She got her big break after signing up with London Agent Ray Knight and is now a favourite of five times Bond producer Gerry Gavagon.
Although Lizzie has not seen the whole film yet, the word behind the scenes is that it is the best Bond yet and very much inkeeping with Ian Fleming's magic formula.
Unfortunately, Lizzie will not be going to the Royal premiere of the MGM and EON Production film on November 18 in London. She will stay at home in Hampshire to be with Jason, who is undergoing radiotherapy treatment for testicular cancer and their two boys, football-mad James, two and Josh, already a budding actor aged just eight.
The film will be released in the UK on November 22, but Ipswich UGC cinema has been chosen to host the regional premiere of the film on November 19.
It is being organised to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and will be attended by the Bickers Action stunt team, from Coddenham, which has created stunts for the Bond films for 20 years.
007's big ad-venture
by Marc Graser
Oct 7-Oct 13, 2002
BRANDS' BIG, BOFFO BOND BLITZ: At least 20 companies will spend more than $120 million on ads that will spotlight MGM's November tentpole "Die Another Day," including Finlandia vodka, Bollinger's champagne and Aston Martin.
James Bond may have a license to kill. But he's also got a license to promote. The suave superspy has shaken, not stirred the business of product tie-ins in movies. From cool cars and chilled vodka to gadget-packed cell phones and watches, Bond means big business for brands. And "Die Another Day," MGM's 20th installment in the franchise, is taking things to a new level.
The film will be touted in ads for at least 20 consumer brands, which will pony up more than $120 million in worldwide TV, print, radio and outdoor advertising, as well as sweepstakes and other promotions. Eleven of those companies are spending $100 million for TV spots alone.
That's on top of the more than $30 million MGM will spend on ads and promos.
Those figures easily dwarf the estimated $25 million that companies coughed up to be featured in Fox/DreamWorks"Minority Report," which was notorious for its product placement.
The Bond deals offer a further reminder of the innovative links between Hollywood and Madison Avenue. Advertisers are increasingly relying on showbiz to help their products rise above the clutter of traditional ad buys. After landing roles in and around major movie properties, some advertisers may even begin partially financing pies.
The 007 franchise has proven durable for 40 years, so the B.O. prognosis for "Day" is bright. But MGM is determined to make the pie a megahit.
It's certainly the most expensive Bond production to ever hit the screen. Some industry players put the pie's cost in the $130 million-$150 million range. However, the Lion is adamant that the final pricetag for the film is only 10% more than the previous outing, the $100 million "The World Is Not Enough" (thanks to considerable tax breaks from shooting in Britain).
BRANDS' BIG, BOFFO BOND BLITZ: At least 20 companies will spend more than $120 million on ads that will spotlight MGM's November tentpole "Die Another Day," including Finlandia vodka, Bollinger's champagne and Aston Martin.
OMEGA MAN: 007 wears one, but Swatch also has a tie-in.
Some of the cost went to land bigger stars such as Halle Berry (as a Bond girl) and Madonna (in a cameo and as singer of the pie's techno-driven theme song) and director Lee Tamahori ("Along Came a Spider"), as well as upping the action and increasing the number of special f/x featured.
While 1999's "World Is Not Enough" featured roughly 150 Vx shots, "Day" has well over 600 (many of which became costly after being requested far into the pie's production).
While the studio and the pie's producers previously worked on releasing a Bond adventure every two years, the filmmakers opted to spend an extra year honing the final shooting script, rather than rushing into production.
"The release dates were usually chosen and the producers were forced to back into it," says Chris McGurk, MGM's vice chairman and chief operating officer. "We took more time with this one. We made a more conscious decision to try to really take the franchise to another level.
"We have a better script which ups the thriller quotient - bigger action sequences, bigger stars. When you have a two-year cycle and don't have a finished script, it makes it harder to round out the best promotional partners. We really benefited by having an extra year to put all of that together."
The pie, which bows domestically Nov. 22, two days after its U.K. bow, is the latest installment in Hollywood's most successful franchise to date. It's Pierce Brosnan's fourth outing as Bond and he once again is being shepherded by producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, whose Danjaq and Eon Prods. have tightly held the reins of the franchise since 1962's "Dr. No."
The Bond character has become a cultural pop icon recognized worldwide, a suave sophisticate who is a connoisseur of the best in life - the best cars, the best food, the best everything - which is why brands are so eager to connect their products to 007.
A few of the winners: * Ford is spending $35 million to replace BMW as the franchise's official auto supplier and put Bond behind the wheel of an Aston Martin again, the $228,000 Vanquish. Ford's new Thunderbird and a supercharged Jaguar also will be spotlighted in the pic.
* Finlandia has replaced Smirnoff as Bond's vodka of choice. Meanwhile, 007 continues to prefer Bollinger's champagne and Heineken beer, while soft-drink maker 7 Up will launch a sweepstakes in the U.S. dubbed "Agent 007 Up." Pepsi is Bond's international partner.
* On Bond's wrist again: an Omega watch. Swatch also is releasing timepieces designed for every Bond movie made.
* British Airways flies Bond first-class in the film.
* Visa will promote "Day" to its millions of cardholders.
* Alongside Bond, Brioni Roman Style is outfitting British secret-service chief M (Judi Dench) and her assistant Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) in $4,000 hand-tailored suits.
* Revlon is planning its latest global promotion around new Bond leading lady and company spokeswoman Halle Berry.
* Philips Electronics is outfitting 007 with not only a cell phone, but a Norelco electric shaver.
AUTO EROTIC: Long before product placement was common, "Goldfinger" made Aston Martin unforgettable to filmgoers.
Other partners include Best Buy, Sony, Circuit City, Ski-Doo and Vodafone.
It's not that MGM is worried Bond will be a failure. The previous three outings generated $300 million-plus apiece worldwide at the B.O., with each pic outperforming the previous domestically, and proving a huge success on homevideo and other ancillary arenas.
But the Lion needs something to roar about. And loudly.
"Barbershop" may have proved a much-needed success story, but after a dismal year of expensive duds like "Windtalkers," "Hart's War" and "Rollerball," MGM is relying on Bond, now more than ever, to make the studio a major player again.
Considering Bond's longlasting appeal, MGM feels there's no reason why "Day" can't perform on the same scale as other action franchises such as Paramount's "Mission: Impossible," whose spy sequel topped out at $546 million worldwide at the B.O.
"We're thrilled that the last three have done $300 million worldwide, and we'd be happy if this one did the same," McGurk says."But we feel this franchise has the potential to do even more. We're not saying it's going to happen, but we've designed a movie that has the potential to do that. We've taken the chances to take the franchise to another level. This Bond has the goods."
The marketing machine has been thrown into high gear, with a crowd-pleasing, actionpacked trailer hitting theaters this past weekend and Madonna's theme song playing the radio airwaves.
Sponsors also are beginning to blanket the media with their co-promotions. They need "Day" to be a hit with auds, especially as some companies are looking to Bond as a way to improve their images.
Ford's starring role in the pic comes as the U.S. automaker is trying to boost sluggish sales and turn around an image recently tarnished by quality issues.
Meanwhile, British subsid Aston Martin is trying to make a comeback and hopes "Day 19 will turn its vehicles into musthaves among the upper class again. Bond first drove an Aston Martin in 1964's "Goldfinger," cementing the car's name and image in the minds of millions of moviegoers, at a time when product placement was virtually nonexistent.
"There's no single product placement in the industry more iconic than James Bond's car," says Jan Valentic, Ford Motor Co.'s veep of global marketing.
"No other films better capture the aggressive performance of the chase scene and sex appeal of the spy game better than the James Bond films. He has become a piece of global pop culture, and there was genuine appreciation when we announced last year that he would again drive an Aston Martin."
And 7 Up is going through an identity crisis in the highly competitive beverage biz and is looking at "Day" as a way to appeal to younger buyers.
"James Bond is one of the most widely recognized franchises in the United States, especially with the 7 Up target audience, in which nearly 94% of 12- to 17-year-olds have seen a James Bond movie," says Kelli Freeman, director of brand marketing for 7Up.
The potential prosperity of a studio, let alone a consumer brand, is a lot to rest on Bond's shoulders. But they're putting a lot of stock in Bond, on the assumption that they will find riches thanks to the touch of his gold finger.
One thing's for certain: It's not only fans who want Bond to die another day.
BOND B.O. NEVER DIES
MGM is hoping "Die Another Day" will surpass the previous James Bond installment, which is also the franchise's highest grosser globally.
JAMES BOND IS BACK AND THE NET'S CLOSING
By Chris Price: Edited By Tricia Philips
HIGHLIGHT: MUSIC: Madonna's video for Die Another Day; OH-OH: Jinx (Halle; Berry) strapped to a diamond-cutting bench by Zao (Rick Yune); TITFER TAT:; Oddjob and his killer hat; STILETTO: Rosa and her flick-knife shoe; ACTION; MAN: You can download screensavers of Pierce Brosnan as Bond
October 11, 2002
FORTY years after he first hit our screens, James Bond is ready to foil the world's most fiendish villains once more.
November 20 marks the release of the latest Bond movie, Die Another Day, while next week London's Science Museum celebrates the milestone anniversary with a James Bond exhibition. Bond, James Bond features a stunning collection of some of the most famous gadgets, from Rosa Klebb's infamous flick-knife shoe to Oddjob's killer bowler hat. It also provides interactive areas where Bond fans can pretend to be the world's most famous secret agent. Wannabes will first undertake a mission briefing in M's office before visiting Q's workshop where they come face-to -face with spying's latest gadgets.
Further information on the exhibition, which runs until next March, can be found at www.science museum.org.uk
Another good site for fans is the official website, www.james bond.com Mainly aimed at broadband users with fast internet connection speeds, it's a real audio and visual feast with the obligatory Bond theme music (nearly all Bond sites have this) and impressive graphics.
Here you can download screensavers and images of the cast (including Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry), as well as view forthcoming movie trailers in Quicktime or Windows Media Player. Unfortunately, information is restricted to Die Another Day.
If it is the older Bond movies that interest you, unofficial site Agent James Bond (www.agentjamesbond.com) has extensive details of all the Bond movies since 1962's Dr No. There's also a James Bond film ranking with George Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service taking top spot and Never Say Never Again in last place.
Also provided is a Casino Royale games section, where you can pit your wits against your PC at poker or backgammon, and a strategy games section where you make decisions as if you are Bond on a mission.
Several websites provide downloads of theme tunes and movie dialogue. One of the best is http: /bondsounds.members.easy space.com Here you can download Madonna's Die Another Day (for personal use only, of course) as well as classic sound clips such as "My name's Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred".
Another great site for downloads is the James Bond Multimedia site (www.jamesbondmm. co.uk). It has more than 200 MP3 sound clips and an extensive image gallery with scary pictures of all 55 villains and henchmen.
You can also download James Bond ringtones and it has a merchandise area, selling photographs and posters in conjunction with www.moviemarket.co.uk
Finally, check out www. spyguise.com It's a great place to buy anything James Bond. Included are 12in figurines and a miniature limited-edition Thunderball Aston Martin DB5. Could be the closest you'll get to owning the real thing.
Bond, James Bond runs from October 16 to March 2003 at the Science Museum (South Kensington). Adults pounds 8.95, children/ concessions pounds 6.95.
By Adrienne C. Dellwo
Competition in the automotive sport-utility market continues to rev up, as at least 11 new SUVs will drive onto the playing field for the 2003 model year, along with a host of new midsize sedans and high-performance sports cars.
From the sporty new five-passenger Honda Element SUV, with a base price of $16,000, to the Cadillac Escalade ESV, an upscale version of the Chevy Suburban for which pricing isnıt available yet, the newest SUVs span a wide range of sizes and price levels. Asian automakers and foreign and domestic luxury-car manufacturers are expanding their lines to the point that some now offer nearly as many SUV models as Ford and Chevrolet, which have dominated that niche.
Meanwhile, Mercury is introducing a powerful new muscle car called the Marauder; Nissan is introducing a Z car that calls to mind the once popular Datsun 240Z; BMW is replacing the Z3, which Pierce Brosnan drove in a James Bond movie; and Mercedes has an ultra powerful new sports car thatıs pricedgulp!well into the six figures.
DOUBLE AGENTS
Bond girl Halle helps 007 copy blasts from his past
By John Millar
October 13, 2002, Sunday
OSCAR winner Halle Berry celebrates James Bond's 40th screen birthday by
reliving classic scenes for 007's latest outing, Die Another Day.
Fans will do a double take as Halle and Pierce Brosnan, as Bond, recreate a scene from 1964's Goldfinger.
Only this time it's Halle and not 007 who is strapped down and faces being zapped by a deadly laser.
Director Lee Tamahori told the Sunday Mail that fans should spot about 20 references to the old movies in the new Bond when it is released on November 20.
He said: "It is the 20th Bond film, so I've tried to jam in as many references as we could get.
"I asked where all the old props were so that, when we go into Q Division, all that stuff is there, even the Aston Martin and the ejector seat.
"We've been having fun with all that old stuff."
Halle, who won an Oscar for The Monster Ball, plays an action girl called Jinx.
Fans will also see her emerge from the surf in a revealing bikini with a dagger at her side.
The scene is the double of Ursula Andress's famous entrance in the first Bond movie, 1962's Dr No.
The "Bond, James Bond" exhibition, which opens Oct. 16, boasts the biggest collection of Bond memorabilia ever assembled, including exploding plaster casts, laser-firing watches, bulletproof racing cars and exotic costumes worn by "Bond girls."
"We have 100 different things from the 20 Bond films so far, including at least one from every film," Nicola Osmond Evans, a spokeswoman for the museum, said Friday.
The exhibition, which will fill up two floors, will open just over a week after Saturday's 40th anniversary of "Dr. No," the first screen outing for 007, based on the novel by Ian Fleming and starring Sean Connery as Bond.
Visitors can participate in an interactive (news - external web site) computer game testing their potential as a secret service officer, and watch unseen film footage and out-takes of several stunts.
The exhibition will run until March when it will transfer to the United States.
The latest installment in the spy franchise, "Die Another Day," starring Pierce Brosnan, is scheduled for release later this year.
Science Museum Web site: http://www.sciencemuseum
Oct 3
Through the 1960s, Bondıs stock rose both as a cinematic and literary property and as a symbol of the emergent new Britain. He wasnıt quite a Swinging London type too old, too much in bed with the establishment, too enamoured of the mores and creature comforts and vices of the greying generation.
But he was perhaps something more: a palpable icon of British economic, stylistic and, yes, sexual potency, one of the few emblems of the ³special relationship² between the US and the UK. If there was, in some fusty intellectual corners, a resistance to Bondıs pleasure-seeking antics and his geopolitical hard line, it was more than swept away by the box-office for the films, which reached a height in 1965 with Thunderball and its global gross of $141m.
As the decade wore on and the hypothetical nightmares of the cold war took a back seat to the reality of Vietnam, Bond came to seem less a viable political operative than a Mardi Gras float, complete with giganticised special effects, increasingly elaborate sets and villains who seemed less from the eastern bloc than from the moon. The rough and tumble of Dr No and From Russia With Love gradually morphed into the outer-space hijackings and hollowed-out volcano that served as the villainıs lair in You Only Live Twice.
Connery pried himself loose of Bond at the end of the 1960s for a couple of years (and some sorry films), only to find himself playing the role once again in 1971ıs Diamonds Are Forever. In his absence, the role went to another newcomer, model and actor George Lazenby, who wasnıt nearly as bad as everybody remembers but not exactly worth calling home about, either. His one film, On Her Majestyıs Secret Service, felt more akin to the early, quasi-realistic Bond films. It has grown in reputation since its release (even as, in adjusted dollars, it remains the lowest-grossing film in the series). But once Connery was back in the fold the film was quickly forgotten .
Roger Moore. Just as we must live with the fact that todayıs boy bands sell more records than the Beatles did in the 1960s, we must acknowledge that all but one of Mooreıs Bond films (The Man With the Golden Gun) grossed more than all of Conneryıs except Goldfinger and Thunderball. Of course, the fact has to do with the mechanisms of economic inflation and the coincidence of Mooreıs reign with the advent of the modern Hollywood blockbuster The Exorcist, Jaws, Star Wars and all that rather than with a public preference for Mooreıs work over Conneryıs. Indeed, until the heyday of chesty rascals Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is hard to recall a film superstar whose work was so simultaneously mocked and well attended as Mooreıs. But there it is nevertheless: Bond was never more popular around the world, probably, than when Roger Moore played him.
Moore had tested for the role and lost it narrowly to Connery a decade before assuming it in 1973 with Live and Let Die, but it is hard to imagine that he could have launched the series as well as Connery did. Rather, Moore entered a full-steam enterprise and stood by in a kind of numb, avuncular bemusement as it progressed from action thrillers to special effects comedies and on to near irrelevance. Just as it was becoming increasingly unlikely that MI6 would save the world, Bond in the 1970s and early 1980s drifted out of reality altogether, and Moore presided over the transformation like the dim-bulb eldest son of a decaying, old family.
By the time Moore was done with James Bond, the
