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Tomorrow Never Dies

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For the video game see Tomorrow Never Dies (video game)

Template:Infobox Film Bond Tomorrow Never Dies is the 18th film in the James Bond series and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein is credited as writing the screenplay, although it received input from several writers, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering world events and starting World War III.

It was released in late 1997, by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and was the first Bond film made after the death of veteran producer Albert R. Broccoli. After GoldenEye had reinvigorated the series, there was pressure on its follow-up to be equally successful. This pressure caused tension and there were reports of creative disputes on set; official sources denied that this occurred. Although not achieving the same level of success as GoldenEye, it performed well in the box office and received many positive reviews. It won several awards, mostly for its score by David Arnold and title song by Sheryl Crow.

Production

After the success of GoldenEye in reviving the Bond series, there was pressure to recreate that success in its follow-up. This pressure came both from MGM, which had recently been sold to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian who wanted the release to coincide with their public stock offering,[1] and the worldwide audience, with co-producer Michael G. Wilson saying "You realize that there's a huge audience and I guess you don't want to come out with a film that's going to somehow disappoint them."[1] This was the first Bond film to be made after the death of Albert R. Broccoli, who had been involved with the production of them since the series began. The rush to complete it meant the budget spiralled to around $110 million.[1][2]

The producers were unable to get Martin Campbell, the director of GoldenEye, to return; his agent saying "Martin just didn't want to do two Bond films in a row". Instead, Roger Spottiswoode was chosen in September 1996.[3] The story had its roots in a treatment written by Donald E. Westlake, although what influence it eventually had is unknown.[4] Bruce Feirstein, who had worked on GoldenEye, penned the initial script which was then passed to Spottiswoode who reworked it. He gathered seven Hollywood screenwriters in London to brainstorm, eventually choosing Nicholas Meyer to perform rewrites.[3] The script was also worked on by Dan Petrie Jr and David Campbell Wilson before Feirstein, who retained the sole writing credit, was brought in for a final polish.[4]

Script

The scriptwriting process was finished very late and after lengthy disputes. Spottiswoode said that MGM had a script in January 1997 revolving around Hong Kong being returned to the Chinese, which happened in June; this couldn't be used for a film opening at the end of the year, so they had to start "almost from scratch at T-minus zero!"[5] Wilson said ""we didn't have a script that was ready to shoot on the first day of filming", with Brosnan saying "we had a script that was not functioning in certain areas."[1] The Daily Mail reported on arguments between Spottiswoode and the producers with the former favouring the Petrie version, but the latter reinstating Feirstein to rewrite it two weeks before filming was due to begin. They also said that Pryce and Hatcher were unhappy with their new roles, causing further rescripting.[6] The title came about by accident: one of the potential titles was Tomorrow Never Lies (referring to the Tomorrow newspaper in the story) and it was faxed to MGM. However, through an error it became Tomorrow Never Dies, which MGM liked so much they insisted on using.[5]

Filming

File:JB HALO.png
James Bond performing a HALO jump.

Second unit filming began on 18 January 1997 with Vic Armstrong directing; they filmed the pre-credits sequence in the French Pyrenees and moved on to Portsmouth to film the scenes where the Royal Navy prepares to engage the Chinese.[4] The main unit began filming on 1 April. They were unable to use the Leavesden Film Studios, which they had constructed from an abandoned Rolls-Royce factory GoldenEye, as George Lucas was using it for Star Wars Episode I, so instead they constructed sound stages in another derelict industrial site nearby. They also used the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios.[3]

They planned to film some of the scenes on location in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and had been granted a visa. This was later rescinded, two months after planning had begun, forcing filming to move to Bangkok, Thailand. Some claim the Chinese government put pressure on Vietnam to do this, because they were unhappy with the story involving corrupt Chinese generals doing the bidding of a media tycoon. However, Bond spokesman Gordon Arnell claimed the Vietnamese were merely unhappy with crew and equipment needed for pyrotechnics, with a Vietnamese official saying it was due to "many complicated reasons".[7]

The car chase sequence took three weeks to film, with Brent Cross car park being used to simulate Hamburg (although the final leap was filmed on location[8]). A stunt involving setting fire to three vehicles produced more smoke than anticipated, causing a member of public to call the fire brigade.[9] Two locations from previous Bond films were used: Brosnan and Hatcher's love scene was filmed at Stoke Poges golf club, which had featured in Goldfinger, and the bay where they search for Carver's stealth boat is Khow-Ping-Khan island near Phuket, Thailand, previously used for The Man with the Golden Gun.[8][4]

During filming, there were reports of disputes on set. The Daily Mail reported that Spottiswoode and Feirstein were no longer on speaking terms and that crew members had threatened to resign, with one saying "All the happiness and teamwork which is the hallmark of Bond has disappeared completely."[6] This was denied by Brosnan who claimed "It was nothing more than good old creative argy-bargy",[1] with Spottiswoode saying "It has all been made up...Nothing important really went wrong."[5] Spottiswoode did not return to direct the next film; he said the producers asked him, but he was too tired.[5] Apparently, Brosnan and Hatcher feuded briefly during filming due to her arriving late onto the set one day. The matter was quickly resolved though and Brosnan apologized to Hatcher after realizing she was pregnant and was late for that reason. [10]

Plot

File:TNDVillainElliotCarver.jpg
Elliot Carver

The film begins at a terrorist arms bazaar "somewhere on the Russian border". MI6 has sent Bond (Pierce Brosnan) into the field to survey trades and purchases by the terrorists. They identify Henry Gupta (Ricky Jay), who has purchased an American GPS encoder. A missile strike is ordered on the position, but they then realise there are two Soviet nuclear torpedos mounted on a plane, potentially causing radioactive contamination. Bond is able to hijack the plane with the torpedoes and flies to safety after a struggle with a pilot who tries to strangle him; Gupta also escapes, with the encoder.

The encoder is used by media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), as a tool to start a war between the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom; this is to gain an exclusive marketing device to launch his new worldwide television network. He uses the encoder to send a British frigate, HMS Devonshire, off-course in the South China Sea, where Carver's own stealth ship is located. Carver's henchman, Mr. Stamper (Götz Otto), sinks the frigate and shoots down a Chinese fighter plane sent out to investigate. The British thought they had been attacked by the Chinese, and Admiral Roebuck gives M (Judi Dench) 48 hours to investigate before they retaliate.

File:Bondwailinsaigonbike.jpg
Wai Lin and Bond in the bike chase in Saigon

Bond is sent by M to investigate Carver, after MI6 identifies a spurious signal sent from one of his communications satellites at the time the warship was sunk. Bond travels to Hamburg and seduces Carver's wife, Paris (Teri Hatcher), whom he had previously been involved in a relationship with; the information Bond gains helps him infiltrate Carver's headquarters and steal the GPS encoder. When Elliot Carver finds out, he has Paris killed and tries unsuccessfully to kill Bond too. Bond travels to the South China Sea to investigate the wreck of the Devonshire, discovering that several missiles have been taken. He and a Chinese spy also investigating the ship, Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), are captured by Carver, but escape and begin working together.

They contact British and Chinese fleets to explain what happens, then find and board Carver's stealth ship, to try to prevent him firing the missiles at Beijing. Carver kills Gupta, claiming he has 'outlived his contract', but Bond goes on to kill both Stamper and Carver, and damage the ship, allowing it to be seen and fired at by the British fleet; Bond and Wai Lin escape the vessel as it is destroyed.

Vehicles and gadgets

Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles, List of James Bond gadgets, and List of James Bond guns
MiG
  • BMW 750i: Used in Germany, the car has a security system forbidding access unless first disarmed via mobile phone; a fingerprint-controlled glove box; armaments including sunroof rockets, deployable caltrops (out of rear bumper), re-inflatable tyres, and a wire-cutter (hidden under the BMW logo on the hood); and remote operation via Bond's phone.
  • Stealth ship: This ship is invisible to radar and is used by Carver to attack the British and Chinese forces.
  • Cigarette lighter grenade: Used in the prologue, this is a grenade disguised as a functioning cigarette lighter.
File:HMS Richmond F239 (Type 23 class frigate).jpg
A Type 23 class frigate was used for the HMS Devonshire
  • MiG - Russian fighter plane used in the intro sequence at the terrorist arms bazaar.
  • Ericsson JB988 mobile phone: Bond's phone, which can also function as a stun gun, fingerprint scanner, electronic lockpick and remote-control for his car (a small LCD screen displaying the view from the front).
  • Omega Seamaster 300M Professional Chronometer: Bond takes this from a Chinese safehouse and uses it to remotely break a glass jar holding a hand grenade. This continues Bond's use of Omega watches from GoldenEye.
  • Walther P99: Also from the Chinese safehouse, Bond replaces his trademark Walther PPK with the Walther P99. Bond has used the Walther P99 in every subsequent film.

Cast

File:Stamper1.jpg
Stamper

Release

The film had a World Charity Premiere at The Odeon Leicester Square, on December 9 1997; this was followed by an after premiere party at Bedford Square, home of original Ian Fleming publisher, Jonathan Cape.[19] The film went on general release in the UK and Iceland on December 12, and in most other countries during the following week.[20] It performed well at the box office achieving a worldwide gross of over $333 million,[21] the fourth highest of 1997;[22] it did not surpass its predecessor GoldenEye, which made almost $20 million more.[23]

Reception

The critical reception of the film was mixed, with the film review collection website Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 53% Fresh approval,[24] and similar site Metacritic rating it at 56%.[25] In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four-stars, saying "Tomorrow Never Dies gets the job done, sometimes excitingly, often with style" with the villain "slightly more contemporary and plausible than usual", bringing "some subtler-than-usual satire into the film".[26] James Berardinelli described it as "the best Bond film in many years" and said Brosnan "inhabits his character with a suave confidence that is very like Connery's."[27] However, in the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan thought a lot of Tomorrow Never Dies had a "stodgy, been-there feeling", with little change from previous films,[28] and Charles Taylor wrote for Salon.com that the film was "a flat, impersonal affair".[29]

The title song sung by Sheryl Crow was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Original Song - Motion Picture" and a Grammy for "Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television". The film received four nominations for Saturn Awards, with Brosnan winning "Best Actor". It also won a MPSE Golden Reel Award for "Best Sound Editing - Foreign Feature" and a BMI Film Music Award.[30]

Soundtrack

After Éric Serra's soundtrack for GoldenEye was received poorly, Barbara Broccoli chose David Arnold to score Tomorrow Never Dies, on a recommendation from prolific Bond composer John Barry.[31] Arnold came to Barry's attention for his successful cover interpretations in Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, which featured major artists performing classic James Bond title songs. The reception was better, with Filmtracks describing it as "an excellent tribute to the entire series of Bond score",[32] and Arnold was brought back to score the subsequent three films. The theme was chosen through a competitive process. There were around twelve submissions, including songs from Pulp, Saint Etienne, Marc Almond, Sheryl Crow and David Arnold.[33] Crow's song was chosen for the main titles while David Arnold's song "Surrender" featuring k.d. lang was used for the end titles.[32] Both songs include the phrase "tomorrow never dies", making this the only Bond film with two legitimate theme songs.

Other media

File:TomorrowNeverDiesNovel.jpg
1997 British Coronet Books paperback edition.

Tomorrow Never Dies was the first of three Bond films to be adapted into books by then-current Bond novelist, Raymond Benson. Benson's version is expanded from the screenplay including additional scenes with Wai Lin and other supporting characters not in the film. The book also attempts to merge his series with the films, particularly continuing a middle of the road approach to John Gardner's continuity. Continuation with the film series is also largely middle of the road. Notably it includes a reference to the film version of You Only Live Twice where he states that Bond was lying to Miss Moneypenny when he said he had taken a course in Oriental languages. This was done to counter the scene in Tomorrow Never Dies where Bond is unable to read a Chinese keyboard and type a message to his superiors, although this scene does not appear in the novelisation. Curiously, this contradicts Benson's own series since in the previous book, Zero Minus Ten, Bond is able to speak fluent Cantonese. Tomorrow Never Dies also mentions Felix Leiter, although it states that Felix had worked for Pinkertons Detective Agency which is thus far exclusive to the literary series, although this may be a continuation of Gardner's novelisation of Licence to Kill, which also attempted to bridge the literary and cinematic series. Subsequent Bond novels by Raymond Benson were effected by Tomorrow Never Dies, specifically Bond's weapon of choice being changed from the Walther PPK to the Walther P99.

The film was adapted into a third-person shooter Sony PlayStation video game, Tomorrow Never Dies. It was developed by Black Ops and published by Electronic Arts on November 16 1999. The game was poorly-received: Game Revolution described it as "really just an empty and shallow game",[34] and IGN said it was "mediocre".[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ashton, Richard (1997). "Tomorrow Never Dies". hmss.com. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  2. ^ "Business Data for Tomorrow Never Dies". IMDB. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  3. ^ a b c d "Latest Bond Production Shaken, Stirred". Variety. 1996-12-08. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e "Production Notes - Tomorrow Never Dies". mi6.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d Collette, Kevin (2004-04-10). "Yesterday's 'Tomorrow': Spottiswoode Interview". ianfleming.org. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b Shooter, Anne (1997-05-27). "Bond in the Crossfire". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "China Resists Western Efforts to Bond". New York Daily News. 1997-03-10. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ a b "Tomorrow Never Dies filming locations". movielocations.com. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  9. ^ Keeling, Judith (1997-06-17). "Bond Goes Down A Bomb In Brent Cross". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Brosnan Bares All For Playboy". Playboy. 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  11. ^ Ferguson, Amy. "Back In Action". Tribute. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. ^ Cohen, David (1997-02-11). "Bond girl Yeoh gets licence to thrill 007". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ "Bond Leading Lady Won't Do Stunts". Associated Press. 1997-05-21. Retrieved 2007-01-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ "Much More Than Just A Bond Girl". South China Morning Post. 1997-05-30. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  15. ^ Johns, Elizabeth (1997-05-02). "Teri Hatcher Pregnant". E!. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  16. ^ "Hatcher regrets Bond movie". Yahoo! News. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  17. ^ "Brosnan Bares All For Playboy". Playboy. 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2007-01-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  18. ^ Dye, Kerry Douglas (1999-11-15). "His Word is Bond: An Interview With 007 Screenwriter Bruce Feirstein". LeisureSuit.net. Retrieved 2007-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ "Tomorrow Never Dies - The Premiere & Press". mi6.co.uk. 2003-12-12. Retrieved 2007-01-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Release dates for Tomorrow Never Dies". IMDB. Retrieved 2006-01-14.
  21. ^ "Tomorrow Never Dies". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  22. ^ "1997 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  23. ^ "GoldenEye". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  24. ^ "Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  25. ^ "Tomorrow Never Dies". metacritic.com. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  26. ^ Ebert, Roger (1997-12-19). "Tomorrow Never Dies". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Berardinelli, James (1997). "Tomorrow Never Dies". www.reelviews.net. Retrieved 2006-01-13.
  28. ^ Turan, Kenneth (1997-12-19). "Tomorrow Never Dies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Taylor, Charles (1997-12-19). "Stale Bonding". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "Awards for Tomorrow Never Dies". IMDB. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  31. ^ Macnee, Patrick (Narrator). The Bond Sound: The Music of 007 (DVD (Documentary)).
  32. ^ a b "Review of Original Album". filmtracks.com. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  33. ^ James Bond's Greatest Hits (Television). UK: North One Television. 2006.
  34. ^ Liu, Johnny (December 1999). "Tomorrow Never Dies". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  35. ^ Perry, Doug (1999-11-19). "Tomorrow Never Dies". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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