Die Another Day: From Script to Screen
Firemass
AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
Seeing as it's Die Another Day appreciation week I got out the ultimate edition DVD and watched all the special features first and then turned on Brosnan & Rosamund Pike's audio commentary track for the film.
"From Script to Screen" is a 50 minute documentary on the whole process of making a Bond film and very, very interesting. You get to see pre-production meetings, casting, location scouting, costume design, screenwriting brainstorming sessions, stunt fighting auditions, and director workshops. It really shows what a monumental task it is to put together a Bond film.
However, what makes it most interesting is the fact that D.A.D is considered a disaster by many fans. So you have all these interviews from the optimistic filmmaking team about the pressure of not screwing it up. Lee Tamahori mentions that he doesn't want to be the ONE to make a turkey of a Bond film. Michael G Wilson and Barbara discuss how they want to focus character development and stay true to Cubby's vision. Purvis and Wade are busy trying to incorporate unused Fleming elements into the screenplay. Yet despite all these good intentions D.A.D veered way off course in certain areas. In fact, Tamahori even states that Bond should win because he's a better driver, not because he has a better car. Yet, in the film his car is invisible. WTF ?
"Shaken and Stirred on Ice" Features the making of the fantastic car chase on the ice between Zao's Jaguar and Bond in the Aston Martin. Even more interesting are the interviews with the CGI team responsible for the godawful ice surfing sequence. Seeing their faces and hearing their excitement is sort of sad considering that CGI is considered the worst ever Bond moment. It's hard to dislike the film when you are face-to-face with all the folks who worked so hard to make it.
The other featurettes were decent and I learned that Roger's daughter Deborah Moore is the Air Hostess who serves Bond his shaken martini.
Pierce and Rosamund's commentary track was quite entertaining. Piece claims he had to perform the surfing stunts in the PTS because the stuntmen chickened out.
) Apparently the cargo jet finale was an 11th hour re-write. Too bad, I wonder what the original script looked like. He also made a lot of comments about not being able to visit Iceland and instead doing most of the scenes in the Pinewood backlot or Green Screen. He also discusses how someday he will have to hand over his PPK to the next bloke playing 007, but obviously has no idea that his time is already up. Kind of depressing really.
Rosamund aka Miranda Frost's commentary was really enjoyable. She had never seen a Bond film prior to auditioning for the part of Gala Brand, so she rented Goldeneye and loved it. After getting the part, she did her homework and watched all 19 of the Bond films. Among other things, she wished Bond's underwater dive lasted longer and the laserfight had fewer lasers.
Overall, I would highly encourage all AJB members to give Die Another Day an in-depth rewatching because despite some dodgy moments, it's still a great Bond film. :x
"From Script to Screen" is a 50 minute documentary on the whole process of making a Bond film and very, very interesting. You get to see pre-production meetings, casting, location scouting, costume design, screenwriting brainstorming sessions, stunt fighting auditions, and director workshops. It really shows what a monumental task it is to put together a Bond film.
However, what makes it most interesting is the fact that D.A.D is considered a disaster by many fans. So you have all these interviews from the optimistic filmmaking team about the pressure of not screwing it up. Lee Tamahori mentions that he doesn't want to be the ONE to make a turkey of a Bond film. Michael G Wilson and Barbara discuss how they want to focus character development and stay true to Cubby's vision. Purvis and Wade are busy trying to incorporate unused Fleming elements into the screenplay. Yet despite all these good intentions D.A.D veered way off course in certain areas. In fact, Tamahori even states that Bond should win because he's a better driver, not because he has a better car. Yet, in the film his car is invisible. WTF ?
"Shaken and Stirred on Ice" Features the making of the fantastic car chase on the ice between Zao's Jaguar and Bond in the Aston Martin. Even more interesting are the interviews with the CGI team responsible for the godawful ice surfing sequence. Seeing their faces and hearing their excitement is sort of sad considering that CGI is considered the worst ever Bond moment. It's hard to dislike the film when you are face-to-face with all the folks who worked so hard to make it.
The other featurettes were decent and I learned that Roger's daughter Deborah Moore is the Air Hostess who serves Bond his shaken martini.
Pierce and Rosamund's commentary track was quite entertaining. Piece claims he had to perform the surfing stunts in the PTS because the stuntmen chickened out.
) Apparently the cargo jet finale was an 11th hour re-write. Too bad, I wonder what the original script looked like. He also made a lot of comments about not being able to visit Iceland and instead doing most of the scenes in the Pinewood backlot or Green Screen. He also discusses how someday he will have to hand over his PPK to the next bloke playing 007, but obviously has no idea that his time is already up. Kind of depressing really.Rosamund aka Miranda Frost's commentary was really enjoyable. She had never seen a Bond film prior to auditioning for the part of Gala Brand, so she rented Goldeneye and loved it. After getting the part, she did her homework and watched all 19 of the Bond films. Among other things, she wished Bond's underwater dive lasted longer and the laserfight had fewer lasers.
Overall, I would highly encourage all AJB members to give Die Another Day an in-depth rewatching because despite some dodgy moments, it's still a great Bond film. :x
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Comments
Oddly, reading this made me a bit melancholy. One of my main issues with DAD is that it seemed like it could have been a much better film than it was. The behind-the-scenes stuff you address just reinforces my feeling that there was quite a bit of wasted potential. I wonder how those involved feel about the final film today.
Regarding Brosnan talking about the day he will "hand over his PPK to the next bloke playing 007," but obviously having "no idea that his time is already up...." I agree, that is rather depressing. Though I am an unabashed fan of Daniel Craig and the newer Bond films, I also liked Brosnan and didn't care for the way he was unceremoniously dumped. I wished he had made at least one more Bond film.
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Lots of Fleming material from Moonraker
Col. Moon (reference to Col Sun by Amis)
References to the previous 19 films
The ice palace was cool and I guess even the invisible Aston Martin. It was actually a great swan song to the classic Bond era. Kind of like the two part story "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Steel" back in 1986. Let's have one last hurrah before we reboot things.
+1. Not the greatest Bond film by a long chalk, but not deserving of the hatred it gets.
Me too. Three more, to be honest...
DAD suffers because it's sandwiched between TWINE (a big hit, with a relatively original plotline in that the main girl turns out to be the major antagonist, colourful characters (Coltrane being especially engaging and Flemingesque), the standout pts, and perhaps Brosnan's best performance in the role, plus Judi Dench being central to the story- though not as central as she would be in SF) and CR (new and controversial Bond, unconventional plot structure, reboot, best adaptation of Fleming's first novel). There's no denying that it has weak points but it's far from the worst 007 flick there is.
It's been said before (not least by me), but the first half of DAD is superb and it's the second part that lets it down; it's not unique among Bond films in that, though it may be the worst example.
I think you've hit upon its major problem, Barbel, which is how uneven it is. It really does feel like a film of two halves, more than any other in the series.
It starts with a torture sequence, Bond being suspected of treachery by M, disavowed by MI6 and acting as a rogue agent (shades of LTK and QoS) but then, halfway through, introduces laser battles, invisible cars, ice palaces and the campest villain since Charles Gray's Blofeld.
It's as though, for the fortieth anniversary and twentieth film, the producers wanted to create a Greatest Hits movie. But the uneven tone just doesn't work.
It's a shame because if the second half of the followed through on the setup, focussing on Miranda Frost, Colonel Moon and a Bond who's trying to clear his name; and ditched Jinx, Graves and the MR-style sci-fi, it really could have been a good one.
Has there ever been any information about the form "Bond 21" would have taken before Eon decided to reboot? Or was the decision made before work on Brosnan's fifth film began? Does anyone know?
11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Upon rewatching the film I now disagree that D.A.D has a distinct good half and a bad half. My logic being that I really, REALLY love the ice palace, romance with Frost, the car chase, and Bond driving through the melting palace with the Aston Martin. The tropical biodome is pretty cool as well. Both Zao and Miranda Frost are among my favorite of all 007 villains.
Even the invisible car doesn't bother me that much anymore. At least Bond is no longer driving a BMW!
There's only 2 scenes that really suck:
A. Bond's escape on the ice-speeder and ensuing glacier escape only to hitchhike back to the biodome. They should have just cut to the chase! (with Zao)
B. The cargo jet climax is pretty goofy with Graves in his full battle armour. But the scene with the red Ferrari sticking in the mud almost makes up for it.
In a way, Die Another Day reminds me of the Goldeneye pre-title sequence. They already had enough material to make a great film, but went overboard and added too much. Then again, it's foolish for me, or any fan, to think that we know better than the filmmakers. After watching the special features it's clear the best minds in the business were working hard to try and make this the best film possible.
One thing Pierce mentions in the commentary is the target audience for Bond is now age 12 to 112 from new comers to seasoned Bond fanatics and it's really hard to please everyone.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Lets not forget that DAD was a much bigger hit at the box office than TWINE. So they must have done something right...it's not like it flopped or anything.
Although I consider Jinx to be the weakest Bond girl (no substance or meaningful conversations at all) this was fortunately offset by Miranda Frost who was simply outstanding. Much like with TWINE and Elektra being more compelling than the main Bond girl Christmas.
The PTS in Die Another Day is possibly the best in the series. Right up there with Tomorrow Never Dies and Octopussy. Do you ever get the feeling the entire Brosnan era is a reworking of the Octopussy PTS?
Zao is perhaps the last great Bond henchman, especially with the diamond acne. I also love his AVTAK-esque photo&background check in the PTS.
I can't differentiate between Brosnan's 4 performances that much...they were all great.
Die Another Day has everything that TWINE offered and MORE! A bit too much more...
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I would agree with that. Actually, she did a great job with her action scenes. Emerging from the water in the orange bikini, assassinating the doctor, sprinting in the rain with her silenced pistol, and diving off the fortress. One of the best scenes in the movie was Bond rescuing her by ramming the Aston through the icewall and then shattered the windshield.
Her Oscar-calibur acting skills were squandered by a weak script. But hey, gotta love a hot babe with a silencer. -{
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
At the time, I was happy for Pierce Brosnan to do one more, hopefully follow up DAD with a more realistic film similar to For Your Eyes Only after Moonraker. But it wasn't to be.
I don't get it. What from the Moonraker novel was in Die Another Day?
I would agree with the previous Bond film references. That's about the only thing I liked about the film.
Thanks for that, but it's still not a patch on Moonraker. Bond didn't discover Drax's plan and who he really was after a meeting in Blades - all he discovered was that Drax cheats at Bridge. He only found out about it when he was about to be tortured. Gala Brand does not betray James Bond, she is the Bond girl who we find out, when the mission was complete, that she was already dating someone. There was no game of Bridge, no all German workforce with a bald head and moustaches, no rockets ... more importantly, no mystery, no suspense, no intrigue in the Die Another Day script.
If Die Another Day was meant to be a tribute to Fleming's Moonraker, the it has failed miserably.
There were elements from Moonraker (novel)... not an adaptation, just like LTK had elements from LALD (novel)
Hugo Drax underwent an ID change, as did Graves
Gala Brand was a "policewoman" as was Frost
Moonraker was a rocket set to destroy England... Grave had a space based satellite set to destroy what he wanted (but you could say this was also used in the films DAF and GE)
PLUS what Defiant says above. It wasn't meant as a tribute.. just unused elements from the novel were used. Babs and MGW even say in the bonus material on the disc that they go back and use unused Fleming elements for the films where they can
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Fair enough, but I'd say they made a hash of it. I'd like to see the Moonraker novel adapted into film in its entirety.
to see Bond once again in operation around London
and a few other Brirish locations. So Moonraker would
be the perfect story to go with. Given a few small tweaks
to update it. -{
come up with their own lines, it would of been
much better.
Let me recount the good: with the exception of Berry, I think the cast is great. The movie moves at a nice, rapid clip. It's very well photographed. The fight scenes are well done, particularly the sword duel. Arnold's score is fine.
The OTT sci-fi aspects (including the cartoon surf gliding), the diamonds-stuck-in-the-face thing, the abrupt gear-change after Bond's escape and Jinx seem to me to be the real drawbacks.
I really think this movie has become the whipping boy for the entire franchise.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
+1.