An R-Rated Intended Release?

Prior to the release of Die Another Day in the United States, debate raged as to the classification of the film. Inevitably, a PG-13 rated film was released to audience, but an MGM site indicates that the intended rating was original R.

The rating can be found on MGM and United Artists ‘For Your Consideration’ site, the purpose of which is to ask members of film groups such as the MPAA to consider various films for award nominations. For instance, Madonna’s ‘For Your Consideration’ campaign for Die Another Day garnered the performer with Golden Globe and Golden Satellite nominations.

The Die Another Day ‘For Your Consideration’ page lists the film as being rated R. The rating would mean that cinemat patrons younger that 17 would require a parent or adult guardian. The film was apparently given the rating for Action, Violence and Sexuality.

The different rating comes as the closest official indication that scenes from the United States cut of Die Another Day were removed in order to achieve a PG-13 rating.

MGM has put Die Another Day forward for the following award considerations;

BEST PICTURE

Michael G. Wilson And Barbara Broccoli

BEST DIRECTOR

Lee Tamahori

BEST ACTOR

Pierce Brosnan

BEST ACTRESS

Halle Berry

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Toby Stephens

Rick Yune

John Cleese

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Rosamund Pike

Judi Dench

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

David Tattersall BSC

BEST FILM EDITING

Christian Wagner

BEST ART DIRECTION

Peter Lamont, PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Simon Wakefield, SET DECORATOR

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Lindy Hemming

BEST MAKEUP

BEST SOUND

BEST SOUND EDITING

[SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR]

Martin Evans

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

David Arnold

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Madonna and Mirwais

“Die Another Day”

Performed by Madonna

If you’d like to discuss the rating, or nomations, please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. Thanks to Jim for the tip-off.

Baz Luhrmann To Direct Bond 21?

Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann has revealed that he’d love to helm a James Bond movie.

The extravagant Aussie director was contemplating future projects when he let slip, “I think to myself I’d love to do a James Bond film,” adding “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Luhrmann then continued, saying the day may come when he not only wants to make a 007 flick but that he has to, reasoning, “It might be that I need to make a James Bond film. That could happen. I really need to make a James Bond film. Anything could happen.”

Be sure to discuss the news in this thread of CBn’s Bond 21 Forums!

Clash Front Man Dies At 50

Joe Strummer of The Clash fame has died at the age of 50.

During his music career Strummer was the guitarist, singer and songwriter The Clash amongst other bands. One of The Clash’s most famous songs, ‘London Calling’, features in the most recent James Bond adventure Die Another Day. Strummer died of a heart attack according to his official website, though it is noted that an autopsy is pending.

Outside of the music industry Strummer also pursued an acting career appearing in Alex Cox’s Straight to Hell and Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train.

Strummer’s death came only three months before the Clash were due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since the bands split up Strummer had been involved in several group and solo works, most recently The Mescaleros with whom he had been recently touring.

Joe Strummer is survived by his wife, Lucinda, his two teenage daughters and his stepdaughter.

Golden Globe Theme Nomination

Madonna’s Die Another Day theme song has received another nomination for ‘Best Original Song’.

The new nomination was announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, making the theme song a possible contender for a 2003 Golden Globe Award. The theme song faces competition from;

• Father and Daughter from The Wild Thornberrys Movie
• The Hands That Built America from Gangs of New York
• Here I Am from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
• Lose Yourself from Eight Mile

The Golden Globe nomination is the theme songs second nomation after it was recently nominated for a Golden Satellite award.

The 2003 Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 19, 2002.

If you’d like to discuss the nomination please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. Thanks to solitaire for the news alert.

Theme Gets Golden Satellite Nomination

The nominees for the 7th Annual Golden Satellite Awards have been announced and Madonna’s Die Another Day theme tune is among the contendors.

Madonna’s theme song for Die Another Day has been nominated in the category for best Original Song. It faces competition from five other songs;

• Love Is A Crime – 8 Mile
• Work It Out – Goldmember
• Girl On The Roof – Van Wylder
• Something To Talk About – About A Boy
• 8 Mile – 8 Mile

The awards ceremony will be held on Sunday January 12, 2003 with the award winners announced online shortly afterwards.

If you’d like to discuss the nomination please visit this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. Thanks to solitaire for the tip-off.

MI6 Approves Of DAD

Spy chiefs at the real MI6 have been granted a special screening of “Die Another Day” inside the MI6 Building, at Vauxhall Cross, London. Bond producers presented the British Intelligence agency with the offer, as a thank you for allowing them to film at the high-security building on the Thames, in three of the last four Bond films.

The screening took place inside a cinema deep within a secure area of MI6 headquarters. It is thought the cinema is normally used as a briefing room, to show slides and video footage of terrorist groups. The MI6 operatives, and bosses who viewed the film, were apparentley very impressed with the Bond crews interpretation of what goes on in the fictional version of MI6, and gave the movie the thumbs up.

Still, this is not the first time that the paths of the real world MI6, and Bond have crossed, after the success of GoldenEye, Dame Judi Dench was invited to the Christmas party at the itelligence services headquarters, where she met her real life counterpart, and was given the oppertunity to see the inside of the dominating building on the Thames.

If you’d like to discuss this news please do so in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums.

DAD Beats TWINE Total Gross

Almost a month since its initial release Die Another Day finished this weekend in fourth position at the US box office.

The film earned $7.5 million placing it slightly ahead of the new release of The Hot Chick, which managed to earn $7.47 million. The big winner for the weekend is Maid In Manhattan, starring Jennifer Lopez, which earned $19 million in its first weekend. Star Trek Nemesis opened is second spot taking in $18.8 million and Drumline finished in third, taking in $13.0 million. Pierce Brosnan’s other film currently in release, Evelyn, only made an estimated $75,000 though it is, however, playing on only 15 screens in the United States; the small amount making the film a viable Academy Awards contender.

The weekend earnings of Die Another Day mean the film has earnt $131.6 million at the United States box office. The near total earning means that Die Another Day has surpassed the box office total for Bond’s previous outing in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough which grossed $126 million at the US box office.

With Christmas holidays fast approaching, another surge in ticket sales for Die Another Day is expected.

Worldwide Gross Passes $200 million

Die Another Day continues its success with the film surpassing $194 million at the worldwide box office.

The film has had steady earnings in the past week, taking close to US$9 million at the US box office last weekend (December 7 & 8). Monday to Friday saw the film take approximately US$1 million at the box office each day, MGM reporting a Friday taking of US$901,007 with a touch of humour.

The film, however, lost its number one ranking on Saturday dropping down to fifth position at the US box office. Despite the drop it continued to perform strongly taking an estimated US$2,255,000. Saturdays box office took the film to an estimated US$126,291,000 in the US in its 22nd day of release.

Internationally the film has opened is most of the Southeast Asia region taking the films total to US$95.2 million internationally.

In terms of yearly performance, Die Another Day is ranked 19th facing competition from other spy adventures such as The Bourne Identity and XXX. It’s final ranking is expected to be in the top ten of films for 2002.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Japan Gets Different Style Poster

It’s tradition that Japan gets its own Bond posters. Sadly, the posters for Brosnan’s first three outings weren’t that good, but the one for Die Another Day is unique and really great. The Art Of James Bond was able to get a copy of it and published it in the internet.

The Japanese poster, as well as all Die Another Day posters from ad campaigns around the world can be found by accessing this site.

Please head over to CBn’s Die Another Day Forums to discuss the Japanese poster in this thread! And many thanks to forum user ‘TGO’ who alterted us.

Tamahori Speaks His Mind

It’s not often that a Hollywood director is completely frank when it comes to the media; it’s not in their nature to tell all the truth as the truth doesn’t always sell. That hasn’t stopped director Lee Tamahori discussing elements of Die Another Day that past directors might not have been willing to discuss.

Currently in Australia to promote the release of Die Another Day Tamahori has said he had to rescue Bond from becoming a sexless, politically correct wimp. “James Bond is a loner who parades around saving the world, bedding women and driving fast cars. You don’t want to get all namby-pamby and have him all new age and crystal-gazing.” While author Ian Fleming sent Bond to a phsycologist, its clear that Tamahori had no such intention.

Tamahori has also attacked groups who have criticized the film.

After the films release anti-smoking campaigners criticized James Bond’s return to smoking in Die Another Day. Pierce Brosnan later admitted that the smoking scene was his own idea, as he found it appropriate for the scene. Tamahori added his own thoughts on the matter saying, “All this political correctness from the anti-smoking lobby is just a nonsense. There are not going to be 100,000 teenage boys picking up cigars because Pierce smoked in this movie. It is a foolish, politically correct notion. Let Pierce set his feet on fire and see if the kids follow suit.”

A lot of the films publicity in mid-2002 was directed towards what Tamahori claimed would be raunchier sex scenes, and the director is quite adamant they were filmed. Tamahori tells that he asked producer Barbara Broccoli if there was a “rule book . . . to not offend anybody”. Broccoli told him that there wasn’t and Tamahori decided to “give James Bond the best lay of his life. Let’s go out there and try to offend everybody.”

However, the scenes were to never make it to the silver screen after Broccoli ordered the scene be edited to be less risque. “Pierce and Halle hammering away at it, basically . . . but in America, you’re not allowed to thrust, moan or see anything,” Tamahori said, “You can chop someone’s head off, though.”

If you’d like to discuss this news please do so in this thread of the Die Another Day Forums. Thanks to [dark] for the tip-off.

Source: News.com.au