Spy Report: More Set Construction At Pinewood

Source Vanquish has checked in today to inform me about construction of sets at Pinewood. It seems that Stages A, B and C along with the 007 Stage are all being used for set construction for Bond 20 at the moment.

The big news is that a set entitled Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read): ‘Torture Chamber’ is being constucted on Stage C. The construction of this set will fill the entire stage, which is 8,910 sq ft.

Moving on. Last week we revealed the construction of M's Office had begun. Vanquish has now told me that the set has been labelled "M's Office" and it's about half complete.

That's all for now. But check back soon for some more great inside reports. Thanks to Vanquish for the information! You can discuss it all in the Bond 20 Forums in this thread which was recently started. Be sure to drop in and leave us your speculation about the new set and what it's for!

Update:
Vanquish has just sent me a new detail. Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read): Part of the ‘Torture Chamber’ has been further labelled as ‘Bond Cell’ indicating that it is indeed Bond who may be ‘tortured Great new development there. Stay tuned for more as we'll have some more news today!

Spy Report: Ice Cave To Feature In Bond 20?

By now most people have heard reports that construction of sets has already begun at Pinewood Studios for Bond 20 which will swing into full production this coming January.

Until now CommanderBond.Net has been verifying such reports to ensure accuracy. We can now confirm, thanks to our source 'Vanquish' that recent reports that an Ice Cave is part of the production designs for Bond 20 are true.

But lets take the report one step further. Be warned that the rest of the article does not rely on our source 'Vanquish' and for that reason we cannot guarantee complete accuracy. However, for those of you who don't wish to spoil possibly integral parts of Bond 20 I advise you don't read on. For that reason those who wish to read the following information must highlight it first.

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)

It has now come to light that the Ice Cave set may be used in the final action sequences of the film indicating that it may be the villain’s lair. This information comes from Markus, from BKD Online http://www.bkd-online.de who was originally given the information by a source of BKD.

The Ice Cave set is reportedly being built on the Albert R Broccoli 007 Stage, which is Pinewood’s largest stage. The 007 Stage is 45,424 sq ft in size and the set is reportedly filling the whole stage. Speculation can lead us to a particular scenario destined to please some fans; the Ice Cave set might just be the Bond 20 Villain’s ‘hollowed out volcano’, that is, his spectacular underground lair.

This certainly comes as some important news on Bond 20. But we have more important news coming from our source 'Vanquish' soon, so stay tuned. Until then you can discuss this in the Bond 20 Forums in this thread, which is discussing the ice stage right now! See you there!

As a final note. Web TV Viewers who can't highlight text, view the printable version of this page to read the text. You'll find that option near the headline.

JamesBond.Com Updates With New Bond 20 Section

The official site, www.jamesbond.com, has today updated to Version 4.0 – The News Edition.

And that's a very cool graphic from the new site! Aside from that nice graphic is the Bond tune which plays in the background!

While the site has remained mostly the same there is now a Bond 20 News Page which contains the following message:

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BOND 20 IS CURRENTLY IN PRE-PRODUCTION AT PINEWOOD STUDIOS AND MGM AND EON ARE ARRANGING FOR YOUR ON SET EXPERT 'YARBOROUGH' TO RETURN LATER IN THE YEAR TO GIVE YOU ALL THE UP-TO-DATE (AND TRUE!) NEWS ON THE TITLE, CASTING AND LOCATIONS.

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The only news that is there at the moment is the Aston Martin news, but hopefully we'll have more soon.

Check it out at http://www.jamesbond.com and discuss it in this thread in the Bond 20 Forums started by Tim!

Spy Report: M's Office Currently Under Construction

Our ever faithful insider 'Vanquish' has just checked in with the quick bit of news about the construction of sets at Pinewood.

Aside from the construction of a set on the 007 Stage, construction has also begun on some of the smaller stages. While two other non-descript sets are being constructed (they've been described to me as just wood struts at the moment) the construction of M's Office has begun.

The sets are being constructed on Stage B, at 827 sq m Medium Sized stage.

Some great news there. I should add that the two other sets have been described as non-descript to me because they are currently unrecognisable as anything, as too is M's Office, however, it's known to be M's Office around Pinewood. Look out for future updates from us soon! Until then discuss anything related to Bond 20 in the Internet's best Bond 20 discussion arena, the Bond 20 Forums.

Spy Report: Tightened Security Surrounds Bond 20 Script

Bond 20 @ CB.N has received some interesting information about the heightened security surrounding the Bond 20 script. One of our regular contributors (who wishes to remain anonymous) recently spoke with a source close to the production who read the script. While this person revealed NO plot details, they did mentioned some details surrounding the unprecedented security Eon is taking to ensure the script does not leak out.

To begin with, the script arrived with the strict instructions that this person was the only one allowed to read the script – no one else in his office could. The script was printed on “un-xeroxable” paper, meaning that it would be impossible to photocopy the script. And finally, the script had to be returned immediately after the person had finished reading it.

All of these seem like security measures taken by George Lucas over Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. It has also been described to me as measures never before taken by EON Productions over a Bond Script.

So are we expecting something big from Bond 20, or are EON just stepping up security because in the past the scripts have leaked out quite early? Only time will tell. Until then discuss the heightened security measures and anything else related to Bond 20 in the Internet’s best Bond 20 discussion arena, the Bond 20 Forums.

David Tattersall To Shoot Bond 20

Zencat has alerted us to the fact that the IMDb is now listing David Tattersall as the cinematographer for Bond 20. Which Zencat points out, and I agree, is important news. Aside from doing a score of Young Indiana Jones shows as the cinematographer Tattersall has also worked on Con Air (1997), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Green Mile, The (1999), Vertical Limit (2000), Majestic, The (2001) and for the big drum roll Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002).

As Zencat says in the forums;

Tattersall is a first class choice. I’m starting to get a very good feeling about this.

On a purely speculative note, we all know STAR WARS EPISODE II is the first major movie to be shot entirely on 24 frames-per-second Digital Video (which, if you’ve seen the trailer, looks amazing!)… Could the hiring of Tattersall indicate that BOND 20 may be shot on DV? Probably not, but it’s an intriguing idea, isn’t it?

Shooting Bond 20 on Digital Video is an extremely intriguing idea. Later on Zencat gave us this follow up;

Just blasted this news over to a girlfriend who has worked professionally as a DP and director and has crewed on some very high profile projects (Star Trek among them). She doesn’t have any first hand knowledge of what’s going on at Eon, but her opinion is interesting. She writes…

“I think Tattersall might indeed shoot DV, I guarantee it’s in discussion.”

So there you have it. Tattersall, knowing the pro and cons of shooting a Digital Film, is probably plugging the idea to the producers of Bond 20. That's a very exciting development.

As to how Tattersall became invovled with Bond 20 I can't say. But while working on the Young Indiana Jones series he no doubt worked with Vic Armstrong who is the 2nd Unit Director for Bond 20.

Further looking at the IMDb reveals the further following information;

Other crew
Janet Hirshenson …. casting: USA
Jane Jenkins …. casting: USA
Michelle Lewitt …. casting associate: US (uncredited)

Aside from that I've noted that all the information on the IMDb now appears to be correct, perhaps they have someone feeding them this new information? We'll keep you informed!

Until then head over to the Bond 20 Forums where Zencat started this thread on David Tattersall and Digital Video.

Two Recent Bond Girl Rumours Have Connections

Just a quick bit of news about the most recent report that Nia Long and Melinda Clarke are up for small roles in Bond 20. 'Clopin' aka Markus from BKD Online http://www.bkd-online.de/ has posted this in the Bond 20 Forums:

Mindy (Melinda) Clarke has previously worked with Lee Tamahori on Mulholland Falls as (déjà-vu) “the Cigarette Girl”… Nia Long did Stigmata for MGM. That might be the connections. Unfortunately Garth Franklin at DH didn’t mention his source.

For those of you who don't realise, Garth Franklin is from Dark Horizons who originally reported the news.

The connections both girls hold to either MGM and Tamahori are very interesting – especially considering that Tamahori will be currently overseeing casting with Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. For the discussion head to this thread!

We'll have more as we get it!

Two Girls Up For Roles In Bond 20?

Dark Horizons have today reported that Nia Long and Melinda Clarke are up for small roles in the new Bond film as regular 'Beamer' has told us.

Beamer here. On Dark Horizons today, there’s a report that Nia Long and Melinda Clarke are up for small roles in the new Bond film (could these be the women whom Bond makes love to usually after the
opening credits?). Interesting that Nia is an African-American actress (remember all those Whitney Houston rumors) and that Melinda Clarke trained as a ballerina (according to IMDB) – remember all those ballerina rumors?

The ballerina connection does draw obvious conclusions, but we musn't forget the string of boxing Bond girls which have also been reported.

News is scarce at the moment but we'll try and get more for you as it comes up! Until then, you can discuss this in the Bond 20 Forums!

Arnold Vosloo About Bond 20 Villain Role

Arnold Vosloo is unsure about his role in Bond 20, and he's said it himself.

“And, now I’m waiting to hear there was talk of me maybe doing the next bad guy in the next James Bond movie, but I don’t know what’s happening with that. Because once again, you know, Bond of course fights terrorists so I don’t know if they gonna even be making this movie for a few years. So we’ll see, we shall see.” Arnold Vosloo on www.13thstreet.com

While I don't doubt he's unsure about having a role in the next Bond film, I very much doubt he's right on his assumption that the film will be delayed. Despite the tragic events in America it will be well over a year since they occured when Bond 20 is released. And if MGM or EON Productions are still weary of Bond vs. Terrorists they would no doubt would alter the script in someway. Afterall, 2002 is going to be the 40 anniversary of the cinematic Bond, an event not to be missed!

I have to thank Markus from http://www.bkd-online.de, the German James Bond Fan Club, for posting this news in the Bond 20 Forums. His post, speculation and other peoples discussion are currently in this thread. See you there!

Variety Revise Bond 20 Listing Again

Variety have again updated their Bond 20 listing.

You'll recall news in recent weeks that Mandalay Pictures were to co-produce Bond 20 and that locations like Washington were going to be used. It was no surprise when these details were removed by Variety. But what they've done this week is a surprise;

As you can see, they've managed to remove most of the details. Gone is Dame Judi Dench as well as any locations.

You can discuss this sudden change in the best place, the Bond 20 Forums where Zencat has been nice enough to keep us up to date through this thread.